National Native News

Photo: Peter MacDonald, one of two surviving Navajo Code Talkers. (Courtesy Navajo Nation Council) Navajo officials are demanding an explanation and apology from the Trump administration for the removal of online articles about the Navajo Code Talkers. These were the estimated 400 Navajo Marines who used their unwritten language to thwart Japanese Imperialist forces during World War II. The Japanese were never able to decipher the Code Talker’s radio transmissions, which were used to communicate the movements of American forces across the Pacific Theater. The Navajos deployed during the fierce battle of Iwo Jima in 1945 are credited with helping the Marines take the island stronghold. Crystalyne Curley is the Speaker of the 25th Navajo Nation Council. She says the White House’s Executive Orders removing all references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is behind the deletion of Code Talker articles from U.S. military websites. “Our Navajo Code Talkers are seen as heroes, and community leaders, healers, protectors. So when we heard that the Navajo Code Talkers’ contributions, their legacy, their history, was deemed erased, the first thing that came to my mind was, ‘This can’t be true.’” Curley says the omission was shocking to her and other delegates of the Navajo Council, given the sacrifices made by the Code Talkers. “Now many of our Navajo veterans, Navajo Code Talker families, and communities are very frustrated. As of right now, many of our Navajo people don’t feel that reassurance or confidence that we are appreciated or even recognized.” Of the 400 Navajo Code Talkers, only two are alive today. Curley says she’s heard second-hand that the articles recognizing their contributions to the Allied war effort will be restored, but she’s not yet heard that directly from any official with the White House or Department of Defense. “I’ve just seen it on press releases, other media, outlets that say that it was a mistake. And that they will be rescinded and restored. However, the council has not received any official apology or any type of form of communication on why it happened or if it will be fully 100% restored.” Curley says the Navajo Council is working on a resolution to affirm the Navajo Nation’s government-to-government relationship with the United States, and that their contributions to national defense isn’t a DEI matter. Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have all bestowed accolades upon the Navajo Code Talkers, including the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 2017, President Donald Trump honored three visiting Code Talkers at the White House Office, but the occasion was marred when he took the opportunity to refer to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) with the nickname “Pocahontas,” which many Native Americans consider a slur. Additionally, President Trump displayed a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office. Jackson deemed himself an “Indian fighter” whose actions against Native people included the 1830 Indian Removal Act, which led to the infamous Trail of Tears. Air Force training courses with footage of Women Airforce Service Pilots and the Tuskegee Airmen, Black pilots who flew fighter escorts during American bombing raids against Nazi Germany, also disappeared following President Trump’s recent calls to eliminate DEI policies. In this June 21, 2023 photo, a Siletz tribal member and friends dig for camas bulbs outside of Eugene. Only until this past week are Siletz people able to harvest, hunt, and fish on their traditional lands since their tribe entered into a consent decree in 1980. In exchange for having a reservation created, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians had to relinquish subsistence rights. Many officials have since agreed this arrangement was biased and restrictive. (Photo: Brian Bull / KLCC) Nearly half a century after losing their right to hunt, fish, and gather on their ancestral lands, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have just regained it. In 1980, the Siletz and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife agreed to create a reservation for the tribe. In exchange, the Siletz gave up their subsistence rights. “At the time, we were told by the state, ‘this is meant to be permanent, forever.’” Siletz Tribal Chair Delores Pigsley says decades later, state, federal, and tribal officials agree this consent decree was a biased product of the times. State Rep. Val Hoyle (D-OR) and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) each introduced legislation to modify the decree, which President Joe Biden signed in December 2023. Last week, the Fish and Wildlife Commission rescinded the original 1980 agreement – the last step in restoring the Siletz’ hunting and fishing rights. Pigsley says tribal members are already planning their next steps. “We’ll have a celebration. We’re happy, and we’re going to exercise our right. People have been applying for tags, now they’re able to actually feed their families.”   Get National Native News de

Final okay is stalled in Congress on a bill setting up The Truth and Healing Commission for Indian Boarding School Policies. This week, a tribal leader in Wisconsin asked state legislators for help in getting that measure passed, as Chuck Quirmbach of station WUWM reports. The bipartisan legislation would establish a federal commission to investigate the U.S. government’s role in Indian boarding school systems, an era that began during the 1800s. The measure would also lead to more research into the schools’ effect on Native American communities and help identify pathways to healing from the cultural genocide critics of the schools say they institutions were designed to commit. Late last year, the U.S. Senate passed the measure, but the House of Representatives has yet to do so. During an annual State of Wisconsin Tribes speech to the Wisconsin Legislature, Saint Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin Chairman Thomas Fowler spoke about the topic. He urged the Republican-controlled state body to encourage the GOP-controlled House to act on the bill, calling it critical for Native communities. “The tragedy of boarding schools requires remembrance, so that the spirits of our ancestors are not lost or forgotten. We have a duty to afford them dignity and respect, to address the loss they suffered, oftentimes while being alone.” Fowler says he is not trying to criticize all of today’s non-Indian politicians for what happened in the past. “I recognize that not all the people in the room are responsible for those detrimental past policies. But each of us has an opportunity, and quite frankly, an obligation to ensure history never repeats itself.” (Courtesy PBS Wisconsin / YouTube) The U.S. Catholic Bishops have wanted representation on the boarding schools commission. The bishops say that healing and reconciliation are only possible if all parties are involved. Saint Croix Chairman Fowler also called on the Wisconsin Legislature to support additional state policies expanding Native American education, and legalizing medical marijuana. Newtok was awarded $249,986 by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for dismantling and restoring the old village site after severe erosion drove many of the residents to move to a new townsite, Mertarvik. (Courtesy KYUK) Alaska experts on energy, housing, and infrastructure say billions of dollars in limbo from President Donald Trump’s federal funding freezes are affecting local projects like heat pump distribution and building infrastructure to protect against storm surges and tsunamis, as Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA explains. Representatives from Alaska-based organizations held a joint press conference last week. They said more than $5 billion are at risk from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and over $720 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. Those numbers are a moving target, given some programs have been frozen and unfrozen irregularly. Tashina Duttle works at Deerstone Consulting, which supports tribal energy infrastructure projects across Alaska. She says many grants that are now frozen were for projects to prevent shore erosion, and stabilize villages against permafrost melt and flooding. One program through the Bureau of Indian Affairs supports tribally led climate adaptation. It’s allocated $72 million in funding for nearly 40 Alaskan tribal projects, but is now on pause. “Without this funding, villages will be lost to erosion, infrastructure will collapse under worsening climate conditions, communities will have to relocate without a plan, without resources and without dignity.” Duttle adds that the projects also create crucial economic opportunities in rural communities, like construction jobs. Agencies are unsure what projects will be able to move forward, and what spending will be reimbursed.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

A project bringing solar energy to the Wind River Reservation has hit some road bumps due to pauses in federal funding. But as Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann reports, the team is searching for other ways to move forward. Energize Wind River is poised to set up standalone solar systems and bring electricity to roughly forty Eastern Shoshone homes. But? “ The ‘but’ would be that our construction funding is currently on hold pending review.” That’s project director Levi Purdum. He says about $2 million of funding is paused. Even though the project has funding for training, employees and outreach, it’s unable to buy or install the solar equipment. Purdum is optimistic that the funding will eventually come through, but for now, the group secured a $20,000 grant from the Nature Conservancy. “They wanted to support our non-governmental fundraising efforts, and so the intent is to hire and fund a fundraising specialist.” Energize Wind River still plans to start construction this spring, if they’re able to raise enough money. Other tribal nations across the Mountain West are facing similar issues amid budget cuts by the Trump administration. (Photo: Lisa West / Flickr)   Marine species — like salmon and humpback whales – might be becoming more frequent fixtures in the Arctic, especially as sea ice becomes less reliable from climate change. For residents in Alaska’s most northern communities, it can mean changes to subsistence. The shifts in migration are also fascinating scientists. Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Catching salmon in the North Slope village of Kaktovik was unheard of not too long ago, but as resident Robert Thompson says, some fishermen now see salmon more regularly. About five years ago, Thompson caught a dozen salmon – a small but noticeable number, he says. “Before it was unusual, and people would talk about it, that somebody got a salmon, but now it’s fairly common.” Fishermen, hunters, and researchers gathered at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage back in January to discuss changing migration patterns of several fish species and marine animals. One of the conference presenters was Elizabeth Mik’aq Lindley, a graduate student from Bethel who grew up fishing for salmon. For a year, Lindley and other researchers tracked temperatures in the Anaktuvuk River, which runs through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. “The temperature conditions, it seems like they are survivable.” Less ice might also mean new territory for humpback whales. Oceanographer Kate Stafford says data from local whalers and aerial surveys points to more humpbacks visiting the Chukchi sea in recent years. In Utqiagvik, humpbacks were sighted only twice before 2021 and two to three times in years after that. Then, last fall, researchers saw more than 25 whales feeding close together for two days in a row. “We came across what I would call Humpback Palooza.” Utqiagvik whaler Michael Donovan says he did not witness the “Humpback Palooza”, but he has seen a few humpbacks during his fall hunts. He says that he and other whalers are worried that humpbacks might be competing for krill and copepods with bowheads, the staple subsistence resource in his community. “They’re an invasive species, you know, they come in and eat the same food that our bowheads eat.” Donovan and other hunters say they’re supportive of scientists collecting data on whales other than bowheads, which are growing their presence in warming waters in the Arctic.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is making new efforts to help solve Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) cases. Now, the federal agency is using forensic technology to help reunite the remains of Native Americans with their families and tribal nations. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more. Federal data shows there are roughly 4,200 unsolved MMIP cases. The BIA is working to bring that number down with the initiative “Operation Spirit Return.” The agency is partnering with a Texas-based company called Othram, which uses genetic genealogy to identify human remains. Gina Jackson is Western Shoshone and an advocate. She says any resource going towards this crisis is a good thing. “But the injustices are so huge and so vast that we need some big changes. We need to be protected, and right now, Native women and girls – and Native people, in general – are not being protected.” The BIA did not respond to an interview request. In a recent press release, the agency says it’s actively investigating 15 unsolved cases across tribal lands. (Courtesy Junior League of Eugene / Facebook) Human trafficking awareness and prevention was the focus of a community discussion last week in Eugene, Oreg. Among those attending were MMIP advocates. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports. The Junior League of Eugene organized the event, which was sold out with more than 150 registrants attending. Among them was Amanda Freeman, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Amanda Freeman (member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde) appeared at the Junior League’s event wearing a beaded necklace created by her brother Andrew. The medallion depicts an Indigenous person with a woven basket hat and a red handprint over their mouth. (Photo: Brian Bull / KLCC) She’s testified in the Oregon Legislature for bills to improve response and awareness of MMIP cases. Freeman also started Ampkwa Advocacy last winter. It’s a non-profit organization that helps advocate for victims and their families, through Native culture and practices. “I would rather save who we can by being who we are, and if we spread awareness, teach one new person one new thing, then that’s something.” Freeman said she planned to talk to a presenter with the FBI on internet safety for young people. Meanwhile, organizer Sarah Koski, community resource liaison for Lane Transit District (LTD), said she was pleased with the event. She said it’s an extension of a pledge LTD signed last November to help fight human trafficking. “So every one of our buses is a designated safe place for youth. We partner with Looking Glass, our downtown station, and our Springfield station as well. And what does that mean if there’s a youth in crisis, if they run to our bus, how do we support them?” The Human Trafficking Hotline’s 2023 data shows nearly 250 victims were involved in trafficking cases in Oregon, most of them female. The San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona is offering a $75,000 reward for information in the murder case of Emily Pike. The teenager went missing in January. Her remains were later found. 12 News reports the reward was announced during a vigil held by the tribe over the weekend. Her case has drawn national attention as people from across Indian Country are calling for justice for Emily and other MMIP cases. The Gila County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information at 928-200-2352. (Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr) Tribal leaders are remembering U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) as a champion for Native people. He died last week, after battling cancer. The Hopi Tribe in a statement said the congressman was a true statesman, champion of the State of Arizona, and friend to Indian Country. Among accomplishments, the tribe says he helped with clean water project, electrification efforts, and other investments. He also recently championed a water rights settlement for Arizona tribes. The Hopi Tribe says Rep. Grijalva’s friendship and commitment to Indian Country leaves a void in Congress. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren took to social media honoring the congressman’s legacy saying Grijalva was instrumental in protecting sacred lands, including the Grand Canyon. A candlelight vigil was held for the congressman in Tucson Sunday night. Grijalva was 77-years-old.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo courtesy Angel White Eyes / NDN Collective On his last day in office, President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of Leonard Peltier. Peltier had already spent nearly 50 years in prison for the murders of two FBI agents in South Dakota in 1975, a crime he denies doing. The 80-year-old American Indian Movement (AIM) activist is now living in his homeland of North Dakota and has not granted interview requests for many news outlets, including National Native News. However, the Associated Press’ Graham Brewer (Cherokee) was given access recently and so far is the only journalist to interview Peltier after his release. I talked to longtime reporter Brewer about his visit with Peltier. “He was in good spirits. I met him at his new house on the Turtle Mountain Reservation. Has a really nice little two-bedroom home with an office where he’s planning to write his next book.” Brewer says Peltier gets around with a Walker or cane and is eager to start painting, something he did while in prison. After years of campaigning and lobbying for freedom, Peltier confessed that he began to lose hope. “He was pretty convinced that he was never going to be released and that he would die in prison. One of the details he told me that really stayed with me is, just even on the plane ride home, he kept having these feelings that the plane would disappear and it would all be a dream and he would be back in his cell.” While he enjoys support for many in the Native and international community, Peltier acknowledges that there are those who oppose his commutation. One is the FBI, while the other are relatives and supporters of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, an AIM activist whose body was found on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1976. Denise Pictou Maloney has long accused Peltier of killing her mother. Brewer says he asked Peltier about this opposition. “Yeah, they’re still very unhappy that federal law enforcement that he was commuted and able to be released. In terms of Anna Mae Pictou Akash’s family, they’re still very much convinced that Mr. Peltier had some knowledge of her death or was involved in some way, even though two other men were eventually convicted and incarcerated for that crime. He was very clear that he considered her a friend and a colleague, that he had no knowledge of her death and was very happy that the two men who were convicted of it were tried and put away.” And how he’ll spend his final years, Brewer says Peltier expressed the passion for working with the next generation of Native American activists. “He really wants to train them on the threats that they’ll face and encourage them to just show up and be present and protest, the taking away of any kind of land rights or Indigenous self-determination or tribal sovereignty or treaty rights. He thinks that’s still a really important part of being an activist today and that those threats are still very much alive. Meanwhile, some Peltier supporters say that he deserves a full pardon and that President Donald Trump should grant one. Brewer says that possibility wasn’t touched on much in their conversation, but Peltier maintains his innocence. He’d been sentenced to two consecutive life terms for the agents’ deaths, plus seven years for an armed escaped attempt in 1979. (Courtesy National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development / Facebook) Indigenous entrepreneurs are meeting in Las Vegas this week for the National Center for the American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) summit. Dr. R.D. Plato, managing director of Yellowtail Healthcare, a National Health care group, wants the Trump administration to be cautious about federal health cuts. “There’s an incredible lot of anxiety because it seems like there’s not a lot of planning going into these cuts. It’s like ‘Let’s jump in and just start swinging the machete and cutting’ stuff, so that keeps you up at night.” Brian Mercier, acting head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, also attended, telling people there are opportunities under the Trump administration for Native entrepreneurs, especially in energy and economic development.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

A former residential school in British Columbia has been designated a national historic site. It’s the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, where in 2021, a radar survey found roughly 200 potential unmarked graves, as Dan Karpenchuk reports. National historic sites in Canada are places that have shaped the country’s history … not all of it good. That is the case with the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. It was nominated to become a site by the Tkʼemlúps te Secwépemc (TteS) First Nation. The Canadian government worked with the band to help determine its significance. TteS First Nation Chief Rosanne Casimir says designating the school a historic site symbolizes hope and the vision of ancestors for a prosperous future for their children and those not yet born. Many of the buildings on the site have been preserved and are being used for education language and culture. Celia Haig-Brown is a senior scholar at Toronto’s York University. “Recognizing the school is a much more complex recognition of Canada’s history and its relationship with Indigenous people. I just hope that declaring it a heritage site means that it will be protected in memorium, so that we do not lose site of the chequered past we have.” The school operated from 1890 to 1969. The government took over administration of the school from the Catholic Church. It was then run as a day school until it closed in 1978. It was one of the many residential schools across Canada which more than 150,000 first nations Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend. It’s estimated that about 4,100 children died at the schools. Many of those who attended never returned home. (Courtesy Michelle Paulene Abeyta) An estimated 40,000 children in New Mexico were raised by grandparents or a relative in 2024, according to that state’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department. A bill in the New Mexico legislature would create a pilot program to assist these kinship caregivers. Reporter Jeanette DeDios has more. House Bill 252 has already passed the House and is currently at the Senate Judiciary committee. The three-year pilot program would assist kinship caregivers in Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Taos, McKinley, and Doña Ana Counties, targeting 50 participants in each area. According to the bill analysis, one quarter of grandparents raising grandchildren in New Mexico live in poverty. Kinship care is growing here, despite declining in the rest of the country, and one of the reasons is parents struggling with substance use disorders. According to the fiscal impact report, the bill originally had a $4.5 million appropriation, but an amended version changed that to $4 million from the general fund. The program would be administered through the Aging and Long-Term Services Department and would provide resources like public assistance, economic support, and legal services. State Rep. Michelle “Paulene” Abeyta (Navajo/D-NM) is a co-sponsor and she and her husband are kinship caregivers themselves. Rep. Abeyta is a lawyer and even she finds the system difficult to navigate. “Sometimes the system is not designed to be one of support, right? And so I think with this bill, what we’re looking at doing is empowering the way that we help families.” Abeyta says this bill is to support families who want to obtain legal custody or official guardianship, because so many times those legal fees are what make families concerned about not proceeding through the court system. The legislative session ends on March 22 at noon. And on this day in 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition were near what would become known as the Oregon Coast. They lost a canoe and sent an interpreter to buy two from the Clatsop. They also describe fish later identified as the sockeye salmon and steelhead trout, which was new to science at that time, and mentioned the Indigenous people were eating starry flounder.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: The Jack Egnaty Sr. School in Sleetmute. (Emily Schwing) There are 128 open schools in rural Alaska and the state owns just under half of them. KYUK reporter Emily Schwing dug through data and found decades of neglect and lacking accountability that’s put students, teachers, and staff at risk. Most school districts in Alaska have access to money that doesn’t come from the state, but rural school districts are different. “We do not have any local contributions. We do not have a tax base. Most of our family members, our community members, they live a subsistence lifestyle.” Madeline Aguillard is the Superintendent of nine schools scattered across 12,000 square miles in Alaska’s Interior. It’s roughly the size of Maryland. Her district relies on the state to help pay for everything from textbooks to sewer lines. “The state does have an obligation to provide a public education. … and I would hope that providing that education would also mean assistance with providing the physical space.” Since 1998, Alaska has only funded about 14% of nearly 1,800 project proposals from rural school districts. The result? Exposed electrical wiring and malfunctioning fire alarms. In one case, the school’s pipes froze and broke, so for most of the last school year, kids rode a four-wheeler, known as “the bathroom bus,” home twice a day to relieve themselves. “I think the evidence speaks for itself.” Bryce Edgmon, an Alaska Native, is Speaker of the Alaska State House of Representatives. “These bright young children show up every morning to go to school in a building that’s not fit for even anything but being ready to be demolished.” Regulations say the state is responsible for major maintenance and construction for buildings it owns. Alaska’s Education Commissioner Deena Bishop says it’s not that simple. “So that the funding for those projects comes from the state of Alaska. It’s the legislature that would provide funding.” This year, requests for investments in school infrastructure statewide come close to $800 million and a budget deficit looms as lawmakers in Juneau debate over how to balance a budget and fund education. Support for this reporting comes from ProPublica and the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2024 National Fellowship. (Courtesy National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development / Facebook) Indigenous business owners are gathering in a major conference in the Mountain West region this week to discuss ways to bring more business opportunities to Native communities. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Yvette Fernandez has more. Thousands of Indigenous entrepreneurs gathered in Las Vegas for The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development Conference — the biggest of its kind in the country. Bryan Mercier (Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon), acting director of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, spoke to the group. He acknowledged many conference goers are concerned about Trump administration budget cuts, but said the new administration is also working to enhance opportunities for Indigenous businesses and communities. “Energy development, economic development.” He told the crowd that energy and economic development are on the table, along with funding law enforcement. “So I’m encouraging …” He went on to encourage everybody he speaks with to “jump at these opportunities and work with this administration.” Mercier is a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. He was appointed in September last year under the Biden administration. He said in his role he will continue to advocate for prioritizing Indigenous cultural perspectives in federal policy. A patient at the IHS Fort Belknap Hospital in Harlem, Mont. receives a COVID vaccination on April 6, 2021. (Courtesy IHS) And it was roughly five years ago this week that COVID-19 came to North America. A Princeton University study has shown that Native people saw greater rates of COVID-19 deaths due to limited access to high-quality medical care, poverty, and crowded living conditions. Tribes shut down many operations and organized vaccine clinics and pop-up testing sites to protect elders and children.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Kylee Probert. (Courtesy Oregon State University) The Trump administration is cutting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. NWPB’s Lauren Paterson reports on how that’s affecting funding and projects for tribes. Kylee Probert is a descendent of the Spokane Tribe. She grew up in the Northwest and went to college in Washington and Oregon. She landed in Washington, D.C. and in September, she got her dream job: helping oversee grants for tribal communities through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). “I wanted to help tribes. I wanted to make a difference in, in government.” Last month, Probert was fired. She was one of thousands of federal workers whose jobs were terminated during their probationary period. She was managing more than a dozen grants to help tribes across the country. “There was a big push to cut diversity related projects at HHS and, of course, a lot of my work with tribes fell into that bucket.” The projects were temporarily halted, and Probert says she has no way to verify if the work will be restarted or renewed. Rather than feeling deterred, Probert says she feels reinvigorated, and she still wants to make a difference in public health. That could mean going to an Indigenous law school, or finding a new job in health policy. (Courtesy Energize Wind River) A project bringing solar energy to the Wind River Reservation has hit some road bumps due to pauses in federal funding. But as Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann reports, the team is searching for other ways to move forward. Energize Wind River is poised to set up standalone solar systems and bring electricity to roughly forty Eastern Shoshone homes. But? “ The ‘but’ would be that our construction funding is currently on hold pending review.” That’s project director Levi Purdum. He says about $2 million of funding is paused. Even though the project has funding for training, employees, and outreach, it’s unable to buy or install the solar equipment. Purdum is optimistic that the funding will eventually come through, but for now, the group secured a $20,000 grant from the Nature Conservancy. “They wanted to support our non-governmental fundraising efforts, and so the intent is to hire and fund a fundraising specialist.” Energize Wind River still plans to start construction this spring, if they’re able to raise enough money. Other tribal nations across the Mountain West are facing similar issues amid budget cuts by the Trump administration. The Whip Man enters the dance arena at the 2009 Wallowa Band Nez Perce Homeland Tamkaliks Celebration. (Courtesy Joe Whittle) A Native photojournalist is promoting the idea of a national “Land Back” movement across the U.S. for territory ceded, stolen, or taken during colonization. Joe Whittle is a member of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, and descendent of the Delaware Nation. A former back country wilderness ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, Whittle says he’s proposing that the federal government return its public lands to its original inhabitants. “Based on the fact that the United States violated every Indian Treaty they ever signed with indigenous peoples. And essentially, my project proposes that tribal citizens come together and form a class action lawsuit to sue for damages due for our treaty violations.” Whittle’s argument just appeared in Time Magazine. He’s hoping an inspired attorney might take the federal government on. “There’s also an ecological argument based on our traditional ecological knowledge, and a lot of data that shows that indigenous people are better and more sustainable stewards of the land than private industry or the United States government has ever been, due to how deeply embedded in U.S. politics private industry has become on public lands.” A presentation and discussion on Whittle’s “Land Back” proposal will be held Tuesday night at the University of Oregon in Eugene.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Morgan Harris, left, Marcedes Myran, and Rebecca Contois. (Courtesy Winnipeg Police Service / Darryl Contois) Officials in Manitoba have identified one of two sets of remains found last month at a Winnipeg landfill site. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, police have confirmed those remains belong to one of four Indigenous women murdered by a convicted serial killer. The remains of Morgan Harris were positively identified by forensic officials. They were found two weeks ago at a landfill, north of Winnipeg. A second set of remains have not yet been identified but are likely those of another victim of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki, an Indigenous woman known only as Buffalo Woman. Advocates for missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) are praising the Harris’ family for their strength and determination after they fought to the search of the landfill site. Praise also came from Manitoba premier Wab Kinew (Onigaming First Nation). “So I don’t think of us would ever want our loved ones to go through what Morgan Harris went through. However, through this journey, we have seen some remarkable strength, resilience, and power from the family of Morgan.” Sheila North, a former grand chief of northern of a group of northern Manitoba first nations, also acknowledged the strength and lover of the families for their efforts. And Premier Kinew says he hopes the family will have some sense of closure and healing now that they will be able to hold a sacred ceremony to memorialize here. The families of MMIP worked alongside forensic anthropology students to search the landfill. Some Indigenous leaders and advocates who pushed for the search said the remains wouldn’t have been found without the efforts of the Canadian government and the current provincial government. Winnipeg police and the former Conservative government of Manitoba argued against searching the landfill, because of safety concerns. (Courtesy AMC Networks) The hit thriller-mystery show Dark Winds kicked off its third season over the weekend. The new episodes have Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee investigating the disappearance of two boys, and an Federal Bureau of Investigation agent probing the death of the wealthy and powerful B.J. Vines from last season. Zahn McClarnon plays Leaphorn. “Season three’s basically a continuation of the exploration of the tragedy that befell the Leaphorn family from the previous seasons – with their son, the ramification of their son’s death – what consequences come to Joe Leaphorn for his actions he did last season, how it affects his mental state, and how it affects his marriage with his wife Emma.” The third lead in Dark Winds is Jessica Matten, who plays Bernadette Manuelito. Season three finds her hundreds of miles away working with the U.S. Border Patrol. Matten wasn’t available for an interview with National Native News, but co-star Kiowa Gordon says her character and Jim Chee still connect. “Jim’s not one to give up on something that he wants in his life. So I don’t think we’ve seen the last of that pairing between Bernadette and Jim Chee because, even though there may be some love triangle forming through (laughs) this Ivan character, I think we can’t ever count out Chee and Bernadette having a reunion, and I’d hold on to that hope.” Meanwhile, showrunner John Wirth says the series’ success comes from revisiting Tony Hillerman’s novels through the lens of Navajo and other Native American cast and crew members, including consultants. “It’s a wonderfully functional-dysfunctional group of people. (laughs) All of us have the same desire to tell a really gripping story and to honor the traditions out of which these characters come. Both the fictional world of Hillerman and also the historical world and the real world of the Navajo Nation.” Dark Winds airs Sundays on AMC.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Marie Richards loved her job as a tribal relations specialist for the U.S. National Forest Service. She was one of 3,400 workers targeted for layoffs. (Photo: Izzy Ross / Grist) Thousands of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) workers were fired in recent weeks — part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government and cut costs. A federal board this week ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to rehire those it fired. Before this development, Grist and IPR’s Izzy Ross went to meet one worker caught up in the confusion. Marie Richards is a citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. A little over a year ago, she joined USFS as a tribal relations specialist in northern Michigan. “There’s the Congressional boundaries of any forest and then there’s actually what the forests own and manage within it but you’ll pass right by on your way to 115 … yeah, see I’m still doing my job and I don’t even work there – that’s how much I loved it!” That change was sudden. Richards got a phone call from her supervisor on a Saturday in mid-February, telling her she’d been let go. “I hung up the phone, and I think I screamed, and my neighbor may or may not have heard me scream. I don’t have the heart to ask him.” Richards was one of thousands of probationary workers targeted for layoffs as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to cut costs and shrink the federal government — some of which have now been reversed. She was proud of her job. “None of us deserved this. We all work hard. We all work hard and we’re dedicated for taking care of the land.” That land includes almost one million acres and two treaty territories. Tribal nations ceded that to the federal government, which has a responsibility to keep it in trust for Indigenous peoples. As a liaison, Richards was part of that. As a tribal citizen, the work was also personal. “So that was the biggest source of pride for me in doing my job, was helping people understand my tribal nation’s in trust, Little River Band’s in trust, Saginaw Chippewa’s in trust. You know, all the tribes that we communicate with and try to collaborate and engage in cooperative management with.” She worries about what will happen to that trust responsibility as people like her are laid off. “That’s a promise, that’s an agreement between the federal government and tribal nations, that there are things we have treaty rights and without the people doing the work to take care of the land, where is that? Where is that? We have to have the public trust to also have tribal trust. Those are intertwined, that we can’t have one without the other.” Richards isn’t sure what’s next for her. One thing that is certain is her desire to keep doing work with tribes and heritage. “It still really hurts that this dream of mine is kind of shattered, and we’ll see. And you know, and find a new dream. But my, ultimately, my career, my livelihood, is in tribal relations for our heritage and I will find a home somewhere.” A USDA spokesperson confirmed that about two thousand probationary employees had been laid off from USFS. Richards said on Thursday that she had yet to be reinstated. This Sunday, AMC’s crime thriller Dark Winds – based on Tony Hillerman’s novels – begins its third season. Brian Bull has this preview. “We all have a line that runs down the middle of our heart. That lines separates monsters…from men.” The new episodes find Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, played by actor Zahn McClarnon, wrestling with his conscience following his actions last season. “Y’know, he struggles with guilt, that moral gray area he’s kinda found himself in. Questions his decisions, his moral compass and what choices — how they may have cost him. It just puts him into a lot of fear and anxiety this season.” Kiowa Gordon plays Jim Chee. He says this season finds the ex-FBI officer trying to gain acceptance back into the Navajo community, and reconcile with a childhood tormentor who’s suspected in a boy’s death. “He has a chance to confront his demons, so to speak, you know, which is like with Shorty Bull Legs. He’s trying to figure out if this guy is actually the murderer to this child.” (Courtesy AMC Networks) Dark Winds has already been greenlit for a fourth season. Showrunner John Wirth says the cast and crew are all dedicated to making the show authentic and respectful of Native culture. “Without denigrating Hillerman’s accomplishments or his work at all, I have a sense that he took the Navajo story told it through his own lens. But I think it was somewhat off-putting for Indigenous people who were reading that stuff. What I really wanted to do on this TV show was re-appropriate the stories back to the Navajo people.”       Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo illustration by Shoshana Gordon/ProPublica. Photos by Emily Schwing/KYUK and Michael Grabell/ProPublica. KYUK reporter Emily Schwing spent the last year crawling through attics, basements, and classrooms in rural public schools across Alaska. What she found was a serious public health and safety crisis that’s impacting Alaska’s Indigenous students. There is no mechanism to condemn a building in Alaska, but in the tiny community of Sleetmute, that’s exactly what an architect recommended for the public school in 2021. Angela Hayden is the lead teacher. “The roof was leaking when I first started teaching here 17 years ago.” That leak has been left for nearly two decades. Today, the building is on the verge of collapse. There are bats living in a utility closet and black mold throughout the walls and ceilings. Superintendent Madeline Aguillard says kids can’t thrive in these conditions. “They’re not conducive, for high expectations. They’re not conducive for academic achievement. They’re not conducive for athletic achievement.” It’s not just Sleetmute. Dozens of rural public schools in Alaska face similar problems and the health risks are concerning. Long term exposure to black mold can irritate lungs, cause chronic fatigue, and neurological problems. Fungal spores from bat feces can also irritate lungs and cause blindness. Higher rates of health disparities among Alaska Natives have long been documented, compared to the general population and the majority of students in Alaska’s rural public schools are Indigenous. Education Commissioner Deena Bishop acknowledges the public health concern, but says her agency isn’t solely responsible. “If something’s happening in the school, it’s most likely happening in other buildings in the community. So, you know, like it is a collective Alaskan issue that we’d be happy to have a seat at the table to discuss.” Andrea John, who has three kids enrolled in Sleetmute, says she thinks it’s easy for the state to forget communities like hers. “They’re choosing to look the other way and say the hell with us … those city people, they wouldn’t … let their kids go to school here.” Support for this reporting comes from ProPublica and the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. There is a Yup’ik language translation of this story by Julia Jimmy, KYUK’s Yup’ik News and Culture Producer. A candlelight vigil is planned for Thursday night in Mesa, Ariz. for Emily Pike, a Native American teenager who disappeared in January. She was staying at a group home in the city. Police recently confirmed some of her remains were discovered on a remote highway last month. Multiple agencies are now involved in the investigation, the Arizona Republic reports. Her family and the San Carlos Apache Tribe, where she’s from, are asking for privacy. Photo: Jeff Zylland / National Parks Service American grasslands were once a mecca for biodiversity. But federal data shows more than 60% of the ecosystem has vanished due to agriculture, development, and invasive species. New research shows how the Mountain West region could play a role in the conservation of one important – and yappy – grassland animal. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Rachel Cohen reports. If you drive along a grassland you might not see much. Ana Davidson says that’s until you come across a colony of prairie dogs. “And as soon as you do, the life of the prairie is there.” Davidson is a scientist at Colorado State University. She says prairie dogs’ underground burrows provide habitat for creatures from insects to ferrets. Her research team wanted to know the best spots to focus on their conservation, so they mapped in-tact native grasslands, but they also wanted to know where to avoid human conflict. “Is there oil and gas occurring there? Are there wind farms? Are there roads?” They found the highest potential for conservation efforts in western portion of the grassland ecosystem. That includes less developed parts of Montana and Wyoming, down to Colorado and northern New Mexico.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

President Donald Trump, in his more than one hour and a half speech to Congress Tuesday night, touted his executive actions since taking office six weeks ago, and said, “we’re just getting started.” Among actions he mentioned were the federal hiring freeze, creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “headed” by Elon Musk, and renaming Denali to Mt. McKinley in Alaska. Since taking office in January, tribal leaders from across the country have been raising concerns about the administration’s actions. The hiring freeze and the mass firing of government employees with the help of DOGE has tribal leaders worried about essential services in tribal communities, saying there could be devastating impacts, including to health care, education, and public safety. Last week, tribal leaders from across the country and leaders of Native organizations testified during three days of hearings in Washington, on American Indian and Alaska Native programs in a subcommittee in the House Committee on Appropriations. Marc Macarro, president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), released a written statement to the subcommittee. “The Trump administration’s early actions have generated confusion, fear, and real consequences throughout Indian Country.” Tribal leaders who testified urged for exemptions for tribes from President Trump’s orders, and for the federal government to uphold trust and treaty obligation. According to the Subcommittee of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, there were an unprecedented number of requests by leaders to participate in the hearings, which needed a third day to accommodate around 100 tribes and tribal organizations. The action changing Denali to Mt. McKinley prompted the Alaska State Legislature to urge the administration and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to maintain the name Denali. And U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bill that would officially designate the mountain as Denali, its Koyukon Athabascan name. During his address when talking about the war in Ukraine, Trump referred to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as “Pocahontas,” which he has used as a jab at her. Tribes and Native groups have condemned Trump’s use of the name, including NCAI, which said in a 2017 statement that “the name of Pocahontas should not be used as a slur, and it is inappropriate for anyone to use her name in a disparaging manner.” Native women’s advocates say it hurts the image of Native American women, adding the name is used by some as a stereotype for sexualizing them, pointing to Native women facing high rates of sexual violence and assaults in the U.S. (Courtesy NM Indian Affairs Department / Instagram) A bill in the New Mexico Legislature seeks to help address missing Native Americans in the state with a new alert system. According to the New Mexico Department of Justice, Native people account for 16% of missing persons in the state. Reporter Jeanette DeDios has more. Senate Bill 41 passed the Senate unanimously Saturday and would amend the Missing Person Information and Reporting Act to include a Turquoise Alert for Native Americans who are enrolled in a federally recognized tribe and go missing. An alert would go out immediately across the state without having to wait the standard 48 hours for a missing person. The bill is sponsored by State Sen. Angel Charley (Laguna and Diné/D-NM). State Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta (Diné/D-NM) from To’hajile is a co-sponsor. She says in her large rural district, it can take law enforcement a long time to respond to emergencies. “And I’m not talking a few hours, I’m talking days. And when someone goes missing or someone’s endangered, we need these alerts to go out right away.” The bill passed with an amendment that refines the criteria for issuing an alert to high-risk cases. It’s now in the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee. The bill would require the Department of Public Safety to develop a plan for getting alerts out to law enforcement and the public. This bill does not include a direct appropriation, but a fiscal analysis states there may be recurring costs for state agencies to implement the alert system. At least three other states including, Washington, California, and Colorado have passed similar legislation in recent years.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Brian Bull Longtime activist Winona LaDuke says powerful corporations and the Trump Administration are trying to eliminate dissent and disrupt Native American interests. As Brian Bull reports, she visited the University of Oregon Monday, fresh from observing the start of a trial against Greenpeace. LaDuke, an Anishinaabe tribal member from Minnesota’s White Earth Reservation, says the powerful Energy Transfer corporation has taken Greenpeace to a district court trial for multiple reasons: “To diminish and squash any kind of civil disobedience or First Amendment rights, by criminalizing criticism of big energy corporations because they’re charging Greenpeace with defamation. It’s called a SLAP suit: Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation.” LaDuke adds the case will be determined by jury in North Dakota’s Morton County, which she accuses of being racist and biased towards energy development companies. It’s all part of a larger concern Native environmentalists have as President Donald Trump continues to slash federal agencies and revisit his environmental agenda. In his first term, President Trump cut protections on certain areas deemed sacred or important to tribes. “Widespread mayhem is what we’re seeing. I mean obviously things like Bears Ears, everything that we have had gains on to protect sacred sites, they’re going to try to roll them back, as well as just basically destabilize tribal governments and tribal communities by cuts in funding.” LaDuke says it’s important for Native people to work together and protect their sovereignty, as well as food, water, and families. “Hold on. Y’know, this is not our first bad rodeo.” In a web statement, Energy Transfer says its lawsuit against Greenpeace is not about free speech, but activists not following the law. And the White House has explained that its actions are about eliminating waste at the federal level. First Nations HealthSource CEO Linda Son-Stone. Ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to Congress Tuesday night, a leader in urban Indian health, Linda Son-Stone, is advocating for urban clinics. The CEO of First Nations HealthSource will be attending the speech in Washington, as a guest of U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM). First Nations in Albuquerque is one of 41 urban Indian clinics in the country, which Son-Stone says is an important part of the Indian Health Service system. Son-Stone is advocating for the protection of IHS funding and Medicaid. She’s also concerned about federal workforce reductions. “We rely heavily on having a strong IHS infrastructure to administer and oversee a lot of the funding that we receive, as well as to advocate for both the tribes and the urban communities.” The clinic provides, medical, dental, behavioral health services, and traditional healing. Another effort to create Indigenous Peoples Day in Montana is underway in the state legislature. Montana Public Radio’s Victoria Traxler has more. State Sen. Shane Morigeau (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation/D-MT) brought a bill that would recognize the holiday statewide by sharing Columbus Day. Watch The Senate Debate This is the sixth legislative session in a row raising the issue. In 2021 and 2023, legislators attempted to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. But this year Sen. Morigeau’s bill proposes the two coincide. “For all the organizers and people I’ve worked with across the state, for them this was the best step moving forward recognizing that other efforts we brought to the legislative body have not passed” Legislators who spoke in support of the bill said it struck a balance and recognized Columbus’s impacts on world history as well as Indigenous peoples’ impacts. The senate gave the bill an initial vote of endorsement 48 to 2.     Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

In Canada, potential human remains have been discovered at a landfill site near Winnipeg. And families of two Indigenous women, who fought to have the landfill site searched, are hopeful that their struggle was not in vain. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the two women were victims of a convicted serial killer. The Prairie Green Landfill, just outside Winnipeg, has been the site of a search since December. It’s where the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcades Myran are believed to have been buried. The former government of Manitoba and the police rejected calls to search the site, in part, because of asbestos and toxic material at the location, and they said there was no guarantee the remains would be found. Wab Kinew (Onigaming First Nation) is the premier of Manitoba and spoke to family members of the victims. “I hope this is, in some way, a vindication because you’ve been saying the whole time, that should move ahead with search. Now we found what the experts tells us are human remains, There are two forensic anthropologists on site. They both double check the work here and they said these are human remains. And so now the RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] and the chief medical examiner are going to doing the identification process.” Kinew says officials don’t know yet if the remains are in fact the victims of the families. That process could take a couple of weeks. In a statement, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says the discovery is a a painful but significant moment in the fight for justice. Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson says the families deserve answers and deserve to lay their loved ones to rest with the dignity and respect that has so often been denied to Indigenous women. Jeremy Skibicki was convicted last July of four counts of first degree murder in the killings of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg in 2022. The possible remains found recently, could be that of Harris and Myran. He was also found guilty in deaths of Rebecca Contois, and a still unidentified women known only as Buffalo Woman. A new report shows North Dakota’s five tribal colleges contribute nearly $170 million to the state’s economy. Mike Moen reports. The data was issued by the North Dakota Tribal College System. The report indicates between 2022 and 2023, North Dakotans saw added tax revenue and public-sector savings of more than $30 million. Dr. Tracey Bauer, executive director of the college system, says alumni add even more economic activity when they work in their communities after graduation. Tribal college advocates see this as positive impacts, but there’s concern about Trump administration actions. Bauer says tribal colleges are largely funded by federal grants. She warns a lot might change if federal cuts reach North Dakota’s tribal colleges. “It’s going to possibly lead to staff layoffs, increases in tuition – to kind of make up some of that lost funding, [and] even campus program closures.” The American Indian College Fund (AICF) stresses that tribal colleges should be exempt from executive orders due to treaty and trust obligations of the federal government. AICF president and CEO Cheryl Crazy Bull says, as the uncertainty unfolds, organizations like hers are preparing to help these schools adjust. “Providing resources for institutions to hire adjunct faculty, or helping students with transfer programming.” The leaders say tribal colleges and universities were set up to provide a more cultural and welcoming learning environment, while giving students flexibility to overcome barriers to enrolling. Meanwhile, of the 37 tribal higher education institutions across the country, only two are federally operated and they’re feeling the impacts of the Trump administration’s federal workforce reductions – Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. While tribal higher education advocates urge for exemptions, Haskell students have been holding protests.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Navajo Nation officials this week addressed ongoing concerns about the recent restart of uranium ore hauling through the reservation. As Arizona Public Radio’s Ryan Heinsius reports, it follows months of negotiations with the owners of a mine near the Grand Canyon. In an online video, acting Navajo Attorney General Heather Clah said the tribe was unable to prevent the transport despite opposition from many residents, lawmakers, and Navajo President Buu Nygren. The tribe doesn’t have jurisdiction over the haul route, which is made up of state and federal highways. “So, the next best thing that we needed to go ahead and do is to make sure that we protected our Navajo Nation people. So that’s why we took the approach of negotiating terms in order to make sure that this agreement provides those protections.” Navajo officials can now inspect the truckloads before they enter the reservation, and the shipments are limited to certain hours and days. The agreement also includes emergency response procedures and several other provisions. Stephen Etsitty, executive director of the tribe’s Environmental Protection Agency, pointed out that the mine is fully permitted with state and federal agencies. “We took that and trying to develop as many mechanisms as we can to push the limits of regulation and oversight on this transport activity for the benefit of our communities. And that’s where we remain focused.” Earlier this month, 25-ton trucks of uranium ore left the Pinyon Plain Mine near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon bound for a mill in southern Utah. The shipments pass through several northern Arizona communities and a large swath of the Navajo Nation. The tribe expects 10 trucks per day for the next two to four years. A multigenerational home in White Mountain, Alaska burns in the early morning of February 20, 2025. (Courtesy Venessa Marie Koonooka) A young boy from White Mountain, Alaska, leaped into action recently when flames enveloped his family’s home. And as KNOM’s Ben Townsend tells us, the second grader likely saved his great-grandmother’s life. Roseann Titus was getting ready for the day on Thursday morning when she saw flames coming from a bathroom at the front of the house. Her granddaughter and great-grandson were still in bed. Titus tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire and then rushed to wake up her family, but the flames spread into the hallway, blocking the way out of the house. That’s when her great-grandson, eight-year-old Colton Koonooka-Kowchee, sprang into action. “We didn’t know how to contain it, so he kind of jumped out the window and ran for help.” That’s Colton’s mother, Venessa Marie Koonooka. She said her son plunged 10 feet from the window to a snowdrift below. He ran through deep snow to get help – which came in the form of Shane Bergamaschi, a volunteer firefighter. Bergamaschi helped pull Titus through a window and rushed her to the local clinic to await a medevac. “They helped us right away when we got in there with my grandma’s burns and smoke inhalation. I only had a popped knee and a few frostbites on my toes. I was okay.” Titus was flown to Anchorage, where she was treated for burns on her shoulder and arm. The home was a loss, including personal belongings and two moose legs from a recent hunt. Despite the heartbreak of losing the family home, Colton’s grandmother Nora Brown, who was not in the home at the time, credited her grandson with keeping the situation from getting much worse. “If it wasn’t for Colton jumping out on his own, we would have probably lost my mother, and the houses nearby probably would have caught fire.” Titus has worked for the Bering Strait School District since 1988. Bering Air is ferrying donations to the family and an online fundraising campaign has been set up. Close-up of one of the two gowns now on display. (Courtesy Smithsonian / NMAI) The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. is displaying two gowns worn by Oscar-nominated actor Lily Gladstone. The installation opens Friday, ahead of Sunday’s Oscars. Both gowns were a custom collaboration, designed by Gucci and Indigenous artist Joe Big Mountain, featuring Native design and quillwork. Four public programs are planned in March.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Assemblymember James Ramos’ (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA) legislative package for the year includes continued efforts to address missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) in the state. He spoke this week at an MMIP tribal policy summit held in Pala, Calif. Asm. Ramos highlighted the Feather Alert system, in its second year being used in the state, to notify the public and law enforcement about missing Native Americans. He says getting tools like this, requires tribal advocacy and representation in the legislature. Ramos is the first and only California Native American currently serving. “Being in the state legislature and with all your support, we’ve been able to start to bring pieces of legislation forward. Legislation that focuses on the Department of Justice to start to build that statistical data so that we go out and we ask for resources. That data is there, something that hasn’t been there for California Indian people. We continue to look at those issues moving forward and gaining allies in the state legislature and within law enforcement. Gaining allies to bring forward the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.” One of his bills, AB 31, authorizes the state Department of Justice to grant tribal police from three California tribes state peace officer status, if they meet the same requirements and standards as other police officers in the state. It would also assist law enforcement by clarifying jurisdiction, permitting tribal police to assist communities close to reservations, and allowing participating tribes to enter into agreements to share liability and collaborate on MMIP cases. AVO flew over the summit crater of Mount Spurr on February 7 and used a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera to measure the temperature of the steam and gas vents (fumaroles) at the summit, with the highest temperatures exceeding 320 degrees F (160 degrees C). (1/3) pic.twitter.com/brJlgKKDVu — Alaska AVO (@alaska_avo) February 18, 2025 Officials are keeping a close eye on a volcano near Anchorage, Alaska, for chances of eruption. KNBA’s Jill Fratis has more. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, K’idazq’eni, which is also known as Mount Spurr and is located about 80 miles west of the city, has shown signs of heightened activity. This has promoted the elevation of the alert level to “watch,” which increases the potential for an eruption. David Schneider is a Research Geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO). “We increased our alert level back in October of last year, increasing the aviation color code, as well as the volcano alert level to yellow for aviation and advisory for ground hazards.” The advisory comes after increased seismic activity and minor ash emissions observed over the past few months. Schneider says when it comes to a possible eruption, there is no way to tell at the moment. “I hate to say this, but the volcano is either going to erupt, or it’s not. There’s no escalating trend, where the volcano is presenting like this, can go on and it can die away, and no eruption. So we’re kind of in that stage right now of just sort of watching and seeing what the volcano is going to do.” K’idazq’eni last erupted in 1992, sending ash as high as 65,000 feet and causing disruptions to air travel and local communities. As far as what to do in the near future, Schneider says the focus is on preparedness. “Right now, I would say we are in the preparedness stage, which is a good place for people to be. Both as scientists and observatories who are reaching out to emergency managers, segments of the economy that can be impacted like the airport. And just to make sure we’re all on the same page.” When all is said and done, Schneider wants to remind the public that a possible volcanic eruption is just another natural hazard to be prepared for in Alaska. “Living in Alaska, we should all have some basic level of preparedness for natural hazards. We have wind storms that knock out power for days at a time. We have earthquakes that can happen. So we’re kind of used to that level of preparedness, and for volcanic ash, it’s really not a whole lot different than sort of being ready for any other natural hazard that you can face.” Updates and safety information are being listed on AVO’s website.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

A legislative push to place the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEUs) in every South Dakota school has died on the Senate floor. Lawmakers say now is time to change course. SDPB’s C.J. Keene has more. In what represented a relatively strong push to mandate the program in the state, the proposal was ultimately trounced on the Senate floor on a vote of 7-28. Many of the no were from lawmakers concerned with potential changes to education and the qualification of educators to teach these lessons. State Sen. Tamara Grove (R-SD) from Lower Brule said it was a challenge to sit through that vote. “Just being really vulnerable, it was really personal. You’re not supposed to get attached to your bills like that, but I did, so it was a hard loss, but I’m okay. That compels you forward, and that is why I’m not quitting.” Sen. Grove says she believes in the OSEUs and their power to improve state-tribal relations. “My mind was on the exchange students kind of theory of if you know people from across the waters, you’re less likely to go to war with them. A big part of the divide in the state of South Dakota is because we don’t understand each other. We don’t know each other.” That sentiment was echoed by State Sen. Red Dawn Foster (Oglala Lakota/D-SD). “If you talk to college students to this day, they’ll say they weren’t aware there were nine tribes in the state of South Dakota, and how the state boundaries became a fact, and the fact reservations and tribal nations supersede the state and federal government. How can you know your neighbors if you don’t know the history?” Sen. Grove says she is now working on a non-legislative push via the Department of Education to further incorporate the OSEUs into schooling. (Photo: Brian Bull) Native Americans needing help with addiction and substance abuse have an option opening this month in the town of Sheridan, Oreg. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports on the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde’s new residential treatment facility. “It really turned out amazing, we did a blessing ceremony on Friday.” With dark wood decor and soothing tones of gray and green, the Main Street Recovery facility is spacious and calming. Operations director Jennifer Worth shows where clients will sleep, meet, do chores, and get “wraparound” services. “Having full access to counseling, group, case management, any other hands-on services that a tribal member may need.” Worth says any Native American 18 or older can be helped here, if they are medically stable and beds are available. “Other things we’re working on is hopefully adding a sweat lodge in the back.” Kelly Rowe is the executive director of tribal health services for the Grand Ronde. She says like their opioid recovery clinics in Salem and Portland, the Sheridan facility integrates Western medicine with Native practices. “Culture is medicine for us. Making sure that we don’t lose sight of who we are as a people, and how we want our tribal members – as well as other Natives – to feel that they’re part of something bigger and that we’re here for them.” The recovery center will be taking a few clients next week. Up to 18 beds are on-site, in an area adjacent to the Grand Ronde reservation. Part of a major $6 billion opioid settlement helped fund the Main Street Recovery facility.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Tribal leaders from across the country are providing testimony in Washington, D.C. this week on American Indian and Alaska Native programs. Three hearings are being held in the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Tribal leaders Tuesday morning mentioned how the Trump administration’s recent actions, including the federal hiring freeze and layoffs, threaten essential services in Indian Country. Tribal leaders are raising concerns about federal funding for health care, law enforcement, education, and other services and programs. While tribal leaders are calling on the federal government to uphold tribal trust and treaty obligation, Chief J. Allan of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe is also urging for strong leadership. “All I’m asking for is for leadership to come together and work this out.” Chief Allan echoed funding needs for tribal programs, which he said have been historically underfunded, and urged the subcommittee to address tribal concerns. The hearing continues Tuesday afternoon and hearings Wednesday and Thursday. According to the subcommittee, there were an unprecedented number of requests, requiring a third day to accommodate around 100 tribes and tribal organizations. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) The state of New Mexico announced Monday that state agencies are launching support initiatives to help people recently dismissed from their federal employment, as the Trump administration seeks to shrink the federal workforce. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) says the state is committed to supporting people into transitioning into new career opportunities. The initiative includes recruitment events, online resources, and access to education and training opportunities. Online resources offer information about unemployment insurance, job search, and career support, and answers to frequently asked questions. Recruitment events will take place in the state in the next few weeks featuring employers ready to hire, including the state, private businesses, and local municipalities. New Mexico’s Congressional delegation has been advocating for the protection of federal employees, including those serving Indian Country. Angie Wilson, director of the Reno-Sparks Tribal Health Center, led an effort in collaboration with Nevada Health Link, the state’s health insurance marketplace, to create a tribal sponsorship program that allows tribes to purchase health plans for community members. (Photo: Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez / KFF Health News) A new sponsorship program in Nevada is seeking to get more tribal citizens covered and protected from accumulating debt from uninsured medical care. Alex Gonzalez has more. According to reporting from KFF Health News, while some tribes already participate in Nevada Health Link’s program, they’re wanting to get more on board. The initiative allows tribes to buy health insurance through the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace. Advocates, such as Jim Roberts with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, contend the sponsorship model increases access to coverage by giving Native folks a chance to search for medical care outside the tribal care system. “I think sponsorship programs bring case management to that process, to allow people to understand what their options are so that they can get enrolled. Left to their own devices, this is a segment of the population that might not traditionally enroll in Medicaid or in an insurance program.” Roberts adds that because sponsorship in some tribes isn’t limited to just enrolled tribal members, it can impact whole communities. But he is worried that under the Trump administration, enhanced tax credits for marketplace enrollees will sunset by the end of the year if Congress doesn’t extend them — meaning premiums could go up significantly. Proponents say the sponsorship program is making a difference for Native American patients, but more work is needed to build community trust. While Nevada Health Link used Washington state’s program as reference, Roberts says the Silver State’s approach is different. “But in terms of Nevada really getting behind it and asking the QHPs [qualified health plans] to work with tribes to set these up, I think that is unique.” Roberts wants to remind folks they won’t lose their Indian Health Service coverage by participating in the sponsorship program, but will rather help fill in vital gaps in the health-care system. “By providing resources that can then get billed for the care that they’re receiving, and likewise those resources can be used to expand care to the tribal population as a whole, then it’s a win-win situation.” This story includes original reporting by Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez for KFF Health News.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

2024 MMIP Summit. (Photo courtesy Yurok Tribe) The Yurok Tribe and the Pala Band of Mission Indians are hosting this year’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) Summit in Pala, Calif., which will take place Tuesday and Wednesday. This is the third year the summit will be held. The event brings together tribal leaders, advocates, lawmakers, and law enforcement to address MMIP in the state. Yurok Chairman Joseph James says the summit addresses the root causes of the MMIP crisis, which he says is an unfortunate issue that negatively impacts every Indigenous person in the state. This year’s summit will feature a youth panel, cultural sharing, and testimony from families. Topics include sex trafficking, the implementation of a statewide missing Indigenous person alert, and culture as healing. According to the tribe, California has the fifth highest rate of MMIP cases in the U.S. The summit is intended to help identify actionable tribally driven solutions to combat MMIP. Members of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California burn piles in an overgrown area near Dresslerville, Nev., to promote new willow growth, a key resource for traditional basket making. (Courtesy Washoe Tribe) The devastation from January’s Los Angeles wildfires is a reminder that extreme wildfires burn year-round. The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is working to reintroduce intentional, cultural fire meant to restore forest health – and reduce explosive fires. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more. It’s a sun-splashed afternoon in a forest near South Lake Tahoe, where large fir and pine trees stretch into the clear blue sky, and dozens of tribal members are eager to learn about cultural burning. But first, they have to learn how to control and put out fires. That’s why a group is huddled around a heavy-duty water pump with two thick fire hoses connected to it. One hose is in a tub of water the size of an above-ground pool, and the other is unraveled a few dozen yards away. Jeremy Miles Placencia, a U.S. Forest Service forestry technician, leads the demonstration. “We have everything connected. We have our discharge hose. Now we can set up the fuel line.” And then Placencia revs up the water pump, which roars like an angry lawn mower, echoing through the forest. Water pushes through the extended hose, like a snake coming to life. Now, participants can practice spraying pressurized water as if they were putting out a fire. The U.S. Forest Service’s Jeremy Miles Placencia, left, demonstrates how to use a water pump at a fire training hosted by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. (Photo: Kaleb Roedel / Mountain West News Bureau) One person soaking up that knowledge is 30-year-old Kyle Tabor-Cooper (Nooksack) originally from Washington state. He now lives in Northern Nevada and is engaged to a member of the Washoe Tribe. “I’ve met a lot of people that have inspired me to get into this training and just show me a different kind of way with cultural, intentional fire.” Cultural fires are restorative, not destructive. They’re typically done on a smaller scale to take care of traditional medicine plants or other cultural resources that rely on fire, as Rhiana Jones, director of the Washoe Tribe’s environmental protection department, explains. “For example, the Washoe Tribe, our first two burns were burning a willow patch. Washoes are famous for their baskets, making beautiful baskets. So when you burn the willows, they grow back better, straighter, with less secondary nodes.” But the Washoe Tribe wasn’t allowed to intentionally burn for more than a century. That’s because of longtime colonial federal policies that prioritized suppression – or putting out fires as soon as they start. Jones said that has hurt tribes, and the health of many forests. A mountain range covered in a smoky haze. In the foreground, there is a stand of burnt-out pinyon pines. In the middle ground, there are rolling hills of cheatgrass, which borders patches of surviving pinyon forest. The Pine Nut Mountains on Washoe tribal lands, bathed in smoke from the Mosquito Fire in 2022, used to host many acres of pinyon pine forest. Pinyon pines are threatened by climate change-driven drought, wildfire, heat, and invasion by insects. “Fire suppression is like Indigenous culture and Indigenous people suppression as well. They were not interested in, I think, learning from Indigenous people.” But that has started to change over the last decade. Now, many federal fire officials say decades of keeping fire off the land caused a buildup of highly flammable dead trees and brush, turning many forests into a tinderbox. And rising temperatures and drier conditions are adding even more fuel. A 2021 study led by UCLA found that climate change has been the main driver of the increase in fire weather in the West. “Climate change has had a huge effect, with respect to drought, increase of pests and pathogens, and then increase of wildfire. So, we

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says U.S. Health And Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy has pledged to preserve the Indian Health Service (IHS). Alaska Public Media’s Liz Ruskin reports. Sen. Murkowski says she reached Sec. Kennedy by phone last weekend. “He was given a mandate to make a 10% reduction across the board throughout Health and Social Services. And after we had our conversation, he committed to me that there were going to be no reductions at IHS on his watch. It was important to have that line of communication.” Murkowski voted for Kennedy’s confirmation despite her disapproval of his decades-long campaigns to undermine trust in vaccines. She defended that vote by saying she has to find a way to work with top officials in the Trump administration to represent her constituents’ concerns, and she says Kennedy’s IHS pledge shows her approach is already paying off. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), ranking Democrats on subcommittees that oversee funding for the Department of the Interior, are urging the Trump administration to reinstate terminated Indian Affairs employees. They’re also calling for the federal hiring freeze to be lifted, and to rescind early retirement offers. In a letter sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum Thursday, the lawmakers ask the administration to “instead work to strengthen and grow Indian Affairs staff to best meet the needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.” They say many of the Indian Affairs programs tribal communities rely on are already underfunded and understaffed, and that the administration’s actions are damaging, implemented without tribal consultation, and put vital Indian Country services at risk. (Courtesy Sun Bear Industries) Wisconsin tribal nations are working toward energy autonomy. They’re using renewable energy and creating economic opportunities, as Judith Ruiz-Branch reports. Tribal nations have historically faced challenges to own and control their own electricity, even though a significant number of plant and utility infrastructure are in close proximity to reservation lands. Isaiah Ness founded Sun Bear Industries after witnessing disproportionate opportunities in the renewable energy space. “There’s not much disparity in the type of person that was receiving solar. It was one of those things that you could see the common trend very easily. ” Ness now helps Indigenous and minority communities in Wisconsin to build renewable energy infrastructure with an emphasis on intersecting cultural appreciation and economic opportunities. The Menominee Nation is working to achieve energy sovereignty by 2035. Part of that vision began with their solar elder project which was created to ensure elder community members are never without power during outages. Ness says reservations typically have high power demands, and having autonomy over that is key. “It makes more sense for them to have on reservation power-producing plants and facilities that are also sourced from clean energy. And then for them to be able to reinvest into their own community. And so this concept of virtuous cycle how far and how many cycles can we make out of $1 that is injected into renewable energy.” Community partnerships and grants have been a crucial component to the progress Indigenous communities have made thus far. The Inflation Reduction Act allocated about $400 billion toward climate initiatives with a large portion dedicated to renewable energy projects through tax incentives and grants for tribes. Uncertainty looms on whether programs like these will be included in proposed spending cuts under the Trump administration. This story was produced with original reporting from Robert Chappell for Madison 365.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Entering Black Hills National Forest on Route 87 at Black Hills National Forest. (daveynin / Flickr) In South Dakota, the Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to promote the long-term health and viability of the Black Hills National Forest. SDPB’s C.J. Keene reports. Brought by State Sen. Randy Deibert (R-SD) from Spearfish, the bill was widely supported, though that does not mean it went without questions. State Sen. Red Dawn Foster (Oglala Lakota/D-SD) questioned issues like tribal involvement in the long-term forest plan and the treatment of old growth trees. Sen. Deibert was quick to quell concerns. “The tribes have a cooperative agency status that is above and beyond the local governments, so they will have a seat at the table on any action taken in the Hills. Now, the old growth – that’s part of the management plan too. They have guidelines in the management plan too when they do a harvest to acknowledge that growth and other unique situations.” The Black Hills are considered sacred in Lakota culture, and Indigenous people have historically been underrepresented in decision-making for forest management. (Courtesy Navajo Nation Council / Facebook) On Wednesday, members of the Navajo Nation Council joined Utah state officials and lawmakers at the state capitol in Salt Lake City to celebrate a water rights settlement. The Utah-Navajo Nation Water Rights Settlement grants the Navajo Nation a water allocation of 81,500 acre-feet per year with rights to both surface and groundwater from the Colorado River within Utah. The settlement also includes significant funding for water infrastructure development. Navajo council members say this comes after years of advocacy and will provide Navajo communities with essential needs like brining running water to homes. According to the tribe, there are about 6,000 residents on the Utah side of the Navajo Nation and about half of them live without running water. Dancers from a dozen North Slope villages recently gathered for the biannual festival Kivġiq in Utqiagvik, Alaska. Alaska Desk reporter Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Susan Patkotak was not allowed to participate in Iñupiaq dancing growing up. But last week, the 19-year-old performed in front of hundreds of people and received a standing ovation. It was a new dance she created that told a story of reconnecting to the tradition. “It’s about how I wasn’t allowed to dance when I was younger.” @rosemongoyak22 2025 Kivġiq Grand Finale in Barrow, Alaska #2025 #kivġiq #Barrow #Alaska #Inuit #Aggi ♬ original sound – Rose Mongoyak Patkotak is a member of Barrow Dancers, one of 11 dance groups that took part in Kivġiq. The event, also known as the “messenger feast,” brought together at least 700 participants. It included a running race, gift-giving, sharing Indigenous food and, most importantly, Iñupiaq dancing. For performers like David Elavgaq, it was a chance to reconnect with relatives and friends and uplift each other through the traditional art form. “It’s healing for us coming out of the long, dark winter days.” Kivġiq is a longtime tradition held during the years of successful harvests, when coastal Iñupiaq tribes would trade their catch and products with their inland neighbors. The tradition was discontinued in the early 20th century because the church viewed Iñupiaq dancing as pagan. The festival finally restarted in the late 1980s. This year’s acts included traditional ceremonial dances like the box drum dance. The legend behind it describes the Mother Eagle teaching Iñupiaq people to drum and celebrate. The event also featured some brand-new dances – including the one from Patkotak with the Barrow Dancers. Patkotak only started dancing two years ago, and for a while it was hard for her to be left out of the practice. The lyrics of the song she performed at the recent festival describe the joyful feeling of being a part of the dancing tradition. “We create songs and dances to express ourselves and to express our stories.” Patkotak dedicated her dance to elders and everyone who yearns to reconnect to their culture.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

A post marks where Enbridge’s Line 5 crosses the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on Friday, June 24, 2022. (Photo: Danielle Kaeding / WPR) A Lake Superior tribe in Wisconsin says a Canadian energy firm’s plans to reroute an oil and gas pipeline will violate its water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. Danielle Kaeding has more. Energy firm Enbridge wants to reroute Line 5 after the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa sued the company in 2019 to shut down and remove the pipeline from its lands. Line 5 carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily from Superior to Sarnia, Ontario. Federal regulators signed off on the tribe’s water quality standards in 2009. Bad River Tribal Chair Robert Blanchard says the reroute would harm the tribe’s resources. “Because there’s many more streams and tributaries and everything that runs toward Bad River into Bad River out into Lake Superior.” Earthjustice attorney Stefanie Tsosie represents the tribe. She says it’s possible blasting bedrock to install the pipe could unearth elements that could become hazardous when exposed. “The blasting materials themselves could be hazardous and introduce hazardous components to the water.” She says those may include PFAS, mercury, or other chemicals. An Enbridge spokesperson says the company is confident the project will not significantly impact water quality or exceed the tribe’s standards. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski on the Senate floor February 13, 2025. (Courtesy C-SPAN) U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has introduced a bill that would officially designate North America’s highest mountain as Denali, its Koyukon Athabascan name. The legislation would require that any reference in U.S. laws, maps, or other records refer to the mountain as Denali. This comes after President Donald Trump’s executive order to change the name back to Mount McKinley. Sen. Murkowski spoke about the mountain on the Senate floor last week, saying for Alaskans it will always be Denali. She says her action follows the Alaska State Legislature, which recently moved a resolution urging the administration and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to maintain the name Denali. And as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, the fight to preserve the name is an old battle. If she were alive, Poldine Carlo would probably sing her Denali song to protest President Trump’s executive order. Carlo was in her late 90’s when she performed her Denali song at a Denakkanaaga elders and youth conference. She had greeted President Barack Obama with the same song, when he visited Alaska in 2015, the summer his administration changed the name back from McKinley to Denali. “It just felt so good and it was healing.” Angela Gonzalez remembers when Poldine sang the song for President Obama. In her Athabascan Woman Blog, she wrote about it and the joy she felt over the return of the ancient name. “Just a feeling of a great land and untold stories from our ancestors.” Gonzalez’s maiden name is Yatlin, which means “runner”, and refers to her family’s long history of trading goods. “We definitely traveled a long ways.” where the mountain was part of a long network of trails that went all the way from Siberia to California – and Denali, which means tall one in her Koyukon Athabascan language, was an important landmark. “We were people who traded everywhere. We have artifacts from other locations.” Gonzalez says no matter what the president does, Denali will always be Denali.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

(Photo: Angel White Eyes / NDN Collective) After nearly 50 years in prison, Leonard Peltier is free to go home. He was released Tuesday morning from a federal prison in Florida. Former President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of the Indigenous activist last month, for his role in a 1975 deadly shootout with FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Peltier, an enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, will reside on his tribal homelands in North Dakota, serving out the remainder of his sentence in home confinement The Indigenous organization NDN Collective is bringing him back home. In a statement, Peltier said, “Today I am finally free. They may have imprisoned me, but they never took my spirit.” He also thanked his supporters saying he looks forward to seeing his friends, family, and community. NDN Collective CEO Nick Tilsen in a statement said Peltier never gave up fighting for his freedom so they never gave up fighting for him. Many see Peltier as a symbol of racism and oppression against Native Americans by the justice system. While the move to free Peltier has drawn applause from members of Congress and groups like Amnesty International, it has been opposed by law enforcement officials. On Wednesday, NDN Collective is hosting an event to celebrate his return home, and a community feed in Belcourt, N.D. The event will be live streamed. Peltier is 80 years old and is said to be in poor health. Listen to today’s Native America Calling for more on Leonard Peltier’s journey Tuesday, February 18, 2025 — Native American activism marks victory with Leonard Peltier’s release The chairman of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes delivered the State of Tribal Nations address to the Montana Legislature on Monday. Justin Gray Hawk says tribes in the state are healthy, strong, and resilient. He began the speech by highlighting some successes he says lawmakers and the state have supported in Indian Country, including a water settlement, economic ventures, and a tax sharing agreement. Gray Hawk says bills tribes have supported are funding for law enforcement, addressing missing and murdered Indigenous people, and expanding Medicaid. He says among issues tribes will continue to advocate for are Indian education, protecting tribal hunting and fishing rights, and bringing back bison to tribal lands. Gray Hawk ended his speech by encouraging partnerships with tribes. “This is an important time to come together. It is important to remind ourselves and our surrounding communities that together we are greater than the sum of our parts.” There are seven reservations and 12 tribes in Montana. Las Vegas Paiute Tribe 24th Annual Snow Mountain Powwow in 2012. (Photo: Tomás Del Coro / Wikimedia) Nevada’s only sitting Indigenous legislator has introduced a bill to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day on what she calls the “correct day” – the second Monday in October. The bill was heard last week, as Alex Gonzalez reports. Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV) issued a proclamation designating August 9 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Nevada, but Assemblymember Shea Backus (Cherokee/D-NV) says it doesn’t pay Indigenous communities the recognition or respect they deserve. She says AB144 would align both dates – as is celebrated across the nation. “Indigenous Peoples Day isn’t just about a day of recognition, it is about placing Indigenous voices at the forefront of decisions that shape the future of this state. It is this deep cultural connection that has shaped the character of the state of Nevada, and should be celebrated.” Backus says opponents of the bill see it as an attempt to remove Columbus Day, a federal holiday, from the books. She rejects that notion, and says the second Monday in October could instead be shared between both holidays. Assemblymember Richard DeLong (R-NV) questioned the precedent the change of date could be setting for the state. “Under state law, there are no overlaps. This would be the first time that the state ever decides to have a period of observance that you have two of them coinciding on the same day. So in that sense, it is unique and different.” But backers of the bill say banks and other establishments already recognize the October date both as Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day, and see the bill as a formality to codify the joint recognition into law. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Nearly 1,000 Indian Health Service (IHS) layoffs were rescinded Friday, as tribal organizations from across the country advocate to protect the federal workforce serving Indian Country. The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce. More than a dozen tribal organizations sent a letter to the Office of Personnel Management and the administration on Friday, urging for the protection of federal employees serving Indian Country. The letter raises concerns about what they say would be devastating impacts on essential services in tribal communities, including critical service disruption to healthcare and emergency services, and jobs with ripple effects on local economies. The groups are calling for full exemptions for employees in the Indian Health Service (IHS), Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and other federal offices that support tribes. The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is among organizations to sign the letter. The NIHB told Native News Online on Sunday that the IHS layoffs were rescinded “thanks at least in part to advocacy by the many Tribal organizations.” ICT reports new health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. verbally rescinded the IHS layoffs Friday evening. Tribal organizations are reminding officials that tribes have unique political status, and the government has trust and treaty obligations. A patient at the IHS Fort Belknap Hospital in Harlem, Mont. receives a COVID vaccination on April 6, 2021. (Courtesy IHS) A recent report shows that in rural counties home to large numbers of American Indians, including in Montana, people are more likely to rely on Medicaid for health insurance across all age groups. Kathleen Shannon has more. About 23% of Montanans rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. But the four counties with the highest rates – roughly 40% – are all home to American Indian reservations. That’s according to a report from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families on Medicaid’s role in rural areas. Executive Director Joan Alker says that’s a national pattern. “This is important because if Congress moves ahead to make large cuts, these areas and Indian Country more generally will be in big trouble.” Alker says documents leaked from the House Budget Committee show it’s considering cuts to Medicaid between $200 billion and $2.3 trillion. She adds the cuts are not a “foregone conclusion.” Jason Smith, executive director of the Montana Consortium for Urban Indian Health, says Medicaid doesn’t just cover individuals, it also helps reimburse health centers like his. “I would say the UIOs, particularly, had a lot of revenue coming from Medicaid. So it’s really a great secondary source of funding that has helped their organizations run and provide services for the communities.” As of January, more than 14,000 American Indians in Montana were enrolled in Medicaid expansion. A Poetry in the Park event commemorating Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women on May 1, 2024. (Photo: Brian Bull / KLCC) An effort to improve response to reports of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) in Oregon is underway in the state legislature. KLCC’s Brian Bull reports. State Rep. Tawna Sanchez (Shoshone-Bannock, Ute, and Carrizo descent/D-OR) is building on a 2019 MMIP bill she sponsored, that created talking sessions between tribal communities and state agencies, including the Oregon State Police (OSP). That led to improved training and a tribal liaison in the OSP. Now Rep. Sanchez has a bill that aims to have Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes and urban communities partner up with another state agency. “It’s asking that we put a sort of intervention kind of situation in the Oregon Health Authority. They’ve already got established prevention models that they’ve used, they already have the ability to get out to community. They already have the ability to bring folks into sort of that thought process of, like, ‘How do we fix this?’” The bill is currently in front of the legislature’s budget-writing committee with an estimated price tag of $500,000 per year. She’s concerned about whether federal funds could be tapped, given the uncertainty about the future of federal spending. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

As the new chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was one of the featured speakers at the National Congress of American Indians winter summit in Washington, D.C. this week. As Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, she encouraged tribes to stand up for their rights. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she’s worried about President Trump’s executive orders to shut down programs that promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). She says the administration must not be allowed to apply these initiatives to tribes. “This is a different category altogether, folks.” Murkowski says this needs to be made clear to the new administration. “The federal government is charged with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust toward Native Indian tribes, and it’s that trust responsibility that we’re talking about here.” Murkowski told the group she was encouraged by a directive from the Interior Department that says the president’s DEI initiatives do not override the Department’s pre-existing legal obligations to tribes. But the senator says she does appreciate the administration’s desire to make government more efficient. “But how we achieve it, matters. It matters.” Murkowski says, above all, the administration needs to follow the law. The senator drew the most reaction from the crowd, when she compared the current political climate to boating in the rough seas of Southeast Alaska, when it’s not easy to find safe harbor. “I think we got people vomiting off both sides of the boat. It’s kind of tumultuous right now (laughter).” Murkowski says she’s heard that some tribes have had trouble accessing their federal money. She encouraged them contact her Indian affairs committee, so it can keep track. The Senator also noted that the president’s Department of Government Efficiency should look to tribes and their success in using tribal compacts, a self-governance mechanism that has saved the federal government the millions of dollars. U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (D-KS), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), and Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) sent a letter this week to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum raising concerns about Indian education. In the letter, they outline their opposition of the president’s order “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families.” They’re concerned it would dismantle the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The U.S. lawmakers wrote, “the U.S. government has both trust and treaty responsibilities to provide Tribal education services, led by the BIE under the Department of the Interior.” The lawmakers say the BIE administers funds for hundreds of schools and programs, and for Native communities there are few to no other options. They also emphasize the schools provide culturally informed educational opportunities and language programs. The lawmakers are urging Burgum to engage in formal tribal consultations and ensure that BIE programs are fully funded. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been sworn in as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the Indian Health Service (IHS). Sec. Kennedy has promised to elevate Indian health in HHS. During his confirmation hearing in January, Kennedy committed to addressing Indian health care. “I’m going to bring in a Native at the assistant secretary level. I’d like to get him actually designated as an assistant secretary for the first time in American history, to make sure all of the decisions that we make in our agency are conscious of the impacts on the First Nations.” In a social media post, the Indian Health Service said, as the 18th largest public health care system in the United States, it looks forward to working with Kennedy with its efforts to strengthen health care services, expand access, and improve health outcomes for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The IHS provides health services to more than two million American Indians and Alaska Natives in 37 states. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: An illustration on the cover of the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings and Standards. (Courtesy Department of Education / State of South Dakota) A bill, which would mandate the teaching of the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings (OSEU), has advanced from the Senate Education Committee in the South Dakota Legislature. South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene reports. The bill was brought by State Sen. Tamara Grove (R-SD) from Lower Brule. She says the move is in the spirit of “resetting” state-tribal relations. “I am honored and blown away for all seven of the Senators to stand with me on (SB) 196. To really lean into the rest that the good chairman from Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate called for is just unbelievable.” Under the administration of former Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD), state-tribal relations saw many polarizing moments – including Gov. Noem saying Native children “don’t have any hope.” That culminated in the then-governor’s banishment from every reservation in South Dakota. In the State of the Tribes speech to lawmakers, Sisseton Wahpeton Chairman J. Garrett Renville said this moment was a chance to reset that relationship. Sen. Grove says teaching these lessons in all public schools is a meaningful step toward reconciliation. “A big part of what (Native peoples) carry has been the rejection and the abandonment – those kinds of heart wounds. It’s part of the healing process, right? It says we want to move forward, and we want to be more inclusive about how we’re doing our education.” The OSEUs teach Native culture, traditions, and history. The standards were developed by a team of educators and experts in culture, history, oral traditions, and language in collaboration with the state’s education department. The bill will next be heard on the Senate floor. (Courtesy Brenda White Bull) In the New Mexico Legislature, a bill that would prohibit school boards from banning tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies in the state unanimously passed its first committee this week. As Jeanette DeDios reports, it stems from an incident that happened last May in the city of Farmington, N.M. A Native American high school graduate was told to remove their embellished graduation cap that had an eagle plume and beads. Farmington Municipal Schools later released a statement clarifying the district’s policy that caps and gowns could not be altered. The student was given a generic cap for the remainder of the ceremony. New Mexico Secretary for the Indian Affairs Department Josett Monette from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa discussed how important wearing regalia is for Native American students. “It’s our way of honoring the accomplishment. It’s our family’s way of honoring our accomplishments. And I think it means something to be able to represent who we are as Native people.” During the Senate Indian, Rural and Cultural Affairs Committee hearing, State Sen. William Sharer (R-NM) from Farmington suggested defining what regalia is and questioned whether this bill could affect the first amendment. “What about other groups? I know this one clearly talks about Native American, but what if somebody wanted to support Christopher Columbus? What if somebody wanted to put a swastika on their head for First Amendment rights.” Bill co-sponsor State Sen. Benny Shendo Jr. (Jemez Pueblo/D-NM) says the intent isn’t to exclude anybody but to reaffirm Native Americans students’ sovereign rights. “We’re the only group of people as federally recognized tribes that are named in the Constitution. No other group of people is. That’s why this relationship and what we do, we’re not excluding anybody. We’re exerting our right to be who we are, that this country identified from the very beginning.” State Sen. William Soules (D-NM) recommended giving the bill an emergency clause so it would go into effect in time for this year’s graduates in May.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by NM Native Vote (@nativevoters)   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: The Dwight Eisenhower Executive Office Building houses the OMB. (Yuhan Zhang / Wikipedia) Native communities across the country continue to raise concerns about potential impacts from President Donald Trump’s executive orders and other administration actions. As the Mountain West News Bureau’s Murphy Woodhouse reports, Native organizations from across the country are responding. Of particular concern was a late January Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo that temporarily froze federal payments, and sowed ongoing uncertainty across the country. “To see the federal funding freeze was very alarming and concerning for many folks within Indian Country.” That’s Matthew Campbell, deputy director of the Native American Rights Fund, speaking from Boulder, Colo. Matthew Campbell. His group was one of a number of Native organizations that recently sent a letter demanding the Trump administration make sure the U.S. government abides by its treaty obligations to Tribal Nations. The OMB memo was ultimately rescinded, but Campbell says concern remains. He noted that federal funding helps support law enforcement, education, and healthcare in Native communities. The letter reads “all the Tribal organizations represented here are also resolute on a touchstone. Indian Country is a vital non-discretionary part of the federal government budget.” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) herself sent a letter to OMB, demanding it direct federal agencies to ensure federal funding to tribes is not affected by President Trump’s executive orders. Native youth are urging tribal leaders to invest in young people. Youth leaders at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) winter legislative session say young people are addressing many of the challenges facing their communities today, including climate change, education, and language revitalization. NCAI Youth Commission co-presidents Madison Brown and Angelina Serna delivered remarks to tribal leaders this week, gathered in Washington, D.C. Serna says Indigenous knowledge, which includes young people, is a valuable tool for healing, governance, and a thriving future. “We must ensure that our leaders, our elders, our youth, and our spiritual guides are present in every room where decisions are being made about our future. This isn’t just about having a seat at the table. It’s about ensuring that our voices shape the conversation. It is about understanding that the solutions to many of the crises we face lie in the deep lived experiences of our peoples.” Brown asked tribal leaders to advance youth leadership programs to help them better understand policies and legislative processes at the tribal, state and federal level. “The current state of Native youth is filled with hope and determination. We are not asking for permission to exist or simply to continue tribal youth programs. We are asserting our place in the world. Yes, we are youth and there is responsibility in advancing our priorities, but we are youth with lived experiences and deeply rooted in the teachings of our elders.” A youth leadership summit is being held during the NCAI conference, both wrap up on Thursday. (Courtesy CSKT) Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was detected for the first time on northwest Montana’s Flathead Reservation. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports, tribal officials are now sampling deer herds to see how widespread the fatal disease is. CWD is a fast-spreading disease that’s 100% fatal to deer, elk, and moose. It’s been detected throughout Montana, but until now, hasn’t been seen on Confederated Salish and Kootenai lands. The tribes say a mule deer taken by a tribal hunter tested positive earlier this month. Rich Jansen is the head of the tribes’ Natural Resources Department. “Our people don’t want it on the reservation. That is a big thing for us because it is a culturally sensitive food source, frankly that we utilize.” There hasn’t been a documented case of humans becoming infected, but federal health officials advise against eating animals that test positive. Jansen says his staff will sample at least 150 animals to get a better understanding of how widespread the disease is.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

The office of Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) met the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and local officials last week to settle a dispute over law enforcement funding on the Flathead Reservation. Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton has the latest. For years, Lake County has sought state funding to cover its costs for enforcing and prosecuting felonies on the reservation. It’s exercised that authority under a decades-old agreement with the state and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The county is once again backing legislation that would fund its law enforcement services for tribal members, but Commissioner Gale Decker says this time is different. “The county is saying fund us until the state can retrocede and the feds can come in and take it over.” That bill would give the county a little more than half of what it says it costs to police the reservation over the next two years. The state intends to pull out of the law enforcement agreement, known as Public Law 280, but the timeline is unknown. Gov. Gianforte’s office did not respond to a request for comment about whether it supports temporary funding for Lake County. If both the county and state pull out, it will be left up to the tribes and the federal government to provide law enforcement. The tribes have taken over more felony cases, but it’s unclear if they are able to take every case. Federal officials have long said they do not have the resources spare for the reservation. (Courtesy University of Oregon) An author of a new report says institutions need to do more to close the higher education graduation gap for Native Americans. As Isobel Charlé reports, that includes in Oregon where there are some efforts to boost higher education among Native students. The report notes at just 25%, Native Americans have the lowest college-going rate of any racial group in the country. Cheryl Crazy Bull with the American Indian College Fund, who helped author the report, recommends states set specific higher education goals focused on increasing Native participation. She adds they should prioritize direct engagement with tribes and schools to provide resources, as well as expanding recruitment practices. “Those practices can often exclude Native students who live in reservation rural areas as well as urban Native students. ” In 2022, Oregon made public universities free for Native students enrolled in one of the state’s nine federally recognized tribes through the Oregon Tribal Stewardship Grant. The program has been gaining steam over the years, but the graduation gap, made larger during the pandemic, has not closed. While Crazy Bull says financial barriers play a big part in preventing Native people from accessing higher education, she adds not all issues can be solved with money. “How do institutions create a place or a sense of belonging for students? That’s just a constant effort.” Crazy Bull adds, even before the new administration, anti-DEI practices were harmful to Native students’ experiences. Native students can apply for the Oregon Tribal Stewardship Grant until April, as long as funds are available. To qualify for the grant, they must be accepted for enrollment at an Oregon college or university. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) is running for governor of New Mexico. The announcement was made in a video, which was launched Tuesday. In the video, Haaland talks about her time in Congress and at the Interior Department saying among things she worked on in the state – helping open small businesses, expanding solar power, and bringing water to rural communities. Her platform for governor includes lowering costs for families, improving schools, and addressing crime prevention. Haaland made history becoming one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress and the first Native person to hold the position of Secretary of the Interior. Haaland says in the coming weeks, she’ll be traveling the state to hear directly from community members.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Deb Haaland (@debhaalandnm)   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Photo: Residents of Nome fill the cavernous walls of Old St. Joe’s Church as church leaders stand on stage. (Photo: Ben Townsend / KNOM) Investigators are still determining what caused the Bering Air plane crash near Nome, Alaska, on Thursday that killed all 10 people on board. Over the weekend, crews retrieved pieces of the wreckage from an ice floe. And, as KNOM’s Ben Townsend reports, Alaskans joined together to mourn the lives lost in one of the state’s deadliest plane crashes in recent decades. Crews had to act fast over the weekend to get to the crash site before a storm closed in on the region. The Coast Guard says the Cessna Caravan, which was traveling from Unalakleet, crashed on an ice floe 34 miles from Nome, killing the pilot and all nine passengers on board. Nome Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jim West Jr. says he stressed over who to send to assist in the recovery because several of the first responders knew the victims. “The number of bodies out there or casualties, things like that affect people differently. Do we sacrifice ourselves for the younger crew that’s coming up? I mean, we’ve been through it, we’ve seen it, we’ve dealt with it. They haven’t.” Crews were able to retrieve the bodies of all 10 victims before freezing rain and high winds hit. Helicopters were seen bringing pieces of the plane back to Nome throughout the afternoon Saturday. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said it’s too early to speculate on the cause of the crash. NTSB officials will travel to Nome to inspect the plane parts. “What we want to do is get that wreckage so that we can examine it ourselves,” Church leaders join in prayer on stage at Old St. Joe’s Church in Nome. (Photos: Ben Townsend / KNOM) At a vigil Saturday night, Unalakleet resident Tony Haugen reflected on the impact of the crash. “When the region has something that occurs like this here, it doesn’t only affect one community. We feel the pain regionwide.” Troopers have named the 10 victims, who range in age from 30 to 58. Two were from Nome, including the pilot. Two were from Unalakleet, and six were from Southcentral Alaska. The 10 Alaskans killed in the plane crash near Nome Thursday include a mentor to new teachers, a school counselor, and two employees with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium who were traveling to service a local water plant. Alena Naiden, Alaska Desk reporter for our flagship station KNBA, has more. The plane was on its way from Unalakleet when it quickly lost elevation over the sea ice. As the investigation into the cause of the crash continues, family, friends, and colleagues of the victims are sharing stories of the lives lost. Here’s what we know so far about the Alaskans on board Bering Air flight 445. If you would like to share memories of any of those on board the flight for this story, please reach out to reporter Alena Naiden at anaiden@alaskapublic.org. Rhone Baumgartner, 46, Anchorage Rhone Baumgartner was one of two Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) employees on the flight who had traveled to Unalakleet to service the water plant. David Beveridge, a vice president of ANTHC’s Division of Environmental Health and Engineering, said that both Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, the other ANTHC employee, were motivated by a commitment to the health organization’s mission. “They had the skills to help people across Alaska and the devotion to do so under any conditions. These two members of our team lost their lives serving others. The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska.” Natasha Singh, ANTHC interim president and CEO, also said that Baumgartner and Hartvigson were passionate about the work they did and the communities they served. “They were the best at what they did and had just flown into Unalakleet to help address heating and mechanical issues in the depths of winter. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for the people we serve in the work we do. Everyone at ANTHC feels a sense of shock and loss because they were so crucial to our Rural Energy and Tribal Support teams.” Baumgartner’s family asked for privacy during their grieving time. Donnell Erickson, 58, Nome Donnell Erickson was a Bering Strait School District mechanic who serviced school and city vehicles in Unalakleet, said Warren Katchatag, a Unalakleet resident and janitor at the local school who used to work with him. Nome resident Michael Nichols also worked with Erickson. “I was a fuel truck driver, and he was a mechanic. He took care of the whole fleet and, not just here in Nome, but he actually traveled around the village taking care of a lot of stuff. Really good guy.” Kameron Hartvigson, 41, Anchorage Kameron Hartvigson, the ANTHC employee, was also a father of two boys, said

Photo: Indian Health Service is headquartered in Rockville, Md. (Antony-22 / Wikimedia) U.S. lawmakers are considering legislation, which would elevate the Indian Health Service Director position to Assistant Secretary for Indian Health within the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill was heard this week, in the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. Interim National Indian Health Board CEO AC Locklear testified in support of the Stronger Engagement for Indian Health Needs Act. The assistant secretary would have more privileges within the agency working to strengthen advocacy and policies and prioritize funding for Indian health care. Locklear says elevating the position would ensure direct tribal representation at the highest levels of government. “Just being able to be that principal advisor across the board. Directors are typically directed to execute a particular program such as direct services. The assistant secretary would be able to have more strategy behind a lot of their work in advising the secretary.” The position is supported by health secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said he’d bring in a Native person at the assistant secretary level. This week, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget. She’s seeking to ensure tribes and tribal programs, and the federal funding they receive are not affected by the president’s orders and policies. Sen. Murkowski said any pauses or elimination of tribal programs would undermine the United States’ trust responsibility. She asked OMB to take action now to reaffirm the unique treatment, programs and services to tribes based on their political and legal status. Students of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program carry strips of baleen to give them to the representatives of organizations that support ANSEP. The gifting was a part of ANSEP’s 30th anniversary celebration on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo: Alena Naiden / KNBA) A program that has supported thousands of Alaska students from across the state recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Alena Naiden, Alaska Desk reporter from our flagship station KNBA, has more. Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) began 30 years ago to help one Indigenous student get a scholarship. Since then, ANSEP has helped more than 2,500 Alaskans from all over the state get their footing in science, engineering, and business. Matt Calhoun, the program’s executive director, is Athabaskan from Southcentral Alaska, with roots in the Upper Kuskokwim River region. Calhoun dropped out of college back in the 1990s but returned to become one of the first ANSEP students – and, according to the University of Alaska Anchorage, the first Alaska Native to earn a Ph.D. in civil engineering. Calhoun said there were 20 university students in the program when he started. “Now there’s thousands, from kindergarten to PhD. That’s really the progress that’s occurred over the past 30 years.” ANSEP is a University of Alaska program funded through a variety of government and private organizations. One of its main features is that it allows middle and high school students to take college classes, helping families – as well as the state as a whole – save money. One of those students is Isabella January. Originally from Bethel, she joined the program because she wanted to dip her toes into science. But by the time she graduated high school, she’d already earned 125 college credits. This spring, she will graduate with an associate of science degree and then attend the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the fall. “I plan to specialize in either neurosurgery or emergency medicine, and I will be receiving my MD within the next four years. It is all thanks to ANSEP for allowing me to get a jump start in my career.” She said she hopes to specialize in removing tumors or treating aneurysms and strokes. Several hundred participants – including students, alumni, partners, and supporters – gathered at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center for the anniversary celebration, which was a night filled with music, dance, food, and speeches. The event featured keynote speaker Izzy Yasana, a value brand manager at Nike and a member of the Klamath and Modoc tribes. Following the ANSEP tradition, students presented giant strips of baleen to various organizations for their support of the program. ANSEP founder Herb Schroeder spoke during the event as well. Schroeder said the idea behind the program was to grow the number of Alaska Native professionals working in areas like fish and wildlife management, health care, and education. He said he faced pushback for that initiative and saw mistreatment of Alaska Native students in schools and universities. He said he