September 15, 2025
Opinion. In May, the Trump administration released its fiscal 2026 budget. Conspicuously absent from the proposal was a critical provision: advance appropriations for Indian Country health care. Advance appropriations are funds approved by Congress in one fiscal year that become available in a subsequent year, ensuring continuity of services even during budget delays or federal government shutdowns.
Currents
The 25th Navajo Nation Council has voiced strong disappointment in President Buu Nygren’s decision to issue line-item vetoes targeting key operational funding for the Legislative Branch in the Fiscal Year 2026 Comprehensive Budget. The Council had unanimously approved the budget on September 4.
From Our Partners
KeyBank is pleased to announce the addition of Ming Lam to its Native American Financial Services (NAFS) team. Ming brings over 20 years of experience in corporate and private banking, most recently with Bank of America, where he specialized in delivering strategic debt, treasury, and capital markets solutions to commercial and Tribal gaming clients.
This November, as the nation observes Native American Heritage Month, California Indian Nations College (CINC) in Palm Desert invites the public to its 6th Annual Gathering (Under the Stars) on Saturday, November 15, 2025, from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at the UC Riverside Palm Desert campus. The event brings together Native and non-Native families and community members for an evening of music, dance, art, and traditional cuisine, celebrating the creativity, resilience, and heritage of Southern California’s tribal communities.
Opinion
Opinion. In May, the Trump administration released its fiscal 2026 budget. Conspicuously absent from the proposal was a critical provision: advance appropriations for Indian Country health care. Advance appropriations are funds approved by Congress in one fiscal year that become available in a subsequent year, ensuring continuity of services even during budget delays or federal government shutdowns.
Guest Opinion. The concept of a university is for the free exchange of ideas, where new knowledge can be built, discovered and developed. The first university still in operation today is the University of Bologna (Italy) established around 1180. Then a group of students and faculty left the University of Bologna to form the University of Padua (Italy, 1222) becoming the second oldest university still operating in Italy and the fifth oldest in the western world. Notably, one can still stand at the podium where Galileo taught as a faculty member.The University of Bologna was granted a special status by Emperor Barbarossa, and the University of Bologna was eventually supported by taxpayers, becoming one of the first public universities.
Sovereignty
On September 4, the 25th Navajo Nation Council unanimously passed Legislation No. 0195-25, officially approving the Comprehensive Budget for Fiscal Year 2026, totaling $603.7 million.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is set to hear arguments on Wednesday, September 10, in Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska v. United States Department of the Army (No. 24-2081), a case that could have significant implications for the enforcement of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
Education
LAWRENCE, Kansas — Indigenous scholars, educators, and community leaders gathered Sept. 12 at the Haskell Auditorium for a panel titled Honoring Truth, which focused on the importance of accurate Native representation in culture, media, and education.
In the dimly lit rooms of the National Archives, Joe Maxwell recalled digging through what he described as “the bowels” of the U.S. government as he and other student research assistants sifted through boxes full of paperwork as a part of Project Return, a nationwide project set to launch officially in October.
Arts & Entertainment
Bestselling Ojibwe author Angeline Boulley continues to make waves in Native literature and beyond. Her latest young adult novel, Sisters of the Wind , debuted this week on the New York Times Bestseller List, marking her third consecutive book to achieve the honor.
New publication centers Indigenous voices and Great Lakes cultural heritage
Health
Environment
In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, former U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr pushed back against claims by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, Stronghold Apache, and a coalition of environmental groups that Oak Flat is sacred land that should not be transferred to a foreign-owned mining company.
A federal appeals court has blocked a judge's order for the state of Florida and the Federal Government to shut down a temporary immigration detention facility located on the sacred and ancestral lands of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.