Rebecca Nagle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rebecca Nagle
|
|
|---|---|
Nagle on The Laura Flanders Show in 2014
|
|
| Born | June 12, 1986 Joplin, Missouri, U.S.
|
| Nationality | American Cherokee Nation |
| Education | Maryland Institute College of Art |
| Occupation | Pundit, writer |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Employer | Crooked Media |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Movement | Cherokee nationalism |
| Relatives | Mary Kathryn Nagle (sister) Major Ridge (ancestor) |
Rebecca Nagle is a writer, speaker, and activist for Native American rights. She is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Nagle is known for her creative projects that promote respect and safety for everyone. She co-founded an organization called FORCE, which uses art to help create a culture where consent and respect are valued.
Contents
Activism and Career
Creative Projects for Awareness
In 2012, Nagle and artist Hannah Brancato launched a project called "Pink Loves Consent." It was an online campaign that looked like a popular clothing store's website. Instead of selling clothes, the site featured messages about the importance of consent, which means getting clear permission before doing something. The goal was to educate people about respect in a creative way. The project got so much attention that lawyers for the real clothing company asked them to take the site down.
Nagle and Brancato also started another project called The Monument Quilt. This is a giant quilt made of thousands of fabric squares. Each square is designed by a survivor of mistreatment or abuse. The quilt travels around the country, creating a public space for healing and support.
'This Land' Podcast
In 2019, Nagle hosted a popular podcast called This Land. The podcast told the story of a very important Supreme Court case called Carpenter v. Murphy.
The case was about whether a large part of eastern Oklahoma was still legally Muscogee (Creek) Nation land. The podcast explained the history behind the case, going back to treaties signed in the 1800s. Nagle's work on the podcast helped many people understand the fight for Native American land rights and sovereignty (the right of a nation to govern itself).
Cherokee Identity
Nagle has also spoken out about what it means to be a member of the Cherokee Nation. She has explained that being Cherokee is not about race or having a distant ancestor. Instead, it is about being an active citizen of the Cherokee Nation and having connections to the community and its culture. She has discussed this topic in articles and on TV, including when talking about Senator Elizabeth Warren's claims of Cherokee ancestry.
Awards and Recognition
Rebecca Nagle has received many awards for her work.
- In 2012 and 2013, Fast Company magazine named her one of its "100 Most Creative People."
- In 2016, she was named one of the "Native American 40 Under 40" by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
- In 2020, she won the American Mosaic Journalism Prize for her podcast This Land and a related article in The Washington Post.
- In 2025, she won the Stubbendieck Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize.
Personal Life
Nagle lives in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, which is the capital of the Cherokee Nation. Her sister, Mary Kathryn Nagle, is a well-known lawyer and playwright.
Nagle is a two-spirit woman. "Two-spirit" is a term used by some Indigenous people to describe having both a masculine and a feminine spirit. She is a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
Her family history is deeply connected to Cherokee history. She is a descendant of Major Ridge and John Ridge. They were Cherokee leaders who, in the 1830s, signed the Treaty of New Echota. This treaty led to the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their lands in the southeastern U.S. to Oklahoma. This tragic event is now known as the Trail of Tears. Nagle often talks about her family's history in her work to explain the complex history of the Cherokee people.
