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217 Today: Indigenous-led groups advocate legal rights for natural entities

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Indigenous groups and nations are leading campaigns to recognize the legal rights of natural entities like wild rice, salmon and even the Mississippi River, pictured here.
  • Photo: Natalie Maynor/Creative Commons

May 30, 2023

Today’s headlines:

  • Illinois lawmakers approved a $50.4 billion spending plan early Saturday morning.
  • A measure to make most businesses include salary information in job postings is now heading to the governor’s desk.
  • The site of a school district building could become downtown Urbana’s next commercial development.
  • Memorial Day is a day for people to honor all veterans who have died, but some feel that veterans of all races are not given the same recognition.

In today’s deep dive, we hear about how some Indigenous-led environmental groups are pushing to give the Mississippi river some of the same legal rights as people.

Reporting contributed by Alex Degman, Jim Meadows, Mae Antar and Juanpablo Ramirez Franco.

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Owen Henderson

Owen Henderson covers arts and culture, as well as LGBTQ issues for Illinois Public Media News. He studied journalism, Spanish and theater at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and has worked with Illinois Public Media in various capacities since 2021.