We have been told the American Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But the last entry of the Declaration of Independence focuses on the founding fathers' contempt for the “merciless Indian savages.” America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding this year, and somehow, we’ve managed to skim right past that line. How does a whole country miss a point of its own founding document? That's the question Rebecca Nagle, an Indigenous author and the former host of Crooked’s This Land podcast, asks in her new show, First America. Alongside leading Native historians, Rebecca unveils how the founders’ treatment of Indigenous nations—and their resistance—shaped US democracy. From land expansion to human rights issues, First America reveals the real story of why the colonists rebelled, what kind of government they created, and how our current political moment was 250 years in the making. Find First America wherever you get podcasts.

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Hear more from Connie Walker in this week’s episode of Origin Stories.

About Origin Stories

In this episode

To Connie, all great audio documentaries begin with a central question:

“It doesn't have to be the question you end up asking the whole way through,” she explains. “But initially, you have to start with that.”

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An unexpected development in Ella Mae’s case raises questions around justice and closure for families like hers, and Kristina’s.

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As we go deeper into Kristina’s circle, a surprising connection takes us back to the start of our investigation, back to Sweetwater.

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Violence erupted at home not long before Kristina went missing. Could her disappearance be an act of retaliation?

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Jiní news, nunchucks, and a gruesome discovery near where Kristina Carrillo lived.

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The Stolen team is traveling back to the Navajo Nation this week to cover some important developments. The stories of Ella Mae Begay and Kristina Carrillo are still unfolding and we are continuing to report on their cases. We will be back next week.

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A terrible rumor leads to the discovery that another woman is missing in the Shiprock district. Why is barely anyone looking for her?

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The search for answers in Ella Mae’s disappearance leads her family to take matters into their own hands and raises questions about policing on the Navajo Nation.

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In a remote corner of the Navajo Nation, Ella Mae Begay lived alone in a little blue house. Until one summer night when she and her truck disappeared, never to be seen again.

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