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

Photo: Breakfast bar at the Wingate Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. (Courtesy Wingate by Wyndham)

Hundreds of evacuees from Western Alaska are staying in Anchorage hotels after last month’s storms destroyed their homes.

The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA spoke to a few families who are adjusting to their new daily lives, so far away from everything they know.

Ally Shangin’s room at the Wingate hotel is crowded. On one bed she sits with her two year old daughter. Her partner sits on another while their children play nearby.

Shangin and her family are among around 650 evacuees from Western Alaska who are staying in Anchorage after being displaced by a devastating storm last month. State and federal agencies are working to rebuild the affected villages. But for many, returning before winter is not an option.

“Moving here with our family – it was okay, but it’s not okay. I want to go home.”

For Shangin’s 9-year-old daughter Katelynn, that means homeschooling so she can help her parents take care of her siblings.

Shangin says the family gets breakfast every day, but the hotel room has no kitchen, so they order fast food for the remaining meals.

“They are used to homecooked meals all the time. They’re used to the Native food and stuff that we eat.”

Julia Tuutaq Stone is Kipnuk’s police officer and another evacuee. She is staying at the Aspen Hotel in Anchorage, along with her two adult sons and young grandsons – each family in their own room.

“It was gonna be heartbreaking if they didn’t come with me.”

Stone says the hotel provides them with free meals and snacks. She takes buses to go to the store and to play bingo. And her grandsons attend the Yup’ik immersion program at College Gate Elementary School.

Her son, Alexie Aqumkallak Stone, says his kids are having more fun than him.

“They’re enjoying their stay here. …It’s not fun for me, that’s for sure, because it’s not my kind of life. My life was subsistence.”

Back at the Wingate, Shangin says her family has been looking at apartments already. They even filled out paperwork to receive assistance for rent.

“But some of us are tired of waiting.”

The family especially liked a two-bedroom apartment they looked at. Shangin says it was big enough for the older children to share their own room.

“My family will be happy. I’ll be happy because I’ll be able to cook my family food.”

Shangin already knows what their first meal will be: a rice dish baked in the oven with meat and seasonings.

She says that will be enough for the whole family.

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More than 100 winter items and more than $15,000 dollars were collected this week, during a winter coat drive at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) annual convention in Seattle.

Attendees brought in new coats and other cold weather essentials from gloves to scarves to hats.

The items will help support unsheltered Native people in the city and will also benefit evacuees in Alaska affected by last month’s devastating storm.

The Seattle Indian Health Board was among organizations that teamed up with NCAI on the coat drive.

Abigail Echo-Hawk (Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma) is the executive vice president of the health board.

“It’s really important for us as Native people to come when we come to areas and we think about how we contribute not just to the local economies, but to the people itself. And so here in Seattle, we have a very large unhoused population.

“Native people in the Seattle area are 10 times more likely than non-Hispanic whites to live unhoused on the streets of Seattle. And organizations like the Seattle Indian Health Board, United Indians of All Tribes, we work with a lot of these relatives.

“Having a coat drive really allows us to get some really high quality, nice things out to our communities, both our unhoused relatives and also for our youth and folks who are in need of a nice warm coat in a cold Seattle winter.”

Echo-Hawk says distribution of the winter items will begin as soon as her organization receives the donations from NCAI.

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Thursday, November 20, 2025 – Federal immigration crackdown collides with Native Americans

For decades starting in 1907, Indigenous women and women of color across the country were sterilized without their informed consent.

Last week, a coalition of women’s reproductive rights advocates called on New Mexico legislators to create a commission to investigate the abuses.

KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more.

Numerous reports show sterilizations peaked in the 1960s through the late 70s. That’s when upwards of 70,000 Indigenous women were forced or coerced into sterilization procedures by the Indian Health Service (IHS) and contracted physicians, including those at the University of New Mexico.

By the mid 1970s, at least 25% of Indigenous women of childbearing age had been sterilized.

Rachael Lorenzo (Mescalero Apache and Laguna Pueblo), executive director of Indigenous Women Rising, says she was a target of coercion.

@Doctors refused to take out my IUD, despite the fact the copper IUD, which is called paraguard, made me bleed for 10 months, and four different doctors refused to take it out because it was working the way it was supposed to, and they said I was too young at 22 to have another baby.@

The proposed joint memorial would establish a memorial to victims,but also a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that would make New Mexico the first U.S. state to formally investigate and acknowledge the violations done to Indigenous women.

State Sen. Linda Lopez (D-NM) agreed that the legislature needs to acknowledge the role New Mexico played in this history.

“It wasn’t us who are here in the Roundhouse at this point in time. And yes, it was maybe another governmental entity. But Madam Chair, I think those of us who are elected have a responsibility to say this should never have happened, this will not happen, and that we apologize.”

State Rep. Michelle Paulene Abeyta (D-NM) says there also needs to be more resources for educating youth about reproductive care.

New Mexico currently doesn’t have a law on forced sterilization.

NCAI President Mark Macarro, left, and Executive Director Larry Wright, Jr. presented the inaugural NCAI Lifetime Achievement Awards to honor two titans in Indian Country: the late Chairman of the Indian Gaming Association Ernie Stevens, Jr. and founder and Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) John E. Echohawk. The first award was accepted by Chairman Stevens’s family, including a blanketing of his spouse Cheryl Stevens. (Courtesy NCAI / Facebook)

The Native vote was center stage Tuesday morning at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) annual convention in Seattle.

Panelists discussed various barriers facing Native voters and efforts to protect Native voting rights.

Matthew Campbell, deputy director, at the Native American Rights Fund was on the panel.

He says the state of the Native vote across the country has its ups and downs.

“Typically, a voter might choose to only vote in the presidential election every four years. But I think it’s really critical to remember that if we elect candidates of our choice in the state legislature, for the school boards, you know, every single race really can make a difference in our lives. You know, if we elect people that lift up and fight for tribal sovereignty at the state level, that’s really important. And if we elect people that are aware about our culture and our tradition at the school board level, that’s also really important (possible cut for time).”

Jaynie Parrish is the executive director of Arizona Native Vote. She says work on Native voting issues takes place year-round and not just during big election years like presidential or mid-terms.

“Like many issues, uh whether it’s tribal sovereignty, climate, there are people constantly working on these issues, whether that’s on advocacy side or lobbying or policy. It’s the same thing with civic engagement and voting and elections.”

Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) John E. Echohawk. (Courtesy NCAI / Facebook)

Parrish is a panelist on civic engagement in Indian Country Wednesday afternoon.

Voting is just one of the many issues attendees at the NCAI annual convention are focusing on.

Organizers say this year’s convention is seeing record numbers, with 2,500 people registered.

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Wednesday, November 19, 2025 – Indigenous voices speak up, but have little clout at COP30

Last week, more than a dozen tribes commented on a proposal by the Trump administration to let developers obtain preliminary permits for hydropower projects on reservations in spite of tribal opposition.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.

This new rule would apply to projects like dams, reservoirs and pump-storage facilities – all overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which under a Biden-era rule does not issue such permits without consent.

That independent agency is now being asked to change course by Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Stewart Koyiyumptewa is the Hopi tribal historic preservation officer and commented on behalf of his tribe.

“He put tribes in the same sentence as third parties. And what that tells me is that there’s that lack of respect.”

As for their neighbors in northern Arizona, the Navajo Nation thinks dialogues with future developers have improved.

Navajo Acting Assistant Attorney General Erika Pirotte, who penned their brief, wants an extension.

Tribes had only 17 days to reply while dealing with the longest U.S. government shutdown.

“What we’ve seen is contrary to, I think, what was included in the letter for the request for rulemaking from the Secretary – that the policy has not, in fact, hindered development on the Nation. We received notice of this, October 27, it’s been a pretty tight turnaround.”

Young Native people from across the country are gathered in Seattle this week, developing their leadership skills and discussing tribal issues, including sovereignty and policymaking.

They’re taking part in the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Youth Convention, which is being held alongside NCAI’s annual convention.

Shania Guacheno is an eight-grade student from the Soboba Band in Southern California.

“I’m with TANF program from Soboba and just going to the conferences to learn new things. Learning about Native American tribes, their traditions and stories, and everything.”

Crystal Williams, vice chair of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, says it’s important to have young people be part of NCAI’s gathering.

“To me, it’s very important as a tribal leader. I’ve been in this for a decade and it’s so important for me to make sure that our youth know about leadership, how to run tribes, because they will be the ones that are going to be handling this here in the next 10, 20, 30 years. So I am an advocate for youth in leadership, so I feel like we have the responsibility to teach them as much as we can.”

161 young people, ages 14 to 24, are attending the youth convention.

They’re also encouraged to attend the main NCAI general sessions and meetings to hear from tribal leaders from across Indian Country.

Both events run through Friday.

Chief Joseph

And on this day in 1895, the Nez Perce Indian Reservation in Idaho was opened up to white settlers.

After encroachment, war, and a gold rush compromised the previous treaties’ defined boundaries, prevailing white sentiment deemed the unfarmed and undeveloped areas as “surplus”, leading to the further breaking up of lands held by the Nimiipuu.

(Courtesy of Wilma Mankiller Foundation)

And it’s also the birthday of Wilma Mankiller, born in 1945.

She became the first woman to be elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

A lifelong advocate of Native and women’s rights, Mankiller said she was largely inspired by the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz by Indigenous activists. She died in 2010, with friend and feminist icon Gloria Steinem by her side.

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Tuesday, November 18, 2025 – The constant burden on tribal hunters to justify their treaty rights

A Native American woman and her family are thankful that she’s not been detained – and potentially deported – by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire has the story.

On Veteran’s Day, 24-year-old Leticia Jacobo completed a short sentence at the Polk County Jail in Des Moines, Iowa for a traffic infraction. She was supposed to have been released at midnight, but things took an odd turn.

“I don’t know how to put it in words. It was, it was shocking. I was like, “How do I have a ICE hold, when I’m Native American? And, yeah, it was just weird. It was just crazy.”

Jacobo’s mom, Ericka Burns, learned that her daughter was placed under an ICE detainer and was worried.

Both women are members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and therefore legal U.S. citizens.

Jacobo’s aunt, Maria Nunez, said her sister sprung into action.

“And being a holiday that day, we couldn’t do much. And you know, here on her reservation side of the family we just jumped on the media, and reached out to everyone and however we could. Because we didn’t want her removed and sent to who knows where.”

Nunez says the tribal police chief called in to corrections officials to vouch for Jacobo’s citizenship. And an investigator learned that another inmate at the jail had the same last name as Jacobo.

A spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said it was all a clerical mix-up and staff have been talked to about preventing repeat errors.

Leticia Jacobo reflected on the experience.

“I’m very thankful for having family members and people out here, because if I didn’t, who knows what happened, I would have just unknowingly went to ICE custody. And you know, so it would have been a scary moment.”  

Many Native people and supporters are calling this a case of racial profiling, and Jacobo is weighing a lawsuit. For now though, she plans to celebrate the holiday season with her family.

Ericka Burns, left, and her daughter Leticia Jacobo, who is a member of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. (Courtesy Maria Nunez)

Maria Nunez says she’s happy that her niece is safe.

“And I’m just so proud to be Native American and have all the love and support and knowing that …we’re all ready to fight and protect what’s ours and what our rights are.”

Since the Trump administration ramped up its immigration crackdown, tribes have complained of ICE confronting their enrolled citizens.

Many have issued guidance on their rights and what documentation to present if detained.

Neither the Des Moines ICE office nor the Salt River Pima-Marcicopa Indian Community returned requests for comment.

A sunset view of the Colorado River from Cienega Springs in La Paz County, Ariz. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ)

The Colorado River has long been considered a lifeline for the Southwest.

As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, one Arizona tribe is now acknowledging the waterway as having the same rights and legal protections as tribal members.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) would not say whether it was unanimous, but the nine council members still voted to recognize personhood for the namesake river under tribal law.

It comes at a pivotal time when sustained drought threatens this natural resource – CRIT considers “a living entity” – running parallel to the tribe’s nearly 300,000-acre reservation along the California border.

This measure also tasks tribal councils to take the Colorado River’s needs under consideration amid an uncertain future on two fronts: climate change and ongoing inter-state water negotiations.

Tribal leaders from across the country are gathered in Seattle for the National Congress of American Indians annual convention and marketplace.

Leaders are tackling top issues facing their communities from economic development, education, and climate to language and culture.

Additionally, a youth convention is taking place.

Both gatherings continue through Friday.

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Monday, November 17, 2025 – Native hemp producers caught off guard by near total ban in the bill reopening federal government

Photo: Construction is underway for a 22-unit housing project on the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone reservation, the first housing project on the reservation in over 20 years, on Monday, September. 15, 2025, in Fallon, Nev. (Jimmy Romo / Nevada Public Radio)

Housing isn’t just a problem in major cities in Nevada. It’s also an issue in rural parts of the state, including Tribal nations.

Thousands of tribal members want to come back home, but there’s not enough housing available at the moment.

KNPR’s Jimmy Romo visited two tribes to tour their newest housing developments.

On the Walker River Paiute Tribe reservation, tribal officials and community members break ground on the highly anticipated water looping system.

This water project was a decade in the making as Tribal members have been wanting to live on the reservation. With no available housing, they can’t.

Genia Williams came back home to the reservation a decade ago to become the housing director for the Walker River Paiute Tribe to build out the tribe. Instead she was met with unavoidable infrastructure issues.

“You’re thinking, OK, you can build homes and do things and find out that that was not going to happen, there had to be a moratorium.”

It wasn’t until 2024 that the Walker River Paiute Tribe was approved for a $20 million grant. That funding was later taken away months after President Donald Trump took office.

Walker River Paiute Tribe Chairwoman Melanie McFalls knew that, although the tribe is trying to save funds, coming up with the water looping funding would be worth the investment for generations to come.

“You know, it was kinda hard to just give up $3 million just like that, but we had to or else we would’ve lost the entire project.”

Forty miles north of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, the Fallon Shoshone-Paiute Tribe’s housing program development manager, Russell Dyer-Redner, has seen how difficult getting housing can be.

“It seems like you’re basically waiting for someone to die or something to even have a chance at housing.”

When Russell wanted to come back home to the reservation, he was told the same thing as many others: there is no housing available.

To combat the lack of housing, the tribe is building a 22-unit housing project.

These projects are adding housing to the reservation, but in small numbers with the help of federal funding.

These federal funds come out of a big pot of money where all 574 federal tribes nationwide are applying for a piece of the pot. And every year the pot keeps shrinking.

Federal appropriations like the Indian Housing Block Grant have declined for decades, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study from this year.

“There’s always going to be a shortage, but if we can meet a majority of our needs then we’ll you know do our do diligence, and hopefully people will be able to come back,” Williams said.

And that’s what leaders from tribes across the state want, to bring their members back home.

Leya Hale holds up her regional Emmy for “Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco,” which won Best Topical Documentary at the Upper Midwest Emmy Awards, Bloomington, Minn., Saturday, October 7, 2017. (Courtesy Leya Hale)

Five Native Americans were among the 29 people named Bush Fellows this year.

The Bush Foundation provides up to $150,000 over two years for their fellows to build on their leadership skills.

In the first of five profiles, Brian Bull of Buffalo’s Fire shares what an award-winning filmmaker plans to do.

Leya Hale has been with Twin Cities PBS for 13 years and has won regional Emmys for her work, including the films “Reclaiming Sacred Tobacco” and “The People’s Protectors”.

But the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and Diné Nations artist feels she falls short in one area: technical expertise.

“Learning about how to capture good quality audio. Even when it comes to more of the technical side of editing like color-correcting and those types of things, that’s something that I really want to learn more of, because I get asked often to do mentoring to up-and-coming youth and storytellers.”

Hale’s grand vision is to create a worldwide network of Indigenous filmmakers and artists who will share their cultural stories authentically and accurately.

Hale also hopes to use her Bush Fellowship award to build on her Dakota language skills.

Her new film, “Medicine Ball”, is set for release next year.

It looks at how basketball emerged out of boarding school.

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Friday, November 14, 2025 – A Pueblo answer to the work and renown of artist Georgia O’Keefe

Photo: Liz West / Flickr

A new study aims to shed light on the hidden impacts of domestic violence in Native communities.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Daniel Spaulding reports on the effort to understand the unrecognized brain injuries many survivors are living with.

The Urban Indian Health Institute’s survey aims to find out how common traumatic brain injuries are among Native survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

More than 80% of Indigenous women have experienced violence in their lifetime.

According to Abigail Echo-Hawk, the institute’s director, many survivors of domestic and sexual violence suffer from brain injuries that never get diagnosed or receive proper care. 

“They deserve justice, they deserve safety, and they deserve to get the treatment that they need when they’ve been impacted by traumatic brain injury.”

The goal of the survey is to ensure survivors get the right care and support, through programs and policies designed to help them heal.

The survey began in October and will remain open through January 2026. 

Moses Marr’aq Wiseman and Indra Arriaga with the Alaska Institute for Justice on Nov. 6, 2025. The organization released the new online glossary with Yup’ik words for behavioral health terms. (Photo: Alena Naiden)

A nonprofit has released a new Yup’ik glossary with behavioral health terms.

Yup’ik speakers, including those affected by the recent Western Alaska storm, which devastated communities, can use it to communicate with their health providers and to understand their mental health better.

The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more.

Last month, Moses Marr’aq Wiseman was helping with Yup’ik translation at the Anchorage shelters that hosted evacuees from the recent Western Alaska storm.

He was also sharing a new glossary with Yup’ik words for behavioral health terms.

“When you have a culture of your own, that’s not a part of American culture. It’s a taboo thing to talk about behavioral health and mental health care. So like having this available, when it was available, it’s just an ease of mind I think.”

Wiseman is the Alaska Native Languages Program director at the Alaska Institute for Justice. Last month, the nonprofit released a new glossary. People can type in a modern health-related term and listen to its Yup’ik pronunciation.

Wiseman says it should help Yup’ik interpreters and service providers to break down language barriers and help people understand their health better.

Indra Arriaga is the strategic and operational director at the Institute for Justice.

“Where you do have a stigma around depression, a stigma around suicide, this is a way of getting information and not feeling like you’re exposing yourself, right? It’s out there. It’s reliable. It’s in your language. It’s a door.”

Arriaga says the glossary has been years in the making, in collaboration with Yup’ik speakers.

The plan was to launch the project on Nov. 1. But when the remnants of the Typhoon Halong forced hundreds of people to evacuate to Anchorage, the organization decided to release it sooner.

“The care and the healing of the folks who are here from Kipnuk and other villages is going to continue. So this is a resource that now can really be used in settings where they’re going to be talking about different things that affect their mental health.”

The organization is now looking for funding to complete a similar glossary but for terms relevant for emergency care and intake.

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) says it welcomes the reopening of the federal government to restore stability to critical services to tribes.

In a statement, NCAI said during the shutdown the Indian Health Service largely remained opened due to advance appropriations, but it’s depending on Congress to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits.

NCAI says reopening the government restores funding to food assistance programs, which many Native people rely on.

The organization says temporary fixes are not enough, and that data collected from tribes during the shutdown “made clear” how long term, lasting solutions, and structural funding reforms are needed to honor tribal trust and treaty obligations.

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Thursday, November 13, 2025 – Educational outcomes are about more than just grades for Native American students

Current rules defining how the Colorado River is to be shared by 40 million residents in the West will soon expire.

The seven Basin states had until Tuesday to negotiate those new guidelines.

As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, no deal was struck.

States still cannot come to terms, leaving tribes lost in the shuffle.

Daniel Cordalis (Navajo) runs the Native American Rights Fund’s Tribal Water Institute. He believes the Bureau of Reclamation’s deadline is arbitrary.

“If it means anything, maybe the federal government is going to step in and start throwing some weight around.”

When no Reclamation nominee has been tapped to replace President Donald Trump’s old pick, Ted Cooke.

Beyond the bickering Upper and Lower Basin states, there are 30 federally recognized tribes stuck in the middle of a decades-old debate on how best to divvy up the water, while keeping the ever-dwindling river flowing.

“They have to try to come up with ideas that are doable and that will benefit the entire system – not just tribes and I hope none of that is compromised by this deadline coming and going.”

Alaska Federation of Natives President Ben Mallott and about 100 other tribal leaders were in Washington D.C. last week, and had a brief visit with Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday.

KNBA’s Rhonda McBride has more.

President Mallott said it was a good step forward to be invited and is looking forward to more engagement next year.

Vice President Vance gave a brief presentation on the potential for economic development in Indian Country, including manufacturing.

Principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chuck Hoskin, Jr., said it was good to hear the vice president focus on things that could be done in Indian Country.

Months before a storm devastated parts of Western Alaska, a federal agency canceled a grant that would have helped protect one of the communities from flooding.

The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more on what that money could have done for the village of Kipnuk – and what lies ahead for the community.

Rayna Paul is the environmental director for the village of Kipnuk. Her house was one of many that was swept upriver during the historic storm last month.

“We were so not ready. We were so not prepared.”

Paul says the community now needs time to heal and rebuild.

The remnants of Typhoon Halong devastated about a dozen villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

Months before the storm, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency canceled a $20 million dollar grant that would have helped Kipnuk protect infrastructure from flooding.

Paul says Kipnuk has been losing more than 10 feet of riverbank each year.

“We’re facing erosion. The sea level is rising. The permafrost is melting.”

Paul spent months applying for funding through the EPA’s Community Change Grants program. But the Trump administration terminated the program in May, in a broader effort to roll back environmental justice funding.

The decision is at the heart of the lawsuit that Kipnuk signed on to this summer.

In August, the court denied a motion to block the program’s termination. The plaintiffs appealed that decision.

Sheryl Musgrove is with the Alaska Institute for Justice. The organization helped Kipnuk secure the EPA grant funding.

“This was a chance for the federal government to finally show that they cared and that they were willing to invest in this small community in remote Alaska, and they took it away.”

EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch said that the funding would not have prevented destruction in the community.

“While partisans on the left would apparently prefer to have seen those precious tax dollars washed away, EPA now has the resources available to ensure the money is spent appropriately and wisely.”

Musgrove says the first year of the grant was meant for planning and the construction of the revetment would not have begun by the time of the storm.

She says that the first phase would have also included hazardous waste removal from the bank.

“Now that’s in the river and the Bering Sea.”

Musgrove says she hopes the devastation of the storm highlights the needs of villages like Kipnuk and helps them mobilize resources for finding long-term solutions.

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Without reliable internet, it’s tough for veterans to apply for and access financial and health benefits, including mental care.

But as KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, a Phoenix-based telehealth company and the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services are partnering to help better equip those living on remote tribal lands.

So far, Janice Talas-Denny (Hopi) with Televada has so far delivered 16 military-grade kits containing Starlink satellite internet systems – at no-cost – to over a dozen tribes across Arizona beginning this year in Parker.

“If I can do this, anyone can do this.”

Her latest stop, New Pascua, is just on the outskirts of Tucson, Ariz.

“It’s a hot day today. We don’t want to be out here too long.”

Fortunately, it takes only ten minutes, she says, for the satellite hookup once they figure out which direction is north.

Along with her is Dylan Dalzotto on behalf of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services.

“Let’s start with 50, see where it goes and here we are rather quickly, excited to get the rest of them out there and a big roadblock for a lot of vets is the internet connectivity.”

Even for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

“And a lot of times, they’re not.”

Carmen Rivera is the tribe’s veterans benefits counselor and often travels to the Mexico border, meeting with tribal members living off-grid.

“And when you give them, you know, information, whether it be off this system, or you give it to them in paper, they like that.”

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK).

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK) is facing criticism for an exchange during a recent hearing on federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. He’s accused of racial stereotyping based on looks.

Correspondent Matt Laslo has the story from Washington.

Sen. Mullin is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, but that doesn’t give him a pass with tribal leaders.

During a recent hearing over whether or not to recognize the Lumbee, Mullin offended many with his exchange with Principal Chief Michell Hicks of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which referring to the Lumbee packing the hearing room.

“You can’t look over there and say they’re not Native. I mean, turn around and look — and you’re telling me they’re not Native?”

Chief Hicks: “I’ve seen the crowd”

Mullin: “Okay. And you’re saying that that’s not Native faces?”

Hicks: “That’s not for me to determine. That’s for the [Department of Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgment] (OFA) process…”

Mullin: “No, but we are determining it.”

U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) has garnered praise across Indian Country for calling Mullin out.

“It’s just like my frustration with this administration giving authority to [the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] (ICE) to pull anybody over just because they have brown skin and claim that they’re undocumented somehow. It’s wrong, and I don’t want to be put in a position like that.”

Mullin brushes the criticism aside.

“I don’t care if I’m doing what is right. The Lumbees deserve to be recognized.”

A 2022 Congressional Budget Office study estimated it would cost just over $90 million a year to recognize the Lumbee.

Mullin says concerns raised by other tribes over the cost of enrolling the Lumbee coupled with debates over gaming are misguided.

“I’m serious. It doesn’t make any sense. And if you’re going to start talking about gaming — which most of these arguments are about, is gaming — shame on you, because now you’re putting profit over Native people.”

While North Carolina’s two Republican senators are pushing the Lumbee Fairness Act, which would recognize the tribe federally.

Sen. Cortez Masto says that’s a decision best left up to nonpartisan officials within the Interior Department.

“I am not equipped to make that determination, and that’s why that was set up that way. It’s evidence-based. I rely on it, and I think I was very clear about it.”

President Donald Trump has promised the Lumbee federal recognition.

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Tuesday, November 11, 2025 – Native American veterans create valuable avenues for connections with fellow Native vets

On Tuesday, Canadians will pause for Remembrance Day to honor those in the military who died serving their country, as well as those still serving.

But as Dan Karpenchuk reports, special ceremonies were held over the weekend to honor Indigenous members of Canada’s military.

It’s Indigenous Veterans Day and has been commemorated since 1994.

Indigenous members of Canada’s military shared their stories at ceremonies across the country.

In Ottawa, Defence Minister David McGuinty addressed one ceremony.

“Throughout our history, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis members have served with exceptional bravery and distinction in the Canadian Armed Forces.  They have fought, endured, and sacrificed in our name. From Vimy to Dieppe, from Korea to Afghanistan, Indigenous service members have demonstrated extraordinary skill, courage, and devotion to duty.”

Indigenous Veterans Day came about because many of those veterans were not given the same benefits as their non-Indigenous peers.

Ray Deer is the president of the Quebec’s only First Nations-operated Canadian Legion. He says people need to know about the contributions made by Indigenous members of the military.

“I think by joining the military it gives us a voice. It gives us a voice that can be heard amongst the Canadians and the Americans because they know we served alongside them. Without doing that, without serving alongside them, you’re more than invisible, we are invisible as it is, but it would be worst off if we did not participate.”

Other Indigenous veterans say the gained respect from military colleagues for their character and their ability as soldiers, but some say the camaraderie vanished when the fighting was over and there was a return to Canada.

The federal government says more than 4,000 Indigenous people served in the military in the World War I and 3,000 served in the World War II.

Recently, the government acknowledged the unfair treatment of Indigenous soldiers where many thought their rights and standing would improve when they returned home, but as efforts towards reconciliation gained momentum in recent years, there was more effort to recognize Indigenous veterans and their contributions.

Menominee Tribal School hosted its Veterans breakfast event on November 7, 2025. (Courtesy Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin / Facebook)

A tribal school district in northeast Wisconsin says the government shutdown has impacted federal funding it relies on for salaries, supplies, and student programming.

Judith Ruiz-Branch has more.

The Menominee Indian School District is one of about 20 school districts in Wisconsin receiving Impact Aid funding. The program provides support for public schools on federal lands.

Marcus Denny, superintendent of the district, said they have limited access to local tax dollars due to a small taxable land base, so program funds cover about 40% of their budget. Payments have not gone out because of the government shutdown.

“That’s impacted our budget big time. We’ve had to move around a lot of funds from our general fund. We had to seek a line of credit with our bank to help meet operational needs. It’s impacted us heavily.”

The district serves about 1,000 students and Denny pointed out many of them come from high-poverty backgrounds. He noted food assistance cuts due to the government shutdown are also having broader community effects as many students do not have adequate access to food at home.

Denny stressed community organizations and the tribal government are working together to support local families by stocking food pantries and soliciting donations to send home with students. He added school staff are also using personal resources to provide for students in need.

“We’ve had classroom teachers at our elementary school put things together for kids to take home on the weekends if there was any inclination of any type of food shortage for them or anything.”

Denny emphasized the Impact Aid office has been in frequent communication with districts throughout the government shutdown and has informed them payments will be processed once operations resume.

Despite concerns about resources becoming increasingly scarce should the shutdown continue, Denny underscored he has confidence in his community.

“The Menominee people and Indigenous people in general are very resilient and we’ve faced challenges for years with the government. This is just another bump in the road for us, and we just continue to do what’s best for our kids and our community.”

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Monday, November 10, 2025 – Vermont tribes defend their identity against scrutiny from across the Canadian border