An important report on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) crisis has been removed from the Department of Justice website.

Many MMIP awareness advocates and officials have questioned its absence, according to Newsweek.

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) says the “Not One More” report disappeared in February. She was with the Senate Committee that introduced the 2020 Not Invisible Act, which mandated the report.

Sen. Cortez Casto and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) reached out to the Trump administration to have the report reposted, but Newsweek says they were told the White House took it down to comply with the president’s executive order that determined there were only two sexes.

Cortez Masto is quoted in Newsweek’s coverage as saying she firmly believes this isn’t about gender, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), or ‘Wokeness”, but about keeping tribal communities safe and providing tribal leaders and law enforcement with the tools they need.

(Courtesy Keʻōpū Reelitz / Linkedin)

A Native Hawaiian organization is tasked with taking care of Native Hawaiians across Hawaii and the continental U.S. when it comes to the health and wellbeing of Native Hawaiian people.

Keʻōpū Reelitz, director of policy and strategy at Papa Ola Lōkahi, says the organization was created by an act of Congress in the 1980s to address the Native Hawaiian health care system.

Reelitz was among the more than 2,500 attendees at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) annual convention taking place in Seattle this week.

“At home, it means making sure that we’re supporting our Native Hawaiian health care systems. It also means that we’re supporting community-based organizations that are helping to make sure our people are thriving and able to live and thrive in Hawaii. And that also means that they’re doing so if they are one of the diaspora Hawaiians. So, if they were either born outside of the United States or had to move we also support community-based organizations that are making sure that they’re connected to their identity, connected to resources that they need. Because as we know, as Native people, if we don’t have our culture, if we don’t have our language, if we don’t have that identity, then the core of our well-being is impacted. So, making sure that we’re providing those kinds of supports and connections to our people.”

Reelitz says it’s important to be at events like NCAI in order to listen and learn from other Native people.

She says it’s good to be partners, allies, and advocates pointing to the partnership, which helped create the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act – done in collaboration with tribes.

Health and wellness were among the many issues discussed at the NCAI gathering, which wraps up on Friday.

The Nez Perce Tribe hosted A Night of Indigenous Jazz & Soul Thursday at the Seattle Convention Center before the last day of the 82nd NCAI Annual Convention & Marketplace. (Courtesy NCAI / Facebook)

Robert Mesta, who is Pascua Yaqui, sings before blessing a pair of eagles at Liberty Wildlife in Phoenix on November, 16, 2025. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ)

And it’s not everyday you get to see an eagle – let alone two together – alive and up close.

As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, it’s something visitors of a Phoenix nonprofit recently did while blessing these animals during an annual Native American wildlife celebration earlier this month.

Robert Mesta with Liberty Wildlife is Pascua Yaqui and honors eagles Cisco and Anasazi with a song.

“And they’re revered for their strength, their intelligence and even their healing and protective powers.”

Things the Phoenix nonprofit is helping guests tap into one November Sunday morning.

“Pinch some sacred tobacco, take it to the eagle and say their prayer. And oftentimes, the eagles will flap their wings – to feel the wind of the eagle is like the ultimate experience.”

That lasted for an hour.

Augie Molina, who is Pascua Yaqui, spiritually prepared people bringing offerings to the birds by burning sage bundles and tapping them with a fan made from feathers – while those being cleansed bathed in the smoke.

“When you smudge, it’s gonna take as long as it’s gonna take.”

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Friday, November 21, 2025 – Native Bookshelf: “The Bone Thief” by Vanessa Lillie and “The Devil is a Southpaw” by Brandon Hobson