New Mexico is the center of arts celebrations this weekend, starting with the music, art, fashion, dances, and panel discussions at Pojoaque Pueblo. It’s the third year for the event that already attracts hundreds of artists. We get the rundown of the festival from organizers and some of the participants.

The unprecedented fires on Maui are blamed for a rising human toll and destroyed homes, property and cultural touchstones. The island’s original kingdom capital, Lahaina, was hard hit, losing a 200 year-old church and the Hawaiian language immersion school Pūnana Leo, among other cherished structures. We’ll get a picture of the destruction and what’s next for residents. 

One of four dams on the Klamath River is already mostly demolished. Crews predict the other three will be gone by the end of next year. It’s the largest dam removal project in U.S. history and tribes along the river were instrumental in making it happen. The tribes say the dam removal will rehabilitate native salmon runs that are greatly diminished and restore sacred land that has been underwater for more than a century.

A pilot program in a handful of New Mexico schools aims to cut down on the high number of Native American expulsions. It uses conflict resolution and restorative justice methods to both build a sense of community and hold students accountable for bad behavior. Proponents hope the program in the schools can mirror successes in other institutions. It comes after reports by New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica that Native students are expelled at a higher rate than others.

Cases of the sexually transmitted bacterial infection syphilis are surging around the globe. In the U.S., Native Americans have the highest rates of syphilis than any other group. So much so, that the Indian Health Service is urging tribal leaders and health facilities that work with Native populations to institute a series of measures to fight the spread of the disease. We’ll explore why syphilis, that was once on decline, is making a dramatic comeback and what health officials are doing to fight it.

As the famed Sturgis Motorcycle Rally gears up for its closing weekend, a group of bikers is carrying a message on their two-wheeled machines. Along with their black leather jackets, the bikers who make up the Medicine Wheel Ride wear red to raise awareness of the ongoing problem of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. Many of the riders are Native women who organize events to get the message out.

Whether they’re strays or have attentive caretakers, the dogs that occupy reservations have a bad reputation. Advocates for rez dogs are working on a number of fronts to turn that around. Mindful of the occasional safety issue, advocates for dogs are organizing veterinarian visits, spay, neuter clinics, and even dog shows, all as a way to prevent more drastic measures and to promote safer environments.

Public pressure is mounting to search a municipal landfill in Winnipeg for two missing Indigenous women. Police indicated last December the privately run landfill could be where the bodies of the women ended up. Police investigators say they believe the two are victims of a serial killer, but officials all the way from the city on up to the provincial premiere are preventing the search, saying it’s much too expensive and dangerous. The victims’ families and supporters say it’s another example of officials’ lack of will to deliver justice for Indigenous crime victims.

A quarry in Minnesota has been a reliable source for the stone used in ceremonial pipes for dozens of tribes throughout the central U.S. and Canada. Other tribes elsewhere found their own local sources for making pipes. We’ll talk about the importance of pipes and the methods for making them passed down through the centuries.

A handful of tribes are venturing into the realm of family fun in the form of water parks, amusement parks, or theme parks. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians just opened a $70 million expansion to its giant Alabama Gulf Coast water park that also offers restaurants and live entertainment venues. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians has a $75 million deal for a Tennessee theme park that will also feature an interactive look at Cherokee military heroism. As the days of summer vacations begin to wane, we’ll take a look at the draw — and business — of tribal family destinations.