February 20, 2025
TURTLE MOUNTAIN INDIAN RESERVATION – More than 500 people gathered at the Sky Dancer Event Center on Wednesday afternoon to welcome Leonard Peltier (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe), a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), back to his homeland after 49 years of incarceration. Peltier was released from a federal maximum-security prison on Tuesday morning and flown to northern North Dakota where he will be confined to a house on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.
Currents
ZUNI, NM — Intergenerational connection and knowledge sharing are deeply rooted in Zuni culture. Understanding that these things also are essential to the healthy development of Zuni youth, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project is constantly searching for new ways to engage families, bring generations together and provide learning and fun in equal measure.
From Our Partners
Gary, Indiana, is experiencing a significant transformation, with a focus on revitalizing its downtown area and enhancing the city's cultural and economic landscape. A key contributor to this resurgence is Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana , which is instrumental in attracting national talent and entertainment to the region.
For generations, Native peoples have been pioneers in medicine, carefully testing traditional healing practices to benefit our communities. Today, as we face rising cancer rates in Indian Country, we must bring together this ancestral wisdom with modern clinical trials to create solutions for our people.
Opinion
Opinion. Throughout history, the federal government has enacted a range of policies aimed at eradicating American Indian tribes. When extermination proved unachievable, the strategy shifted toward assimilating Native Americans into mainstream society. A key element of this assimilation effort was the establishment of Indian boarding schools, where the guiding principle was to "kill the Indian, save the man."
Guest Opinion. By the end of 2026, we will have invested $4 million dollars into supporting the Cherokee artist community thanks to the Artist Recovery Act, recently extended by the Council of the Cherokee Nation .
Sovereignty
In a landmark decision reaffirming its commitment to Tribal self-governance, the United States government has returned 680 acres of hay ground to the Spirit Lake Nation. This long-awaited victory follows a determined 65-year effort by the tribe to reclaim lands deemed “submarginal” and previously designated as excess to the needs of the White Horse Hill National Game Preserve.
The Trump administration’s intensified deportation efforts have created unexpected challenges for Navajo citizens living in urban areas like Phoenix. As the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began widespread raids in major cities across the country following the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, concerns have surfaced about Native Americans being mistaken for undocumented immigrants.
Education
Haskell Board of Regents Requests Federal Exemption to Protect Mission Critical University Workforce
The Haskell Board of Regents has submitted a has submitted a formal waiver request to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) , seeking an exemption under Executive Order 14210, Section 3(c), which allows for waivers for positions performing legally required functions.
WASHINGTON — Power outages regularly disrupt school in Arizona’s White Mountain Apache Tribe, leading to spoiled food, limited access to technology and cold classrooms. School administrators sometimes heat buildings with kerosene. In some cases, they must close the school when carbon monoxide levels become too high.
Arts & Entertainment
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is featuring two gowns worn by Oscar-nominated actor Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet/Nez Perce) in a special installation called “Making a Statement.”
With the 2025 Oscar nomination of Sugarcane in the documentary film category, the horrific history of Indian residential schools continues to garner more attention.
Health
Environment
NUIQSUT, Alaska — On a summer evening last August, the gravel roads led residents toward Nuiqsut’s Trapper School for an Iñupiat ceremonial dance. The village of just over 500 welcomed congressmen from across Alaska, a week before the state’s primary election. Wooden bleachers in the school’s new gymnasium, paid for with oil money, were crowded with excited locals sitting behind the state congressmen filling in the first two rows. Performers sat in the center of the gym, with the men in the front row wearing green regalia, and women, wearing pink, filed into the second and third rows. Each dance told a unique story. One performed by the village’s young boys was about fighting your enemy. Each pair of boys mimicked punches and jabs to the beat of drums, but by the end of the dance, they shook hands, stronger as a pair. Read the story at Native News Online .
On Wednesday, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected a challenge from Tribal Nations and environmental groups aiming to overturn the Michigan Public Service Commission’s approval of Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The project would prolong the operation of the aging pipeline, transporting oil through the heart of the Great Lakes for decades, primarily to Canadian consumers.