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The National Tribal Healthcare Conference was held in Rapid City, S.D. this year, a major event for the Monument theater downtown.

With 1,600 attendees, the event also brought key figures from Washington, D.C. SDPB’s C.J. Keene has more.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough spoke to attendees about the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities relating to veterans, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous perspectives.

“You’ll remember, back in November of 2022 I made a commitment to you guys. I said we’d have a copay exemption in place for American Indians and Alaska Natives by year’s end. We missed it by a couple of months, but we got it done last spring, and it’s making a difference. Over 6,000 vets have applied for the waiver.”

Despite that early success, McDonough says there are over 60,000 eligible Native veterans who still haven’t applied for those benefits.

“My concern is – how many Native vets just don’t know this benefit is waiting for them? I want to ask for your help. That’s the same approach we’re taking on reimbursement, expanding the scope of support for Native vets.”

Information about how to apply for that program can be found at sdpb.org/news.

Another current priority for the VA is to expand access to traditional medicine and mental health treatments for Indigenous vets.

“When I talk about meeting vets where they are, I’m talking spiritually, mentally, and culturally as well. Now, we already offer traditional medicine at some of our facilities, but we need more formal recognition and integration of traditional healing as part of our healthcare programs. So, IHS director Roselyn Tso is fighting alongside us.”

Also near the top of the priority list is rural outreach, particularly on reservation settings.

(Courtesy Mark Heitman / Flickr)

The Lac du Flambeau Tribe says the federal government should be providing millions more in funding to combat the Tribe’s drug issues and their consequences.

Over the last six years, the 11-member Tribal police department has made more than 2,000 arrests.

Fully half have been drug-related, but overworked law enforcement is only one challenge presented by drugs, as Ben Meyer explains.

Lac du Flambeau Tribal Vice President George Thompson said meth, heroin, and fentanyl addictions are driving the mental health crisis and spurring human trafficking on the reservation.

Drug addiction has also had a major impact on housing.

“We were at a point, with the amount of drug use, it damn-near bankrupted our housing authority. It still continues to hurt our housing authority.”

V.P. Thompson testified earlier this month in Washington before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies.

He was one of many Tribal officials from across the country to do so.

V.P. Thompson said federal laws are written in a way that inhibits federal funding from being used to clean up drug houses on the reservation.

“It costs the Tribe at least four to eight thousand dollars to clean and test a meth-contaminated home. We are losing our housing inventory due to drugs. This is causing overcrowding and domestic and child abuse.”

V.P. Thompson wants Congress to rewrite the law to allow for clean-up funding to flow more easily.

He also said cartels are now bringing drugs directly to the reservation.

To fight these issues, V.P. Thompson said the federal government should be sending millions more to Lac du Flambeau to uphold the government’s trust responsibility to the tribe.

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Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren recently signed an executive order directing all schools with Navajo students, whether on or off the Navajo Nation, to allow them to wear traditional regalia at their commencement ceremonies.

This comes after a Farmington (N.M.) Municipal Schools graduating senior, Geneses White Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), was ordered to surrender her beaded mortarboard and had it replaced with a plain one to match those of other graduates.

White Bull’s mortarboard was cut with scissors by an administrator, according to her mother Brenda White bull, after White Bull refused to remove it herself.

President Nygren says the executive order is a way to take care of Native students and to show them the respect, especially at a special time like a high school graduation.

Earlier this month, the 2024 Fellowship Convening, sponsored by the First People’s Fund (FPF), was held in Santa Fe, N.M.

Every year, through invitation only, the FPF fellows gather together to be a part of workshops that help with financial assistance and guidance, and enhancing entrepreneurial skills of Indigenous artists and cultural practitioners.

One of the fellows is George Alexander, a Muscogee Creek artist living in Santa Fe.

He says growing up, his parents were very sick and he often spent a lot of time in the hospital with them.

“So we would be in and out of the hospital a lot. We didn’t have a lot of money, so my mom would give me a stack of copy paper and pencils, and I would draw to pass the time.”

As Alexander got older, he started to do graffiti style art, and in school, would make money by drawing art for his school mates.

At the young age of 14 years old, Alexander would go on to be a tattoo artist through his early 20s until he made the decision to join the military.

But what Alexander soon realized throughout his life is, things don’t always go as planned.

“Shortly after high school, I wanted to get into the military, but I had a small complication with my heart. It never bothered me or anything. It was PDA. But it was a liability. And the military couldn’t take.”

Discouraged, and lost on what direction to take, his aunt told him about a program called the Institute of American Indian arts.

“She was like, ‘You know you’ve always been into art, so why don’t you try this since you can’t go into the military?’ So when I enroll, and when I got there it was really nice. Everybody is kind of like the same. We all come from different parts of Indian country and we’re all there. It was really easy to make friends, and I tried it out, and it was spectacular.”

Alexander graduated in 2015 with his bachelor’s in fine arts with emphasis in studio art.

He then went on to get a Master’s Degree at the Studio Art College International in Florence Italy. He’s now a well known artist, with his own studio in Santa Fe.

This is Alexander’s first year attending Fellowship Convening and says becoming part of the First People’s Fund is something to be taken very seriously.

“Whenever you do get it, keep in mind that you’re representing the First People’s Fund, you’re a fellow. That kind of means something, so don’t act like a fool.”

Alexander’s next step in his career is to put on shows in Los Angeles, and the Santa Fe Indian Art market, showcasing his work, and meeting with other Indigenous artists.

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Alaska has the fourth highest rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in the nation. And among cities, Anchorage has the third highest numbers.

It’s a problem the state has mostly ignored, but as Rhonda McBride from our flagship station KNBA reports, the state legislature passed a bill to bring both attention and resources to the problem.

“I want to be sure that I convey this epidemic is impacting every region of the state. Urban. Rural. And in between.”

State Rep. C. J. McCormick (D-AK) says the bill is finally a response to those who have long cried out for the state to address the crisis of missing and murdered Alaska Natives, a cause that goes well beyond the list of names.

“There’s individuals that I went to school with. Unfortunately, my staffer who helped work on this bill, has family members that are part of these lists as well. I’m sure that members of this body, who even have family members, that are part of this list.”

The Bethel Democrat says the legislation aims to reduce these lists by hiring two permanent MMIP investigators to focus on unsolved cases.

It also requires police training to include cultural education and creates a nine-member review commission.

“For advocates and families, this is a huge moment for us.”

Charlene Apok.

Charlene Apok (Iñupiaq), Director of Data for Indigenous Justice, says it’s exciting that so many groups came together to champion the bill.

Apok is director of Data for Indigenous Justice and says the best part is that Alaska Natives helped to build this coalition by tapping into their traditional values, which focuses on building relationships and using the power of storytelling.

“And as we carried those stories, collected the data, and said it, over and over and over again, and then we have our collective voices, that’s the power of that. That changes from being a situation happened one-off to a collective truth that cannot be denied.”

Apok says with strong relationships in place, the bill’s provisions will have a better chance of success, but there’s still a lot of work ahead to bring about lasting change.

But at least one lawmaker denied his vote for the bill, State Rep. David Eastman (R-AK).

He questioned the need for police to get cultural training and worries the bill would add to an already heavy workload.

(Courtesy SRMT Police / Facebook)

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal (SRMT) Police have been awarded an over $850,000 grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services as part of the Law Enforcement Grant Program.

This grant will allow the Tribal Police to modernize their operations and increase their ability to effectively solve and prevent crime by being able to purchase things like license plate readers, computer-aided dispatch systems, advanced software solutions, drones, and gunshot detection devices.

In a statement, SRMT Chief of Police Mathew Rourke said: “I would like to thank the Governor’s office for making the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police a direct recipient of grant funding. The new technology and equipment we will be able to purchase with these funds will greatly enhance our capabilities and help us better serve and protect our community.”

Chief Rourke says SRMT will utilize this additional funding to ensure the safety and security of all residents.

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has published a trilogy of illustrated dictionaries that teach vocabulary for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages.

The series, developed by SHI staff and contributors, features “Everyday Tlingit”, “Everyday Haida”, and “Everyday Tsimshian”, and is intended to teach Native words to children in grades K through five, but may also be used by people of all ages who want to learn the vocabularies.

SHI says the goal is to increase exposure to the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages of Southeast Alaska.

In the booklets, Native words are superimposed over everyday scenes, including the bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, clothes, kitchen, food and drinks.

Each volume includes a glossary with English translations.

The books are not currently available for purchase, but SHI is researching ways to further their distribution.

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The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe is banishing Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) from its reservation until further notice.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Lee Strubinger reports.

The ban, which was approved unanimously on Wednesday, was first reported by the Rapid City Journal.

Speaking to South Dakota Public Broadcasting a day before the ban, Chairman Clyde Estes says the tribe takes issue with the governor’s words during a townhall in March.

Then, the Republican governor said tribal members benefit from a Mexican drug cartel presence.

Estes says he draws the line at Gov. Noem saying Native American children have no hope.

“There’s a lot of unfortunate things that are said that are hurtful to our people, especially our children. All I’ve asked for is she send a written apology to our children and then to the parents.”

Eight of nine tribal governments located in South Dakota have now banned the governor from their reservations.

The ban comes as Gov. Noem is heading to the Mexico–United States border on the Texas side Thursday.

Friday morning, she’s holding a press conference to discuss the southern border and what she says are cartel presence on South Dakota’s tribal lands.

Tribal leaders denounce Gov. Noem’s claims about cartels on reservations.

Lower Brule Chairman Estes calls it “another blatant misstatement.”

Lake County intends to pull out of a decades-long agreement to oversee felony jurisdiction on northwest Montana’s Flathead Reservation next week.

Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports the decision comes after failed negotiations with the governor’s office.

Lake County says it can’t afford to jail and prosecute felony crimes on the reservation because it can’t collect taxes on tribal trust lands.

Commissioner Gale Decker says the county had some recent discussions with the governor’s office about funding, but they didn’t go anywhere.

“The last conversation was that the governor is preparing the proclamation for release on Monday.”

That proclamation will officially remove Lake County from the agreement, known at public law 280.

Last month, Attorney General Austin Knudsen said Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT)’s office was willing to negotiate legislation that could fund Lake County’s law enforcement services on the reservation.

Knudsen said he would mediate the negotiations.

When asked about the discussions with the county, Gov. Gianforte’s office pointed back to his letter vetoing legislation last year that would have funded law enforcement services.

Gov. Gianforte has said the state also plans to pull out of the agreement.

County commissioners say the county will still oversee felonies until it becomes clear when the federal government can step in.

Montana’s top federal prosecutor has said federal agencies have limited resources and would only prosecute high-level felonies.

(Photo: Jarek Tuszyński)

Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Apache people and their allies, will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Oak Flat in Arizona from a copper mine.

This comes after the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to rehear the group’s case Apache Stronghold v. the U.S.

The area is sacred to Western Apache and other Native people who say the mining project violates religious freedom.

In March, the group received a blow in its efforts to protect Oak Flat after a panel of 11 judges on the appeals court ruled 6-5 that the federal government can transfer Oak Flat to Resolution Copper.

This week, attorneys said the full 29-judge federal appeals court’s refusal paves the way for an appeal to the high court.

Resolution Copper says the project will supply copper, create jobs, and boost Arizona’s economy.

Attorneys say Apache Stronghold’s Supreme Court appeal is expected by August.

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The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is joining six other tribes located within South Dakota in banning Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) from its reservation.

As South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s Lee Strubinger reports, an eighth may follow suit.

The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe passed a resolution banning Gov. Noem from the boundaries of its reservation Tuesday morning.

The move comes following comments by the Republican governor alleging tribal leaders benefit from cartel activity. During a recent town hall, Gov. Noem also said kids “don’t have any hope.”

Chairman Peter Lengkeek says Crow Creek does not have Mexican drug cartels on their reservation.

“We have cartel products, like guns and drugs. But they pass over state highways getting to the reservation. So, putting us all together like that and saying that all tribes are involved in this really shows to the ignorance of the governor’s office—not willing to reach out and learn, and connect, with the tribes—that’s what that is indicative of.”

Last week, the Sisseton-Wahpeton and Yankton Tribes banned Gov. Noem from their reservations.

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe recently rejected banishing Gov. Noem from its reservation. But Chairman Clyde Estes says the council may revisit the idea at their next meeting in June.

Estes says he draws the line at Gov. Noem talking about Native children.

“The children should be left out of any political discussion. Not to say that they don’t have no hope is wrong and should not have said that.”

It’s unclear if the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe will also ban Gov. Noem.

A spokesperson for Gov. Noem’s office has not returned requests for comment.

Unintentional injuries are among the top ten leading causes of death for older adults – and during Older Americans Month experts want to raise awareness about the importance of prevention.

Alex Gonzalez has more.

Holly Billie, a tribal injury advocate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Injury Center, said Indigenous communities around the country face unique challenges relating to falls and motor vehicle crashes.

“They have higher motor vehicle crash death rates compared to older adults of other races and ethnicities. Disparities are usually a problem in tribal communities.”

Billie added while disparities relating to falls and motor vehicle crashes are higher in Indigenous communities, it’s important to remember that most of these injuries are preventable.

In an effort to decrease the susceptibility to injury or even death, Billie contends the answer could lie within social connectedness.

She noted those who have close, supportive relationships have been shown to live longer, and encourages Tribal Nations to think about creative ways to further cultivate a sense of community.

Gwen Bergen, team lead with the CDC’s Injury Center, said unintentional injuries can impair older adults from doing the things they want and need to do to stay healthy, happy and connected.

For those who are concerned about their ability to drive, or their chances of falling, she recommends having open and honest conversations with medical providers as well as caretakers.

“Another important thing to do is to consider, with your doctor, what kinds of medicines you’re taking and what the side effects of those may be. Certain medications can have side effects that can increase your risk of falling or increase your risk of being in a motor vehicle crash.”

To prevent falls, she encouraged practicing strength and balance exercises, as well as taking part in physical activity that increases muscle strength such as walking, group exercise or low-impact sports.

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Rocket Mortgage has agreed to pay $65,000 to settle an unfair lending complaint with a St. Ignatius, Mont. family, according to federal housing officials.

The family, which was not identified in the settlement, filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last summer.

They allege Rocket Mortgage denied their loan application because they are Indigenous, forcing them to accept a higher interest rate from another lender.

Rocket Mortgage denies the allegations, but agreed to pay the settlement.

The company is also required to provide fair lending training to its employees and to pay an additional $30,000 to “programs that improve housing conditions, consumer financial literacy and education, outreach, and homeownership education or counseling for Native Americans.”

A new report about Indigenous children was discussed during a recent U.S. Senate committee roundtable.

The study by the Commission on Native Children makes key recommendations it wants the government to fund.

Yvette Fernandez reports for the Mountain West News Bureau.

The report called Way Forward addresses several concerns about Native children, ranging from improving prenatal care to limiting drop out rates and teen suicide.

Gloria O’Neil of the Cook Inlet Tribal Council of Alaska chairs the commission.

She says while there are many challenges facing Native communities, it’s also important to celebrate successes.

She mentioned a summer program called a “super fab lab” where students learn new technology to help prepare them for the workforce.

“We bring job skills into that place. So when youth spend time with us after school, during summers, they have a standard of skills that they need to thrive in this world.”

The study showed that more than a third of Indigenous youth live in homes that are unable to afford basic needs.

Watch The U.S. Senate Committee On Indian Affairs Hearing

Courtesy Siċaŋġu Co

As efforts to give a new generation of Lakota youth the gift of their traditional language continue, one school is using technology to make that education easier.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene reports.

In Mission on the Rosebud Reservation, the Wakanyeja Ki Tokeyahci immersion school has introduced an app to students to bolster their language learning efforts.

Forster Cournoyer-Hogan is operations manager at the school.

“The Uncí Wóslolye app was a partnership between our school, the Maȟpíya Lúta immersion program, and an app developer by the name of Jonathan Lu. Our app this time was going to be more for mathematics, basic vocabulary for fruits, vegetables, food items, and then they get a little bit of vocabulary with learning the sound of our language.”

He says it’s offering real learning opportunities to the student body.

“They get to see characters and avatars that have long braids and having the language accessible on the app as opposed to playing something that’s in English. It just boosts their own confidence. Being able to see themselves in these games, they’re learning along the way.”

But Cournoyer-Hogan says it’s more than just students learning from this program.

“Even then, five minutes a day on the app you’re boosting some vocabulary. You’re boosting some learning regardless. We hope that a lot of people utilize it. It’s a fun time, I enjoy playing it. I’m learning a lot, I’m not fluent – I understand the language some – but as an adult I’ve been learning from the app. It’s an app for everyone, and they’re picking it up quicker than I am.”

The app is available to download for free on Apple platforms, and developers are currently creating a port for Android devices.

Users do not need to be affiliated with a school to use the app.

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Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA) recently announced the appointment of Ted Wright as its new Executive Director.

Wright has brought over 25 years of extensive leadership experience within Tribal organizations and educational institutions, and has previously held numerous executive roles, including his service as the Executive Director for the Native Village of Eyak, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, and Spokane Tribe of Indians among others.

In a statement, Daniel Cornelius, chair of NAFSA’s leadership council, said: “Ted is uniquely qualified to lead NAFSA at this pivotal time. His deep understanding of Tribal Sovereignty and his proactive approach to leadership will be invaluable as we move forward with our mission to empower Tribal communities through enhanced food sovereignty.”

Wright’s immediate focus as Executive Director will be to guide NAFSA through its next phase of strategic initiatives, which includes stabilizing and deepening the understanding of its mission and increasing the impact on Tribal communities.

Wright said in a statement: “I am honored to join NAFSA and contribute to an organization that is doing such critical work for food sovereignty. I look forward to working with our communities to fortify our food systems and ensure that our tribal nations can flourish for generations to come.”

Plans for his leadership include significant recruitment efforts for new board members and organizing impactful in-person meetings scheduled for the upcoming summer and fall.

The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in Connecticut has reopened after construction.

The museum’s organizers say it uses Westernized museum practices and Indigenizes them.

Hannah Bissett from our flagship station KNBA has more.

The Mashantucket Pequot Museum opened its doors on August 11th, 1998.

It’s tribally owned and operated and, according to the museum, the largest Native-owned museum in the world.

The museum covers around 20,000 years of history.

The head of education for the museum is Nakai Clearwater Northup.

He spoke about the new improvements and the mission of the museum. 

“Typically the losers of the war don’t get to tell their stories, other people get to write their histories for them, and we get to really combat that.”

Originally, the renovations were architectural.

“We’ve redone seating in our auditoriums, we have a 300-seat auditorium where we’ve run larger programs.”

The museum was also able to improve in other ways. 

“Revamped our witness film, which talked about the Pequot war, and if you came and saw it in the past 25 years it was really grainy and it was literally actually running on film, we’ve had it digitized and it’s clear, it looks great.”

Northup says that the museum is also taking the renovations as a time to focus on repatriation and revitalization of language.

“People would donate a lot of things or they would bring them and we’d house them here. And we’re looking at a lot of things now and we are thinking ‘Well we really shouldn’t have this.’ And we have the ability to return or repatriate these items back to these communities.”

Northup says repatriation falls under four values: trust, relationship, balance, and decolonization. 

Continuing their mission, Northup says that decolonization within museum science practices is significant for them, from the way visitors can interact with exhibits to other traditions.

“And just how we start the day, we are able to participate in ceremony, we have our family tribal community here and hosting events.”

This decolonization also takes the form of – farmer’s markets, powwows, and other community-led educational programs.

Along with this, Northup says the renovations opened up the pathway for youth to learn more about the museum and what it has to offer.

“To have the next generation here being able to soak up information, and for us to have the awesome opportunity to continue to share our story – our history, so it’s a really exciting time of year.”

The museum offers virtual tours and experiences along with interactive in-person exhibitions, and in the next coming years there are plans to reinvigorate more exhibits.

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Opening a business can be a challenge for even the most privileged of people.

One operation in Rapid City wants to help level the playing field for people from all backgrounds, as SDPB’s C.J. Keene reports.

The Black Hills Community Loan Fund is a Native community development financial institution (CDFI) aiming to help provide financial opportunities to the historically underserved local Native community.

Barbara Schmitt is the executive director. She says real change comes to communities when economic development is put into local hands.

“We recently had a market study done on the He Sapa (Black Hills) region, and it showed the definite need for loan products as well as technical assistance to assist individuals pursuing business opportunities. Starting up businesses, expanding businesses, and by us providing those technical assistance and loan products to those individuals, they’re able to increase their quality of life.”

Schmitt says Native-owned businesses can take advantage of the tourism and arts markets in Rapid City, but the challenge often comes in establishing the groundwork. And that’s where the Community Loan Fund steps in.

However, there are some requirements for people looking to get involved with the program.

“We provide financial literacy training on an as-needed basis and we’re trying to get a schedule twice a month. They’re six-hour courses, we start from business 101, we do banking, setting up a budget – everything individuals will need to further their life. Financial literacy is key, and it is also a requirement for any of our loans we provide.”

Statistics from the US Small Business Administration deputy administrator Diliwar Syed show of the 33 million small businesses with employees nationwide – only 48,000 are Native-owned.

Parts of three families pictured here were forced to abandon their homes in Burt Lake, prodded by the armed deputies of Cheboygan County in 1900. (Courtesy Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians)

The Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians have preserved the tribe’s history in northern Michigan with a new book.

That history includes the violent colonization of Band’s village in the year 1900 and the legal battles that persist to this day.

Interlochen Public Radio’s Michael Livingston was shown around what used to be “Indian Village” and spoke with the tribes’ historian who helped compile the book, A Cloud Over the Land.

On the top of a hill, overlooking an icy Burt Lake, Ken Parkie walks through a small cemetery filled with a few dozen white crosses.

He scans the land, looking for signs of an old settlement.

“I was always told it was down in that area. Right down in there. Yeah, about where that valley is, back that way. That’s where I was always told it was at.”

The historic St. Mary’s Cemetery is located off of Chickagami Trail in Brutus, not far from where the Burt Lake Band’s village stood before the 1900 burnout. (Courtesy IPR)

Several of Parkie’s ancestors are buried here. Some lived in that original settlement that stood here more than a century ago.

Back then, the village had log cabins made with lumber from a nearby sawmill and was a thriving community.

Then came October 15, 1900, when a group of men including a sheriff and land speculator burned the village down with kerosene.

The book A Cloud Over the Land tells the story about how the Burt Lake Band lost their land, but also about the fight to get it back.

Even now, the band is trying to obtain federal reaffirmation, which would return the label of sovereign nation to the Northwest Peninsula on Burt Lake.

Tribal historian Deborah Richmond says she hopes the book will remind the region and the country that the Band still remains.

“Only now when we can tell our own story, and when people can hear our story, are we allowed to start healing. We would like to focus on the good parts of our culture. But it very much is a cloud over our families and over our history because we want to right the wrongs that happened to our ancestors.”

A Cloud Over the Land is available to purchase on the Burt Lake Band website.

Richmond says the book has already sold over 500 copies.

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