National Native News

Native allies are deploying observers to polling sites in states like North Dakota in an effort to overcome potential barriers at the ballot box as voters prepare for the November 3 midterm election.

Judith Ruiz-Branch reports.

Native American Rights Fund volunteers in its first midterm election protection program aim to help voters overcome potential barriers at the polls and document recurring problems for future prevention.

NARF Senior Staff Attorney Samantha Blencke says attorneys, law students, and faculty volunteers will try to address issues like voter intimidation and misinformation about documentation requirements on the spot to help prevent eligible voters from being turned away.

“A right on paper means very little if you can’t exercise it at your polling place. So our immediate priority is to help people vote, but we also will be documenting what happens, and that helps us prevent the same barriers from reoccurring.”

The efforts come as President Donald Trump and other Republicans push for stricter federal voting requirements, which they say would strengthen election security.

North Dakota is one of nine states that NARF is deploying volunteers to based on where they have heard concerns in the past.

Early in-person voting is already underway in some North Dakota counties for next week’s election.

Voters can learn more at Vote.ND.gov.

North Dakota has a long history of barriers for Native American voting, including restrictions that led to federal lawsuits and changes to state voting procedures. but those adjustments have not eliminated all barriers.

NARF says Native voters in North Dakota were still turned away over Tribal ID issues in 2024, while address requirements and long distances to polling places continue to create challenges.

Blencke explains address and ID requirements can burden voters whose homes lack conventional street addresses – or whose IDs contain outdated information.

“This is hugely important. It’s always important in Indian country. For example, if someone’s told, “Hey, just go back home and get the right document and come back,” that could be a three-hour drive. So it’s really important to have assistance on the spot.”

Blencke says observers will seek to ensure Tribal IDs and supplemental documents are recognized. North Dakota does not require voter registration, but voters need an accepted ID showing their current residential address and date of birth.

Supplemental documents may help if information is outdated.

Voters who encounter problems can call 866-OUR-VOTE.

Blencke adds that they can identify themselves as a Native voter to be connected with NARF for assistance.

Peter Iriarte, left, representative from the Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons Local 630; Keoni Souza, Office of Hawaiian Affairs at-large trustee and chair of the OHA Committee on Investment and Land Management; and Kali Watson, director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and chair of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, signed a landmark Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between OHA and DHHL at Kakaʻako Ma Kai in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Courtesy OHA Hawaii / YouTube)

Two Native Hawaiian agencies have reached an agreement to develop hundreds of new homes in Honolulu.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands signed an agreement Friday to build housing in Kakaʻako Makai.

The proposed development includes a 400-unit, multi-tower housing complex for eligible Native Hawaiian families.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs owns 29 acres in the area, but existing state restrictions prohibit residential development on the property.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has separate legal authority that could allow the housing project to move forward.

Officials say the partnership could eventually bring additional housing, a cultural center, and other community facilities to the waterfront.

However, some residents have raised concerns about potential health risks associated with the site’s history as a municipal dump and incinerator.

The agencies say they are working through the legal restrictions as planning continues.

And on this day in 1768, Haudenosaunee leaders met with British officials at Fort Stanwix in present-day New York.

The negotiations focused on establishing boundaries between colonial settlements and Native lands.

The discussions helped shape the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, signed just days later on November 5.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — Election Day anticipation

First Nations leaders met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and provincial and territorial leaders in Ottawa Monday, in a historic gathering focused on Indigenous rights and economic development.

The meeting marked the first dedicated gathering of its kind in more than two decades.

Leaders agreed to explore creating a First Nations Sovereign Wealth Fund, allowing Indigenous communities to share in the profits of major infrastructure projects.

Carney also announced 260 million Canadian dollars – roughly $185 million – over four years to help Indigenous workers access employment opportunities.

The federal government pledged billions more toward emergency preparedness, fire protection, and Indigenous policing.

Leaders also discussed potentially reforming or abolishing Canada’s Indian Act.

The meeting comes amid concerns from First Nations leaders about protecting treaty rights and ensuring Indigenous communities have a meaningful voice in major development decisions.

A car attempted to cross a flooded area near Chinle, Arizona. (Courtesy Navajo Police Department / Facebook)

Storms have dropped intense rainfall in recent days on rural and tribal communities in the Four Corners region.

As KNAU’s Chris Clements reports, that includes a village on the Navajo Nation in Arizona.

Rock Point is uniquely susceptible to flooding. The community is sandwiched between several washes and drainages.

After the most recent storm hit Rock Point on Saturday, cornfields flooded and families had to be evacuated, says Valinda Shirley, a leader at the local chapter house.

“It was the most helpless experience I’ve ever felt.”

She has ideas for how to defend Rock Point against more flooding: build a levy, repair irrigation ditches, and stack sandbags.

The Red Cross is assessing damaged homes, but Shirley wants to know why the feds aren’t here.

“I do feel like the federal government should be here a little bit more.”

She says officials at an incident command team told her an upcoming storm expected to hit the area this Thursday or Friday could be just as severe.

(Courtesy NARF)

The Native American Rights Fund is deploying volunteers to highly populated Native communities to support voters casting their ballots, with Election Day only a week away.

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

Over 300 attorneys, law students and volunteers will be poll watching in over eight states including Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nevada, New Mexico, and Montana.

NARF Senior Attorney Allison Neswood says there are low participation rates for Native American voters and part of the reason is a historical distrust in the system.

“We weren’t citizens until 1924, and even after that, a lot of states said, ‘Native people can’t vote unless they abandon their tribal community and stop these uncivilized practices.'”

There were also other things like literacy tests and poll taxes. Neswood says even though that is in the past, Native voters still face barriers.

“Native people have to travel the farthest in order to vote in a lot of cases, or a lot of our communities don’t have reliable mail service, and mail doesn’t get delivered to our homes, so it’s harder to use mail voting and mail registration. Maybe internet service and access to technology is not as prevalent in our community, so you can’t register to vote online. And then a lot of our homes don’t have residential addresses, which you know affects the mail, but also affects your ability to register, right?”

Neswood says the volunteers are there to help navigate any challenges that may come up for Native voters.

“Really just being there for Indian country on election day. I think you know all of these things just teach our people that this system wasn’t built for them, and so we want to push back on that. We want our volunteers to show up and really be a message to our people that like the Native vote matters, and the Native vote is powerful, and just support our communities in that way.”

Volunteers will wear hats with the NARF logo for anyone that needs assistance at the polls.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2026 — Native Bookshelf: Spooky books for the season

Sales of handmade Native American crafts and jewelry are estimated to generate $1 billion annually.

A Navajo-owned shop in Old Town Scottsdale has opened a second location in a Southwest city also known for its art scene.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.

Santa Fe, New Mexico is widely considered the nation’s third-largest art market behind New York City and Los Angeles. Hence why owners of the original Native Art Market in Scottsdale decided to open another brick-and-mortar there in New Mexico.

Co-founder Heather Tracy says her Diné family-run business has been generations in the making.

“My great-grandma was the first generation to say no to the trading post because they were offering her pennies on the dollar for her artwork, and she went and set up on the roadside by the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. And even I was a roadside baby. I would sit on the roadside with her while she babysat me and play underneath the table, and so for us to come four generations later to owning a gallery that not only is for us but for the entire community, I know that she’d be super proud.”

More than $6 million has been sent to hundreds of Indigenous artisans since the Scottsdale co-op launched in 2020.

This gray wolf was caught on a game camera in Northeastern California. (Photo: Tina Saitone / UC Davis)

It has been a long journey for gray wolves in California. They are returning to landscapes across California after being driven out more than a century ago.

The animals have ecological and cultural significance for Indigenous communities across North America.

Roz Brown has more.

As National Wolf Awareness Week highlights conservation efforts, wildlife advocates are reflecting on the progress made toward restoring wolf populations and the challenges that remain.

Native to the Golden State, they were wiped out by the 1920s due to hunting and predator control.

There was no name given to the last gray wolf known to roam California in the 20th century, but the one who crossed over the Oregon border in 2011 was named nicknamed Journey – an apt description for the species’ successful reintroduction.

The awareness week was established in 1996 to educate the public about wolf ecology, their vital role as keystone predators, and the importance of peaceful coexistence.

“So I hope Wolf Awareness Week will give folks the chance to get more curious about what’s really going on. Where have we come? Where do we still need to go to really see wolves be recovered in the United States?”

California’s gray wolves live primarily in the state’s north and northeast regions, with activity areas and pack ranges extending into parts of the southern Sierra Nevada.

Alaska has the highest wolf population of any U.S. state, estimated between 7,000-11,000 wolves.

Schneider says wolves often are a lightning rod for disagreements about wildlife versus livestock, but most people fear losing them, and support maintaining their populations. She believes shared goals are needed between agencies, stakeholders, and wildlife advocates.

“Two steps forward, two steps back, I feel like is where we’ve been for a couple decades now, and it’s hard on the wolves, it’s hard on the people, and it’s hard on the agencies. And so we need to come together under some shared goals and objectives so we know what recovery does look like.”

Four hundred years ago, the North American gray wolf population was around two million, compared to current estimates of 65,000. They were the first animals to be placed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act list in 1973.

Defenders of Wildlife initiated the awareness week in 1996, one year after the historic wolf reintroduction in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park.

And on this day in 1758, the Treaty of Easton concluded in Pennsylvania between British colonial officials and representatives of Native nations, including the Haudenosaunee and Lenape.

The agreement sought to establish the Allegheny Mountains as a boundary between colonial settlements and Indian Country, amid growing conflicts over Native lands.

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Monday, October 26, 2026 — Analysis finds DOGE cut nearly $470 million from tribal budgets

After bison were nearly driven to extinction in the late 1800s, Native nations across North America have been working to restore them to their ancestral lands.

A nonprofit on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation recently celebrated a milestone in its own bison reintroduction efforts.

Delainey LaHood-Burns has more.

Hundreds of people gathered in the Stronghold District of South Dakota’s Badlands to witness the release of 50 bison on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The vast space where the herd roams is leased from the Oglala Sioux Tribe by Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, the nonprofit working to restore bison to this culturally significant area.

Brandon Big Eagle is the Lakota Land Systems Director for Thunder Valley. Big Eagle says this part of the Badlands, known as the Oonakijin, or Stronghold, was once used as a bombing range by the U.S. military.

“So I like to share the history of this land too, as, as one that’s experienced its own trauma through bombings and target practices that happened out here. We can see a lot of that scarring traveling through here. And so what, you know, what better place can we start than here in that reintroduction?”

Tens of millions of bison once roamed North America, but the systematic slaughter of the animals during the 19th century cut their numbers to fewer than a thousand.

Over recent decades, federal agencies, conservation groups, and Native nations have worked to rebuild bison herds.

The American Bison, also known as the American buffalo, is a keystone species. That means they have a major effect on the ecosystem where they live.

Brandon Big Eagle says reintroducing bison to the Stronghold is part of a larger land restoration effort.

One of the organizations partnering with Thunder Valley is the World Wildlife Fund, which has supported Native-led bison programs throughout the Northern Great Plains since the early 2000s.

The organization’s Dennis Jorgensen says the fund has seen positive impacts in landscapes where its helped reintroduce bison.

“When you bring the buffalo back, their unique ways of grazing on the land, their unique ways of wallowing, their unique behaviors bring back a number of native species. On one site, where we’ve only been working for about six years, already they’ve seen a doubling of the native plant species in that time.”

Beyond grassland and ecological conservation, Brandon Big Eagle says the bison restoration initiative is also intended to strengthen the community’s connection with their relatives, the Pte Oyate or Buffalo Nation.

“Historically, they play a huge significance within the Indigenous Plains tribes here in this area, and I’m sure many others. But for us, it’s part of our creation stories. So our people, we began in what is now Wind Cave and the first of our relatives, the Lakota people to emerge from Wind Cave, when they came out that’s the form that they took on was buffalo. And so when we reference them as relatives, we mean it, you know, they truly are relatives in every aspect.”

Many of the people at the bison release were students from local schools.

Beau LeBeaux is a founder and board chairman of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation.

“We want to get our our young people to understand that those are our relatives, and they’ll take care of us if we take care of them and reestablish that connection, not only, you know, to, you know, to survive, but there’s a lot of lessons that buffalo can teach us, have been trying to teach us. We just lost that for a bit because they were slaughtered, taken away from us. And I’m so thankful for organizations across the country that are fighting to return Buffalo to their lands.”

Brandon Big Eagle says the bison release event was not only a powerful experience for the community members who witnessed it, but also an important moment for the animals themselves.

“Also kind of trying to place myself in, you know, in their minds and what that means to them to be able to come back to something that their, their ancestors may have called home at one point, an area that they historically have not been able to return back to. And so […] honor that homecoming for them as well. You know, this day is as much of their day as it is ours.”

The 50 bison that Thunder Valley released came from the Wolakota Buffalo Range on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south central South Dakota.

It is home to the largest Native-owned bison herd in the world.

The Thunder Valley team says it plans to reintroduce more bison to the Stronghold range unit in the future.

A moonson sunset at Massai Point inside Chiricahua National Monument in southeastern Arizona. (Photo: Ron Stewart / National Park Service)

A landscape in southeastern Arizona with deep ties to Apache history has become America’s newest national park.

President Donald Trump signed legislation Tuesday designating Chiricahua National Monument as the nation’s 64th national park.

The roughly 19-square-mile area is known for its towering volcanic rock formations and lies within the historical territory of the Chiricahua Apache. The area contains evidence of thousands of years of human activity.

The legislation preserves tribal access for traditional ceremonies and allows temporary closures to protect cultural practices.

The site was originally designated a national monument in 1924.

Federal officials say the new designation will bring greater attention to the area’s natural landscape, Apache heritage and biodiversity.

The legislation received bipartisan support in Congress.

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Friday, October 23, 2026 — 60 years of Alaska Native advocacy at AFN and assessing Typhoon Halong flooding a year later

More than 7,000 delegates are expected to attend the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention over the next three days.

AFN President Ben Mallott says Dr. Rosita Worl will speak to the theme of this year’s gathering, “Rooted in Our Land: Rising in Our Voices”.

“Her life has been amazing. Her knowledge and subsistence management policy education is a treasure for our state.”

Mallott says Worl’s keynote address caps off a year of outreach to educate Alaska Natives about the legal challenges facing subsistence.

“We are trying to become very proactive in subsistence, not reactive, so we aren’t fighting legal cases, trying to defend ourselves with petitions for rulemaking.”

Mallott says Worl’s knowledge and leadership have guided AFN through many subsistence battles over the years. He hopes her keynote will set the tone as AFN works to develop a new state, federal, and tribal framework for subsistence management — to give communities more direct control over the fish and wildlife they depend upon.

Subsistence is an issue which has long dominated AFN conventions, going back to its first gathering 60 years ago.

About 250 Native leaders from across Alaska came to form a statewide organization on October 18, 1966 to fight for their traditional lands, which the new state of Alaska wanted to claim as its own. They met above a fur store on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage.

Many of those first attendees are gone. And those who remain, like Irene Rowan (Lingít), are now in their 80’s.

“I would say, Happy Birthday AFN. Thank you for keeping us together as a people.”

Today, AFN often feels like a giant reunion, bringing friends and family together, flying in from far corners of the state. But 60 years ago, delegates faced geographic barriers, came from unfamiliar cultures, and spoke different languages. Rowan says, after six decades of gathering every fall, it is easy to forget how challenging that first meeting was.

“They looked different. They dressed different. They were just all very different. How are you going to get them to get together to say we want to work together for our land.”

Rowan says there was considerable friction at that first meeting between different Native groups, unaccustomed to working together.

She says if she had been asked in 1966, whether AFN would still be around sixty years later, she would have had her doubts. But today, she says she cannot imagine life without AFN.

“I just love the spirit. I just love the relationship that one has with all the regions, not just their own. But how joyful, and how meaningful, and how comforting it is to be an Alaska Native.”

Rowan is from Klukwan near Haines, Alaska. In 1966, she was fresh out of college and took her first teaching job at the high school in Bethel, where she was known for her white go-go boots and pink raincoat.

She says one of the things she enjoys most at AFN today is seeing the delegates dressed in their traditional regalia. She says that did not happen much in the early days of the conference, but over the years, AFN has helped to plant the seeds for today’s cultural renaissance.

Watch live convention coverage

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Thursday, October 22, 2026 — Subsistence fishing a top issue at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention

Two major gatherings of Alaska Native people are taking place in Anchorage’s Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center this week: the Elders & Youth Conference and the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention.

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

This year marks the 60th anniversary of AFN.

“It was born out of this tremendous movement for Native unity and representation and self determination.”

Roy Agloinga (Iñupiaq) is the president of First Alaskans Institute. He says the event has been a touchpoint for most Alaska Native leaders over the years.

“It has evolved into this tremendous celebration. It’s Native New Year. It is where all of our artists gather, and our families gather, and we get to experience the very diverse cultures across the state.”

The week started with EYC, which brings together several generations through games, conversations, and workshops on Alaska Native cultures, history, and language.

Tikaan Galbreath is the Chief Operating Officer of the First Alaskans Institute, which hosts EYC.

“It’s just such a powerful thing to witness the youth coming with this idea or a dissatisfaction, like this isn’t working for me in the community, and then learning the framework to really have their voice heard.”

The AFN convention starts on Thursday. Organizers say typically up to 7,000 people attend the event and as many as 100,000 people watch it online.

This year’s keynote speaker is Tlingit leader and President of the Sealaska Heritage Institute Rosita Worl. Her Thursday speech will be followed by remarks from U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and U.S. Rep. Nick Begich.

On Friday, there will be a political candidates forum for the upcoming November election. And on Saturday, delegates will discuss and vote on a number of resolutions that touch on healthcare, public safety, education, and subsistence in Alaska Native communities.

Agloinga says working on resolutions is one example of how people from different regions and with different priorities find common ground.

“We want our children to succeed. We want to protect our lands. We want to have access to good education. We want our languages to survive and our cultures to survive. So many of our villages are really dependent on our subsistence lifestyle, and that’s something that AFN protects.”

This year’s convention was scheduled a week later than usual to coincide with the early voting period for the general election. Organizers say they plan to encourage attendees to cast their ballots while they are visiting Anchorage for the convention.

AFN will also feature two nights of dancing and drumming at Quyana Alaska on Thursday and Friday.

EYC started Sunday and runs until today. The AFN Convention starts tomorrow and concludes Saturday.

This drawing by J. Howland, originally printed in Harper’s Weekly, depicts the council between representatives of the U.S. government and the Kiowa and Comanche tribes at Medicine Creek Lodge, Kansas, in 1867.

And on this day in 1867, leaders of the Kiowa and Comanche Nations signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty with the United States in Kansas.

The agreement sought to end conflicts on the Southern Plains, but required tribes to surrender vast ancestral lands and relocate to reservations in Indian Territory.

Although the federal government promised food, supplies, and other assistance, disagreements over treaty terms and continued westward expansion led to further conflict in the years that followed.

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Wednesday, October 21, 2026 — Alaska Native advocates cite shortcomings in addressing MMIP crisis

Photo: Volunteers remove weeds and debris from the Seven Generations Children’s Teaching Garden at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center on September 10, 2026. (Brian Bull)

Volunteers come to Seattle’s Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center throughout the year to tend to plants that are traditionally important to Native people.

Brian Bull (Nez Perce) of Underscore Native News and KLCC reports.

It is a balmy afternoon as a small group of volunteers follow Shameka Gagnier (Purépecha) down to a shed full of gardening equipment.

Plants, including tule, camas, huckleberries, and cedar, are found here, which have been either First Foods or materials for making traditional baskets, mats, and other items.

Gagnier is the land cultural steward manager for Daybreak Star. She says between two to 70 volunteers usually arrive, ready to connect with a vital part of Native culture.

“The plants are really the ones that are going to net us back to our place in the circle of things, and they’re the ones that are going to bring us back home. And so as we bring them back to their usual and accustomed territories, we understand our roles and that restoration is reciprocal, and something happens in our spirits and transforms us.”

Groundbreaking for the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center was 50 years ago, after a successful occupation by Native activists who had form the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation.

Facilities director Tony Monroe (Yakama) says, back then, this area was a federal military installation.

“This whole area was previously Fort Lawton, and this was clear cut, so there were no trees here 55 years ago, and so most all of these have been less than that time frame. especially in our forest garden area. Started out with the Bernie Whitebear Garden that has some native plants, and then it’s spread out to the whole 20 acres, and then now we have another area that’s called Wolf Tree Trail that Shameka is now taking care of and tending.”

Gagnier’s volunteers today include Beck Luke (Tlingit), who grew up in Seattle. She is on a six-week internship with the center.

“We’re just mostly helping restore the land, learning about food sovereignty and everything. It’s been really nice to reconnect with my culture and just seeing all the beautiful things. It’s been really special to be able to do that.”

Another volunteer, Zachary Pacleb, is skimming away a thick layer of duckweed from one of the ponds where at least one beaver is believed to inhabit.

“By the looks of it, I assume that it’s a little bit invasive or inhibitive of the beaver’s work or to the water quality. I can imagine that this plant requires –or is taking a lot of oxygen– from the water.”

The cultural garden tending happens year-round, with food and tools provided. Volunteers are advised to arrive with gloves, water, and a “good heart and mind.”

Screenshot from drone footage taken above the Pueblo of Zuni after flooding. (Courtesy Rochelle Malie)

A new report shows that natural disasters caused more than $4 billion in damages to tribal communities across the nation over a ten-year period, but there is a shortfall in economic support from the federal government to address these impacts.

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

The report by the Urban Institute found Indigenous communities are more exposed to hazards like hurricanes, wildfires, and flooding, and also face more systemic challenges. So disasters have a greater impact.

The research was funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and explores how tribes are currently handling natural disasters and what current federal resources are available.

Between 2014 and 2024, more than half of all Indigenous communities experienced two or more disasters within a two-year span. These back-to-back disasters make it difficult for communities to respond and recover efficiently.

“It could be another hurricane. It could be a wildfire. So when there are those kind of compounding or back-to-back disasters, it makes it really hard for any community, but especially for communities that have you know challenges around housing stock maintenance or challenges around lots of lower income households, it makes it really really hard to recover.”

Urban Institute research associate Will Curran-Groome says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has a program called Building Resilient Infrastructure just for tribal applicants, but losses often exceed FEMA funds, or tribes do not know how to access the resources available.

“So I think would really encourage tribes, if they haven’t already, to really assess the landscape and to start building some of those initial relationships with contacts of federal agencies.”

He says this is just one piece of a broader project.

The Institute hopes to build a community of practice with tribes facing these issues.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2026 — Alaska Native leadership and land rights advocacy through the generations

The 43rd annual Statewide Elders and Youth Conference got underway Sunday at the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.

Hosted by First Alaskans Institute, the gathering brings together Alaska Native Elders, youth, and community leaders to celebrate Indigenous cultures, strengthen relationships, and discuss challenges facing their communities.

This year’s theme comes from the Denaakk’e, or Koyukon Athabascan, language and translates to “We are approaching change.”

According to First Alaskans Institute, the theme reflects how Alaska Native communities are adapting to changing landscapes, including shifts in weather, waterways, traditional foods, and ways of life.

The afternoon opening ceremony starts with a traditional Warming of the Hands, followed by an opening prayer and several Alaska Native dance group performances.

The first day also includes auditions for Natives Got Talent, ahead of Monday evening’s talent showcase.

Organizers say the conference provides an opportunity for Elders to pass down traditional knowledge while giving younger generations a voice in decisions affecting their futures.

Monday’s agenda includes a keynote address from Koyukon Athabascan leader Emil Notti, the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Participants will also take part in a Koyukon language panel, regional breakout discussions and a panel focused on co-management.

The opening day also features a screening of the documentary, “Niqipiaq: To Eat Real Food“.

“Niqipiaq: To Eat Real Food” director Alexis “Alex” Anoruk Sallee (Iñupiaq).

Directed by Alaska Native filmmaker Alexis Anoruk Sallee, the 26-minute film explores the importance of traditional subsistence practices in Arctic Alaska Native communities.

It follows families and hunters as they harvest, prepare, and share traditional foods, while examining the challenges posed by climate change and changing diets.

The film highlights how subsistence connects Alaska Native communities to their cultural identities, health, and future generations.

The conference includes workshops and cultural activities throughout the week, providing opportunities for participants to share skills, stories and Indigenous knowledge.

First Alaskans Institute says the gathering is about more than preserving traditions. It is also about preparing Alaska Native communities to navigate the changes ahead.

The conference continues through Wednesday, ahead of the AFN Convention in Anchorage.

Candidates for Navajo Nation president and vice president met for a debate at Arizona State University on Tue, Oct 13.

Candidates for Navajo Nation president and vice president squared off last week in the final debate before the election.

KNAU’s Chris Clements has more.

The debate focused on opposition to AI data centers and uranium mining, allegations of corruption within the tribe’s government, and the resolution of the tribe’s water rights claims.

Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley is running for president and said, if elected, she would continue her work to bring water to the Navajo Nation.

“I will continue to challenge Congress, and I will continue to work with the Water Rights Commission and also our communities because it is long overdue.”

Attorney Justin Jones is running against Curley.

If elected, he said he would support lobbying state governments to approve a federal deal that would resolve the Navajo Nation’s water claims.

“We need to do some serious lobbying, not only in Washington but also in the Upper and Lower Colorado compacts and commissions.”

The federal deal stalled earlier this year after neighboring states blocked it.

Kona Island Sheriff Richard Neville was killed during the Kaʻona Uprising on this date in 1868.

And on this day in 1868, a violent confrontation erupted in Kona, Hawaiʻi, between followers of Native Hawaiian religious leader Kaʻona and authorities attempting to evict them from their settlement.

The clash left Sheriff Richard Neville dead and led to a government crackdown on the religious movement.

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Monday, October 19, 2026 — Native in the Spotlight: Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly

Photo: Jason Smith and Kremena Doust at their ranch on the Warm Springs Reservation on September 30, 2026. (Brian Bull / Underscore Native News)

A Native-owned horse ranch on Oregon’s Warm Springs reservation that has been struggling to recover from this summer’s wildfires is now getting ready for a challenging winter, as Brian Bull of Underscore Native News and KLCC reports.

Since early September, the Jason Smith Ranch has managed to adopt out 47 horses to new homes, but they still need donations to provide hay and grain for their remaining animals, including wild horses roaming the expanse beyond the ranch’s boundaries.

Back at the ranch, Kremena Doust drives a 4×4 to nudge a small herd of horses towards a fenced-in pen, where she has put down hay.

Her partner Jason Smith says there is also a few hundred wild horses that they have tried to feed after the Bench Fire burned up most of the grazing land.

“We’ve been out there a handful of times, we try to get out there at least once a week to put some big bales out and about in the burned areas. So there’s cattle and horses in our two districts down here that are short some feed. But we did get some rain. Hopefully, the rain might spurt like a fall greenup, y’know?”

With the penned-in horses munching away, Doust points out where the Deschutes River flows by, which provides fresh water for the herd. She also points out where many horses grab shade under trees and other growth.

“It is soothing to be here, and healing for the horses too. There are bigger trees over there. It’s all natural. That’s how it should be.”

Doust says she is getting a non-profit underway and that will be called the Wild Horse Legacy Foundation.

“Its mission is to rehabilitate and rehome wild horses, and take care of the welfare of the livestock and wild horses on the reservation land.”

The Jason Smith Ranch has also launched a new online horse auction, where they hope to adopt out 25 more of their horses.

Between that and learning how to fix old equipment, as well as using his past experience as ranch and agricultural manager for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Smith is determined to make ends meet.

“We’re surviving, you know. It’s constantly, horses eat, eat, eat. They’ll eat everything that you put in front of them, you know. So we’re struggling, but we’re making it.”

People who want to help support the Jason Smith Ranch through the winter can find them online.

National Archives in San Bruno, Calif.

Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging plans to close the archives in San Bruno, California and relocate its collections.

The facility holds historical documents, including federal Indian boarding school records.

Four Native organizations, including the National Congress of American Indians and the Native American Rights Fund, have raised concerns about a lack of meaningful tribal consultation.

NARF executive director John Echohawk says the archives contain documents tribal nations rely on to protect their rights and hold the federal government accountable.

According to KQED, fewer than 4% of National Archives records nationwide have been digitized.

Federal officials say the closure is part of an effort to reduce costs and consolidate records.

California’s lawsuit seeks to stop the closure and prevent the transfer of the collections.

And on this day in 1844, Northern Paiute activist and author Sarah Winnemucca is believed to have been born in present-day Nevada.

Winnemucca became a leading advocate for Native American rights, speaking out against the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples.

In 1883, she published “Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims”, one of the earliest books written by a Native American woman.

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Friday, October 16, 2026 — The ongoing struggle to protect wild horses

Photo: Navajo pro bull rider Cody Jesus sits on a bull named Dead Red as he prepares for his first ride on home turf after recently being acquired by the team on October 8, 2026. (Emma Bradford)

An Arizona-born bull rider from the Navajo Nation recently celebrated a homecoming.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more from Desert Diamond Arena in the Phoenix metro.

Nicknamed the “Pride of the Navajo Nation”, Cody Jesus has long been on the radar of the Arizona Ridge Riders.

General manager Casey Lane says the franchise intended to draft him in 2022, but the Navajo rookie was swept up in the first round.

It was a missed opportunity, according to Lane, but one they have since rectified by finally bringing this hometown rez kid back to Arizona after Jesus bounced around on rosters in Texas and Tennessee.

“When they announced through the league that Cody was going to be a free agent, we had the deal done in less than two hours. That great of a talent. I mean, look, I would be lying to you if I didn’t say he’s probably going to help us sell a few tickets too.”

For the 28-year-old Navajo pro, he is coming off a pair of hip surgeries.

“Feeling great, this is probably the healthiest I’ve been in five years. Like I’ve always had something nagging, something hurt, and my hips [have] been hurting me for about three, four years now, and finally got them fixed. Finally took the time and it’s game on now.”

Whenever he is riding here in this arena, his Window Rock fans always show up.

“I don’t really expect it and it just catches me by surprise every time.”

Barbara Hartzell, Executive Director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, speaks at Monday’s event.

Monday’s Indigenous Peoples Day observances in Nevada includes new proposal to establish a text and email alert system for missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Suzanne Potter has more.

Advocates gathered in Las Vegas to celebrate the commemorative day and promote a proposal to establish an Indigenous Alert System, similar to Amber Alerts or Silver Alerts, that would help get justice for MMIP.

Jonnette Paddy with the Native Voters Alliance of Nevada says federal data show that 84% of Native American and Alaska Native women have experienced some form of violent victimization.

“Indigenous women are murdered at rates up to ten times higher than other ethnicities. Indigenous people are disproportionately represented among missing cases.”

Paddy says the reasons for this include questions over jurisdiction and the fact that many reservations are rural and near oil or mining camps where men greatly outnumber women.

Nevada is home to more than 100,000 Indigenous and Native American people, about 3% of the state’s total population, according to data from the World Population Review.

The state has 28 federally recognized Tribes.

Paddy says the new alerts will help engage the public in cases where Indigenous women are in harm’s way.

“It’s just kind of more of the next step in trying to mitigate this issue and close the gap by building on existing infrastructure and ensuring families and communities receive the swift response that they deserve.”

The MMIP alert bill will be introduced in the next legislative session by Assemblywoman Shea Backus (Cherokee), D-Nevada, the state assembly’s only Indigenous member.

And on this day in 1836, representatives of the Otoe, Missouria, Omaha, and several Sioux nations concluded a treaty with the United States near the Missouri River.

The agreement involved Native land claims and was later ratified in February 1837.

The treaty was part of a broader period of federal expansion into Indigenous territories.

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Thursday, October 15, 2026 — How a young Ponca activist shaped the future of Native activism