Antonia Gonzales

Photo: Bear Butte State Park in Meade County, S.D. (Courtesy S.D. Department of Tourism) All nine tribes located in South Dakota are unifying in their call to return the public, federal lands in the Black Hills to tribal entities. Each tribe passed a resolution calling on Congress to act. SDPB's C.J. Keene reports. Treaty rights mandate the Black Hills belong to tribes, although that treaty was broken long ago. The most important detail in this new legislative push is the focus on public, federal lands. Put simply, places where people do not live. Valeriah Big Eagle is the director of He Sapa initiatives for Rapid City, S.D.-based nonprofit NDN Collective. She says this is not about private homes in the Black Hills. “That's the myth, that's the misunderstanding. When they're talking about landback in the Black Hills and we're talking about the federal public land, essentially that is the lands that nobody is living on. It's the federal, public lands so we can protect it from extractive activities.” Regardless of outcome, advocates say the inclusion of all South Dakota's tribes is a historic statement of tribal unity. Joseph Brings Plenty is a tribal council representative from Eagle Butte. He says tribes have government-signed and guaranteed rights. “That's something that needs to be remembered – the treaties still exist. That's why we stand on this. For the United States to uphold their end of the bargain.” Brings Plenty says it is a chance for Native peoples to have a meaningful say in the management of the Black Hills. With that, Brings Plenty says healing can happen. “That's a step forward, a positive step forward. The Black Hills are not for sale. I mean, it's not just in a Lakota or Indian sense. We all want clean water, we all want the air to be clear, we all want housing and grandchildren. We all want a life. The more and more, as is inevitable, the cultures mesh, I think this is all important. Why lose it?” This comes on the heels of a mining effort near the Black Hills sacred site of Pe'Sla, that was ultimately defeated in court following widespread opposition from the Indigenous community. Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs line a soon-to-be park near Metlakatla's boat harbor. The plants are part of the village's Community Food Forest Project. (Photo: Hunter Morrison / KRBD) For many communities in rural Alaska, accessing fresh fruit can be challenging. Most of it is shipped in from out of state, and often loses flavor and more along the way. But a program in Metlakatla, on Alaska's only Native reservation, is looking to change that. As KRBD's Hunter Morrison reports, it's one way the small village is trying to combat food insecurity. Near Metlakatla's boat harbor, Gatgyeda Haayk, the village’s Community Garden Champion, strolls past a row of shrubs and small trees, which rustle with the wind. “And then those two down on the end, I believe, are cherry.” The soon-to-be budding cherry trees, planted last year, were brought to the village as part of its Community Food Forest Project. The initiative incorporates fruit-bearing trees and bushes into the village's public landscapes. So far, Haayk says about 50 plants have taken root around town. “In like the next three years, we hope to be able to give fruit back to the community.” The program comes after Metlakatla's tribal council passed a resolution a few years back that required all beautification efforts in the community to be edible. Not long after, the village received a three-year grant from the U.S. Forest Service to fund the project. She says the project has primarily worked with apple trees, but they have also planted plum and nectarine trees. The initiative also deals with plants native to the region, like raspberries, gooseberries, and saskatoon berries. And increasing access to fresh fruit is important, because it is so limited in the village. There is just one grocery store on the island, and the vast majority of the produce comes from out of state. “I am hoping that the community utilizes this, and then it also inspires other communities to kind of do the same thing, so that we don’t have to rely on the Lower 48 so heavily on our food.” While most of the program’s trees and bushes are still young, Haayk is focused on educating the village about the project. She noted that once the plants begin to bloom, community members can harvest the fruit free of charge — with the exception of the village’s main community garden. “It’s astounding how much food gets wasted, and it’s really a shame, because that’s a lot of energy that goes into that little piece of food. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, June 11, 2026 — In the parched West, tribes restore waterways to improve quality and quantity

Photo courtesy Navajo Nation Council Over the last year, the Navajo Nation Council has been investigating what happened to the $24 million in COVID relief allocated for ZenniHome, a failed housing initiative. A week-long public hearing on the matter got off to a slow start Monday when subpoenaed witnesses failed to show up on the advice of the tribe's justice department. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports. Those witnesses included Navajo President Buu Nygren, but the tribe’s Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a same-day memo advising all government employees to not attend or testify. “The Department of Justice is not here to hinder the process and our main emphasis is that we protect the attorney-client relationship.” Acting Deputy Attorney General JoAnn Jayne says the best way to do so is in executive session. “We can advise you as to what can be disclosed and what cannot be disclosed, and so the sooner that we do that, you know, then the legislative branch can move on.” Budget and Finance Committee Vice Chair Carl Slater questions whether the DOJ is operating in good faith. “It's very difficult to ascertain – between the politically appointed leadership of the department and the rank and file employees – what the position of the department is with respect to trying to quash this whole endeavor.” Meanwhile, Nygren himself has filed several motions to stay the public proceedings. Tlingit Master Carver Israel Shotridge, left, was known to work with family members like nephew Robert Jackson. (Courtesy Sue Shotridge) If you have spent time in Ketchikan, Alaska, you have likely seen the work of Israel Shotridge. The Tlingit Master Carver passed away in Washington state in April at the age of 75. Shotridge is being remembered for his artistry, gentleness and love of family. KRBD's Hunter Morrison spoke with two of Shotridge's loved ones about his life and legacy, and has this story. Shotridge's Tlingit name Kinstaádaál (The Bear That is Standing up) is also the name of a song he wrote for and sang with his mother, Esther Shea. They were members of the Bear Clan of the Tongass Tribe. Born Howard Jackson in 1951, Shotridge was raised in Ketchikan and later changed his name. Growing up, he excelled in school and sports, but Shotridge's passion was for the arts. Willard Jackson, his older brother, says Shotridge liked to draw at a young age. “Creativity for him came easy, but he was good at it.” After going to college in Seattle, Wash., Shotridge returned to Ketchikan and eventually began carving. His first major project was to carve a replica of the 55-foot Chief Johnson totem pole. It was the first pole in over 50 years to be carved and raised in Ketchikan, and still stands downtown today. Shotridge also met his wife Sue around that time. “He was friendly to everybody, and I just fell in love with him. He was fun to be around. We laughed. We both had the same interest in the culture, it was a fun journey.” In addition to his totem work, Shotridge carved bentwood boxes, masks, and other ceremonial pieces. In the 1990s, Shotridge and his wife moved to Washington state, where they opened their shop The Shotridge Collection, but art was not Shotridge's only interest. He had a love for music and was also a family man who loved spending time with his children and grandchildren. His wife says this, his art, and cultural preservation, will be Shotridge's lasting legacy. “He was the humblest and most modest artist that I ever knew.” Willard says Shotridge's carvings, and legacy, can be found all around the globe. “You can’t go through town or anywhere else without seeing his artwork. It’s there. And every time I see it, I know it’s his.” His wife plans to return Shotridge's ashes to Southeast Alaska next year for a canoe journey from Wrangell to Ketchikan. She says Shotridge wanted to do that, but never had the chance when he was alive. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, June 10, 2026 — Columbia River tribes weigh in on future dredging plans

Photo: Nahaaygm Łagyigyedm (Spirit of Our Ancestors) sits ashore One Tree Island outside of Metlakatla, Alaska. (Hunter Morrison / KRBD) Wildlife across southern Southeast Alaska is emerging from wintertime hibernation, but in Metlakatla on Annette Island, animals are not the only things waking up. Canoes are hitting the water again, marking this year's start of a Tsimshian tradition that is tied to the village's history. KRBD's Hunter Morrison tagged along for a recent canoe journey, and has this story. About a dozen people are holding cedar boughs in a driveway on the outskirts of town. Seated atop a nearby trailer is a long, white canoe. David Nelson grabs his drum and begins singing. As the drumbeats echo through the subdivision, the mixed-aged crowd cleanses and awakens the vessel by brushing the cedar along its sides. The song's lyrics honor the canoe and welcome its paddlers. It has not been performed in three years. “We believe they’re like a living, breathing thing, so we treat it as such. We say ‘hello' to it, and when we put it away, we tell you ‘it was good to be you,' and we thank it for doing everything.” The ceremony marks the start of the canoe's spring and summertime journey. The 40-foot long Nahaaygm Lagyigyedm (Spirit of Our Ancestors) has navigated Metlakatla's waters and traveled to neighboring islands since 2013. Johon Atkinson, president of the nonprofit Liwaayda, says the organization's goal is to share Tsimshian culture and bring Metlakatla back to its canoeing roots, which dates back over 130 years. “So the whole reason why we got this canoe was to get our people in Metlakatla out on water.” While today's canoes are often used to educate people about Tsimshian culture, Atkinson says they are still important to traditional practices. Later this month, the Spirit of Our Ancestors will be used in Metlakatla to harvest seaweed from neighboring islands. “It’s that feeling of we’re going to be on the ocean, on the highways of our ancestors. And just that feeling is so comforting. I feel complete when it is canoe season.” Minutes after its blessing, the canoe is towed to a boat launch, from which they will paddle to nearby One Tree Island. Johon Atkinson, right, and family members cleanse the Spirit of Our Ancestors with cedar boughs before the canoe's first journey of the season. (Photo: Hunter Morrison / KRBD) Atkinson, who is joined by his son, niece, and nephew, hopes fun opportunities like these can help keep Tsimshian traditions alive for the next generation. “Having them experience this now is something that many of us adults have not experienced at their age. So the fact that they are here, learning and leading – there’s just no words on how amazing that is.” Atkinson says folks from all over the country visit Metlakatla each summer to experience the village's canoe journeys firsthand. (Courtesy Robert Nick family) Robert Nick was a man of the Southwest Alaska tundra – and much more. He died last month at the age of 84. His memorial service was at St. Innocent Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Anchorage last week where, as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA tells us, he was remembered for a lifetime of public service. Robert Nick's Russian Orthodox service was fitting for a man who loved the harmonies of the Slavonic choir. He was known to pass out recordings of his favorite hymns to friends and fellow singers. For Andrew Guy (Yup'ik), president of the Calista Native Corporation, Nick represents the end of an era. “He's part of that group that came from having no electricity, no outboard, to where we are today.” (Courtesy Robert Nick family) Nick helped bring electricity to villages throughout Southwest Alaska through his work with the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, an organization he helped found. He also ran a store in Nunapitchuk, a village near Bethel, Alaska where he grew up. Richard Jung (Yup'ik), who owned Jung's Trading Post, in the neighboring village of Napakiak, said Nick's leadership grew from the values he was raised in. “One of the things you're taught is to help people. You try to do what you can for your village and your region. And he was one of those guys that did that./ He knew that he could get things done and was one of the ones that knew he had to do it. He was just a fine person.” Robert Nick was very proud that he was the first in his family to receive a Western education and graduate from high school. That achievement became a foundation for decades of service on boards and commissions that focused on a wide range of causes: health, education, housing, economic development, job training, and protecting the Yup'ik subsistence way of life. (Courtesy Robert Nick family) His niece Karen Cooke Phillips (Yup'ik) says he was tireless. “Attending meetings, after meetings, for days and hours, and for continued years.” And yet, Phillips says, his home was filled with love, a reflection of his early life. Nick was the eldest of nine children. After his father died, he took over his father's store and helped to provide for his younger brothers and sisters – an experience Phillips says shaped his lifelong role as a father figure – not just within his family but across the region. “He has been in those arenas, leading in lots of different organizations and providing a voice for people from our region, or the lifestyle of the people of our region.” Nick had two twin passions, housing and education. He dedicated many years of his life to improving housing conditions in rural Alaska. Eventually, he became a national advocate for federal Indian housing programs and brought attention to the Third World conditions in Alaska villages. He also served on the Lower Kuskokwim School Board for two decades and became its longtime chairman. Steve O'Brien, a former school principal, remembers giving Nick a copy of Robert Rules of order to help him. “And he laughed, and he said, ‘Oh, I already have that book.' And he reached behind from the bookshelf, and he pulled down this very worn and earmarked copy of Robert's Rules with sticky pages and stuff. He was an expert about this stuff.” O'Brien says it is no surprise that Robert Nick was eventually asked to chair almost every board he served on. In 2014, Nick received an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. (Courtesy Robert Nick family) Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, June 9, 2026 — Lawsuit threatens unique century-old Native Hawaiian land benefit

The University of Washington’s WWAMI medical school program just received a new $25 million endowment for scholarships and rural education support, as Alaska Public Media's Rachel Cassandra reports. The program gets its name from the five states it serves – Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho – and educates emerging physicians in those rural states. Dr. Nick Phelps, WWAMI's assistant dean at the University of Alaska Anchorage, says the gift will go to scholarships for 30 eligible students across the five-state class. “For the students who are accepted to receive this scholarship, it covers half of their tuition.” Phelps says those eligible to apply for the scholarships are students in two specific programs: one, a rural track, and the other, a tribal and traditional medicine track. Medical school tuition – and the debt students take on to pay it – can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Phelps says the scholarships change the financial equation. “Primary care practices and primary care physicians… are the bedrock of medicine, for lack of a better term. They’re also some of the lowest paid specialties for students to go into, so for somebody who really is strongly interested in family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, some of those other primary care specialties, they have to do a bit of an internal calculus.” Many medical students choose specialties that pay better, which has helped create a shortage of primary care practitioners, both in Alaska and across the U.S. Phelps notes that the U.S. Department of Education will soon start limiting student loan amounts that Americans can take out for higher education, including medical school. Philanthropists William and Carolyn Franke and their family gave the WWAMI program the $25 million endowment to create the Franke Medical Student Scholars Program. Phelps says he hopes that the resulting scholarships encourage more Alaska students to focus on medicine that serves rural, remote and Indigenous Alaskans. The cliffs of Black Mesa on the Navajo Nation on September 1, 2023. (Photo: Chris Clements / KNAU) An energy company is asking for preliminary approval from the feds to look into building a hydropower project on the Navajo Nation. KNAU's Chris Clements has more. The company Nature and People First is asking for a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to investigate building a pumped storage project near Chilchinbeto, Ariz. It would include two reservoirs holding a total of 20,000 acre-feet of water. Pumped storage projects generate energy by letting water flow downhill and then pumping it back up. Nature and People First tried to get federal approval for three pumped storage projects in 2021, but the Navajo Nation and the feds later said no. Critics cited concerns about overuse of aquifers and damage to the environment of nearby Black Mesa, which is considered sacred by the Navajo and Hopi tribes. If it is granted, the permit would not allow the company to disturb any land or give them permission to enter private property. Grand Exit at Celebration 2026. (Courtesy Sealaska Heritage Institute) Thousands of Alaska Natives and visitors gathered in Juneau, Alaska last week for Celebration 2026, one of the largest Indigenous cultural events in the state. The four-day gathering, organized by Sealaska Heritage Institute, brought together Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian dancers, artists, and culture bearers from across Southeast Alaska, Canada, and beyond. The event featured traditional song and dance performances, Native art, language activities, and cultural workshops. This year’s theme was “Enduring Strength”. Celebration began more than 40 years ago as a way to preserve Native cultures and pass traditional knowledge to younger generations. Organizers say the event continues to showcase the survival and persistence of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian traditions while strengthening connections among Indigenous communities throughout the region. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, June 8, 2026 — Confronting division with Pride

Photo: More than an hour after the levee was breached, channels in the Siuslaw Estuary begin to fill up with a mix of fresh and salt water on May 29, 2026. (Brian Bull / KLCC) A major conservation project near the Oregon town of Florence has achieved its goal: connecting a large swath of restored farmland to the ocean. The Siuslaw Estuary is a 217-acre expanse that is expected to accommodate the return of salmon, lamprey, and native plants as it transforms with the tides. KLCC's Brian Bull reports. On a cool, misty morning at the estuary, Dan Kirk waves a burning bundle of sage as they walk through an old dairy farm site called the Waite Ranch. Kirk is the restoration manager for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI). “I’ve been blessing the site almost daily, we really care about this project, and just putting as much intention and good thoughts and good feelings and gratitude as much as we can.” Besides the tribes, members of the Siuslaw Watershed Council and McKenzie River Trust gathered to witness something historic. Margaret Treadwell of the McKenzie River Trust watched a towering excavator crawl towards an earthen levee. It held back the Siuslaw River from the estuary. “It's really exciting, I have never seen a levee breach before.” After the excavator broke apart the levee, brackish water surged in immediately. People cheered. CTCLUSI Chief Doug Barrett watched as the reformed farmland became submerged. “I kinda got goosebumps. It's been a long time comin'.” The restoration work took nearly three years and $15 million. Barrett shared its new name. “Now it's called haich ikt' at'uu. Haich ikt' at'uu is the ‘heart of the river’, and so this is a pretty awesome place now to call our home. Just awesome to see the water coming in, knowing that the salmon and lamprey could come in here and hide from all of our predators. It's a pretty good feeling.” Four hours later, a contingent of tribal council members arrived in “Lottie” a 32-foot long canoe. After crossing through the mouth of the newly-opened channel, the group sprinkled tobacco and tule seeds into the water. Members of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians paddle “Lottie” a 32-foot dugout canoe, towards the Siuslaw Estuary on May 29, 2026. (Photo: Brian Bull / KLCC) Jesse Beers, CTCLUSI cultural stewardship manager, lowered the remains of a salmon into the currents. “When we were in the channel there, almost brought tears to my eyes. Returned some salmon remains to let the Salmon People know it's a good place to come again. And fatten up and be healthy. It's just an amazing experience.” The White House has nominated a citizen of the Klamath Tribes to lead the Indian Health Service (IHS). The nomination comes after more than a year without a Senate-confirmed director at the agency responsible for providing health care to Native communities across the country. The White House this week nominated Mark Cruz of Oregon to serve as IHS director. If confirmed by the Senate, Cruz would oversee an agency that provides health care services to approximately 2.8 million American Indians and Alaska Natives through federal, tribal, and urban Indian health programs. The nomination was announced June 1. Cruz currently serves as Senior Advisor to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Native health issues. He became one of the highest-ranking Native officials in the department after being sworn into the position last year. Native health advocates say the nomination is significant because IHS has operated without a permanent director since January 2025. The agency continues to face challenges including workforce shortages, aging facilities, and growing health care demands in tribal communities. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, June 5, 2026 — The life of Chief Powhatan and the fight to preserve his birthplace

Photo: Siletz tribal members Todd Logan, Joshua Rilatos, and Dylan Gorman work next to anatomic pathologist Kurt Williams of the Oregon State University necropsy team on November 18, 2025, The tribe removed the whale’s blubber, bones, and baleen for cultural use, while the OSU crew took away tissue samples for diagnostic testing. (Jens Odegaard / Oregon State University) A group of Siletz Indians in Oregon are holding a presentation this Saturday to honor a humpback whale that washed ashore in Lincoln County last fall and died. As KLCC's Brian Bull reports, it is to help non-Natives understand the historical and cultural significance of these mammals. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (CTSI) sent a team in mid-November to do a traditional salvage of the whale, a common practice for coastal Native people for centuries. Lisa Norton, CTSI's chief administrative officer, and several others will discuss whales through storytelling, in a welcoming and open space near the Amanda Trail in Yachats. Norton hopes the audience leaves with one main takeaway. “Gaining and understanding of what it meant to us as a people, as individuals. And for those who were already connected with the whale, to understand that connection a little bit deeper or maybe understand that that connection isn’t over. And that it will live on in the stories that we do tell.” Norton says CTSI's cultural and natural resources department will eventually decide what will be done with the whale's bones and other materials. Ḵaayák'w Brandon Gomez introduces the Wind Dancer yaakw and asks permission to come ashore at Auke Recreation Area on June 2, 2026. (Photo: Yvonne Krumrey / KTOO) Thirteen canoes bringing Alaska Native paddlers from across Southeast Alaska and Canada arrived in Juneau, Alaska Tuesday afternoon. The canoes landed in two separate groups — one in downtown Juneau and the other at a traditional Aak’w (AHK) village site, north of town, as KTOO's Yvonne Krumrey reports. Áak'w Kwáan Elder Seikoonie Fran Houston waits on the shore at Auke Recreation Area as yaakw (canoes) enter the bay. “It’s going to be good to see family and family and family and friends, and it’s a beautiful day, so the ancestors are happy also.” Every other June, more than 100 paddlers arrive in Juneau this way to kick off Celebration, a gathering of Alaska Native people celebrating cultural revitalization. Sealaska Heritage Institute started the event more than four decades ago. They come to Celebration the old-fashioned way — paddling yaakw that were carved for this occasion. Some travel from as far north as the Yukon. “My name is Ughąts'etsӓna Ma. I'm Crow Clan. We’re from Dakwäkäda, Haines Junction, Yukon… We’re looking to celebrate now.” Ughąts'etsӓna Ma Cheyenne Sparvier-Kinney introduces her boat to the shore. Later, she reflects on the multi-day journey down Lynn Canal. “The journey was great. It was really a healing journey for a lot of us, not just our boat, but from the experiences that we’ve shared together. Yeah, it’s a healing journey for all of us.” Others, like ShaaL'aanee Brandon Ware, are from as far south as Petersburg. This was the community's first time sending a canoe to Celebration. “Gunalcheesh for having us. We are so grateful to be here. Forgive me if I miss protocol, this is our first journey in over 100 years.” In downtown Juneau, three yaakw make their way to shore as hundreds stand watching. As the yaakw neared, Shangukeidí Casey Moats stands up to greet the crowd. “I had heard that I would never know my language, I’d never belong to a clan, I’d never have a name, I wouldn’t know my songs, and to do this means everything in the whole world.” X'ash Kugé ka Yaanasax Barbara Cadiente-Nelson is a council member and secretary at Douglas Indian Association. She was one of the original planners for the first-ever Celebration in 1982. As she watches the yaakw arrive downtown, she says that for Alaska Native culture to continue to flourish, the next generation has to be grounded in place. “When you take a look around and you see our people of all ages and our youth, we are, yeah, and the young people that are singing and dancing, that they’re connected to place, they’re understanding and growing in their responsibility as Lingít, Haida, Tsimshians.” Celebration officially starts Wednesday, with a Grand Entrance parade into Centennial Hall downtown. Over the coming days, there will be numerous events and ceremonies dedicated to honor and uplift Alaska Native culture. With reporting help from Clarise Larson Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, June 4, 2026 — Telling the full story of Route 66

New Mexico and the U.S. are one step closer to having the first female Native American governor as former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) beat out her Democratic opponent Sam Bregman with 72% of the vote Tuesday night in the primary election. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) was among the attendees at her watch party. Old Town plaza was filled with New Mexicans young and old in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland, dressed in a black and white dress with bright red cowboy boots. Haaland told the crowd she would lower costs so that New Mexicans can have better access to health care, education, and safe communities. “I’ve been through hard times. I’m a single mom, I’ve lived paycheck to paycheck, I survived off SNAP and WIC. I’m over 35 years sober. These are the same struggles so many New Mexicans face today, but with the grit, creativity, and persistence that only New Mexicans know, I know a better New Mexico, as possible.” Haaland served as the 54th U.S Secretary of Interior, making her one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress. She said she will put that work into experience. “To combat [President] Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, fight against rising health care costs, and take a stand, so that ICE will not be allowed near schools, places of worship, or public community spaces.” Kalika Tallou (Diné and Ute) works for the nonprofit New Mexico Community Capital and was in the crowd. She says she has heard some reservations from other Indigenous people about Haaland, but she says Haaland has a big voice in the grand scheme of things. “I feel supportive of her and her work in Washington, DC, and internationally, and across the island, and wanting to uplift and support our Indigenous women with the challenges that they're faced with.” Haaland will face Republican candidate Greg Hull on November 3. “If I didn’t earn your vote this primary election, I want you to know I’m going to work every day to earn it now.” Hopi dry farmer Michael Kotutwa Johnson. (Photo: Lauren Gilger / KJZZ) The University of Arizona has released a new report highlighting the huge economic impact of tribal agriculture throughout the Grand Canyon State – including $750,000,000 in total economic output statewide. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. According to the study, Indigenous farms outnumber all other operations statewide. And while most tribal farms are between one and nine acres in size, they collectively manage more than 80% of Arizona's farmlands during 2022. For Hopi dry farmer Michael Kotutwa Johnson, who is a co-author, this report is an important reminder. “The main story is that Indian people are still doing agriculture since before we were in a state… Maybe doing it in a different form, but we're still here, and we're still doing that, and I think that our contributions have been really unnoticed.” Including how the vast majority of Arizona farms for commodities, like sheep, goats, vegetables, and melons, are owned by Indigenous peoples. Johnson thinks that trend will continue to grow. “So I really would make the claim that in about 20 years the only real agriculture in Arizona will be on Indian reservations.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, June 3, 2026 — Native child welfare notches wins in a time of adversity

Photo: The South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment conducts a hearing about a uranium exploration permit application on May 19, 2026, at the Mueller Civic Center in Hot Springs, South Dakota. (Meghan O'Brien/South Dakota Searchlight) A new South Dakota law requires language translation services for some government proceedings. The law does not take effect until July, but it already had a test during a hearing on a uranium drilling permit application. South Dakota Searchlight's Meghan O'Brien explains. The new law requires translation services for contested administrative cases, like a pending case involving a permit application for uranium exploration in the southern Black Hills. State Rep. Erik Muckey (D-SD) sponsored the legislation. “Any proceeding that’s open to the public would receive or have those translation services available at no cost to the participants, so it would be covered by the state of South Dakota. We can’t turn people away from due process of law, and we need to be able to provide that, especially knowing that we already do this when it comes to the civil and criminal case law that goes before the state.” The state Board of Minerals and Environment is considering the drilling permit. Some project opponents requested Lakota interpretation services. Lakota-speaking tribes formerly controlled the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. There is rock art created thousands of years ago on the walls of Craven Canyon near the drilling site. The board voted in March to provide interpretation services. Board members knew the new law won't take effect until July first, but decided to honor the intent of the law anyway. Alex White Plume is one of the two people hired to interpret spoken English into Lakota during the hearing. “I speak Lakota better than I speak English.” He grew up in Manderson, an especially rural part of the Pine Ridge Reservation. “The vast majority of the members of my community will still speak Lakota, and it’s funny to hear somebody come speak white man language amongst us, you know, cause it sounds funny.” White Plume was happy to interpret the hearing. “That was really important for the Lakota speakers to really hear their language and get a clear understanding about what the legal jargon was that the lawyers were speaking. So it's really an important day, and to me, it was a historic day.” But the state board failed to provide a Lakota interpreter for the first day of the hearing. A state official said potential interpreters had conflicts of interest or scheduling conflicts that prevented them from accepting the role. On the second day of the hearing, the department contracted with two interpreters — White Plume and Leola One Feather. So, when Clean Nuclear Energy's legal counsel asked a question to an executive for its parent company, Nexus Uranium … “Can you generally describe steps Clean Nuclear Energy took to evaluate the project's potential impact on historic, archaeologic, geologic, scientific, recreational aspects of the effective surrounding land?” …Leola One Feather translated. As the hearing continued, some exchanges went without interpretation. Project opponents in the audience objected. Elizabeth Lone Eagle (Rosebud Sioux), is one of more than a dozen people who have filed official complaints against the project. “This is institutionalized racism, and you are promoting it.” She interjected after exchanges between the hearing chair, lawyers, and a witness went untranslated. “You are forbidding her from doing her job, because you want your white colonizer sanitized way of doing things.” The board did not respond and the hearing continued. The day after that exchange, Lone Eagle filed a federal lawsuit against the board, the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the company seeking the permit. It cites concerns about the hearing's lack of interpretation on the first day. A spokesperson for the department told South Dakota Searchlight that the hearing is adjourned until the lawsuit is resolved. (Courtesy Inuit Circumpolar Council Alaska / Facebook) Alaska Native leaders are remembering a long-time advocate for Inuit rights, James “Jimmy” Stotts, who passed away in May. As the Alaska Desk's Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports, Stotts spent decades promoting food sovereignty and creating a unifying voice for Indigenous people across the Arctic. James “Jimmy” Stotts died late last month after a long fight with cancer. He was 78. For more than four decades, Stotts led the Inuit Circumpolar Council, an organization that represents Inuit people from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia. In his work, he fought for protecting Inuit food sovereignty and culture, and for including Inuit people in the decisions concerning the Arctic. Patsy Aamodt was Stotts' friend and former colleague. “He cared so much for our people all across the circumpolar north, because we’re related.” Stotts was born in Utqiagvik and lived in various villages across Alaska. “He knew the importance of making sure caribou were caught…. Nobody had to explain that to him.” Stotts worked for several tribal organizations, including the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. Rex Rock Sr., the current head of the corporation, called Stotts a mentor. “He was someone that I respected, and you always looked up to, right?” The leadership of the Inuit Circumpolar Council Alaska said in a written statement that Stotts worked to bring people across the Arctic together. Rock says that Stotts' Utqiagvik roots helped those efforts. “We know, being whalers, that you cannot accomplish landing that whale on your own. … He knew what it took to work together to accomplish great things.” Former Alaska politician and Northwest Arctic leader Reggie Joule knew Stotts for a long time. He says Stotts was among leaders who made it their goal to educate others about the Iñupiaq way of life. “This is something that Jimmy understood really well – rise to the challenge and responsibility of being an Indigenous person. … It goes on to basics – teaching your children the things that we would like to continue to be.” Joule and Aamodt say they hope Stotts' legacy lives on and the young people take on that mantle. (Courtesy San Carlos Apache Council) The San Carlos Apache Council has hired a forensic accounting firm to conduct an audit following recent allegations of embezzlement by the tribe's own staffers. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Four employees, including the tribe's secretary, have all been placed on paid administrative leave pending this review. The staffers have been accused of cashing fraudulent checks using the tribe's funeral assistance fund by creating hundreds of fake names for spouses or siblings, who are not enrolled. The family of each deceased relative is entitled up to $850. The team responsible for overseeing the burial expense program paid out nearly $470,000 within the last six months alone. The tribe says it remains “committed to ensuring that all funds are accurately accounted for.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, June 2, 2026 — A focus on Native legal rights bears fruit

Photo: Marilyn Balluta drums for the Nuvendaltun Ch'naqa K'eljeshna – Children of Nondalton Dancers. (Jeff Chen / Courtesy The MMIWG2s Alaska Working Group) The issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) continues to impact families and communities across Alaska. This week, advocates, tribal leaders, law enforcement, and policymakers gathered in Anchorage for the state’s first Justice Summit to discuss solutions and next steps. KNBA’s Rhonda McBride reports. The gathering opened on an emotional note at the Dena'ina Center with a keynote speech from Abigail Echohawk, director of the Urban Indian Health Institute in Seattle, Wash. Echohawk was raised in the Interior Alaska community of Copper Center and spoke about her own trauma. “I was six years old the very first time I experienced rape. Sometimes, even now, as a person who sometimes gets triggered by the work that I do, I can close my eyes and feel the pain.” A pain that Echohawk says almost led her to take her own life at the age of nine. At the time, she did not know her father had contacted Alaska State Troopers. “We knew who the perpetrator was. The conversation that happened basically ended up like this: ‘She’s an Indian girl. We don’t have the resources, nor the time. Just keep him away from her.'” In 2018, Echohawk helped to publish a landmark study that examined more than 500 cases of missing and murdered Native women. She says the findings confirmed that more than one in five cases did not exist in law enforcement data bases. “So we actually found in this snapshot of 71 cities across the United States, that the data was not there, and it was in our minds, purposefully being held back and not being collected.” Echohawk says Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau were included in the study. She said law enforcement cited classification methods for the missing data – and what they described as “vulnerabilities in Native culture” – explanations that Echohawk says reflects systemic, racial bias. But whatever the reason, she says the lack of data has real consequences for Native communities — because it limits resources for investigations, healing and community safety. “This isn’t this isn’t a handout we’re asking for. This is justice we’re asking for.” The summit also featured breakout sessions from regional groups, who will discuss the status of MMIP cases in their region. The conference was organized by the Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit Alaska Working Group. It drew tribal representatives from across Alaska and as far away as New Zealand. Hopson II crew landed a whale on May 23, 2026 — the first spring whale for the community this year. (Photo: Chucky Panitchaiq Hopson II) Spring whaling is one of the most important traditions in Utqiagvik, but this year, unusual sea ice conditions delayed the harvest and the community did not land its first whale until late in the season. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports. Chucky Panitchaiq Hopson had been whaling for about a month before he landed one this spring. “I told my crew, at our next opportunity we’re gonna take that chance. And that very same next day, we got on to that whale, and my crew didn’t hesitate to take it, to strike it.” By this point, Hopson says Alaska's largest subsistence whaling community has typically landed 10 or more, but this year, Hopson says the ice edge is ragged, with very few flat spots for pulling up a whale. And there is a lot of young, thin ice, too weak to hold big whales. In fact, when the crews were pulling up the 50-foot whale last weekend, some of the ice broke under it – Hopson thought they were going to lose a lot of the harvest. “Once it got to the thicker ice, we were able to get it up.” Daaqsi Moore was one of the hunters who helped the Hopson crew land the whale. “People were getting frustrated, you know. People get hungry for muktuk. It was good to see everybody’s spirits flip when Chucky landed that whale.” Utqiagvik, like other coastal Arctic communities in Alaska, relies on whaling as a crucial food source and to maintain Iñupiat traditions. Andy Mahoney is a research professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute. Mahoney says that normally, young ice forms earlier in the year. Then wind storms push the new ice against the existing, shorefast ice to create ridges. By whaling season, the ice consolidates and thickens. “The key part of it is timing.” This winter was quite cold in Utqiagvik, but the Arctic overall is warming faster than the rest of the world. “In a warming Arctic, these sorts of events are going to become more likely. Conditions will be more sensitive to a sort of a mistimed storm if the ice is already thin.” Hopson says that after landing the whale, his crew spent two days processing it on the ice. Then they shared some of the harvest with the community – a little taste before the big whaling festival that usually happens later in the summer. On Thursday, Hopson was headed out to the ice again. He says he really hopes that first whale will not be their only one of the season. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, June 1, 2026 — Alaska bears are the targets of a controversial management program

Photo: U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola addresses a crowd during a meet and greet in Petersburg on May 26, 2026. Peltola is running for U.S. Senate. (Taylor Heckart/KFSK) Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) visited Petersburg, Alaska Tuesday in her campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Peltola addressed a group of more than fifty people at Petersburg's Alaska Native Brotherhood John Hanson Sr. Hall as part of a one-hour meet and greet. She encouraged residents to get out and vote this year. “So many of the things that we are working on in Alaska just become political footballs for people in the lower 48 or some administration, and we’re better than that. We’re bigger than that. We are going to put our foot down and not be used as a political football.” During her speech, Peltola emphasized supporting elders, children, and addressing affordability. Peltola's campaign told KFSK she was not available for questions from local media during her visit. Local assembly member James Valentine says Peltola made time to talk to local leaders about a wide range of issues before the event. Valentine says he spoke with her about outmigration in the region. “Me, as a younger assembly member and a young, I guess, community leader, I asked her, and just more of stating, just my concerns about the younger generation retention in Southeast Alaska, and then she’s from Western Alaska, and I know she feels the same way.” That same day, Peltola also hosted a meet and greet in Wrangell, Alaska on a neighboring island. This week, she visited other Southeast Alaska communities including Ketchikan and Sitka – and she will be in Haines on Friday. The Senate primary takes place in August, and the general election is in November. This story was provided by KFSK's Taylor Heckart. An aerial view of the Yukon River as it breaks up downstream of Beaver, Alaska on May 10, 2026. (Courtesy U.S. National Weather Service Alaska) The thick winter ice of the Yukon River has washed out to the Bering Sea, signaling the end of breakup season on the Yukon Delta. Last week, communities along the Yukon River experienced ice jam related flooding. For some, it was among the most severe breakup impacts in recent memory. The communities of Holy Cross and Pilot Station saw water enter homes and in some cases, cover airport runways, but as of Tuesday evening, significant ice jams close to the mouth of the Yukon gave way and the water began to recede. Mike Ottenweller is a meteorologist with the Alaska Pacific River Forecast Center. He has been part of the River Watch team doing daily aerial surveys, tracking the Yukon River's breakup. “We watched the very last little bit of the ice run that was at one point 40 miles long, and maybe even if you go back a couple weeks, 90 miles long at some points, but we watched that clear out to the coastal areas and past those last villages and making its way out to the Bering Sea.” Overall, he says this year's Yukon River breakup trended toward dynamic and was about five days later than average, which was expected coming out of this year's frigid winter. Laura Havameister with the State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management says though the flooding is receding, the recovery process is still ongoing. She points to Alukanuk, which experienced flooding on some roadways. “We could not make it into town, unfortunately, just because of that flooding. So we’re working with the city manager and with the SAR team to really understand those, those inundation areas.” From shuttling the team from the airstrip to providing on-the-ground updates, Havameister with the state says the community aspect of the operation is a powerful one. The team concluded their aerial surveys for the 2026 Yukon River breakup on Tuesday. This story was provided by KYUK's Samantha Watson. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 29, 2026 — The Menu: Dawn Butterfly Café, camas restoration, and the Indigenous food pyramid

Photo courtesy Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission / Facebook All eleven federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin have seats on a new committee aimed at protecting wild rice. Chuck Quirmbach reports. Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) has announced his 24 appointees to the Wild Rice Stewardship Council. One member, Gloria Waabigwan Wiggins (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), works for the group Wisconsin Native Vote. Wiggins also keeps up a tribal tradition, protected by a 1983 federal court ruling, of gathering wild rice in the ceded territory of Northern Wisconsin. “I’ve been harvesting wild rice, manoomin, with my husband for say, the last 9-10 years. Our powwow, our celebration of manoomin, is in August. So that’s a very important event for our community.” Wiggins says wild rice is also part of a sacred migration story for the Anishinabe, Indigenous people of the Great Lakes region. But tribal and state officials report low production of wild rice in recent years, due to factors like windstorms and very heavy rainfall, and long-standing threats like water pollution and excessive waves from boats. Another member of the new Stewardship Council, Eric McLester, helps direct environmental policy for the Oneida Nation. He says the big picture concern is climate change. “The amount of rain, water levels. It’s important to not have huge increases or decreases in water levels. Drought certainly impacts the wild rice beds.” McLester says the Oneida have restored about 35 acres of wetlands for wild rice production in recent years. He hopes the tribal members on the wild rice council can share best practices for the resource. It’s also possible the committee will propose new regulations to protect wild rice. A First Nations family in Canada is demanding answers after 24-year-old Jaali Sutherland-Weenie died during childbirth after reportedly being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia while 36 weeks pregnant. Family members say Sutherland-Weenie, from Beardy's and Okemasis’ Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, sought medical care in the days leading up to her death and raised concerns about symptoms linked to the dangerous pregnancy complication. According to the Mayo Clinic, pre-eclampsia causes high blood pressure during pregnancy and can quickly become life-threatening for both mother and baby if not closely monitored and treated. According to relatives, Sutherland-Weenie first went to a hospital in Rosthern before being transferred to Jim Pattison Children's Hospital and later to the labor and delivery unit at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, where she died on April 26 after giving birth to her daughter. Her death is now drawing attention from Indigenous advocates and community members who say Indigenous women continue to face inequities in maternal health care and are too often dismissed when reporting pain or complications. Loved ones are calling for accountability and a full review into what happened. Community members have also taken to social media to share condolences and call for better protections for Indigenous mothers navigating the health care system. The Saskatchewan Health Authority says a review is underway. Blayne Morin, Sutherland-Weenie's partner, said during a news conference held at Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan earlier this week, he plans to attend her graduation ceremony next month to accept her degree on her behalf. Morin says the couple wanted to build a better life for their daughter than the ones they experienced growing up. “The family and I will be attending her congregation next month, taking her degree, and we planned so much for our baby before she made her appearance here. We didn't want her to grow up like how we did, breaking the intergenerational trauma.” Sutherland-Weenie leaves behind a newborn daughter and a grieving family now hoping her story raises awareness about the warning signs of pre-eclampsia and the importance of timely medical care. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, May 28, 2026 — Exploring home, culture, and personal resolve with writers Joan Kane and Sherman Funmaker

Photo: Kim Etsitty aboard the 223-footlong research vessel, Nautilus, in 2024. (Ocean Exploration Trust) This summer, a Navajo high school teacher will sail the high seas on back-to-back research expeditions around the globe. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. Born in Chinle, Ariz., Kim Etsitty spends much of her year teaching science at Navajo Pine High School in New Mexico. That is, until summer recess, but Etsitty won't be taking a break this year. “I'll just be tired.” Because, starting in June, Etsitty will hop aboard the research vessel, Nautilus, with the nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust. She will livestream her journey mapping the seafloor from Hawaii to Guam. Then in July, Etsitty is heading toward the Arctic with National Geographic where she will explore polar caps. Despite being at sea only a handful of times, Etsitty shares why the Diné have ties to it. “A lot of times we wear these jewelry, coral or abalone shell, and we don't really talk about where it came from, so I was able to like tie in a lot of stories about why Navajo people wear coral and this ancient ocean that once was here, but now it's dry land.” And she'll set foot on Navajoland again – before the new school year begins. Iḷisaġvik College's current campus on the northern side of Utqiaġvik, Alaska. (Photo: Ravenna Koenig / Alaska's Energy Desk) A tribal college on the North Slope bought a piece of land last month to build a new campus. College officials announced the purchase last week. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Iḷisaġvik College has been planning a new campus for nearly ten years. This month, the officials announced a land purchase to build it on. Justina Wilhelm is the college's president. She says the campus will sit on a 15-acre site in Utqiaġvik, Alaska near the hospital. “So this has been a long standing vision for the college, and … I'm very very excited that we have this prime location that will be a central gathering place for our people.” Illisagvik is Alaska's only tribal college. It offers hands-on educational programs in such areas as Iñupiaq studies, allied health, construction and education. And it serves about a thousand students, in person in Utqiagvik, and remotely on the North Slope and across the state. Right now, those programs are housed in buildings that were never meant to be a college. Wilhelm says the main building is a 70-year-old naval base two and a half miles out of town. Overall, the programs are spread out between 13 different facilities. “So we’re very excited to have this new campus to be under one roof, to all be together.” Last month, the college bought a piece of land for the new campus from Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation, the Alaska Native Village Corporation for Utqiaġvik. Wilhelm says the next step is completing environmental assessments and updating the design approved in 2018. The construction will start with administrative offices, family housing and workforce development garages. Down the road, the plan is to have more housing and a big wellness gym, she says. Wilhelm says the new campus is designed to include open spaces that inspire conversations and collaboration. One vision is a glass wall between the main entrance and cafeteria, overlooking the construction trades and community outreach classrooms. Wilhelm said the idea is that students at lunch can also observe some of the cultural and workforce programs available at the college. “As a tribal college with our language values and traditions, it’s so vital that we’re here to provide the spaces and provide the classes to allow for our traditions to carry on. … I’m very excited that when people come there, they’re going to want to be a part of there. I hope they don’t want to leave.” College officials did not share the exact timeline for the construction. They said work is ongoing to secure funding for the next steps. The college also recently opened a new campus in St. Paul, Alaska. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, May 27, 2026 — Oil drilling vs cultural preservation at Chaco Canyon

Photo courtesy Heard Museum / Facebook The Heard Museum in Phoenix, Ariz. remembered Indigenous servicemembers, who made the ultimate sacrifice, during a Memorial Day observance. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. On this hot Monday morning, Kiowa-Comanche singer Kenneth Cozad Sr. chants a series of honor songs. Each melody is meant to pay tribute to the fallen as the Oklahoma native beats upon a drum made from rawhide. One of his patriotic tunes is called “Star and Stripes”. It is inspired by World War II Kiowa Code Talker Leonard “Red Wolf” Cozad Sr. “My grandpa, he had a thought came to him about this flag here that our folks fought for this red, white, and blue, he said.” For Cozad, he's thankful to share his music. “Because we don't just be singing songs, just to be singing them, there's always has to be a purpose.” Visitors of the exhibition, “Arctic Marine Science: Sikuliaq to Shore”, can learn about various science instruments used by Sikuliaq research crews to study the environment. (Photo: James Daggett / Alaska Public Media) A new exhibit at an Alaska museum takes visitors inside an Arctic research vessel. Since opening last week, it has given guests a chance to glimpse at what it is like to study the Arctic marine ecosystem – and how Indigenous communities shape that research. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Rachel Boesenberg is associate curator at the Anchorage Museum. She is walking under a tall crane, with deep blue all around her. “So you enter here through the stern of the vessel.” Boesenberg is giving a tour of the new exhibition called Arctic Marine Science: Sikuliaq to Shore, which brings the audience aboard a replica of the research vessel Sikuliaq. Visitors make their way onto the bridge. Here, the captain’s chair faces a ceiling-high projector screen with a vast ocean that changes from stormy swells to chunks of pancake ice. “We’re looking off the bow of Sikuliaq, which visitors at this point have walked through.” Sikuliaq is operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and owned by the National Science Foundation. Each year, dozens of scientists board the vessel to study the Arctic. Brendan Smith is the communications director at the North Pacific Research Board. He dreamed up the idea for the exhibition. “I said to myself, what if we bring the Sikuliaq … into the museum? How do we give people an experience that makes them feel like they’re out at sea?” The result is an immersive experience, focused on how the ship is used to study the environment, and the people who bring that knowledge to life. And there is a station with Arctic soundscapes. “That’s a bowhead whale.” Boesenberg says these are the sounds that scientists gather using hydrophones they deploy from the real vessel. Harmony Jade Sugaq Wayner is an Indigenous scholar from Naknek in Southwest Alaska. She consulted on the exhibition and suggested curators include what Arctic research means for Alaska Native people. “We see a lot of big graphs about climate change and the extent of sea ice and those big global processes, but we don’t see the joy of living our culture in coastal Alaska and river Alaska.” The exhibition runs through April 2027. Whitewater rafting on the Gallatin River in Montana in 2023. (Photo: Watts / Flickr) People working in Montana's outdoor industry are reporting emotional impacts tied to climate change. According to reporting from Glacier Raft Company and environmental advocates, river guides are increasingly experiencing ecological grief as changing waterways affect their work and livelihoods. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, May 26, 2026 – Border wall construction causes sacred site destruction

Photo: The All Pueblo Council of Governors were in attendance at a press conference in Santa Ana Pueblo on Wednesday May 20, 2026 in support of Chaco Canyon making the list for America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. (Jeanette DeDios) The National Trust for Historic Preservation has placed the Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape on this year's list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. The nomination came from the All Pueblo Council of Governors, which supports the preservation and cultural significance of the landscape in the face of increasing threats. KUNM's Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more. On the lands of Santa Ana Pueblo, Council members highlighted their ancestral ties to the archaeological and cultural site. Chaco features over 600 rooms built 1,200 years ago with precise geometric masonry and crafted without the use of metal tools. This endangered listing comes after the Bureau of Land Management tried last year to revoke or modify a public order, that currently safeguards over 300 thousands acres of federal land from new oil and gas leasing for 20 years. Pueblo of Acoma Gov. Charles Riley says there's a cultural responsibility to Chaco Canyon. “When we speak of Chaco, we are not merely speaking of ruins, we are speaking of the spirits of our ancestors, who are still present, still teaching, and still carrying and asking us to carry forward what they entrusted to us.” Riley says the Pueblo of Acoma is not opposed to development. “We are opposed to development that proceeds without meaningful consultation, without honest environmental review, and without regard for places that are irreplaceable.” This year's listing is the second time in 15 years that Chaco has been placed on the list. This is the first year that the 11 sites nominated will receive a one-time grant of $25,000 from the National Trust to help with conservation efforts. The council is asking the U.S. Department of Interior to stop the process of dismantling the public land order and make the current ten-mile buffer around Chaco permanent. They are also asking members of the public to contact their Congress in support. A number of Pueblo governors have reached out to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum through letters and invitations to visit Chaco, but he has not responded. Southern Ute Indian Chairman Melvin Baker, left, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ink the first-ever Tribal Energy Resource Agreement on May 11, 2026. (Photo: Lowell Whitman / Interior Department / Public Domain) A tribe from the Four Corners region has inked a historic deal with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum advancing the Trump administration's domestic energy agenda. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in southwest Colorado has entered the first-ever Tribal Energy Resource Agreement (TERA), more than two decades after Congress enacted the law. This allows the nearly 1,500 member tribe to handle its own business without obtaining expressed permission from the Interior Department. Councilman Andrew Gallegos testified before Congress last month. “Having the tribe regulate and be the one that oversees all of our compliances and makes us more sovereign as a tribe, and the economic value that it brings is the health and welfare of our membership.” That will include the leasing of energy projects and issuing of right-of-ways on the 700,000 acre reservation near Durango. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, May 25, 2026 – Wide disparities persist when encountering ancestors' remains

Photo: Alex Osif is a former coal miner who worked at the Kayenta and Black Mesa mines. (Chris Clements / KNAU) A congressional watchdog office found some miners with black lung disease face barriers in getting federal payments for their disabilities. As KNAU's Chris Clements reports, that rings true to a former coal miner and advocate on the Navajo Nation. Alex Osif (Navajo, Hopi, and Pima) was a coal miner at the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines. He says the coal companies that are on the hook for paying miners' benefits can slow the process down by not providing employment histories. “That’s the kinda complications I’m having, proving that the miner did work at a mine for so many years.” The lengthy process of applying for benefits is one issue identified by the US. Government Accountability Office in a new report. It also found many coal miners have trouble using the health benefits they are entitled to, like when they need money for transportation to doctors' appointments. “The program needs to view these operators and continue to make sure that they stand up to their promise to the miner.” To help with that issue, the report says the feds need to keep track of the medical coverage coal companies give disabled miners. Tracy Day has been missing since February 14, 2019. (Courtesy Juneau Police Department) The daughter of missing Juneau, Alaska woman Tracy Day wants people to know who her mother was beyond an MMIW rallying cry. It has been seven years since Day disappeared, and the family is still searching for answers. KTOO's Yvonne Krumrey has more. Kaelyn Schnieder says her mom was always finding new adventures for the family to go on. The house she grew up in in Sitka, Alaska was spotless and Day was taking night classes to be a nurse. Her struggles with mental health came later. “But I feel like, when she went missing, everybody was like, ‘Oh, she's living in St Vincent. And like, she's a mentally ill addict.' It was just not the way I wanted people to see her, because my mom was a wonderful parent, and she wasn't always sick.” Schneider says when she was a young child, she was the victim of child sex abuse by her friend's father. After Day found out what had happened, she blamed herself for trusting the family. Schneider believes it triggered Day's mental health issues. “It changed her brain chemistry, you know. So that's, like, the best way I could explain it.” Schneider thinks that changed the trajectory of her mother's life. Day struggled with mental illness and substance abuse, but Schneider wants people to know her mom the way she remembers her, as a dignified, even glamorous woman. “She was kind of like a diva. Like back in the day, she always had her hair done, lipstick done, nails, everything. She was always dressed so beautifully.” She was also a devoted parent and she was fun. “When she wasn't at work, we were never bored. We would go ride our bike and we would get curly fries with cheese and milkshakes, and then we would go to the duck pond and feed the ducks. And, like, she was a good, like, playful parent.” Schneider says that even through Dayʼs later mental health crises, she always stuck around and checked in with her family. “She would not take off. She's the opposite. She's like, the parent that annoys you, because they're showing up so much.” Schneider's son was born after Day went missing. He is five years old now and she is finding herself having to explain the absence. “My son, he's at that age where he's starting to question, like, ‘what happened to grandma?' And like, ‘Why is she not in your life?' And you know, like, he always asks — it's so horrible — He always asks, like, ‘Are you gonna disappear?' And like, as a mom, that is just horrible. You know that knowing that my son, like, has that thought in his head, because he knows it's a possibility.” So Schneider says, for him and for her newborn son, she will keep looking for the truth of what happened to her mom. “I really want to keep searching and talking about her case, not only for me, but also for my sons. I want them to know that people are still interested and care.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 22, 2026 — A conversation with Native wellness advocates Chelsea Luger and Thosh Collins

Photo: The walls of Craven Canyon, in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota, are marked with ancient Native American petroglyphs. (Courtesy Lilias Jarding / Black Hills Clean Water Alliance) A South Dakota board is pausing a hearing on a uranium exploration project in an area considered sacred to regional Native American tribes. Meghan O’Brien of South Dakota Searchlight explains. The board was in its third day of a hearing on an application by Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation and its Canada-based parent company Nexus Uranium. The entities applied for a permit to drill near Craven Canyon, 7 miles north of Edgemont, S.D. The board went into a private session to discuss legal matters. When board members emerged, they announced the hearing would be adjourned until further notice. They did not give further details. Meanwhile, a project opponent has filed a federal lawsuit against the board, the state, and the company seeking the permit. The lawsuit alleges violations of due process, citing concerns about language interpretation and a heavy law enforcement presence at the hearing. The state board failed to provide a Lakota interpreter for the first day of the hearing, after promising to make one available. Lakota-speaking tribes formerly controlled the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. There is ancient Native American art on the walls of Craven Canyon near the drilling project site. Neither the state officials nor the company proposing the drilling immediately responded to South Dakota Searchlight's requests for comment. An estimated 200 people are expected to walk in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIW/R) in Lake Andes, S.D. Thursday. While it is the seventh such event, it will be the first one since its founder died. Last September, Charon Asetoyer, founder of the Native American Community Board (NACB), died. She was an advocate for preventing violence against women, and launched the first honor walk in 2018. Florence Hare is the interim executive director of the NACB. She says the walk will begin and end in Lake Andes City Park. “We're not protesting, we're just walking to bring awareness. We're going to walk by the Sheriff's Office. We're not going to walk on his property. And then we're also going to walk by the courthouse.” Hare says there are many unsolved cases in South Dakota and that includes the Lake Andes area. She says for years, there has been suspicions that certain parts of town were especially dangerous. This includes an old U.S. Army facility by Fort Randall Dam. “Sometimes our women would go missing, and it was because they were hanging around down there. So there is a very long history of MMIW. Our grandmothers, they would sit us down and say, ‘Don't go by that place, it's bad. You could go missing. They'll take you and that's it. You're gone.'” Hare adds that there has been much mistrust between the Native community and local law enforcement. “We're just in an area where there's no oversight on law enforcement or what happens out here. It's like the wild, wild west.” There will be mention of Asetoyer during the event, but Hare says the focus will be on the MMIW/R cases. Other events organized by the NACB will honor Asetoyer in good time, she says. As for the turnout, she expects about 150 Native people, and 50 allies. Of the 102 missing persons cases in the South Dakota Missing Persons Clearinghouse, 65 are Native people. That is almost two thirds of the total cases. And the first Native person to travel in space visited students and other guests Wednesday at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center in Fort Hall, Idaho. KIFI Local News 8 reports that John B. Herrington (citizen of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma), discussed his three spacewalks and visit to the International Space Station in 2022. The Native astronaut has Idaho connections and graduated from Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1984, then joined the Astronaut Corps in 1996. Herrington said he used to sit in a cardboard box and dream of going to the moon. He shared his story and took questions from Shoshone-Bannock students.  Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, May 21, 2026 – Nevada's mining boom and Winnebago Tribe's NAGPRA victory

Photos: Anchorage police Chief Sean Case, left, and Kelly Hunt. (Rhonda McBride / Courtesy Melvin Hunt) Anchorage Police say they are in the final stages of their investigation into the death of Kelly Hunt, the 19-year-old Shaktoolik student who disappeared in January on her way to college in Soldotna, as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports. Hunt's remains were found last month in a ravine in same Anchorage neighborhood where she had been staying with a friend. Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case says the Medical Examiner's preliminary report determined Hunt died from hypothermia and exposure, with alcohol in her system. “There's no indication that there's physical trauma. There's no indication that an assault has occurred. So, most of those questions — on whether-or-not there was a homicide — those questions have been answered through the Medical Examiner's process.” Case says Hunt was missing for more than 100 days, and due to prolonged exposure to the elements, he says it is nearly impossible to determine Hunt's exact time of death. Before closing out the investigation, Case says police will conduct follow-up interviews to learn more about the circumstances leading up to her death. Based on the outcome of those interviews, Case says the investigation could shift back towards a criminal case. He calls Hunt's death a tragedy, but says there is no evidence of a crime. Hunt was supposed to catch a bus from Anchorage to attend the Alaska Christian College in Soldotna, Alaska. Her friends told police she left on the morning of January 7 to meet with someone to buy alcohol and had left her purse and suitcase behind. Case says the investigation was further complicated, because her disappearance was not reported until four days later, but despite that, Case believes his police officers and detectives did a thorough job. But advocates for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, including Antonia Commack, question police handling of the case. She says investigators are drawing conclusions too soon, without first questioning the people who last saw Hunt.” “How are you going to make that determination before you speak to those people. Because the bottom line is, she is not old enough to drink herself. Somebody furnished her alcohol and she wound up dead. That should be a crime.” The Anchorage Police Department timed their report on the Kelly Hunt case with the launch of a new online dashboard that tracks missing persons iAnchorage and the department's homicide clearance rate. Case says the report confirms that Alaska Natives make up a disproportionate share of both missing persons and homicides, but says cases involving both Native and non-Native victims are solved at about the same rate. The Pinyon Plain Mine, as seen from the air in November 2019, is located on the Kaibab National Forest less than 10 miles from the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. (Photo: Ryan Heinsius / KNAU) The company that owns a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon wants Arizona state regulators to approve a higher arsenic level in nearby groundwater. KNAU's Chris Clements reports at least two scientists oppose the idea. Brad Esser used to work for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He was asked by a nonprofit that opposes Energy Fuels' Pinyon Plain Mine mine to look into the request. “It sets the wrong incentive. You know, the response to high levels … is to try to understand what’s going on, not just simply raise the permit levels.” But Energy Fuels says the higher arsenic levels are naturally occurring in groundwater near the mine, and are not because of mining activity. Curtis Moore is a company executive. “It’s not surprising that there are elevated levels of arsenic next to this ore body. That’s why we put a mine there, because there’s an ore body there.” But Esser and another scientist argue it is more likely the mine is contributing to the high levels. “They think the mine's ventilation shafts could be creating oxygen-rich groundwater, causing arsenic minerals to dissolve. If that's true, Esser worries arsenic could one day reach the Havasuapi Tribe's key source of drinking water.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, May 20, 2026 – Native Playlist: Joy Harjo and Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band

At least five Native American men were detained January by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during raids in Minneapolis, Minn. As other reports of Native Americans being mistaken for undocumented immigrants continue, federal lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill to improve the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s interactions with Native Americans when they are proving citizenship. KUNM's Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more. The Respect Tribal IDs Act would require DHS working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and tribal nations to create training for officers to better detect and respect current tribal IDs. U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) says ICE agents are breaking the law. “My Native American brothers and sisters, who are American citizens, are being held by ICE agents because these agents do not recognize tribal IDs, it’s disrespectful, it’s wrong, I would argue, illegal, and that’s why we need this legislation.” Luján says tribal leaders have voiced their concerns about ICE agents detaining their tribal members near their reservations. “I’ll remind you that some of the first awareness that we had about ICE agents going after Native American communities, happened in New Mexico, down in Mescalero and also on the Navajo Nation, and it’s happening in other parts of the country as well.” DHS said in a statement that ICE agents acknowledge and recognize tribal ID cards as proof of citizenship and there have been no ICE operations on tribal lands. Lujan says it is hard to collect data on the number of Native Americans who have been detained by ICE because DHS will not release the data. Meanwhile, some legal scholars are raising concerns about a case brought by the Trump administration that is before the Supreme Court and how it might undermine birthright citizenship among Native Americans. Antonia Commack, left, Abigail Echo-Hawk, Maka Monture Paki. Charlene Aqpik Apok, Tatiana Tiknor, Malia Villegas, Sabrina Dunphrey, and Jessica Black. (Courtesy Data for Indigenous Justice) A national organization called the Courage Project shines a light on acts of bravery, both big and small. This year, a group that works to bring attention to Alaska's missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) is in the spotlight. As KNBA's Rhonda McBride tells us, Data for Indigenous Justice (DIJ) is one of sixteen organizations nationwide to receive this award. The steady beat of the drum is what you hear at many events involving DIJ and while their presence is felt more than seen, they are a force for change. Funders for the Courage Project like the MacArthur Foundation say the award was created to recognize neighbors helping neighbors, people who perform everyday acts of civic courage, that speak to the American spirit and strengthen democracy. “When I first started doing this work, people wouldn’t even meet with me.” Charlene Apok, known by her Iñupiaq name, Aqpik, founded DIJ to bring attention to missing and murdered Alaska Natives. She saw breakdowns and inequities in how law enforcement handled their investigations and pushed for a database to better track those cases and expose systemic failures. “Organizations didn’t want to talk about it. It was too hot. It was too political. It was too uncomfortable. It shouldn’t be courageous to say the things that we’re saying, and to ask the questions that we’re asking. These should be things that are expected for the safety of our people.” Doug Modig, a traditional healer, says it is never easy to speak truth to power, especially for a small organization like Data for Indigenous Justice. “Real lives are at stake her. Real people are experiencing hurt. There aren't many people that have that courage, because it's so rare. It reminds me of a wolverine. They'll take on a bear, a full-grown bear.” Wolverines, Modig says, are fearless when it comes to protecting their territory. “Why don't they just give up? They're not going to make it, because they're so small. But the truth is, courage isn't about size. It's the content of your heart.” Aqpik says heart is exactly what her team brings to their work. Their commitment has helped to uncover critical information about unsolved cases. “I’ve come to learn, with a lot of guidance from my elders, that this role is called being a story keeper.” Aqpik says it is a sacred responsibility to listen to the stories that families share. She says they are the bravest of all. Long after the marches are over and the drumbeats fade, they must live with these stories. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, May 19, 2026 — Native Bookshelf: “Shards of Silence” and “That Which Feeds Us”

Photo: Diné Bizaad is the latest mobile app created by Albert Haskie, the lead developer, who is Diné and from the Navajo Nation. (Courtesy Adoonee) Across the United States, there are over 575 federally recognized American Indian tribes. According to the U.S. Census, Native North American language use fell by 6% from 2013 to 2021, but among those who spoke a Native language, nearly half spoke Navajo. KUNM's Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) spoke to a Diné software developer who has created a mobile app to help preserve the Navajo language. Albert Haskie (Diné) spent two years building the app Diné Bizaad with a group of Navajo employees. “I’m making it for us, and that’s the primary goal.” Haskie says he learned the Navajo language at a young age but in sixth grade he transferred to a non-Navajo language school and that it was a cultural shock for him. “I kind of always missed it and always wanted to figure out how to reintroduce it into my life, but also try to reintroduce it to a lot of other people’s lives.” Haskie says users can build their own curriculum and it includes fun tools like the word of the day. He says the app differs from other language apps because this one has richer content and a practicing Navajo speaker who consulted on every word and phrase. Diné Bizaad was independently built without collaboration of the Navajo Nation. “I’ve showed them multiple times, but they just couldn’t find anything to work with me. I was more than happy to try to figure out working with them. But the reality is, it would have probably not launched within the time I wanted it to be.” A representative from the Department of Diné Education said Haskie talked with members within the department and that they are open to working with interested parties on preserving the Diné language. Haskie says he is in talks with other tribes to create language apps for their members. Whaling captain William ‘Wiyu’ Parks, right, and his wife Crystal on their way back from Punguk Island after a 3-month-long camping trip. (Courtesy Crystal Newhall) Whaling is an essential part of subsistence hunting in Siberian Yupik culture. High school student Tracy Tungiyan in the village of Gambell, Alaska on St. Lawrence Island wanted to understand more about it, so he interviewed a whaling captain from the community, William Parks, nicknamed Wiyu. He spoke to Parks in the library of the Gambell school and asked him whether whaling is easy or difficult. “There’s a degree of difficulty in it. You got to think of how enormous the whale is. You’re in basically a wash tub compared to the size of that whale. Depending on how the whale is moving, it could be pretty straightforward, catch up to it, strike. And there’s some days where the tails are really thrashing. You can’t get close to them. “We use these harpoons that have a barrel on there. We call them Puskaan [Siberian Yupik word]. I don’t know what they’re called in English. I’ve always known them as Puskaan. It has a harpoon, buoy, line buoy, and it fires either a black powder bomb or a penthrite bomb into the whale. Tungiyan asked Parks what hunting means to him and whether it was easier back then. “That’s a good question. To me, hunting is mostly about survival, it’s about tradition, and it’s about feeding family, relatives as a community, which is the most important part of life, in my opinion. You need food to survive. “I think mostly it’s like second nature to me. I don’t even think of how important this is to me anymore, more so that it’s the way I was brought up to live. It’s a part of me. It’s been a part of me since I was two, three years old. “Back then it was- seasons were more predictable. Weather was more predictable. In a way, it was easier. Nowadays, with lack of ice, bigger storms, shorter opportunities to head out. Yeah, I think it’s more difficult now compared to back then. The windows of good weather are getting shorter. “I know that everybody that goes hunting isn’t doing it for fun or sport. They’re doing it (as a) means of trying to harvest food. It's a part of who we are as people, as the community. Hunting is part of our nature. It’s been for thousands of years.” Tungiyan then asked him why catching a whale is so important for Gambell. “I think it’s important mostly because of the size of the catch. There’s enough to feed everybody. Just the sheer size of the whale. It’s an opportunity to feed the community, to have a community gather. Whaling has been part of our culture since the first whale swam and man saw it. It was a means of survival.” Tungiyan produced this story with former KNOM reporter Wali Rana and Alaska Public Media's Rachel Cassandra. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, May 18, 2026 – Trump administration takes aim at American buffalo

Photo: Ice jam flooding in Chalkyitsik, Alaska on May 7, 2026. (Courtesy National Weather Service) Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) issued a disaster declaration Monday for two Interior Alaska communities, after they were inundated with severe ice jam flooding. The declaration covers the areas near Chalkyitsik on the Black River and Hughes on the Koyukuk River, as The Alaska Desk’s Shelby Herbert from KUAC reports. Jeremy Zidek is a spokesperson for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He says almost a dozen homes became flooded in Chalkyitsik, but the situation is especially dire in Hughes. The state is working to deliver emergency supplies to the community, but the water is still high. “They had water and ice on their runway. The water has gone down a little bit, but the runway is not serviceable by fixed-wing aircraft at this time. We're looking at an alternate runway that is nearby.” He says when the flooding peaked on May 9, most of the community's nearly-80 residents had to shelter at the Hughes Tribal Hall. Zidek says spring breakup is in full swing, and the danger hasn't passed for many other riverside communities in the Interior. “We're still looking at other areas of the state that could be impacted by ice jam flooding. And so, if there is a necessity to add new areas, the governor will consider the information we provide to him, and then make that determination.” In addition to activating the state's emergency response capabilities, the Governor's disaster declaration also opens up several assistance programs for the affected areas. The state's public assistance program focuses on restoring essential infrastructure, and can be accessed by local governments, tribes, and nonprofits. And its individual assistance and temporary housing programs can help individuals and families recover from flood-related property damage. Zidek says the state will release more information about those programs in the coming days. A House committee met Wednesday to review President Donald Trump's funding proposal for the Interior Department. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a southern Arizona congresswoman took that opportunity to talk about the recent destruction of a sacred border wall site. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum shared that federal officials apologized to the Tohono O'odham Nation weeks after a border wall contractor bulldozed Las Playas Intaglio, a thousand-year-old archeological site along the US-Mexico boundary. “This is a super unfortunate thing that happened. There's a series of mistakes that happened along the way – zero intention – and we've delivered direct apologies.” But U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) stressed words aren't enough. “I mean, unfortunately, once it's destroyed, you can't undo that.” Now, Grijalva fears another O'odham cultural site of concern, a desert oasis called Quitobaquito Springs, could be damaged next. It sits just south of Ajo inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. “So will you commit that [the] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service avoid Quitobaquito Springs and minimize impact by not using groundwater within five miles, and monitor those water levels closely as the border wall is being built?” Burgum replied, “Well, I – that's a very specific thing that I won't jump ahead and commit to.” Missing person Benjamin Stepetin, 42, stands in downtown Juneau, Alaska. (Courtesy Stepetin family) Divers are searching the murky waters of Gastineau Channel this week for the body of a Juneau, Alaska man missing for nearly a year, as KTOO's Clarise Larson reports. Benjamin “Benny” Stepetin, a 42-year-old Juneau resident, disappeared last June. His family believes he may have fallen or been pushed into the water near the downtown seawalk. His brother, Martin Stepetin Sr., says the family hasn't given up hope. “We just want to find our brother, you know. And we really miss our brother, and if we could get some closure to finding him, then that would be amazing.” The search, funded by the Juneau Police Department (JPD), includes divers and underwater sonar vehicles. Police are investigating the case as criminal and say some people may be withholding information. The search includes both divers and underwater vehicles with sonar technology. The team is scanning up and down the downtown seawalk, while thousands of cruise ship visitors walk above them. Martin says that his family believes their brother may have fallen or been pushed into the water along the seawalk. JPD is currently investigating the case as a criminal investigation. Deputy Chief Krag Campbell says police believe there may have been people involved in Benjamin's disappearance who are withholding information. “Our ultimate goal is to get a successful resolution to this investigation, and if at all possible, recover or find the body and missing person for the family. So doing those things whenever we can, I think, is very important.” People can share information by calling JPD's dispatch line at 907-586-0600 or submitting an anonymous tip through Juneau Crime Line. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 15, 2026 – Native In The Spotlight: Washington State Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis

Photo: One of the drilling units located on site. (C.J. Keene / SDPB) A mining company has backed down from a legal dispute connected to a standoff over mining at the sacred Black Hills site Pe' Sla. Many are chalking this in the win column for opposition, though others contend work is not yet finished. C.J. Keene has more. After the explosion of popular support and a courtroom battle, the company behind the proposed exploratory mining project has dropped the effort. For Lilias Jarding, executive director of the Black Hills Clean Water Alliance, it represents what can be accomplished when several organizations focus on a single goal. “Of course, water is an issue wherever a person lives. We all need, in fact, we all have the right to clean, plentiful water. We are getting congratulations from all over the country and beyond. I'm feeling a great deal of respect for the power of alliances and coalitions.” Many other organizations rose in opposition to the proposed mining, including NDN Collective, a Rapid City indigenous advocacy nonprofit, the Oglala Lakota Nation Youth Council, nine local tribes, and many community members. Wizipan Garriott, president at NDN Collective, says it is a feeling of victory. “With the result it shows the power of community organizing, coordination, and direct action in conjunction with legal action.” Garriott says distant issues involving watersheds, treaty rights, and Indigenous affairs are a matter every American should have a vested interest in. “If you believe in the Constitution, then you are required to believe in Indian treaties, and you have an ethical, moral, and legal duty to work towards honoring Indian treaties. Every single one of us has a duty to protect clean drinking water and a human right to clean drinking water. I think from a larger, moral standpoint, an injustice to one is an injustice to all.” Garriott estimates there are still well over a dozen mining claims in the Black Hills that he and other mining opponents are monitoring. The 8(a) Business Development program helps Alaska Native Corporations support like Covenant House Alaska. (Courtesy U.S. Small Business Association / LinkedIn) Alaska lawmakers unanimously passed a resolution this week supporting the role of Alaska Native Corporations in a federal contracting program, amid growing scrutiny and concerns from Native contractors. The Alaska Desk's Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports. Alaska legislators passed a joint resolution supporting Native participation in the federal 8(a) Business Development Program. The program allows disadvantaged individuals, tribes and Alaska Native Corporations to compete for federal contracts. Haven Harris is the Senior Vice President of Growth and Strategy at Bering Straits Native Corporation and says those contracts are crucial for his organization. “We were able to give out a record dividend last year. We gave out our first special dividend ever just a month ago, and it’s all because of the benefits of federal contracting for us.” For Alaska Native Corporations, federal contracts are often their primary source of revenue and help pay dividends to shareholders and support services in their communities, but over the past year, the program has faced increased scrutiny. Native contractors say they are concerned the government is awarding fewer contracts and has not been accepting new applications into the program. Harris is also a board co-chair of the Native American Contractors Association. He says that in the past year. “8(a) contracts have been getting awarded at a lesser rate than they were previously.” Harris says no new businesses have been accepted into the program since August of last year. The Native American Contractors Association and about 50 other Native organizations signed a letter to the federal government earlier this month, asking it to resume a timely review of applications. Alaska’s congressional delegation and Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) have signaled support for the program. Harris says the legislature’s joint resolution is a helpful step. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, May 14, 2026 – Native American voting rights advocates brace for diminished Native power at the polls

A senior Indigenous banker in Canada cautions the Canadian government to keep Indigenous consultation at the forefront for major projects. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, he also says there is interest from Indigenous leaders in taking part in those major energy projects. Recently Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney repeated his plan to fast track major energy projects in Canada. Last week, he said Ottawa would build quickly and “in the right way” in consulting with Indigenous and provincial partners, but some of those leaders have been critical fearing that the process of consultation will be rushed and their concerns would be brushed aside. Carney's government wants to change parts of environmental law to make it easier to build a pipeline to the west coast, along with other energy projects. Bill Lomax is the president and CEO of the First Nations Bank of Canada. He says that early and meaningful talks with Indigenous communities is key. “We're seeing more business acquisitions happening, joint ventures happening with companies that are servicing, let's say, a pipeline. That kind of thing is just really taken off. We've seen our business grow. We're really a reflection of our clients. And their success leads to our success.” Lomax says the bank's commercial business was growing by 10% a year, but in the past year, it's been 26%. He says that shows how much Indigenous businesses are becoming involved, but he warns the opportunity for their approval is there if the consultation is done right. “You need to engage with the nation early on and let them know what you are thinking about, have them participate and have them be part of the plan.” Lomax says even though some Indigenous communities will be against some projects, but he believes there are many more that would be ready to move and move quickly. The First Nations Bank of Canada is an Indigenous-owned national bank. It's mission is to serve Indigenous people, nations, and businesses. The Alaska Native Language Center will publish a novel this summer retelling Rudyard Kipling's “The White Seal”, the only Jungle Book story set outside India, on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea. Two artists from the Pribilof Islands retell the story through the perspective of a young Indigenous protagonist named Sergie. KUCB's Maggie Nelson has more. Garrett Pletnikoff is the coauthor of the new young adult chapter book “Sergie and the White Seal”. The story is an adaptation of one in Kipling's Jungle Book, “The White Seal”, published in 1894. And actually names Pletnikoff's great, great, great grandfather as a main antagonist. Kipling portrays Pletnikoff's ancestors through a disparaging colonial lens — as unclean murderers of the innocent marine mammals. Pletnikoff says this adaptation is a chance to tell a different story — to portray the Unangan community and the seals as partners instead of enemies, as Kipling wrote them. “The White Seal includes violent descriptions of seal harvesting, but Kipling never mentions that these harvests were not done by Unangan free will. The Unangan people of the Pribilof Islands were subjected to forced labor.” Hannah Zimmerman coauthored the book with Pletnikoff. She says they were inspired by Unangan lore and mythology and decided to name their main character after a spiritual leader from the Aleutian chain — Sergie Soboroff. “It’s a story of Sergie, who discovers that he’s a shaman, and he has this, you know, magical ability to talk to animals, and he discovers his purpose as a conduit between the animal world, in the human world.” Zimmerman says they used Sergie's role as a shaman to discuss topics like how colonization wiped out certain Indigenous practices. “When we read the book to fourth and fifth graders in the fall at the St Paul Island School. And I’ll never forget how, at the end of the book, one of the fifth grade students came up to me, and he was like, you know, I didn’t know Aleuts could be superheroes.” “Sergie and the White Seal” is now available through the University Press of Colorado's website. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, May 13, 2026 – How Indigenous knowledge built the foundation for today's response to the hantavirus outbreak

Photo: The Cannery Hotel & Casino in North Las Vegas, Nev. (AJFU / Wikimedia) A newly filed federal lawsuit alleges two Las Vegas hotel-casinos enabled years of sex trafficking tied to convicted sex offender Nathan Chasing Horse. The civil complaint was filed on behalf of two survivors, and names Boyd Gaming, Station Casinos, and other entities as defendants. The suit alleges trafficking occurred at properties including Cannery Casino & Hotel and Santa Fe Station Hotel and Casino between 2014 and 2022. According to the lawsuit, Chasing Horse used his position as a self-described spiritual leader to manipulate and control women through coercion, isolation, and threats of violence. The complaint alleges the women were forced into commercial sex acts while hotel staff ignored visible warning signs. Attorney Alex Marcinko represents the survivors. “People like Nathan Chasing Horse don't operate in a vacuum. He doesn't exist without other entities allowing him to.” The lawsuit alleges hotel staff repeatedly rented rooms to Chasing Horse despite signs the women were being controlled and exploited. It also claims the hotels financially benefited from the repeated stays. “There was obvious signs of the torment these women were undergoing at these hotels, and nothing was done.” Chasing Horse was convicted earlier this year on sex trafficking and sexual abuse charges and sentenced in April to 37 years to life in prison. The lawsuit was filed under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which allows survivors to pursue civil claims against businesses accused of knowingly benefiting from trafficking ventures. Marcinko says the case could also raise broader questions about accountability within the hotel industry. “The hotel industry turns a blind eye to the human suffering in sex trafficking. It happens far too often.” The lawsuit seeks damages for the physical, emotional, and psychological harm the survivors say they endured. Every year, 20 to 30 Alaska Airlines employees volunteer to help Mt. Edgecumbe High School students get glammed up for prom.(Photo: KCAW/McKenney) Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska has a unique program that brings Alaska Airlines employees — known as “glam fairies” — to help students from villages across Alaska get ready for prom, as KCAW's Hope McKenney reports. For the past fourteen or so years, volunteers with the Prom Prince and Princess program have helped Mt. Edgecumbe students get glammed up for prom. They do hair, nails, and makeup, provide jewelry, shoes, corsages, and boutonnieres, and even do alterations on the many donated suits and dresses. “So I'm really happy to be here, because I love doing hair and makeup.” Lisa Lynch is one of the many glam faeries helping in the crowded room. “So I'm happy to be able to do this for other kids whose families can't be here to help them like that.” Alonza Topkok just finished her turn in the makeup chair. “I wanted shimmer, and I wanted glitter, and that's exactly what they gave me.” She says her prom look is inspired by the 2001 Mariah Carey cult classic “Glitter”. She says it means a lot that people volunteer their time and donate clothes, makeup, and jewelry when she and her friends don't have family members nearby to help out. Freshman Andrew Adams from Mentasta Lake is hovering at the entrance to the common room with his friends Calvin and Kacin. Adams went to a middle school prom a couple of years ago, but this is his first high school prom. When asked if they are all going to go up and ask those girls to dance, Adams replied, “Maybe, yeah.” Despite some nerves, Adams and his friends eventually ask one of the volunteers to help them get ready. Circling back around with them afterward, refreshed and ready to head out, they seem like they're going to be just fine. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, May 12, 2026 – High gas prices eat into business profits and personal budgets

The University of Arizona recognized Friday roughly 70 Native American graduates with a special celebration. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, an Indigenous actor was the event's keynote speaker. Dallas Goldtooth (Diné and Mdewakanton Dakota) is arguably best known for his role in the Peabody Award-winning FX series, “Reservation Dogs”. Goldtooth plays a comedic spiritual guide to a teen living in an Oklahoma rez town. He co-founded the 1491s, an all-Native sketch comedy group that uses humor as a way to tackle stereotypes of Indigenous people and complex social issues. Native Americans make up about 4% of the university's student body. Ice is seen held in place on the Kuskokwim River downriver from Aniak on May 8, 2026. (Photo: Samantha Watson / KYUK) The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs says it is distributing $20 million in emergency funding to more than a dozen Alaska Native communities in response to shortages of essential supplies and urgent infrastructure needs. As KYUK's Evan Erickson reports, the lion's share of the funding, $16 million, is going to the Kuskokwim Delta coastal village of Chefornak to address the impacts of severe erosion, permafrost thaw, and failing infrastructure. According to a press release, the funds are intended to restore damaged wetlands, address unsafe structures, relocate at-risk homes, and reconstruct the community's barge landing. Chefornak and 15 other communities spread across a vast swath of the state will also receive a portion of an additional $4 million that the federal government is using to purchase thousands of gallons of heating fuel, along with potable water supplies, and firewood. The press release says delayed spring barge deliveries, restricted water systems, and extreme winter conditions led to supply shortages in the communities receiving assistance. The announcement comes after Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland was in Alaska to meet with tribal leaders. Kirkland appeared alongside U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in Anchorage and Bethel as part of hearings of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on federal disaster support and the question of climate-driven village relocation. Students learn about Mark 3 pumps as part of their field day during spring training. (Courtesy Alaska DNR Division of Forestry and Fire Protection / Facebook) Alaska Native organizations and wildfire officials are preparing for another challenging fire season as communities face growing climate-related threats. Officials say dry spring conditions and warming temperatures are increasing wildfire risks in rural communities across the state. The Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection says many Alaska wildfires are caused by human activity, including escaped burn piles, campfires, and sparks from equipment or vehicles. Officials are urging residents to prepare emergency kits, create evacuation plans, and clear brush and other flammable materials away from homes and buildings. Alaska Native organizations are also working with communities on climate adaptation, emergency preparedness, and public health planning efforts tied to wildfire smoke and extreme weather. Meanwhile, tribal leaders in western Alaska are calling for stronger tribally led disaster response systems as communities face increasing wildfire and environmental threats. Some rural communities are also concerned about how major wildfires could impact subsistence activities, travel routes, and deliveries of food, fuel, and other critical supplies during the summer months. Fire officials say even a single spark can quickly ignite dry grass during spring conditions.  Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, May 11, 2026 – What's in the near future for urban elder health care?

Photo: A semi-truck carrying uranium ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine is parked near Shonto on the Navajo Nation after a collision on May 6, 2026. (Courtesy Navajo Police Department) The Navajo Police Department responded Wednesday to a crash involving a semi-truck carrying uranium ore from the Grand Canyon's South Rim to a mill in Utah. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more on the first reported incident since hauling began nearly two years ago. The accident occurred about a half mile east of Highway 160 and state Route 98 near Shonto in Navajo County. Officials say an SUV tried passing another vehicle, striking the passenger-side tire and bumper of the uranium truck bound for Blanding, Utah. The tribe's Environmental Protection Agency, along with the Pinyon Plain Mine, which is owned by Energy Fuels, were notified. Using a gamma radiation detector, they inspected the crash site, concluding no radioactive material leaked. The collision sent two people in the SUV to a local hospital with injuries, while the truck driver was unharmed. Tracy Day's daughter Kaelyn Schneider hugs MMIP advocate Jamiann S'eiltin Hasselquist at the Kaasei Healing Kootéeyaa on May 5, 2025. (Photo: Yvonne Krumrey / KTOO) Juneau, Alaska woman Tracy Day has been missing for more than seven years. And while her disappearance has become a rallying cry for MMIP in Juneau, her daughter also wants people to know who she was before she went missing. KTOO's Yvonne Krumrey has more. Kaelyn Schnieder says her mom was always finding new adventures for the family to go on. The house she grew up in in Sitka, Alaska was spotless and Day was taking night classes to be a nurse. Her struggles with mental health came later. “But I feel like, when she went missing, everybody was like, ‘Oh, she’s living in St Vincent. And like, she’s a mentally ill addict.' It was just not the way I wanted people to see her, because my mom was a wonderful parent, and she wasn’t always sick.” Schneider says when she was a young child, she was the victim of child sex abuse by her friend's father. After Day found out what had happened, she blamed herself for trusting the family. Schneider believes it triggered Day's mental health issues. “It changed her brain chemistry, you know. So that’s, like, the best way I could explain it.” Schneider thinks that changed the trajectory of her mother's life. Tracy Day has been missing since February 14, 2019. (Courtesy Juneau Police Department) Day struggled with mental illness and substance abuse, but Schneider wants people to know her mom the way she remembers her, as a dignified, even glamorous woman. “She was kind of like a diva. Like back in the day, she always had her hair done, lipstick done, nails, everything. She was always dressed so beautifully.” She was also a devoted parent and she was fun. “When she wasn’t at work, we were never bored. We would go ride our bike and we would get curly fries with cheese and milkshakes, and then we would go to the duck pond and feed the ducks. And, like, she was a good, like, playful parent.” Schneider says that even through Dayʼs later mental health crises, she always stuck around and checked in with her family. “She would not take off. She’s the opposite. She’s like, the parent that annoys you, because they’re showing up so much.” Schneider's son was born after Day went missing. He is five years old now and she is finding herself having to explain the absence. “My son, he’s at that age where he’s starting to question, like, ‘what happened to grandma?' And like, ‘Why is she not in your life?' And you know, like, he always asks — it’s so horrible — He always asks, like, ‘Are you gonna disappear?' And like, as a mom, that is just horrible. You know that knowing that my son, like, has that thought in his head, because he knows it’s a possibility.” So Schneider says, for him and for her newborn son, she will keep looking for the truth of what happened to her mom. “I really want to keep searching and talking about her case, not only for me, but also for my sons. I want them to know that people are still interested and care.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 8, 2026 – What Native graduates are looking forward to

Photo: Artwork featured as part of the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition’s installation and community gathering at City Hall, May 4, 2026. (Courtesy The Ottawa Mission / Facebook) Across Canada this week, communities commemorated Red Dress Day with ceremonies. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the annual day on May 5 has become a national day of awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). On Parliament Hill in Ottawa and cities and towns across the country, people gathered for the fifteenth anniversary of Red Dress Day. They come to heal, to remember, and to honour the Indigenous people who were murdered or who have disappeared. Mary Daoust is the co-chair of the Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition. “Their voices can no longer be heard, but they can be heard through us. And that's why we're here today, is to speak and honour, and respect the ones that didn't have those voices and the ones that went missing, and the ones that aren't coming home. That we are still here and we have not forgotten them.” People took part in ceremonies and educational exhibits – and created activities to honour the lives the legacies of Indigenous people. The events also included drum groups and throat singers, a sacred fire and honour songs, and, of course, people wearing a red dress. Jenny Sawanohk is an Indigenous healer and member of the Cree First Nation. “I've seen violence. I've been in communities that have been impacted by this directly. I've had family members that have been victims of violence. A lot of us are in mourning. And we will be in mourning until this gets properly addressed. And we needed this day to really bring awareness and attention to it.” Vigils and marches were also held across the country. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the national inquiry into MMIP. That resulted in an action plan with 231 calls for justice. According to the federal government, Indigenous women are twelve times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be murdered or end up missing. Billy Kirkland in Anchorage, Alaska. (Courtesy U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs / X) May is when the federal VIP season in Alaska really gets going – when high ranking federal officials tour the state to roll out new policies, hand out grants, or just simply listen to what people have to say. The Department of Interior sent some of its top people to Anchorage Tuesday for a closed-door meeting on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). As Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports, they acknowledged that the number of Alaska cases has reached a crisis point. In the Cook Inlet Tribal Council's meeting room, more than two dozen Alaska Native and government leaders looked across tables at each other. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) led the discussion. “The two top guys in America on these issues are here in this room right now.” Those top guys were Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland (Navajo) and Bryan Mercier (Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon), the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). They came to announce the re-introduction of Operation Lady Justice, launched by Tara Sweeney (Iñupiaq) during President Donald Trump's first administration. The initiative created a task force that brought law enforcement, data collection and justice teams together, an effort that led to a Missing and Murdered Unit within the BIA. “All of our law enforcement are working collectively on an issue not being in silos.” This renewed federal push comes through an executive order from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. Kirkland says it expands efforts to solve new and cold cases and emphasizes prevention. “It's great that we're focused on these cases that haven't been solved. You know, what would be even better is that we didn't even have to solve these cases in the first place.” A crisis U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) says needs to be addressed with urgency. “I would suggest to you that that is a crisis.” Some of the Native leaders and MMIP advocates at the meeting, like Charlene Apok (Iñupiaq) with Data for Indigenous Justice, say hope now hinges on whether funding follows — and if tribes are empowered to lead the work. “We're hoping that we see the return on investments and that it trickles down to real changes. But I also know that no matter what, tribes in Alaska are going to keep working on this. And that gives me a lot of hope.” The gathering and the Interior Secretary's Executive order was timed to coincide with a national day of awareness for MMIP. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, May 7, 2026 – Native Fashion Week takes root in Santa Fe

The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced a new task force aimed at addressing violent crime in tribal communities. The Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force was announced May 5, which is also Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day. Officials say the initiative is designed to strengthen law enforcement coordination and protect families across Indian Country. The effort will be led by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and will work with federal, tribal, and state partners to expand investigations, deploy mobile enforcement teams, and target drug trafficking and crimes against children. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum says the initiative takes what he calls a “zero-tolerance approach to violent crime” and is focused on protecting tribal communities. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland says the effort is also about strengthening coordination and accountability. In a statement, he says working closely with tribal communities will help improve public safety outcomes and prevent future crime. Officials say the task force will focus on solving missing persons and homicide cases, while using data to identify high-crime areas and direct resources where they are needed most. The initiative builds on earlier federal efforts, including Operation Lady Justice and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, as concerns about public safety in Indian Country continue. Keystone Pipeline in Canada. (Courtesy TransCanada) A 650-mile crude oil pipeline through eastern Montana and Wyoming just cleared another hurdle on the way to construction. Montana Public Radio's Ellis Juhlin reports, President Donald Trump issued a cross-border permit for the Bridger Pipeline Expansion Project Thursday. The pipeline would move no less than half a million gallons of crude tar sands oil from Canada into the U.S. daily. Its proposed path covers some of the same area as the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, which was terminated under President Joe Biden. The Bridger Pipeline would cross major rivers including the Missouri and the Yellowstone, prompting fears about the potential for contamination of water sources. It could also run through the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes. Tribal nations were not consulted as part of Trump's permitting decision and say a pipeline in this area could violate treaty rights. Jenny Harbine, a lawyer with the nonprofit firm EarthJustice, says pipelines like these are known to break. “Crude oil spills are extraordinarily time, consumptive and costly to clean up, and I don’t know that our local communities in Montana or our regulators are prepared for that kind of devastation.” The proposal must still go through several permitting processes at the state and federal level before construction could begin, but the pipeline is fast-tracked, and supported by Republican lawmakers in Montana. Construction could begin as early as next summer. Diehtosiida, a Sámi knowledge centre in Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino, Norway, where the 2026 Journalism Excellence Awards ceremony will take place in September. (Photo: Illustratedjc via Wikimedia) The World Indigenous Broadcasters Network (WIBN) has announced the finalists for its 2026 Journalism Excellence Award, highlighting top Indigenous reporting from around the world. Six journalists were selected from an international field, representing media organizations in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Sápmi, and Canada. The award recognizes excellence in storytelling, cultural integrity, and public accountability in Indigenous journalism. Entries were reviewed by an independent panel of Indigenous media leaders, who evaluated work based on reporting quality, innovation, and impact. WIBN Chair Shane Taurima says this year's finalists reflect the strength of Indigenous journalism globally, with reporting grounded in community voices and focused on issues that matter most. The winner will be announced at the WIBN Conference in Sápmi, Norway in September. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, May 6, 2026 – Tribes try to stay ahead of prediction markets on sports betting

Indigenous activists are reacting to news that President Donald Trump recently issued a presidential border-crossing permit for the Bridger Pipeline in northcentral Montana. Yellowstone Public Radio's Kayla Desroches reports. The Bridger Pipeline would start in Phillips County, Mont. at the Canadian border and carry Alberta oil sands down through eastern Montana. Fort Peck Assiniboine Tribal member and Wolf Point city councilman Lance FourStar says he fought for years against the Keystone XL pipeline. “This was all kind of new to me. I was hoping it wasn't real, and that it was just a rumor.” Indigenous activists and environmental groups have been rallying around the public comment period for the Bridger Pipeline's environmental analysis. FourStar says he is disappointed by the presidential approval, but not surprised. “That sinking feeling didn't happen this time.” A spokesperson with developer Bridger Pipeline says construction is slated to begin in fall 2027. The pipeline still needs several permits to go ahead. Kelly Hunt’s Funeral. (Courtesy Shaktoolik School / Facebook) The Norton Sound community of Shaktoolik said their goodbyes to Kelly Hunt at a memorial service this Saturday, as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports. She was the 19 year old whose remains were found in ravine in the Anchorage, Alaska area of Spenard two weeks ago, following her disappearance in January. Friends and family gathered in the school gym for a simple, but emotional, service, with arms held open and voices raised in song. “Where the tree of life is always blooming and the roses never fade.” Prayers to bring Kelly Hunt home were finally answered, though not in the way the community had hoped. She was last seen visiting friends in Anchorage, on her way to attend the Alaska Christian College. During the service, the lingering question of what happened to Hunt was set aside, to grieve and remember her as a young person, so was full of life and potential – qualities that Lynda Bekoalok says she cherishes. In her more than two decades as a teacher in Shaktoolik, she remembers Hunt as one of the community's most promising students. “She was always positive and willing to jump in and help no matter where. She was always diligent in school. She always had a smile on her face.” Bekoalok says everyone at the school encouraged Hunt to go to college. The community even raised money to help her with expenses, because they were proud of how she had overcome so many challenges at an early age. Anchorage Police continue to investigate her case with no word yet on how she died. No suspects have been arrested. New footage of an ocelot in southern Arizona have captured. (Courtesy Center for Biological Diversity) The ocelot is seldom seen in the Southwest anymore. Few animals from the wild, spotted cat species still roam between the borderlands of northern Mexico and southern Arizona. But as KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a group of tribal youth with ties to this now-endangered creature have bestowed one with an Indigenous name. Tucson high school first-year Isaac Valencia was among nearly three dozen O'odham students part of the Voices of Our Youth program, working with a tribal linguist. Then, a couple hundred ballots were cast to decide a fitting moniker through a recent online vote. “When I came up with the name, I named it an O'odham. And Himdam means traveler, like he has [an] untold story.” Himdam was first spotted in the Atascosa Highlands in 2024. More sightings of the same feline soon followed in the Whetstone, Patagonia and Santa Rita mountain ranges. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity shared insights about ocelots and their fragile habitat, the Sky Islands, with this group of students. For 14-year-old Valencia, who is from the San Xavier District of the Tohono O'odham Nation, Himdam's survival is inspiring. “It makes me real proud.” And naming the rare cat means so much more. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, May 5, 2026 – Alaska MMIW case exemplifies lingering distrust in law enforcement motivations

Photo: Apache Stronghold supporters converge at Oak Flat campground on February 22, 2025. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) A group opposed to a massive Arizona copper mining project filed a petition last week before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. They are hoping the court will reconsider the recent Oak Flat land swap between the U.S. Forest Service and Resolution Copper. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. A split, three-judge panel from the very same appeals court allowed the controversial transfer to proceed after tossing out a slew of lawsuits – while also lifting an injunction back in March. But plaintiffs now argue they still have a case to be made. Judge Johnnie Rawlinson agrees. In her dissenting opinion from April, she wrote that before the court stamps its seal on a decision that will “completely annihilate sacred Native lands, we must be certain that every i was dotted and every t was crossed. And that simply is not the case.” An FNX original children's series is earning national recognition. “Navajo Highways”, created by Pete Sands and filmed in Moab, Utah, has been nominated for two Emmy Awards by the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The nominations, announced recently, honor the show's educational content and set design. The Navajo-language series teaches culture and storytelling through the journey of a young girl reconnecting with her roots. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, May 4, 2026 – Demands for action grow as details of Indigenous surveillance program surface

The online marketplace Etsy plans to ban products made out of fur as well as threatened or endangered animals. In Alaska, many Indigenous artists say they do not use the platform, but several said they were frustrated with the decision. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Cheyenne Nelson (Aleut and Tlingit) pulls a pair of earrings from a box stacked with her creations. Nelson is an owner of Iliamna Arts based in Anchorage. She uses fur from otters, rabbits, lynx, and foxes to make jewelry. She sells her art to customers from California to Chicago, and from Canada to the Netherlands, but this might change: Etsy emailed artists like Nelson in early April to notify them it will ban fur products starting August 11. “It was like the worst case scenario … I really like being able to have my art reach people that in no other way it would have reached.” The new Etsy policy says that it will apply to fur from animals killed primarily for their pelts, to protect wildlife from extinction. It was not clear how the company would establish that animals were killed for fur and not for sustenance. There do not appear to be exceptions for Indigenous artists. Etsy did not respond to emailed questions for this story. Nelson and several others say the new policy will disproportionately harm Indigenous artists. “You’ve ostracized the entire Indigenous population that wants to share their art through Etsy.” Jamie Nurauq Stallings is Yupik and Athabaskan who makes earrings, using fur and feathers from her family's hunts – ducks, beavers, and rabbits. She sells her art at local markets, as well as Etsy. “Historically, there’s been a lot of shame put on certain parts of our lives, like our language, and now it’s fur. … we have the highest regard for animals.” When Stallings was small, she was a part of her father's Indigenous dance group. Between the performances, she would sit with her mom at a table, selling earrings and talking to guests. “Earrings were the one thing that we were able to share with people. … I really love that – being able to connect to people from everywhere. It’s unifying.” Stallings says she hopes the ban can motivate Indigenous artists to come together and create their own platform that sells traditional art – on their terms. Until recently, evacuees in Anchorage were staying at hotels like the Wingate, pictured here on November 14, 2025. (Photo: Matt Faubion/ Alaska Public Media) Six months after arriving in Anchorage, evacuees from Western Alaska have moved from hotels into temporary housing. Hundreds of people have been unable to return to their homes after ex-Typhoon Halong devastated villages in October of last year. Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the state's emergency response, says it gives people a chance to return to a slightly more normal way of life. “They’re cooking their own foods. They have more privacy, more room within the units. They’re also have places where they can host celebrations for their family members, or have people come over and visit and not just be in kind of one hotel room.” Evacuees stayed in five hotels around Anchorage through the winter. They received meals from various assistance teams and on-site staff helped them register for disaster relief and connected them to assistance programs. Zidek says the state will continue to help people with paperwork and bureaucracy hurdles. “We’re working with the every applicant on a case by case basis to make sure that they’re they’re not kind of lost in the shuffle, and they don’t get so frustrated that they just lose interest in pursuing this assistance that they’re eligible for.” As of April 17, 165 households have moved into temporary housing in and around Anchorage. The housing is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Zidek says the state and FEMA are working together to identify ways to rebuild in Western Alaska so that those who want to return home can do so as soon as possible. This story was provided by Alaska Public Media's Hannah Flor Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 1, 2026 – Efforts to improve Native student achievement under fire

A Hualapai tribal leader is being remembered for her impact on economic development and tribal sovereignty. Louise Benson, former chairwoman of the Hualapai Tribe in Arizona, has died at the age of 83. The tribe announced her death April 18. Benson helped lead the development of Grand Canyon West, including the creation of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a major tourism destination that supports the tribe's economy. According to the Hualapai Tribe, she also worked on infrastructure and water access issues for her community. Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) said in a statement: “I am deeply saddened by the passing of former Hualapai Tribal Chairwoman Louise Benson. As a dedicated leader for the Hualapai Tribe, championing critical infrastructure, and regional water security. Chairwoman Benson spent her life serving her people with unwavering commitment. My condolences go out to the Hualapai Tribe and all those who knew her.” In its statement, the Hualapai Tribe says Benson's legacy will continue through the economic foundation she helped build for future generations. Republican Native American voters Jen Thomasik and Brandy Ross stand outside a 2024 rally for Donald Trump held in Albuquerque, NM. (Photo: Jeanette DeDios / KUNM-FM) The Trump administration issued an executive order last month that seeks to restrict mail-in voting. KUNM's Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has the details on how this could impact Native American communities. The order seeks to use federal data to create a list of adult U.S. citizens in each state who would have to show proof of eligibility before voting. States would be able to review and suggest changes. But many tribal members living in rural areas rely on mail-in voting in order to participate in elections because of long travel times to polling places. Jacqueline De León (Isleta Pueblo), senior attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, says the Supreme Court is currently considering a case called  Watson v. Republican National Committee about whether or not ballots received after election day can be counted. “And we know that that is especially important in Indian Country, where mail delivery can be slow and unpredictable, that our ballots be able to be counted even if they arrive after Election Day, if they were cast before Election Day.” She says tribal nations are facing a consequential moment in history. “Protecting tribal sovereignty is something that I think every Native person needs to take seriously, and they need to make considerations when they’re voting as to which candidates are going to do that for their tribal nation.” Attorneys general in 23 states, including New Mexico, are suing to block the Trump order. Candlelight vigil for Kelly Hunt in Anchorage, Alaska. (Courtesy Data for Indigenous Justice / Facebook) Community members gathered in Anchorage this week to honor the life of Kelly Hunt. A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday at 2522 Arctic Boulevard, where family, friends, and advocates came together to remember the 19 year old from Shaktoolik. The event included traditional dance groups and songs, as attendees paid tribute and called for justice. (Courtesy Data for Indigenous Justice / Facebook) Hunt disappeared earlier this year while on her way to college. Her body was found April 20 in a Spenard neighborhood. The vigil was supported by Data for Indigenous Justice, as community members continue to call for answers and accountability. Alaska Native leaders and advocates will gather in Anchorage next month for a summit focused on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) crisis. The Alaska MMIP Justice Summit is scheduled for May 27 and 28 at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, followed by a Red Dress Gala on May 29. Organizers say the event will focus on raising awareness, sharing resources, and building solutions to address violence impacting Indigenous communities. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, April 30, 2026 – Reflecting on the milestone pipeline protest movement at Standing Rock

Actor Nathan Chasing Horse, known for his role in “Dances with Wolves”, has been sentenced in Nevada to 37 years to life in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting Indigenous women and girls. A jury found him guilty on 13 charges, mostly involving sexual abuse. Prosecutors say he used his position as a Lakota spiritual leader to gain trust and manipulate victims over many years. One woman, who was 14 when the abuse began, told the court her childhood was taken from her. Chasing Horse was arrested in 2023 and has denied the charges. Tongass National Forest Deputy Supervisor Barb Miranda talks about the Tongass Forest Plan Revision agenda to Wrangell, Alaska residents at the Nolan Center on April 21, 2027. (Photo: Colette Czarnecki / KSTK) U.S. Forest Service (USFS) personnel have been visiting Southeast Alaska communities to understand how residents want the Tongass National Forest used. The federal agency is doing a comprehensive revision of the Tongass National Forest plan, which will guide long-term management. They are focusing on tribal, subsistence, recreation, tourism, and timber aspects. Tongass National Forest Deputy Supervisor Barb Miranda with USFS visited Wrangell last week and gave a brief presentation to community members. “Down in the lower 48, the towns and wild places are surrounded by civilization. Here it’s the opposite — we have our communities surrounded by this wild place that provides so much for our food, for our subsistence and for our economies.” Miranda says the plan aims to balance ecological preservation and community needs. Towards the back of the room were activities where people could write down their thoughts and take a survey. Community members highlighted the importance of balancing commercial activities like logging and recreation with subsistence needs. Albert Rinehart is the tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association. He just finished an activity that had him identify the greatest subsistence harvest in a certain area of the Tongass. “Subsistence is important to a lot of our smaller communities, rural communities. If we’re gonna be doing any planning, it should be to help those habitats prosper and have our subsistence game be available.” The current comprehensive plan for the Tongass was revised in 1997 and was last amended in 2016. The deadline for Southeast communities to comment is May 6. USFS plans to release a draft of the environmental impact statement in November with a 90-day comment period following. Additionally, they plan to release the final draft of the statement in the summer of 2027, and the final plan in January of 2028. This story was provided by KSTK's Collete Czarnecki Perseverance Lake in Ketchikan, Alaska. (Photo: Leila Kheiry) The Federal Subsistence Board (FSB) voted last week to uphold Ketchikan's rural designation. That is after two tribal organizations on Prince of Wales (POW) Island submitted requests for reconsideration to the federal Office of Subsistence Management (OSM) last July. FSB voted in 2025 to reclassify Ketchikan from a non-rural status, allowing all residents to hunt and fish on federally managed lands and waters that were previously closed to them. That designation was challenged by Craig's tribe and Native corporation. They said the board failed to “fully consider the unintended consequences” of allowing new subsistence hunters from Ketchikan to access POW's deer population. The Ketchikan Indian Community was in favor of the rural designation, and worked for years to get rights to federally regulated subsistence activities. The tribe argued that the rural designation allows its tribal citizens to exercise traditional subsistence practices. The vote to sustain Ketchikan's rural designation came in the final hours of the board's four-day wildlife regulatory meeting in Anchorage. The vote also followed an executive session on April 23 to discuss the requests for reconsideration. This story was provided by KRBD's Hunter Morrison Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, April 29, 2026 — The Menu: Traditional diet success and the first Indigenous ‘Chopped' champion

Questions are being raised about how the Anchorage Police Department responded to a missing Alaska Native college student from the Bering Sea community of Shaktoolik. After almost four months, the remains of Kelly Hunt were found in a wooded area in the city, as KNBA's Rhonda McBride reports. Although the search for Kelly Hunt ended in a ravine where she was found last week, the quest for answers goes on. The 19 year old's remains were discovered not far from the home she had been staying in, where she stopped to visit on her way to attend college in Soldotna. She was last seen on the morning of January 7. Her family reported her missing four days later. Advocates for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) have questioned the police's response. “When a young Alaska Native woman is reporting missing, it is too late, and now we are looking at human remains.” Michael Livingston (Unangax̂), a retired Anchorage police officer and MMIP advocate, says Hunt's case reflects a pattern he has seen too often. He says several red flags in Hunt's disappearance should have prompted a more aggressive investigation. He says she had left her purse behind, with money inside, as well as clothing, signs she did not plan to be gone for very long. “Was there anymore, that anybody could have done, to try to have located her, early on in the game, to see whether or not any video surveillance cameras or people in the neighborhood might have seen anything suspicious?” Livingston says he would like to see an investigation into the police's response. Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case says he would be happy to discuss the department's handling of the case with advocates, but for now, the ability of police to talk about the investigation is very limited. “The problem is that can really cause challenges if it does become a criminal investigation later on.” Case says one of difficulties police faced was the four-day gap between the time that Hunt went missing and when her disappearance was reported. Case says he doesn't blame anyone for the delay. The difficulties were understandable under the circumstances. “But as soon as we found out that she was missing, we took the report, and detectives took over that case and treated that case as a critical or a high-risk case, that there was definitely concern over.” Case says investigators continue to process evidence in the case as they wait for the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the exact cause of Kelly Hunt's death. So far, no arrests have been made. A tribute to slain teen Emily Pike adorns a fence in Mesa, Ariz. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) signed a bipartisan bill into law this month, mandating that the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) make attempts to enter cooperative agreements with each of the state's 22 federally recognized tribes. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more on the measure meant to improve child welfare. The statute requires DCS to identify a liaison for each tribe, who is then responsible for providing technical assistance and coordinating communication. The agency will also share best practices, policies, training materials, and operational standards. Murdered San Carlos Apache teen Emily Pike was in the care of DCS when she went missing from a Mesa group home for the last time in early 2025. Her tribe has yet to enter an agreement with DCS, but is in talks. To date, only four tribes have established such Memoranda of Understanding. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, April 28, 2026 – Oklahoma tribes work to keep Medicaid access intact as federal cuts loom

Anchorage, Alaska police have identified the person found deceased last week in the Spenard area of the city as 19-year-old Kelly Hunt from the Alaska Native community of Shaktoolik. Police say Hunt was discovered outdoors on April 20 near the 3500 block of Lois Drive. Next of kin have been notified. According to investigators, Hunt had arrived in Anchorage on January 6 and was staying at a residence on Oregon Drive. She left that home the following morning, January 7. Four days later, on January 11, Hunt was reported missing to Anchorage Police. Detectives were assigned to investigate her disappearance. More than three months later, officers responded to a call just before 9 a.m. on April 20, where Hunt's body was found outside. Members of the crowd at the 2026 ASAA 1A/2A Basketball State Championships in March hold signs with a photo of Kelly Hunt printed on them. (Photo: Waatsasdiyei Apayakuk Yates) The Anchorage Police Department says the death remains under investigation. The State Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death. No arrests have been made at this time. In a statement, Police Chief Sean Case acknowledged the impact of the loss. Police are asking anyone with information related to the case to come forward as the investigation continues. 2026 U.S. Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit. (Courtesy Indigenous Data Alliance / Instagram) With the rise of AI, Indigenous people around the world are growing more concerned about data sovereignty. The Mountain West News Bureau's Hanna Merzbach has more on a recent conference on the topic in Tucson, Ariz. One attendee was Burt Dillabaugh, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, who works for an organization focused on Indigenous data sovereignty. He says at the last conference in 2024, people were still trying to understand the concept. Now, as AI scrapes data from the internet including traditional knowledge, they are ready to take action. “Since AI is here to stay, now is the time to be planning for it before it’s too late.” The mission is to protect Indigenous data – everything from genetics to language – from being exploited. “It's some outside entity,  whether it be the federal government or a university or some corporation, wanting … to get data from tribes.” He says tribes can protect their data with policies that govern access. Or by creating systems to store it within Indigenous nations. The Indigenous data sovereignty movement is gaining steam with the growth of AI. Indigenous members from across the world recently gathered in Tucson, Arizona to discuss how to keep control of their data. That includes Burt Dillabaugh, who is with an organization trying to do just that. He says attendees at the recent event were more familiar with the movement. “It was less like introducing this new concept to people and more like, We know what’s going on. Here’s some ideas, let’s get down to work, do something.” Ideas include having tribal nations create policies to govern data access and prevent exploitation. Dillabaugh says this often happens when the federal government or universities want to collect genetic data about tribes. He wants tribes to have more of a say about how that data is used. Two community members in Galena, Alaska stand on the shore of the Yukon River, which no longer feeds their families. (Courtesy Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Tribal Consortium) Three tribal organizations from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta have launched a new resource page for their ongoing salmon advocacy partnership. The Association of Village Council Presidents, the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, and the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish commission launched a partnership called the Arctic Yukon Kuskokwim Tribal Consortium (AYKTC) in 2002. A press release from the organization says the goal is to protect the ways of life associated with salmon, by focusing on policy and advocacy rooted in science and Indigenous knowledge. The tribal organizations have shown public support for a state Board of Fisheries proposal that would reduce salmon fishing time in Area M, and have advocated for bycatch caps and migratory corridor closures in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery. Its new website salmonpeople.org serves as a center for testimonials and resources for salmon advocacy. It features a collection of news stories and accounts documenting the impact of Western Alaska salmon crashes on the lives of the people who live in the region. It also aims to be a landing page where people can learn about current fisheries policies and engage in advocacy. This story was provided by KYUK's Samantha Watson Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, April 27, 2026 – Wide disparities persist when encountering ancestors' remains

The U.S. Forest Service swapped 2,400 acres of lands last month with Resolution Copper that included an Apache holy site called Oak Flat. Now, an Arizona organization is challenging that decision. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has the latest. Resolution Copper told KJZZ that courts at every level have consistently ruled in the mining company's favor, adding “it is time for the meritless litigation to end”. Becket Fund senior counsel Luke Goodrich disagrees. “This litigation is far from over. It's really just getting started.” That is why his D.C. religious liberty firm filed a 41-page plea on Earth Day on behalf of the nonprofit Apache Stronghold. They are asking Arizona's federal district court to essentially undo this congressionally approved land exchange, claiming the U-S has violated federal laws and even an 1852 treaty. Goodrich says there is even legal precedent to back them up. “The courts, if they find that transfer is unlawful, can unwind the transfer and require the parties restore the land to its pristine state.” (Photo: Theo Greenly / KUCB) Unalaskans got a chance to learn about the island's only recycling program Tuesday, as part of Earth Day celebrations this week. Most of what the Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska collects gets shipped out, but not the glass. KUCB's Sofia Stuart-Rasi has more on how used glass bottles could be put to use on island, over and over again. “Thank you all for joining us today.” Shenoy Anderson is standing in a conference room, walking community members through a PowerPoint presentation about recycling called “Bin to beyond”. “And recycling is a process of gathering and processing materials to create new products.” Anderson is the environmental director for the tribe. The tribe started their recycling program in 2024, collecting glass, number one plastic, aluminum, and cardboard. It is Unalaska’s only recycling program. Most of the recyclables get shipped out in containers to the Tacoma, Wash. area through a partnership with the barge company Matson, but glass is heavy and takes up too much space. So rather than see it go to waste, the tribe recycles it in house. “I got to take off all the plastic and, the metal off the bottles. That takes up most of the time.” That iss John Gustafson. He is the tribe’s recycling and facilities manager. He sorts the glass and runs the crusher machine, processing bottles into material used for sandbags and winter road traction for the island. That is cheaper than sending it out of town. When sorting glass, Gustafson has one hard rule. Bottles with food residue do not make the cut. Food residue and recycling can contaminate entire batches of material and can cause costly damage to equipment. “Like spaghetti sauce, Alfredo, and stuff like that. People don’t think to rinse it first.” As of now, the tribe has about 6,000 pounds of crushed glass stored. That is roughly 2 years’ worth, but Gustafson says there is room to grow in the future. “It’s just me and can only, you know, handle so much at a time. But eventually we want to upgrade all of our equipment and everything and we’ll spread the news to the whole community. It’ll be even busier.” Anderson says the tribe hopes to have the new equipment ready within the year and potentially recycle the glass into other materials for art, construction, and landscaping. She says once it is up and running, they plan to collect recyclable glass beyond an Alaska. “Our goal is to be a hub.” For now, community members can drop off recyclables at the Cowlingan Tribe’s office. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, April 24, 2026 — Music, fashion, and traditional ink under the stars with the Native Guitars Tour

An oil and gas lease sale is scheduled in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for June. The auction of drilling rights is mandated in federal law, but also reflects the Trump administration's commitment to promoting energy development in the state. The response from Indigenous residents that live in or near the refuge is mixed, as the Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced this month it will hold a lease sale in the nation's largest wildlife refuge, in the northeastern corner of Alaska. The piece of ANWR that has been the subject of passionate dispute for decades is the Coastal Plain, a swath along the Beaufort Sea that potentially has oil and gas reserves. The only community within the refuge is Kaktovik, an Iñupiaq village of about 300 people. Kaktovik Mayor Nathan Gordon Jr. says resource development in the refuge means economic opportunity because the regional government, the North Slope Borough, taxes oil and gas companies. “The taxes that come from the development pay for our schools, our water system, our sewer system. It pays for everything that has meaning in our lifestyle and protection and safety.” ANWR provides habitat for migratory birds and polar bears. And the Coastal Plain specifically is the calving grounds for the Porcupine Caribou Herd. Gordon says he believes development within the refuge will not interfere with wildlife. “With restrictions in place, it’s already set in stone for us to have safe development with our animals.” But opponents of the project are concerned that gravel roads, drilling, and seismic exploration can harm caribou, especially during their vulnerable calving period. The Gwich'in community of Arctic Village is located right outside ANWR to the south. Faith Gemmill lives in Fairbanks, but is from Arctic Village and has family there. “Imagine oil development in their core calving area. It’s going to … devastate our herd.” Gemmill says caribou support food security, culture, spirituality, and economy for Gwich'in people, including the future generations. “Our way of life is reliant on the caribou. So in my opinion, (President Donald) Trump’s incessant drive to drill in this area is a form of cultural genocide of the Gwich’in.” If the upcoming lease sale is successful, it could still take years for a project to break ground. Additional reporting from Alaska Public Media’s Liz Ruskin Diné chef Justin Pioche, right, inspects ingredients as “Chopped” host Ted Allen watches during an episode from April 21, 2026. (Courtesy Food Network) “Chopped” is a Food Network show where four chefs compete in a race against time to make a three-course meal. The latest episode aired Tuesday night and featured an all-Indigenous lineup. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a Navajo chef took the honors. From Chicago to Montana, Indian Country's top cooks vied for the “Chopped” title, but two of them repped the Southwest including Chef Ray Naranjo, who comes from the Santa Clara Pueblo just north of Santa Fe, N.M. Justin Pioche lives on the Navajo Nation. The 2023 James Beard finalist for Best Chef in the Southwest co-owns Pioche Food Group, a high-end catering company. He plans on using the $10,000 cash prize to help pay for his own brick-and-mortar restaurant. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native Aerica Calling episode Thursday, April 23, 2026 — Gathering of MCs: Native musicians compete for best bars, beats, and freestyles

Photo: An aerial view of the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson, Ariz. during an EcoFlight trip in April 2026. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) Today is Earth Day and earlier this month, the Colorado nonprofit EcoFlight came to Arizona as part of its annual aerial educational program — Flight Across America. A cohort of college students soared through the skies for an environmental tour of endangered landscapes across the West. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio took flight with them and has this report. On the Tucson International Airport tarmac, a fleet of three Cessna 210s taxi for takeoff. Manufacturers ceased production of this 6-seater model four decades ago, but these very planes have lately been the college students' main mode of transportation. Their four-day adventure across the Grand Canyon State kicked-off in Flagstaff. “And I am in awe of just what the world looks like from a bird's eye view.” Back on the ground, 23-year-old Kimmale Anderson reflects on her ride. She is from the Hopi village of Kykotsmovi and a senior majoring in environmental science at Fort Lewis College in Colorado. Anderson and seven more students met tribes along the way. While here in Tucson, Tohono O'odham Vice Chairwoman Carla Johnson joined her and the rest. “These leaders coming and being with us in these planes and giving their perspective is very powerful. And I think that they don't really speak for all of their people. And I appreciate the fact that they always express that.” An aerial view of solar panels near Tucson during an EcoFlight tour in April 2026. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Arizona State University data science junior Sophia Honahni is Diné-Hopi and from Tuba City. “They had a lot to share – coming from both a western science and a traditional ecological knowledge perspective.” Eager high schoolers were the first to learn about the land from above through Flight Across America – until the nonprofit EcoFlight shifted its attention to career-bound college students who could make the most meaningful change in areas of conservation. This opportunity can, in part, be credited to one of the nation's most popular folk singers — John Denver. This passion for piloting and astronomy only grew when he moved to spend much of his life in this snowy Colorado city. Aspen is also where Bruce Gordon founded EcoFlight. “My good friend John Denver, you're old enough to know who he is? (laughter)” Gordon was one of the pilots that ferried students around Arizona. “But I laughed like that, because, even a number of the students we just had – maybe a third of them raised their hands.” Flight Across America was their brainchild for Earth Day 2000. “This idea sort of came to a huge fizzle when he passed away.” In 1997, the eight-time platinum album recording artist crashed an experimental plane into California's Monterey Bay. Gordon dedicated the maiden Flight Across America voyage in 2004 to Denver's memory. About 180 students have taken to the skies of the West since then. It is something Gordon thinks would have inspired Denver, too. “Yeah, he would have really been excited about this – getting up in the air, getting the people involved – because that was one of his main loves for sure.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, April 22, 2026 — Earth Day read: “Mother Earth is Our Elder” by Katłı̨̀ą Catherine Lafferty

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) is announcing more than $6.3 million in technical assistance funding for tribal water projects across the country. The funding, announced in Washington, D.C., will support 10 projects aimed at improving access to clean and reliable water in Native communities. The investment comes through the agency's Native American Affairs Technical Assistance Program (TAP), which helps federally recognized tribes manage, develop, and protect water resources. Officials say the program is part of the federal government's trust responsibility to tribes, and has supported projects across 17 western states since 2016. Acting Commissioner Scott Cameron says the need for these projects remains urgent. In a statement, Cameron says, “These projects speak to the needs that remain in these communities… many focus on ensuring communities have safe drinking water and sanitation.” The funded projects include a range of water infrastructure improvements, from drinking water system installation and rehabilitation to wastewater and lagoon construction, well installation, and water quality testing. Among the largest awards, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and the Spirit Lake Tribe will each receive $1 millionfor water system upgrades and wastewater infrastructure. Other projects include nearly $1 million for the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians for drinking water improvements, and more than $950,000 for Nambe Pueblo to support a community health drinking water initiative. An intertribal project led by the Inter Tribal Council will receive $675,000 to support water quality testing and accessibility across nine tribal nations in Oklahoma. Additional funding will support projects for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, and the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. Tribal leaders say the investments are critical not only for infrastructure, but for long-term community health, sustainability, and workforce development. Federal officials say the program is designed to strengthen tribal capacity and ensure tribes can protect and manage their own water resources for future generations. A stretch of North Dakota Highway 31 winds through the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Monday, August 22, 2022. (Photo: Darren Thompson / Buffalo’s Fire) More than $2 million in grants is headed towards two tribes in North Dakota for road improvements. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is giving $1.2 million to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for its Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 3400 Roadway Realignment Safety Project. It will fund improvements on a nearly one-mile stretch to address “slope, drainage, and crash history”, according to a press release from North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Steve Sitting Bear told Buffalo's Fire that the work on BIA 3400 addresses a real risk his people have lived with, but added that one-time grants aren't enough. And roughly $777,000 went to the Spirit Lake Tribe for its Oyate Walkway to add warning panels and improvements to existing crosswalks and pavement markings. Spirit Lake Tribal Chairwoman Lonna Jackson-Street expressed gratitude for the funding, adding that it'd connect her community to the city of Devils Lake. The grants are part of a $21 million package for tribes allocated through the Tribal Transportation Fund. A 2024 report by the FHWA says Native people are at most risk of death in vehicle crashes, highlighting the need for safe and stable infrastructure across Indian Country Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, April 21, 2026 — Federal funding reinstated for public libraries but worries about the long-term remain

More than 400 athletes from over 100 communities gathered in Anchorage, Alaska for this year's Native Youth Olympic games, held April 16-18 at the Alaska Airlines Center. Among them was Mila Neely, a sophomore at Juneau-Douglas High School (Yadaa.at Kalé) in Juneau, Alaska, but for Neely, the competition went beyond physical strength. She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, with family roots in Oklahoma, where her ancestors, including her great, great, great, great grandmother, were forced to walk the Trail of Tears. When she was nine years old, she retraced that history alongside her father and great grandfather. “It's kind of indescribable… to just stand where your ancestors stand… when my grandma was walking the Trail of Tears, she was thinking of me.” Neely says that experience continues to shape how she approaches the games. “For the games… especially when I'm doing seal hop… I'll be like, ‘My grandma walked the Trail of Tears, I can make it to the end.’” She also sees connections between Cherokee traditions and Alaska Native values, rooted in community strength. “Our ancestors… they really just wanted other people to do good… because if they didn't do good, their family might go hungry.” For Neely, every event carries a deeper purpose. “I hope I'd be making her proud… trying to make my ancestors proud, and keep our culture alive.” She says she is competing not just for herself, but for the generations who came before her, and those still to come. Turtle Mountain Community College. (Courtesy Wanda Parisien) For the second year in a row, the Trump administration is proposing to end all funding for the nation's tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). As Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire reports, administrators are rallying against the proposal. The American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) has blasted the White House's proposed cuts, saying it is deeply concerned that the Trump budget for Fiscal Year 2027 “does not align with the Administration's stated policies to support rural America and expand access to higher education.” Last year's proposed budget cuts never came to pass, but Wanda Parisien president of Turtle Mountain Community College, in Belcourt, N.D., says this renewed call is a disheartening prospect. “Our programs are gonna be cut, so we're gonna have fewer students because those programs won't be offered. If we have fewer students, we're not going to have the money to pay our instructors. We live in a poverty-stricken area.” Another tribal institution of higher learning is Nueta, Hidatsa, and Sahnish Community College in Fort Berthold. Its president Twyla Baker says she and other administrators will be working with congressional representatives to challenge this proposed cut. “Our representatives are highly cognizant of the fact that we are economic drivers in our communities. The TCUs — we generated $3.8 billion for the U.S. economy and supported over 40,000 jobs in healthcare and government and retail.” Besides the disruption caused, should the cuts to tribal colleges and universities be implemented, tribal administrators say it would be a violation of the federal government's trust and treaty obligation to tribes. Tomi Kay Phillips is president of Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates, N.D. She is cautiously optimistic the funding cut will be thwarted, eventually. “I believe that we will get the funding, it just doesn't make sense for them not to fund us. Y'know, we make do with what we have if we have to. Our ancestors went through worse things. And we will always be okay.” The proposed cut to tribal colleges and universities comes to roughly $160 million and includes TCUs, institutes operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIA), technical colleges, and scholarships. It came through the U.S. Interior Department, helmed by former Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND). A request for comment on the proposal to Sec. Burgum was not answered. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, April 20, 2026 — Native Bookshelf: “Python's Kiss” by Louise Erdrich

Opening ceremonies for the statewide Native Youth Olympic (NYO) games got underway at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska Thursday. This year's NYO coordinator, Brittany Vo, says it is impressive to watch the procession of 400 athletes from across Alaska enter the stadium, as they carry homemade banners that represent their schools and communities. “It's just so exciting to have so much representation in one room, which I think is really powerful to see how one event can bring us all together.” Over the next two days, thousands of people will come to watch traditional Native games like the Alaskan High Kick, the Seal Hop, and Stick Pull – tests of skill, strength, and endurance, Vo says, that are rooted in survival off the land. “It's really important to me, because as a youth, I didn't always feel like pride in my culture. And the fact that these students come and they're proud to do these games is really important for self-esteem and confidence.” This year marks the 40th year that the Cook Inlet Tribal Council has hosted NYO. Since then, the games have continued to grow. Today, teams from more than 100 Alaska communities take part. The deadline to comment has passed on a Trump administration proposal that could roll back a two-decade ban on oil and gas drilling around a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Within seven days, more than 70,000 comments were gathered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more on potential changes for public lands surrounding Chaco Canyon. The BLM wants to repeal a Biden-era 10-mile buffer zone of more than 336,000 acres. Rich in oil and gas, some 40,000 wells already dot the Greater Chaco Landscape. “What we are fighting for is the last, right now, unleased federal lands.” Marissa Naranjo is from the Santa Clara Pueblo. She is with the New Mexico nonprofit Sovereign Energy. “Even when tribes lead, engage and help shape the process over many years, you know at this point, there's no guarantee that those outcomes will be respected, as we're seeing by the seven-day public comment. It could set the tone for how sacred sites and public lands are treated nationwide.” The mineral leasing withdrawal in 2023 followed a 150-day comment period. After a year of working for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Scott Davis has stepped down from his role as deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs (ASIA). As Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire reports, Davis is now back in North Dakota and the private sector. Davis is a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe with Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa heritage. He has long been a familiar face across North Dakota, having served as the executive director of the state's Indian Affairs Commission from 2009 to 2021. It was in that capacity that he became friends with Doug Burgum, then governor of North Dakota. When Burgum was confirmed as the 55th U.S. Secretary of the Interior last year, he tapped Davis to join his staff. Davis confesses he was hesitant. “You know when things started getting really busy, and not enough people power in the ASIA Hallway, I said I would help him get things set up, and whether that was a year, two years. But it wasn't solely intended by no means, it was never my goal to be working in government, but sometimes that's where the Creator puts you.” Davis said he is proud to have met with 400 tribes and addressed red tape, natural resources development, and probate while in federal office. He will go back to his consulting and lobbying firm, Tatanka Consulting, which he founded in 2023. He will also spend more time with his family. Among the groups praising Davis' tenure are the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the InterTribal Buffalo Council. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, April 17, 2026 – Storytelling and advocacy through film, culture, and collaboration at Arctic Encounter

Photo: Researchers and community members gather for a presentation by Robin Masterman at the Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference at the Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center in Bethel on April 9, 2026. (Samantha Watson / KYUK) Researchers and local experts gathered in Bethel last week to share environmental knowledge. As KYUK's Samantha Watson reports, the conference highlighted the power of linking Indigenous knowledge with Western science across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It is the beginning of the Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference, but before everyone gets down to work – organizer Katie Basile asks them to stop and … “Think about resilience and abundance in Western Alaska. What does that look like?” Basile, with the Alaska Sea Grant which organized the conference, says it is hard not to get bogged down by the difficult issues the region is facing. Many of those problems are informing research presented this week: salmon fisheries in decline, permafrost erosion, and the devastation of Typhoon Halong. Basile says this gathering is also an opportunity to imagine what things could lead to a better future. “What conversations can we have this week that will connect us to a narrative of abundance and resilience?” The conference is in its 18th year and it rotates between Western Alaska communities. Bridging Indigenous knowledge with Western science took center stage. Joann Slats, mayor of Napakiak, spoke about growing up in the village — when permafrost was close to the surface. “The permafrost was about two feet, July, June.” Today, Slats says stronger fall storms, including October's ex-Typhoon Halong, have been a new piece of the village's relationship with its environment. “90% in our community, 90% of the homes experienced water getting into their homes.” Much of the research that was presented had similar firsthand accounts and testimonies around the changing environment. Nicole Herman-Mercer with the U.S. Geological Survey presented a project that couples collecting interviews with data surrounding extreme weather events in Y-K Delta communities. “We set out to develop finer scale climate data coupled with community narratives to create storylines of change.” Organizers said a record-breaking 160 people registered to participate in the conference this year. An eagle staff stands among the trees in the Black Elk Wilderness on March 21, 2026. (Photo: Preston Keres / U.S. Forest Service) A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by Great Sioux Nation Tribal leaders and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), that allows collaborative stewardship of the Black Elk Wilderness in South Dakota. Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire reports. Last month, members of both parties signed the MOU, in an event that also included a hike up Black Elk Peak. The wilderness comprises more than 13,000 acres of forest in the Black Hills National Forest and was created in 1980. Boyd Gourneau is chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, one of the 11 tribes represented in the agreement. He says this is an especially important development for Native youth. “Our children are one of the most important resources for the future of our nation. We want our kids to have a chance to visit the sacred lands, our ancestors roamed free at one time.” Gourneau said he wished the parties would have signed a MOU, as he considers that more binding. Ultimately he would like to see all the land returned to tribes. In a release, the USFS said the MOU “enhances opportunities for tribal guidance, knowledge, and consultation regarding wilderness management, resource protection, recreation, and cultural interpretation.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, April 16, 2026 – Eklutna: a trailblazer on gaming and climate change action in Alaska

Photo: Fresh snow coats Monument Valley Tribal Park straddling Utah and Arizona in February 2026. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) The Navajo Nation signed an agreement with Utah last month that centers on advancing economic development and authentic Indigenous representation through cinema. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, it also formalizes a time-honored tradition of filmmaking on Navajoland – home to one of Hollywood's most iconic Western settings straddling Utah and Arizona. If you ever take a road trip to Monument Valley, you will see why this legendary landscape is so much more than just a movie set. It is also a tribal park, the first to be founded in 1958 and where about 100 or so Navajos actually call home. This 17-mile dirt loop – dotted with horses and hogans – is managed by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department. “If they say no, we tell the film production, no. But that doesn't mean that we're going to shut the door on you.” For Edsel Pete, who is in charge of the Navajo Nation TV and Film Office, the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the state of Utah is all about being “film friendly”, while also caring for the environment. Scripts can be changed – the land, not so much. “As we know, film is not going anywhere, but we don't want to just give away the resources. This is all we got, and we want to protect it.” Towering red sandstone buttes have, time and again, turned into the unmistakable backdrop for some of Tinseltown's biggest blockbusters. From Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump” to the final chapter of the “Back to the Future” trilogy. No matter the genre, Monument Valley has been glittering on the silver screen for nearly a century, but its popularity began with Westerns. Virigina Pearce is director of the Utah Film Commission. “Both states claim it as our own and it does get a lot of requests.” Arizona was the first state to ink such an MOU with the Navajo Nation in 2019; talks are underway with New Mexico to follow suit. “This MOU came at such a great time for us to not only look back and consider the history, but also look forward and think about how much more could we do if we work together.” James Lujan is from the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. He chairs the Cinematic Arts and Technology Department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. and suggests these MOUs could benefit everyone. “It's a win for the production companies. It's a win for the tribe, because they have people that they're putting to work to train below-the-line crew members.” Like gaffers, camera operators, and set designers. But Lujan thinks training above-the-line talent – screenwriters, producers and directors – is even more important for representation. “Because that's the only way we're going to break into mainstream cinema is by taking ownership and control of our own stories.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, April 15, 2026 – Iñupiaq leaders weigh their economic future and oil drilling in the Arctic

Photo: A voter fills in a ballot during Bethel’s municipal election on October 1, 2024. (MaryCait Dolan / KYUK) The Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) is speaking out against a proposed federal voting bill it says could create new barriers for Alaska Native voters. In a press release issued April 6, AFN urged Congress to reject the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which is currently being debated in the U.S. Senate. AFN represents more than 190 tribes, along with Native corporations and nonprofits across Alaska. Leaders say the bill would require voters to present documentary proof of citizenship — such as a passport or birth certificate — in person at a designated election office in order to register for federal elections. For many Alaska Native communities, especially in rural areas, that could mean traveling long distances, often by plane, at significant cost. In the statement, AFN says, “The SAVE Act… would disenfranchise eligible voters and recreate the very barriers our communities have fought for decades to dismantle.” The organization also raised concerns about how the bill would treat Tribal identification, noting that many IDs do not include citizenship status and could require voters to obtain additional documentation. AFN says that process could take weeks and may be difficult or impossible for some community members. The group argues the legislation is unnecessary, calling it “a solution in search of a problem” and pointing out that noncitizen voting is already illegal and rare. AFN says the bill could also restrict systems widely used in Alaska, including mail-in and online voter registration. As the debate continues in Washington, tribal leaders are calling on Congress to focus instead on improving access to voting, particularly in rural communities. A federal judge has rejected a plea agreement in the case of missing Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay. Begay, a 62-year-old member of the Navajo Nation, was last seen in 2021 at her home in Sweetwater, Ariz. and has not been found. According to the Associated Press, the judge denied a proposed deal for Preston Henry Tolth, who is accused of assaulting Begay before she disappeared. Prosecutors say the agreement would have allowed Tolth to avoid additional prison time. Begay's family opposed the deal in court. Her niece, Seraphine Warren, told the judge, “Accountability is not time served… we still don't have the truth.” Advocates say the case highlights ongoing challenges in addressing missing and murdered Indigenous people across the country. Arizona drivers have lots of specialty license plates to choose from – 114 to be exact. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the largest tribe in the Phoenix metro area is among the latest to be featured. Back in 2023, State Rep. Teresa Martinez (R-AZ) pitched letting the Gila River Indian Community design its own plate. “Lots of people will think, ‘Oh, this is just another license plate bill.' … It is a very big deal.” Because for each plate sold, $17 will be donated to the tribe's transportation committee for traffic and road improvements. Commuters regularly travel through their reservation just south of Phoenix. “Especially when the I-10 is down.” Martinez's proposal passed as part of a larger bill that included the neighboring Ak-Chin Indian Community and Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Gila River, in March, became the fifth of Arizona's 22 federally recognized tribes to print one. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, April 14, 2026 — Native in the Spotlight: cartographer Margaret Wickens Pearce

Photo: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to Native American leaders gathered at Gila River Indian Community's Wild Horse Pass Casino on April 8, 2026. (Caitlin Sievers / Arizona Mirror) Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a stop in the Phoenix, Ariz. metro area to visit the Gila River Indian Community last week. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, Sec. Kennedy touted tribal health accomplishments a year into President Donald Trump's second term. Kennedy briefly took the stage at Wild Horse Pass during the annual Tribal Self-Governance Conference. “ We're going to make Indian Country healthy again. Thank you all very, very much.” In his speech, Kennedy talked about making progress on key issues like food sovereignty, chronic disease, and federal dietary guidelines. He, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) literally flipped the food pyramid upside down. Tackling staffing shortages and aging infrastructure throughout the entire Indian Health Service (IHS) was another topic. Yet, the now defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) terminated a dozen leases for IHS facilities. This decision was seen as a costs-saving measure to shore up funds tied up in federal office space. And according to data from Stanford’s Big Local News, the U.S. cancelled 121 IHS contracts totaling over $8 million last year. The federal government is encouraging tribes to partner with data centers. That could mean leasing land or, as the Mountain West News Bureau's Hanna Merzbach reports, selling power. At a U.S. Department of Energy webinar, Ken Ahmann with Colusa Indian Energy said that is where the big bucks come in. “ Potentially billions of dollars into the coffers of tribes.” His company provides energy infrastructure to data centers on tribal land. He says these partnerships can be good for tribes that have land and resources to power big projects like the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. Paul Bemore is the chair of the tribe's utility board. “Tribes that are casino-dependent really need to look at other ways to build their economies, and I think data centers is one of those opportunities.” Though Bemore says people may be wary about how this will impact the environment. Other tribes have expressed concerns about data centers draining precious water supplies. The Native Youth Olympic (NYO) games begin this week in Anchorage. The games kick off Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center, bringing together hundreds of student athletes from across the state. Now in its 54th year, NYO celebrates traditional Alaska Native games rooted in survival skills, strength, and endurance. Events include the one-foot high kick, seal hop, and wrist carry — all designed to test both physical ability and mental toughness. Ann Lawrence is from Point Hope, Alaska and a cultural advisor for Cook Inlet Tribal Council. She says watching the children reunite every year brings her joy. “I love watching the kids participate. You see the friendship has grown over the years. Some of them that have started out as freshman, are graduating from high school, and they're very involved, and it just warms my heart that these kids know that what they're doing here is something that they can share with their future relatives. Maybe as they become parents, grandparents, I think is so important.” The games run through Saturday and are free and open to the public. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, April 13, 2026 — Tribes confront growing data center development pressure

After much speculation, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren announced earlier this week that he will seek reelection later on this year. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. President Nygren became the youngest president in Window Rock after defeating incumbent Jonathan Nez four years ago. Nygren won that race by just more than 3,500 votes. In a video message on social media, Nygren picked up his signature, black open crown hat. “And I will be tossing my hat into the race for Navajo Nation president. Let's keep building on the momentum that we've built so far.” Since his inauguration, the sitting president has faced considerable scrutiny. A special prosecutor has called for his immediate resignation over alleged ethics violations that included the misuse of public funds, while Navajo Nation Council delegates continue trying to oust him. (Courtesy Mircea Brown) The nonprofit tribal organization Sealaska Heritage Institute has published a new book that presents Tlingit Raven stories for the first time in the original language with English translations. The 860-page volume brings together 50 stories by seven Tlingit storytellers born in between 1870 and 1915 across Southeast Alaska. As KCAW's Hope McKenney reports, the stories were transcribed from recordings of oral performances and include some of the oldest known recordings of these stories told in Lingít. The book is currently available through Sealaska Heritage Institute's website. Geiger says they also hope to make the original audio recordings of these stories available in the near future. 75-year-old Ḵ'ashgé Daphne Wright grew up listening to her aunt Katherine Mills tell her stories of Raven, a cultural hero, world-maker, and trickster figure among the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska. “I can just remember we’d be sitting in the kitchen, around the kitchen table, and it was maybe in the evening, with everyone just kind of sitting around and just listening, and just kind of a warm feeling. And just listening to my aunt’s voice.” Wright says reading this book, which features stories from her aunt, is like hearing her aunt's voice again. “I miss her so much, you know. And I miss my mother … And so it just means so much that there’s something here and an actual physical book that has her stories in it.” This volume has been more than four decades in the making. It is the fifth in a series of books from Sealaska Heritage Institute called the “Classics of Tlingit Oral Literature,” and is the first in the series to be exclusively focused on Raven. Will Geiger is a research specialist with the Southeast nonprofit. “The intention of this series is to present standout examples of the Tlingit oral tradition in a written form, so that people who whether you do speak Lingít or not, you’re able to appreciate the depth and the artistry and the history.” This book features a transcribed version of the original recording on the left hand page and an English translation on the right. Geiger says Raven is one of the most developed characters in the Tlingit oral tradition, with stories ranging from sacred to humorous. “Mostly, he appears in the form of a person. And he can change forms … He turns into a woman, a little hemlock needle … and a raven.” For Lgeik'i Heather Powell Mills, a Lingít language teacher in Hoonah, hearing or reading these stories in the original language leads to deeper understanding. “Hearing our language is it’s like medicine to us… to have a strong connection to the land, to understand where you come from, in order to know where you’re going.” Mills says she's grateful these stories were recorded and preserved for future generations. “We don’t have the time we used to have. I think this is a great way for us to learn. It was their dream for us.” Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, April 10, 2026 – Money management during economic uncertainty and the rise of Buy Now Pay Later

Photo: A cross and mural honor slain teen Emily Pike along U.S. 70 Route near Peridot on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) The FBI announced earlier this month that it is, once again, putting extra agents in the field to address a backlog of cold cases on tribal lands. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, this effort is part of a years-long joint initiative with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Under Operation Not Forgotten, more law enforcement personnel will be filtering through nearly a dozen FBI field offices with close ties to Indian Country. Agents are being sent to cities like Phoenix, Ariz., Billings, Mont., Albuquerque, N.M., and Denver, Colo. Kevin Smith is with the FBI Phoenix Field Office. “A lot of our state is tribal territory. Right now, we're set for 14 agents.” The FBI is handling 4,100 active Indigenous criminal cases nationwide. Smith says Arizona's share is in the hundreds – including two high-profile ones for San Carlos Apache teen Emily Pike and 8-year-old Navajo Maleeka “Mollie” Boone. “Every case is unique, and every case takes the time that it takes.” The Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments last month on whether prisoners can be forcibly medicated with psychiatric drugs — without a court hearing and the right to a lawyer. In the state corrections system, Alaska Native people are incarcerated at about twice the rate of white Alaskans. Alaska Public Media's Rachel Cassandra has more. Prisoner Mark Andrews is housed at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo: Anne Hillman / Alaska Public Media) The Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments this month on whether prisoners can be forcibly medicated with psychiatric drugs — without a court hearing and the right to a lawyer. In the state corrections system, Alaska Native people are incarcerated at about twice the rate of white Alaskans. Alaska Public Media's Rachel Cassandra has more. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case against the Department of Corrections (DOC) on behalf of a prisoner, Mark Andrews. He says he has been unjustly drugged with powerful psychotropic medication for most of the last seven years, without due process or access to legal counsel. The Department policy currently allows prisoners to be drugged against their will if they are gravely disabled or are in imminent risk for harming themselves or others. Doron Levine is a lawyer for the ACLU. He argued at the hearing that the policy infringes on rights protected by the state constitution. “Few things are more personal than someone’s body, and arguably, nothing is more personal than a person’s mind. It’s the locus of a person’s identity, and it’s a last refuge of freedom for people who are incarcerated.” Under department policy, prisoners have the right to hearings every six months with department staff. And they have the right to appeal the decision to a department committee. The ACLU argues that Andrews did not have sufficient access to hearings or an appeal. Justice Jennifer Henderson questioned Kimber Rogers, the attorney representing DOC. Justice Henderson says the facts seem to suggest that the prisoner was denied the rights promised in the department's policy. Justice Henderson: “How do you respond to that?” Kimber Rogers: “Your Honor, I agree that there were definitely some problems, and Mr. Andrews’ hearings, but I don’t think that that’s important.” Henderson: “There were more than some problems. There were long periods of time where there were no hearings, for example.” Rogers: “Well, Your Honor, I would dispute that actually.” The ACLU lawyer argued that there should be a hearing in a courtroom because DOC staff may be biased to protect the institution over the person, but Rogers says a hearing inside prison is the best approach. When the Supreme Court issues a ruling, the decision could apply to the approximately 22 Alaska prisoners who are being forcibly drugged. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, April 9, 2026 — Roller derby skaters don't let anyone push them around

Photo: U.S. Department of Interior building. (Kmf164 via Wikimedia) Tribal leaders are raising concerns about a possible overhaul of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that could lead to more staff cuts. During a congressional hearing last week, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) president Mark Macarro warned lawmakers a proposed reorganization could reduce positions critical to delivering funding and services to tribal nations. He says the plan is moving forward without meaningful consultation. Macarro told lawmakers, “this action has been done without consultation with tribal nations and without consideration of the impact it will have on the delivery of programs and services.” A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found workforce reductions have already caused delays and left gaps in services across Indian Country. Federal officials say the changes are intended to improve efficiency, but tribal leaders warn the impacts could be far reaching. Native children playing outside at the Iselta Head Start. (Photo: Jeanette DeDios / KUNM-FM) The Pueblo of Isleta could lose federal funds for its Head Start program because online betting and prediction markets are hurting the tribe's gaming revenues. U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) met with tribal leaders last week to discuss the importance of preserving early education programs on sovereign Native lands. KUNM's Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more. At the Isleta Head Start, which serves children ages three to five at the pueblo, the program offers both educational and cultural learning like traditional dancing and language learning. Native American communities must do a 20% non-federal match for their Head Start programs in order to receive the remaining 80% of their budget from the federal government, so Isleta Pueblo uses revenues from its casino gaming for the match. But tribal officials say that is now at risk because online gaming platforms use federal regulatory loopholes to offer gambling-like services nationwide, while avoiding state gaming compacts under which tribal casinos must operate. Charles Jojola , 1st Lieutenant Governor for the Pueblo of Isleta, says that every gaming Pueblo has similar concerns. “Coming into our state, unregulated. They’re not sharing any of their revenues. What people gamble, what they make, they’re walking away, you know, from the state with all that money. And as far as Indian tribes go, you know, we’re required.” The Trump administration has eased Biden-era regulations on prediction markets. Rep. Vasquez introduced an amendment to prohibit sports betting using prediction market models. He also co-sponsored another bill that would prohibit members of Congress and the administration from entering into contracts. He says if they do not prohibit this it is going to lead to corruption issues. “Because now you’re able to make predictions or bets on things like world events, on legislation, passing on what the President is going to do tomorrow, on what the Supreme Court case is going to decide on a case that they have before them.” Councilwoman for the Pueblo Eulalia Lucero says this will directly impact the Pueblo's children. “This is the forefront of the foundation of their future, and it’s developing their knowledge, their awareness, so that they can be stronger as they go into the next phases of education.” Vasquez says that online gaming is a clear violation and overstep of the rules that currently exist and it will be one of his top priorities this year. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, April 8, 2026 – Tribes scramble to save critical healthcare funding