Overview:
The weekend may be over, but the news affecting Indian Country doesn’t stop. Each Monday, Native News Online brings you “Articles You May Have Missed”—a quick look at the important stories from across Indian Country that deserve your attention.
Happy Monday!
Here are some of the articles you may have missed this past weekend:
With less than three weeks before the midterm elections on Nov. 3, 2026, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, 48, the Democratic candidate for governor, attended the United Tribes of Michigan’s quarterly meeting Friday afternoon, where tribal leaders pressed her on sovereignty, environmental protection and the future of tribal-state relations.
Benson, who is finishing her second term as Michigan’s secretary of state, delivered brief remarks highlighting her commitment to working with Tribal Nations, respecting tribal sovereignty and ensuring tribal leaders have a seat at the table in state government.
“I’m grateful to be here with all of you and eager to hear from you about what you see the next decade of our state looking like from a governor from the state to ensure that your sovereignty is respected, but that also we’re working together to drive down costs of health care, housing, electricity costs, child care to invest in more well-paying jobs, diversifying our economies, and that also we can ensure your rights, your freedoms, your voice is protected,” Benson said.
Tribal Nations and Native organizations lost nearly $470 million in federal funding through grant and contract cancellations attributed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), according to a new analysis by the Brookings Metro that documents the disproportionate impact of the federal spending cuts on Indian Country.
The report, DOGE’s Impact in Indian Country: Nearly $470 Million in Lost Funding, estimates that DOGE canceled 1,597 grants and contracts affecting Tribal Nations and Native organizations, totaling $468.7 million in de-obligated federal funding.
The findings show that Native recipients lost a greater percentage of their obligated funding than non-Native recipients. The cuts disproportionately affected environmental protection, agriculture, climate resilience and economic development projects intended to strengthen Tribal communities.
New Teaching Certification Opens Doors for Indigenous Language Educators in Alaska
Dr. Angela Luda first heard her Native language on the mudflats of the Taku River in Alaska’s Southeast Panhandle. She spent her childhood summers at a fish camp along the river, picking berries and harvesting fish. Amid the Taku’s steady, quiet roar, she heard the rising and falling tones of her mother speaking Tlingit.
“She would speak to the land or to the animals, and we could hear her speaking Tlingit,” Luda told Native News Online. “I grew up hearing the language, but she never spoke it to us. She wanted us to speak English so we would be accepted. In her desire to protect us, she did not teach any of us.”
Now, Luda, the dean of education at the University of Alaska Southeast, is helping bring that language into classrooms across Alaska. Last month, the university launched its Master of Arts in Teaching Indigenous Languages (MAT-IL), a first-of-its-kind program designed to help Indigenous language speakers become fully licensed teachers.
