February 22, 2026
Opinion. Among the important topics discussed at the United Tribes of Michigan meeting in Lansing, Mich., on Thursday was the need for tribal communities to push back against the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship nationwide to register to vote and would overhaul voting laws.
Currents
Native Vote 2026. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Floor-to-ceiling windows separated two Albuquerque community kitchens inside the Street Food Institute. In one kitchen, New Mexico candidate for governor Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) outlined an affordability plan she said would support the people who worked in the kitchen across the hall, where silver trays clanked during afternoon cleanup as she spoke on Wednesday.
From Our Partners
Inside the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (DIA) Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation exhibition , visitors move through a gallery alive with material, memory, and motion—woven baskets, quillwork, jewelry, photographs, and mixed-media works speaking to one another across time and practice. Within this collective space, Kelly Church’s black ash basketry rises with quiet authority, grounding the room in generations of Anishinaabe knowledge and responsibility.
Opinion
Guest Opinion. The SBA 8(a) Business Development Program serves as a central tool for Tribal economic development, yet public commentary has revealed significant misunderstandings about why Tribal Nations participate in federal contracting and how they operate within the program. Tribal eligibility for 8(a) is grounded in their political status as sovereign governments, not in race or DEI policy. This distinction has been recognized for generations, by the Constitution, treaties, federal statutes, regulatory frameworks, and landmark Supreme Court decisions such as Morton v. Mancari , which affirms that programs benefiting Tribes reflect political relationships, not racial classifications.
Guest Opinion. A proposed federal policy change could have profound health consequences — especially for Tribal and rural communities. The proposal from the U.S. Department of Education, which is open for public comment until March 2nd, would exclude public health and nursing from a new definition of “professional degree programs,” and could potentially affect eligibility for scholarships and financial aid.
Sovereignty
On Monday, the Resources and Development Committee (RDC) approved Legislation 0012-26, authorizing $84 million in Síhasin Funds for the Navajo Nation Transportation Improvement Project and adopting its Expenditure Plan.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) last week passed two emergency resolutions responding to federal immigration enforcement activities and ICE detention centers impacting Native Americans across the country.
Education
The Ichigo Foundation has awarded the American Indian College Fund a $100,000 grant to support the Wounspe E’cetkiya O’takuye Piya A’yazunta Pi (Reconnecting Relatives to Education) Program over the next two years. As one of the College Fund’s pre-college adult education pathways, the program assists American Indians who have experienced involvement with the justice system by providing the resources and support needed to complete their high school equivalency (HSE)—an important first step toward expanded educational and career opportunities. This new funding will help grow and strengthen the program’s impact.
The Bard College Center for Indigenous Studies (CfIS) will host its third annual symposium, An Invitation to Interconnectedness: Indigenous Approaches to Information, Knowledge, Justice, and Belonging , on March 9–10 at Bard College’s Annandale campus.
Arts & Entertainment
Moses Wiseman spoke his Yup’ik language before he learned English. As a college freshman, he entered the field of Alaska Native language revitalization with a bit of an inherited purpose.
Native Performing Arts Network (NPAN), a new national home dedicated to Indigenous stories, artists, and youth, is proud to announce the plays by Indigenous writers selected for its National Day of Theater Readings for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR). On May 5, 2026, theaters and universities nationwide will host staged readings, with additional events planned around that date, to raise awareness about the ongoing crisis of violence impacting Indigenous communities.
Health
Environment
The Arctic Village Council, the Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government and the Venetie Village Council submitted comments Tuesday to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service citing major deficiencies in the agency’s assessment of a proposed 20-year right-of-way that would allow the Kaktovik Iñupiat Corp. to annually construct a snow road through parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Rappahannock Tribe has filed an appeal challenging a state-issued permit that allows Caroline County to withdraw up to 9 million gallons of water per day from the Rappahannock River and transfer it to the Mattaponi River.