Misplaced Trust: A Grist Investigative Series

The United States was founded with stolen Indigenous land. Public institutions are still profiting from it today.

From education to penitentiaries, public institutions were built with stolen Indigenous lands – and still survive on Indigenous resources. Using publicly available data, Grist has located millions of acres of land taken from hundreds of Indigenous nations, land that provides revenue to state universities, K-12 schools, hospitals, and other beneficiaries through fossil fuel exploration, mining, timber harvesting, and other industries. This series explores how stolen wealth continues to transform public institutions.

PART I

GRIST

The extractive industries filling public university coffers on stolen land

How 14 land-grant colleges took more than 8.3 million acres from 123 Indigenous nations.

Tristan Ahtone, Robert Lee, Amanda Tachine, An Garagiola, Audrianna Goodwin, Maria Parazo Rose, & Clayton Aldern February 7, 2024

Methodology

User Guide

Data and Code

PART II

Trust Issues

How schools, hospitals, and prisons in 15 states profit from land and resources on 79 tribal nations.

Grist, High Country News

Data and Code
PART III

Wiped off the Map

A federal clerk’s error put more than 90,000 acres of Yakama Nation land in the hands of Washington state. The tribe wants it back.

Grist

Data and Code
PART IV

10 states fund prisons using stolen Indigenous lands

State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.

Grist

Data and Code

All Partner Stories

GRIST

10 states fund prisons using stolen Indigenous lands

State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.
Alleen Brown, Clayton Aldern, & Maria Parazo Rose, Grist January 28, 2025
GRIST

Wiped Off the Map

A federal clerk’s error put more than 90,000 acres of Yakama Nation land in the hands of Washington state. The tribe wants it back.
Maria Parazo Rose December 20, 2024
WYOMING PUBLIC MEDIA

States profit from two million acres of land inside reservations, report reveals

Revenue from state trust lands helps pay for public education, hospitals and jails — institutions that serve largely non-Indigenous people.
Hanna Merzbach, Wyoming Public Media September 20, 2024
FLATWATER FREE PRESS

Nebraska tribe pays $65K a year to rent land on its own reservation. It wants it back.

Congress set aside the plots to help fund public schools when Nebraska became a state. Santee Sioux leaders say it’s time to transfer the land to the tribe.
Destiny Herbers, Flatwater Free Press September 18, 2024
GRIST / HIGH COUNTRY NEWS

Trust Issues

How schools, hospitals, and prisons in 15 states profit from land and resources on 79 tribal nations.
Anna V. Smith & Maria Parazo Rose September 16, 2024
PBS NEWS HOUR

Investigation reveals how universities profit off land taken from Indigenous people

Following a news investigation, there's a new spotlight on some universities and whether they should be helping Native American students more than they are now.
Stephanie Sy and Lena I. Jackson June 18, 2024
WYOFILE

UW makes millions from ancestral tribal lands. What does it owe Native American students?

The University of Wyoming enjoys lucrative income from its tribal trust fund. Meanwhile, the school hasn’t met local tribes’ requests for tuition waivers.
Gabe Allen, WyoFile May 8, 2024
SENTIENT

In South Dakota, a buffalo herd thrives in cattle country

Land grant universities whose research supports the beef industry are funded in part by land stolen from Indigenous tribes.
Grace Hussain, Sentient April 23, 2024
BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE

Land grant legacy: How MSU and extension support Native communities today

More Native people are attending MSU today than ever before, with a record 817 students — 5% of the student body — enrolled as of Fall 2023.
Isabel Hicks, Bozeman Daily Chronicle March 15, 2024
ICT NEWS

Beyond acknowledgments, land grant universities make up some impressive ground

College student leaders in the region are frustrated with land-grant knowledge gap.
Renata Birkenbuel, ICT News March 8, 2023
THE SPECTRUM

How stolen Indigenous land continues to fund public education

A new investigation by Grist earlier this month revealed the extent to which land-grant public universities throughout the country continue to be funded in the billions by land from the original Morrill Act.
Kyle Feldhake, The Spectrum March 1, 2024
GRIST

At least 10 states quietly own lands within Indian reservations — and profit from them

Tribal climate action plans are being stymied by state-owned land within reservation borders.
Maria Parazo Rose & Anna V. Smith February 28, 2024
MONTANA FREE PRESS

Land, wealth and higher education

How the ancestral ground of Montana’s Indigenous peoples came to generate millions for in-state campuses.
Alex Sakariassen, Montana Free Press February 23, 2024
THE DAILY CARDINAL

UW System receives over $1 million annually from investments on stolen Native land

The UW System receives over $1 million annually from land taken from Wisconsin Native American tribes in the 1800s.
Natasha Hicks, The Daily Cardinal February 16, 2024
WISCONSIN EXAMINER

UW schools benefit financially from thousands of acres of former tribal land

Today, just 70,000 acres remain in the Normal School Trust Fund, yet the fund’s principal has grown to about $30 million.
Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner February 15, 2024
MINNPOST

New report details how ‘land grabs’ from tribes have enriched the University of Minnesota

The school says it is working to rebuild its relationship with tribal communities.
Ana Radelat, MinnPost February 14, 2024
KEZJ

Is stolen Indigenous land funding University of Idaho?

A recent investigation by Grist suggests that a number of land-grant universities in the United States have been profiting from lands acquired from Indigenous peoples.
Brad Weiser, KEZJ February 13, 2024
GRIST

Campus divestment activists eye fossil fuel profits on stolen land

Grist investigation reveals 14 land-grant universities making millions off Indigenous land.
Anita Hofschneider February 9, 2024
CROSSCUT

Washington State University earns $15M a year on stolen land

A Grist report reveals that over the past 150 years, WSU has collected at least $1B in profit from land taken from 21 Indigenous nations.
Venice Buhain, Crosscut February 7, 2024
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

How Utah State University still makes millions from seized tribal lands — and what it gives back

The university points to its efforts to support Native students and staff, including free tuition and a cultural center.
Megan Banta, The Salt Lake Tribune February 7, 2024
GRIST

Top 5 takeaways of our investigation into state trust lands

A Grist investigation reveals how 14 public universities continue to benefit from extractive industries on stolen Indigenous land.
Tristan Ahtone February 7, 2024
GRIST

How to conduct your own reporting and research on state trust lands

A guide to using Grist's database.
Maria Parazo Rose February 7, 2024
GRIST

How we investigated the land-grant university system

A methodology of our efforts to reveal how land-grant universities continue to profit from stolen Indigenous resources.
Maria Parazo Rose & Clayton Aldern February 7, 2024