National Native News

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is in China for the first visit by a Canadian leader in almost a decade. Already, he’s signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Beijing that could result in more Canadian oil, natural gas, and clear energy exported to China. But as Dan Karpenchuk reports, before he left, PM Carney made a stop over in British Columbia to talk with Coastal First Nations about his...

A South Dakota tribal leader discussed working with the state government on health care and law enforcement during a speech Wednesday, as South Dakota Searchlight’s Meghan O’Brien reports. Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Kathleen Wooden Knife delivered the annual State of the Tribes address to lawmakers. She backed two pieces of legislation that impact tribal nations. She wants support to move towar...

A team from the Canadian military has arrived at a northern Manitoba First Nation, which is dealing with a severe water crisis. One of the reserve’s water treatment plants has been out of commission for two weeks after a power outage. More from Dan Karpenchuk . The power was out for days after a line that ran between two islands on the Nelson River broke. Although power was restored after a couple...

The U.S. Supreme Court has once again declined to take up challenges to a federal law that protects subsistence hunting and fishing in Alaska. The court rejected the state of Alaska’s petition to review a federal lawsuit against the state over salmon management on the Kuskokwim River in Southwest Alaska. KNBA’s Rhonda McBride has reaction from Native leaders. The state had argued the federal gover...

Native community members in Minneapolis, Minn. held a press conference Friday to discuss immediate needs, resources, and plans for community care following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week in the city. Members of Native organizations and grassroots groups have set up two hubs in Minneapolis for people to gather and organize. M...

Tribes are raising concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and the safety of their tribal citizens living in the Twin Cities after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent Wednesday in Minneapolis. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, White Earth Nation, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Red Lake Nation have issued releases expressing remorse f...

Activities at Native organizations and a tribal college in Minneapolis, Minn., were canceled after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot a woman Wednesday morning in the city. The Minneapolis American Indian Center canceled its Wednesday night programs due to community safety concerns and ICE activity in the neighborhood. The Red Lake Nation College, the Red Lake Nati...

CTSI tribal members Todd Logan, Joshua Rilatos, and Dylan Gorman work with anatomic pathologist Kurt Williams of the OSU necropsy team to remove blubber, bones, and baleen for cultural use and tissue samples for diagnostic testing on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. (Photo: Jens Odegaard / Oregon State University) Last November, a stranded humpback whale near Yachats, Oreg. had to be euthanized after r...

Ahead of the next legislative session this month, Arizona Democratic state lawmakers held a town hall at the end of December on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples (MMIP). KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. State Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (Pascua Yaqui/D-AZ), chair of the Arizona legislature’s Indigenous Peoples Caucus, made no promises. “We will not have solutions for you today...

Photo: An aerial view of the Verde River. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) Monday is the deadline for the public to weigh in on a potential rule change by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that could impact which water bodies may be protected from pollution. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, tribes are among those asking for a 30-day extension to comment. The Waters of the United Sta...

<<<<Part 1 In our last story, we shared how leaders with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s treatment and recovery services say they are making strides in opioid addiction treatment. That includes work through Great Circle Recovery in Oregon. The tribe also provides transitional housing services through Main Street Recovery, a program with supportive housing, which also helps add...

Leaders with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s treatment and recovery services say they’re making strides in opioid addiction treatment in both the tribal community and in neighboring towns and cities. Jennifer Worth is the Operations Director for Great Circle Recovery in Oregon. “There are no throwaway people, everybody deserves the chance for hope and help.” Kelly Rowe is the Executive Di...

Photo: Youth royalty from the Colorado River Indian Tribes stamp the Ireichō – or Book of Names – in Parker, Ariz. on October 25, 2025. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ) The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II is among the chapters of U.S. history that the Trump administration is actively working to erase. It is part of a sweeping campaign to remove so-called “disparaging” signs and ma...

During World War II, Japanese Americans were held captive in 10 internment camps throughout the US. Two of them in Arizona, built on reservations without tribal consent. In our last story, we heard how the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) in western Arizona have made a point to preserve the remnants of one such war-time prison. Today, KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio takes us to the state’s other sit...

Arizona tribal reservations were home to two of the nation’s 10 internment camps during World War II. On the western edge of the state, the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) welcome visitors to see abandoned relics from that dark past. In fact, there is even an annual pilgrimage – and this year, KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio went along, in part three of his ongoing series. One way to remember those...

The Alaska chapter of Safari Club International took a group of men from Kipnuk deer hunting last month. The hunters were evacuees from a storm that ravaged the Western Alaska coast, unleashed by Typhoon Halong. After more than a month of staying in shelters and hotel rooms in Anchorage, they were quick to accept the invitation. As KNBA’s Rhonda McBride tells us, what transpired turned out to be m...

Photo: Mrs. Crystal Claus, Peppermint the Elf, and Solte Santa, as portrayed by Colleen Payne, Qalch’ema Friedlander, and Jerry Payne, visit the Chifin Native Youth Center in Springfield, Oreg., Sunday, December 14, 2025. (Buffalo’s Fire/Brian Bull) It’s the holiday season with many families across Indian Country waiting for Santa’s visit to reward all good children with presents. And while the ma...

Long before World War II, the U.S. forced Native Americans onto reservations. After the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941, the U.S. forced Japanese Americans into camps. In Arizona, the federal government once again looked to Indian reservations. In part two of his series on World War II internment camps in Arizona, KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more. None of the eight other internment camps in the U....

A federal jury has ruled against the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, S.D. With just one exception, Retsel Corporation and the Grand Gateway Hotel were found to have discriminated against Native Americans. South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene was in the courtroom. In total, tens of thousands of dollars of compensatory and punitive damages were awarded to the people denied service...

It’s official — with the swipe of President Donald Trump’s pen, North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe is now the 575th federally recognized tribe. Correspondent Matt Laslo has the story from Washington. Dozens of members of the Lumbee Tribe traveled from North Carolina to Washington to be a part of history this week. Tears were heard in the gallery after the U.S. Senate approved the measure granting...

The Lumbee Tribe is celebrating the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes legislation to grant the tribe federal recognition. The U.S. Senate passed the defense bill Wednesday, as Lumbee citizens gathered in Pembroke, N.C. for a watch party. Lumbee Chairman John Lowery was in Washington D.C. for the vote, and shared a short video message saying he’s the last chairman to...

The Arctic continues to warm faster than other parts of the world — and is experiencing record high temperatures and record low levels of sea ice. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which released its annual report card for the region Tuesday. As The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA reports, those findings directly affect...

The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation neighboring Fountain Hills, Ariz. recently dealt with reports of “aggressive dogs running loose”, resulting in attacks that prompted its police department to increase patrols while urging the public to stay away. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports. Two tribal members were bitten last week and are now recovering from non-lethal injuries, according to acting chief of...

For the last few months, Navajo Nation leaders have been butting heads over who is its official controller – the person responsible for handling the tribe’s finances. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren tried firing that top official. As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, that dispute is now over. Sean McCabe has been reaffirmed as the sole lawful controller through a legally binding stipulation b...

A Tucson, Ariz. resident is facing federal charges for allegedly excavating and trafficking archeological resources from the Gila River Indian Community. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 46-year-old Leo Reynoso stands accused of violating the Archeological Resources Protection Act. Prosecutors said Reynoso allegedly removed several artifacts from the community without authorization. This included j...