U.S. Democratic senators blocked a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY).

The bill would’ve transferred the Pilot Butte Power Plant to a non-tribal irrigation entity.

As Wyoming Public Radio’s Chris Clements reports, the plant is located on the Wind River Reservation, but is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Senate Democrats had issues with the Wyoming federal delegation’s supposed lack of consultation with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes.

Sen. Barrasso says he spoke with both tribes as early as February.

The Wind River Inter-Tribal Council released a resolution insisting neither tribe was consulted.

For the second time this month, members of the tribes traveled to Barrasso’s office in Cheyenne to protest the transfer.

Eastern Shoshone Business Council chair Wayland Large read the resolution at the protest earlier this month.

“The federal government owes both trust and treaty obligations to the tribes, and proceeding with this proposed legislation would constitute a violation of both.”

Barrasso emphasized that the plant is not currently owned by the tribes and said he’d retaliate against the Democratic senators.

“I will be vigilant in watching out for bills that impact at least two and a half acres in their home states! I consider their bills now dead until the Pilot Butte issue is resolved!”

Arizona State University has developed a new tool researchers hope will help analyze connections between illnesses and health determinants within Indigenous populations.

Alex Gonzalez has more.

The Indigenous Health Research Dashboard is an online repository of peer-reviewed, published studies that focus on medical conditions and diseases impacting Indigenous health since 2020.

Angela Gonzales is a member of the Hopi Tribe in Northern Arizona.

She’s also an ASU professor and the director of the American Indian Studies Program.

She says it is important for her to be a part of an initiative that aims to move the needle for Indigenous health equity.

She says she’s seen firsthand the “devastating impacts” of limited access to health care in Native communities.

“By having it public available and accessible, when tribes are interested in trying to find out the latest research, for instance let’s say on COVID-19 vaccinations, they have a one stop source to be able to access a lot of that information. You can search by keywords, can search by key topics, it breaks it down into regions.”

Gonzales says the dashboard is what she calls “bio-directional”, meaning it’s an effort that is driven by what tribal partners have identified as major health concerns.

She adds the project has also allowed students to develop their research skills and learn to synthesize information. Gonzales adds they’re currently recruiting students to be a part of the team that’ll continue working on the initiative next year. She hopes they’re able to capture a more ‘holistic’ and historical view of trends and findings.

Gonzales says they’re ramping up outreach efforts to ensure public health professionals and medical providers in Indigenous communities know about the useful resource. But she adds that Native communities have already expressed the need for such information.

“If you’re a tribal health professional, the opportunity to do research, it takes away from your other responsibilities that are oftentimes more pressing. By having this dashboard available, they can go right to it.”

Gonzales argues that Indigenous health equity has been improving in recent years, but she says as an academic she hopes researchers do better to create a stronger ‘knowledge bridge,’ and develop resources that are use-inspired. She feels the dashboard is a step in that direction.

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