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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.

Levi headshotThe 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

 
 
October 27, 2025 Levi Rickert
Opinion. It’s an old complaint and one we hear sometimes at Native News Online : Journalists don’t report the good news enough. We understand the sentiment. Day after day, our inboxes and news feeds are filled with the familiar drumbeat of struggles across Indian Country.
Currents
October 31, 2025 Native StoryLab Currents 94
Next on Native Bidaské (Oct. 31, 12 p.m. ET), Levi Rickert and Chance Rush talk with Brookings’ Robert Maxim (Mashpee Wampanoag) about how a federal shutdown isn’t a distant political stunt for tribes, it’s a direct blow to services, sovereignty, and safety. Why it matters: Most funding for Native programs is discretionary, meaning annual politics decide whether schools, health clinics, and tribal services keep running. When agencies pause, staff are furloughed, grants stall, and people lose access to care and basic services. What’s actually broken The numbers make it plain: Indian Health Service spends far less per patient than Medicare, and roughly 69% of Native funding can be turned off or delayed by a shutdown. That gap forces tribes into emergency responses and mutual aid, creative, necessary, but not a substitute for federal obligations. How tribes cope and what should change Some tribes, like the Cherokee Nation, use tribal funds to bridge gaps. Leaders call for structural fixes: mandatory funding for essential programs, advanced appropriations to prevent interruptions, and stable funding mechanisms that honor treaty and trust responsibilities. 🎧 Tune in live Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. ET on Native News Online’s Facebook , YouTube , or the website .
Opinion
October 29, 2025 Mark Cruz Opinion 3866
Guest Opinion. Critics have accused Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of endangering public health by dispatching more than 70 Public Health Service officers to strengthen care in understaffed Tribal communities, claiming that Indian Country should not be a top HHS priority. These claims could not be further from the truth. Secretary Kennedy’s bold action affirms HHS’ commitment to Tribal communities: we will bolster the Indian Health Service (IHS), revitalize Tribal healthcare, and ensure that Indian Country receives the caliber of medical support it deserves.
October 27, 2025 Levi Rickert Opinion 4730
Opinion. It’s an old complaint and one we hear sometimes at Native News Online : Journalists don’t report the good news enough. We understand the sentiment. Day after day, our inboxes and news feeds are filled with the familiar drumbeat of struggles across Indian Country.
Sovereignty
October 30, 2025 Native News Online Staff Sovereignty 379
The effort to preserve the Dakota language and lifeways received a major boost this week as Dakota Wicohan was named the 2025 Greater Minnesota Bush Prize: Minnesota Recipient.
October 29, 2025 Shaun Griswold Sovereignty 1929
An emergency authorization from the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council to slaughter 18 buffalo from the tribe’s herd will produce thousands of pounds of meat for community members facing uncertain food assistance during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
Education
October 30, 2025 Native News Online Staff Education 758
Three Native women—a president, a professor, and a student—are sharing their personal journeys in higher education in a new book that highlights the experiences of Native women finding place and purpose in academic spaces.
October 28, 2025 Native News Online Staff Education 1728
Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives and Tribal Adaptive Organization have announced the winners of the fourth annual Tribal Adaptive Student-Athlete of the Year Award, recognizing two outstanding Native student-athletes with physical disabilities.
Arts & Entertainment
October 30, 2025 Chickasaw Nation Media Arts & Entertainment 267
This year, six Chickasaw artists attended the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA) annual Santa Fe Indian Market in August. SWAIA is the largest juried First American art show in the world, with more than 100,000 people in attendance annually. Started in 1922, it is also the oldest. Each year they sponsor more than 1,000 First American artists from more than 100 tribal communities in North America and Canada, generating more than $160 million annually in revenues for artists and the community.
October 29, 2025 Levi Rickert Arts & Entertainment 473
ZUNI, N.M. — Representatives from the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project, A:shiwi A:wan Museum & Heritage Center, and Zuni Pueblo community joined Indigenous knowledge keepers, culture bearers and leaders from around the world at the 2025 International Conference of Indigenous Archives, Libraries, and Museums, in Cherokee, North Carolina, earlier this month.
Health
Environment
October 21, 2025 Native News Online Staff Environment 3455
Ten Michigan Tribal Nations have filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Enbridge’s “underhanded procedural tactics” in the ongoing legal fight over the Line 5 oil pipelines.
October 21, 2025 Native News Online Staff Environment 2596
Alaska Native organizations and tribal governments, in collaboration with the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF), regional nonprofits, and community partners, have launched the Western Alaska Disaster Relief Fund to deliver immediate and long-term support to communities devastated by Typhoon Halong.