News

A Phoenix-based company that was eyeing the Little Colorado River for power generation is floating a new proposal that would rely on groundwater rather than surface water to make electricity.

Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona is reopening some of its facilities and areas that have been closed to the public since March 24 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A federal judge has ruled against environmental groups and a tribe in their bid to keep a uranium mine south of the Grand Canyon from operating.

Navajo Gaming prepares to reopen all four of its properties by mid-June.

The Navajo Nation announced May 15 that it is implementing Stage 2 fire restrictions on the Navajo Nation.

A survey conducted by Navajo Technical University found that around 26 percent of its students lack access to either the Internet or a computer.

A presidential task force charged with coming up with ways to address missing and slain Native Americans resumed tribal listening sessions May 27, encountering some technological glitches in the virtual version.

On May 30, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez line-item vetoed Navajo Nation Council Resolution No. CMY-44-20, known as the Navajo Nation CARES Fund Act.

The curfew begins at 8 p.m. and will lift each morning at 5 a.m. starting May 31 – June 8.

“We have to keep doing what we’re doing by wearing protective masks, complying with the weekend lockdowns, staying home, and practicing social distancing. Now is not the time to let up our guard," Jonathan Nez, president of the Navajo Nation.

The virus arrived on the reservation in early March, when late winter winds were still blowing off the mesas and temperatures at dawn were often barely above freezing.

The Nez-Lizer Administration distribute food, bottled water, cleaning products and other essential supplies to Navajo families.

Approximately 13.2 percent percent of Navajo Nation residents have been tested for COVID-19.

The 13 Native-led small businesses and non-profit ventures selected from a pool of nearly 50 applications for the competitive Change Labs 2020 Business Incubator Cohort share a passion for their work, a hunger to learn, and a drive to make things better for their families, their communities and their people.

Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise will remain closed through June 7 after Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez announced an executive order extending closures on the reservation because of COVID-19.

“(We) hoped that when the Grand Canyon closed on April 1, the park would remain closed until our positive COVID-19 numbers have flattened,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez.

The U.S. Treasury Department is tasked with disbursing $8 billion to tribes that was included in a relief package approved in late March.

A stay-at-home order for residents on the vast reservation also remains in place.

Grand Canyon National Park has announced it is increasing visitor access to some viewpoints on the South Rim starting May 15.

The most basic measures to fight the virus' spread — handwashing and isolation — can be difficult.

"This is not a green light to speed," Ducey said. "This is a green light to proceed, and we're going to proceed with caution."

The Navajo Nation president and vice president have partnered with #ProtectTheSacred, actor Mark Ruffalo, Allie Young, and many others to launch the #NavajoStrong campaign to call for medical volunteers and donations to help fight COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation.

When the Navajo & Hopi Families COVID-19 Relief Fund started receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars recently, everyone was surprised, except perhaps the Choctaw Nation, whose original gift to the Irish people 173 years ago, inspired an outpouring of support.

Legislation to lay the groundwork for the Navajo Nation’s expenditure of more than $600 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding was introduced into the Navajo Nation Council’s legislative process May 7.

An end to the lockdown in Gallup would likely mean stricter restrictions at Zuni.