As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, many Native people are reflecting on what the milestone means for Indigenous communities whose histories long predate the nation’s founding.
In this edition of Native Bidaské, premiering Friday, July 3, at 12 p.m. ET, host Levi Rickert speaks with Zianne Richardson, a citizen of the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe of North Carolina, second-grade teacher, and 2026 Champion for Change with the Aspen Institute’s Center for Native American Youth (CNAY).
Richardson says America 250 is less about celebration and more about reflection.
“We celebrate this country,” she says. “But what is it built on?”
The conversation explores Native identity, sovereignty, and the importance of teaching a more complete history in America’s classrooms. Richardson says Native history should not be confined to the margins of textbooks.
“Our stories and our histories and our cultures are so strong,” she says. “We’re not built for the margins of pages—we’re built to be whole books.”
Rickert and Richardson also discuss the contradiction between the Declaration of Independence’s promise that “all men are created equal” and its reference to Native people as “merciless Indian Savages.”
“If I could take a red ink pen and mark up the Declaration,” Richardson says, “I’d ask, who was really independent?”
As both an educator and youth leader, Richardson says she hopes to equip the next generation with an honest understanding of history while empowering them to shape the future.
The interview is part of Native News Online’s ongoing America 250: A Republic Built on Native Land initiative, which explores the nation’s 250th anniversary through Indigenous perspectives.
Watch the full episode of Native Bidaské, part of Native News Online’s ongoing America250: A Republic Built on Native Land series on Friday, July 3, at 12 p.m. ET on Facebook, YouTube, NativeNewsOnline.net, and TikTok.
Watch past episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@NativeNewsOnline/streams
