News

Around the Rez: May 24

Change Labs, the nonprofit entrepreneurship incubator for Native businesses, will soon be cutting the ribbon on its 1,400-square-foot entrepreneurship hub and coworking space in Tuba City in June. The hub is the first of its kind to support business owners, creatives and self-employed individuals on the Navajo Nation.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and other top state officials announced a crackdown Tuesday, May 16, on Medicaid fraud, particularly honing in on illegitimate group homes.

When Kamryn Yanchick graduated, she hoped to decorate her cap with a beaded pattern in honor of her Indigenous heritage. Whether she could was up to her Oklahoma high school. Administrators told her no.

TUBA CITY — A man has died following a confrontation with Tuba City police officers May 8.

GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — Carletta Tilousi hit the trail as the sun rose, the light revealing a grouping of cottonwood and ash trees deep in the Grand Canyon.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Indigenous peoples’ land and territory acknowledgement was unveiled on May 5 and placed at the heart of the University of New Mexico campus

WINDOW ROCK — To stimulate tourism, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren signed a $1.5 million legislation allowing revenue in the Hotel Occupancy Tax and Tourism Fund to be used by all Navajo Nation programs for tourism-related purposes.

Around the Rez: Week of May 17

GANADO, Ariz. — Sage Memorial Hospital is implementing new COVID-19 policies. The changes are being made to reflect the end of the Federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 that occurred on May 11 as well as the Navajo Nation mask mandate which was lifted by President Buu Nygren through Health Emergency Order May 5.

NENAHNEZAD, NM — On May 11, Navajo Nation Council delegates met with Navajo farmers regarding a proposed legislation that would create the San Juan River Mitigation Fund.

WASHINGTON — At a U.S. House Natural Resources Committee virtual roundtable on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) May 9, lawmakers heard from experts about the dark legacy of the U.S. government removing Native children from their homes as well as personal anecdotes about the impact of growing up as a Native child in a non-Native community.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Mexico task force charged with addressing missing person cases involving Native Americans is teaming up with researchers in Nebraska on a data collection project that they hope will begin to close the gaps when it comes to tracking cases and their outcomes nationwide.

Around the Rez: Week of May 10

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The Navajo Nation Council is calling on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to withdraw her appointment of a former governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo as Indian Affairs cabinet secretary.