Podcasts about kjzz

Photo: A panoramic view of Monument Valley. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) The nation's 575 federally recognized tribes are now eligible for conservation grants from the National Park Service. And as KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a new digital tool is designed to help them navigate the bureaucracy. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has been around since 1964. “It receives about $900 million each year from offshore oil and gas royalties – not taxpayer dollars – to support conservation and outdoor recreation nationwide. And yet, I had never heard of the program.” Starlyn Rose Miller is from the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana. She is with the nonprofit Wilderness Society, which launched the new online hub. “Tribal governments are so busy. We thought if we could put a hub up designed in partnership with Indigenous-led orgs, agencies, nonprofits, that it could be helpful.” The fund has aided more than 47,000 projects in nearly every county nationwide. Bethel siblings Vjosa Pellumbi, left, and Drini Pellumbi pose after winning the top prize at the UAF College of Business and Security Management’s Arctic Innovation Competition held at the 8 Star Events Center in Fairbanks on April 18, 2026. (Photo: Sarah Lewis / UAF) High energy costs are a fact of life in remote, rural Alaska with few easy answers. A brother and sister team from Bethel, Alaska recently won top honors at an innovation competition hosted from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. As KYUK's Evan Erickson reports, they are committed to being part of the solution. Fraternal twins Drini and Vjosa Pellumbi have more in common than the same birthday. So far, their education and career paths have followed side by side. The brother and sister graduated from high school with college credit gained through the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) and are currently studying mechanical engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage. The Pellumbi twins are busy advancing a prototype of a device that attaches to home boilers and aims to reduce heating costs in cold-weather climates. Drini Pellumbi says their device essentially takes heat that would have been wasted by the boiler and just repurposes it to heat incoming water. Their Arctic Heat Recovery System design earned the top prize and $21,000 at the Alaska Innovation Competition hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The same day, Vjosa Pellumbi said the pair celebrated their 20th birthday. “It was such a whirlwind of emotions, because during the finals of that competition, we still had finals for our semester course, and you know we’re taking rigorous engineering courses, so stresses were high. It was just, it was a lot of good news that day.” This summer, the Pellumbis are both in Washington, D.C., interning with a wildlife conservation nonprofit. In their off-hours, they are plugging away at their prototype. Drini says the heat recovery concept is nothing new, but that it's so far been focused on large-scale commercial applications. “On my table right in front of me we have a couple thermocouples and sensors. We’re in two separate apartments, but we take turns, whose room carries all the junk. I guess a lot of people just don’t see a profit margin in developing it for Alaskan citizens, like residents, to use. We’re not really in it for the profit, we’re in it because it’s clean, it saves oil, it saves money, it saves pollutants from entering the atmosphere. Hopefully it’ll be good all around.” Friends and family in Bethel – where fuel prices have recently spiked due to the war in Iran – are eager to be the first to test the device. The Pellumbis say it has the potential to save homeowners thousands of dollars per year. They say the money they earned at this year's Arctic Innovation Competition is going directly into making the heat recovery system a reality. The second-generation Albanian-Americans credit their mother for pushing them to apply together for the competition. Vjosa says the parallel paths her and her brother have taken come down to family ties. “Within Albanian culture, one of the core values is being very family-oriented. So I guess that’s always been why we’ve gravitated towards doing the same things, because we've always been close.” Both say they could end up specializing in different engineering fields down the road. But for now, they say they're enjoying being a team as long as they can. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Tuesday, June 23, 2026 — Descendants reflect on Greasy Grass anniversary

On this episode of the ATS Breathe Easy podcast, delve into journalist Terry Greene Sterling's journey of being diagnosed with nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease. Greene Sterling's piece on living with NTM lung disease, funded by the Pulitzer Center, recently aired on KJZZ, the NPR affiliate in Phoenix. Host Patti Tripathi also interviews NTM specialist and Greene Sterling's doctor, Charles Daley, MD, National Jewish Health, on the causes and symptoms of this disease. Learn how NTM is often missed in the initial screening, plus the environmental factors that can lead to infection, challenges in treatment, and the importance of ongoing research, public awareness, and clinician education. KJZZ Arizona Public Radio: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/kjzz-91.5-fm-phoenix/ The Pulitzer Center: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pulitzer-center/ Conecta Arizona: https://www.linkedin.com/company/conectaarizona/ Terry Greene Sterling: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrygreenesterling/ NTM Info and Research: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ntmir/ Bronchiectasis and NTM Association: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bronchiectasis-and-ntm-association/ 

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

Roseburg Schools and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians have announced a partnership to help preserve the tribe's ancestral language, as KLCC's Brian Bull reports. Starting this fall, both Native and non-Native high school students can take the Takelma language for official language credit. The last known speaker died more than a century ago, but linguists and audio recordings from the Smithsonian Institution have helped revive it. Lindsay Campman, a spokesperson with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua, says the tribe has deemed language as important to its citizens. “And that continues to make our people strong. It’s a link to have something in common with your ancestors who lived a very, very different life centuries ago. But being able to speak that same language that they did, that’s a powerful connection.” The Cow Creek Band is also partnering with Roseburg Schools on a statewide program to improve Native students' attendance and is gifting the district half a million dollars towards renovating Roseburg High School's sports complex. Myles Lewallen, left, his client Indigenous Design Studio + Architecture founder Tamarah Begay, and his co-counsel Jake Curtis testify before the Budget and Finance Committee on June 17, 2026. (Courtesy Navajo Nation Council) The Navajo Nation Council has paused its public hearing into the ZenniHome scandal until next month, but in testimony last week, a key witness made a bombshell allegation against her ex-business partner. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. Tamarah Begay is the founder of Indigenous Design Studio and Architecture, which hired the now-bankrupt ZenniHome as a subcontractor to make 160 modular homes for the Navajo Nation. Zenni built only 18 after getting $24 million. “I am not a thief, and I am not a criminal.” But under oath, Begay leveled an accusation against ZenniHome CEO Bob Worsley. “He went ahead and actually forged my name under HozhoniHomes and submitted that to the state of Arizona.” That 2023 filing created an LLC, naming Begay's firm as a member. Her legal counsel clarifies they have not “seen any documents with her signature forged,” but insists this entity was formed “without her consent and against her express direction.” Neither Worsley nor his attorney, who signed off on the LLC, immediately responded to KJZZ's request for comment. (Courtesy Lomakatsi Restoration Project) Nine tribal members have graduated from a forestry and wildland firefighting training program in southern Oregon that blends modern fire management with traditional Indigenous knowledge. The graduates completed 18 weeks of paid training through the Tribal Ecological Forestry Training Program, operated by the Lomakatsi Restoration Project. Participants learned wildland firefighting, forest restoration, fuels reduction, chainsaw operation and cultural burning practices. For thousands of years, Indigenous communities across the West used carefully managed burns to improve forest health, encourage the growth of important plants and reduce vegetation that can fuel large wildfires. Many of those practices were restricted after federal fire suppression policies took hold. Today, tribes and land managers are increasingly looking to traditional fire knowledge as a tool for reducing wildfire risk. Program leaders say the training not only prepares Native youth for careers in forestry and firefighting, but also helps reconnect participants with cultural traditions tied to caring for the land. The program serves tribal communities in Oregon and northern California, where increasingly severe wildfire seasons have threatened forests, wildlife habitat and rural communities. Organizers say graduates leave with industry certifications and hands-on experience that can lead directly to employment in wildland firefighting and natural resource management. As fire seasons grow longer and more intense across the West, supporters say Indigenous knowledge and the next generation of Native fire practitioners will play an important role in protecting forests and communities. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, June 22, 2026 — Rebecca Nagle's ‘First America' amplifies Native voices amid the din of America 250 celebrations

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

Photo: The international boundary between Mexico and the Tohono O'odham Nation in June 2026. (Gabriel Pietrorazio) An Arizona tribe along the Southern border has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. The Tohono O'odham Nation has submitted an injunction to halt the Trump administration from looking to build a wall along its 62-mile boundary with Mexico. According to the complaint, the administration plans to solicit contracts for construction on sovereign lands – without the tribe's consent. Tohono O'odham Chairman Verlon Jose in a social media message. “We would prefer not to file this lawsuit, and instead use these resources for our people. And it is our hope DHS will reconsider their plans once they see the strength of our arguments, however, at this point we have been left with no other choice.” Carla Johnson is Tohono O'odham Vice Chairwoman. “The wall is a wasteful political gimmick. It will separate our families, desecrate our sacred sites and waters and harm our natural environment, while doing nothing to actually make us safer.” In response to the legal filings, DHS cites Mullin's Cherokee citizenship and commitment to tribal sovereignty, telling KJZZ the agency “values its relationship with the Tohono O'odham Nation and remains focused on open communication and minimizing impacts.” Sheep graze in the Coppermine Community near Page, Ariz. (Courtesy Loren Thomas) A Navajo Nation community near Page voted Sunday to oppose a controversial copper mine proposal, as KNAU's Chris Clements reports. The Coppermine Chapter voted 45-12 to adopt a resolution opposing Essential Minerals' exploration of a possible copper mine. The resolution also rescinded a policy put forward by the chapter back in 2005 that supported exploration of a separate copper mine. The resolution adopted on Sunday says back in 2005, the company looking into mining failed to fulfill its commitments. It adds that no mining company – like Essential Minerals – can use the 2005 policy to justify exploring a copper mine now. Tribal members say they are worried a copper mine would cause health and environmental issues in the community. Representatives of Essential Minerals previously told KNAU they want to build trust about the project, which they say is just being explored right now. Community members enjoy a meal at the 2026 Return of the Salmon Celebration at Riverview Park in Bethel on June 13, 2026. (Photo: MaryCait Dolan / KYUK) The day after the season's first drift gillnet fishing opener, salmon remained top of mind for fishers of the Kuskokwim River, as KYUK's Samantha Watson reports. At Riverview Park in Bethel, Alaska, community members gathered and filled plates of dried whitefish and grilled, fresh-caught fillets of king salmon. The second annual Return of the Salmon event was put on by Mother Kuskokwim Tribal Coalition, a grassroots organization opposing the proposed Donlin gold mine. Supporters of the mine point to the job prospects it would bring to locals in the region. Calista Corporation, the regional Native corporation who owns the subsurface rights to the proposed mine site, says that responsible development and subsistence can coexist. Others, like Mother Kuskokwim, say it is too risky. They argue that potential contamination from the mine could pose dire environmental impacts, namely for the region's salmon populations. The celebration is, at its core, an anti-Donlin demonstration, but it feels like a fish camp cookout. Organizer Gloria Simeon says on the Kuskokwim, salmon is a mechanism for something bigger. “Fish camp is not an activity. Fish camp is the time, the single most important time of families coming together with one purpose, and that’s to get prepared for the winter, catch our salmon, take care of it, to have it for the winter, and it’s not just only about that, it’s about sharing your genealogy, your oral traditions, our cultural values, who we are as a people, our history.” She talks about how it is sustained her family, and people like her granddaughter, Ashlynn Simeon, who is the Deputy Director of Mother Kuskokwim organization. She says the moments on display in a community event like this — children playing, babies having their first bites of fresh salmon of the season — that is what the Mother Kuskokwim advocates are trying to protect. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Thursday, June 18, 2026 — Native Bookshelf: ‘The Home of the Drowned’ by Elin Anna Labba

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been the target of U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). He has been looking to undo a Biden-era resource management plan, meant to focus on conservation and consultation with tribes. That effort has failed for now. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. Using the Congressional Review Act, lawmakers on Capitol Hill could've killed the plan with a simple majority vote from the Senate floor, but that 60-day window has closed. Erik Stanfield is senior anthropologist with the Navajo Nation Heritage and Historic Preservation Department. “Some people think it's a win – and I suppose in some sense it is, but I don't feel excited about it, because I do think there’s more coming. We've just thrown away something that could be another weapon.” He helped shape this years-long process. An executive order could still downsize the national monument – significant to Navajos, Hopis, Zunis, Utes, and Paiutes. Together, they formed an inter-tribal coalition. “Having to respond to this really strengthened the coalition. It bonded the group a little bit better, we organized and that's going to persist.” FBI agent Christopher Dotson explains Operation Ballistic Backlog. (Photo: C.J. Keene / SDPB) Authorities are looking for methods to close gaps preventing justice from being served when violent crimes happen on reservation settings. Now, the FBI, ATF, and tribal law enforcement are doubling down on these efforts. South Dakota Public Broadcasting's C.J. Keene reports. They are calling it Operation Ballistic Backlog – and it falls under the ongoing effort Operation Steadfast Promise which is aiming to solve cases that have troubled reservations and Native communities for decades. To put it simply, firearms leave something of a ballistic fingerprint which can be traced if and only if prior uses of that firearm are documented into an ATF database. At the Rapid City FBI branch office, agent Christopher Dotson goes into detail. “In South Dakota, Operation Ballistic Backlog is an initiative that is unique to the Pine Ridge Reservation. This initiative came about when we recognized an opportunity to work with our partners with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety who had hundreds of firearms in their custody that we could help test against evidence found at various crime scenes. This cache of weapons could be tested and entered into the ATF's national integrated ballistic network – known as NIBIN. Dotson is the special agent in charge of the Minneapolis Field Office, which covers Minnesota and the Dakotas. “What makes this initiative exciting is the potential to connect these guns to unresolved crimes on the Pine Ridge Reservation and elsewhere.” This comes as the FBI announced a new reward for information in the search for a suspect in the death of six-year-old Logan Warrior Goings, who was murdered in his Oglala family home. “Weeks later, a gun firing the same kind of ammunition used in Logan's murder was located well away from the crime scene. Ballistic testing connected that gun to the murder of little Logan – and that is a key piece of evidence. Last week, the FBI offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Logan's senseless murder. Somebody out there knows something.” In total, over 500 firearms are now slated to be tested for potential links to cases across the nation. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Wednesday, June 17, 2026 — Gloves off: Native bare-knuckle boxers fight for recognition in the ring

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

Navajo Nation Controller Sean McCabe testifies under oath during the third day of the Budget and Finance Committee's investigatory public hearing on June 10, 2026. (Courtesy Navajo Nation Council) Despite the Navajo Nation Department of Justice (NNDOJ) advising government staff not to testify about a failed, multi-million-dollar housing project, one employee broke ranks. KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. So far, Navajo Nation Controller Sean McCabe has been the sole witness out of a dozen or so to comply with the Budget and Finance Committee's subpoenas. “My intention today is not to undermine a NNDOJ advisement. My intention is to fulfill my professional duties as a certified public accountant.” Yet, McCabe was still cautious on Wednesday. “I would have hoped that legal counsel was here to step in if I needed it – if I was breaching any client-attorney privilege, but it doesn't appear that they are.” The ZenniHome hearing is set to wrap up this week. Dylan Gorman, left, Lisa Norton, Todd Logan, and Joshua Rilatos speak to 165 people at their presentation at the Amanda Gathering Place in Yachats, Oreg. on June 6, 2026. (Photo: Brian Bull) Members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians recently shared their perspective on harvesting a humpback whale last November. As KLCC's Brian Bull reports, the harvest highlighted the whale's cultural significance to coastal Native communities. For nearly two hours, the group spoke to 165 people at the Amanda Trail site in Yachats, near where the 10-ton juvenile humpback washed ashore last fall. Despite efforts by locals to save it, it was ultimately euthanized on the beach. Shortly after, a team of Siletz tribal members arrived to harvest parts of the mammal, while another team from Oregon State University did a necropsy. During their talk, the Siletz said they wanted to get across that the joy many felt that day wasn't because of the whale's death, but because they were able to practice a traditional harvest that hadn't been done for generations. Lisa Norton, the tribe's chief administrative officer, said this was due to several factors. “We've got forced relocation, we've got 1932 The Marine Mammal Relocation Act, the Termination Act of '54. These aren't things that we thought, ‘Oh, well this is just temporary.' We were forbidden from practicing.” Norton's son Joshua Rilatos talked of carving the baleen and blubber from the whale, much like his ancestors did. At the end, the audience gave the Siletz a standing ovation. Rilatos said he was pleased that the event was well-received. “It was a little nerve wracking at first because you never know what to expect from the community, especially because of social media and just the perceptions people have, but people here have got a pretty good understanding of what it was like for us, and the hard work and the respect and love that we had for the animal.” In this photo from November 2025, a humpback whale lies stranded on San Marine north of Yachats, Oreg. (Courtesy View the Future) While some online commenters made racist remarks or generalizations about Native people during the harvest, supporters say the amount of reverence and respect paid to the whale showed how important it was for the Siletz to do it. Chief Doug Barrett of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians said he'd like to consult with tribes like the Siletz and Makaw to better understand whale harvesting. A dead whale recently washed ashore in his region. “I did what I could with what I had. I had my four knives and I went up there and just started taking what I could. And I would like to render the blubber out, so I could put oil on our canoes. To me, that would be an awesome way to use that whale.” Joanne Kittel is co-chair of the conservationist nonprofit View the Future, which sponsored the Siletz's presentation. She said the group picked the Amanda Trail in Yachats because of its significance to Native history. “This area symbolizes the government-sponsored genocidal policies that led to the murder and deaths of so many Coos, Umpqua, Siuslaw and Alsea people here in the Yachats area. And this whole area and the Amanda Trail bring the historical truth to the present.” Kittel said she wasn't surprised 165 people turned out to hear the Siletz's story. She added that it is important to have these conversations in an open and welcoming space. Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Monday, June 15, 2026 — The ongoing lessons from the Battle of Greasy Grass 150 years later

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning newscast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. it is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the stories you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ news.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

KJZZ's Sun Up is a weekday morning podcast giving you the Arizona news you need to start your day. It is the biggest stories of the day from KJZZ News.

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

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