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Many Native elders and families are facing new challenges with Social Security—whether it’s navigating in-person requirements or dealing with scams that threaten their benefits. 

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April 13, 2025 Levi Rickert
Tribal leaders from the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC) joined HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a fireside chat during the Tribal Self-Governance Conference on Tuesday, held on the Gila River Indian Community reservation near Phoenix.
Currents
April 17, 2025 Native News Online Staff Currents 86
Construction has officially begun on a new $267 million water treatment facility along Navajo Route 36 near Shiprock, New Mexico. The San Juan Lateral Water Treatment Plant, expected to be completed by late 2028, will play a vital role in securing clean drinking water for more than 200,000 people over the next four decades, including communities in Arizona.
Opinion
April 16, 2025 Professor Victoria Sutton Opinion 1418
Guest Opinion. The Dire Wolf is said to have become extinct about 10,000 years ago. It was a true North American carnivore, unlike the Eurasian wolf that we have today. Its prey was bison, horses, mastadons, camels, sloths and other extinct animals, which led to its own extinction.
April 15, 2025 Judith LeBlanc Opinion 1891
Guest Opinion. Even as Native elders experience higher rates of poverty than the national average, Native people receive Social Security benefits at a lower rate than the general population, with even wider gaps among Natives with disabilities.
Sovereignty
April 17, 2025 Levi Rickert Sovereignty 34
Internationally acclaimed Indigenous chef Sean Sherman (Lakota)—winner of the Julia Child and James Beard awards and founder of the award-winning restaurant Owamni—will visit Bozeman from April 24–26 to announce the city as the first expansion site of his groundbreaking Indigenous Food Lab concept called IFL Bozeman.
April 17, 2025 Native News Online Staff Sovereignty 60
In a continued pattern of disregarding the sovereignty of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners today denied a formal request from the Tribes to reschedule an upcoming hearing, submit additional evidence, and extend testimony time in a proceeding involving treaty-protected rights.
Education
April 15, 2025 Levi Rickert Education 10644
A massive overnight fire destroyed the Student Union Building at Diné College, located on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Tsaile, Arizona.
April 11, 2025 Kaili Berg Education 3966
On Thursday, April 10, the Illinois House of Representatives approved House Bill 1237 , which would prohibit public K-12 schools from using Native American names, mascots, or imagery.
Arts & Entertainment
April 15, 2025 Neely Bardwell Arts & Entertainment 1131
Today, Indigenous author and illustrator team Laurel Goodluck and Steph Littlebird released their new children’s picture book titled FIERCE AUNTIES! , a celebration of what makes aunties so special.
April 12, 2025 Kaili Berg Arts & Entertainment 11076
AMC’s Dark Winds continues to build tension as it heads into its sixth episode of the season, titled “Ábidoo'niidęę (What He Had Been Told),” airing Sunday, April 13 on AMC and streaming on AMC+.
Health
Environment
April 16, 2025 Zuni Youth Enrichment Project Environment 616
ZUNI, NM — The Zuni Youth Enrichment Project announced today that it will be hosting an Earth Day trash cleanup event on Tuesday, April 22. Scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., the cleanup efforts will focus on the northeast side of Ho’n A:wan Park along the Zuni River bed and at ZYEP’s adopt-a-road location at Chimoni Drive and Shalako Drive.
April 11, 2025 Neely Bardwell Environment 3491
The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in northern Wisconsin has filed two legal challenges to protect water resources in the Bad River and coastal wetlands. The re-route of Line 5 would go through at least 186 waterways and 101 acres of high-quality wetlands that drain into Lake Superior.