Indigenous Communities
Biden meets with leaders of tribal nations, signs order easing access to federal funds
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would make it easier for tribal nations to access and invest federal funding on their own terms. “It’s hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course and move forward,” Biden said. “But the actions we are taking today are […]
Solutions to the pay gap for Native American women could be found in their tribes
This story was originally published by The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom covering gender, politics and policy. For Native American women, the gender pay gap reflects the systems that have oppressed them for centuries. The colonization that stripped them of power, the violence now plaguing them and the economic institutions that have left them behind — […]
Commission: Do something now about missing, murdered and trafficked Indigenous people
In hearings held across the country, hundreds of Indigenous peoples shared their experiences and recommendations on missing, murdered and trafficked Indigenous peoples with a federally mandated commission for the first time in history. From these hearings also came recommendations, and the Not Invisible Act Commission has compiled a 212-page report highlighting its findings and recommendations […]
Supreme Court agrees to hear San Carlos Apache appeal on health care funding
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court said it will consider a claim by the San Carlos Apache tribe that the federal government is shortchanging it on funds it needs to operate tribal health services. The case turns on whether the Indian Health Service should reimburse the tribe’s overhead costs for health services it delivers with the […]
We want to help more tribal communities get connected, but we need Congress to act
Today, school-aged children on local tribal lands are boarding buses to and from school with an internet connection that allows them to do their homework and make productive use of the four-hour roundtrip commute. For many, this is the first reliable internet connection they’ve ever had, and it’s key to closing the homework gap in […]
High-Speed internet coming to the Hualapai Nation, Mohave, La Paz counties
People living within the Hualapai Nation and Mohave and La Paz counties can expect access to affordable, high-speed broadband internet as soon as February as part of the Bridging the Digital Divide project. “We are on track to bridge Arizona’s deep digital divide with this historic investment, connecting unserved and under-served Arizonans, especially in tribal […]
Gila River Indian Community moves foward with solar canal project, first in country
In an effort to address the ongoing drought affecting the Southwest, the Gila River Indian Community is taking an innovative step forward by launching its Solar Canal Project to construct the country’s first solar-over-canal project. “A tribe is leading the way,” Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said, adding that the shovel-ready project […]
Gosar pushes to reverse Biden’s Grand Canyon national monument to allow for uranium mining
Saying that stopping companies from mining uranium from lands near the Grand Canyon is a threat to national security, an Arizona Republican won preliminary approval of an amendment that would reverse President Joe Biden’s creation earlier this year of a national monument in northern Arizona. “Arizona already boasts more national monuments than any other state,” […]
Patients, advocates describe ‘pure chaos’ in state response to AHCCCS fraud
On May 16, as cameras flashed and tribal leaders looked on, Arizona’s governor and attorney general announced a statewide crackdown on behavioral health providers suspected of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program out of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Officials revealed the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) had suspended payments to more than […]
‘If you need to cry, cry’: Ending men’s silent suffering in the MMIWG crisis
Antonio Ortiz never thought he would be able to speak publicly about his late daughter Rhia Danae Almeida because it would require him to be vulnerable and express his emotions freely. His wife, Elayne Gregg, has been able to share her experience publicly for a few years now, but Ortiz has only ever opened up […]
Arizona Indian Health Service facility becomes first to be designated a voter registration agency
Indigenous people in Arizona have often faced significant hurdles when registering to vote, from accessibility to rural addressing to using postal office boxes. To help ease those hurdles, Native Health, an urban Indian Health Services facility, has been officially designated a voter registration agency in the Phoenix area. Native Health is a health care facility […]
Former Navajo Nation president launches bid to flip AZ’s largest congressional district
Watching the threat of a government shutdown and the ousting of the U.S. House Speaker, former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said that is when he knew he had the opportunity to help, prompting him to jump into the race for Arizona’s largest congressional district. “This dysfunction that’s happening and this far-right contingency is taking […]