January 19, 2026
Opinion. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often reduced to a single quote, his one dream and safely fixed in history. But King was not a ceremonial figure. He was a disruptor. He challenged systems of power, condemned police violence, and warned that a nation could not survive while sacrificing human dignity for “law and order.”
Currents
Federal and tribal authorities are investigating the death of an 8-year-old girl whose body was found Friday on the Navajo Nation, less than 24 hours after she was reported missing from her home.
From Our Partners
From January 21 to February 1, The Visitors will be at Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), making its international debut in New York City. Written by Jane Harrison and directed by Wesley Enoch, this award-winning play is a Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company Production, produced by Performing Lines, and presented in partnership with Under the Radar Festival©.
For generations, many Native families have relied on community knowledge, not institutions, to guide their financial lives. That wisdom remains essential.
Opinion
Guest Opinion. The objectification of Native people as relics of the past and as “Invisible Americans” helps explain why reporting on missing Native persons is less reliable and why there is an expected undercount due to data collection requirements. I have long advocated for better data collection regarding Murdered and Missing Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and wish to highlight key information in preparation for the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) Tribal Consultation, rescheduled for Jan. 21–23, 2026, on the Shakopee reservation in Prior Lake, Minnesota. This article is intended to serve as a primer for preparing oral and written Tribal testimony.
Opinion. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often reduced to a single quote, his one dream and safely fixed in history. But King was not a ceremonial figure. He was a disruptor. He challenged systems of power, condemned police violence, and warned that a nation could not survive while sacrificing human dignity for “law and order.”
Sovereignty
The Native American Rights Fund is condemning what it calls unlawful actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying Native Americans and others are being racially profiled, unlawfully detained and subjected to excessive force.
United Indian Nations of Oklahoma is advising tribal citizens across the state to remain vigilant and to carry tribal identification, along with any state- or federally issued identification they may have, amid expanded immigration enforcement actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following recent White House directives.
Education
Congress has approved $13.482 million in federal funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts for fiscal year 2026, rejecting a Trump administration proposal that would have eliminated the school’s federal appropriation.
The William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Tribal Leadership Council on Tuesday announced a new partnership to launch an executive education certification focused on Tribal governance, business strategy and organizational leadership.
Arts & Entertainment
It’s been a meteoric rise in Hollywood for Kali Reis. Since her breakout role in 2021's Catch the Fair One , the Seaconke Wampanoag actor and sixth-time world champion boxer has garnered critical acclaim, most notably for her portrayal of Trooper Evangeline Navarro in HBO's True Detective: Night Country (2024). In the high-stakes thriller Mercy —coming to theaters nationwide on January 24—Reis stars as officer Jack Diallo in an intense procedural alongside co-star Chris Pratt.
The Seminole Tribe of Florida will host the 2026 Seminole Tribal Fair and Pow Wow from Friday, Jan. 30, through Sunday, Feb. 1, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, celebrating Native culture through film, music, dance and tradition.
Health
Environment
Published on January 9, 2026
The leader of an organization that has been facing off against a foreign mining company with designs on destroying a sacred Indigenous site is walking more than 60 miles across Arizona to attend a court hearing that will decide the fate of 2,400 acres of federal public lands.