New funding is supporting efforts to help fossil fuel-dependent communities in our region adapt to other forms of energy.

One of the projects will focus on the Four Corners region, including the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more.

The work is part of an effort led by the nonprofit group Resources for the Future and partner universities.

The Four Corners project is backed by about $70,000 and focuses on a Mountain West region long shaped by coal production and power plants and, lately, rising energy costs.

Daniel Raimi helps lead the initiative. He says the focus is not simply on replacing fossil fuel jobs.

“It doesn’t have to be solar or wind or geothermal or nuclear or anything else. There might be a great opportunity in aerospace, or there might be a great opportunity in some kind of medical sciences, or there might be a great opportunity in tourism.”

He says it is about helping tribal communities build new economic paths — on their own terms.

President Ronald Reagan speaking at the Christopher Columbus statue dedication at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor on October 8, 1984. (Public domain)

The Trump administration has placed a one-ton statue of controversial Italian explorer Christopher Columbus on White House grounds.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.

A national Italian American coalition gifted it to President Donald Trump.

The towering 13-foot statue is actually a replica of one first presented by Ronald Reagan to the city of Baltimore. It was toppled by protesters in 2020, but never replaced.

Italian-born Massimo Sommacampagna is part of the national group and president of the AZ Italian American Chamber of Commerce. He says they celebrate Columbus Day as an American civic holiday.

“Not necessarily the individual and the atrocities that he’s been known for in the past.”

Especially against Native Americans. David Martinez is Akimel O’odham and runs ASU’s Institute for Transborder Indigenous Nations.

“I mean he bragged about abusing Indigenous women in his diaries.”

He thinks erecting a statue of Columbus sends a strong message.

“Then you’re saying that all of the historical trauma that colonization inflicted on Indigenous people was worth it.”

Meanwhile, Phoenix and cities across the country are moving swiftly to erase markers of Cesar Chavez, following allegations of rape and sexual abuse.

Martinez believes Americans would feel differently about the Yuma-born labor rights icon if he came to prominence centuries prior.

“If Chavez was 400 years ago, we’d probably be seeing a different reaction right now. More people would be inclined to preserve the historic symbolism of Chavez and ignore the criminal behavior.”

Arizona lawmakers are looking to abolish a state holiday named after him.

Tribal leaders are raising concerns about potential federal cuts that could impact services across Indian Country.

The issue came up during a congressional hearing last week in Washington, D.C., on funding for tribal programs.

During the hearing, Mark Macarro, president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), says, “Just this week, we learned that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is planning significant cuts to staff critical in administering programs.”

Leaders say those changes could delay funding and disrupt services tribal communities rely on.

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Tuesday, March 31, 2026 — The Menu: “A Feather and a Fork” cookbook and preserving ooligan (smelt fish)

Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are proposing to update a key housing law for Tribal Nations, as communities across Indian Country continue to face severe housing shortages.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Troy Downing (R-MT) introduced the American Housing and Self-Determination Modernization Act.

The legislation would modernize and reauthorize the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA), which provides federal funding for tribal housing programs, but it has not been fully reauthorized in more than a decade.

Rep. Downing said in a press release that “Homeownership is the foundation of the American dream – that doesn’t stop with Americans in our tribal communities.”

The new act would increase funding and give tribes more flexibility to build, repair, and manage housing, Downing says.

He said that, across Indian Country, many Native families are living in overcrowded homes with multiple generations sharing limited space.

During that time, tribal leaders say the need has only grown.

Mark Macarro, President of the National Congress of American Indians, says in a prepared statement that “the time to reauthorize and modernize NAHASDA is now.”

Sharon Vogel is the president of United Native American Housing Association. She says that the legislation “will provide a stable environment for Indian housing development which will have a positive impact on meeting the needs of our tribal communities and families.”

Other supporters of the act, quoted in a press release, say the changes are long overdue and warn that, without sustained investment, the gap between available housing and the need will continue to widen.

U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski  (R-AK) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) are leading similar legislation in the Senate.

The Skiku team traveled to several Interior villages along the Yukon River – Grayling, Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross — to teach kids skiing. (Courtesy Skiku)

Skiku is a non-profit that brings skiing to communities across rural Alaska.

This year, organizers tried something new to make the activity stick – training a village resident to be a coach.

As the Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports, the idea is to encourage kids to ski throughout winter.

Justin River Lechton was a fifth grade student in Aniak, in Southwest Alaska, when he learned to ski. He loved it and started going out on the river with his dogs, breaking trail, and enjoying the freedom the activity brought him.

“It brought me outdoors. It took me outside to nature. And I was just enjoying it so much.”

Now, Lechton is 21 and becoming a ski coach. In February, he joined the nonprofit Skiku, which taught him how to ski and has been bringing the sport to kids across Alaska.

Together, he and the Skiku team traveled to several Interior villages – Grayling, Anvik, and Shageluk.

The February trip culminated with a week in another community in the same region – Holy Cross, where Lechton now lives. There, he ran the show.

Next winter, he will be the coach for Holy Cross kids.

“They’re mostly inside, and it’d be great to get them outside and to do something outdoors, all together, as a team.”

Skiku has been around for more than a decade, bringing cross-country ski coaches and equipment to kids in Alaska villages.

Tyler Henegan is its executive director. He says usually, after the visit, the skis go back in the closet.

Henegan says what’s missing is an adult who will take kids out.

“To kind of keep those four communities shredding.  In my mind, I have a Jedi Padawan situation where we can kind of have that person mentor folks out there and really kind of hope to make something a little more sustainable too, that’s really more community driven.”

That is where Lechton comes in, to keep it going throughout the season.

Sonta Hamilton Roach says that children in the region stay active by hauling wood and working outside, but she says they do not get many chances to try themselves in competitive sports.

And Roach is happy all four villages in her area are part of this project.

“We’re all the same people trying to live good, healthy, quality lives in our communities. When you really see our tribes come together, we can do cool things.”

The organizers say they hope to find more residents like Lechton in each of them to keep kids skiing throughout the season.

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Monday, March 30, 2026 – Understanding the Jack Abramoff Indian gaming scandal 25 years later

Gov. Gavin Newsom convened a meeting of tribal leaders in 2019 to acknowledge and apologize for the genocide and horrific mistreatment of Native American peoples throughout our state’s history. (Courtesy Asm. James Ramos / Facebook)

A bill in the California legislature seeks a formal apology to Native Americans for the state’s role in atrocities committed against them during the formation of the state, including forced removal from their lands, bounties for their heads, and other violence.

Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA) introduced the bill seeking the apology from the California Legislature and courts.

The bill also requires a plaque to be displayed in the State Capitol to memorialize the apology.

Asm. Ramos notes Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) issued a formal apology in 2019, but the legislature and courts have yet to apologize, which he says is a stain on California’s history.

He says California’s First People deserve an apology for the harm they endured, and the generational trauma that continues today.The bill is supported by tribes and Native organizations in the state.

Ophir Creek Water Quality Collection. (Courtesy Yakutat Tlingit Tribe)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday it is awarding more than $6 million to tribes across the country.

The funding supports 35 tribal conservation projects.

According to the agency, the Tribal Wildlife Grants program has awarded more than $100 million to tribes since 2003, supporting hundreds of conservation projects.

Patients at the Alaska Native Medical Center come from all over the state. The weekly dance gatherings help to bring a sense of home to the Anchorage hospital. (Photo: Rhonda McBride)

You can count on it, like the steady beat of a Native drum.

Every Wednesday night, dancers across the generations fill up the hospital lobby at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage.

But as KNBA’s Rhonda McBride tells us, the kids are the ones to watch.

These days, we see mostly see Alaska Native dance groups on the stage, but in the hospital lobby, the dancing is not meant to be a performance. Instead, a shared experience.

The rhythms are almost hypnotic, yet the dancers are fully present.

Everyone is seated, within a circle of sound and motion that spirals out from a small group of drummers.

“In Yup’ik, we say Yuraq. Not dance.”

Kyle Watson (Yup’ik), a 12-year-old sixth grader at Mears Middle School in Anchorage, is here every Wednesday.

His movements are precise, as if every fiber of his being snaps to the beat of the drum.

“It just makes me happy.”

Once Kyle is here, he says any anger or sadness fades away. The Yuraq demands his full attention.

“I keep on learning about Yup’ik words. And I keep on learning about dance motions too.”

And then, as if he Is channeling something from another time and place.

The excitement that comes out of Kyle’s throat comes from way-down deep, a throwback to a technique his ancestors used to excite the dancers and encourage them to pick up their pace.

Kyle’s grandfather Percy Alexie usually stands in the back of the room to watch.

“I’m proud of him. He makes it fun. He makes it fun. He goes around and meets people. And I enjoy meeting other people that enjoy watching him too. And I’m proud to say, he taught himself. He taught himself and it’s just over a year now.”

Group leader Ossie Kairairuak (Yup’ik) says this dance gathering is going on its sixteenth year – and by far, the best part is watching kids like Kyle.

“Kids in their most pure form can never do wrong. This kid is purely motivated to learn those songs by heart. And let his body, let his feelings express it. He has that gift. And it’s fun to watch. And it’s fun to embrace. And let him be who he was meant to be.”

Kairairiak says Kyle’s voice is an echo from the spirit world, proof of what his mother always told him – that our ancestors are always with us.

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Friday, March 27, 2026 – Native in the Spotlight: Aaju Peter

Microgrids can be a lifeline in remote areas prone to power outages, according to local and tribal leaders in Humboldt County in California.

Leaders spoke at an event on energy security in an era of wildfire, drought, and sea-level rise — linked to climate change.

Suzanne Potter has more.

Dr. Arne Jacobson, director of the Schatz Energy Research Center at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt says microgrids often involve solar panels plus battery storage.

“During normal operation, they’re connected to the regional grid, and they can export power and generate revenue. And during a regional grid outage, they operate in “island mode” and can provide resilience energy services.”

Microgrids have gained popularity in recent years as utilities have had to shut off power intermittently during wildfires and high wind events.

Jacobson adds that the Willow Creek and Hoopa substations and their associated circuits in the Humboldt area are frequently on the top 10 list of least reliable circuits in the state.

Beth Burks, who directs the Redwood Coastal Energy Authority, says its microgrid serves as backup power to the airport, and kept it online for 15 hours in December 2022, when an earthquake knocked out power.

“We’re all familiar with how important it is to keep the airport going. We do emergency medical transport out of there, and the Coast Guard serves 250 miles of search-and-rescue territory. And again, we can keep them going when we go into ‘islanding.'”

“Islanding” is the term for a system that can kick in and power a local area when the main utility grid goes down.

Heidi Moore-Guynup with the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe says its microgrid saved the day during the 2022 blackout, keeping several tribal buildings running so they could provide ice, gas, medical care, and lodging.

“We want to be known as the safe place to go, the islands in times of despair. We are a very small rural community, but we are engaged in technological advances that can help rural global energy access.”

Ketchikan-based artist Savannah LeCornu was selected as this year’s poster artist for the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau, Alaska. (Courtesy Jason Baldwin)

Ketchikan, Alaska-based artist Savannah LeCornu was recently selected as this year’s poster artist for the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau.

The annual spring event seeks art submissions from Alaska creatives for festival merchandise, including its promotional poster.

KRBD’s Hunter Morrison sat down with LeCornu to discuss how the opportunity will help expand representation of Indigenous artists throughout Alaska.

Hunter Morrison: Can you tell me a little bit about what inspires your work as an artist?

Savannah LeCornu: I’m an Indigenous artist. I’m part of three different tribes. I’m Tsimshian, Haida and Nez Perce. So a lot of my inspiration comes from the art styles of my tribes, as well as my family, surroundings, environment, friends, that kind of thing.

HM: Can you tell me a little bit more about what mediums of art you specialize in?

SL: Yeah. So mainly I draw and I paint. I do a lot of traditional drawing, but I also do digital drawing as well. So, working with Procreate on my iPad. And then I also do painting, mainly acrylic, but I have done watercolor here and there.

HM: You were selected as this year’s poster artist for the Alaska Folk Festival. Do you have a design yet for that poster? Or, do you have ideas of what that design might look like?

SL: I don’t know how secret they are with it. I will say my inspirations were some of my favorite musicians in Alaska, as well as the northern lights.

HM: How will this opportunity expand not only your work as an artist, but expand the celebration of Indigenous people and Indigenous art?

SL: Wow, what a great question. What I’m hoping for with being the artist for this year’s folk fest is that my art gets started to be seen more widely throughout Alaska. I will say it’s not my most obvious Indigenous design. I will say all of my art inherently becomes Indigenous because I am Indigenous, but at the same time, there’s no form line in it. There’s no traditional Native art in it for this design. But I still hope that means that people look into my own art and see more of what I do, and that people just explore more of it.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 — Native Bookshelf: Unsettling Territory and Sons of Gunshooter

President Donald Trump swore in Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee) as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security at the White House Tuesday.

The president talked about Sec. Mullin serving in the House and Senate, mentioning that Mullin is Native American and has worked on tribal issues.

“Markwayne has also been a fantastic advocate for our cherished tribal communities. He’s now the first member of the Cherokee Nation ever to serve as a member of the cabinet. I didn’t know all these things. I would have picked him faster if I had known. I would have made a quicker decision.”

Mullin also spoke after the ceremony.

“I made this very clear that I don’t care what color your state is, I don’t care if you’re red or you’re blue, at the end of the day, my job is to be secretary of Homeland and to protect everybody the same. And we will do that. I’ll fight every single day.”

After Mullin’s confirmation this week, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. congratulated him and wished him success in his new role.

Kaktovik children sit on the floor of the new gym during the grand opening of the facility on December 1, 2025. (Photo: Angela Cox)

The predominantly Indigenous community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska hosted a regional basketball tournament last month, in a new gym that was finally rebuilt, years after the old one burned down.

The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports that, for at least one family, the new gym’s significance was bigger than basketball.

The Kaktovik high school girls’ basketball team is playing against Point Lay. It is the 1A North Slope regional championship and the Kaktovik Lady Rams are down by a couple of points

Senior Mya Aishanna hears her mom yelling.

“That did something to me that, like – snap, I have five minutes left, I can do this.”

The Kaktovik Lady Rams did not win the game, but Aishanna says the moment was still special.

The community’s gym and school burned down six years ago. The new gym was finally finished in December. The tournament was the first big event the community held there.

“Our crowd, just hearing them cheer for us, like, it made me so happy.”

Aishanna says not having a place to play sports for so long, the students often practiced outside.

“It was kind of difficult because of the polar bears and the wind and the coldness …  All our players were kind of rusty shooting, because we had nowhere to shoot.”

Several students left the school. Mya Aishanna’s brother was one student. Mya’s mother is Stephanie Aishanna.

“He missed the gym so much, he moved to Fairbanks to live with my brother.”

She says the family lost a hunter to help during the subsistence season.

Stephanie Aishanna says the community used the facility for funerals, Thanksgiving feasts, and other gatherings.

“It was the heartbeat of our community, and we totally lost that.”

Kaktovik community and guests from across the North Slope gather at the new Kaktovik gym on December 1, 2025. (Photo: Angela Cox)

Mya Aishanna was part of a group of students who advocated for the construction of a new gym. They wrote letters to municipal leadership and held a silent protest.

“We just had to act, because us students have to have somewhere to play.”

Now that they have the new facility, Aishanna says she already feels the difference.

The weekend tournament also proved that the new facility is more than a place to practice and play.

More than a hundred people also took refuge there during a major storm over that same weekend.

Now that the basketball tournament is over, adults and students regularly go there to play and exercise. And in a few months, Mya Aishanna’s class will be the first to graduate in the new facility. Her mom says she will make sure that her son will attend his sister’s ceremony as well.

The Indian Nations Gaming and Governance Program at the William S. Boyd School of Law at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Tribal Leadership Council announced Tuesday the establishment of the Tribal Leadership Council Endowment.

According to the council, it is the first endowed scholarship established by a Native American non-profit organization in the law school’s history.

The scholarship will be awarded to tribal citizens of federally recognized tribes pursuing a J.D. degree at the school and in the program.

The first scholarship will be awarded when the endowment is fully matured.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026 – Hopi culture stewards: community, communication, and resource protection

Photo: Audience holding up Kelly Hunt’s poster at March Madness game. (Waatsasdiyei Apayakuk Yates)

Kelly Hunt was just 19 when she went missing from Shaktoolik, a small community near Nome.

It is the kind of loss that does not just affect one family. It rocked an entire village — and reached hundreds of miles away — to the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, where March Madness brought teams from across the state together.

As KNBA’s Jill Fratis tells us, a group of high school basketball players made sure her name is not forgotten.

The stands were full. The energy was high. And on the court, the Shaktoolik Wolverines were in the spotlight.

Then, for a moment, the game pauses. And the focus shifts far beyond basketball.  All at once, dozens of people stand and raise posters that read: “Bring Kelly Home”.

Alexis Savage had no idea what would happen next.

“Everyone came with so much passion, and you could feel it in the arena. And I just wanted it to feel like, if she was right there, she could feel everybody fighting for her, and that’s really what it was. When people were chanting her name, I just felt goosebumps.”

What many don’t know is that Kelly Hunt played on this same basketball court just a year ago as a senior in high school. She played Number 15 for the Wolverines.

Savage says moments like this matter because awareness for missing people like Kelly needs to be sustained to make a difference, especially in Alaska, where cases involving Alaska Natives often don ot get the attention they deserve.

Savage is from Buckland, a close-knit Iñupiaq community not unlike Shaktoolik. She says Kelly’s disappearance hits close to home.

“I had a loved one from my hometown go missing, a few years back, and I just felt like there wasn’t very much action taken, and that was the start of my advocacy, where I just felt the need to speak up for people that just can’t speak for themselves.”

Savage has children of her own and says stories like Kelly’s are a reminder of why it’s so important to keep speaking up, to keep sharing names and faces, and to never let cases like fade from public view.

The Oak Flat campground, formerly located within the Tonto National Forest before a congressional land exchange was executed in March 2026. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio)

Oak Flat is no longer part of the Tonto National Forest following a recent land exchange.

The 2,400 acres just east of Phoenix – long-considered Apache holy land – is now private property belonging to a multinational mining company.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more on what’s next.

Despite new ownership, Resolution Copper president Vicky Peacey stresses Oak Flat will remain mostly untouched.

“We wanted to make sure that the look, the feel of the area, was very similar to how the Forest Service had managed it.”

Minus a massive two-mile-wide crater expected to swallow Oak Flat within the next four or so decades. In the meantime, they hired 4Winds Contracting to maintain it.

“All their employees are from San Carlos, so they will be out there to manage the campgrounds to make sure they keep clean, orderly, and neat.”

A new website is letting larger groups apply for special use permits.

“If people want to come and use the campground, it is open. If people want to use it for cultural purposes, absolutely welcome to do so. And we’re excited to work with everybody…”

Even Apache Stronghold. The nonprofit fought the copper mine all the way to the U-S Supreme Court.

A spiritual gathering is planned there this weekend – a first since a panel of federal judges allowed the congressional land exchange to go through.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 – A movement assesses the legacy for César Chávez

The Iñupiat community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska is known as the polar bear capital of the U.S.

Hundreds of tourists used to flock to the village of about 250 people to see bears. But several years ago, the tours were halted because of opposition from residents.

The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more on what happened to the tours, and what the tribe is doing to revive them.

“There is polar bear ground right there.”

Nathan Gordon Jr. is driving his truck on the spit right outside of Kaktovik.

He is mayor and leads the town’s polar bear patrol program.

Under his back seat, he has a shotgun, and in his console, shotgun rounds and cracker shells.

Mayor Nathan Gordon Jr. looks at one of the rounds for deterring bears on March 3, 2026. (Photo: Alena Naiden)

Kaktovik sits on Barter Island on the Beaufort Sea coast.

In late summer and fall, up to 80 polar bears come on land – a trend that has been increasing as the sea ice diminishes. That brought the need for patrol – and created opportunities for polar bear viewing.

“There was booming during the fall time.”

But in 2020, the pandemic put a pause on visitation. Then the federal government halted the tours.

Gordon says Kaktovik leaders have been working to revive them.

“Let’s get this place back to making money, and it’ll be great for everybody.”

Ketil Reitan started the company Kaktovik Tours in 2010. By 2019, he and his two children took several hundred tourists a season.

“We were able to make a year’s income in about six weeks.”

The number of tourists soared from about 50 in 2010 to over 1,000.

Tourism grew so quickly, residents were worried it was interfering with subsistence practices.

NoraJane Burns says that visitors would book out seats on small flights and limit the amount of freight that was coming in.

“Especially when we have elders that go out for medical … and then when they try to come back, the flights would be booked.”

NoraJane Burns outside of her home in Kaktovik, Alaska on March 3, 2026. (Photo: Alena Naiden)

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the tours. A year later, the U.S. Department of Interior issued an order to pause commercial polar bear viewing permits.

Since then, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been collaborating with the city and village of Kaktovik, as well as Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation. They have been working on a management plan for polar bear viewing.

Gordon says that this time around, he wants the community to develop infrastructure for tourists and focus more on educating them.

But who will run the tours? Burns is busy with her job at Kaktovik Public Works Department and Reitan sold his boats and moved to Nome, but they both hope the younger generation will take over polar bear tours, if and when they are back.

(Courtesy Maȟpíya Lúta)

A South Dakota high schooler is receiving one of the nation’s highest honors for citizens by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

SDPB’s Jackson Dircks reports.

Cody Two Bulls (Oglala Sioux) came up with an idea four years ago at baseball practice. His teammates told him they did not have backpacks and school supplies.

Two Bulls began trying to find donations to help his teammates, but soon realized there were a lot of people needing the resources.

“I started like, ‘What if instead of helping out just specifically my teammates or my family, what if I did it for everyone?’ So then, like a flower it started blossoming. And then new people started reaching out to me, and I put it out there on the internet. Next thing you know, I’m getting like a bunch of donations to help as much as I can on the reservation.”

That idea has led to thousands of meals, backpacks, holiday gifts, and essential items reaching kids and families in need on the Pine Ridge Reservtion.

Two Bulls created what is called Baseball and Backpacks.

People donate items on Walmart and Amazon shopping lists, and those get sent to Two Bulls’ house. He gathers the items, things like notebooks and toiletries, into backpacks for students.

The giveaway is done at a baseball field, where simultaneously Two Bulls holds a baseball clinic that teaches kids the fundamentals of the sport.

There are four of these different drives, though some look different, like a Christmas toy drive and Easter drive.

He does this on top of being a multisport athlete at Maȟpíya Lúta.

Two Bulls is one of five individuals named a 2026 Citizen Honors Award recipient. He’s receiving the Service Act Award – which honors Americans who “consistently place others before themselves through a focused initiative of volunteer service.”

Two Bulls calls it humbling and honoring to be recognized.

“The fact that I’m just a smalltown kid from South Dakota, it’s mindblowing. It’s crazy to me how just by helping others, I was able to get recognized for that,” Two Bulls said. “So, even today for example, when I started telling all my teachers and we shared it to school, it’s a whole new feeling. It’s like, ‘Wow!’”

Two Bulls will be honored March 25 in Washington D.C.

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Monday, March 23, 2026 – Stakes are high in the Line 5 oil pipeline legal fight

Photo: U.S. Reps. Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo/D-NM), left, Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk/D-KS), and Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK), testify before a subcommittee on March 4, 2020 as members of the Native American Caucus. (Courtesy Rep. Markwayne Mullin)

The nomination of U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee/R-OK) to be the next Homeland Security secretary cleared a key committee vote after overcoming a cringeworthy confirmation hearing over his combative past comments.

Correspondent Matt Laslo reports on the bipartisan relationships the enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation has built over his decade in Washington.

Contrary to the tough guy you may have seen on your screen picking fights with union bosses or Senate committee chairs, Sen. Mullin has lots of fans in Congress.

U.S. Sen.Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) serves with Mullin on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

“I may have some policy disagreements with Sen. Mullin. Mark’s Mark. That’s who he is, you know? So yeah, I don’t know that there’s anything out of sorts there. It’s just, that’s just who he is.”

Luján says Mullin has been a key ally on the other side of the aisle in today’s divided Washington.

“Not just, you know, Democrat, Republican. He’s been a member that tribal leaders have sought out to support different efforts.”

Mullin stepped into a 137-year long fight last year and played a pivotal role in helping North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe gain full federal recognition over protests from other tribes.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) told National Native News that Mullin was pivotal.

“He thought that the opposition by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina was incorrect. And so as an enrolled Cherokee, he supported the Lumbees and it’s always appreciated.”

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho-Chunk/D-KS) overlapped with Mullin in the U.S. House for her first two terms.

Besides the two both being former MMA fighters, Rep. Davids says she and Mullin put partisan differences aside and worked together for Indian Country.

“When he was in the House, we worked on quite a few tribal related things, including trying to stabilize Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). And then, also on foster programs and that kind of stuff. So we’ve been able to work together on issues that we both care about.”

Masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents may garner the national headlines, but Davids says she is watching to see how Mullin handles the other parts of the sweeping Homeland Security agency that outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem neglected.

“I’m hopeful that he will be much better in terms of leading the department. Of course there’s hot button issues, but when you think about FEMA and the importance of FEMA functioning, of our TSA folks …”

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is offering a career pathway for tribal students looking at wildland firefighting jobs.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.

Highschoolers across six BIE-run schools are participating, including Northwest High School in Shiprock on the Navajo Nation.

“This just happened to occur organically.”

Carmelia Becenti (Diné) is BIE chief academic officer. She credits President Trump’s executive order on “expanding educational freedom”. They are also pitching the curriculum to colleges.

“We are trying to somewhat steer them towards being stewards of our lands. That doesn’t always happen.”

Garth Fisher is with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Division of Wildland Fire Management. He says they are teaching coursework about leadership, fire suppression, and FEMA readiness.

Once done, students put their training to the test during a field day.

“They get to put the gear on, how it feels. They get to look like a firefighter.”

That equipment is expensive, says Becenti, which is why the BIE is buying it now.

“And that way, year after year, as we recruit more students at these schools and across the bureau, you know, we have this PPE that we can use over and over and over.”

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Friday, March 20, 2026 – A view from the Iditarod trail and other winter sports competitions

The nomination of U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation/R-OK) to become the next Homeland Security Secretary hit a rough patch Wednesday. 

Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lost the faith of President Donald Trump, but the pick to replace her, Sen. Mullin, lost the faith of the Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), for mocking him for being attacked by his neighbor nine years ago, as Matt Laslo reports.

“You told the media that I was a ‘freaking snake’ and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force.”

Mullin is a former MMA fighter and was not backing down.

“I think before I can start my opening statement, I have to address the remarks of the chairman made calling me a liar. Sir, I think there’s — everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face.”

While the heated exchange made national headlines, most Republican senators, like U.S. Sen. Ted. Cruz (R-TX), shrugged it off.

“The two of them don’t like each other. There’s no ambiguity on that.”

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said, “I’m not going to get involved in that.”

U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) told National Native News cited his mother’s wisdom.

“Reminded of what my mom would say, ‘if you don’t have something good to say about somebody, don’t say it.’ And, you know, those rules we learned in kindergarten still apply up here as well.”

Even Mullin’s home state colleague, U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), was taken aback by the barbs.

“In my time in Congress, rarely have I seen such an intense exchange between two members of the same party, especially in the [U.S.] Senate. Clearly, both of them are very strong-willed, very confident in their point of view and perspective and their memory. It was just fascinating.”

While most Republican senators are refusing to weigh in, Sen. Lucas says he is not discounting Chairman Paul or Mullin’s accounts.

“I know from having served with Markwayne in the House, I suspect the case in the [U.S.] Senate is the same — members have an insight into the nature of each other that no one on the outside can have. I never impugn the opinions of my colleagues, so maybe there was a little bit of truth in what they both had to say.”

(Courtesy Asm. James Ramos / Facebook)

Assemblymember James Ramos (Serrano/Cahuilla/D-CA) is urging for the establishment of California Native American Day as an official paid state holiday.

A bill introduced by Asm. Ramos would designate the fourth Friday of September as a paid holiday for state employees.

Ramos, along with tribal representatives, legislators, and labor leaders, held a press conference Wednesday in Sacramento., Calif.

Ramos says the legislature and the state should honor California’s First People with the paid holiday.

“It’s true and just that this has to happen. It’s time that the voices continue to move forward and to make sure that we’re calling out for respect and honor for California’s First People and tribal elders.”

Ramos say they have many worthy holidays, but the bill creates justice for past atrocities toward California Indian people who have lived through colonization, including the mission era and gold rush eras.

Denver’s bison transfer included a ceremony with songs and prayers for the bisons’ safe return to tribal lands. (Photo: Rachel Cohen / KUNC)

Several tribes are working to bring bison back to their lands.

As the Mountain West News Bureau’s Rachel Cohen reports, one source helping them is in Denver, Colo. where the local government manages a herd.

Snow was falling fast and hard at a mountain park west of the city earlier this month, when 34 bison were gifted to four tribes or nonprofits.

Denver has managed two small herds since the early 1900s and started giving some animals to tribes six years ago. 

Lewis TallBull is with the TallBull Memorial Council, which has members from various tribes. 

Lewis TallBull with the TallBull Memorial Council was part of the drumming ceremony to honor the bison. (Photo: Rachel Cohen / KUNC)

This year, the organization is taking one bison back to a property it manages near Denver.

“The Bison represent so much. They represent the water and the fire and the thunder and the clouds and the snow. They represent all that. But at the same time, they represent us as Indigenous people.”

Tribal leaders said the animals would add genetic diversity to their growing herds – and help feed tribal members with a historic food source.

The Navajo Nation got 11 bison in the transfer and the Northern Cheyenne in Montana received 10. 

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Thursday, March 19, 2026 – Native American Muslims, a distinct minority, reflect on Ramadan and religious intolerance

Legal online sports betting in Wisconsin would have to go through in-state tribal computer servers, under a bi-partisan bill given final okay by the state legislature Tuesday.

Chuck Quirmbach reports.

Supporters and critics of online sports betting acknowledge it frequently occurs in Wisconsin.

Gamblers go through commercial companies like Draft Kings, but the Wisconsin Constitution says most legal betting can only occur on sovereign tribal properties here, regulated by state-tribal gaming compacts.

The just-passed bill by the legislature attempts to reinforce that online sports bets in the state must go through the 11 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin.

Shannon Holsey is President of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians. She says the new legislation is good public policy.

“It provides clarity, respect to tribal sovereignty, and it strengthens Wisconsin’s long-standing state and tribal partnership. Especially for our tribe and all tribes. It really creates opportunity, while allowing us to grow responsibly, securely and on our own terms.”

Holsey says any additional revenue for the Stockbridge-Munsee would go toward funding things like tribal housing, health care and public safety.

Remarks opposing the Wisconsin sports betting bill center on what critics like State Sen. Steve Nass (R-WI) say is the possibility of more people becoming addicted to gambling.

“Making gambling easier and more accessible online will only accelerate these harms-family breakdown, lost productivity, addiction treatment.”

But other supporters of the sports betting bill say more ways to prevent problem gambling could now be negotiated with the tribes.

Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) still has to sign the legislation and the federal government has to approve amended gaming compacts.

Pete Kaiser leaving Unalakleet checkpoint. (Courtesy Iditarod Insider)

Jessie Holmes was the first musher to reach the end of the 1000-mile trail from Anchorage to Nome, winning his second consecutive Iditarod.

KNBA’s Rhonda McBride reports.

Four of the race’s Indigenous mushers were still out on the trail Wednesday morning.

Pete Kaiser (Yup’ik) from Bethel and Ryan Redington (Iñupiat) were finishing up their mandatory eight-hour rest in White Mountain, one of the last two checkpoints in the race.

Both former champions were hoping for a repeat, b But Kaiser says his team contracted stomach virus on the trail, so he rested them more to give them time to recover. Kaiser told the Iditarod Insider this changed his focus.

“I’ve been kind of reminiscing and soaking in the sights more than ever, trying to be in the moment more than stressing out about placement and different things like that. So of course it would be fun to be further up, but that’s not always in the cards. I’ve had a good trip.”

Kaiser’s team is positioned to finish in the top ten. He says the cold dry snow on the Bering Sea Coast was one of the biggest challenges, because it sticks to the sled runners.

Redington, who is not far behind Kaiser, told the Iditarod Insider this last stretch of the trail also tested his team.

“Hopefully we get a little less wind. If it is windy, I’m going to take a lot more rest.”

Ryan Redington talks about the strong Bering Sea winds are slowing his team down. (Courtesy Iditarod Insider)

There were also three rookie Indigenous mushers in the race.

Jesse Terry, an Anishinaabe from Ontario, is in 16th place and Kevin Hansen, an Iñupiaq from Kotzebue, is in 21st place.

Jody Potts-Joseph, a Hän Gwich’in from Eagle Village, who had to contend with bison on the trail, pulled out of the race after her team came down with kennel cough. She said she had to put her team first.

Iditarod Trail officials praised her handling of the dogs.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2026 – States, philanthropy help keep tribal clean energy projects going