Native Americans in the United States

In the Netherlands, a Christmas holiday tradition is leading to protests, clashes and arrests. Meanwhile, Turkey’s president wants to build a mosque in Cuba — to honor the Muslim sailors he says arrived in North American 300 years before Columbus. And China discloses how it tried to clear Beijing’s polluted skies before welcoming last week’s APEC leaders. All that in today’s Global Scan.

For one community, Columbus Day is a marker of genocide and shame. For another, it’s a celebration of history and heritage. Now some cities like Seattle, Portland and Minneapolis are siding with the former, rebranding the holiday as Indigenous Peoples Day.

Annu Palakunnathu Matthew’s has focused her photography on twisting perceptions of immigration and identity in America. Her new project, called “Majority Minority,” looks at the changes across generations of immigrant families.

A recent DNA study questions whether North America was populated in a single wave of migrants traveling across a land bridge between Siberia and Alaska. Scientists now say Native Americans arrived here in at least three waves.

A new report reveals that on most Native American reservations in the United States, access to Plan B emergency contraceptives is incredibly difficult. And that’s even though nearly 1 in 3 Native American women will be raped at some point in their life.