Native and Indigenous News

Only recently did the court rule that the eastern half of Oklahoma is on tribal land, and that the state could not bring criminal prosecutions there without the consent of the Indian tribes there.

Montana's Blackfeet Nation is experimenting with a new way to detect chronic wasting disease in animals and toxic substances in plants used by tribal members for food and cultural practices.

The University of Arizona joins schools in a number of other states in covering tuition and fees for tribal members, who have been less likely than other Americans to pursue higher education.

Malerba, the lifetime chief of the Mohegan Indian Tribe, would be the first Native woman to have her signature on U.S. currency. She'd also lead the Treasury's new Office of Tribal and Native Affairs.

U.S. life expectancy was already lower than other high-income nations and the gap was widening before 2019. Since then, things have gotten worse. New research found that in 2020, life expectancies here dropped disproportionately for marginalized, racialized populations. Especially for Native American and Alaska Native groups

Residents of St. Mary's in southwestern Alaska are donating food to firefighters and helping clear brush as the region's largest wildfire looms just a few miles from town.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is launching an Indian Youth Service Corps with new guidelines. The corps was established in 2019 as part of an amendment to the Public Lands Corps Act. Now, Haaland has published actual guidelines. One of its goals is fostering natural resource and land stewardship skills for young tribal members aged 16 to 30, or 35 if you’re a veteran.

A federal contract to investigate deaths at tribal jails went to a man who had oversight of those facilities during 6 of the deaths. Now, watchdog group Project on Government Oversight is calling on the Interior’s Office of Inspector General to investigate that contract and whether it violated rules regarding former federal employees.

The Cherokee National History Museum in Tahlequah, Okla. will host a launch event for the new quarter. Mankiller was the first woman to head a major Native American nation in the U.S.

After 17 overdoses — including four deaths — this spring, Indigenous leaders in Montana and surrounding states look for ways to stop the fentanyl crisis and provide more treatment and care.