Antonia Gonzales

Tribes are raising concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and the safety of their tribal citizens living in the Twin Cities after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent Wednesday in Minneapolis. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, White Earth Nation, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Red Lake Nation have issued releases expressing remorse for Good and her family. A number of Native groups have also extended their condolences, included the Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition and Native Women Running. The restaurant Owamni by Sioux Chef Sean Sherman, in Minneapolis, closed after the shooting. In a social media post, Owamni said it will reopen with a portion of sales this weekend being donated to Good's family. Tribes are encouraging their citizens to report any interactions with ICE to them, to be mindful of their surrounds, carry identification, including tribal IDs, and to check on elders and relatives in the Twin Cities. The Red Lake Nation is condemning the shooting saying President Donald Trump must be held accountable for his “war of retribution” and that it has 8,000 members living in the Twin Cities where “ICE is presently terrorizing residents.” The Trump administration is justifying the shooting while city and state leaders disagree. The mayor wants ICE to get out of Minneapolis, and so does Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth/D-MN). On national television during an interview with ABC News Thursday night, Lt. Gov. Flanagan said, “it's time for ICE to get out of Minnesota,” to leave them alone, and that enough is enough. Meanwhile in South Dakota, the Oglala Sioux Tribe is also raising concerns about its tribal citizens living in the Twin Cities. In an advisory to tribal citizens, OST President Frank Star Comes Out said he has been made aware that ICE detained four of their tribal members in Minneapolis. He said tribal attorneys have been instructed to reach out to Flanagan and work toward their release. The advisory to Oglala Lakota citizens also includes how to handle ICE interactions, and to contact Star Comes Out or other officials with the tribe immediately. Brian Bull contributed to this story. The Community Giveback event between MMIW Search & Hope Alliance and Project Lemonade benefited foster youth and generated donations of socks, hats and stuffed animals in Portland, Oreg., Saturday, December 13, 2025. (Courtesy Kimberly Lining) A Portland, Oreg. organization involved with Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) awareness and advocacy is holding volunteer training. Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire reports on what people should expect should they participate in MMIP events. For roughly a year and a half, MMIW Search & Hope Alliance has conducted searches and events that support their community. Founder Kimberly Lining says they rely heavily on volunteers to get things done across the region. Besides being physically fit for hiking, marches, and distributing materials, Lining says it is also important that people are emotionally mature and tough. “How they handle stress. How they handle dealing with confrontation because a lot of times we’re dealing with devastated families. And sometimes their anger can be directed at us, and it’s not personal. It’s because the families are under so much pressure.” Kimberly Lining, founder and coordinator of MMIW Search & Hope Alliance, at its first annual conference held in Gresham, Oreg., on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Photo: Brian Bull) Lining says a common misperception is that volunteering with groups like hers is some kind of true crime adventure, or that all they do is search for bodies. She says most MMIP cases result in finding people who are alive, but even then there can be challenging situations. “A lot of times they’re struggling from an addiction. So we kind of look at that aspect. ‘Hey, do you need to get into detox? Would you like to go here? Do you want to speak to your family?’ We really encourage the missing that we find to call home, call their family, and we offer to give them that resource.” Volunteers with special skills such as scuba diving, rappelling, or operating drones are great, Lining adds. The MMIW Search & Hope Alliance's training will be held on January 10. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Friday, January 9, 2026 – Where do Native Americans fit in with America's Semiquincentennial celebration?

Activities at Native organizations and a tribal college in Minneapolis, Minn., were canceled after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot a woman Wednesday morning in the city. The Minneapolis American Indian Center canceled its Wednesday night programs due to community safety concerns and ICE activity in the neighborhood. The Red Lake Nation College, the Red Lake Nation Embassy, and the tribe's wellness center in Minneapolis closed Wednesday, and are expected to be closed for the rest of the week due to due the incident. MIGIZI, which supports Native youth in the Twin Cities, also canceled its programming. Tribes are expressing concerns about the incident and the safety of Native community members living in the Twin Cities. The Red Lake Tribal Council is urging its citizens to be careful, and to avoid ICE and other federal agents. The council released a two-page written message Wednesday, outlining concerns, which includes asking tribal members to report any interactions with ICE to the tribe's council or embassy. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa also raised concerns in a written message to its community about the safety of tribal members living in the Twin Cities. Robert Pilot is the host of Native Roots Radio based in the Twin Cities. He says the Native community is feeling the impacts of the shooting. “The reaction I’ve seen with the Native community is been just a gasp of what’s happened. 75,000 Native Americans live in Minneapolis (Twin Cities area). In that area of the shooting, there’s a very high percentage of Native Americans that live in that community, and they feel their community is being attacked by the federal government.” Pilot says members of the Native community are standing with their allies and took part in demonstrations against ICE on Wednesday in the area of the shooting. “There was a woman Native singer group that sang and it’s all about the healing. And I think the community, especially that community really knows that the Native community is really involved and really vetted into everything that happens there, happens to them. It was only a very short blocks away from the murder of George Floyd and that community is so scarred, but we have a resilience and our Native community is there and was there and is there and will still be there … we also are a big part of the community. And we want people to be safe, but we also want to be heard and be out there and support our community too, because this is our community too and all of Turtle Island is our community.” The woman killed was identified as 37-year-old Renee Good. The Trump administration is justifying the shooting, while the city's mayor disputes that and is demanding ICE leave Minneapolis. The Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix, Ariz. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) A three-judge panel in Phoenix, Ariz., heard arguments on Wednesday over continuing a court-ordered injunction blocking a controversial land exchange. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the land swap would result in a copper mining operation that is estimated to create a two-mile-wide crater, devouring an Apache holy site. It's been 140 days since the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delayed a land swap first approved by Congress more than a decade ago. According to the 2015 law, 2,400 acres of Tonto National Forest must be turned over to Resolution Copper within 60 days of a final environmental impact statement being published, which happened in June. Plaintiffs in three different cases include the Arizona Mining Reform Coalition, San Carlos Apache Tribe, and a group of Apache women and girls. Defendants asked for the injunction to be lifted, which could lead to an immediate public land transfer. The judges did not say when their decision will be made. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, January 8, 2026 — New post office rule is among potential hurdles for Native voters

CTSI tribal members Todd Logan, Joshua Rilatos, and Dylan Gorman work with anatomic pathologist Kurt Williams of the OSU necropsy team to remove blubber, bones, and baleen for cultural use and tissue samples for diagnostic testing on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. (Photo: Jens Odegaard / Oregon State University) Last November, a stranded humpback whale near Yachats, Oreg. had to be euthanized after rescue efforts to put the 10-ton, 28-foot-long mammal back into the ocean failed. As Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire reports, what followed became a meaningful collaboration between the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians and a team from Oregon State University (OSU). In mid-November, volunteers worked around the clock to keep the whale doused in sea water – and to try pulling it back into the sea. Video from The Oregonian captured some of those harried efforts. Finally, on-site stranding experts and veterinarians agreed to put the whale down. A necropsy team from OSU prepared to remove samples to determine how the whale lived before getting tangled in crab pot line. Kurt Williams is the director of the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Lab. “I've never done a necropsy exam on a whale, before. I don't think I'll have another opportunity – I hope I don't have another opportunity, because I don't want this to happen to these animals.” Another group of roughly 20 Siletz tribal members also came. Among them was Lisa Norton, chief administrative officer for the tribe. She said they began by laying down tobacco and praying with Williams' team. “We offer up prayers for the animal and the bounty it's going to give us. People kinda did their own thing, they prayed in whatever way was comfortable for them. But we just spent some time taking in the enormity of the task.” There's been a historic tension between tribes and scholars, often due to academic institutions pillaging remains and artifacts from Native burial mounds and village sites. But these two groups – standing side by side with the whale – worked in tandem, conferring with each other as they worked against the incoming tide and pending sunset, said Norton. “We were able to get them to get more specimens than they would have otherwise, that resulted in them finishing quicker and getting more samples had they just done it on their own. But also allowed us to preserve more parts of the whale for future use.” Williams praised the experience. “I'm not going to kid you, being able to work alongside the members of the Siletz Tribe, it was amazing. And they were gracious and collegial, and to even allow us just a glimpse into their community and culture was, I felt honored to be honest with you.” The Siletz have stored 1,500 pounds of blubber for possible soap or oil, while the whale's skeleton has been buried for possible use later as a museum piece. While the whale's death was a sad event for many, the collaboration between the tribe and university gave a primer for how to handle similar incidents in the future. Angela Sondenaa is the Natural Resources Director for the Siletz. “We would anticipate that if something similar happened, that we would revive those relationships and collaborations that we've built from this experience.” Health and Human Services Secretary. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. with Gabriel Lopez, chairman of the Ak-Chin Indian Community, in Scottsdale, Ariz. in November 2025. The Indian Health Service (IHS) recently announced seven projects to build or renovate health care facilities – often in rural areas – throughout Indian Country. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, one of those beneficiaries will be Arizona's Ak-Chin Indian Community. Gabriel Lopez, the tribe's chairman, is grateful. “Currently, we have a satellite facility, which is 2,000 square feet and a triple-wide trailer with minimal services.” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with the Ak-Chin Indian Community in November. After that visit, he made a social media post with Lopez. “The elders in the community have to drive 60 to 80 miles to get decent care, and they have to go through Maricopa County with all the traffic, so it's an inconvenience and it can be a lethal inconvenience.” Ak-Chin will construct a 60,000-square-foot facility and lease it at no-cost to IHS for two decades. In exchange, the agency will lobby Congress on behalf of the tribe for federal funding to staff and maintain the building. “In a roundabout way, we're looking at maybe two years to be up and running,” said Lopez. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Wednesday, January 7, 2026 – Remembering Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Harvey Pratt

Ahead of the next legislative session this month, Arizona Democratic state lawmakers held a town hall at the end of December on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP). KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. State Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (Pascua Yaqui/D-AZ), chair of the Arizona legislature’s Indigenous Peoples Caucus, made no promises. “We will not have solutions for you today.” But she and others spent three hours listening. Reva Stewart (Diné) believes families are repeatedly asked to relive their trauma by testifying with no results. “Listening without action has become a pattern. Legislation without enforcement is not protection. Taskforce without authority or accountability are not solutions. Meetings without funding are not justice.” Roxanne Barley (Cocopah) complained that criteria changed for the state's Turquoise Alert, originally designed to notify the public of Indigenous disappearances. Of the five alerts in 2025, only one was for a Native American – a teen in Yuma. “That was the lie that we were promised, that was the hoax that we were told.” But State Sen. Theresa Hatathlie (Diné/D-AZ) explained how lawmakers negotiated and compromised. “And that is the ugly truth of politics.” Alaska state health officials are still recommending the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns, despite a recent, controversial change in federal guidance. The virus has historically seriously impacted Alaska Native communities. Alaska Public Media's Rachel Cassandra has more. Hepatitis B is a virus spread through bodily fluids and from mother to baby during childbirth. Historically, Alaska has had high rates of hepatitis B, especially among Alaska Native people. In the 1970s, widespread infection led to high rates of liver cancer in Alaska Native children. State Epidemiology Chief Dr. Joe McLaughlin says screening and vaccinations have helped reduce rates of hepatitis B in the state. And McLaughlin says the vaccine is still important in Alaska, which has struggled with high rates of chronic hepatitis B. “This universal birth dosing helps to ensure every baby receives protection, regardless of their location or access to care or any follow-up challenges that they might have, this approach has definitely helped reduce disparities in hepatitis B outcomes across Alaska for decades.” Public health experts credit the vaccine with dramatically lowering the risk of developing chronic hepatitis B, serious liver diseases, and liver cancer. For over three decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that all babies across the country get the vaccine at birth. Then, last month, the CDC narrowed its guidance, recommending the vaccine only for infants born to women who test positive for the virus or whose status is unknown. The guidance says women who test negative should consult with a health care provider before vaccinating their newborn, but McLaughlin emphasizes that the CDC also acknowledged that each state has to consider its own hepatitis B rates and risk factors. “Alaska, where the rates are nearly three times the national average, clearly falls into a higher-risk category as a state in general. And our data support continuing universal birth dose vaccination to protect infants in Alaska.” Health insurers have said they will continue to cover the hepatitis B vaccine. 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 episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, January 6, 2026 — The Pleiades star cluster ushers in winter story season

Photo: An aerial view of the Verde River. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Monday is the deadline for the public to weigh in on a potential rule change by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that could impact which water bodies may be protected from pollution. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, tribes are among those asking for a 30-day extension to comment. The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) guides which resources fall under the federal Clean Water Act, but as written, the EPA rule would narrow the law's enforcement with estimates suggesting that 80% of the nation's wetlands could be at risk. Daniel Cordalis (Diné) runs the nonprofit Tribal Water Institute. “I think it's a big picture concern for everyone really. I think most tribes who want clean water – or the ability to make sure that water is usable, are probably going to write in opposition to kind of what the rule stands for.” While tribes can regulate waters on their reservations, they lack jurisdiction elsewhere. “Tribes can't look to the EPA anymore. And arguably, there's a duty on the federal government to protect these tribal resources, but who's going to do that?” Some states are stepping up, like Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Trevor Baggiore is the water quality division director at the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. “We're coordinating with our neighbors, tribes or states or country on our southern border, to make sure that we each know what each other is doing. Hopefully, this new rule will add some clarity, as long as they are able to provide scientific tools to help us determine what's regulated and what's not.” Groups including the National Tribal Water Council, Association of Clean Water Administrators, and Environmental Council of the States are all asking for a 30-day extension to reply. Principal Brian Brown leads morning announcements as a part of his daily routine on December 17, 2025, at Norris Elementary School in Norris, S.D. (Photo: Meghan O'Brien / South Dakota Searchlight) Attendance at a school near the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations has nearly doubled in the past three years. School leaders say they are engaging one-on-one with students and families. They also are implementing Lakota language and cultural programming. South Dakota Searchlight's Meghan O'Brien reports. “I've been waiting all morning for you…” This is a typical morning at Norris Elementary, where most of the students are Native American. Principal Brian Brown walks the halls on December 17, 2025, and discusses a sign that celebrates Norris Elementary's attendance rate. (Photo: Meghan O'Brien / South Dakota Searchlight) Principal Brian Brown greets students and staff at the cafeteria tables as breakfast is served. Brown also asks teachers who is missing. It's a way of getting ahead of the problem, he says. When students are not at school, he makes phone calls and home visits. Just three years ago, barely half the students came to school regularly. Now, the school's attendance rate is above 90%. That is higher than the state average. It's a source of pride for Brown, who took over as principal in 2022. “I was very happy. I was very pleased, but more proud of the kids and the parents for their support and believing in Norris.” The leader of South Dakota's Education Department sees the success at Norris. The leadership and cultural engagement are important parts of that, says Joseph Graves. “So, now we want to see what kind of results this produces. We have the attendance. We have the drops in chronic absenteeism. Now we want to see what’s gonna happen with those proficiency rates and the graduation rates.” The school is on a gravel road about a half-hour from other schools in the White River School District. Its isolation makes it difficult to hire and recruit teachers. In a small community, it takes everyone to keep students involved, Brown says. Some teachers have multiple grade levels in one classroom. The school's head custodian and office administrator are also bus drivers. Brown steps in at lunchtime to help serve food. He also finds ways to make Lakota culture and language an important part of every student's day. Students sing every morning. Brown teaches Lakota studies to each grade once a week, and started the school's first drum group: the Black Pipe Singers. 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.

In our last story, we shared how leaders with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's treatment and recovery services say they are making strides in opioid addiction treatment. That includes work through Great Circle Recovery in Oregon. The tribe also provides transitional housing services through Main Street Recovery, a program with supportive housing, which also helps address mental health and addiction services on site. Kelly Rowe is the Executive Director of Health Services for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. “Instead of having to go to a facility where you might get 21 days or 28 days, that’s really been something that is more prescribed by insurance than it really is for the best thing for a person to have we’re not putting a limit on that. We’re saying what is good for you is what we want you to do. We’re letting them stay as long as they need to get well.  So that’s become another piece in the continuum of care for us. So, we’re really working hard to make sure people can get well and we’re creating a whole community of recovery here at the reservation.” Culture is a key aspect in the services says Jennifer Worth, the Operations Director for Main Street Recovery. “Being able to provide that that holistic approach with access to mental health and substance use and kind of figuring out what the needs are and being able to tailor that to each person that comes through … there’s lots of activities and different things that we’re able to take the residents to.  So for instance, tomorrow they’re going to be working on making paddles. And the other day they came in and they had been part of this carving class and they had all carved this ladle that’s going to be used for a future service that we’ll be adding on site at Main Street. So, things like that are really important.” Brian Krehbiel is a canoe maker who teaches paddle making and canoeing. “The canoe has just brought back so much our way of life all around the canoe. That bucket line that we feel when we’re all pulling together, we’re all going forward, we’re all making that forward movement and it helps with our noggins. If you should need it, if you don’t, you’re good. But if you should need some help of motivation and pushing you forward and to do try new things, however that is, that are good for you and it’s wicked fun.” For people on their mental health and recovery journey having trusted support is of great value says Sydney Clark a recovering addict and Peer Support Specialist Supervisor with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. “I walk with them, letting them know that they’re not alone in that it’s okay to reach out. It’s okay to feel scared and it’s okay to question things because I didn’t know what I could question and what I couldn’t question and go into meetings having someone sit there with you that might know those questions to ask because that trauma that you’re going through right then and there … I’ve always loved helping people because it helps feed my soul … to be able to learn what would help us grow as a tribe. And each one of us play a big role in peer support, helps get people walk through a door that they normally probably would have never ever walked through.” Highlighted throughout the services is the resilience of Indigenous people, says Rowe. “My hope is that we can get out of this cycle of seeking out artificial substance to hide our pain, to hide our trauma that we’re not  afraid to  let that out and to seek out our cultural ways to  heal ourselves … for us, especially health and wellness, it becomes this this plan of no matter who you are, at what stage of life you’re in, we’re here for you and we want you to be able to  become a part of something bigger and that when you’re ready, we’re here for you.” This story is a collaboration with First Nations Experience Television with support from the Public Welfare Foundation. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts.

Leaders with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's treatment and recovery services say they're making strides in opioid addiction treatment in both the tribal community and in neighboring towns and cities. Jennifer Worth is the Operations Director for Great Circle Recovery in Oregon. “There are no throwaway people, everybody deserves the chance for hope and help.” Kelly Rowe is the Executive Director of Health Services for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. “It’s changed lives. It’s saved lives for us.” Kelly Rowe and Jennifer Worth talk about Grand Ronde’s recovery services. Worth says Great Circle started out of an idea to help figure out what to do about overdoses. “Folks were coming in and out of jail, there was a pattern where they were kind of noticing that there would be higher overdoses. And that’s because when people have an opioid use disorder and they go into incarceration and there’s no support during that time and they come out, they are more at risk and more vulnerable of an overdose. Being able to find other tools and avenues to support that was part of the vision of Great Circle.” The care is located on the reservation and off through Great Circle Salem, Great Circle Portland, and two mobile clinics. “Great Circle is steeped in the cultural and community values that Grand Ronde shares. And the way they care for their people is the way that we care for every patient that walks through these doors. And everybody matters. Everybody heals in community. And there is hope for each person that walks through that door. “ Taking care of the health and wellness of community members is a key tribal value, says Rowe. “We are doing it not just for Indian people, but for each other. And I know that when I’m coming to work and we’re building programming or giving services, it’s for me, my relatives, it’s for my son, my grandson, and so on and so on and so on. And truly is the seven generations ahead … the substances that are out there now that are so hard to get away from it's been difficult to make sure that we have enough services available to give to our people and we fight for beds, we fight for space to send our people to and that's what really led for us to make these services our own.” Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy is the tribe's longtime leader and also has a long career in Native American health care, which includes addressing drug and alcohol addiction treatment. “I don’t believe that anyone, if you ask them today, ‘How many want to be an alcoholic or an addict?’. how many people are going to raise their hand? ‘Yeah, me, let me.’ No one starts like that, but it creeps in and it takes over, it consumes you. And pretty soon you have no life. You are then under the power of either the drink or the drug of choice, whatever it might be … as Native people, we think about ourselves in the whole. Colonization had those kind of effects … addictions, of use, misuse, need to be addressed.” The state, like many other states in the U.S., has been hit by the opioid crisis, including the misuse of prescription and illicit drugs. Addressing stigma around opioid use disorder is part of the work. Worth says this type of treatment shouldn't be any different than having a chronic health condition that needs to be managed. “Substance use shouldn’t be any different, but yet it is. And so, the more we can normalize and have these clinics out and available and embedded into the other services that are happening, it just destigmatizes that for everybody.” Great Circle is the first tribally-owned opioid treatment program in the state. This story is a collaboration with First Nations Experience Television (FNX TV) with support from the Public Welfare Foundation. 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.

Photo: Youth royalty from the Colorado River Indian Tribes stamp the Ireichō – or Book of Names – in Parker, Ariz. on October 25, 2025. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is among the chapters of U.S. history that the Trump administration is actively working to erase. It is part of a sweeping campaign to remove so-called “disparaging” signs and markers of the country's past and focus only on “American greatness”. In the final installment of his series on the camps, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio visits the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) to see how others are making sure victims are highlighted in – not erased from – the history books. Inside a strip mall owned by the tribe, hundreds flock to its museum in Parker, Ariz. Director Valerie Welsh-Tahbo says her space used to be an old swimwear shop. Tucked in one teal-hued corner is an exhibit dedicated to the Poston camp's 18,000 internees.  “This was already up here, this structure in this store and I said, ‘Let's hang onto this … just because of where it was situated, and that design, it just spawned that idea.” To honor Poston's past. another way the museum is paying respect is by welcoming Soto Zen Buddhist priest Duncan Ryūken Williams and his Ireichō. “Chō, chō means like a book or a registry, and so we created a book with everybody's names in it, and said, ‘How do we honor everyone?' And we came up with this idea of stamping or placing this mark under people's names.” The Japanese word Irei essentially means “to console the spirits”, and that's what Wiliams hopes his book does by bringing forth personhood and dignity – one name at a time. “A lot of government camp rosters mangle Japanese names, and so we can't honor people if their names are misspelled.” And their goal? “To make sure all 125,284 people whose names are printed in this book get at least one mark of acknowledgement.” There's still 30,000 names unmarked, but Williams has a plan. “We'll just systematically, from the beginning of the book, invite the general public to come and place a mark under the next name in the sequence of names that doesn't yet have a mark.” “I think this person – Hisayo Kotsubo – does not yet have a stamp. She's born in the year 1897 so if I could ask you to just place this stamp right under the letter H.” Their blue-tipped stamp is no bigger than your thumb. Some even practiced that art of dotting with Susan Kamei. “It's a personal story.” Her parents, grandparents, and one set of great-grandparents were internees. Her dad's side was brought to Poston, while her mom's ended up in Heart Mountain, Wyo. “I try to put myself in their shoes.” 84-year-old Janet Brothers doesn't have to imagine, because she lived it. “I was here at camp as a baby. I was six months old … feeling the heat, looking around, and seeing the desert and the mountains, knowing that's what my parents saw every day, was very emotional for me.” The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is remembering the life of former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Northern Cheyenne/R-CO), who died Tuesday at age 92. NCAI President Mark Macarro in a statement said Campbell broke barriers and left a path for those who seek to follow as leaders in Indian Country and in America. Sen. Campbell is being remembered for his work on Indian policy and elevating Indian Country issues, serving on the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The Associated Press reports, his daughter said Campbell died of natural causes surround by 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. Wednesday, December 31, 2025 – Memorable moments in Native film and TV in 2025

During World War II, Japanese Americans were held captive in 10 internment camps throughout the US. Two of them in Arizona, built on reservations without tribal consent. In our last story, we heard how the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) in western Arizona have made a point to preserve the remnants of one such war-time prison. Today, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio takes us to the state's other site, which sits well-hidden in the shadows of Phoenix – slowly fading away atop of the Gila River Indian Community. He had the privilege to see this restricted site twice this year with the tribe's Wally Jones, who supervised his trip. “I can't give, really the location. I wanted to, but people do search it.” They first met in April at the Chevron gas station in Bapchule, Ariz. about 30 miles south of downtown Phoenix. The tribe did not allow KJZZ to record inside the camp itself, but Jones agreed to let Pietrorazio document their short ride there. No matter who is coming out, Jones stresses they're not tours. “This is not a tourist camp. This is a regulated entry that the department processes for the council's consideration for your visit. It's not just anyone can come out here. These are one of the few sites that the community allows non-members to come in and kind of experience what was here.” What was here in 1942 would've equated to Arizona's fourth-largest city, home to over 13,000 internees stuck in the Sonoran Desert. “The camp is not maintained. The community has decided to let nature recapture its natural state, but there are remnants of various barracks, facilities.” And there are at least 230 ornate garden ponds – now dried up – that prisoners built. “It always amazes me that we find these ponds out here, that it was a signal of their tradition and their hope that they would not let their culture fade away.” Seven months later, Pietrorazio returned – this time not on his own, but as a guest of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) in a caravan of at least 20 vehicles. Bill Staples Jr. is president of the JACL Arizona chapter. “And I was really touched by how emotionally connected the Gila River Indian Community was in welcoming the Japanese Americans…” Pietrorazio caught up with Staples at the tribe's Huhugam Heritage Center after a November ceremony. Also there, making the trip from Seattle, was 85-year-old camp survivor Sylvia Domoto. “They've been so welcoming and continue to respect and to keep the land there, so that we can say, ‘Yes, this really happened. It isn't just a fantasy.'” Suicide prevention sign and phone on the east sidewalk of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif. (Photo: Guillaume Paumier / Wikimedia) A new law in California aimed at preventing suicides is taking effect in the new year. The measure requires the transportation and public health departments to identify best practices and countermeasures to avoid suicides on state bridges and overpasses. The bill by Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA) builds on his previous work, which includes efforts to improve mental health services and the establishment of a suicide prevention 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, December 30, 2025 — The Menu: A memoir and a documentary film document two tribes' connections to food sovereignty

Arizona tribal reservations were home to two of the nation's 10 internment camps during World War II. On the western edge of the state, the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) welcome visitors to see abandoned relics from that dark past. In fact, there is even an annual pilgrimage – and this year, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio went along, in part three of his ongoing series. One way to remember those who lived – and died – at the internment camp officially known as the Colorado River Relocation Center, and more commonly known as Poston, is by rebuilding, with CRIT entrusting the care of crumbling buildings to the nonprofit behind the pilgrimage. Barbara Darden is a preservation architect from Aurora, Colo. “It's not Poston Community Alliance. It's not anybody that we work for. The building is our client.” She's been restoring Poston piece-by-piece since 2009, turning that camp into a construction zone – this time, along with Andrew Phillips, owner of a Durango, Colo. company called Natural Dwelling. “The same mud, the same walls, the same exact material being reworked a second time around.” In October, camp survivors and descendants repaired a classroom wall internees made from adobe clay and mud. Youth groups from the Colorado River Indian Tribes honor Poston pilgrimage guests with bird dances and songs on October 25, 2025. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) “My first guess is they were able to find these little pockets of windblown clay in the foothills here … they used the few scant resources they had, made great brick and their workmanship and their mix design and how they laid it and stacked it and built it, is all top drawer.” For the restoration, new slabs were hauled out from a Phoenix, Ariz. brickyard to replace that broken wall, but the old material isn't going to waste. It's being blended into new mortar that will fill in the cracks, using a mixer much like one the U.S. Army gifted to internees over eight decades ago. Hard work also being done by CRIT member Adrian Antone Jr. to restore vandalized structures. “I thought it was pretty disrespectful. And so finally, giving my part to help out, especially build this little wall.” Darden dreamt of rebuilding a lot more. “We would love to restore everything.” But that comes with a big price tag, defrayed by National Park Service grants to preserve interment sites like this one. Now, the Trump administration is eradicating signs marking the camps and other so-called “disparaging” reminders of the country's history. “We do not anticipate any more grants. Being more realistic, we're looking at maybe four buildings here, and then the others will just have to let them go and watch them fall into ruin.” Either way, CRIT will keep working to protect this history – one brick at a time. President Donald Trump signed a bill into law on Friday that will give Alaska Native veterans more time to file for their Native allotments. KNBA’s Rhonda McBride has more. The deadline to apply is Monday, December 29, but legislation passed earlier this month gives veterans a five-year extension. The Native allotment program was created more than 100 years ago to put more federal land into private ownership. It allowed individual Alaska Natives to each claim 160 acres, but when the federal program ended in 1971. Vietnam vets missed out, because many were overseas fighting the war. As of mid-December, only about 25% of eligible veterans had applied for their allotments. Many said the process was too difficult to navigate. U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), one of the main sponsors of the bill, said he will make staff available to assist veterans with their applications. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Monday, December 29, 2025 – Wounded Knee's perpetual stain on history

The Alaska chapter of Safari Club International took a group of men from Kipnuk deer hunting last month. The hunters were evacuees from a storm that ravaged the Western Alaska coast, unleashed by Typhoon Halong. After more than a month of staying in shelters and hotel rooms in Anchorage, they were quick to accept the invitation. As KNBA's Rhonda McBride tells us, what transpired turned out to be more than just a hunt. The Safari Club and Alaska Native subsistence hunters have often been on the opposite side in debates over fish and game management. And some who have followed the politics over the years find it puzzling that the Safari Club reached out to help Kipnuk hunters displaced by the storm. But John Sturgeon, a longtime Safari Club member, says it should not be a surprise. “The Safari Club and the subsistence people are much closer together than most folks would think. We're hunters. They're hunters.” Sturgeon helped to organize the hunt. “We have the resources to help. And them eating wild game and going out after wild game is really important to them. And we just said, ‘Well, this is something we can do to help, especially at Christmas time.' So we're hoping this will make a few people happy.” What started out with five hunters snowballed. The evacuees had no clothes or gear, which they either lost in the storm or had to leave behind. Club members loaned them guns and scopes. One dug into his own pocket to outfit them for the hunt. The Safari Club bought them hunting licenses and chartered a boat from Whittier, Alaska to Montague Island, where the men took nine Sitka black-tailed deer. It's the first time Darrell John had gone hunting since an ocean surge carried his house away. “We were hunting deer on a beach, which I never ever thought I would be hunting.” “When I was gutting deer, I knew my family was going to eat something. Made me feel like I was providing for my family again.” Although John never dreamed he'd go hunting in a such in a faraway place like Prince William Sound, he suddenly felt more like his old self. When the hunters returned, they wanted to share their catch with others displaced by the storm. Suddenly plans mushroomed into a feast to feed more than 200. The Safari Club collected donations of fish and wild game, which included a seal from Kodiak Island. John's wife Lacey John knew right away what was cooking. “Seals have a strong scent. The seal that was baking. It smelled like home. I just breathed in. (laughter) ” Karson Apodaca. (Courtesy Sayetsitty Family / gofundme) A Christmas parade on the Navajo Nation was suddenly cut short this week after a suspected drunk driver struck and killed a child and injured three bystanders. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. The Kayenta Township near Monument Valley shared joy on social media ahead of its annual Christmas market and parade at the rodeo grounds. “The parade is going to start on Navajo Route 591, which is right behind Chevron, okay? It's like you're going to the flea market here if you live in Kayenta … That one's gonna start right at 5:00 p.m., so be ready.” But about 10 minutes later, that holiday cheer came to an abrupt halt after an alleged drunk driver entered the parade route and hit four people, including a child and a pregnant woman. The Navajo Police Department confirmed three-year-old Karson Apodaca died and a suspect is in custody. The Kayenta community and guests came together to honor and remember Karson Apodaca with a peaceful vigil walk, the singing of Christmas carols, and the decoration of a Christmas tree in his honor, followed by prayer circle. (Courtesy Sayetsitty Family / GoFundMe) The sale of alcohol, as well as possession and consumption, is prohibited on tribal land. Josephine Romines, a volunteer from Unconquered Life, during the Holiday Resource Rally on December 10 in Ada, Okla, which served about 800 families during the event. (Courtesy Chickasaw Nation) This year, the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma and Feed the Children partnered to bring holiday packages to an estimated 800 Ada, Okla. area families. The recent drive-thru distribution included a 25 lbs. box of food, and a 15lbs box of personal care items, books, toys, and other products. This is the 10th year the tribe and organization have partnered to help families during the holidays. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Friday, December 26, 2025 – For all its promise, AI is a potential threat to culture

Photo: Mrs. Crystal Claus, Peppermint the Elf, and Solte Santa, as portrayed by Colleen Payne, Qalch'ema Friedlander, and Jerry Payne, visit the Chifin Native Youth Center in Springfield, Oreg., Sunday, December 14, 2025. (Buffalo's Fire/Brian Bull) It's the holiday season with many families across Indian Country waiting for Santa's visit to reward all good children with presents. And while the mainstream depiction is of a jolly old elf who's white and decked out in a red, fur-lined suit, some Native Santas are inspiring yuletide cheer in their own ways. Brian Bull of Buffalo's Fire shadowed one across Oregon. At the Chifin Native Youth Center in Springfield, Oreg., a packed classroom welcomes Solte Santa, accompanied by Mrs. Claus, Peppermint the Elf, and others from the North Pole. Jerry Payne, the man behind the curly beard, explains his role. “'Solte' in Salish means 'warrior', so I wanted to honor that. And I'm a veteran myself. Every community has their own style of Santa so I wanted to make sure that the Indigenous Natives got to be represented as well.” Solte Santa has made nine appearances across Portland, Eugene, and other places this month, listening to kids' wish lists and posing for family photos. With a feathered bustle, candy cane staff, and festive beadwork, he contrasts sharply with the Coca-Cola Santa that's been widely iconic since the 1930s. But Payne says that's a plus. “The mall Santa or typical Santa that everybody knows like the Coca-Cola Santa … for whatever reason, kids are scared of that Santa. But I've had kids that … their parent would say that they would never come up to take a picture with me. Next thing you know, they're hugging me and jumping in my lap and we take a good picture. Their parents are crying because they never got a good picture with their kid.” A study involving an Oregon State University scholar looked at non-traditional Santas. Bori Csillag, Stirek assistant professor of management, said for many Father Christmases, spreading love and joy for the holidays surpassed the need to conform 100% to the mainstream depiction of Santa Claus. “They see the fit, they hear the calling in their heart, they know that they are able to portray their role successfully.” Besides Solte Santa, a First Nations dancer called Powwow Santa has been firing up social media, and there are many others across tribal communities, reminding people that the Christmas spirit exists for everyone. A Navajo children's television show returned this month with a holiday special. Jill Fratis reports. The “Navajo Highways” special is titled “Ya’ah’teeh Keshmish,” which is “Merry Christmas” in Navajo. It's the show's first full holiday themed episode. The creator of the series, filmmaker, and musician Pete Sands, says the show teaches Navajo language and culture. “Parts of it is my childhood, and part of it is how I wish my childhood was. It's a balance of both, and I think shining positivity on Indigenous cultures is important to do.” The series blends puppetry, storytelling, and Navajo humor, all set along the winding highways of the Navajo Nation. Sands says that a memory he had of a teacher using puppets to help children listen, gave him the idea to use them in his show. “Seen a teacher friend of mine who was trying to tell her first grade students to clean up, but they wouldn't listen to her, so she reached into her desk and she pulled out a hand puppet and started talking to her class, and they listened to her, through the puppet actually, and a lightbulb went off in my head like wait, maybe there's something to this. Maybe I can use this.” The holiday episode highlights traditional winter teachings, including family gatherings, gratitude, and the meaning of giving. Season two of the series begins production next year. Sands says there will be new puppets and new locations, but says the heart of the show remains the same: teaching children simple Diné words and phrases through everyday scenes and conversations. The “Navajo Highways” holiday special, and season one, is now streaming on the First Nations Experience (FNX) platform. View this post on Instagram A post shared by FNXTV First Nation Experience (@fnxtv) 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, December 25, 2025 – Mental health experts point to personal connections to maintain winter mental health

Long before World War II, the U.S. forced Native Americans onto reservations. After the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941, the U.S. forced Japanese Americans into camps. In Arizona, the federal government once again looked to Indian reservations. In part two of his series on World War II internment camps in Arizona, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. None of the eight other internment camps in the U.S. were on tribal lands, so why here in Arizona? UCLA anthropology professor Koji Lau-Ozawa has an answer. “John Collier, who was the commissioner of Indian Affairs at the time, advocated for all of the camps to be put on reservation lands. He thought that the Office of Indian Affairs was well suited to this task of managing these confined racialized populations.” The “Indian New Deal”, as FDR called it, was part of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and tried making amends for past treatment by investing in tribal infrastructure. That was, until the war effort began. “Funds were starting to dry up. This presented an opportunity.” An opportunity to turn Japanese Americans into a source of prison labor to develop tribal resources, as shown by a 1943 propaganda film narrated by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's brother, Milton, about an internment camp in western Arizona. Brian Niiya says the U.S. embraced a stereotype. “Japanese Americans, with their supposed expertise and farming and agriculture, could help build up the land that would allow for the Native Americans to benefit from – without the consent of the tribes themselves, of course.” Niiya is editor of Densho Encyclopedia, which chronicles the camps' history. Without much legal representation or political clout at that time, the Gila River Indian Community and Colorado River Indian Tribes both tried fighting camp construction, but failed. “Through the Office of Indian Affairs, I think there was just a thought that we could bulldoze our way through.” Once again, today's federal government is butting up against tribal land. The Trump administration's “Alligator Alcatraz” is being built near the Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. “We're right in the middle of it. We have members that live within 500 feet of the detention center. You know, it's not like this distant thing that it is for a lot of Floridians in Naples or Miami.” Talbert Cypress is chairman of the 600-member Miccosukee Tribe, which brought Alligator Alcatraz to a halt. “We don't go to war anymore with the tomahawk or anything like that. You know, we go to courtrooms now, and we go to meetings with politicians.” (Photo courtesy Maxpixel / Boise City Archives, John Hardy Family Collection, MS084) Children across the country are being raised by relatives or close family friends. The Mountain West News Bureau's Daniel Spaulding has more on a new report highlighting the challenges facing these kinship families, which are more common within Indigenous communities. According to the U.S. Government of Accountability Office (GAO), these households are more likely to experience poverty and mental health issues. Kinship families are common in Mountain West states with high Indigenous populations like New Mexico and Arizona. Kathy Larin at GAO says kin caregiving is an important part of tribal culture, but because many Indigenous caregivers are outside the formal foster care system, they often receive less financial support. “One of the biggest challenges that we heard across the board for grandparents and other relatives that are raising, you know, their relative children is just the financial burden of it.” Larin says states could adopt standards and programs designed to better support kinship families. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling https://www.nativeamericacalling.com/wednesday-december-24-2025-2025-in-native-books/

A federal jury has ruled against the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, S.D. With just one exception, Retsel Corporation and the Grand Gateway Hotel were found to have discriminated against Native Americans. South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene was in the courtroom. In total, tens of thousands of dollars of compensatory and punitive damages were awarded to the people denied service to the hotel. Additionally, that discrimination suit means NDN Collective will receive its request of $1 from Retsel. In total, Retsel is now liable for six discrimination claims connected to the events of 2022. Regarding the assault claim against Sunny Red Bear, Retsel Corporation was found l iable for Connie Uhre's assault against her. Uhre was also convicted in criminal court for the incident. For Nicholas Uhre, the current operator of the Grand Gateway Hotel, his two defamation claims against NDN Collective were thrown out by the jury. The final claim regarding an illegal nuisance was found in favor of Uhre and the hotel. That nuisance included a light projection displaying an “eviction notice” on the side of the hotel and the months-long protest that took place just off hotel property. In total, NDN Collective is ordered to pay $812 for that claim. The decision by the jury came after over nine hours of deliberation and represents an end to the three-year legal battle. Gambell is one of two Native Villages located on St. Lawrence Island, in the middle of the Bering Sea. (Photo: Walter Holt Rose / Wikimedia) Dancing and drumming are essential to Siberian Yupik culture, passed down by ancestors. Josie Ungott and Janissa Noongwook are dancers and high school students in the village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. They talked to their teacher about what the cultural tradition was like in different generations. Noongwook: “We have Chris Petu drumming for some students in a classroom in Gambell. He's been teaching this Native dance class for over a year now.” Ungott: “Petu has been a teacher for so long. He's welcoming and kind to all of us students. He says dance was much more strict in the past.” Petu: “Only dancers to a song was if it’s that composer’s daughter or wife, those were the only ones that dance.” Noongwook: “He says he probably wouldn't have been a drummer if he had grown up in the old days because his parents weren't drummers. Petu tells us back then, women would practice dance moves. But if a dancer made a wrong move, the older women would throw a shoe at them.” Petu: “They had a big pile of shoes once a little wrong move, a woman threw at the girl.” Noongwook: “Petu tells us a sad experience about missionaries coming here last century and saying what our people couldn't do. That drumming, dancing, hunting, eating walrus, and speaking our language was evil.” Petu: “It was instilled deep in their heart that this was evil, that drums and church don’t mix.” Ungott: “Petu tells us when the younger ministers started working, they realized it wasn't evil and came and apologized. As the years went by, the traditions slowly became less strict. For about forty years now, everyone started dancing to any song.” High school students Noongwook and Ungott wrote and produced this story with help from Alaska Public Media health reporter 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, December 23, 2025 – Lumbee Nation secures its sovereign status

Before the year's end, President Donald Trump is expected to sign a bill that would give Alaska Native Veterans an extension to file for their Native allotments. As KNBA's Rhonda McBride tells us, more time is needed to help veterans navigate what they say has been a cumbersome and frustrating process. After several failed attempts to get the Senate to pass an extension, the window for Alaska Native veterans to claim federal land was about to close forever. But on December 16, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK)'s bill passed by unanimous consent. The Republican senator tied the veterans’ extension to three other bills that had bipartisan support. “It wasn't easy, but we got this done at the buzzer. It's going to be signed into law. It's going to go over to the White House The president is going to sign this. And we're going to get to work and get these heroes the land allotments that they deserved.” Benno Cleveland opens his Purple Heart award, which he received in the mail while in Dong Tam, Vietnam. He was recovering from shrapnel injuries to his eye. (Courtesy Benno Cleveland) Benno Cleveland (Inupiaq), president of the Alaska Native Veterans Council, has waited for this moment for a long time. “I felt very happy, content within the heart. We've been battling with the Alaska Native Vietnam veterans land allotment for over 30 years.” The bill now gives Alaska Native veterans until 2030 to claim 160 acres of federal land, made available to them under a law Congress passed more than a 100 years ago. But when the federal program ended in 1971, Vietnam vets missed out, because many were overseas fighting the war. An estimated 2,000 veterans are eligible for the program, but as of mid-month, only about 25% had filed. Native vets said they had difficulty meeting the deadline, due to a complicated process and limited land availability. Cleveland hopes the extension will also allow more time to convince Congress to make more federal land available for veterans, closer to their homelands. He says they deserve it. “We've all gone through hell. But we went when our country called, and we did our duty to the nation and to our people.” Cleveland says it is a shame politics gets in the way of honoring veterans, but the important thing, he says, is that Congress finally got the job done. A post marks where Enbridge's Line 5 crosses the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on Friday, June 24, 2022. (Photo: Danielle Kaeding / WPR) A Wisconsin tribe is suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As Danielle Kaeding reports, the Bad River tribe has filed a lawsuit to overturn a federal permit for a Canadian energy firm's plans to reroute its oil and gas pipeline. Earthjustice attorney Gussie Lord represents the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Lord claims the Army Corps violated federal environmental laws when it issued a permit this fall to Canadian energy firm Enbridge. She says the agency failed to adequately review environmental effects of the company's plans to build a 41-mile segment of its Line 5 pipeline around the tribe's reservation. “They didn’t do that in a number of ways, including the threat of an oil spill, threat of impacts to on and off-reservation exercise of treaty rights, and also, the state’s water quality certification has been challenged by the band, and that’s not final.” Enbridge wants to build a new stretch of Line 5 after the tribe sued in 2019 to shut down the pipeline on its lands. Bad River Tribal Chairwoman Elizabeth Arbuckle said the tribe and other communities would “suffer unacceptable consequences” in the event of an oil spill. An Enbridge spokesperson said the company's permit is not yet final, but it plans to defend the Corps’ upcoming decision in the lawsuit. A Facebook post and email from the owner of the Grand Gateway Hotel calls for a ban on Native American guests. The manager said the hotel would not ban anyone, but the community is still protesting. (Graphic: Josh Haiar / SDPB) A jury ruled on Friday in favor of the Native-led organization NDN Collective and individual plaintiffs in a discrimination lawsuit against the owners of the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, S.D. NDN Collective will be paid $1, a request made by the organization. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Monday, December 22, 2025 – The Year in Native News

It's official — with the swipe of President Donald Trump's pen, North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe is now the 575th federally recognized tribe. Correspondent Matt Laslo has the story from Washington. Dozens of members of the Lumbee Tribe traveled from North Carolina to Washington to be a part of history this week. Tears were heard in the gallery after the U.S. Senate approved the measure granting the Lumbee federal recognition Wednesday. And after President Trump signed it into law Thursday, Lumbee Chairman John Lowery could barely contain his joy. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning, and our joy is here. It's here. We finally achieved what our ancestors fought so long and so hard to achieve.” There are roughly 60,000 members of the Lumbee, making it the largest Native American tribe east of the Mississippi River. North Carolina officials recognized the tribe after the Civil War in 1885, but not federal officials. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) has helped lead the fight in the Senate in recent years. “Yeah, we’re a little bit excited after 137 years, on their part, about 40 years on Senate members part, it’s good to see it get done.” Tillis is retiring at the end of his term next year, but he says the decade-long battle for federal recognition for the Lumbee shows Washington isn't totally broken — even if the tribe and North Carolina lawmakers fought an uphill battle for years now. “A lot of educating and just, you know, prioritize the way. This is the way this works, right? You come in, you use leverage, you have discussions, you build a case. I think that’s what happened. I really appreciate the delegation. This was a well-coordinated effort.” Back in 1956, Congress partially recognized the Lumbee, but that left the tribe locked out of federal health services. And it meant the tribe couldn't operate casinos or marijuana dispensaries like other tribes. Chairman Lowery says it's a new day for the Lumbee. “The 1956 act, which left us in legal limbo, is now erased. It is no more and we are now fully, fairly recognized.” The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians fought the federal recognition of the Lumbee, which passed as a part of an annual $900 billion defense authorization bill. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in Kansas issued a statement this week to its tribal members about a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract after the deal was met with public scrutiny. In a video statement, Chairman Joseph Rupnick said the Nation and its subsidiaries have fully divested from the ICE contract. “As a result, Prairie Band, LLC is no longer a direct or indirect owner or participant in, or otherwise affiliated with, any ICE-related projects, contracts, or operations. In our next General Council meeting in January, Tribal Council plans to further address the steps we will take to ensure that our Nation's economic interests do not come into conflict with our values in the future.” Tribal citizens from across the U.S. have raised concerns about ICE and the Trump administration's immigration policies. Native people have also reported being confronted by ICE, including actress Elaine Miles, who has been sharing her story with media outlets about her run-in with ICE agents in November. (Courtesy Elaine Miles) U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and 10 of their Senate colleagues recently sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about reports of ICE encounters with tribal citizens. They are urging her to develop policy and trainings to recognize tribal IDs and requested a response by January 11. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling https://www.nativeamericacalling.com/friday-december-19-2025-native-music-in-2025/

The Lumbee Tribe is celebrating the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes legislation to grant the tribe federal recognition. The U.S. Senate passed the defense bill Wednesday, as Lumbee citizens gathered in Pembroke, N.C. for a watch party. Lumbee Chairman John Lowery was in Washington D.C. for the vote, and shared a short video message saying he's the last chairman to go the nation’s capital to fight for full federal recognition. “Now our children and our grandchildren, our great grandchildren can come up here working and fighting and promoting other things for our people.” The tribe has sought federal status for more than a century. The Lumbee's effort has faced opposition, including by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, while President Donald Trump promised the Lumbee Tribe federal recognition. President Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt in 1941 and President Donald Trump in 2025 invoking the Alien Enemies Act. This December marked the 84th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor bombing – a shocking attack that drew the U.S. into World War II and unleashed a wave of anti-Japanese hysteria. While the U.S. would join a global fight against fascism and Nazi concentration camps, it was erecting camps of its own at home, forcing tens of thousands of Japanese Americans into internment. Two of those camps were set up on tribal lands in Arizona. In the first of a 5-part series, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio examines the law that has given presidents power to imprison perceived enemies. It all began December 7, 1941, a Sunday morning in Hawaii, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. More than 2,400 souls were lost at the naval base on the island of Oʻahu. The U.S. was suddenly swept into the Pacific Theater. “And we're going to fight it with everything we've got.” During President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's “Day of Infamy” speech, he invoked the Alien Enemies Act. It's a 1798 wartime law authorizing the president to legally detain and deport anyone suspected of engaging in acts like espionage and sabotage. “Not only must the shame of Japanese treachery be wiped out, but the forces of international brutality wherever they exist, must be absolutely and finally broken.” Weeks later, President Roosevelt directed the Secretary of War to herd more than 120,000 people with Japanese ancestry into camps in Arizona, California, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and as far east as Arkansas. Two-thirds of prisoners were American-born citizens. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt had empathized with them, even touring a camp south of Phoenix in 1943. Barbara Perry says Mrs. Roosevelt was simply ahead of her time. “And certainly on how she viewed Japanese Americans, but she couldn't convince her husband of that.” Perry is co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia. She also points out precedent was set a century prior when President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830 – marching tribes west of the Mississippi River. “America was pretty discriminatory…” Despite not being at war, President Trump reinvoked the Alien Enemies Act on day one of his second term. “…to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks, bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.” This proclamation wasn't surprising to John Woolley, co-director of the American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara. “This is a domestic political rallying point that is very powerful with Donald Trump's base.” Part two explores why a pair of Arizona reservations were picked to house the camps. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, December 18, 2025 — Amid Greenland's independence push, Denmark accounts for colonial blunders

The Arctic continues to warm faster than other parts of the world — and is experiencing record high temperatures and record low levels of sea ice. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which released its annual report card for the region Tuesday. As The Alaska Desk's Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports, those findings directly affect Alaska Indigenous communities. The Arctic Report Card has been documenting changes in snow and sea ice cover, as well as air and ocean temperatures in the northern part of the globe for the past 20 years. It has shown that, in that time, the Arctic's annual temperature has increased at more than double the global rate of temperature changes. Hannah-Marie Ladd is the director of Indigenous Sentinels Network. “These changes cascade directly into people’s lives, affecting fisheries, coastal safety, and subsistence harvests. We are no longer just documenting warming. We are witnessing an entire marine ecosystem, which is tied to our economies and culture, transform within a single generation.” The report highlights an emerging phenomenon called rusting rivers. That's when permafrost thaw causes ground water to seep deeper and interact with mineral deposits, which likely turns some streams and rivers to a rusty orange color. Abigail Pruitt says that, in Alaska, over 200 streams turned orange in recent years. “Within Kobuk Valley National Park, we observed the complete loss of juvenile Dolly Varden and Slimy Sculpin, in a tributary to the Akillik river when it turned orange. Beyond the effects on fish, rusting rivers may impact drinking water supplies to rural communities as well.” The report highlights how Indigenous communities have been observing the changes in their environments and wildlife and collaborating with scientists to better understand those changes. Ladd describes one example of such work. She says that St. Paul residents collect samples of harvested traditional foods like seabirds, marine mammals, and halibut. Those samples are tested in a tribally owned lab and analyzed for contaminants like mercury. “Indigenous leadership, local workforce development, and community driven observing are not optional. They’re essential to understanding the Arctic that we have today and preparing for the Arctic we are moving into.” In response to a question about how federal cuts to climate science might affect the future of the Arctic Report Card, NOAA officials said that they will continue their efforts to observe the changing environment. Two tribal communities in New Mexico will be receiving $200,000 in state grants for high-speed internet development. KUNM's Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more. Santa Clara Pueblo and the Fort Sill Apache tribe will each receive a planning grant of $100,000 through the New Mexico Grant Writing, Engineering, and Planning Program.  In a release, the state's Broadband Policy and Programs Bureau Chief, Andrew Wilder, said the funding will help start important projects in tribal regions that lack high-speed internet. Santa Clara will use its grant to build fiber lines connecting homes and provide Wi-Fi service. Fort Sill plans to create a high-speed broadband network connecting unserved homes. The tribe has already secured $500,000 in infrastructure funding for fiber, equipment, and trenching.  The state's office of broadband has already issued 36 awards totalling $3.5 million to 17 tribal communities, 15 local governments, and four rural electric and telephone businesses. The broadband office stated that $1.5 million are still available in planning grants. The awards are assistance-based, not merit-based, so entities do not compete for funding. No matching funds are required. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Wednesday, December 17, 2025 – Saving historic architecture and other important places

The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation neighboring Fountain Hills, Ariz. recently dealt with reports of “aggressive dogs running loose”, resulting in attacks that prompted its police department to increase patrols while urging the public to stay away. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports. Two tribal members were bitten last week and are now recovering from non-lethal injuries, according to acting chief of police Jesse Puffer. “We did catch three out of the four dogs.” Incidents like this are not uncommon on tribal lands with canines roaming their 24,000-acre reservation. Some are seen as strays – often dogs that are dumped there by owners who do not wish to keep them – while others are claimed by tribal members as pets. “We also have a dog ordinance, too, so people get cited for that as well – depending on what the nature anywhere from, you know, $150 fine and plus you and it can be higher if you can't show record of vaccination and also licensing.” The documentary “Remaining Native” tracks Yerington Paiute Tribal member Ku Stevens as he confronts the horror of what his great-grandfather went through in boarding school. Stevens created a remembrance run tracking the same route his great-grandfather took to escape his boarding school. KNPR's Jimmy Romo attended a screening of the film and brings us this report. Warning: This story includes accounts of violence against children In 1913, government officials ripped 8-year-old Yerington Paiute Tribe member Frank Quinn from his family and placed him in the Stewart Indian Boarding School near Carson City, Nev.  As part of her history PhD studies at UNLV, Annie Delgado researches what actually happened to Native children in the U.S. boarding school system. “The early years are just filled with trauma, abuse, pain, and just assimilation.”   Many students tried to escape the abuse. Quinn's great-grandson Ku Stevens is the protagonist in the documentary, “Remaining Native”. In the film, viewers learn, along with Stevens, the story of his great-grandfather. To remember the courage of Native children who tried to escape, Stevens organized a remembrance run from Yerington, Nev. to the Stewart Indian School.  The first run took place in 2021, followed by three others. The route marked the same 50-mile run Quinn took to go back home, as Stevens explains.   “They were running, sweating and bleeding. I think of this guy Russell, who I consider just like an uncle, broke both his feet, fractured them by the end of the run. And he did all 50 miles.”   In the most recent class action lawsuit, the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California filed a case against the federal government in May. They are suing over misused funds. Currently, the sovereign nations are requesting the U.S. itemize a $23 billion trust fund, established by pressuring Native nations to sign agreements. Most of  these treaties promised that the U.S. would educate Indigenous children in exchange for their land. That wasn't what happened, according to UNLV's Annie Delgado. “The United States government itself knows that these schools did not educate [children] the way they intended to educate.”  The communal trauma of boarding schools still affects Indigenous families across the nation.  “Remaining Native” is still available for community screenings. The Bridging Agency Data Gaps & Ensuring Safety for Native Communities Act has passed the U.S. Senate. It supports the recruitment and retention of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement officers, bolsters federal missing persons resources, and gives Tribes and states tools to combat MMIP. The legislation is led by U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NM), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and Mike Rounds (R-SD).   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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Tuesday, December 16, 2025 – Native in the Spotlight: Randy Taylor

For the last few months, Navajo Nation leaders have been butting heads over who is its official controller – the person responsible for handling the tribe's finances. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren tried firing that top official. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, that dispute is now over. Sean McCabe has been reaffirmed as the sole lawful controller through a legally binding stipulation between him and President Nygren, which also orders Controller McCabe to receive backpay and have his attorney fees covered. Nygren recently apologized for sending profanity-laced texts leaked by McCabe to council delegates. “I used language that I shouldn't have. In moments of great stress we don't always act as our best selves. This was one such occasion for me.” The October exchange preceded his sudden termination. Screenshots show Nygren pressured McCabe to unlock his government-issued purchase card, but McCabe told him there's no budget. Nygren reiterates that his agreement with McCabe isn't a “compelled admission” of any “unlawful action” or “wrongdoing.” Quinhagak resident Patrick Jones deploys a buoy in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region in early summer 2025. (Photo: Sean Gleason) A program that helps boaters in Indigenous coastal communities use buoys to track weather conditions wrapped up another season this fall. Advocates of the Backyard Buoys program say it increased safety for fishermen in Western Alaska – and helped hunters in Alaska's Arctic land whales. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Several years ago, seven boaters went missing in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region and were never found. The loss motivated residents to find ways to better understand their changing waterways. Nalaquq is an organization that integrates Indigenous knowledge into research in the region. The company joined a nationwide initiative, called the Backyard Buoy project, and deployed three buoys in the area for the first time this year. Lynn Marie Church is Nalaquq's chief executive officer. “We wanted to understand what was going on in our ocean … in our waterways, especially with the changes in the environment that we've seen over the past 10 years.” Backyard Buoys project helps Indigenous coastal communities in Alaska, as well as the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Islands, support maritime activities. Buoys track wave height, temperature, and barometric pressure in real time. Residents can see that information in an app and decide whether it is safe to travel. Church says that using the Backyard Buoys app has been easy. “When you look at where the locations are, it's not by latitude and longitude, it's by place names. That's how we learn in rural Alaska.” Sean Gleason is the head of Research and Development at Nalaquq. “We picked locations where people travel for subsistence or daily travel.” The goal was also to spread out those buoys so communities in different parts of the region can use the data. “There's no one community. Everyone's related.” In Alaska's Arctic, the project has been ramping up as well. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission facilitated the installment of buoys in six communities this year. Martin Edwardsen is the commission's coordinator for the project and is also a whaling co-captain. “I was looking at the app and seeing that the waves weren't too big in the general area where we were headed. So we went out that way and we successfully harvested a whale and brought it back to our community to feed.” The whaling commission is now looking for translators to allow users of the Backyard Buoys app see information in their Native language. Correction: In a previous newscast, we mistakenly said the Wounded Knee Massacre was observing its 130th anniversary this December. Actually it's the 135th anniversary. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Monday, December 15, 2025 – A Native entrepreneur's view of the retail shopping season

A Tucson, Ariz. resident is facing federal charges for allegedly excavating and trafficking archeological resources from the Gila River Indian Community. The U.S. Attorney's Office says 46-year-old Leo Reynoso stands accused of violating the Archeological Resources Protection Act. Prosecutors said Reynoso allegedly removed several artifacts from the community without authorization. This included jewelry, Indian Trader tokens, crucifixes, and buttons from archeological sites on tribal land. He also stands accused of selling these items without a permit. The archeological value of the items is estimated at $29,000, while the cost of repairing the archeological sites is estimated at $23,000. If convicted, Reynoso faces a $20,000 fine and could get up to two years in prison. U.S. soldiers at a burial for some of those who were killed at Wounded Knee, S.D. on January 1, 1891. December 29 will mark 130 years since the Wounded Knee Massacre. In part two of his story, KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio shares some Native reactions to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's assertion that the soldiers who took part in the violent and tragic incident deserved their Medals of Honor. David Martinez (Akimel O'odham) is founder and director of ASU's Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations. “Wherever you see America invading, sending troops, trying to intimidate – all that comes from America's original attitude towards the so-called frontier, which was regarded as wild, which was regarded as dangerous, which was regarded as full of savages.” From the Utes across modern-day Utah and Colorado to the Apaches in Arizona and New Mexico, the Army fought over a dozen conflicts predating federal recognition of tribal governments. “There's not a tribe anywhere in North America that did not experience deep, historic trauma.” Even the Bureau of Indian Affairs emerged in 1824 from within the original War Department. Two centuries later, Martinez suggests it's fitting that President Donald Trump has restored the agency's old moniker. “Well, for me, the Department of War is the true name, because, from my point of view as an Indigenous person, the objective in America's conquest of Indian Country was to make Indian Country like America. It did so at the expense of Indian land and people. And so the reservation system that we see around us today, which includes my people, Akimel O'odham, is a product of war.” Lakota attorney Chase Iron Eyes calls the reservations prison camps. “There are those of us who never perceived an end of war. If you look at what the reservation system is, it's not peace, prosperity, and privilege for Native people; it's a little open-air prison camp.” For Iron Eyes, who runs the Lakota People's Law Project, Wounded Knee is deeply personal. “As the great-great grandson of people who were killed at Wounded Knee, nobody in their right mind takes pride in the slaughtering of non-combatants – women and children.” Marlis Afraid of Hawk grew up hearing horror stories from her grandfather, Richard, who was only 13 when he survived Wounded Knee. The 68-year-old Oglala Lakota elder insists Sec. Hegseth is wrong. “He's in denial, look it up. But he's not going to.” 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Friday, December 12, 2025 — Persistence pays off for tribes working to remove disturbing public monuments

Photo courtesy Cherokee Nation / Facebook In Tahlequah, Okla. this week, Cherokee language speakers and officials unveiled a Cherokee language dictionary app. They were joined by representatives of Kiwa Digital Limited, who developed the app based on a Cherokee dictionary 50 years ago, created by Native speaker Durbin Feeling. Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Junior said the new app will allow every Cherokee family to carry the resource in their pockets, and represented the tribe's sovereignty and knowledge, as well as their commitment to keep the Cherokee language strong for generations to come. “For the last five centuries, our language and our culture has been under assault, has been eroded, and that's the story of Indigenous languages around the world. Many of which the languages that have been lost and that we will lose in the future. Many of which are a part of history books, about languages that once were.” Chief Hoskin said he expected the app to become more than a simple curiosity for tribal members, and will be especially embraced by children and other youth. The Cherokee Language Dictionary App includes translations for more than 6-thousand Cherokee words, with audio recordings, grammar notes, and phonetics. Under my direction, the soldiers who fought at the Battle of Wounded Knee will keep their medals. This decision is final. Their place in history is settled. pic.twitter.com/klQlB6MZ6l — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) September 25, 2025 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an unusual speech in September to top brass in which he railed against “woke” ideology and hyped the recently rebranded Department of War. He also weighed in on a long-simmering controversy involving the so-called Battle of Wounded Knee which occurred on December 29, 1890, where hundreds of Lakotas were killed by the U.S. Army. Many consider that conflict a massacre – and have called for the soldiers to be stripped of their Medals of Honor. Sec. Hegseth dismissed the idea as political correctness run amok and released a video defending the soldiers and their medals. As KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, it was a painful message for tribes throughout the country. “Under my direction, we're making it clear, without hesitation, that the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Wounded Knee in 1890 will keep their medals.” Although bipartisan efforts in Congress to rescind those Medals of Honor go back decades, only a president has the legal authority – beyond the Pentagon itself – to undo that distinction. “This decision is now final, and their place in our nation's history is no longer up for debate. We salute their memory, we honor their service, and we will never forget what they did.” In what would be the final chapter of the Army's century-long “Indian Wars” campaign, as many as 300 Lakotas were killed at Wounded Knee in South Dakota – while at least 25 U.S. soldiers died. A rifle shot rang out when troops tried disarming a surrendering encampment on December 29, 1890. In that confusion, the mass slaughter of mostly unarmed men, women and children ensued. Army general Nelson Appleton Miles penned in private, “I have never heard of a more, brutal cold-blooded massacre than that at Wounded Knee.” To this day, there is still no official death count. Hegseth's comments came a few weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order, rebranding his agency as the Department of War. “This is something we thought long and hard about. We've been talking about it for months, Pete and I … I think it's a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now.” From the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza, the same dynamics of Wounded Knee – of civilians being killed by conquering military forces – continue to play out all around the globe, according to David Martinez. “And I would go further and say that what you see in contemporary American foreign policy was forged in America's battles with Indian people.” Tune in tomorrow to hear how the history of Wounded Knee continues for many Native people today.  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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Thursday, December 11, 2025 – Tribes fight for solutions to dwindling clean water sources

Photo: Josh Engle, manager and peer support specialist at True North Recovery in Wasilla, gives out cookies as part of homeless outreach efforts in Anchorage on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. (Matt Faubion / Alaska Public Media) For people experiencing addition, it can help to talk to someone who has been through recovery themselves. Peer support specialists offer a different kind of support from therapists or psychiatrists. And in Alaska, there are state certifications for peer support roles, including a special track for Indigenous people with lived experience in recovery. Alaska Public Media's Rachel Cassandra has more on peer-to-peer care in the state. Josh Engle is bundled up on one of the first really cold days in October. He walks along a forest path to do outreach in an encampment in Anchorage. He approaches a man in a weathered coat. “How long you been out here on the streets?” “Too long. Yeah. Yeah.” Several tents and makeshift structures lean together. “You connected with any resources?” Engle is a manager and peer support specialist at True North Recovery – and one of his aims today is to help guide people into recovery. It's a path Engle knows well because he's in long-term recovery himself. Now he supports people in ways that go well beyond what a more traditional therapist or psychiatrist can do. He may text with clients outside business hours, help them find work or get connected with benefits – anything that supports them in a way that might lead to recovery. “I personally, really enjoy being able to connect with them on a personal level of someone that has walked their path.” When patients interact with workers with lived experience, research shows it can aid recovery and can reduce healthcare costs. Aaron Surma is Executive Director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in Juneau, which runs training for peer support. And Surma experiences mental illness himself. He says psychiatrists and mental health professionals play an important role in supporting recovery and treatment, but there is a strong power difference. “You’re in a small room, you’re making intense eye contact, and the dynamic is that you have the expert and the person who needs help.” Surma says he was arrested multiple times during high school and was court ordered to go to Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He says hearing peers in those groups was awesome, but things felt different when talking with his formal providers. “When I was a teenager, I was lighting stuff on fire and buying garbage bags of weed. So then to go into a small room and talk to somebody who you know, like, imagine the counselor from “South Park” who’s saying ‘Drugs are bad, Mkay?’ And it’s a million miles from what you know.” He says it's easier for peers to bridge those gaps in early recovery. Peer support specialists speak the language of addiction and mental illness and also understand the more traditional language of behavioral health professionals. Seeds of Eden, which offers addiction recovery services and community-based behavioral health services, recently received a $30,000 grant from the South Dakota Community Foundation. The grant will help the organization’s work to provide sober living, peer support, care coordination, and case management, including a project to build a recovery housing facility on the Standing Rock Reservation on the South Dakota side. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe straddles the South Dakota and North Dakota border. Isaiah Keller is one of the co-founders of Seeds of Eden. He says they're already secured a home, which is being remodel to offer future services. “The house that we have been remodeling is about 90% complete. So, a small portion of the funds that were awarded will go to finish that project, that house and to make it livable and to make it functional.” Keller says Seeds of Eden was designed to help fill a gap when it comes to addiction recovery services, and he says the group realized there was a need for assistance within tribal communities. He says they've been working closely with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Native American board members, and Native advocates. “We’ve partnered with a really good ally and advocate.  And her name is Bobbi Jamerson. She’s the chairwoman of the Bear Soldier District on the South Dakota side of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. And she has been advocating and promoting recovery and community involvement. We’re at a point right now where we feel like we have some great traction and some great movement.” Keller says they would like to expand services across South Dakota and beyond. 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 the latest episode of Native America Calling Wednesday, December 10, 2025 – Mental health experts point to personal connections to maintain winter mental health

  Elaine Miles reflects on the reaction to her encounter with ICE   Satellite broadband opens up health care access for Arizona vets  

  Native leaders receive dozens of artifacts returned by Vatican   Promise to Arizona tribes is first legislative act by Grijalva in Congress   Cherokee Nation concludes emergency food response after declaration  

  Canadian ministers address final day of AFN special chiefs meeting   'Native Highways' is back with a holiday special on FNX this Friday  

  Bush fellow from White Earth wants to level up with a law degree   Dene family shares its restoration of coming of age ceremony for girls  

  AFN rejects changes to oil tanker ban off BC after pipeline MOU   Young Navajo rodeo athletes take reins as next generation of cowboys  

  Master carvers restore house posts outside Totem Heritage Center   Two eagles blessed during Native wildlife celebration in Phoenix  

  Construction workshop trained those who will rebuild Kipnuk   Treuer, tribal judge and 2025 Bush fellow, seeks to Indigenize the bench  

  Storm evacuees in Anchorage hotels miss subsistence lifestyle   Human Rights for Kids report highlights trauma-to-prison pipeline  

  Thanksgiving holiday stirs mixed feelings across Indian Country   Gila River Indian Community residents get new market close to home  

  Curley motion to remove Nygren, Montoya may not have the votes   Pourier to use Bush Fellowship to boost investing in Native artists  

  Chaco protectors urge Burgum to visit park   Newborn support service expands into Northwest Arctic Borough  

  Bush Fellow head of USD Native recruitment and engagement   New study seeks proper care for DV victims with traumatic brain injuries   Hualapai tribe chooses this year's Christmas tree for Arizona Capitol  

  Removal of MMIP report on DOJ website questioned by advocates   NCAI Day 4: Native Hawaiian health care and Indigenous jazz & soul   Two eagles blessed during Native wildlife celebration in Arizona  

  Inside the Anchorage hotels sheltering those displaced by storm   100+ winter clothing items, $15k donated during NCAI convention drive  

  NM takes lead to investigate forced sterilization of women   Native vote, lifetime achievement awards take center stage at NCAI  

  Tribes comment on Trump plan for hydropower projects   Native youth gather for NCAI convention in Seattle this week   On this day in 1895, Nez Perce tribe opens up reservation to settlers  

  Native woman released from ICE custody after 'clerical error'   CRIT acknowledges Colorado River has same rights as tribal members   NCAI annual convention and marketplace kicks off in Seattle  

  No housing available: Tribal members struggle to return home   Filmmaker Hale among 5 Native winners of this year's Bush Fellowship  

  New DV study seeks to shed light on brain injury impact   Yup'ik glossary with behaviorial health terms sent to Alaska providers   NCAI welcomes federal reopening, depending on ACA extension  

  No deal for new Colorado River rules for 7 basin states   Mallott, tribal leaders meet with Vance during Washington visit   Feds canceled grant that could have helped communities from flooding  

  Satellite broadband opens up health care access for Arizona vets   Mullin clashes with EBCI Chief, Democrats over Lumbee Recognition Act  

  Canadians mark Indigenious Veterans, Remembrance days   Tribal school district programs impacted by government shutdown  

  Remains of missing Apache teen found by police this week   Anchorage school's Yup'ik immersion program adds 70 students  

  Wisconsin tribal leaders split on sports gambling expansion bill   Gila River gives $1,000 relief payment to every 18-year-old tribal member   Lumbee chairman tells senators he's confident on federal recognition bill