National Native News

Photo: Personal hygiene products are laid out for storm evacuees at the Bethel Search and Rescue building in Bethel, Alaska on October 14, 2025. (Corinne Smith / KYUK) Donations are pouring into Bethel Search and Rescue in the wake of the catastrophic storm that hit the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta over the weekend. As KYUK’s Evan Erickson reports, the building has been buzzing with volunteers and recent evacuees, some of whom have lost everything. At the Bethel Search and Rescue building, families from villages hit hardest by Sunday’s storm grab items from long tables overflowing with clothes and essential goods. Volunteer Kaitlin Andrew says her father and other family members are still sheltering in the coastal community of Kwigillingok. “There was one I just had spoken with, he had mentioned that he can finally change his clothes.” The storm, remnants of Typhoon Halong, nearly completely destroyed the village and roughly 400 people sheltered at the school awaiting evacuation on Tuesday evening. “They’re messaging us and letting us know what they need over there right now.” Andrew says that within an hour of opening the donation center on Monday, totes and bags from community members quickly filled up the corner of the one-story building. “That pile over there was literally almost to the ceiling, until we started organizing things.” The donations include winter boots, baby formula, and basic hygiene products such as shampoo, toilet paper, and tampons. Most of the items are going directly to people already evacuated to Bethel. Some are being boxed up and sent to those still sheltered in coastal villages. Volunteer Angie Walter stacks three boxes filled with clothes for a family in the Nelson Island community of Nightmute. “The bottom box is mostly boots, boots, and there’s hats and gloves, pants and tops for a boy and a girl, and I guess maybe the dad and the mom.” Volunteers say that with winter just weeks away, more cold weather gear is needed. While some communities will be able to rebuild what was lost, others face a bleak future, or total uncertainty of whether their community will ever recover. Andrew, who still has family members stuck in the most affected area, says that all she and other volunteers can do is offer their support for people grappling with the concept of leaving behind their traditional homes. “Some of them don’t want to, because that’s where they grew up, and that’s their home. And so I think it’s just just to be there for them and to make sure that they know that they have a place.” Meanwhile, outside of the building, volunteers scramble to make space for roughly 10 pallets of goods that have just arrived from Anchorage. The donations are coming in from all over — and volunteers say they’re critical, with 100 people already evacuated to Bethel, and hundreds more on the way. (Courtesy International Indian Treaty Council / Facebook) This past Monday, many cultural observances were held in honor of Indigenous Peoples or Native American Day, including an annual event at Alcatraz Island in northern California’s Bay Area. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that this sunrise gathering features prayer, dancing, and songs despite the many closed National Parks, and in protest of President Trump’s plans to reopen Alcatraz as a prison. Historically, a large gathering of Native people occupied the island prison from 1969 to 1971. With the exception of 2013 during another government shutdown, the annual gathering has taken place with another one held on Thanksgiving Day. The International Indian Treaty Council hosted the event. Sarah Winnemucca. And during this week in 1891, people mourned the passing of Sarah Winnemucca, the first Native woman who published a copyrighted work in the U.S. Her book, “Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims”, was an autobiographical work published in 1883. Her birth name was Thocmetony (Shellflower).       Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, October 16, 2025 – The fight to recognize Taffy Abel’s historic NHL achievement

Photo: Waves from ex-Typhoon Halong cover the Kuskokwim River waterfront in Bethel, Alaska on October 12, 2025. (MaryCait Dolan / KYUK) The remnants of Typhoon Halong over the weekend have left at least one woman dead and more than 1,000 people displaced in Western Alaska. The disaster happened right before the start of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention and the Elders & Youth Conference (EYC). The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden with assistance of Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports, the storm is already shaping the tone of this year’s events. AFN always focuses on issues most pertinent to local Indigenous communities – and this year, a catastrophic storm that battered predominantly Alaska Native villages is already the center of the conversations. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) spoke at the beginning of EYC, the traditional prologue to the main AFN event. “As we gather for this sharing and this collective convening, let us keep in mind those that are in harm’s way and those who are out there to be with them and to help them.” Communities and rescue groups are still looking for missing people and assessing the damage from the storm. Meanwhile, AFN and other local Indigenous organizations are looking for ways to help. AFN is one of twelve mostly Indigenous organizations that formed the Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund to provide assistance to villages. On Thursday, AFN plans to hold a blanket dance fundraiser for the disaster. Roy Agloinga is the president of the First Alaskans Institute that hosts EYC. On Sunday, he spoke about the destruction from the storm. “It’s easy to feel distant, but I ask you to lean in, because while the storm may be hundreds of miles away, the people affected are our neighbors, our friends, and our family.” Marilyn Attla is a healer from the Interior who participated in EYC. She encouraged people to pray and acknowledge the stress of the situation. She also invited attendees, especially young people, to talk about what they feel and consider visiting a healing station. “You have to make up your own mind to be resilient. Any type of loss that you’re going to go through in your life, any type of happening problem, you have to make up your own mind to overcome it.” EYC is running at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage through Wednesday. AFN is scheduled there from Thursday to Saturday. An aluminum boat rests on debris in Kipnuk, Alaska amid destruction left by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. (Photo: Jaqui Lang) Meanwhile, community groups and businesses across the state are coordinating storm relief efforts for the devastated communities. Alaska Public Media’s Eric Stone has more. The Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) has partnered with local and regional organizations to create the Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund. ACF’s Ashley Ellingson says they’re distributing the funds to communities hit hardest. “It’s geared towards immediate support and then long term resilience. The thing that’s unique about this fund is that we have partnered with local and regional organizations to make sure that the money goes to the areas that it’s needed most.” The fund is a partnership with the AFN, the Association of Village Council Presidents, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and a number of other groups serving Alaskans in the region. As of Tuesday afternoon, the fund had raised more than $300,000 from donors. Jenni Ragland, chair of Alaska Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, says cash donations are a better option than goods, since storing and transporting items can present challenges of their own. “While it may seem impersonal, cash really is the best opportunity to help meet those immediate needs that are coming our way. It provides flexibility for us to purchase exactly what’s needed, to procure those items quickly and to get them into the hands of disaster survivors.” More information about the effort is online at alaskacf.org.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Wednesday, October 15, 2025 – The road project that could open up a great expanse of pristine Alaska

Photo: An overturned home in Kotlik. The National Weather Service reported a maximum wind gust of 78 mph in Kotlik Sunday morning. (Adaline Pete) One person has died, two are still missing, and 51 have been rescued following a record-breaking storm that slammed into the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in southwest Alaska over the weekend. Alaska Public Media’s Eric Stone and Liz Ruskin report. Officials say search and rescue efforts are ongoing. Christopher Culpepper, Coast Guard commander for Western Alaska, compares the devastation to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. “Several of these villages have been completely devastated, absolutely flooded, several feet deep. This took homes off of foundations. This took people into peril, where folks were swimming, floating, trying to find debris to hold on to in the cover of darkness.” Floodwaters in Chefornak, Alaska, October 12, 2025. (Photo: Clara Mathew) He spoke alongside numerous officials at a news conference Monday, the day after the remnants of Typhoon Halong barreled into remote, coastal communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, hitting the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok especially hard. The storm brought winds of over 100 miles per hour and record flood waters. Helicopters, planes, drones, ships, and para-rescuers from the Coast Guard, National Guard, and other agencies worked through the night and are still searching for two missing people. Officials said Monday that one woman, previously unaccounted for, was found dead in the village. Fourteen-hundred survivors are in community shelters. Alaska National Guard head Torrance Sax says he has activated every member of the state’s National Guard and Alaska State Defense Force living in Western Alaska. And more are set to join. “This may end up being the largest off-the-road-system response for the National Guard in about 45 years.” State officials say dozens of nonprofit organizations, businesses, and faith-based groups are also coordinating recovery efforts. Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) and numerous state and federal officials held a news conference on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska to discuss the devastating impacts of the weekend storm. (Photo: Matt Faubion / Alaska Public Media) Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) has declared a disaster for the region, easing access to additional resources. “We know you need help. We’re going to continue to get the help to you. We’re going to do everything we can to get everything up and running as quickly as possible, and we will continue to help — not just today (and) tomorrow, but weeks and months on and until we get things back to what used to be at least considered semi-normal.” Gov. Dunleavy and members of Alaska’s congressional delegation say they plan to visit the region. The Elders & Youth Conference at the Denaʼina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Matt Faubion) The storm’s devastation is on the minds of many people who traveled in to Anchorage this week from across the state to gather for two conferences being held in the city – the First Alaskans Institute’s Elders and Youth Conference and the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention. AFN is the state’s largest gathering, which gets underway Thursday. As KNBA’s Rhonda McBride reports, AFN is a time to address the challenges that face Alaska Native people and stand together. Next year, AFN will turn 60 years old. It was formed to fight for land claims, culminating in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), created Native corporations to manage land and wealth. It was far from perfect, but each year AFN works to improve upon the outcomes. “…A way of life that AFN’s Co-Chair Joe Nelson says has been threatened by federal cutbacks and new policies that affect Native lands.” AFN delegates had hoped to talk directly with Trump administration cabinet members who, along with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, were scheduled to speak at the gathering, but the federal shutdown has prevented them from traveling to Alaska. Their speeches will now be virtual, not the same as having facetime, but Nelson says the work will go on, regardless. This year, AFN delegates have almost a hundred resolutions to consider. Many of them address protecting the hunting and gathering of wild foods, or subsistence.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, October 14, 2025 – Shifting the balance in historical scholarship

Photo: Mike Duncan, founder and CEO of the Native Dads Network, is one of the featured speakers at November’s opioid summit in New Mexico. (Courtesy Mike Duncan) Indigenous health workers are stepping up their battle against opioid addictions. As the Mountain West News Bureau’s Jenny Kinsey reports, tribal communities are looking for solutions to the ongoing crisis. Indigenous people have been especially hard-hit by the national opioid epidemic. Their use is highest among all U.S. populations. And use has been increasing dramatically in recent years. Chris Lovato is a Community Health Representative on the Santa Domingo Pueblo in New Mexico. Lovato says the problem is widespread – and has even tracked opioid addictions in children as young as nine and 13. “We did experience the 13 year old hallucinating, just kind of not coherent. And, of course, nine, one was called, and, getting him to the emergency room after, you know, a couple of days, we got the information that he was high on that and a couple of other drugs.” Funds to fight the crisis come from the federal government’s Tribal Opioid Response Program and settlements from lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors. Five tribal nations in New Mexico and more from out-of-state are expected to attend a summit on the Santa Ana Pueblo to look for solutions in November. From language and culture to tribal courts and health, the applications are seemingly endless. Jenner & Block special counsel Krystalyn Kinsel, left; Cora Tso, senior research fellow at ASU’s Kyl Center for Water Policy; and Chris Deschene, executive director of National Inter-Tribal Energy Council, discuss AI’s impacts on natural resources during “Wiring the Rez.” (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) The Phoenix, Ariz. area is increasingly becoming a hub for data centers powering artificial intelligence. And as KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, even tribes are beginning to tackle the tradeoffs. “There’s not been a conference on AI and Indian Country at all, to my knowledge, and so this is really the first time bringing people together.” Traci Morris (Chickasaw), executive director of Arizona State University’s American Indian Policy Institute, says she and her team will draft a whitepaper on takeaways from the daylong “Wiring the Rez” gathering in downtown Phoenix. Among them was critical dialogue about natural resources, a topic initially missing from the agenda but later added. “After we saw stuff on our social media saying, ‘Well, what about what it’s doing to the environment?’ Okay, let’s add a panel. We got space.” Chris Deschene (Navajo), executive director of the National Inter-Tribal Energy Council, says few tribes are in the position to consider building data centers on their lands. “Most of Indian Country is not impacted by this, but it does impact, for example, if you have utility rates.” Arizona utilities APS and Tucson Electric Power are now proposing a 14% hike for ratepayers, largely driven by rising energy demands from data centers. Events to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day were held over the weekend and continue through Monday across the country. In Berkeley, Calif. Saturday, the annual Indigenous Peoples Day Powwow and Indian Market was held. It included intertribal dancing, contest dancing, Native foods, arts, and crafts. Organizers say this year’s powwow marks 33 years of the holiday honoring ancestors, people of today, and future generations. In Nevada earlier this year, state lawmakers passed a bill to officially recognize Indigenous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October, but the governor vetoed the measure (pdf). According to Native Voters Alliance Nevada, the Native community is still celebrating, and invited elected officials, allies, and the greater Las Vegas community to kick off Indigenous Peoples Day at the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign to honor the holiday. The event includes a ceremonial lighting, speakers, and a preview of future legislative plans.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Monday, October 13, 2025 – Language teachers celebrate success on Indigenous Peoples Day  

The federal government shutdown is in its second week. Tribal leaders across the country are continuing to raise concerns saying Indian Country will bear the burden. Matt Laslo has more from Washington. No one knows the full extent of how this federal government shutdown will hit Indian Country, but policymakers are braced for pain to come. Democrats continue banding together, demanding Congress intervene to keep Affordable Care Act, as known as Obamacare, insurance premiums from doubling in the coming months. U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) says those rate hikes promise more pain than today’s temporary furloughs. “Well, it just depends. Like, some government workers obviously will feel it when they don’t get their next paycheck, because they already got their first paycheck. But when people are really going to feel it is around November first when they start getting open enrollment and 24 million of them are going to have their insurance rates doubled.” Take Indian Health Service (IHS). While Medicare and Medicaid are first payers, IHS is a payor of last resort, which means the IHS budget is insulated for now, U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK) told National Native News underneath the Capitol Dome. “Right now nobody’s affected yet. They’re dealing off reimbursements and all their reimbursements come off Medicaid and Medicare, and, of course, that’s not affected by this.” Even though Sen. Mullin isn’t worried about IHS cuts, he says that doesn’t mean Congress can shrug off the unseen impacts of a federal government shutdown. “There is no pressure taken off of us. We’re in a shutdown. The thing is, is like when are level heads going to prevail in the Democrat Party? That’s what we’re waiting on.” Indian Country was already reeling from federal cuts before the shutdown. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have rescinded IHS staffing cuts earlier this year, but U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) says cuts to other parts of the federal health care budget have been felt across Indian Country. “There’s a hospital in the state of New Mexico — an IHS facility — that no longer offers support for moms delivering kids or having babies. And that’s all because of the Trump administration and a direct result of the poor leadership coming from (Sec.) Robert Kennedy.” (Courtesy Thurston County [WA] Board of Health)A new law clarifies the role of Washington state’s tribes on local boards of health, granting each tribe a seat on their county’s board, appointing their own representative. Isobel Charle reports. The change clarifies a 2020 state law that requires local boards of health to include members who are not elected officials, including tribal representatives. Vicki Lowe is with the Jamestown S’Klallam and Bella Coola First Nation, and is the executive director of the American Indian Health Commission, a nonprofit that works with the state to promote wellness in Washington’s Native communities. She said the previous language was not clear about who was responsible for appointing tribal representatives to health boards, or how many seats were available. “I’m hoping going forward, we can get more tribes on these local boards of health and that local relationship and working together to keep all of our community healthy and safe will happen.” Every county in the state has a local board of health that is tasked with enforcing health laws, controlling infectious diseases, and setting local policies. Of Washington’s 29 federally recognized tribes, Lowe said so far about 15 have appointed someone to their local board. Ashley Bell is the Tribal Liaison for the Washington State Board of Health. She said the new law respects and affirms tribal sovereignty and makes sure that tribes are a part of public health conversations. “They are a part of the community and really have a direct impact on how community health happens.” The Washington Board of Health is in the first stages of the rulemaking process for the new law which includes getting public feedback and consulting with the state’s tribes and urban Indian health organizations. Bell said they are hoping to be done next July.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Friday, October 10, 2025 – Tara Moses’ ‘Haunted’ is more than just a satirical ghost story

President Donald Trump’s Navajo pick for Assistant Secretary of the Interior was officially confirmed Tuesday during Day 7 of the federal government shutdown. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Senate Republicans confirmed William Kirkland (Navajo) among more than 100 Trump nominees along party lines – while Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), voted against it. Kirkland pledged to work with lawmakers to address potential budget cuts facing Indian Country during his July confirmation hearing. “First of all, it is unfortunate, but tribal nations have always been asked to do more with less. Whatever dollars are allocated towards the Office of Indian Affairs by Congress, we’re going to work to make sure that we get the best investment.” Kirkland enters his new Interior role at a time when more than half of all staff agency wide are furloughed. Now, those nearly 31,000 federal workers and many more may not be guaranteed back pay, according to a White House memo. Several ice cellars in Savoonga on Sept. 25, 2025. (Photo: Alena Naiden) Indigenous peoples in the Arctic have been using underground food storage for thousands of years, but the practice is changing as the environment warms. Researchers have been looking at how villages in Alaska – and Arctic communities in other countries – are reimagining the future of ice cellars. Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Several wooden boxes poke up above ground along the coast in Savoonga, on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. They are a few feet deep and are now empty, but traditionally they are filled with walrus, reindeer, and whale meat. Ice cellars – or siqlugaq in Yup’ik – are common throughout Alaska Native communities, but the Arctic has been warming almost four times faster than other parts of the world. Researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) have been studying how food preservation practices have been changing. Yoko Kugo is originally from Japan and is one of the researchers who is leading the project. “We’ve heard that some communities – not all of them but some – are having hard time relying on storing food underground.” Kugo and other UAF researchers have been visiting the communities on St. Lawrence Island, as well as on the North Slope. They learned how food preservation practices vary depending on local landscape and diets. And they heard from residents that permafrost thaw and erosion have been causing some of their ice cellars to collapse or flood. Despite the challenges, many continue using ice cellars and hope to preserve the practice. Another UAF researcher Michael Koskey has been working on the project as well. He says that while the climate is expected to get hotter throughout this century, underground, the temperatures should fluctuate less. “If they’re willing to go a little deeper and a little further inland, there’s more of a chance of … making a new cellar and maintaining those traditions.” During the most recent meeting in Savoonga, residents asked researchers about climate predictions – and stressed the resilience of Indigenous people in face of environmental change. Kugo says that overall, residents in four Alaska communities asked them about practical takeaways from their research. “This project might be a bridge between the communities … They are looking for what they can do and do together.” While researchers are nearing the end of the social science part of the project, climate evaluations are continuing. Collaborations with other countries will go on as well. Cherokee Nation leaders in Oklahoma signed an order Wednesday officially establishing Cherokee Nation Flag Day to be celebrated annually on October 8. The day commemorates October 8, 1977, when the Cherokee council started the process of developing a new flag design. Leaders say the flag represents Cherokee Nation history, culture, and sovereignty.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, October 9, 2025 — Walrus management in a changing Arctic

Photo: The Gila River Governance Center located in the tribal capital of Sacaton. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Arizona’s 22 tribes rely on federal dollars to fund programs and even to pay some employees. But as KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, two Valley-based tribal communities say the ongoing government shutdown should have limited effect. Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community shared in a video message that his administration has been crafting a contingency plan to fund essential services for up to 90 days. The longest shutdown was during President Donald Trump’s first term and lasted 35 days. “So our plan should more than cover a shutdown, but we will also have plans in place should a longer, unprecedented shutdown occur. And I also want to assure you that we don’t anticipate any interruption in any of our community programs at this time.” That optimism was echoed in prepared remarks by Martin Harvier, president of the neighboring Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. “While this may cause some disruption, I want to reassure you that our tribal departments remain fully operational and staff are committed to delivering the services you count on every day.” Nearly 31,000 employees have been furloughed by the Interior Department, including more than a third of all Bureau of Indian Affairs staff. The National Congress of American Indians has even created a survey, urging tribes across Indian Country to share their experiences on how the current shutdown is impacting them. The Odawa Casino will host the IndigiPitch competition in December. (Courtesy Clark) A new pitch competition is looking for Indigenous entrepreneurs in Michigan who have ideas for startups. IPR’s Claire Keenan-Kurgan has more. Indigipitch will give Native Americans in Michigan a chance to compete for cash prizes to get a startup off the ground. Shiloh Slomsky is the financial officer and Tribal liaison for 20Fathoms, a Traverse City-based group that’s organizing the competition. She says Michigan’s Indigenous communities are full of creative business ideas. “We’re taught to not waste anything and to utilize everything that we take. And in order to utilize everything we take, it really takes an innovative mindset to be able to do that.” Slomsky is looking for applications from Native Americans in Michigan who have startup ideas, and from Native small business owners who want to have a vendor booth at the event. The pitch competition is on December 5 at the Odawa Casino in Petoskey. Applications are open until October 13. Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby speaks during the Cultural Night at the Anoliˈ Theater in the Chickasaw Cultural Center. (Courtesy Chickasaw Nation / Facebook) Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby says the Chickasaw Nation is strong, as he delivered the State of the Nation address. “My fellow Chickasaws, I am honored to report to you today, that the state of the Chickasaw Nation is remarkably strong, and the best is yet to come.” He gave the speech during the Oklahoma tribe’s recent annual meeting and festival. Anoatubby highlighted a number of tribal issues including its diverse business portfolio, which he says continues to expand. He also touched on expanding education, health care and other programs. Gov. Anoatubby talked about the importance of collaboration, including for public safety and infrastructure projects. “By continuing government to government relations with local, tribal, state, and federal partners and cultivating partnerships with agencies, institutions and many other organizations, we assure mutual growth and vitality for the Chickasaw Nation and the communities throughout Oklahoma.” He emphasized the tribe’s commitment to language and cultural preservation. The address was followed by a parade and activities, which are part of the weeklong festival.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Wednesday, October 8, 2025 – Risks and unintended consequences of terminating USAID

Photo: The Old San Carlos Memorial is located in Peridot on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) The U.S. Supreme Court will not reconsider the nonprofit Apache Stronghold’s effort to preserve sacred lands from a massive copper mining project east of Phoenix, Ariz. Monday, the justices declined to revisit an earlier decision to throw out the case for a second and final time. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Court records show conservative Neil Gorsuch stands alone in supporting the nonprofit’s plea. Justice Clarence Thomas previously joined him in co-authoring a May dissent. Recusing himself once more was Samuel Alito, who has disclosed stock holdings in BHP, the Australian-based minority partner behind Resolution Copper. In a statement, Resolution Copper told KJZZ it’s pleased the court upheld a split Ninth Circuit ruling that Oak Flat is not subject to religious freedom protections, while on social media, Apache Stronghold says it’s “deeply disappointing” that Mother Earth’s voice goes unheard yet again. Kloshe Illahee Haws Housing development in Salem, Oreg. (Photo: Brian Bull) The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) had a grand opening last week for its latest off-reservation housing development in Salem, Oreg. The site is a mixed-income living facility with 39 units. Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire reports. An honor song and ribbon cutting officially opened the Kloshe Illahee Haws complex. About sixty people attended the ceremony, including tribal member Vera Vasquez. The working mother of three explored the two and four bedroom units, excited for the next day when she’d move in with her family from their much smaller home. “This is changing my life. We’ve been literally bursting at the seams in our two-bedrooms, so this is just going to be really nice to have space. And what I’m really looking forward to though, is having the community and the garden and the tribal activities. Our kids can play and grow up together, and like we can really connect as people.” Tribal officials say Native people in Oregon experience homelessness four times more than other demographics. And Salem has the second highest population of Siletz citizens next to the tribal headquarters and reservation area. Many left for cities and coastal industries after Congress terminated the tribe’s federal status in 1954. Even after being reinstated in 1977, many Siletz people stayed in those areas. CTSI Tribal Chair Delores Pigsley speaks before cutting a ribbon as part of the grand opening ceremony for the Kloshe Illahee Haws Housing development. (Photo: Brian Bull) Tribal chair Dee Pigsley says they’re also looking at the city of Eugene. “They’ve all been really tough areas to provide housing because we don’t own land there. We have to buy the land, and it’s land that comes at a premium. And then we have to find money to build the homes.” The Kloshe Illahee Haws complex cost $17 million. Half of that was covered by an Indian Housing Block Grant, while the tribe covered the rest. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma, in partnership with the US Army, have begun the process of returning 16 children home from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. In a press release Monday, the tribes said it’s a solemn and historic undertaking more than two years in the making. The disinterment began in September at the Carlisle cemetery. The tribes say the month-long project represents a moment of healing and remembrance, carried out with descendants, ceremonial leaders, tribal officials, forensic experts, and Army representatives. The children will be reinterred on Tribal land in Concho, Okla. Eleven Cheyenne and five Arapaho children who passed away while attending the school are returning home, 13 of the children were under the age of 18. The federal school opened in 1879. Native children were forced to assimilate, and were trained in various trades. According to the tribes, the repatriation marks an important step toward justice and healing for the families and Tribal Nations impacted by the boarding school era.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, October 7, 2025 — Protecting sacred sites in urban areas

Photo: USCGC Neah Bay on frozen Lake Superior in 2021. (Jim Sorbie / Wikimedia) A resource guide to help small and medium-sized governments in the Great Lakes region adapt to climate change has been published. Chuck Quirmbach reports that some tribal communities in the area are already trying to reduce problems caused by higher temperatures and additional flooding. The guide is from the International Joint Commission (IJC), which helps implement the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the U.S. and Canada. Liz Kirkwood of the IJC’s Water Quality Board says climate change has brought more severe storms, loss of ice cover, and extreme temperatures to much of North America, including the Great Lakes region. “In 2024, extreme weather disasters cost the eight Great Lakes more than $13 billion combined. Some of the costliest disasters happened in the last five years.” While debate continues over how to reduce air pollution that contributes to climate change, the IJC has published a guide aimed at helping small and medium sized governments adapt to the new temperatures and heavier rainfalls. Charlie Rasmussen of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission says his organization welcomes the sharing of best practices, funding ideas, and other strategies. He says the Commission’s eleven Ojibwe member tribes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota are already taking steps, sometimes in collaboration with local, state, or federal agencies. One project, being, ishkode. That’s using prescribed, or controlled, fires on land next to water. “They help maintain and re-establish native species, species that do the best job at holding the soil and better able to resist some of these severe precipitation events.” Rasmussen says other tribes are putting in larger roadside culverts to reduce highway damage from flooding, and to help wildlife move. He says tribes also share traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). “It encourages building relationships with plants, animals, and water as living beings, rather than just a natural resource that you manage.” IJC says it recognizes its Climate Adaptation Guide has some gaps, including needing more content from First Nations and island communities. (Courtesy Oneida Nation / Facebook) Family, friends, and colleagues from across Indian Country gathered Friday and Saturday on the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin, for funeral services to honor Ernie Stevens, Jr., chairman of the Indian Gaming Association. Stevens is being remembered as a longtime advocate for Indian Country and for making strides in Indian gaming. During visitation on Friday, which was steamed online, his son Brandon Stevens said his was an amazing tribal leader who fought for Native voices, sovereignty and for future generations. And above everything else, said his father was a family man. “But to us, to his family, he was more than a leader. He was a man who loved us without hesitation, who protected us, and who always reminded us that family is everything. No matter what we did in our lives, good, bad, or ugly, he looked straight through us and said, ‘You are my children, and I love you no matter what.’” Stevens died suddenly at age 66 on September 26. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in a studio at Juneau, Alaska radio station KTOO in 2019. (Photo: Rashah McChesney / KTOO) U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says temporary federal funding for 14 tribal broadcasting stations in Alaska from the Bureau of Indian Affairs will help keep the lights on, but says the job is not done. In a recent statement, Sen. Murkowski said the funding will help some of the state’s most rural radio stations make ends meet for now. But it’s one-time funding. Ten million dollars in BIA existing funding will support Native serving stations in the US. This follows the rescission by Congress of $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. October first marked the first day public media operated without federal funding.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Monday, October 6, 2025 – Tribal housing advocates work against a tide of obstacles

Photo courtesy Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope / Facebook A tribe on Alaska’s North Slope hosted an emergency management course in Utqiagvik last week. Organizers say it’s the first for a tribe in Alaska and part of an effort to bolster coordination between communities in the Arctic during disasters. Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope is a regional tribe representing seven North Slope villages. The tribe worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to host a course to prepare villages to respond to disasters. Stephanie Nelson is the director of emergency management for the tribe. She says the training was important in light of increasing emergencies in the region and given the isolated geography of many North Slope communities. “The outcome is enhancing the communication from all attendees and becoming better at being prepared to respond to different levels of incidences, emergencies that we face within the Arctic.” The four-day Integrated Emergency Management Course brought together over 50 people every day. Nelson says that two major discussions focused on scenarios similar to actual emergencies from 2022 – like Typhoon Merbok in Point Hope and a gas leak at Alpine oil field near Nuiqsut. Participants used those examples to discuss how cities, North Slope Borough and tribal governments can work together in an emergency situation. The course is a result of the tribe’s efforts to implement an official emergency management program. John Pennington is a professor of Homeland Security and Emergency Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. “It’s using the strength of the Alaska Native communities that are the North Slope to improve emergency management through the lens of Alaska Natives, first and foremost.” Pennington says that communities in the Arctic have been seeing intensifying storms and erosion. The state of Alaska is responsible for a vast area where several communities can experience disasters at the same time. But Pennington says that the tribe’s new emergency program will also help North Slope communities to seek disaster declarations directly from the federal government when needed – which can speed up the delivery of assistance. Indian Health Service is headquartered in Rockville, Md. (Photo: Antony-22 / Wikimedia) The Indian Health Service (IHS) is operating as business-as-usual during the federal government shutdown, which started Wednesday. The IHS says it has received advance appropriations. Tribal leaders from across the country have been raising concerns about the shutdown. This week, President Thora Walsh-Padilla of the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico updated her community in a social media post saying health services are operating normally. She says she’s concerned about other federal programs including Medicaid, food stamps, and Social Security, but assures the community the tribe continues its work. “Tribal leadership has conveyed our concerns to our federal representatives and we are continually reaching out for updates as the federal budget is being developed. But please be assured we will get through this together. Our tribe will still stand strong.” The National Congress of American Indians is also raising concerns about the government shutdown, and has posted a resources page online for tribes. (Photo courtesy Gila River Indian Community / Facebook) Governor Stephen Roe Lewis of the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona sent his condolences on behalf of the tribe to the family, colleagues and friends of Dr. Jane Goodall. The well-known primatologist passed away this week at age 91. She spent time on the Gila River Indian reservation on Earth Day. Lewis says she reached out to young people. “To encourage them to be leaders, to be protectors of our water, of our land, of our wildlife, and of our planet.” Lewis says the tribe looks forward to carrying on her legacy of conservation.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Friday, October 3, 2025 – Native Playlist: Ken Pomaroy and Samantha Crain

The president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe has denounced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision not to revoke medals awarded for one of history’s most infamous massacres. Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire reports. In late December 1890, members of the 7th Cavalry attempted to disarm a large group of Chief Spotted Elk’s followers they had encircled at Wounded Knee Creek, S.D. A shot went off and the soldiers mowed down the group of largely Native women, children, and elders with rifles and powerful Hotchkiss guns. Twenty-five soldiers were killed by friendly fire as well. Later investigations showed fleeing survivors were chased down and killed where they stood. The following year, 20 U.S. soldiers received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Wounded Knee, but top brass, including Major General Nelson A. Miles, condemned the incident as “the most abominable military blunder and a horrible massacre of women and children.” Efforts to revoke the medals gained momentum starting in 1990, the centennial of the incident, but in a video posted to his X account last week, Secretary Hegseth said the 20 soldiers who fired upon the Lakota Natives will not have their medals revoked. “We’re making it clear that they deserve those medals decision is now final and they’re placed in our nation’s history is no longer up for debate.” Oglala Sioux Tribal president Frank Star Comes Out is a descendant of Spotted Elk – and a Marine veteran of the Gulf War and Mogadishu. “We’ll continue to fight to get these medals rescinded.” He says he’s not surprised by Hegseth’s decision, but it still speaks to the indifference of those who don’t know their history. “It’s despicable, untruthful, and insulting to our people.” In a press release, the Oglala Sioux Tribe says descendants of those scarred by Wounded Knee have served honorably in every U.S. conflict from World War I to Afghanistan. And every year, an annual memorial ride is held to honor those killed at Wounded Knee. “This is history, this is something our people are traumatized with, and we have to live with that. And I keep saying this every time I go to Washington to advocate not only for the Oglala Sioux Tribe and tribes nationwide: ‘Y’know, we were never dealt a fair hand.’” Meanwhile, the National Congress of American Indians has also denounced Hegseth’s decision, and are calling on the U.S. Congress to pass what’s called the “Remove the Stain Act” so that “the nation’s highest honor fulfills its namesake by reflecting courage, not cowardice and cruelty.” Belfast City Hall in Ireland. (Photo: Giorgio Galeotti / Wikimedia) The Belfast City Council in Ireland approved a historic policy for the island’s Indigenous language. Seo McPolin has more from Eire. Belfast city councillors approved the new Irish language policy this week. It comes after years of advocacy and consultations with the Indigenous language community. The city plans to redesign its logo to now include the original Irish spelling of Béal Feirste, which means “mouth of the sand-bank ford”. The policy also pledges to ensure all city signs contain both languages. Far-right councillors tried to block the new policy, but were unsuccessful. The council previously earmarked the equivalent of $2.5 million to fund the changes as well as new initiatives that remove barriers for the use of Irish in public life. The Irish language has been experiencing a renaissance of late, particularly among young speakers, in part thanks to the worldwide success of the Belfast band Kneecap. (Photo: Cherokee Nation) The Cherokee Nation partnered with DreamWorks Animation and NBCUniversal to dub the animated film “How to Train Your Dragon” into the Cherokee language. The Oklahoma tribe held a private screening of the film this week, which is streaming on Peacock. It’s part of the tribe’s Cherokee language preservation efforts.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, October 2, 2025 – Bracing for the federal government shutdown grind

Across Canada, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people marked the fifth National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. Prime minister Mark Carney reflected on the tragic legacy of the residential school system and talked about how his government is moving toward reconciliation. But as Dan Karpenchuk reports, the country’s governor general says more work remains. There were rallies, ceremonies, and speeches with in many communities a sea of orange shirts. And there were celebrations of Indigenous music, language, art, and culture, and most importantly there was time to reflect on the past abuses of the residential schools. In Ottawa, at one of the events PM Carney addressed the crowd. “Truth is the foundation of justice. And the truth is for more than century this country ran residential schools. Over 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were taken from their families and their communities, torn from their languages, their cultures and their identities. On this national day for truth and reconciliation, we honor survivors and the children. The children who never returned home. We reflect on the devastating legacy of the residential school system. And we as a government and as a people, we match remembrance with responsibility.” It’s been nearly ten years since the recommendations from the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission. There were 94 directives after the commission heard from thousands of residential school survivors who told their personal stories of pain and tragedy. Carney says his government remains committed to advancing the work of that commission. Governor General Mary Simon (Inuk) says some progress has taken place, but much work remains. “Inequities persist and we share a life long responsibility to address them. I have seen Indigenous people striving to heal while still struggling to meet basic needs. Too often they lack access to adequate trauma informed mental health support that honors their traditional healing practices. So today, I call on every Canadian to renew their commitment to reconciliation.” Simon says she sees a world where young Indigenous people can embrace being Canadian without compromising their identity. Haskell students Abigail Lowe and Denise Flores Frazier. (Photo: Rhonda LeValdo) In the U.S., events also took place across the country for Orange Shirt Day, including at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan. The university was originally established as an Indian boarding school. Current Haskell senior Denise Flores Frazier gave out orange ribbon pins in remembrance of children who attended Haskell Institute and never returned home. (Photo: Rhonda LeValdo) “We created pins with the names of children that were discovered at Haskell Indian Nations University. We put out their tribes and a website link so that people can find if they have a relative here or if they want to know more information about some of the children here like the ages they passed or time here at Haskell. We’re also leaving notes in case people have anything they want to say to the children.” Frazier is an alumni of Gamma Delta Pi. The sorority chapter hosted the event. Other events on campus included a remembrance walk, and an open mic and panel night to provide people the opportunity to share stories. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has a list of resources available for tribes and hosted a webinar this week, ahead of the federal government shutdown, to discuss tribal funding, Indian Affairs, and critical services. Webinar speakers discussed contingency plans saying most tribal program will be impacted, which could include disruptions of appropriations. The government shutdown at midnight on Wednesday.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Wednesday, October 1, 2025 – Rewriting the historical context for Native Americans

It’s National Truth and Reconciliation Day, also known as Orange Shirt Day. The annual event is dedicated to honoring the survivors and children lost in Canada’s residential school system, and to recognize the abuses and effects of that system. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, on the eve of Orange Shirt Day, a multi-million-dollar settlement and an apology were announced for survivors at one northern school. The agreement in principle is aimed at compensating the former students of the Île-à-la-Crosse Boarding School, just under 300 miles north of Saskatoon. “Simply put these schools were a mistake and they shouldn’t have existed.” The premier of Saskatchewan Moe Scott went to the community on Monday. “Today, we acknowledge the role of the province of Saskatchewan and previous Saskatchewan governments in the operation of the Île-à-la-Crosse school until 1970. And today on behalf of the province of Saskatchewan, I apologize to you. And as part of this agreement the province as agreed to pay $40.2 million to address the four major pillars of compensation under the class action that was filed.” The compensation, Moe says, is an effort to promote reconciliation, healing, wellness, education, language, culture, and commemoration in the community of Île-à-la-Crosse. The school was established by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a congregation of the Roman Catholic Church. The residential schools operated across most of Canada from the mid-1800’s to the late 1900’s in an attempt to assimilate First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children into white society. It’s believed about 150,000 children were forced to attend the schools. Thousands were physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. Many died. The Saskatchewan government expects the proposed settlement will be approved by the courts by early next year. Eklutna Casino security guard. The U.S. Interior Department has reversed a Biden administration decision to give Alaska tribes legal jurisdiction over Native allotments. As KNBA’s Rhonda McBride tells us, the order could return millions of acres of land to state control and shut down the Eklutna Tribe’s new casino near Anchorage. This latest federal opinion attempts to restore a 1993 Interior Solicitor’s opinion issued during President George W. Bush’s administration. It gave the state jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments. Last year, the Interior Solicitor in the Biden administration, Bob Anderson, issued a new interpretation of that decision. It gave jurisdiction over Native allotments to the tribes, which cleared the way for the Eklutna Tribe to operate a small casino on a Native allotment. Last week, the Trump administration’s Deputy Secretary of the Interior overrode Anderson’s opinion and instructed all department bureaus, including the National Indian Gaming Commission, to follow the 1993 opinion. Anderson now lives in Anchorage and is a visiting professor at Harvard. He says reversal of his decision is wrong – that Native allotments in Alaska should be regulated by the tribe, just as they are in the Lower 48. “It’s been the law in the Lower 48 forever, and Alaska is part of the United States, and the same federal laws apply here, as they do everywhere else. So, I’m fairly confident that we’ll continue to prevail on these questions.” Anderson says the National Indian Gaming Commission would have to reverse his opinion. He says that, although the commission operates under the Interior Department, it’s an Independent regulatory agency and the Interior Secretary doesn’t have the power to make it revoke its approval of the Eklutna Tribe’s gaming hall. In April, the State of Alaska sought an injunction from a federal court in Washington D.C. to shut it down. So what happens now that the Interior Department has revoked tribal jurisdiction over Native allotments in Alaska? The state has not said what it’s next step will be. Patty Sullivan, communications director for the State Department of Law, said the new opinion calls for the Interior Department to reevaluate actions taken by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Alaska attorney general Stephen Cox applauded the decision and said it restores jurisdictional balance that Congress intended. Despite last week’s opinion, the Native Village of Eklutna said the Chin’an Gaming Hall remains open. The tribe’s president, Aaron Leggett, said it will also review the opinion to clarify questions of legal jurisdiction.   Watch the latest episode from our Native Justice Series   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, September 30, 2025 – Native in the Spotlight: Tina Kuckkahn

(Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) The father of Emily Pike has filed a civil lawsuit against the Mesa group home that had the San Carlos Apache teen in its custody before she went missing and was murdered in Arizona. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. The seven-page complaint alleges Sacred Journey Inc. group home staff were negligent in failing to keep Emily in their care – blaming them for her “wrongful death.” “If they had kept her safe, would this have happened? We don’t know.” Olivia Lemorrocco is with the Phillips Law Group. The Department of Child Safety found, back in April, a few deficiencies but once the facility corrected them, no further action was taken. “Their investigation came too late, unfortunately for Emily. I know they’ve made small changes, but it doesn’t change the facts of what happened.” The personal injury law firm in Phoenix is representing Emily’s biological dad, Jensen Pike, who has been behind bars since before she disappeared in late January. He’s seeking unspecified damages for forever being deprived of his child. “You know, I can’t speak for any other family member or Emily’s mom. The answer is, I don’t know if she’s pursuing anything.” A mural honoring slain Native American teen Emily Pike on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Sacred Journey Inc. did not respond for comment, but has 20 days to reply to the complaint that also looks to recoup funeral and burial costs. The San Carlos Apache Tribe provided at least $5,000 for Emily’s funeral, but that didn’t cover everything. “I cannot confirm where the funds came from directly, but what I can tell you is that the funeral expenses far exceeded $5,000 as many family members had to travel in. As you know, that adds up very quickly.” Emily’s remains were found, back in February, in garbage bags along an Arizona highway – over 100 miles away from where she was last seen at the group home. Nicci Wagy with Warrior Women for Justice speaks to those gathered at the vigil Friday. (Photo: Kayla Desroches / Yellowstone Public Radio) Billings, Mont. hosted its second annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples vigil and community meal to honor loved ones and rally around justice and healing. Yellowstone Public Radio’s Kayla Desroches has more. Advocacy group Warrior Women for Justice convene the vigil Friday morning with a smudging ceremony on the Yellowstone County Courthouse lawn. Nicci Wagy with Warrior Women for Justice is Apsáalooke and Omaha and says this gathering is an opportunity for community members to honor their loved ones in solidarity. “To not only remember the stolen, but bring awareness, seek advocacy, seek justice and accountability and to speak for those who have been silence.” According to a 2020 report from the Montana Department of Justice, Indigenous people make up less than a tenth of the state’s population, but roughly 25% of all missing persons. “Today it does not matter if you call upon the Lord to hear your prayers or if you turn to all four directions while burning sacred herbs to lift your pleas. What matters today is standing together as one to roll away the stone that’s blocking the government and media and our own families and communities from acting. We stand together to give life to hope.” After speeches and reading a list of the missing and murdered, attendees share a meal, stories, and healing crafts like painting and weaving. Wagy says Warrior Women for Justice will roll out a series of recordings from the event to highlight some of those stories. Ernie Stevens, Jr. is being remembered for his contributions to Indian Country, serving as chairman of the Indian Gaming Association for more than two decades. Stevens, a citizen of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, passed away suddenly on Friday at age 66. The Indian Gaming Association says Stevens was a strong advocate for Native rights, and his legacy includes a record of policy victories and economic achievements in Indian gaming. Stevens was a guest on Native America Calling last month. Listen to the full episode. Tuesday, August 12, 2025 – The outlook for tribal gaming     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Monday, September 29, 2025 – How will Native Americans fare in state-by-state redistricting push?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced over 70 public health officers will be deployed to Indian Health Services (IHS) facilities across the country. IHS has faced staffing shortages serving 2.7 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives across the country. Reporter Carolann Duro (Maara’yam & Kumeyaay descendant) has more. In a request for comment, IHS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Loretta Christensen shared that nurses, providers, pharmacists, social workers, lab medical technologists, and engineers would be filling shortages at their facilities. When asked about their preparedness, Dr. Christensen responded that all officers would be receiving orientation upon arrival. Abigail Echo-Hawk, director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, provides insight on their training. “There has been a consistent gap at IHS in providing culturally based on boarding and education for individuals who are new to Indian country.” However, Echo-Hawk shares that there is progress being made after IHS visited her organization, Seattle Indian Health Board, to observe their cultural onboarding system. HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. says this is part of his initiative to Make America Healthy Again, which Echo-Hawk says has been lacking. “Because up until this point, Indian country has been just responding to the immediate changes that have been made across HHS. From the cancellation of individual grants to no knowledge of what’s going to happen with different programs.” Deployments of the public officers will be assigned equally across Northern and Southern IHS facilities. Master weaver Lily Hope holds up a Labubu decked out in Ravenstail weaving on Sept. 12, 2025. (Photo: Yvonne Krumrey / KTOO) A Lingít master weaver is using the viral monster dolls called Labubus to bring attention to Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving. KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey saw the regalia-clad dolls herself and has more. In Lily Hope’s shop in downtown Juneau, she holds up a tiny doll with an evil grin. “Some people are like, ‘Why? Oh, please no. Why? What an ugly monster.’ And other people are like, ‘Oh, please let me have one.’” Her shop is filled with pieces of weaving: earrings, formline robes, and pictures of models in more weaving. On her desk lies a green doll wearing a Ravenstail headdress, woven in pink, white, and blue yarn. “This one is Trans Pride requested from an art collector in New York City.” Hope is a master weaver. She has dedicated her life to reviving Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving, and through apprenticeships and classes, she’s helped hundreds of Alaska Native people form their own weaving practice. She’s also a mom of five — and those two worlds collided when her kids started asking for Labubus. “My three small children introduced me to the dolls and said, ‘Please, Mommy, please, mommy, buy these for us.’” You may have heard of them. Labubus in Ravenstail weaving on display at master weaver Lily Hope’s studio on Sept. 12, 2025. (Photo: Yvonne Krumrey / KTOO) The dolls are all over the internet, with their fuzzy bodies, big colorful eyes, and pointy teeth. They are based on storybook characters. Hope says they come in “blind boxes” — generic packaging that leaves the contents a mystery — so part of the fun is finding which Labubu is in the box. “Oh, yes, this is the whole rage, right? It’s like, oh, I got lychee Berry. Oh, I got, I got the green grape. Oh, now we need to get soy milk, Mama, let’s get soy milk..” But in the craze, she saw an opportunity to continue to push Northwest Coast weaving into the spotlight. “When somebody sees an Indigenized Labubu in a Ravenstail regalia, they can be like, ‘Oh, where does that come from? Oh, what are those? Oh, what is Ravenstail weaving? It’s related to Chilkat? Let’s go.’” Hope’s doll-sized regalia sets go for more than $600 and fine arts collectors all over the country are ordering them, but for those who don’t want to shell out that much, Hope also sells kits for people who want to weave their own outfits for a doll. “It’s a way to get the work further into the world. And kind of, you know, capture some people who wouldn’t necessarily come to Ravenstail weaving otherwise, but are like, ‘Oh, this is a way that I can dress my Labubu in traditional regalia, and I made it myself.’ That’s huge.” It’s a way of weaving your own story into the trend. And the little monsters look pretty cool, too.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling Friday, September 26, 2025 – The Native American history censorship threat at National Parks and other federal institutions

A resource guide to help small and medium-sized governments in the Great Lakes region adapt to climate change has been published. Chuck Quirmbach reports that some tribal communities in the area are already trying to reduce problems caused by higher temperatures and additional flooding. The guide is from the International Joint Commission (IJC), which helps implement the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 between the U.S. and Canada. Liz Kirkwood of the IJC’s Water Quality Board says climate change has brought more severe storms, loss of ice cover, and extreme temperatures to much of North America, including the Great Lakes region. “In 2024, extreme weather disasters cost the eight Great Lakes more than $13 billion combined. Some of the costliest disasters happened in the last five years.” While debate continues over how to reduce air pollution that contributes to climate change, the IJC has published a guide aimed at helping small and medium sized governments adapt to the new temperatures and heavier rainfalls. Charlie Rasmussen of the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission says his organization welcomes the sharing of best practices, funding ideas, and other strategies. He says the Commission’s eleven Ojibwe member tribes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota are already taking steps, sometimes in collaboration with local, state, or federal agencies. One project, being, ishkode. That’s using prescribed, or controlled, fires on land next to water. “They help maintain and re-establish native species, species that do the best job at holding the soil and better able to resist some of these severe precipitation events.” Rasmussen says other tribes are putting in larger roadside culverts to reduce highway damage from flooding, and to help wildlife move. He says tribes also share traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). “It encourages building relationships with plants, animals, and water as living beings, rather than just a natural resource that you manage.” IJC says it recognizes its Climate Adaptation Guide has some gaps, including needing more content from First Nations and island communities. This academic year in North Dakota, eighth graders are getting new textbooks that’ll educate them about the five tribes that are found within the state. As Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire reports, this is a series that’s being revised for the first time in 30 years. Originally, four texts and a journal were printed between 1995 and 2002. Much of the content came from interviews with tribal elders in the 1970s. This new series will still feature books on the Spirit Lake Oyate, Standing Rock Oyate, Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, and the three affiliated tribes Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (MHA), but a new edition on the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate has been added. And each tribe had exclusive editorial control over their respective book, which included more recent historical information. “It’s so important that Indigenous peoples are represented in a contemporary sense.” Sashay Schettler is an MHA citizen and the assistant director of North Dakota’s Office of Indigenous and Multicultural Education. She recalls classmates growing up who thought Native people were extinct. “Then you have people getting elected into positions and if you have somebody thinking that Indigenous peoples don’t exist, they’re going to make policies that aren’t bettering our communities for everyone.” Five percent of North Dakota’s population is Native American. Nick Asbury is a former employee of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction who has remained active in promoting the books. “It’s important that we have the platform for the nations to tell their own story, because kids are smart. They know when something is authentic and when it’s not.” An original overview entitled “Journey to Understanding: An Introduction to North Dakota Tribes” is still part of the set. Besides eighth graders, people can download the set for free, or order a published copy online.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.   CHECK OUT THE LATEST EPISODE OF NATIVE AMERICA CALLING Thursday, September 25, 2025 – Robin Wall Kimmerer challenges us to re-examine what we know about the natural world

Photo: A billboard along U.S. Highway 89 encourages those living in the Western Agency of the Navajo Nation to get screened for uranium exposure by the Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) People in tribal communities say they’re getting approached by predatory representation and solicitation in the wake of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) being revived by Congress this summer. It provides compensation for uranium miners and people exposed to Cold War-era nuclear testing, as KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports in the second and final part of this story. Listen to Part One https://media.blubrry.com/nationalnativenews/ins.blubrry.com/nationalnativenews/nnn092325.mp3 With the tribal fair season in full swing, solicitors are even targeting elders there – like 64-year-old Maggie Billiman – in rural, western New Mexico. “It’s overwhelming. Who do you trust, who do you go to?” At her home in northeastern Arizona, she says many Navajos like herself struggle with all sorts of cancers. Billiman lives with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and chronic kidney disease. The daughter of a late uranium miner and Navajo Code Talker, Billiman recalls being asked to sign up with a national home health care company at the Eastern Navajo Fair in Crownpoint, N.M., but that happened in July – a month before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reopened the free process. “And she looked at me real surprised and she goes, ‘We can get your record for you if you’d like. Fill it out.’ And I said, ‘Oh, my god.’ I got up out of the chair.” Miner Alfred Francis is operating a mucking machine, while tran operator Bill Shorty stands in the foreground inside the Rico mine in Colorado in 1953. (Courtesy Navajo Uranium Miner Oral History and Photography Project / Center for Southwest Research at UNM Libraries) That fair booth was run by United Energy Workers Healthcare (UEW), which paid $9 million in 2023 to settle allegations of submitting false claims to the U.S. Department of Labor. Several requests from KJZZ to UEW went unanswered. They’ve been named among companies and attorneys in the West on a growing watch list curated by a working-group led by the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. Their advocacy has led New Mexico’s attorney general to warn consumers to watch out for fraud. Cancer survivor Tina Cordova is sounding the alarm, too. “It’s pervasive, the scale is unprecedented.” As co-founder of the nonprofit Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, she and others cite as an example downwinders.com, a web domain trademarked by the Florida-incorporated National Cancer Benefits Center, which also owns another company called Atomic Veterans. “They’ve made people believe that they’re working with us.” National Cancer Benefits Center CEO Kirk Gladwin denies the allegations, stressing his company is part of the solution. “We do not solicit – we do not knock on doors – we do not call anybody ever and we never have, unless those people ask us for information. Don’t let anybody tell you that because that’s bull-[bleep] and I hate to say that, but that – that – that – that. I’ll draw the line. That makes me angry, because that’s not us.” Those affected can still find free assistance from a handful of federally funded health clinics through the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP). Candice Lewis (Diné) is the RESEP patient navigator at North Country HealthCare in Flagstaff, Ariz. “The scams were new to me.” It’s one of only two such clinics in Arizona and she’s getting calls from all over. “I actually got off the phone earlier today with someone who was from New Mexico, and he shared a little bit of what he was going through. It was a hard call, they didn’t even state their name.” That’s supposed to be her job, so it upsets her. “Lawyers have more power and pull than me and it has been a little overwhelming at times, but I’m just like, ‘Bear with me, just be patient with us.’” Because if someone lawyers up, Lewis says her clinic can no longer help them with filing a RECA claim before the end of 2027. (Courtesy Gov. Tony Evers / Facebook) The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the state of Wisconsin recently celebrated new dual-language road signs. The signs identify the tribe’s boundaries and two river crossings in Ojibewmowin and English. The Bad River Band is the eighth of 12 tribes in the state to collaborate on dual-language road signs to be placed on state highways.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.  

The U.S. Department of Education announced last week a nearly half-billion dollar investment that will, in part, help to fund tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, it comes months after the White House proposed cuts that could’ve caused some schools to close. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren met with Education Secretary Linda McMahon, for the first time, in Washington, D.C. to explain why tribal education is not Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and how these institutions are tied to preserving language and culture. “And I had to remind her about the Navajo Code Talkers and the things that we’ve done for this country and at the same time, making sure that we fund our education properly, including our higher education as well, so she was very receptive.” But coming away from that recent conversation President Nygren calls a “big win,” he admittedly did not expect what would follow just days later. “And then to get the good news after was even better – to know that over $100 million was going to be given to tribal colleges.” Like New Mexico’s Navajo Technical University and the nation’s oldest, Diné College in Tsaile, Ariz., both chartered by the Navajo Nation. Three dozen or so TCUs initially faced a roughly 90% funding deficit. Now they’ll get a one-time 109% increase and Nygren suggests it’s a sign that the Trump administration is listening. “The meeting that I had with her the week before was honored by really upholding her treaty trust responsibility.” The first feature film ever made in Idaho was shot more than a century ago – and it included more than a hundred members of the Nez Perce Tribe. Although only a third of the film was recovered, it’s been digitized and edited into a short film. Northwest Public Broadcasting’s Lauren Paterson has more. “Told in the Hills” is considered the first feature film shot in Idaho. It was filmed in Kamiah on the Nez Perce (PURSE) Indian Reservation. “ It was made in 1919 and it was an unusual film, even for early cinematic standards because of the unique and unprecedented collaboration with the Nez Perce tribe.” That’s Colin Mannex, executive director of the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre. The silent film’s story follows Jack Stuart, played by Robert Warwick, a man from a wealthy family who tries to escape some family drama by heading West. But he gets himself into trouble. More than a hundred members of the Nez Perce Tribe were invited to participate in the filming. “ They presented a lot of authentic cultural regalia, as a part of the production.” The Nez Perce tribal members portray the Kootenai tribe in the film, because the story takes place in rural Montana, despite being filmed in Idaho. After a young Kootenai chieftain is accidentally killed when he tries to bring a message of goodwill to the U.S. cavalry, Stuart is unjustly imprisoned. And the story follows how he escapes. Like many silent films, there will be music throughout the entire picture. The score for the new version of this long-lost western romance was created by Diné composer Connor Chee. “ What I ended up doing was writing, I think it’s about 17 different pieces, 17 cues that had a variety of emotions that could match what I’d seen on the screen in this rough cut.” The music score will be performed live at the movie showing. Being a member of the Navajo Nation, Chee says he doesn’t have to explicitly try to give his work an Indigenous feel, because it’s always woven into his work, but he says he did approach the music with a historical lens. “ I mean, I wanted like the melodrama and to, to match sort of the time period in that sense of what you’re seeing on screen.” The new version of the restored film will premiere at the Kenworthy Theatre in downtown Moscow, Idaho on the last Friday and Saturday of September as part of the theater’s Silent Film Festival.     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.    

Photo: This sign marks one of more than a hundred abandoned uranium mines in Cameron on the Navajo Nation. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was recently renewed. It provides compensation for uranium miners and people exposed to Cold War-era nuclear testing. In what could be a final round of applications, allegations of predatory representation and solicitation are on the rise, targeting tribal communities, as KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports. President Donald Trump signed the RECA renewal on July 4 as part of his sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Immediately, Loretta Anderson noticed a problem. “By the (July) 5, I started getting these calls.” She’s a tribal member from the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico and says some attorneys and companies see RECA as an opportunity to cash in. “They’re not only going door-to-door, but they’re also having meetings almost every week.” Navajo miners, part of the Utco Uranium Corporation, pose near Cameron, Ariz. in 1956. (Courtesy Fronske Studio / Cline Library at Northern Arizona University) This year marks eight decades since the U.S. detonated its first atomic bomb at the Trinity Test Site in the New Mexico desert. Yet until now, no one in the Land of Enchantment could have ever filed a downwinder claim. “They mined them, made billions of dollars off the uranium, and when it was all said and done – they just left – left our people sick, suffering, and dying.” More than $2.6 billion have been already paid out for 42,000 claims since 1990. Members from 24 tribes account for at least 5,300 of those claims, most of which are linked to the Navajo Nation. Depending on their occupation or condition, claimants are eligible for up to $100,000. And that leads Anderson to worry about those very victims also falling prey to opportunistic third parties. “They’re all coming out of the woodworks again, this angers me.” Renewable energy provides a sizable share of power in some rural Alaska communities, but these are tough times to seek federal funding for wind and solar, as Alaska Public Media’s Liz Ruskin reports. Denali Commission programs director Jocelyn Fenton recently testified to a U.S. Senate Committee about the energy needs in rural Alaska. She emphasized fossil fuel. “Life in these villages depends on a fragile but vital infrastructure system: small diesel powerhouses, bulk fuel tank farms, and water treatment systems.” President Trump has paused or defunded renewable energy projects across the country. His 2026 budget would reduce funding for the Office of Indian Energy while disallowing any of it for wind, solar, or battery projects. The hearing in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee was entitled “Unleashing Indian Energy.” That’s a twist on Trump’s executive orders that call for unleashing American and Alaska’s energy, but for participants in the hearing, the nuanced message is that renewables should be unleashed, too. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who chairs the committee, says government programs should not favor one energy source over another. “The projects that we can get online quickest and, quite honestly, cheapest right now are wind and solar, and we do have several of these that are in that pause category, along with some battery storage.“ The top Democrat on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), said his information is that the Office of Indian Energy is sitting on about $30 million — nearly half of the funds Congress appropriated for this fiscal year. The year ends in a few weeks, though some funds can be held over from one budget cycle to the next. The acting head of the office, David Conrad, said he’s not discriminating against renewables with that money, just waiting for word from higher-ups in the administration that he has approval to spend it.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.  

This year’s New York Fashion Week made history by featuring the first Native American designer. The show coincided with the first of its kind Indigenous New York Fashion Week. Reporter Carolann Duro (Maara’yam [Serrano] and Kumeyaay descendant) has more. Jamie Okuma (Shoshone Bannock, Wailaki, and member of the La Jolla Band of Indians) is known for her intricate beadwork and clothing designs. At New York Fashion Week, Okuma showcased pieces adorned with graphics of dentalium shells, flowers, elk teeth, and butterflies. The models walked in dresses made of silk, bamboo, and cotton. Okuma is the very first Native American designer to be included in New York Fashion Week. Nearby, the inaugural Indigenous New York Fashion Week was hosted by Relative Arts, an Indigenous fashion community space. The show featured 25 Indigenous artists from all over the world. Kinsale Drake (Diné) is the founder of NDN Girls Book Club, modeled for the runway. “The energy was just something that was so exciting and buzzy. It felt like you can’t erase us. We’re here and now we’re also in New York on Lenape land.” Drake points out how fashion week has long included tribal designs. “We saw recently a rise of Americana or western fashion, which derives from the southwest aesthetics which are Indigenous.” Details about the next Indigenous New York fashion week are still to come. (Courtesy Jud Turner) A sculpture honoring the last Chief of the Wenatchi tribe has been delivered and erected at a developing art installation in Wenatchee, Wash. The piece depicts P’Squosa Chief John Harmelt, also known as Crow Song, and is made of repurposed metal parts. Sculptor Jud Turner of Eugene, Oreg. was asked to do it for the Tribal Council of Wenatchee, which shows Chief Harmelt on horseback. Turner says it’s the most meaningful public piece he’s ever done, but he didn’t take the invitation lightly when he first talked to city officials about the sculpture. “I said, ‘You know I’m a white guy, right? Like you’re asking me to do a tribal subject for a tribe, and I want to make sure that you know that I’m non-Native, and that is okay with the tribe, and that you’re aware of that.’ And he said ‘Oh yeah, we understand that.’ And I said, ‘I can only do this with tribal oversight and guidance. I’m handling somebody else’s cultural traditions, and I want do that as carefully and respectfully as I can.’” (Courtesy Jud Turner) One special item on the Harmelt sculpture is a symbol on the back of his vest, which is a representation of his traditional name, Crow Song. It’s a black metal crow with swirls protruding from its beak. Turner says musical notes would have been a Western treatment and he wanted something more Native. (Courtesy Jud Turner) More pieces will be installed at Wenatchee’s Memorial Park to create “P’squosa Plaza.” These remaining works will be done by Swede Albert of the Colville Confederated Tribes. Coyote by Swede Albert. His pieces will be interpretive signs featuring animals and landmarks relevant to Wenatchee legends. “One of the stories is it is about two different bears, so I already made a grizzly bear and then there’s a little black bear that I’m making that’s going along with it. And then the coyote and the salmon, they go together in one story. There’s also a two owls sister story and I have two owls made for that. One more fabricated story that I’m making, and it’s for the Wenatchee peoples, they asked me to do like a representation of a basket, like a berry basket. They were really prominent in basket-making, weaving, and that’s a lot of the artifacts that are still left.” As a Wenatchee descendant, Albert says it’s deeply meaningful for him to work on this project. The P’Squosa Plaza’s dedication ceremony will be held October 13. (Courtesy Métis Government) And on this day in 2003, the Canadian Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling which said the Métis People of current-day Ontario are a distinct Indigenous people with their own customs, identity, and traditions well before Canada became a country and Ontario became a province. The ten-year legal battled started with a Métis father and son, Steve and Roddy Powley, who refused to pled guilty to hunting moose without a license because of their tribal identities. The ruling empowered Métis people across Canada and September 19 is called Powley Day.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.    

Photo: Salmon being pulled from a gillnet in June 2025. (Terese Vicente / KRITFC) The State of Alaska wants the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether rural residents – which includes many Alaska Native people – should maintain subsistence fishing preference in the waterways of federal lands. KYUK’s Sage Smiley reports that, last month, a panel of federal appeals court judges sided with the federal government in its lawsuit against the state over salmon management on the Kuskokwim River. The feds sued the state after clashes over fish management on the lower river in 2021 and 2022. Indigenous groups including the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and the Alaska Federation of Natives signed onto the case in support of the federal government, which is advocating for a rural Alaska preference. But on Monday, the state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case, arguing that federal law shows that the state has the authority over its own waterways, even on federal land. On Tuesday, the New Mexico congressional delegation and Pueblo Leaders held a press conference outside the Capitol in Washington D.C. They urged Congress and the Trump administration to continue upholding protections for Chaco Canyon against oil and gas drilling. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more. In 2023, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) created a 10-mile buffer zone for Chaco Canyon National Historical Park that prevents any oil and gas drilling for 20 years. But with a new presidential administration, the buffer zone is being reconsidered. Among the Pueblo Leaders that spoke, Governor of Santa Ana Myron Armijo urged acting Interior Secretary Doug Burgman to visit Chaco Canyon. “It’s a very sacred place. I’ve witnessed it, our ancestors are there. When we pray, you can feel it. You can feel it in your body, that they’re talking to you. They’re talking to us.” U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) reaffirmed that Burgman had committed to a meeting with tribal leaders. “You told me you would, live up to your word, live up to the commitment you made in committee when I asked you.” U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) discussed a past visit by former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to Chaco Canyon. “He realized, as a result of meaningfully consulting with tribal leadership in that place, that Chaco Canyon is not a museum. It is a living cultural landscape with direct relationships with the Pueblos today, and that’s the difference.” While Pueblo Leaders are committed to preserving the cultural site, the Navajo Nation sued the Interior Department in January in an attempt to reverse the buffer zone to 5 miles instead of 10, noting that it harmed tribal members who depend on oil and gas drilling in the area.   Kodiak Island WildSource processing plant. (Photo: Chris Sannito) To offset declining crab and salmon fisheries, communities along Alaska’s coast have turned to kelp, or seaweed. The Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak won a milestone $2.3 million dollar grant to process locally grown kelp. The tribe owns and operates Kodiak Island WildSource, the only seafood plant in town that processes kelp. Its main products are frozen and smoked salmon, cod, and halibut. Wildsource president Chris Sannito says since adapting its facility to dry and preserve kelp, it’s hard to keep up with demand. “Some years, it’s really a bumper crop. I mean when the lighting was right and the seed stock was good, it really grows well in Kodiak.” Sannito says the new processing plant should boost the tribe’s earnings, and diversify the local economy. “It’s the tribe that has the vision, enough resources and enough, kinda creativity, to put something like this together. Hopefully, it’ll be a great success.” Sheets of dried kelp. (Photo: Chris Sannito) Sannito says when kelp is added to soil, it absorbs water and helps plants withstand drought. It also encourages root growth and is a sought-after ingredient in the emerging, “biostimulant” industry. Alaska Mariculture Cluster awarded the grant. It received its funding through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better program.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.    

Photo: Robert Redford advocating against the demolition of Santa Monica Pier while filming “The Sting” on the pier. (Ken Dare / Los Angeles Times / UCLA) Hollywood legend Robert Redford has died at the age of 89. The longtime actor, producer, and activist passed away Tuesday in his Utah home. Among the many things Redford was known for over his career, he was a champion of the environment and Indigenous rights. Vincent Schilling, a journalist and CEO of Schilling Media, says the late actor launched many Native careers. “It’s no question that Mr. Robert Redford did a lot to help Native people, look at the Sundance Institute. Native filmmakers, Native actors, constantly have posted about the things through Sundance. And he just continued to fight the right fight.” Redford narrated the 1992 documentary “Incident at Oglala”, which investigated the 1975 murders of two FBI agents in South Dakota, and he was also an executive producer of the AMC mystery series, “Dark Winds”. In the third season premiere, he made a cameo appearance as a jailbird playing chess with another prisoner, played by George R.R. Martin. Lt. Joe Leaphorn, played by Zahn McClarnon, watches on. Again, Vincent Schilling. “There’s no mistaking what a hit ‘Dark Winds’ is, my gosh. Robert Redford really did quite a bit to enhance the legacy of not just himself as an actor, producer, and filmmaker, but also the legacy of Native filmmakers and independent artists all over the world. He leaves behind a wonderful legacy.” Native artists including Zahn McClarnon, Sterlin Harjo, and Kiowa Gordon have all paid tribute to Redford on social media.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Zahn McClarnon (@zahnmcclarnon)   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Sterlin Harjo (@sterlinharjo)   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Kiowa Gordon (@kiowajgordon) Graduates of Red Cloud Renewables third Pre-ARP cohort of 2025. (Courtesy Red Cloud Renewables / Facebook) South Dakota is a prime candidate for renewable energy developments like solar. However, one group wants to make sure that power – and career potential – reaches every corner of the state. SDPB’s C.J. Keene has more. Pine Ridge-based Red Cloud Renewables has just welcomed its fourth wholly Indigenous cohort into its pre-Apprenticeship Readiness Program (ARP) for the year. After the program, participants are “rooftop ready” to install solar panels as a career. Alicia Hayden is the group’s communications manager. She explains how the program works. “They learn basically everything there is to know about being a solar installer. They stay here on campus, so we give them gas money to get here or buy them a plane ticket to get here. We give them meals, we provide lodging, everything is free to the individual. When they leave here, they’re ready to enter the workforce.” There’s more to it than just helping people find career paths though. “Separately from our pre-ARP, we run a weatherization program which allows us to have this cache of community members we know are struggling with their energy bills. So, we select an applicant out of there and then nearing the end of this we take the class there, to their home, and get the class on the roof and install solar panels for them, and its free for the homeowners as well.” Hayden says the projects actively lower the cost of energy bills for families in need. “Especially on this reservation, there’s so much energy hardship and there’s so much sunshine and so much open space. When you drive through the reservation, you hardly see any trees and hardly anything that blocks out the sun. When we install these panels, we see a huge decrease in energy bills on our side of things. There’s no better place for a program like this.” This program is funded through grant dollars and public funds. In total, the group plans for seven pre-ARP programs by the end of the year for 100 total trainees.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Bad River Reservation in northern Wisconsin. (Courtesy Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota remain open after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targeted them for termination. As Danielle Kaeding reports, the initiative formerly led by billionaire Elon Musk had proposed canceling leases for several offices earlier this year. The cancellations affected offices in Ashland and Shawano in Wisconsin and Bemidji in Minnesota. Wisconsin tribes say the BIA office in Ashland is a critical regional hub that processes land trust applications and provides education assistance and law enforcement support. Robert Blanchard is chair of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He says closing the office would’ve been a hardship for the tribe. “We would have probably had to go to Minneapolis or some other place further away from us to get services.” Bill Broydrick represents the owner of the Ashland office. He says Wisconsin tribes adopted a resolution in opposition to its closure. “On that basis, the decision was made by BIA to keep the office open.” BIA says all three offices remain open. The agency says it is working to ensure adequate space continues to be available to support delivery of services to tribes. While summer is winding down, powwow season is now a year-long observation thanks to venues held indoors or in warmer climes like the southwest, but you can still get a chilly reception if you don’t mind your manners. Buffalo’s Fire recently talked to several Native attendees of the 55th United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) powwow and asked them for their number one rule for good etiquette. Dion Crazy Bull (Ft. Peck Sioux/Standing Rock Sioux): “One of the main things I’d say not to do at a powwow is put your chairs down where the drums are supposed to be. Gotta think about all the singers, and the singers have wives, and they got kids and what-not. A lot of folks try to fight for space and yet they don’t even sit there the whole weekend.” Gabby Rave (Ho-Chunk): “My rule is to pick up after yourself, wherever you’re sitting. Make sure the trash gets in the garbage can.” Easton Wolf (Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara): “People should know not to take pictures of you without your permission, always ask where you’re from, your name. What tribe you’re from, where you’re from, if it’s okay to take pictures of them.” Richard Gillette (Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara): “Don’t block the elders, let them through if they’re getting to their chairs. Don’t stand inf front of them when they’re trying to watch the powwow.” Leroy Henry (Navajo Nation): “No picture taking unless you’re buying. ‘Cuz they usually send it back overseas and they copy our work, and then they send it back over here, they sell it for cheap. They may say it’s ‘Native made’ but they’re not Native made.” Gia McArthur (Ho-Chunk): “My rule is to be good and help look out for the vendors. A lot of the times they sit here, and have they spend a good part of the day…they don’t get a chance to get up to go get drinks, to get food. be good kind and smiling, if you have the opportunity offer a hand and help them out, you know, do so. Help them, see if they have water, see if they got something to eat, and stuff like that. Just be good to them.” And on this day in 1893, following a pistol shot, more than 100,000 settlers raced onto the Cherokee Strip of Oklahoma, land once inhabited by Native Americans. It was the largest land-run in history, for territory once considered too arid for farmers, and relegated to displaced Native people. But settlers pressured President Benjamin Harrison to open up the area to non-Natives, who hurried to stake their claim. September 16 is also Trail of Tears Commemoration Day for the thousands of Cherokees forced to leave their homes during President Andrew Jackson’s term.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.    

While dozens of tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are facing funding cuts that could shut them down, a new report highlights some of the economic impacts generated from tens of thousands of alumni. It’s meant to show the “positive return on investment for students, taxpayers and society.” KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. The study was commissioned by the nonprofit American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC). It found that over 40,000 former students added nearly $4 billion to the U.S. economy between 2022 and 2023. That data was gathered from the 35 higher education institutions, three from Arizona including the oldest, Diné College. “TCUs are a direct expression of sovereignty over our education systems – that drive job creation in our local economies, that are land and community based and that are also grounded in Native culture and traditions.” Ahniwake Rose (Cherokee) is the nonprofit’s president and CEO. “But they’re also economic powerhouses, and that’s part of what this study shows, is that not only the students who get educated there but also the colleges themselves, generate tens of millions of dollars for the state of New Mexico.” U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), whose state is home to three TCUs, is hopeful for stable Biden-era funding. “As we’re headed into the last two weeks before the end of the fiscal year, the White House and Republicans have yet to produce a viable budget. So we anticipate that the cuts that were proposed in (President Donald) Trump’s budget are not going to go through because of the continuing resolution.” Tyonek Garden in 2024. Some Alaska Native leaders said the USDA reorganization could harm tribal agriculture. (Courtesy Tyonek Tribal Conservation District) The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this summer that it plans to reorganize the agency. One of the largest Alaska Native advocacy organizations says the change could harm tribal food security programs. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a plan to reorganize the department in July, citing the need to decrease spending and bureaucracy. That plan is not final, but the current proposal includes consolidation of tribal relations programs and personnel, according to the memorandum of the decision. But leaders of the First Alaskans Institute say that could diminish tribal voices and harm regional agriculture and food security. Last month, the nonprofit submitted a comment to USDA about the plan, asking the agency to consult with tribes. Apagruk Roy Agloinga is the president and CEO of the First Alaskans Institute. “Food security for Native communities, it’s not just a policy issue. It’s really a matter of survival, cultural continuity and self determination.” The USDA Office of Tribal Relations was created in 2010, after tribal farmers argued in court that the department discriminated against them. Tikaan Galbreath is the chief operating officer of First Alaskans Institute. He says that the USDA’s reorganization plan might move the Office of Tribal Relations from the higher-up secretarial level of the department. He says the change could diminish tribal access to USDA programs. Galbreath says that access to USDA programs is especially important in light of the changing environment. “The change in the migratory patterns and the decline for many of the species has raised the question for a lot of our communities of how do we continue to provide protein security for our tribal members? ” USDA did not respond to the comment the First Alaskans Institute submitted last month. However, the department did respond to a request for comment from KNBA, calling the proposed plan a first step to “right-size USDA’s footprint”. It added that the agency’s critical functions would not be affected. Meanwhile, USDA extended the public comment period on reorganization to the end of September.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.    

In our ongoing Native American Justice Series, we recently talked to clients of the Northern Arapaho Reentry program, which is helping people return home from out of state federal prisons and state incarceration to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. The reservation is home to the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes. Many clients in the program say they’re more confident now to stay out of incarceration with the program’s assistance. Today, we’ll hear from some of the partners of the reentry program. Terri Smith, the program’s administrator, is a former Northern Arapaho Tribal attorney and judge who says she connects with her clients on a deeper level after she went through a public downfall a few years ago due to drugs. This day, she’s picking up clients and driving them to appointments. She helps people arrange transportation, find jobs, and receive benefits. “I feel like this is just perfect for me. I’ve been in their position, right … I just want them to know what they did, who they were before, doesn’t have to be now. Our goal is for them to be self-sufficient so, they can live a healthy life for themselves and their kids.” The reentry program works with other organizations like Eagles Hope, located in the town of Riverton, Wyo. offering two-year sober transitional living. Eagles Hope. The facility is a former motel with 18 rooms and plans to expand. Devin Anderson is executive director of Eagles Hope. “A lot of landlords don’t want to deal with felons … we have been working closely with Terri on housing her people. We have one guy here that is just, he’s a really fine example of what, what someone can do for themselves. He came here, he has a lot of medical issues. Terri helped him with his rental fees. A lot of driving him around to appointments anywhere he needs to get, but he’s since then he’s got his surgery done. He’s healing now. We’re all really confident that he will be able to work again and have a normal life.” Shannon McCorley is Eagles Hope administration assistant. “I would say about 70% of the people we serve are enrolled either in Northern Arapaho or Eastern Shoshone. And I think it’s because of lack of resources out there. So a lot of them want to come to town where there’s more employment and more stuff to do basically … it’s awesome to see a lot of people that have gotten their kids back and have been able to find permanent housing, employment, vehicles and seeing him out in the community. So at any time I would say we have a waiting list of about 75 people.” Tremayne Thunder. Tremayne Thunder is a Northern Arapaho Reentry client and was able to stay at Eagles Hope. “Things happened in my body. I got in a bad car accident. It broke me, really. Literally, it broke me.” Thunder says the assistance he’s received, especially from Terri Smith, has been a lifeline due to his bad heart and his medical condition it was challenging finding services. “She’s a blessing for our people. And I’m glad reentry is here, you know, because whoever else is coming out of prison, know, if they’re like me and really ain’t got nowhere to go.” Doya Natsu. The Northern Arapaho Reentry program also works with the Doya Natsu Healing Center. Kellie Webb is the executive director of the health center, which is the culturally based substance use and behavioral health program for the Eastern Shoshone Tribe. “Everything we do here is culturally based. So even when we’re talking about brain science or other Western kinds of models, we put it back into the Shoshone Medicine Wheel and talk about it holistically. So we do a lot of holistic health services. We also have an office in Riverton, an outreach office down there that does services in as well. And that’s how we have collaboration with Terri.” Here again is North Arapaho Reentry program administrator Terri Smith. “I just, I want my clients to be, to get there, to get a healthy life back. If they didn’t have it before, to get it now, you know, to know that as long as they have hope and they work hard and they’re accountable for what they’ve done, like they can have a beautiful life.” This story’s a collaboration with First Nations Experience Television with support from the Public Welfare Foundation.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

(Photo: Brian Bull) During World War II, at least 100,000 Japanese Americans were forced into so-called internment, or concentration, camps across the U.S. Seen by the government as a potential threat within America’s borders, memories of the mass incarceration still burns hot for former prisoners and their families. Senior reporter Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire reports on a Native American college that held a special dedication that preserves that history. About 200 people gathered at the Snow Country Prison Japanese American Memorial last Friday at the United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) in Bismarck, N.D. Taiko and Native drummers performed together as dignitaries honored the 1,800 and 50 Japanese men who were confined here back when the site was known as Fort Lincoln. (Photo: Brian Bull) Satsuki Ina was born in a California camp in 1944, and her father, Itaru, was kept at Fort Lincoln in 1945 through 1946. Her book, “The Poet and the Silk Girl”, is a memoir based on her parents’ letters, diaries, and her father’s haiku. The memorial is the culmination of 25 years that Ina and the UTTC worked together to preserve this history. (Photo: Brian Bull) “There were trees that the Japanese American prisoners had planted. And there’s this story that there were ghosts that wandered around, and that when the wind blew on these trees, it sounded like somebody was crying. And so there was actually a healer that would come every once in a while and bless those trees. And so when I heard stories like that, I felt like the memory of their presence was really being protected and honored by the people here.” Ina says there are efforts by the current administration to erase or dismiss past atrocities against communities of color. So she sees the UTTC’s support – including giving some of its property to the memorial – as key to keeping history accurate and the government accountable. “This is, in many ways, an act of solidarity with the Native people and the Japanese Americans. And the lesson is, it’s in our collaboration, our solidarity with each other, that we strengthen our truths. And stand in opposition to efforts to erase our history, to alter it, to rewrite our narratives in way that, in ways that don’t talk about the truth.” At the end of the dedication ceremony, a Japanese and Native flute player performed together, as visitors placed paper cranes on the names of those incarcerated at Fort Lincoln. Those were inscribed on slate tiles that once lined the barracks. Tylar Larsen, center, has been a counselor at the Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute for five years after being a student for two. (Photo courtesy University of South Dakota Department of Art) Over the summer, at the University of South Dakota, 20 high school students attended the annual Oscar Howe Summer Art Institute, learning from each other and renowned Native American artists. Mike Moen reports. The camp’s inspired by artist Oscar Howe, who paved the way for Native artists to challenge stereotypes, teaching at the university for more than two decades. Instructor Keith BraveHeart helps students learn about Howe’s approach to art, recounting his first experience with the trailblazer’s legacy. “It felt like the work was alive, like it was physically breathing; like it was pulsating. And I know that it could have been an optical illusion because of the way that he designs his work, but I also later would truly believe that it was imbued with a Dakota spirit.” BraveHeart studied in one of the institute’s many iterations as a student. “I see this potential that what was my path, my journey, what that could be like, might be similar to a next generation of an artist, a younger artist.” A citizen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, BraveHeart says he thinks creating those future pathways is what Oscar Howe envisioned. This story was produced with original reporting from Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo courtesy Cheree Urscheler / Facebook A big legal win and validation for a First Nation in Ontario. The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed a request from the town of South Bruce Peninsula to appeal a lower court decision that granted a valuable section of beach to the Saugeen First Nation. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the chief of the band calls the ruling “like a breath of fresh air.” In April of 2023, the Ontario Appeal Court granted the First Nation ownership of just over a mile of sandy beach in the town of Sauble Beach. It’s been a long fight. The case was brought before the courts 35 years ago, but that came nearly 100 years since Indigenous leaders claimed that a treaty in 1854 gave them ownership of the disputed shoreline to them. Conrad Ritchie is the chief of the Saugeen First Nation. “You’re holding your breath for such a long time, and it’s like once you get the news, it’s just like a breath of fresh air, and less restriction.” With the ruling to appeal now denied by the Supreme Court, the town of South Bruce Peninsula and several landowners appear to have exhausted all legal avenues to retain ownership. On Canada Day, the name of the beach was officially changed from Sauble Beach to Saugeen Beach by the First Nation, notes Chief Ritchie. “It kind of grooms society, it kind of grooms community, when you have a colonial name that’s supposed to be the Indigenous people of that land and beach. That’s how resilient and patient our people have been to feel finally heard and seen and validated.” Now that legal wrangling over ownership of the land has been decided, the next step is to discuss compensation with the federal government for breaking that 1854 treaty. Meanwhile, Ritchie says Saugeen Beach will continue to be open to the public as a tourist destination. (Photo: Brian Bull) This past weekend, roughly 10,000 people converged on Bismarck, N.D. to drum, dance, and celebrate one of the region’s oldest powwows. Senior reporter Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire has the story. The 55th United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) International Powwow started modestly in 1970. A small group of students held it on a tennis court, but in the years since, it’s exploded in scale and magnitude, drawing participants and visitors from all over, including Europe. UTTC President Leander McDonald says it’s not only a cultural event, but a huge economic boost to the Bismarck area when combined with several other events like their sports tournaments. “A previous study indicated $4.2 million for that week. Did another analysis, but it was … we felt it was off a little bit, because they told us a million. And so now we’re working with the Bismarck Mandan Chamber here, and they have some folks that do analysis on just events on their own.” Historically, the UTTC powwow was also once the “last call before winter” before indoor powwows and those in warmer climes took off. This year’s event was covered live by Buffalo’s Fire and Prairie Public, a statewide public media broadcast organization. (Courtesy Asm. James Ramos / Facebook) A bill in California that seeks to deter suicide attempts on bridges and overpasses was sent to the governor’s desk on Tuesday. It requires the California Department of Transportation and Department of Public Health to work together to address countermeasures. Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA) introduced the bill as part of broader work to address mental health care in the state. Asm. Ramos says “California must do more to confront the great tragedy of suicide”, adding the new measure is intended to help prevent future sorrow.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

When former foster youth Matthew Vandenberg took the stand on the first day of the federal trial, he told the judge about a foster placement he and other foster youth called the “ramen house.” He recounted his testimony in an interview. “The people there were to give you two ramen packs a day, and if you ate them, say, in the morning, because you were hungry, you would have to wait until you’d have to wait until the next day to eat again. I lost over 30 pounds being at that foster home.” He says he was shoved so hard that it broke a wall in the same home. He testified that he moved foster placements about thirteen times over four years. OCS is supposed to visit kids in their care monthly, partly to make sure kids aren’t mistreated. But Marcia Lowry says those monthly visits in Alaska just aren’t happening, putting kids like Vandenberg at risk. She’s an attorney and director of the national nonprofit A Better Childhood, which brings lawsuits against states to push for foster care reforms. “How else can you know whether a child is safe when you put a child in a foster home? How can you know when it’s time to move a child to get freed for adoption? The visits with both children and with parents are very, very low.” Lowry says that, on many federal measures, Alaska’s foster care system ranks among the worst in the country. Data shows that Alaska has fewer caseworkers visiting children, longer child protection response times, shorter average placements, and more children maltreated while in OCS custody. And Lowry says the state has not taken the necessary steps to correct problems in the system. “Alaska is one of the few places that I know of that has workers that hires workers who don’t have college degrees … nice, well-intentioned people can’t just do this job. They need an education.” Lowry says lawsuits like this can be an effective way to force system reforms. She says her organization has sued eleven other states in the last decade to improve foster care systems. They’ve won four and eight are ongoing. She says when they sued New Jersey in 1999 their system was one of the worst in the country. Now it’s one of the best. Alaska’s foster care system has long been plagued with serious problems. Caseloads for caseworkers are often several times the expert-recommended maximum. The state consistently reports high turnover, which experts say creates worse outcomes for kids. In 2018, a law required reforms meant to reduce caseloads and staff turnover, with mandatory audits to check on the progress. The final audit released this year showed that, by most measures, OCS hasn’t made meaningful progress, but those involved in bringing this class action lawsuit to trial hope that if they win, it could actually force meaningful change. OCS declined an interview for this story while the trial is taking place, but in her testimony, OCS director Kim Guay consistently pointed out that her office is just one piece of Alaska’s child welfare system. She acknowledges case loads can be high, but says the state can’t implement caseload caps because OCS can’t turn away kids or families who need help. The federal trial is slated to wrap up September 11. There’s no timeline for when the judge will issue her decision. Katherine Strongwind at three years old. (Handout) Johnathan Hooker recently returned to Manitoba from New Zealand and met his biological mother and other family members. He had been searching for them for years. He had been taken from them when he was only a few months old. Katherine Strongwind had a similar story, only a year old when she was removed from her family in Winnipeg in 1973. She lived with a non-Indigenous family in Winnipeg. After years of searching, she eventually found her biological siblings and extended family. Strongwind and Hooker are among the estimated 20,000 Indigenous children who were taken from their families between the 1950’s and 1980’s. Many of those children were placed in non-Indigenous homes across Canada and around the globe. It was a plan of forced assimilation of Native children into white culture. University of Winnipeg history professor Karen Froman says most of the children didn’t know about their Indigenous roots. “A lot of these adoptees are learning about their true heritage later in life. And a lot of them were lied to. You know they were told they were either French or Italian right, to explain why they were a little bit brown.” Froman says the Sixties Scoop was part government policy and part misunderstanding. She says, rather than address social problems, it was easier for governments to remove the children. Advocates say as many as 3,000 Indigenous children were sent out of Canada and around the world. They say there must be more support so every one of those children can return home and meet with their families and communities. One way, they say, is a permanent federal repatriation program.   Get Na

In rural Alaska, there are a growing number of cases involving young teens in small, remote Indigenous communities, who are sexually exploited online. As KNBA’s Rhonda McBride tells us, FBI investigators want to be sure Robert Segevan from the North Slope didn’t have any other alleged victims, after they indicted and arrested him in Wainwright, Alaska this July for child exploitation. In charging documents, they showed evidence of how 31-year-old Segevan used social media chats to badger teenage girls into sending him sexually explicit pictures of themselves. The alleged victims were as young as 12, 13, and 15. Chloe Martin, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Alaska field office, says, although this case takes place in one of the most isolated places in the nation, it is not beyond the FBI’s reach. “No matter where a child lives, they deserve safety, support, and justice.” Martin says sexual exploitation occurs in large cities and small communities alike, and it helps to end the abuse, when victims come forward. “Victims may be eligible for certain services, potentially restitution and rights under federal or state law – and of course, all identities of these victims will be kept confidential.” The FBI says Robert Segevan allegely used a number of names online including Ethan Allen, tukak, robertsegavan20, and robertsegevan24. He is also believed to have ties to Utqiaġvik and Kaktovik. The FBI’s Anchorage field office and the North Slope Borough Police Department worked together on this case, which came to light last October, after a North Slope Borough police officer took a complaint from a 15-year-old girl. She told the officer Segevan had asked for images of her breasts and private parts. In the course of the investigation, he learned that two 12-year-olds had also allegedly received similar messages and that a 13-year-old said they sent Segevan nude photos. The Anchorage Police Department is also investigating the case through the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The FBI is asking anyone who has information about Segevan’s alleged crimes to contact the Anchorage FBI field office at 907-276-4441 or tips.fbi.gov. (Courtesy Assembly of First Nations / Facebook) Hundreds of First Nations chiefs recently gathered in Winnipeg for their annual meeting. And as Dan Karpenchuk reports, most of the talk was about the impact on their communities of new laws allowing the fast tracking of major infrastructure projects. The concerns brought to the Winnipeg meeting focussed on how First Nations rights were being challenged by the push by Ottawa to have major projects moved forward. Many chiefs are angry that the new law Bill C-5 was pushed through with only seven days to review and comment on it. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak is the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. “The way the act was introduced has caused concern for many chiefs. This assembly is an opportunity for chiefs to deliberate and to provide direction moving forward.” But two days into the gathering the chief voted down a pitch to include First Nations infrastructure ventures in the government’s national plan to fast track major projects like pipelines and mining of precious metal. The resolutions didn’t get the needed 60% support. Some said passing the resolution would have been supporting the federal legislation and could have put their rights in jeopardy. The vice chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations said major project discussions must include Indigenous people because these decisions affect treaty rights by impacting their ability to exercise rights to hunt, fish trap, and pass on their way of life. And it’s important for Indigenous leaders to have a say on future projects. More than 600 chiefs from across the country attended the meeting. Other issues on the table included talks on child welfare reform, Native policing, health care, the drug crisis, and the lack of proper housing on reserves.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: The Ashland, Wisc. BIA office was targeted by DOGE for closure. (Courtesy Google) Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices in Wisconsin and Minnesota remain open after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targeted them for termination. As Danielle Kaeding reports, the initiative formerly led by billionaire Elon Musk had proposed canceling leases for several offices earlier this year. The cancellations affected offices in Ashland and Shawano in Wisconsin and Bemidji in Minnesota. Wisconsin tribes say the BIA office in Ashland is a critical regional hub that processes land trust applications and provides education assistance and law enforcement support. Robert Blanchard is chair of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He says closing the office would’ve been a hardship for the tribe. “We would have probably had to go to Minneapolis or some other place further away from us to get services.” Bill Broydrick represents the owner of the Ashland office. He says Wisconsin tribes adopted a resolution in opposition to its closure. “On that basis, the decision was made by BIA to keep the office open.” BIA says all three offices remain open. The agency says it is working to ensure adequate space continues to be available to support delivery of services to tribes. Construction is underway at a Native allotment on Douglas Island on August 6, 2025. (Photo: Clarise Larson / KTOO) A site on Douglas Island could be the future home of a casino-like gambling hall after a proposal from the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska was approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Tlingit and Haida says the facility’s approval represents a step toward economic self-sufficiency and sovereignty for the tribe. KTOO’s Clarise Larson has more. The land is on Fish Creek Road, not far from Eaglecrest Ski Area on Douglas Island. It’s just a small piece of a Native allotment owned by tribal members who lease it to Tlingit and Haida. Tlingit and Haida spokesperson Dixie Hutchinson confirmed that the tribe is developing a gaming facility. The tribe intends to offer Class II gaming, which covers things like pull tabs, bingo, and slot-style electronic machines. The National Indian Gaming Commission’s acting chair approved the tribe for site-specific gaming at the location in January. The decision came just days before President Donald Trump began his second term in office. For decades, federal officials — and state officials in Alaska — have said that Native allotments owned by tribal members in Alaska were NOT considered “Indian country.” Therefore they are not under the jurisdiction of tribes and cannot be home to casinos or casino-like gambling halls under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. But Michelle Jaagal Aat Demmert, a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ tribal governance department, says the legal interpretation of Native allotments shifted when former President Joe Biden came into office. “During the Biden administration, there was a solicitor’s opinion that evaluated the laws and made the determination that the laws supported that Indian tribes in Alaska have jurisdiction over allotments and other land that’s classified as Indian country.” She says gaming serves as an important governmental function for many tribes in the U.S. “People look at it that it’s just this big money-making operation, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an opportunity to make money and an opportunity to put that right back into your governmental system, to provide essential services to your citizens.” Hutchinson says the project is still in the early phases of development. She says the tribe intends to reinvest the gaming hall’s revenue into essential tribal programs and services.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Attorneys for the Bad River tribe present their case as part of a challenge to key permits for Enbridge’s Line 5 relocation project at a hearing in Ashland, Wisc. on August 12, 2025. (Danielle Kaeding / WPR) A case is ongoing in Wisconsin over a legal challenge to key permits for a project to reroute an oil and gas pipeline around a Lake Superior tribe’s reservation. As Danielle Kaeding reports, Canadian energy firm Enbridge wants to build a new stretch of its Line 5 pipeline. Enbridge proposed the reroute after the Bad River tribe sued to shut down the pipeline on tribal lands. Now, the tribe and environmental groups are challenging the state’s decision to issue a wetland and waterway permit among other approvals for the project. They say the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources lacked baseline data about the project’s effects on wetlands. At the first hearing last month, Bad River Tribal Chair Robert Blanchard says a potential spill could spell disaster for the tribe’s homeland. “It’s going to affect our way of life, and that’s why we are fighting this so hard.” Enbridge spokesperson Jennifer Smith said they designed the route to minimize harm. “We believe that Wisconsin DNRs permits are accurate. They’re correct. We can build this pipeline with minimal environmental impact.” The reroute would cross nearly 200 waterways and disturb around 100 acres of wetlands. Supporters say it would create 700 jobs, but opponents question the company’s environmental track record. A DNR attorney says it properly permitted the project under the law. (Courtesy Santa Ana Historic Preservation Department) Efforts in New Mexico have been relaunched to find about 150 artifacts stolen in 1984. Jenny Kinsey at KANW has more. Earlier this year, a bowl stolen from the Santa Ana Pueblo’s ceremonial village was returned. Monica Murrell, director of the Santa Ana Historic Preservation Department, says that led investigators to look for more leads on other items. “We have around a dozen objects that we have very close connections.” Items that are at least a century old are considered antiquities and protected under the Archeological Resources Protection Act. And, in 2022, Congress passed legislation prohibiting the export of items held sacred by tribes. Graham Greene in one of his final roles as Maximus on “Reservation Dogs”. (Courtesy Hulu) Tributes are pouring in for Canadian Indigenous actor Graham Greene (Oneida). He died on Monday of natural causes. He was 73. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, for many critics Greene had a ground breaking career. Greene was from the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. Among those who paid tribute to his work was actor Kevin Costner, who described him as a master at work and a wonderful human being. It was with Costner that Greene was nominated for an Academy award for the film “Dances with Wolves”. Costner posted one of his favorite scenes from the movie when Greene played the part of Kicking Bird, a Sioux medicine man. “Dances with Wolves” was his big break, and Greene wasn’t going to look back.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Kevin Costner (@kevincostner) And that followed with several roles in movies and television. The Stratford Festival in Ontario also paid tribute to Greene, who played Shylock in the 2007 production of Merchant of Venice and Lennie in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Greene was also honored with the Governor Generals’ Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Governor General May Simon said he brought dignity to every character he portrayed. She said he broke barriers for indigenous actors and opened doors for future generations and we honor his extraordinary contributions to Canadian culture and celebrate a legacy that will resonate across Canada and beyond. SPECIAL REPORT by Antonia Gonzales Alaska Native designers featured at 2025 Far North Fashion Show   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

The case had the potential to overturn decades of hard-fought legal battles to protect traditional fishing rights in rural Alaska, but in the end, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the federal government in its lawsuit against the state to protect those rights. As KNBA’s Rhonda McBride tells us, the win is a major victory for tribes. This summer, for the first time in a long time, smokehouses along the Kuskokwim River were filled with bright red salmon. “We have no other choice but to prepare for hard winters, and it has been very difficult for us to meet our annual subsistence needs for the last 10 years.” Mike Williams serves on the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which joined the federal lawsuit against the state. “As a fisherman in these hard times, I was very pleased on the Ninth Circuit decision.” The federal appeals court affirmed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), a law Congress passed in 1980 that gives rural residents, who are mostly Alaska Natives, top priority to harvest the salmon. The court says the state broke that law 2021 when it ignored restrictions that federal managers imposed to save a struggling salmon run – and subsistence protections an Athabascan elder named Katie John had won in numerous court battles. The crux of the problem remains the state’s constitution, which doesn’t allow for a rural priority. Alaska attorney general Treg Taylor says he’s disappointed in the decision, but not surprised. In a statement, he said the case would need to be decided at the “highest level” yet stopped short of saying whether the state planned to appeal this case to the U.S. Supreme Court. And that has Joe Nelson, the co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives, worried there could be litigation ahead. “This is going to be another chapter in the story that’s going to continue.” Although this case involved one river, Nelson says there is so much at stake for all Alaska Natives. The Gila River Governance Center located in the tribal capital of Sacaton. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) A youth curfew aimed at reducing violent crime in the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, has been in place since late February. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the curfew will now be in effect through the end of this year. It marks the fourth time the curfew has been extended. In this latest executive order, Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis wrote that the tribe south of Phoenix saw a decline in crime between June and August. But concerns over threats to public safety still remain, with Gov. Lewis adding that “emergency action gives us stronger, more flexible tools to prevent violence and disorder before it starts.” Leaders are even considering banishment as a solution. The tribe is surveying its membership about a draft ordinance to banish its own members who are convicted of committing violent crimes on the nearly 600-square-mile reservation. (Courtesy Native American Rights Fund) The Spirit Lake Nation, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, and Native voters are formally asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review their case involving Native voting rights in North Dakota, in the court’s upcoming term. They filed a petition Tuesday. According to attorneys, the plaintiffs have been fighting for fair representation for Native American voters since 2022. Opponents of Line 5 held a press conference before an Ashland, Wisc. hearing held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2024. (Courtesy Clean Wisconsin) Public statements and expert testimony in the Line 5 reroute begin Wednesday in Madison, Wisc. Enbridge Energy plans to build a new 41-mile segment of its pipeline. Tribal and environmental groups are among those in opposition raising environmental concerns. Supporters are pointing to jobs and an economic boost.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Researchers Alexis Schultz, left, and Nike McCampbell at Smitty’s Cove in Whittier, Alaska. (Rachel Cassandra / Alaska Public Media) Studies show microplastics can be found throughout our ecosystem – and plastic pollution disproportionately impacts Indigenous communities. So scientists at Alaska Pacific University (APU) in Anchorage are studying how these tiny particles of plastic move through Alaska water – and they’re developing the first in-state lab accredited to test water samples for microplastics, as Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra reports. Nike McCambell pulls on her diving dry suit and walks down a concrete ramp to the edge of the water at Smitty’s Cove in Whittier, Alaska. She puts on fins and dives below the surface. McCambell will travel underwater about 80 yards from shore to collect water samples. She says the point is to get samples at different depths to study how microplastics are transported through ocean currents. “We’re going to see where microplastics are moving. We’re going to see if there’s any sort of correlation in certain areas through certain time periods, if the wind and the waves are showing similar patterns and traits.” The students are part of a new team at APU. Last year, the APU team got a $5 million grant from NASA to study microplastics in Alaska. Microplastics have already been found in the most remote corners of the state, so APU’s research aims to expand that understanding by looking at how microplastics enter all water sources including oceans and rain. Kian Muldoon is a graduate student on the research team. He says the ultimate goal of their work is to help reduce the harmful health effects of microplastics. “We’re not so concerned as necessarily showing that they’re there, but knowing where they came from, and how they move, and hopefully using that research to either inform cleanup efforts or anything to try to mitigate harm.” Back at the APU lab, Muldoon and his colleagues can use new specialized equipment to help identify various microplastics in the samples. The team has already collected samples from the summit of Denali, the Eklutna Lake watershed, and Prince William Sound where Smitty’s Cove is. That’s according to Dr. Dee Barker, a chemist and head of the research team. She says with new instruments funded by the grant, the team can identify particles small enough to likely pass through human tissues. And they can study the chemistry behind the microplastics they find. “To find out what type of plastic is most likely to be found of a size that would enter into the human body, and then what size would transport through human tissues, and then the chemistry of that particle. How does that interact with the chemistry of a human being?” She says that understanding is missing from much of the existing microplastics research – and she says testing water sources is the first step in understanding how communities could protect themselves from the tiny plastic particles. Megan Dicken, a public health and aging associate at the International Assocation for Indigenous Aging, holds a copy of the nonprofit’s Wandering Toolkit. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Native Americans are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia than white or Asian Americans. And because tribal members are already at risk of being murdered or going missing, it means having culturally sensitive resources for when elders stray from home. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Megan Dicken is from the United Houma Nation in Louisiana and with the nonprofit International Association for Indigenous Aging. She recently presented a new toolkit which aims to help when Native elders wander. “It’s very customizable, and so every community can utilize it in a way that suits them, and we encourage that.” Dicken says tribal police departments are often the first responders. “But a lot of times, law enforcement is stretched thin. They don’t have enough officers, or they don’t have enough resources, or they have other crimes happening. So it can aid in community policing.” Her group says 80% of people with dementia will wander from home multiple times, while 90% may die if they are not found within 24 hours. “When they pass on, a lot of times, that knowledge disappears, and we certainly don’t want that to die with them prematurely, because they went wandering and were not found in time.”   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Summer is prime time for gathering and baking camas across the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, and Plains regions. Native people usually harvest – then bake – the plant’s bulbs, as part of their First Foods menu. As Brian Bull (Nez Perce) of Buffalo’s Fire reports, there was even a “bake-off” held outside Eugene, Oreg. recently. It started when members of the Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program (TEIP) under the Long Tom Watershed Council gathered in a former ash tree forest. With shovels and digging sticks, they unearthed dozens of camas bulbs. 14-year-old Daniel Morrison said TEIP leader Joe Scott has already shared some things about camas. “Joe told me it’s supposed to be called like the Native potato. And he said it tastes really good. I’m hoping that it goes really well. And that we don’t charcoal them.” (Photo: Brian Bull) The heartbreak of “charcoaled” camas is indescribable. The group met the next day to assemble their camas ovens, shallow pits in the ground where fire-heated rocks are strewn. TEIP leader and Siletz tribal member Joe Scott described how he’ll layer his packets of leaf-wrapped camas bulbs. “Here’s what I’mma gonna do … I’m gonna throw the wet sword ferns on top of this, bunch of water, like a couple buckets of water after the maple leaves, and then a layer of skunk cabbage leaves. Put the packets on top of that, and then the alder and the ferns and then all the stuff right here.” Oh, and there’s mugwort, hazel, and bracken ferns in Scott’s recipe, too. The whole oven hissed with steam once the water hit the hot rocks. Nearby, the TEIP’s senior intern Samuel Bull (Nez Perce) assembled the second oven with mom’s help. This was mostly ferns, maple leaves, and camas bundled in skunk cabbage leaves … with some carrots and potatoes thrown in for experimentation’s sake, all under canvas and four buckets of water. Flash forward to a day later. Bull decided to do a camas bake for 24 hours. The group peeled back the canvas to reveal glistening and translucent camas bulbs. “Looks good! Ohhh, look at those beauties! Mmmhmnm. Good? It’s really good. Give me some flavor notes. Really soft, sweet. And starchy. I’m so happy. Wow.” And yes, Bull’s potatoes and carrots came out well, too. Scott’s batch baked for nearly 26 hours and had a small fire burning atop his oven for part of that time. At first there’s a little concern as a few bulbs are hardened and dark … but then when the rest are unearthed. “They’re … perfect. (laughs) They’re like a sweet gumdrop.” The longer bake means Scott’s camas were more caramelized and sweeter, but at the end of the day, Scott said the real success of the event was creating community. “None of these things happen in isolation. There are just so many caring, loving, passionate, compassionate people who come together to make things like this happen. Hopefully people will be coming here in a hundred years making camas, and being like, ‘I heard the story of when they used to come and do this, and they would just turn it into briquets.’” The Indian Pueblo Kitchen housed at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) A new food spot at the Albuquerque International Sunport features Native foods. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. First opening its doors in 1976, the Indian Pueblo Kitchen was reimagined in 2020. “Every Pueblo has a different style of what they cook, what they make.” Chef Josh Aragon is from the Laguna Pueblo and heads the kitchen at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on tribal land in the heart of Albuquerque. “It’s just a combination of all the Pueblos put together all 19, as a matter of fact, and what comes out of the food is the smiles, the thoughts, the full bellies …” From frybread and enchiladas to daily hand-baked goods, like Pueblo pies, tortillas, and lots of loaves of bread. “Yesterday, I did three batches, so about 104 [loaves] plus 240 dough balls.” Rita Toledo is the head baker. She’s from the Jemez Pueblo and now has to prepare even more fresh dishes to feed traveling customers at Albuquerque International Sunport. “The bread we make, somebody’s gonna take somewhere out of state, that’s exciting.”   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

(Photo courtesy Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak / Facebook) Audio availble by 12:00 p.m. EDT A tearful and emotional reunion took place recently in Manitoba. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, a Sixties Scoop survivor was reunited with his Indigenous family after 50 years. Jonathan Hooker was taken from his family in 1975. He was two-month old. He is from the Mosakahiken Cree Nation in northern Manitoba. His new middle class white family moved to New Zealand when he was 18-months old. Hooker always knew he was adopted, but was never able to locate his birth mother. That is until an ancestry test, which led him to make contact with his half sister who lives in Texas. “So hopefully somebody else will see this and hopefully maybe start looking for their family or it will give them clues to reach out and help.” Hooker had tried to find his natural family a few years ago on a visit to Canada, but without success. This time he was embraced by his biological mother, Patsy George, when he arrived at the airport in Winnipeg. “I thought I would never see him again. He was only two-months old when they took him away from me. And my other daughter a month old.” George also recently found out that Hooker was married and had children. She said she would see her grandchildren one day. It is believed that about 300,000 Indigenous children were taken from their homes in a government operation known as the Sixties Scoop. Many were placed with non-Indigenous families across Canada and around the world. (Courtesy Hulu) A haunting crime story and an Alaska Native legend are at the center of a new documentary that will premiere on the streaming platform Hulu on September 4. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more on “Blood & Myth“. The film looks into a real-life crime case that happened in Kiana, in Northwest Alaska, over a decade ago. James Dommek Jr. is the executive producer of the new documentary. “It’s just incredible story of survival and legends and violence and culture.” Dommek worked at KNBA for three years starting in 2016. During his time there, a co-worker asked him if he knew any Alaska stories that would make a good podcast. Dommek told him about Teddy Kyle Smith, an Iñupiaq actor from Kiana. In 2012, troopers were investigating the suspicious death of his mother, when Smith fled to a cabin and had a violent encounter with two hunters. He was later convicted of attempted murder. Smith said that Iñukuns, or Little People, guided his actions. (Courtesy Hulu) Dommek described the incident in his 2019 audiobook called “Midnight Son”. The new Hulu documentary is a movie adaptation of the audiobook. Dommek grew up in Kotzebue hearing about Iñukuns. They are creatures that exist in various legends from Inuit groups across the globe. “If all of us had the same story, and we’re also spread out, it might have an air of truth to it.” In the film, Dommek says he also wanted to highlight the issue of justice in rural Alaska, where the state struggles to provide a consistent law enforcement presence. Dommek says that “Blood & Myth” is a true crime documentary told through an Indigenous perspective, which is rare in today’s entertainment industry. “There’s the type of story I wanted to see and no one was making it. So I made it for me. Everyone else is invited to listen and watch, but at the end of the day, it’s something I made for me.” Dommek has worked in film production, but being an executive producer in his own film is a first for him. He says he wondered if it was his story to tell but decided to do it after talking to his family and elders in his community.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Today, we’re featuring the Northern Arapaho Reentry Agency as part of our ongoing Native American Justice Series. The reentry program is helping people return home from out of state federal prisons and state incarceration to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. Terri Smith moves around boxes in her office filled with blankets and other supplies. She’s the program’s administrator. Smith is a former Northern Arapaho tribal attorney and judge who went through a public downfall after being indicted on drug charges in 2019. “I was dealing with like a lot of grief and loss that I had no idea how to cope with. And so, I became addicted to opiates.” Due to the pandemic, Smith was out on bond, but eventually went to federal prison serving six month, and six months on an ankle monitor. Smith says helping clients in the reentry program is a dream job. “Just kind of being gone through the process myself, you know, being charged, being in treatment, being on probation, I feel like I connect on a deeper level with all my clients and I know what it’s like to be in their shoes and having a strong support.” Smith works with people before they even get out of prison for a smooth transition – she helps look for housing, transportation, jobs, and benefits. This day, Smith’s driving clients around to appointments, including checking on GED classes. “A lot of people when they come home, they don’t have housing to go to, either all their family members passed away when they were gone or they’re coming home to a family that’s still in dysfunction that are still drinking and drugging and they don’t have a safe, sober place to go to. So, one of the biggest things I do is help them set up with sober living. And then transportation, everyone needs, the reservation is so spread out, you know, and so, giving them access to transportation to go apply for programs is a huge support for them.” Clients Leah Little Fawn White Plume and Anthony Big Medicine say Smith and the reentry program have been a lifeline. “Some of the challenges that I faced was like trying to get a job. I didn’t have any like clothes or shoes when I first got out because what I had was the clothes on my back and that was it,” said White Plume. “She’s transported me to and from, took me to my probation meetings. She helped me get my driver’s license, something I never thought I’d actually do. She helped me get clothes because when I first got out of prison, I didn’t have any clothes. She helped me get some clothes. She’s always there when I need it,” said Big Medicine. The program’s voluntary and open to tribal citizens enrolled in one of the two tribes of the Wind River Reservation – the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone. It’s also open to tribal descendant who are not enrolled in either tribe, and other Native American tribal members. Many in the program say they have faced ups and downs, but are more determined now to stay out of the justice system with the program’s assistance like clients Thunder Little Thunder and Dolan Niedo. “I’m more confident than I used to be. I know that I could do this with the help of Terry. Terry’s program is amazing. What she does is inspiring. I love her support, how she advocates for us and helps us with the right resources and gets us going on our feet. Now I got the chance to start here in my hometown with her program her support,” said Little Thunder. “When I was getting out of prison, I kind of thought, dang, I’m a felon now. I thought everything was going to be that much harder. And she’s shown me programs that are pretty much specifically for felons like this program. I think for somebody that’s actually getting out of prison and trying to get back on their feet and trying to do the right thing and not just go back into the criminal mentality that they were in I feel that this program is very helpful. It helped me out a lot,” said Niedo. Substance misuse is among struggles clients say they have faced contributing to crimes they were sent to prison for. The tribal reentry program requires sobriety says Smith. “I’m very loud and proud about my recovery, you know, and I had a really public downfall. So I feel like it’s my responsibility to show people that we can get better.” And that’s a choice clients like Serena Perea have made. “I have three children. Their father passed away in 2020 from alcoholism, so I’m pretty much all they have left. I just want to end the generational cycle of trauma. you know, obviously I’ve made some mistakes and I just want to show them that I’ve learned from them so that, you know, in their future, they can take what I have and make something better for their children and generations to come.” This story is a collaboration with First Nations Experience Television with support from the Public Welfare Foundation   Get National Native News

Photo: The Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation office in Utqiagvik. (Courtesy Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation) The federal government is in the process of rewriting the rules for how it issues federal contracts and some Alaska Native organizations, which depend on federal contracts to pay out benefits to shareholders, are concerned that it could impact their business. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Christopher Slottee is an attorney who ‎works with Alaska Native villages, eegional corporations, and tribal ‎governments. He was previously a vice president of the Old Harbor Native Corporation. Slottee says that, over the years, more and more Native Corporations have turned to federal contracts for revenue, which then gets paid out to shareholders. But, he says, this could change. “If there is a reduction in federal contracting dollars available to Alaska Native corporations, or they don’t have as much success in that arena, they would reduce in size, at least on a revenue basis, which could have an impact on dividends.” The concern is that the federal government is currently rewriting its rules for awarding contracts. That’s a result of an executive order President Trump signed in April. It directs the government to remove unnecessary contracting rules that are not required by statute. Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) have steadily increased their share of government contracts. In 2021, Alaska Native corporations received more than $11 billion from federal contract revenue, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Slottee says that, in part, ANC participation in federal contracts has grown because Congress gave tribes and corporations easier access to the U.S. Small Business Administration programs. “It provides a little bit more of a level playing field for ANCs to compete for work. They don’t have to compete with, like, Boeing or Northrop Grumman, right, these really massive multinational companies. ” One worry Alaska Native contractors have is that the government might remove something called the Rule of Two. It directs government agencies to set aside projects to small businesses, if two or more small businesses are able to do them. Slottee says that eliminating the rule could make it difficult for small businesses, including Native contractors, to compete for the work. The deadline for rewriting federal contracting regulations is in the middle of October. Gary Farmer in Albuquerque, N.M. (Photo: Brian Bull) The sci-fi comedy series “Resident Alien” has ended its fourth and final season, leaving First Nations actor Gary Farmer (Haudenosaunee) weighing his next opportunity. Brian Bull (Nez Perce), senior reporter for Buffalo’s Fire, ran into Farmer at the recent Indigenous Journalists Association conference in Albuquerque, N.M. and has this update. “Resident Alien” not only features the titular extraterrestrial running amuck in Colorado, but also several members of the Ute Tribe including Dan Twelvetrees. Farmer plays the tribal elder and diner owner, who’s the adoptive father to Asta Twelvetrees. When not wrestling with alien mayhem, the story often turns to happenings with the Native community. In the sixth episode of the fourth season, Harry the Alien observes his first powwow, and is consumed with the music and sense of community. @syfy We’ve also had big feelings about our wifi connection before. #ResidentAlien #AlanTudyk #TVClips #Comedy #TVShow #WiFi ♬ original sound – SYFY Farmer says “Resident Alien” made Native people a part of the story without relegating them to stereotypes or background dressing. Overall, it was a special experience. “It was a real family. I mean, you have a showrunner like Christopher Sheridan, he’s a human being, and you can see it in the show. There’s not a lot of human beings out there in my business. They’ve got other interests, mostly financial. So when you come across somebody with a showrunner with that kind of heart and that kind of intelligence and that kind of open mindedness, we’re gonna win.” Farmer says there’s talk of a possible feature film that’ll continue the “Resident Alien” story, but in the meantime, he’s playing gigs on the road with his band, Gary and the Troublemakers. Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers in Albuquerque, N.M. (Photo: Brian Bull)   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

In what the South Dakota Attorney General calls the end of a three-decade legal saga, courts have upheld the extradition of John Graham. Graham was convicted of the 1975 murder of Annie Mae Aquash. South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene has more. Annie Mae Aquash was an American Indian Movement activist whose long-unsolved kidnapping, rape, and murder shocked South Dakota and the nation in the mid-1970’s. Her body was discovered in a rural area near Wanblee with a gunshot wound which traveled up from the hairline through the head. State Attorney General Marty Jackley describes the crime as an execution and says he’s confident in the result of the trial. As a former United States attorney for South Dakota, Jackley has long been involved in the case. “Ultimately, Graham took issue with the Canadian extradition and today (Monday), the Canadian Ministry of Justice has affirmed and reconsented to the extradition. John Graham will remain convicted of the execution of Annie Mae Aquash and will continue to serve his life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.” Graham, a Canadian national, was arrested for the murder in 2003. He is now 70 years old. Jackley says he believes the Aquash family has received justice. “Her two daughters have gone through the tremendous loss of their mother, through lengthy federal proceedings in federal, state, and now Canadian court. I’m happy for them, I feel justice has been served.” Jackley says he believes this bookends the legal saga. “I feel realistically this is the end of the road. This is the Canadian Ministry of Justice. This is the appellate stage. So, absent a governor’s pardon, I feel John Graham is where he needs to be.” Prior appeals from Graham’s team have gone to the state Supreme Court, federal courts, and now through the Canadian extradition process. Graham will remain in South Dakota state custody. A federal trial began Monday in Anchorage for a class-action lawsuit against the Alaska Office of Children’s Services (OCS). Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra reports. The lawsuit is on behalf of all children in OCS custody, which includes Alaska Natives and American Indians. Marcia Lowry is an attorney and director of a national nonprofit advocating for foster care reforms. She says they’re helping with this lawsuit because Alaska’s foster system has some of the worst outcomes in the country. “They have a very, very high maltreatment rate. They do not have the kids visited every month. That’s a federal requirement children have to be visited, because how else can you know whether a child is safe when you put a child in a foster home?” The complaint alleges OCS caseworkers have too many cases to be able to adequately serve families. It also alleges that the agency has failed to place Alaska Native foster children in culturally appropriate placements, violating the Indian Child Welfare Act. OCS director Kim Guay also took the stand. She said all OCS employees are working to make positive changes in the system and that the agency has taken steps to increase recruitment and improve training. Guay repeatedly said that OCS is only one piece of the child welfare system. Margaret Paton-Walsh is Assistant Attorney General for the state and defending OCS in the trial. She says running the foster care system in Alaska is challenging. “It’s especially hard in Alaska because of the size and the remoteness of so many of the communities, and we are doing the best that we can to manage the challenges that we have. And there are definitely challenges. Nobody is denying that. And I think critically in this context, we have a very, very severe caseworker shortage.” The trial is expected to take three weeks.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: This street sign was defaced in 2021 in County Tyrone, Ireland. (Courtesy Cllr. Barry Monteith / Facebook) A number of streets signs in Northern Ireland which include the island’s Indigenous language have been damaged throughout the summer. And now police are investigating the incidents as “hate crimes,” as Seo McPolin reports. Several dual-language street signs in the Irish county of Tyrone were damaged or defaced with paint. Police investigators believe the destruction was motivated by prejudice and could arrest the perpetrators under Northern Ireland’s unique hate crime laws. The Irish language is also under attack in the country’s courts. Plans to install signs with the Indigenous language at Belfast’s new Grand Central Station may be cancelled. Next month, a judge will hear a lawsuit by a far-right activist to stop the new signs. Both issues will soon be addressed by the country’s first Irish language commissioner, who is expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks. This new role is thought to be a litmus test for the British government, which historically discriminated against the language. The Indian Pueblo Kitchen housed at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) For decades, Albuquerque, N.M. locals have been going to the Indian Pueblo Kitchen for Indigenous cuisine. Starting this week, visitors can get a taste of the Southwest without even leaving the airport. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Chef Josh Aragon (Laguna Pueblo) heads the kitchen at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center on tribal land in the heart of Albuquerque. “It’s just a combination of all the Pueblos put together all 19, as a matter of fact, and what comes out of the food is the smiles, the thoughts, the full bellies…” From frybread and enchiladas to daily hand-baked goods, like Pueblo pies, tortillas and lots of loaves of bread… “Yesterday, I did three batches, so about 104 [loaves] plus 240 dough balls,” said Rita Toledo. Toledo (Jemez Pueblo) is the head baker. She now has to prepare even more fresh dishes to feed traveling customers at Albuquerque International Sunport. “The bread we make, somebody’s gonna take somewhere out of state, that’s exciting.” (Courtesy Western Michigan University) Western Michigan University is launching a Native American elders-in-residence program. The new program is intended to bridge the generational gap between students and Indigenous leaders at the university. The university received an award from the Native American Heritage Fund for the program called “Sharing Wisdom Across Generations”. Western’s Native American Affairs Council is consulting with elders and tribal councils of the three Potawatomi nations in Southwest Michigan. Dr. Dee Sherwood, director of the Native American Affairs Council, says elders have vast knowledge – they may have attended a boarding school, lived on the reservation their whole life, or maybe have experience as a veteran or an entrepreneur. And that the program offers the opportunity to learn from older generations for both Native and non-Native students. Three elders will hold regular office hours. They’ll also participate in 10 events over the next year, which could range from drum workshops, beadwork, and ribbon skirt making, or talking circles. Next month, the university will be recognized alongside 10 other educational and community organizations selected for grants by the Native American Heritage Fund. (Courtesy 4KINSHIP) The clothing brand 4KINSHIP is hosting a youth event next week at the Navajo Nation Fair in Window Rock, Ariz., called “Good Medicine Youth Day.” During the event, 2,000 skateboards and wellness items will be distributed to families. The brand helped build a skatepark in a Navajo community with skateboarder Tony Hawk – and has given away thousands of skateboards across the Navajo Nation.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Some groups are sounding the alarm on potential scams that target people who were exposed to radiation linked to U.S. nuclear weapons, which includes Native Americans. As the Mountain West News Bureau’s Yvette Fernandez reports, Congress approved and expanded funding to help the victims. It was a big win for victims of radiation exposure, when the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was renewed and expanded to cover more states. Victims in Utah, New Mexico, Idaho, and parts of Nevada and Arizona are among those who can seek compensation. But many people find it difficult to qualify. That’s because necessary documentation from the Cold War era is decades old, says Carmen Valdez, with the nonprofit Health Environment Alliance of Utah. “These funds are meant to ease people’s pain and suffering and to cover medical bills and to make sure they’re not also suffering financially while also suffering from these diseases and cancers.” That’s where scammers are finding opportunities. Valdez says some companies are charging fees up to three times the allowable $2,000. It comes as deadlines for claims approach in December 2027, when the program is slated to end. Makaito Cuny watches as he gets his second measles shot in a mobile clinic. (Photo: Arielle Zionts / KFF Health News) Vaccination rates are declining across Washington state and experts say this leaves Native communities vulnerable to dangerous disease outbreaks, especially heading back to school. Isobel Charle reports. According to the Washington State Department of Health, there have been 10 confirmed cases of measles in Washington in three counties this year. Wendy Stevens is with the American Indian Health Commission, which formed the nation’s first Tribal Immunization Coalition. She cites data showing that the measles vaccine reduces people’s chances of getting the disease by 97%. “Getting measles immunization protects not only you, but your family, your community from spreading measles.” Vaccination rates have dropped to 87% among kindergartners in Washington. This is well below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks, according to the Washington Health Alliance. While most measles infections are not severe, health complications can occur in about 30% of cases, with about one-in-1,000 infections leading to death. Stevens adds people need to stay up to date on what is happening with outbreaks in their area and advises getting any questions about vaccines answered by a doctor. “I would encourage people in Indian country to connect to their tribal health clinic, talk to their providers, and they can make decisions that they feel good about for their family.” As of May, the U.S. has reported over one thousand measles cases, a 400% increase from last year, with almost all involving unvaccinated people. The Southern Indian Ute Tribe in Colorado says it “has not entered into any agreement” with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding detention operations. The tribe issued a statement this week to clarify its position after recent news reports listed the tribe as potential ICE facility sites. In a press release, the tribe said it was not notified nor consulted prior to the release of information regarding detention operations. And says there have been no discussions between the Tribal Council and federal authorities on the matter. Tulsa Native American Day In Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. signed the tribe’s first artificial intelligence policy Thursday. It establishes new guidelines for AI use across all Cherokee Nation departments. The policy outlines specific approved uses, and strictly prohibits AI use without quality review involving the Cherokee language, which must receive backing and incorporation from Cherokee fluent speakers.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

California’s only Native American state lawmaker is calling on the University of California (UC) to return Native American remains and cultural items still in its possession, despite federal and state laws requiring repatriation. Christina Aanestad reports. California lawmakers condemned the University of California campuses that have failed to return thousands of Native American remains and hundreds of thousands of Indigenous artifacts in their possession, 35 years after federal law required their return to tribal communities. A new audit in April found UC campuses of Berkeley, Riverside, San Diego, and Santa Barbara, have failed to comply and fully utilize the funding allotted to them to help repatriate the remains to tribes. Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez (D-CA) spoke during a press conference before Tuesday’s joint hearing. “If my grandmother was found, I would expect her remains to be given to her family. Not in one year, not in 35 years but immediately.” The audit recommends specific funding and conditions on the funding to force it’s compliance. UC Provost Katherine Newman says they’re investing more money-but part of the challenge is finding experts to assist. “It’s actually not easy to find those folks, there’s technical requirements for their background.” Leo Cisco is tribal member of the Santa Rosa Rancheria Tachi-Yokut Tribe. “We’re the experts.” He spoke with Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA), who says repatriation will help Native Americans heal from the state’s historical wrongs. “Those remains do carry connections to our people and it’s not until they are properly buried that healing can start to take place from a traumatic experience our people suffered from the history of the state of California.” Faith advocates from around the country congregated underneath the shade of trees at the Oat Flat Campground. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Earlier this week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a land swap that would hand a swath of the Tonto National Forest – a parcel sacred to Native Americans – over to a multinational mining company. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, President Donald Trump has weighed in. On Truth Social, Trump blamed a “Radical Left Activists” for delaying the swap, which would clear the way for a massive mine run by Resolution Copper. Adelita Grijalva says his rhetoric is reckless, dangerous, and even corrupt. “[President] Trump is blatantly attempting to strong-arm the court.” (Courtesy Adelita Grijalva for Congress) She’s running to fill the seat of her father, the late U.S. Rep Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), who spent his political career trying to stop mining in the area known as Oak Flat. Trump called those who oppose the mine “anti-American”. “Trump can try to shame us. We’re not going to be silent. For him to call us all anti-American for standing up to protect Oak Flat, it’s not just wrong – it’s offensive. Standing up for our communities, our land and our future is the most American thing that we can do, and we’re going to continue to do that.” Resolution Copper is owned by foreign mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP. “It’s no surprise to see this president side with foreign corporations over America’s natural resources, and less for having any kind of consideration of tribal leaders and land.” San Carlos Apache Chairman Terry Rambler believes Trump has been “misinformed by Resolution Copper’s supporters,” even offering to sit down with the president and share “factual information to protect American assets”. (Courtesy Rx Kids / Facebook) The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan announced a donation of $200,000 to support Rx Kids in the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The program provides cash to moms and babies, which helps cover costs of necessities, including baby supplies, food, utilities, and rent. According to Rx Kids, the investment reflects the “tribe’s commitment to maternal and child health, and to uplifting families across the region.”   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Kometos employees atop a new reindeer processing facility in Savoonga. (Wali Rana / KNOM) On St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, the remote village of Savoonga has long struggled with limited jobs and food security. A new reindeer processing facility hopes to help change that. KNOM’s Wali Rana visited the site to learn more about how the development could benefit the community, while also connecting Savoonga with its history. Just steps from the crashing waves of the Bering Sea, a new structure rises beside the sandy beach. Workers from Finnish construction company Kometos hammer and drill away on the rooftop of the facility. The company specializes in modular food processing facilities and is working alongside local hires from Savoonga. The workers are putting the finishing touches on a large, white facility destined to become the village’s new reindeer processing plant. Bengamin Pungowiyi is the president of the Savoonga Tribal Council. He says the new facility will kick off a number of opportunities for the village of 800. “I’m making hope that if we expand over the decades, we would hopefully bring in some employment from the Nome area and some of the villages that, some of the funds that, if they accumulate, we could start a little youth camp.” The facility will be run by Savoonga Reindeer Commercial Company (SRCC). The history of reindeer in Savoonga goes back over a century, when a Presbyterian missionary brought a small herd to the island. The herd grew and eventually migrated east to what would become Savoonga. “The herd wanted to linger on the east side because of the food abundance, and the initial herders thought that they should send four apprentices to watch the reindeer, and those four men looked at Savoonga. From there, they start getting their relatives to move in.” Over a century later, Pungowiyi says the facility aims to carry that legacy forward by creating jobs, supporting food security, and keeping reindeer at the heart of Savoonga’s identity. “We’re hoping to bring up a little island employment, both villages, you know, the younger generation could continually benefit from that. And hopefully, for food security.” Once operational, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will inspect the facility. If approved, reindeer produced in Savoonga could earn the coveted “USDA Certified” label. The designation lets customers know the animals were raised appropriately and are safe to eat. For over a century, the Santa Fe Indian Market has been a spotlight for some of Indian Country’s most talented artists to shine, from crafts to fashion. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, 1,000 juried artists from more than 200 tribes descended upon New Mexico over the weekend. Among them was Naiomi Glasses … “What’s so great about Santa Fe Indian Market is that you can meet the artists and that supports so many livelihoods.” … and her brother, Tyler. “It’s a good time to go out and find pieces that speak to you.” They’re both Diné and just released a new collection this week with Polo Ralph Lauren. “I’m over the moon about it, doing cartwheels and flips inside. I’m excited for it to get out there in the world and for everyone just to see what this whole collection is about.” His sister Naiomi was named the company’s first artist in residence in 2023. “I’m fortunate enough to be able to collaborate with companies that I’m able to design something and then they’re able to manufacture it. I also still do my beautiful handwoven goods that I sell at markets like Santa Fe.” She says if you love wearing Native art, buy directly from Indigenous designers. “Authenticity is what really matters, and I really hope that more companies learn from the model that we did with Polo Ralph Lauren. I really want to see more of that.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Naiomi Glasses (@naiomiglasses)     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo courtesy Protect Oak Flat / Facebook A federal judge in Phoenix, Ariz. Friday seemingly cleared the way for a massive copper mining project – until the Ninth Circuit suddenly stepped in. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the latest court order came less than 24 hours before Oak Flat inside the Tonto National Forest would have turned into private property. That pending land exchange between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper has been put on hold once more with a temporary administrative injunction issued Monday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The new order comes after Judge Dominic Lanza denied requests to delay the congressionally authorized land transfer. These pleas came from conservation and environmental plaintiffs, including the San Carlos Apache Tribe. The tribe called it a “last-minute victory,” while Resolution Copper is confident the court will ultimately affirm Judge Lanza’s “well-reasoned” orders. The three-judge panel would not comment on the merits, but noted these appeals will undergo an expedited briefing schedule starting next month. California state lawmakers held a joint hearing Tuesday in Sacramento, Calif. about the University of California (UC) possessing Native American human remains and cultural items. Three state audits over the past five years show UC continues to fail to return the remains. University officials are expected to respond. (Photo: Brian Bull) Summer is prime time for gathering and baking camas across the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, and Plains regions. Native people usually harvest – then bake – the plant’s bulbs, as part of their First Foods menu. As Brian Bull (Nez Perce) of Buffalo’s Fire reports, there was even a “bake-off” held outside Eugene, Oreg. recently. It started when members of the Traditional Ecological Inquiry Program (TEIP) under the Long Tom Watershed Council gathered in a former ash tree forest. With shovels and digging sticks, they unearthed dozens of camas bulbs. 14-year-old Daniel Morrison said TEIP leader Joe Scott has already shared some things about camas. “Joe told me it’s supposed to be called like the Native potato. And he said it tastes really good. I’m hoping that it goes really well. And that we don’t charcoal them.” (Photo: Brian Bull) The heartbreak of “charcoaled” camas is indescribable. The group met the next day to assemble their camas ovens, shallow pits in the ground where fire-heated rocks are strewn. TEIP leader and Siletz tribal member Joe Scott described how he’ll layer his packets of leaf-wrapped camas bulbs. “Here’s what I’mma gonna do … I’m gonna throw the wet sword ferns on top of this, bunch of water, like a couple buckets of water after the maple leaves, and then a layer of skunk cabbage leaves. Put the packets on top of that, and then the alder and the ferns and then all the stuff right here.” Oh, and there’s mugwort, hazel, and bracken ferns in Scott’s recipe, too. The whole oven hissed with steam once the water hit the hot rocks. Nearby, the TEIP’s senior intern Samuel Bull (Nez Perce) assembled the second oven with mom’s help. This was mostly ferns, maple leaves, and camas bundled in skunk cabbage leaves … with some carrots and potatoes thrown in for experimentation’s sake, all under canvas and four buckets of water. Flash forward to a day later. Bull decided to do a camas bake for 24 hours. The group peeled back the canvas to reveal glistening and translucent camas bulbs. “Looks good! Ohhh, look at those beauties! Mmmhmnm. Good? It’s really good. Give me some flavor notes. Really soft, sweet. And starchy. I’m so happy. Wow.” And yes, Bull’s potatoes and carrots came out well, too. Scott’s batch baked for nearly 26 hours and had a small fire burning atop his oven for part of that time. At first there’s a little concern as a few bulbs are hardened and dark … but then when the rest are unearthed. “They’re … perfect. (laughs) They’re like a sweet gumdrop.” The longer bake means Scott’s camas were more caramelized and sweeter, but at the end of the day, Scott said the real success of the event was creating community. “None of these things happen in isolation. There are just so many caring, loving, passionate, compassionate people who come together to make things like this happen. Hopefully people will be coming here in a hundred years making camas, and being like, ‘I heard the story of when they used to come and do this, and they would just turn it into briquets.’”   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Knight Hall at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. (Kamila Kudelska / Wyoming Public Media) Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho students will have a crack at a new scholarship at the University of Wyoming (UW). Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann has more. UW is creating the “Wind River Promise Fund”. Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars will be available to tribal members to cover undergrad tuition costs and mandatory fees for full-time students. The idea’s been going back and forth between tribal members, state legislators, and the university for years. UW trustee Paul Ulrich says the move is something to celebrate. “ I think this is a long time coming and I am absolutely thrilled to death that this motion has been made today.” An additional $2 million will be managed and invested like an endowment. Students must be enrolled tribal members to qualify. They also need to be Wyoming residents and graduate from a Wyoming high school. Nanwalek in 2015. (Courtesy Chugachmiut) Many clean energy initiatives across the country have been hit hard with federal funding freezes and abrupt cuts in recent months, but two villages in Alaska are considering a project that would harness the energy of ocean waves, potentially for the first time in the U.S. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Waves gently hit the shores of Kachemak Bay as ravens croak above on a cloudy night in July. The small village of Port Graham is nested here, at the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula. The village may soon convert wave energy into electricity. Dannielle Malchoff is the first chief of Port Graham. “I have a lot of hope that this is going to be something great for our community.” Chugachmiut is a consortium that serves Native tribes including Port Graham and its neighbour, Nanwalek. The consortium announced it had partnered with an Australia-based company Carnegie Clean Energy in May to explore an ocean wave energy project for both villages. Carnegie has several wave energy projects across the world, including Australia and Spain, but this would be the company’s first commercial installment in the U.S, according to Louise Richardson, Carnegie’s commercial analyst. “One thing at Carnegie that we hope our technology will be able to service in the future is remote communities and isolated communities that might not have access to other forms of renewable energy options.” Port Graham and Nanwalek have no roads connecting them to the rest of the state. Energy costs there are high because the villages are at the edge of the grid and diesel for a back-up generator comes on a barge. The electrical lines running from Homer are several decades old, don’t have enough capacity, and are unreliable. Malchoff says Port Graham loses power several times a month in winter and once every few months in summer. “We have to use satellite phones if our power is out, which isn’t very convenient when you’re trying to relay and talk to doctors in the ER and you’re dealing with a patient.” Malchoff says more reliable electricity from wave energy could solve some of these issues and, ideally, the village can sell any extra energy back to the grid and use that revenue on healthcare and education. The plan is to place a wave energy device offshore from Port Graham. The device will be submerged and tethered to the seabed, moving with the waves and converting power from that motion into electricity. Permitting, testing, and installing might take close to five years. The Gathering of Nations announced in a social media post over the weekend that next year’s powwow will be the last dance. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. The Gathering of Nations Powwow has been an Albuquerque, N.M. annual tradition beginning in 1983, drawing thousands of performers and spectators from across Turtle Island over the last four decades. On the event’s website, organizers cited “several factors beyond [their] control” making “long-term planning and coordination challenging”, without specifically saying why, But that’s the reason behind them closing this chapter nearly eight months from now. The 43rd Gathering of Nations will happen next April at the Tingley Coliseum at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

The 42nd annual Indigenous Journalists Association (IJA) conference wraps up Friday in Albuquerque, N.M. Buffalo’s Fire senior reporter Brian Bull was there. Nearly 400 reporters, editors, and influencers assembled at the Isleta Resort and Casino this week. Congress’ rescission and its effects on tribal radio stations were one new topic since last year, as were President Trump’s cuts to federal programs and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. IJA President Christine Trudeau. IJA President Christine Trudeau says there’s been a lot to process, but her organization’s mission remains the same: “We need to secure that there is a fourth estate that is upheld for transparency, for truth, for accuracy, for every citizen, for every human being. And that goes for federal level, and that goes for our tribal nations as well.” Trudeau wraps her term as IJA president. A new board will be announced at the evening awards ceremony and banquet. Trudeau says this is a “full-circle” event. “It’s been a real honor to be doing this and being a part of this. You know, right here in Albuquerque, I got my start. I was an intern at KUNM and I was filing a story a week while I was finishing my undergrad at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA).” Among the ongoing challenges for Native journalists is getting free press established for tribal media. Casey Jack, right, leads a Yugtun beginner phrase session at Salmonfest in 2025. (Photo: Hunter Morrison / KDLL) Alaska’s annual Salmonfest is a three-day music festival that advocates for the protection of healthy salmon through song and educational resources, but it also highlights Alaska Native culture through workshops and demonstrations. KDLL’s Hunter Morrison attended one teaching Yup’ik phrases and has this story. Between musical performances, Casey Jack takes the stage to introduce himself to an audience of about two dozen people. “I’ll just say hi real quick. Maybe some of you all have heard this. ‘Waqaa.’” The audience repeats the word back. “You gotta bring that sound from the back of your throat. Almost like you’re clearing a spit. ‘Waqaa.’” Jack teaches the group other phrases, like “How are you?” and “Where are you from?”, during the twenty-minute Yup’ik beginner phrase session. The session is one of a handful at the music festival highlighting Alaska Native language and culture. “I think in general, Indigenous voices are important to be listening to.” The Yup’ik session was put together by an organizer who identified themselves as Foot. “I think that’s kind of our duty as people who maybe are not from this land from time immemorial, to respect and learn from the people who have been.” While the festival’s main focus is the music and environmental message, Foot says Alaska Native people have been represented at Salmonfest since its kick-off in 2011. Jack, who led this year’s Yup’ik workshop, says demonstrations like the ones at Salmonfest help keep Indigenous language and culture alive. “Language is intrinsic to identity, you know? How can you be someone without your language? The language is the very vessel that you’re using to pass down your values, your culture.” The workshop wasn’t the first time Jack has taught his Native language, but Jack has never held class at a music festival. Foot, the coordinator, agrees. “It’s called Salmonfest, and salmon people, and the stewards of this land, are Alaska Native people. If you’re sticking true to it being about salmon, it’s probably also going to be about salmon people.” Foot says the festival’s environmental advocacy is as much about the people who rely on healthy salmon as the fish themselves.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Hunters from Point Lay, Alaska will collaborate with an anthropologist from Russia this summer to document traditional knowledge about walruses. It’s an important part of recording traditions – and, as the Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports, for maintaining collaboration across the Arctic. Growing up, Robert Qaummaluk Lisbourne remembers walruses starting to beach near Point Lay in large numbers. It was always an exciting time for local hunters, but he says a stream of boats and gunfire startled the animals, causing them to rush to water and crush some of the young pups. Since then, Lisbourne says, hunting practices have changed. “We gotta find a better way to hunt these animals without causing the stampede.” Robert Qaummaluk Lisbourne, left, and Eduard Kergytagyn Zdor plan to collaborate in this summer to document Point Lay residents’ traditional knowledge about walruses. (Courtesy Robert Qaummaluk Lisbourne) Lisbourne says Point Lay residents now try to hunt walruses when there are only a few of them on the beach. Lisbourne will share his knowledge about walruses with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Alaska Museum of the North later this summer. The project will include a walrus drone survey and interviews with local hunters. Eduard Kergytagyn Zdor is an anthropology postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who will help with interviews. “This is about how to help local community to deal with modern challenges, including climate change.” Zdor is a Chukchi Indigenous leader, originally from Chukotka in Eastern Russia where walrus is also a traditional subsistence resource. He also researched and advocated for subsistence hunting back home. Walrus research is one of many areas where Russian and American scientists used to work together. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 put a strain on research collaborations. Zdor says he would like this project to be a link between Chukotka and Alaska. “This is what we are dreaming about, me and people like me here in Alaska and Russia as well, my fellow local villagers – of course, we are.” In Alaska’s Arctic, female walruses traditionally rest on sea ice. But the ice cover has been declining in the Arctic, and animals started to come to Point Lay beaches in recent years – sometimes, tens of thousands of them. Aerial view of a large walrus haulout on the northwestern shores of Alaska in 2019. (Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey) Lisbourne has been working with walrus biologists, making sure they follow safety protocols during regular surveys and don’t harm the animals. “We are protecting the animals.” After the project is done, Zdor says he hopes Lisbourne will continue documenting local knowledge. In South Dakota, the Humanities Council is delivering over 13,000 free books for third-grade students across the state. SDPB’s C.J. Keene has more. It’s part of the annual Young Readers program and aims to help get students at every public, private, tribal, or home school reading. The Young Readers One Book selection for 2025 is “Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills”. That book tells the story of the Oglala Lakota Olympic gold medalist and features illustrations by artist S.D. Nelson, who is also Lakota. The book tells Mills’ story, journeying from Pine Ridge all to way to his ultimate destination as a world-class Olympian. The story culminates with his last-second dash for the gold in the 10,000 meters race at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The Yurok Tribe is hosting its Klamath Salmon Festival Saturday in Klamath, Calif. The family-friendly day features a number of events including music, basket-weaving demonstrations, and stick ball. Chairman Joseph James says this year’s celebration is special pointing to the Klamath River. He says it looks better than any other time in living memory due to dam removal and restoration. The last of four dams was removed in August of last year and according to the tribe, a month after the removal, thousands of salmon started to repopulate the newly free-flowing part of the river. But there will be no salmon at the festival due to this year’s fish forecast being below average. The tribe is confident salmon runs will recover.     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Shishmaref, Alaska, which will receive some of the EPA clean-up funds for tar. (Courtesy Dennis Davis) It’s been more than 50 years since Alaska’s Native corporations and villages received land from the federal government under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Some of those lands were contaminated when they were distributed, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only recently started paying for clean-up at a few state sites. Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra has more. Alaska Native corporations and villages began to get funding for contamination clean-up under an EPA program launched in 2023. This year, the EPA has announced more clean-up sites. Alaska will get $6.7 million from the agency to clean up sites on land owned by three Alaska Native corporations and villages. The sites were already contaminated with asbestos, tar, and petroleum when they were transferred to Alaska Native corporations and villages under ANCSA in 1971. Stephanie Buss, who manages Alaska’s contaminated sites program, says it’s “past time” to clean them up. “We’re just thankful for the work that we’re able to do with the federal and tribal partners to get these sites addressed and really address the human health and environmental risks that they pose.” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has called the failure of the federal government to clean up ANCSA lands a “shocking environmental injustice.” Sen. Murkowski created the EPA’s Contaminated ANCSA Lands Assistance Program in 2023. Buss says the EPA grants target three sites. The money will go toward cleaning up asbestos near Utquiagvik, tar in Shishmaref, and sludge in Unalakleet. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium will also get $3 million in EPA funding to support the program and help communities apply for funding. Buss says the federal government and state are identifying more sites eligible for these EPA grants. “We are aware that there are hundreds of them that were conveyed contaminated that need to be addressed.” Past state estimates have identified over 1,000 contaminated sites. According to the EPA, contamination on ANCSA lands includes arsenic, asbestos, lead, mercury, pesticides, PCBs, and petroleum products. Alaska Native corporations and villages have said the contaminations are a threat to Alaska Native subsistence activities, posing serious threats to food security, human health, culture, and Alaska Native economies. More information about applying for the EPA grant funding is on the EPA’s ANCSA program website. Makaito Cuny (Oglala Sioux) watches as he gets his second measles shot in a mobile clinic. (Photo: Arielle Zionts / KFF Health News) Public health officials remain concerned about a resurgence of measles cases in the U.S. Mike Moen reports. They say it’s still hard for people in under-resourced areas, including tribal communities, to vaccinate their children. Partners in South Dakota are responding with outreach efforts. KFF Health News reports the Great Plains Tribal Leaders’ Health Board, which serves tribes in Iowa, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, is trying to get a head of measles outbreaks with mobile vaccination clinics. The board’s Dr. Meghan O’Connell (Cherokee) says vaccination data on Native Americans is imperfect, but it suggests a lower percentage of them have received measles shots than the overall population. “Most of these communities are in very rural areas, so they can face significant barriers to care that others may not. Just getting to the doctor can be a challenge.” Her team also is working with tribes that want to host vaccine clinics. Elsewhere, tribal health organizations have launched social media campaigns and are reaching out to the parents of unvaccinated children. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says the highly contagious disease has seen its largest outbreak in the U.S. since 1992, with a handful of deaths this year.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Kettle River. (AndrewEnns / Wikimedia) Colville Tribal officials are hailing the discovery of a Chinook salmon in British Columbia’s Kettle River as another sign of success of their salmon reintroduction program. Spokane Public Radio’s Steve Jackson reports. It has been decades since a Chinook was last seen upstream from Coulee Dam in the Kettle River. “It’s significant because Grand Coulee Dam cut off salmon from going to the ocean and back since 1941, so for over 80 years, salmon haven’t been in the Kettle river.” That’s Casey Baldwin, a salmon reintroduction manager for the Colville Tribes. He says the program has released more than 160,000 juvenile fish per year since 2017, including about 25,000 at Kettle Falls. These fish have been tracked making their way down the Columbia River system to the ocean – and many have managed to survive passing through the Grand Coulee Dam turbines. While this Chinook salmon was not examined specifically by fish biologists, Baldwin says it’s very likely the result of the release program. Baldwin says his agency is also currently tracking one wild adult fish with a special ID tag that’s returning up the Columbia from the sea. If the fish can make it as far as Chief Joseph Dam, the hope is that it can be captured and trucked upstream to a tributary above Grand Coulee. (Courtesy IAIA) In recent months, the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, N.M. was one of many tribal colleges facing federal funding cuts. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) spoke with IAIA’s new president, Shelly Lowe, to get an update on where the prominent Indigenous art school stands. President Donald Trump’s budget proposal threatens to reduce the school’s federal allocation from around $13 million to $0 beginning October 1. President Lowe says there have been threats to federal funding all across the country, but she’s thankful that she continues to see support from the school’s appropriators and Congress. “They are on board to support us. You know, we’re still out there trying to make sure that their constituencies, our own constituencies, know very well what we are doing and the importance of it.” Lowe says she’s planning for a normal fall semester and has no intention of changing anything. “We’re going to keep talking to our appropriators and ensuring that we have enough funding, and we’re going to be out there really looking for donors and looking for individuals who are interested in supporting the institution, but we’re moving forward as normal for the next year, and we’ll just keep working hard.” According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Interior Department’s appropriation bill passed both the Senate and House Appropriations Committee, which includes a $12 million appropriation for IAIA. This bill now advances to the full House and Senate for consideration. (Courtesy Medicine Wheel Ride / Facebook) The Medicine Wheel Ride, an Indigenous led fundraiser during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, recently completed its sixth year. SDPB’s C.J. Keene has more. This year, an estimated 230 rode from Bear Butte State Park across the Black Hills to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP). The setting of Sturgis is particularly pertinent as Native Hope, a South Dakota nonprofit, considers the rally a major driver of human trafficking. This year’s ride was sponsored by Harley-Davidson and registered riders paid an entry fee dedicated to MMIP justice efforts.   Nat’uh Building in Anchorage, Alaska. (Courtesy CIRI) U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, will host a roundtable Thursday in Anchorage, Alaska, on a draft legislative package addressing recommendations from a Native children commission, which was issued last year. According to Sen. Murkowski’s office, discussions are aimed at advancing the well-being and future opportunities for Native children. The event is open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-serve basis, and it will be livestreamed.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he wants to improve Indigenous peoples’ access to traditional foods. Patrick Gilchrist has more. Standing outside a tribal health center in Fairbanks, Alaska, Sec. Kennedy told reporters last week he’s collecting ideas, but isn’t exactly sure how to achieve that goal. “I’m trying to figure out ways I can use my agency and my relationship with other secretaries to return those foods.” Kennedy made a few stops at healthcare facilities in the state. In Anchorage, he went so far as to call processed foods’ impact on Native health part of a “genocide.” The center where Kennedy spoke in Fairbanks is operated by Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC). The nonprofit tribal organization aims to support health and social service needs of its 42 members, 37 of which are federally recognized tribes. TCC Chief Brian Ridley says the secretary’s pledge is just a starting point, but encouraging. “He seems totally on board with working with us in those areas, trying to do what we can to try to get back to our traditional foods, so that they’re healthier. And it’s just a matter of working with him and the senators going forward on trying to find a way to actually make that happen.” The press event took place after Kennedy toured the health center with Alaska’s U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Salt River Project connects Jerome Shirley’s home in Cornfields to a power source during “Light Up Navajo” in April 2024. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Light Up Navajo is an annual aid program meant to help electrify rural and remote households across the Navajo Nation, the largest reservation in the U.S. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the project reached a major milestone earlier this month. With help from nearly four dozen public and private utilities spanning 20 states, the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) says volunteers installed 41 miles of power lines and hooked up 196 homes this year alone, now surpassing 1,000 dwellings in all. Typically conducted over the summer months, Light Up Navajo began as a six-week pilot in 2019 between NTUA and the American Public Power Association. Six years later, it’s now a 14-week endeavor. NTUA estimates about 10,000 households are still in the dark. A nonprofit in New Mexico that supports Native American communities wants Congress to restore crucial funding for an employment and training program. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more. Among ongoing federal funding cuts, the Native Professional Advancement Center is urging Congress to reverse a budget proposal that would eliminate money for Native workforce training programs. The center’s board chair Lorraine Edmo (Shoshone-Bannock) recently sent a letter to U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), a ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, requesting action to restore $60 million dollars. Darius Lee, executive director of the center, says the elimination of federal funding “undermines decades of progress and violates the government’s responsibility to honor Tribal sovereignty.” According to a press release by the organization, the federal budget proposal by the Trump administration is calling for the elimination of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and instead creating a new state-controlled block grant called “Make America Skilled Again.” If created, it would cut tribes and nonprofits from direct access to workforce resources, force tribes to compete with the state for funding, and shut down culturally specific support systems that have helped Native people earn employment. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to possibly take another vote on this portion of the budget on September 2.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

This week, the nonprofit Native American Rights Fund hosted its biennial tribal water symposium in partnership with the Western States Water Council. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, Interior Department (DOI) officials took time to reassure tribes that the Trump administration is behind them – despite recent staffing cuts and Congress clawing back federal dollars. Some of the federal agency’s top-ranking water officials encouraged tribes to come up with very creative solutions. As for the Colorado River and its ongoing negotiations, they warned that consensus is needed before 2026. Otherwise, DOI will be forced to step in. “We will if we have to, if we can’t get people to come to a settlement and agree. That settlement needs to include the tribes.” Kathy Budd-Falen is an advisor to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum. The seven Basin states and 30 tribes have until October 1 of next year. “But if the interim guidelines expire, then Reclamation gets to run the river. And I’m telling you, you do not want a bunch of bureaucrats from Washington, D.C. running the Colorado.” President Donald Trump tapped former CAP general manager Ted Cooke to helm the Bureau of Reclamation, pending Senate approval. Agency-wide layoffs reportedly cut at least a fourth of all reclamation staff. Former State Rep. Les Gara attends an August 4, 2021 dedication for a new Dena’ina place names project. (Photo: Jeff Chen / Alaska Public Media) Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services (OCS) is failing to meet benchmarks set by a 2018 reform law. That’s according to the final state audit released last month. About 70% of kids in OCS care in the state are Alaska Native and American Indian. Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra reports in the second-half of a two-part report. Former State Rep. Les Gara (D-AK) from Anchorage and introduced the legislation in 2017. It aimed to make things better for Alaska’s foster kids by improving hiring and training practices – and the law required a series of audits to check progress. Rep. Gara says the audit results are extremely disheartening. “It’s like we handed the state the blueprint of all the gold standard practices to make sure children had a chance in this world. We handed it to the state, and by 2020 the state had lit it on fire. It’s sad.” He says in the first two years of the law, the state saw some progress, but then the office dramatically lowered hiring requirements for caseworkers. Instead of requiring a four-year college degree in social services or equivalent experience, now caseworkers can get hired with just a high school diploma. A legislative consultant quoted in the audit called the training and support “woefully insufficient,” for most new hires. The audit also found that the OCS hiring process was “strongly out of alignment with best practices” and that new caseworkers started with “little to no understanding of what the job actually entailed.” Amanda Metivier helped write the legislation and runs the organization Facing Foster Care. “This is not entry level work, holding the authority to remove children from their parents and investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect – and it takes a skill set that requires some foundation.” Amanda Metivier. (Courtesy UAA) OCS didn’t agree to an interview for this story, but spokesperson Brian Studstill wrote in an email that their hiring practices factor in the experience and education of the applicant. He wrote that it’s “impossible” to actually cap caseloads because the agency can’t turn away families, but he wrote OCS takes many steps to keep caseloads manageable. Deko Harbi, who entered foster care in 2021 when she was 16, had to fend for herself. She says over and over, she couldn’t get the help she needed from OCS. When she was a junior in high school, she says she left the chaos of her placement with her then-23-year-old sister without telling OCS. She moved in with a friend’s family. “Without them intervening [voice wavers] … and coming in to help me that last year of high school, I don’t think I would have graduated.” She calls them her chosen foster parents – and says they were caring and helped her transition to adult life. She says that’s how the foster system in Alaska could work if it were functional. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.