July 13, 2025
Native Vote. SHIPROCK, NM – It was standing room only as Deb Haaland, New Mexico candidate for governor officially launched her “Lift Up New Mexico” tour in Shiprock on Saturday morning as part of her sixteen stops throughout New Mexico and Indian Country.
Currents
Breaking News. The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida (the “Tribe”) is filing suit as an intervening plaintiff in the case brought by Friends of the Everglades, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Earthjustice against the State and Federal governments for the constuction of a detention center, called the "Alligator Alcatraz" in the Florida Everglades. The lawsuit challenges the failure to conduct required environmental reviews or obtain necessary permits prior to the construction of the proposed facility. The Tribe remains firmly committed to protecting its traditional lands from being used as a detention facility. Contrary to claims that Big Cypress is an uninhabited wilderness of alligators and pythons, it is, in fact, traditional Tribal homeland—home to fifteen active Miccosukee and Seminole villages. It borders the Miccosukee Water Conservation Area 3-A and the Miccosukee Reserved Area. One village and a school bus stop are located just 1,000 feet from the facility’s entrance, and eleven villages or ceremonial grounds lie within a three-mile radius. This landscape has provided safety and sustenance for generations of Miccosukee and Seminole people. Over the past year, Miccosukee leadership has worked alongside conservative groups in southwest Florida, traveling to and from Washington, D.C., to advocate for public and Tribal rights to continue living, hunting, and fishing in Big Cypress. “The Miccosukee Tribe is committed to ensuring that our ancestral lands in Big Cypress will not become a permanent detention facility. We have reached out to the State and Federal governments and expressed our concerns, but we have not yet been advised of a closure date. As a consequence, we must take legal action to compel the parties to remove this facility, given its outsized budgetary, environmental, community safety, and logistical impacts. We are hopeful that the administrations will change course and preserve these lands," Chairman Talbert Cypress of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida said. The facility represents a misuse of Florida’s resources. Its annual maintenance is projected to exceed $450 million, with only partial reimbursement potentially coming from FEMA—funds that are critical during hurricane season. This undermines recent efforts by the Florida Legislature to reduce wasteful spending and puts Floridians at risk. Additionally, the environmental consequences of unpermitted fill, insecticide fogging, constant light pollution, vehicle and flight traffic, and other disturbances would be severe and long-lasting. “Across the United States, sacred sites are being threatened by development that is happening without the required consent of tribes who have called these lands home since time began," Judith LeBlanc (Caddo), executive director of the Native Organizers Alliance. "The Miccosukee Tribe has an inherent right to determine the future of their ancestral homelands. Yet they were not consulted when this huge immigrant detention center was quickly constructed." Editor's Note: This is a developing story. Native News Online will update as more information becomes available.
From Our Partners
On Friday, September 19, 2025, California Indian Nations College (CINC) will host its 3rd Annual Fire Gala at Agua Caliente Resort in Rancho Mirage. The Fire Gala is CINC’s signature fundraising event with all proceeds going directly to the College, a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
BRIMLEY, Mich.— On June 5, Bay Mills Community College officially received approval from the Michigan Board of Nursing to launch a Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program. The approval marks the return of LPN education to the BMCC main campus and responds to the growing need for qualified nursing professionals across the Eastern Upper Peninsula. This milestone reinstates a nursing education pathway that was last offered by BMCC in 1999.
American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association adds five new categories to the Excellence in Indigenous Tourism Awards to be held on October 29, 2025 in Choctaw, Mississippi at the 27th Annual American Indigenous Tourism Conference
Opinion
Guest Opinion. The most secure biological laboratory for the most dangerous pathogens may have been the scene of a federal biological crime.
Guest Opinion. Preserving and promoting our Cherokee culture is a multifaceted mission rooted in carrying forward our most important Cherokee values as we grow stronger as a nation.
Sovereignty
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians has secured federal recognition for one of its most sacred sites.
A Las Vegas man appeared in court Tuesday after being indicted for allegedly selling counterfeit goods falsely advertised as authentic Native American-made items, in violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.
Education
Navajo Technical University (NTU) has officially launched its new Microcredentials–Construction Trades program through its Construction Technology department. This accelerated course condenses 16 weeks of hands-on construction training into just 9 weeks, providing students with a fast-tracked path to industry-ready skills.
Native Forward Scholars Fund , the nation’s largest direct provider of scholarships to Native students, has announced the recipients of its prestigious Student of the Year Award at the 2025 Empowering Scholars Summit.
Arts & Entertainment
EAGLE BUTTE, SD (July 14, 2025) — The Cheyenne River Youth Project’s 11th Annual RedCan Invitational Graffiti Jam wrapped up on Saturday, July 12. Cheyenne River community members of all ages gathered in CRYP’s Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Count) Art Park with this year’s nine headlining graffiti and street artists, teen interns, Lakota Art Fellows, staff members and volunteers from across the country for an evening of great food, music and dancing.
The documentary The Story of Art in Alaska is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, bringing the creativity and cultural traditions of Alaska’s artists to viewers around the world.
Health
Environment
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), along with U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), have introduced the Tribal Access to Clean Water Act, a bill aimed at significantly improving access to clean water in Tribal communities through major investments in water infrastructure.
The Tonawanda Seneca Nation and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit today in New York State Supreme Court, challenging two resolutions approved by the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) related to the proposed construction of a large-scale data center at the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in Alabama, NY.