Antonia Gonzales

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  

  Trump's nuclear testing plan sends shockwaves across the West   Reindeer become staple where marine sources are changing  

  Navajo Nation braces for another food insecurity issue with SNAP gap   Cherokee Nation expands emergency funds for SNAP-eligible citizens   Carvers, leaders celebrate newest addition to Juneau's totem pole trail  

  Catholic order transfers Wisconsin land back to Lac du Flambeau   Kodiak newborn support service expands into Northwest Arctic Borough  

  Volunteers to search for missing elder on Umatilla reservation   Alaska Native families prepare for loss of heating assistance funding   Shawnee Tribe declares shutdown emergency and releases funds  

  Loss of SNAP, LIHEAP funding would be 'life threatening' this winter   Beecher to be Navajo Nation AG again after council opposes Bradley  

  Vatican prepares to return Indigenous artifacts a century later   New play featuring Native stories opens in Oregon next month   Senate Indian Affairs Committee hosts hearing on shutdown impact  

  Gila River Indian Community opens new supermarket in Sacaton   SHI opens new science and traditional knowledge education building  

  Wrangell housing project on hold after artifacts found on site   INFR bull riding champion now eligible to go pro  

  Spirit Lake Tribal Council declares emergency due to shutdown   Trump approves disaster declaration for victims of Western Alaska storm   Arizona tribe polls members on possible name change   Ho-Chunk Inc targets labor, housing shortages with training program  

  Hundreds of evacuated residents in Alaska remain displaced   AFN 2025: Prioritize Alaska Native voices in decisions about wildlife  

  Tribal-led cultural burn winds down fire season in Oregon   Gottlieb, Estus, Blackjack Johnson enter Alaska Women's Hall of Fame   Chickasaw Nation among tribes marking DV Awareness Month  

  Tribal members open No Kings Seattle rally as millions protest   AFN delegates call for emergency declaration and federal assistance   Nygren faces new round of pushback after firing controller   Louisiana Purchase ratified by US Senate on this day in 1803  

  Searchers in Alaska unable to locate floating house and occupants   Wind River summit hosts workshop for 'original energy bars'  

  Bethel Search & Rescue building busy with volunteers, supplies   Alcatraz Island hosts annual Indigenous Peoples Day sunrise gathering   On this day in 1891: Northern Paiute author Sarah Winnemucca mourned