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- By Native News Online Staff
Summer is a busy season filled with activity. Whether attending traditional ceremonies, taking part in powwows, or spending time with relatives and friends, our days are full and meaningful.
Trump Signs Order to Remove Homeless from the Streets
Native Americans are 7.5 times more likely to experience homelessness, according to Seattle Indian Health Board data.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order called “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” that aims to rid American cities of homelessness.
The executive order seeks to reduce homelessness through stricter enforcement, increased use of involuntary treatment and commitment, and defunding of harm-reduction efforts, with a strong focus on public safety and program accountability.
The Great Salt Lake, Water Injustice & The Promise of TEK
A new episode of In the Margins, a PBS Utah series hosted by Harini Bhat, Ph.D, explores the long-standing water challenges facing Indigenous communities in the Western U.S. and the promise of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as a solution.
For centuries, tribes like the Shoshone, Paiute, Ute, and Goshute cared for water as a sacred, shared resource. But settler expansion in the 1800s diverted waterways, disrupted ecosystems, and led to violent conflict.
Later policies, like the 1922 Colorado River Compact, excluded tribes entirely, laying the groundwork for today’s disparities.
Native households remain far more likely to lack access to running water. Meanwhile, environmental crises like the shrinking Great Salt Lake are worsening public health risks, particularly for Indigenous and other marginalized communities.
The film highlights how Indigenous-led solutions grounded in TEK, like a Shoshone wetland restoration project returning 10,000 acre-feet of water to the lake,offer hope.
Native News Weekly (July 27, 2025): D.C. Briefs
On July 14, 2025, the House Appropriations Committee released the Fiscal Year 2026 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill. It includes support for critical investments in Indian Country, including programs for Tribal public safety, justice, and the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, estimated at $550 million. Tribal Public Safety and Justice programs received $771.84 million, a 39% increase from FY 2025 enacted levels
Fortunately, the funds approved by the House Appropirations Committee are significanty more than what are in President Donald Trump's FY 2026 Budget.
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Help us tell the stories that could save Native languages and food traditions
At a critical moment for Indian Country, Native News Online is embarking on our most ambitious reporting project yet: "Cultivating Culture," a three-year investigation into two forces shaping Native community survival—food sovereignty and language revitalization.
The devastating impact of COVID-19 accelerated the loss of Native elders and with them, irreplaceable cultural knowledge. Yet across tribal communities, innovative leaders are fighting back, reclaiming traditional food systems and breathing new life into Native languages. These aren't just cultural preservation efforts—they're powerful pathways to community health, healing, and resilience.
Our dedicated reporting team will spend three years documenting these stories through on-the-ground reporting in 18 tribal communities, producing over 200 in-depth stories, 18 podcast episodes, and multimedia content that amplifies Indigenous voices. We'll show policymakers, funders, and allies how cultural restoration directly impacts physical and mental wellness while celebrating successful models of sovereignty and self-determination.
This isn't corporate media parachuting into Indian Country for a quick story. This is sustained, relationship-based journalism by Native reporters who understand these communities. It's "Warrior Journalism"—fearless reporting that serves the 5.5 million readers who depend on us for news that mainstream media often ignores.
We need your help right now. While we've secured partial funding, we're still $450,000 short of our three-year budget. Our immediate goal is $25,000 this month to keep this critical work moving forward—funding reporter salaries, travel to remote communities, photography, and the deep reporting these stories deserve.
Every dollar directly supports Indigenous journalists telling Indigenous stories. Whether it's $5 or $50, your contribution ensures these vital narratives of resilience, innovation, and hope don't disappear into silence.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.
Support independent Native journalism. Fund the stories that matter.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
