National Native News

Photo: More than an hour after the levee was breached, channels in the Siuslaw Estuary begin to fill up with a mix of fresh and salt water on May 29, 2026. (Brian Bull / KLCC)A major conservation project near the Oregon town of Florence has achieved its goal: connecting a large swath of restored farmland to the ocean.The Siuslaw Estuary is a 217-acre expanse that is expected to accommodate the...

Photo: Siletz tribal members Todd Logan, Joshua Rilatos, and Dylan Gorman work next to anatomic pathologist Kurt Williams of the Oregon State University necropsy team on November 18, 2025, The tribe removed the whale’s blubber, bones, and baleen for cultural use, while the OSU crew took away tissue samples for diagnostic testing. (Jens Odegaard / Oregon State University)A group of Siletz Indians...

New Mexico and the U.S. are one step closer to having the first female Native American governor as former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) beat out her Democratic opponent Sam Bregman with 72% of the vote Tuesday night in the primary election.KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) was among the attendees at her watch party.Old Town plaza was filled with New Mexicans...

Photo: The South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment conducts a hearing about a uranium exploration permit application on May 19, 2026, at the Mueller Civic Center in Hot Springs, South Dakota. (Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)A new South Dakota law requires language translation services for some government proceedings.The law does not take effect until July, but it already had a...

Photo: Marilyn Balluta drums for the Nuvendaltun Ch’naqa K’eljeshna – Children of Nondalton Dancers. (Jeff Chen / Courtesy The MMIWG2s Alaska Working Group)The issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) continues to impact families and communities across Alaska.This week, advocates, tribal leaders, law enforcement, and policymakers gathered in Anchorage for the state’s first Justice...

Photo: U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola addresses a crowd during a meet and greet in Petersburg on May 26, 2026. Peltola is running for U.S. Senate. (Taylor Heckart/KFSK)Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) visited Petersburg, Alaska Tuesday in her campaign to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK).Peltola addressed a group of more than fifty people at Petersburg’s Alaska Native Brotherhood John...

Photo courtesy Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission / FacebookAll eleven federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin have seats on a new committee aimed at protecting wild rice.Chuck Quirmbach reports.Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) has announced his 24 appointees to the Wild Rice Stewardship Council.One member, Gloria Waabigwan Wiggins (Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), works for the...

Photo: Kim Etsitty aboard the 223-footlong research vessel, Nautilus, in 2024. (Ocean Exploration Trust)This summer, a Navajo high school teacher will sail the high seas on back-to-back research expeditions around the globe.KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has details.Born in Chinle, Ariz., Kim Etsitty spends much of her year teaching science at Navajo Pine High School in New Mexico. That is, until...

Photo courtesy Heard Museum / FacebookThe Heard Museum in Phoenix, Ariz. remembered Indigenous servicemembers, who made the ultimate sacrifice, during a Memorial Day observance.KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.On this hot Monday morning, Kiowa-Comanche singer Kenneth Cozad Sr. chants a series of honor songs. Each melody is meant to pay tribute to the fallen as the Oklahoma native beats upon a...

Photo: The All Pueblo Council of Governors were in attendance at a press conference in Santa Ana Pueblo on Wednesday May 20, 2026 in support of Chaco Canyon making the list for America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. (Jeanette DeDios)The National Trust for Historic Preservation has placed the Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape on this year’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic...