Company can begin to issue plans for drilling near Chaco Canyon buffer zone on Navajo Nation allotment.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Posted inArticles
The Indian education of Charles Sams
How the first Native director of the National Park Service drew from a legacy of federal boarding schools and Indigenous teachings.
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These states use stolen Indigenous land to fund prisons
State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.
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My family experienced Indian boarding schools – and genocide
Why Biden’s apology didn’t go far enough.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
What Project 2025 has to say about Native communities
The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.
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President Biden to apologize for federal Indian boarding schools
The U.S. government hopes to assuage cynicism and begin a new chapter of healing for Native people.
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Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking
Climate, public lands and tribal law regulations are now likely to face legal challenges.
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How the Colville Tribes are restoring traditional lands and wildlife
The tribes are re-establishing native species wiped out by systematic colonization.
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States opposed tribes’ access to the Colorado River 70 years ago. History is repeating itself.
Records shed new light on states’ vocal opposition in the 1950s to tribes claiming their share of the river.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
As Newtok, Alaska, crumbles, residents are left in a dangerous limbo
The town is supposed to move, but federal funding and complex logistics mean most residents are stuck.
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Despite the law meant to keep Native American families together, they’re being broken apart
A mother used the Indian Child Welfare Act to win back her parental rights. Then they came for her second child.
Posted inJuly 1, 2023: Waiting for Water
How Arizona squeezes tribes for water
A High Country News/ProPublica investigation shows that Arizona goes to unusual lengths in water negotiations to extract restrictive concessions from tribes.
Posted inMay 1, 2023: Reemergence
Alaska Natives are underserved by emergency translation services
A FEMA contractor’s incompetence in Alaska Native languages highlights a systemic problem.
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Dwindling sea ice and rising Arctic ship traffic may bring unwelcome visitors to King Island, Alaska
Members of the King Island Native Community see potential threats to their food security and cultural resources.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2023: The Reveal
What does the nation’s commitment to tribal co-stewardship mean for public lands?
The Biden administration’s policies signal a shift in lands management, but a sea change is yet to come.
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How far can $25 million go to relocate a community that’s disappearing into Alaska’s melting permafrost?
A recent Interior Department grant aims to help residents in Newtok move to higher ground, but it’s just a sliver of what’s needed.
Posted inAugust 1, 2022: Our Fiery Future
The fires below
The world’s least understood ignition source is causing devastating wildfires across Montana’s Powder River Basin.
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Reconsidering Wilma Mankiller
As the Cherokee Nation’s first female chief’s image is minted onto a coin, her full humanity should be examined.
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Duwamish Tribe sues Interior in federal court, alleging sex discrimination
After decades of back-and-forth with federal authorities, the matrilineal descendants of Chief Seattle want federal recognition, once and for all.
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See the Western conservation projects getting Infrastructure Act money this year
Approximately $68 million will be delivered to more than 100 projects across the country — many of which are based in the West.