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Photo courtesy W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Many states are turning to dental therapists to serve tribes.

But, some aren’t so sure adding another mid-level position is the way to tackle dental care deserts.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Hanna Merzbach reports.

Dental therapists are a relatively new position. They can do things like cleanings, fluoride treatments, and even simple fillings, says dentist and researcher Donald Chi.

“Put out small fires in a community with lots of dental care needs, and so then the dentist can come in and put out the big fires.”

He says dental therapists are often focused on tribes, since about half of Indigenous people live in areas without enough dentists.

Initiatives have been particularly successful in Alaska, but there are few training programs for dental therapists in the lower 48.

And Tanna Nagy with the Wyoming Dental Association says she’d rather see resources go toward existing programs for dentists, hygienists and assistants.

“Instead of trying to find faculty for new programs, which is just hard to find already.”

She says states could also encourage reaching unserved populations by reducing dental workers’ student loan debt.

Michigan State University has launched a new program to expand educational opportunities for Native American students across the country.

Chrystal Blair has more details.

The Native American Tuition Advantage Program gives out-of-state Indigenous students access to in-state tuition, helping to remove the financial barriers making it harder for many people to pursue higher education.

Kevin Leonard, director of the Native American Institute at the university, said the idea for the program came after years of conversations between the Native community, staff, and students.

“A lot of our people were relocated all over the country, all over the North American continent. We really felt for those First Nation relatives that maybe were moved into Canada, or other states. We should have something like a tuition reciprocity where at least they could attend MSU, at the bare minimum.”

Leonard pointed out getting students enrolled is only the first step. His department will expand programs, cultural activities, and resources to give students the support they need to succeed and graduate.

Orville Cayaditt, a graduate student from Utah and member of the Navajo Nation, started at the university before the program was introduced.

Fortunately, he received support through another program, but he believes it could be a game-changer for many Native American students.

“The situation a lot of Native students are faced with, in that when choosing an out-of-state college, financial costs, out-of-state costs, those are real questions that can make or break that decision for a student wanting to come out of state.”

The new program expands on Michigan State’s Maynard Kennedy Turtle Island Acknowledgement Scholarship, which offers similar benefits to a limited number of students from state or federally recognized tribes. It will begin in the fall of 2025.

This story is supported by the Lumina Foundation.

The FBI says it has dedicated resources to address violence in Indian Country through its Operation Not Forgotten.

The operation, in its second year, is jointly between the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS).

Officials say from June to September, resources helped to address unresolved cases.

The assistance included FBI special agents and intelligence personnel who were deployed to 10 FBI field offices across the country.

Officials say it resulted in more than 300 cases receiving increased investigation and victim assistance, including cases involving sex abuse, violent assault, domestic violence, and death investigations.

The effort, officials say, have led to more than 40 arrests and more than 400 victims have been provided with support services.

 

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The Washington state office that helps secure grant funding for outdoor projects has hired someone to coordinate with Native American tribes.

Steve Jackson has more.

Spokane tribal citizen Dawn Pullin is the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office’s first tribal affairs director.

Pullin has a varied resume working with the Spokane Tribe, and recently served as a tribal liaison for the Washington State Patrol.

In her new role, Pullin says she will have a chance to work closely with Washington tribes to find funding for various projects.

“I’m going to take my lead from the tribe, like what does the tribe need from me? And how can we communicate and collaborate in consultation and work together and ensure that tribal sovereignty is upheld.”

She says tribal priorities include salmon recovery projects, which is a big part of the state agency’s mission.

Additionally, she says tribes could benefit from funding for recreation projects, such trails and parks.

Pullin is studying a list of past grants the Recreation and Conservation Office secured for tribes to determine what future projects could benefit from funding.

A signing ceremony took place last week in Anchorage, Alaska between tribes and federal agencies to work together to address the collapse of salmon.

And as Jill Fratis from our flagship station KNBA reports, the history-making agreement was a trail blazing event.

It was held in downtown Anchorage during the Alaska Tribal Unity Gathering.

More than two years ago, U.S. Department of the Interior leaders heard from Alaska Native tribes about the salmon collapses, their impacts on communities and cultures, and the need for immediate and lasting action by the federal government.

More than 100 tribes as well as federal agencies discussed co-stewardships, where both Traditional Knowledge and western science were brought to the table to come up with a solution for the devastating impacts to the salmon population.

During the hour-long discussion, multiple people spoke of the long road hundreds of tribes and communities face.

Vivian Korthuis is from Emmonak and is the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Village Council Presidents.

She is on the Gravel to Gravel board, and says that with the combined forces of the tribes in Alaska, as well as federal agencies, they are sure to make a big impact.

“If we had an initiative where there was only one leader, the feds or in our case, the tribes do it alone, it wouldn’t work. We know that. Those of us that are sitting up here are working on behalf of every single community, every single Tribe every single family, every single individual that has been touched by the salmon crisis in western Alaska.”

Korthius says that in recent years, the consistent decline in salmon becomes more devastating each year.

“What I believe, is that this is really a true humanitarian crisis. We don’t have salmon to put away in our freezers. It’s unthinkable that we have the third largest river in, the Yukon river in this nation, and we have no salmon to put away. It’s mind boggling.”

Brian Ridley is Chief of the Tanana Chiefs Conference.

“It’s really a lot about salmon habitat restoration, and so, trying to make sure that the salmon have good areas to spawn in across Alaska, and that we have a healthy environment for the salmon to be able to come back to, in an effort to try to get them to come back to how they once were, you know, 20, 30, 40 years ago. “

The board will meet regularly throughout the next few years to discuss more solutions of the salmon crisis.

And October 21st marks the 12th annual Native American College Fair.

Hosted at the Minnesota History Center, more than 40 colleges from across the U.S. will be on-site to discuss higher education opportunities with Native students and their families.

 

 

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In what it says is the largest federal investment in small businesses across Indian Country, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the approval of over $500 million in State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Capital Program applications.

The milestone was reached with the approval of nearly $87 million for the Cherokee Nation.

Its Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. says small businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy across the reservation.

“For many people across the country who are involved in small business, access to capital may not be as difficult as it is Indian Country. So this will provide the working capital that brilliant entrepreneurs who are either starting businesses or expanding businesses need. Things that many people take for granted like franchise fees, buying equipment, inventory, production services.”

The historic amount was also reached with eight other SSBCI applications worth an additional $15 million.

Treasury officials have also announced two competitive technical assistance awards through the SSBCI Investing in America Small Business Opportunity Program (SBOP) for the Cherokee and Chickasaw Nations.

The Episcopal Church in Wyoming returned more than 200 cultural and sacred items to the Northern Arapaho Tribe earlier this week.

They’d been in the church’s possession for almost 80 years.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Hannah Habermann has this report.

A couple hundred people gathered in a grassy field at St. Michael’s Circle in Ethete for a “coming home celebration.”

“This is very historical for us, to get our artifacts back.”

That’s Northern Arapaho elder Marian Scott addressing the crowd.

Over a plate of stew and bread after the ceremony, Northern Arapaho member Jordan Dresser called it a full circle moment.

“(I) feel lucky to have been a part of this journey, but also to see it complete. It’s something I never thought would happen.”

And moving forward?

“I’m just excited for what’s the next possibility, which is creating a museum where we tell who we are as Arapaho people.”

For Alaska Natives, the right to hunt and fish has been a long running battle that goes back well before statehood.

There’s a push at the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Convention this year to restore subsistence rights that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) was supposed to guarantee.

Congress passed ANILCA in 1980.

Alaska Natives originally fought for a Native preference, but settled for a rural priority for hunting and fishing.

But courts have determined that the state’s constitution doesn’t allow a rural priority.

So today, the state has two systems of fish and game management.

Gayla Hofseth, chairman of AFN’s Subsistence Committee, says it’s time for a complete overhaul of subsistence management.

“We’re trying to go back to getting our aboriginal hunting and fishing rights back. When you look at it, what has the state and federal government done to protect our subsistence way of life. That’s a loaded question.”

The AFN Subsistence Committee has drafted a resolution that calls for Alaska Natives to oversee subsistence on Native Corporation lands.

It also looks at reopening – not only ANILCA – but the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The AFN Convention is the state’s largest gathering, drawing thousands of people to Anchorage.

And 30 years ago this week, the United States Postal Service issued its “Legends of the West” stamps, featuring several prominent historical figures.

This included Apache military leader and medicine man Geronimo; Sacajawea, who was the Shoshone guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark expedition; and Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.

 

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Photo: Paul Bolger / KNPR

Tribal members living on reservations and colonies in Nevada are now among the roughly 300,000 Americans who can cast a ballot online.

Nevada Public Radio’s Paul Boger reports.

The Native American Rights Fund estimates that the average turnout among Indigenous voters during the last six election cycles was 37%.

Turnout among white voters averaged around 51%.

One reason is that tribal communities have faced historical and geographic obstacles to casting a ballot, including a lack of polling locations and unreliable mail service.

“It’s one of the day-to-day challenges that you come to accept.”

That’s Brian Mason, Chairman of the Shoshone Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, which straddles the Nevada-Idaho state line.

In previous elections, the nearest polling location was open only on election day, two hours away.

Chairman Mason says a lot of people didn’t get a chance to vote.

“If you couldn’t make it to Elko, you just didn’t go.”

This year, voters living on the Duck Valley Reservation or any of the 27 other tribal communities in the state can vote online using Nevada’s digital Effective Absentee System for Elections (EASE).

The state developed it in 2014 to allow members of the armed forces overseas and others to cast absentee ballots online.

Mathilda Miller is with the Native Voters Alliance of Nevada, one of the organizations that pushed for the expansion.

She says EASE, along with voting by mail, allows Native voters in Nevada to have their voices heard like never before.

“I think it’s a great opportunity, and I think it’s great to see that this voting tool is being extended to our people.”

Opponents of electronic voting have expressed doubts about the EASE system’s security.

For Miller, those concerns are part of an effort to continue disenfranchising Native voters.

“It’s allowing people who have the means and the infrastructure to cast your vote. I’m excited about it, and I’m hoping that that will continue to happen with more years, more elections and more education. More people can take advantage of the system.”

For in-person voting, the Secretary of State’s office says there will be 18 polling locations on tribal land on election day, 12 early voting locations, and eight ballot drop boxes available to Native voters throughout the state.

Tribes may soon have support in growing and maintaining traditional plants.

U.S. Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) has introduced legislation called the Native American Seed Act.

Rep. Torres says, if passed, her bill would allow the U.S. Department of the Interior and tribes to determine and protect seeds important to their members.

“A way for Native Americans to begin to develop their own seed bank based on the agricultural plants that they have traditionally known from their very beginnings.”

Rep. Torres is a member of the Congressional Native American Caucus.

Her legislation was jointly introduced with U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).

Rep. Torres says this bipartisan effort began when she visited a tribe in New Mexico which had constructed a modest seed bank.

“Their way of cultivating the goods that we eat is something that we should highlight and we should be very proud of, as Americans. So my bill begins the process to get Native tribes focused on saving their seeds for future generations.”

Movements for food sovereignty and reclaiming traditional plants have picked up steam in the last few years.

Rep. Torres says her bill will help build on that momentum.

Read the full bill

A new California bill educating K through 12 schoolchildren on the attempted genocide of Native Americans goes into effect January 1.

The Oregonian reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed the bill in September.

The curriculum will educate students on the California native tribes who endured violence oppression, and atrocities during the Spanish colonial period, and the Gold Rush.

Supporters say it also teaches about the resiliency of Native people.

 

Today’s National Native News was written and anchored by Brian Bull. Antonia Gonzales is on assignment.

 

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Today’s National Native News is written and anchored by Brian Bull. Antonia Gonzales is on assignment.

Several Native American tribes have filed a lawsuit against some social media giants, alleging their apps hurt the mental health of young Native Americans.

CBS News says the case was heard Monday in Minneapolis, Minn.

The 164-page suit was filed by Minnesota’s Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and two other tribes in the Dakotas.

The defendants include Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

The suit claims parent companies to these popular social media sites — including Alphabet, ByteDance, Meta, and Snap — violated Minnesota’s laws against public nuisance, negligence, deceptive trade practices, and unfair or unconscionable acts.

The allegations further say the social media companies failed to warn users of negative mental health consequences associated with social media use, especially for children and adolescents.

It claims the companies knew the more time spent on the platform, the more likely users would see content that is violent, sexual, or encouraged self-harm.

Native Americans suffer higher rates of suicide than other demographics in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CBS affiliate WCCO said an Alphabet representative said the allegations were untrue, and that providing young users with a safer and healthier experience has always been at their core.

WCCO also reached out to ByteDance, Meta, and Snap, but did not hear back.

The new film Rez Ball streaming on Netflix follows the Chuska Warriors, a high school basketball team from a town in New Mexico on the Navajo Nation.

Clark Adomaitis spoke with the Shiprock based designer who designed the Chuska Warriors’ basketball uniforms that are featured prominently in the movie.

Rez Ball follows the high school basketball players as they deal with issues that disproportionately affect Indigenous communities, including suicide and alcoholism.

SpringHill Company, Lebron James’ film production venture, produced the film. But the film’s wardrobe didn’t feature Nike-exclusive clothing despite the basketball legend’s life time deal with the company.

Instead, the players don uniforms designed by Shiprock, N.M. resident Roddell Denetso.

“I’m just this little Rez kid with, with a shop that I ran out of by my house from Shiprock.”

Denetso runs a one-person business Black Streak Apparel, designing Indigenous-themed sports garments for youth teams all over Indian Country.

He often designs teams’ jerseys based on their tribal imagery.

Denetso designed Chuska Warriors’ home and away uniforms, a turquoise championship colorway, shooting shirts, team bags, travel gear, full zip jackets and pants, the cheerleaders’ uniforms, and other apparel seen throughout the movie.

“What if I do pinstripe but with spears?, in return, it goes with the team name, which is the Warriors. then the colors, you know, turquoise, one of our sacred colors.”

Denetso got to watch his jerseys in action on set.

As a resident of Shiprock, he felt emotional watching the filming in and around the community.

“I was able to be on set when they shot at Shiprock High, I went over and and I think my coming to reality moment was they were unloading stuff to go on set, and they had a cart, and that cart, you know said Black Streak Apparel. It had, like, the stuff I had done, that, the jerseys I made, and they were pushing that in.”

Roddell Denetso says he hopes to inspire young people to show pride in their culture. And he hopes to reach more customers for his custom-made garments because of his work being shown to a large audience via Netflix.

And 48 years ago, as part of America’s 1976 bicentennial commemoration, a Senate resolution authorized President Gerald Ford to proclaim October 10-16 as “Native American Awareness Week.”

Fourteen years later, Congress passed a joint resolution to designate November as the first National American Indian Heritage Month, which President George H.W. Bush signed into law.

 

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Today’s National Native News is anchored and written by Brian Bull. Antonia Gonzales is on assignment.

Native American organizations and communities celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day Monday.

This included an event held on the University of Oregon (UO) campus.

Members of the Native American Student Union spoke on a number of important issues, including the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis, the Land Back Movement, and the dark legacy of “explorer” Christopher Columbus.

The Italian-American community had promoted Columbus as the discoverer of America following acts of violence against them in the early 20th century.

Anti-immigrant sentiment – including a mass lynching in Louisiana – prompted many to highlight Columbus as a positive figure.

But over the past few decades, Native American critics pointed to Columbus’s cruel treatment and exploitation of Indigenous people as a good reason not to celebrate his role in history.

Among those at the UO event was Tiera Garrety, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.

“I think Columbus Day really presents a settler colonial narrative, that is intent on destroying Indigenous identities. And instead assimilating us to Western culture, especially on college campuses. Inherently Western institutions that aren’t conducive to traditional Indigenous ways of knowledge.”

Garrety says it’s important for Native students to find a sense of community, especially those who are far from home.

“The joy that I find from community is my ‘found cousins.’ I think that everybody that is a part of NASU, everybody that is related to the Longhouse, is like a cousin, they’re like family.”

Garrety was dressed for the event. She described her hand-crafted garments.

“I actually made this ribbon skirt myself for the Mother’s Day powwow, I think last year. Trying to calm down and make ribbon skirts, so the UO Native person’s Christmas! So….(LAUGHS) And this basket, I actually got from one of my aunts, we’re really like an arts-centric family. Today for Indigenous People’s Day, it’s more than appropriate to be not only representing my tribe, but also my family here.”

Jason Younker also attended. He’s the Coquille Tribe’s Chief and UO presidential advisor on sovereign government to government relations.

He says this is the 10th year there’s been a ceremony to replace the tribal flags on campus.

“It’s a statement of the tribes and their confidence in the university, but also a reminder that this is Kalapuya Land, and Indigenous peoples were here before the university.”

Younker says besides the Longhouse, Native American students are also shown the nine tribal flags in the UO Amphitheater, to promote a sense of community and belonging.

Disclaimer: Brian Bull is a UO faculty member

The professional indoor football team Colorado Spartans have announced plans to play in Denver for the 2025 season.

The team’s owner, Tony Thompson, is half-Yankton Sioux and half Black, and wants to leave a lasting legacy on and off the gridiron.

Colorado Public Radio’s Tony Gorman has more.

Thompson’s decision to relocate the team from Loveland, Colo. to the Denver Coliseum wasn’t motivated by money, but by community outreach.

The former South Dakota State football player and business owner wanted to offer affordable advertising opportunities to small business owners.

Legacy also drives Thompson, who grew up on a reservation in South Dakota.

He flies the Yankton Sioux Tribal flag at games to honor his family back home.

“My grandma, my ancestors, all that, that’s, that’s home for me. So I give love back to them because not a lot of people make it out of the res, and so I don’t know. I not say I’m inspiration, but I hope that they could see that, hey, we could do something.”

Thompson is offering affordable family ticket packages for the upcoming season.

He says the team also plans to be involved with youth sports once it moves to Denver.

 

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Photo: Oregon State University – Cascades hosts the First Peoples of Central Oregon Cultural Experiences event on Indigenous Peoples Day Oct. 7, 2023. (Courtesy Oregon State University)

Across the country, many communities and organizations are celebrating the second Monday of October as Native American Day, also known as Indigenous Peoples Day.

More than 30 years ago, the South Dakota Legislature unanimously approved making this a holiday to celebrate the culture and history of Native Americans, replacing Columbus Day.

According to Pew Research, under a third of U.S. states still observe Columbus Day, following criticism of Christopher Columbus’ role in exploiting and enslaving Indigenous people beginning in the late 1400s.

Many Native activists say the explorer didn’t “discover” them, as much as he paved the way for further exploration and colonization of the continent.

While observed as a federal holiday beginning in 1937, resistance to honor Columbus has resulted in changes.

For example, the city of Columbus, Ohio has observed Indigenous Peoples Day since 2020, and uses the occasion to honor veterans.

Watch Reimagining Columbus moderated by Antonia Gonzales

Basic water infrastructure is something some Indigenous communities still lack.

The Mountain West News Bureau’s Yvette Fernandez has this report on a possible settlement that could bring water to some communities for the first time.

The Navajo Nation says a third of its people on the reservation don’t have access to water. Hauling bottled water is common.

So the Navajo Nation, along with the Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes, wants the government to authorize the country’s largest Indian water rights settlement.

It would provide water infrastructure to hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people.

Navajo Spokesperson Justin Ahasteen says settling this decades-long dispute will be a positive step forward for Native and non-native communities.

“It provides that certainty as we continue to look at ways to conserve the existing water usage and it helps promote the Navajo Nation to be more self reliant.”

The Water Rights Settlement must be approved by Congress.

If passed, the $5 billion in federal funding would allow the infrastructure effort to begin, with a projected completion date of 2040.

It also solidifies the Navajo Nation’s water rights to the Colorado River’s Upper and Lower Basins.

A collection of regional nonprofit organizations is working to center Indigenous perspectives in fundraising.

The Good Relatives Collaborative hosted one of the sessions at a recent Rapid City tribal relations meeting.

South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s C.J. Keene has more.

The Good Relatives Collaborative seeks to connect grantmaking with an explicitly Indigenous-oriented lens.

Lakota Vogel is the executive director of the Four Bands Community Fund, based on the Cheyenne River Reservation. She says the collection of organizations seek to create new opportunities.

“We are a group of Native nonprofits through the regions of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota who have received Bush Foundation funding to uplift Native nonprofits within those three states. We like to think that people who are approximate to the opportunities have the solutions for their communities, and oftentimes that is Native-led. Oftentimes, as Natives we’re entering spaces where our viewpoints are not centric, so this is an opportunity to put them first, lift up their values, and use that as a starting point.”

Alongside Four Bands are the North Dakota-based Sacred Pipe Resource Center and Minnesota-based Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI).

Alissa Benoist is the director of programming with Four Bands.

She says any group seeking assistance can find it with these groups.

“The work that they do is phenomenal. It’s not outside entities coming in and telling them what to do, they’re finding their solution that best suits their needs at the time. We’re here to support them along their journey and finance the solutions they may need.”

Associated grantee groups attended the luncheon with Vogel and Benoist, along with their Sacred Pipe and NACDI counterparts.

Today’s National Native News was read and written by Brian Bull. Antonia Gonzales is on assignment in Anchorage, Alaska.

 

Tune into this year’s “Alaska’s Native Vote” series hosted by Antonia from the AFN Convention.

 

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