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Native American

Navajo police officers from the Shiprock District conduct a checkpoint on April 1, 2020, to remind the public about the nightly curfew on the Navajo Nation.

Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 curfews saddled hundreds with citations, netted no money for police, news investigation finds

Jun 25, 2023 he curfew was among the most stringent measures any U.S. tribal or non-tribal government enacted to check the spread of the virus.
Water levels in Lake Powell, seen here in May 2021, are dipping dangerously low. The federal government has proposed an unprecedented plan to cut back on water supplies for Arizona, Nevada and California. The measure aims to keep water levels high enough to generate hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam.

Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case

Jun 22, 2023 Colorado had argued that siding with the Navajo Nation would undermine existing agreements and disrupt the management of the river.
A billboard is seen in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, June 10, 2023, near the health care facility of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which has been affected by a gigantic Medicaid fraud scheme involving sober living homes that promised help to Native Americans seeking to kick alcohol and other additions. Navajo National Attorney General Ethel Branch said Monday, June 12, 2023, that Navajo law enforcement teams that fanned out over metro Phoenix in recent weeks made contact with several hundred Native Americans from various tribes on the streets amid the state crackdown.

Navajo Nation declares widespread Medicaid scam in Arizona a public health state of emergency

Jun 22, 2023 The declaration allows the tribe to add more personnel, travel resources, medical supplies, funding and other means of support to address the ongoing problem.
Michael Kotutwa Johnson says Hopi corn “has 10 to 15 times more mineral content” than supermarket corn. He hopes to share it with the Hopi people and believes they will see an improvement in health.

Honor your ‘mother’: Working to keep traditional ways, types of Hopi corn

May 29, 2023 “Corn represents our mother, and we need to take care of her so she can take care of us.”
Navajo Code Talker Memorial at Window Rock, Arizona.

Navajo leaders seek tribal members caught up in sober-living Medicare scam in Arizona

May 20, 2023 The operation known as Rainbow Bridge was launched in response to recent actions by the state of Arizona against more than 100 unlicensed and fraudulent sober living homes in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Deer dancer statue outside of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's administration building.

This tribe’s land was cut in two by US borders. Its fight for access could help dozens of others

May 15, 2023 The Pascua Yaqui Tribe has drafted regulations in an effort to formalize the border-crossing process for their relatives in Mexico coming to their reservation in Arizona.
These buildings served as dormitories for Intermountain Indian School, the largest Indian boarding school in the U.S. The dorms were Bushnell General Military Hospital buildings that were then transformed into housing for Indigenous children.

No more silence: Boarding school survivor Anita Yellowhair shares her story, over 60 years later

May 14, 2023 Anita Yellowhair, of Arizona, was one of thousands of children taken from their home to one of more than 400 boarding schools in the U.S.
Olivia Rubio poses with her family during a press conference on missing and murdered Indigenous women at Tucson’s Ward 1 office, holding a photo of her granddaughter Rhia Almeida, who was killed in 2009.

Tucson joins call to action to end violence against Indigenous women

May 10, 2023 Tucson is joining local jurisdictions in combating violence against Native American women.
Women hold photos of loved ones during a press conference on missing and murdered indigenous women on Friday, May 5 at the city council Ward 1 office.

Grijalva calls for continued funding for missing and murdered indigenous people.

May 7, 2023 Congressman Raul Grijalva is among the elected officials continuing to raise awareness about violence against indigenous women and girls.
File image of the Pima County Administration Building in downtown Tucson.

Pima declares day of awareness for missing and murdered indigenous women

May 2, 2023 The county proclaims May 5 day to acknowledge epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous people, which critically affects Native American women in Tucson and surrounding area.
Sentinel Peak Road, accessed from West Congress Street, climbs and encircles "A" Mountain.

Tucson to begin returning ancestral lands to Tohono O’odham Nation

Apr 19, 2023 City council unanimously moved to direct the city attorney to present a plan for approval at the next council meeting.
A view from Coconino Overlook at the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Grijalva, Sinema and Tribal Leaders propose the Grand Canyon National Monument

Apr 11, 2023 The designation would protect over one million ancestral lands.
Protests against the Resolution Copper mine near Oak Flat have been going for years, as shown in this 2015 file photo from a rally at the Capitol.

Tribe warns US government against moving ahead with mine

Apr 7, 2023 San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said during a visit last week that U.S. Forest Service officials confirmed plans to push forward on the publication of the environmental analysis.
The Arizona State Museum on the western mall of the University of Arizona campus.

The Buzz: Why a 32-year-old federal law has failed to bring Native American remains home

Apr 7, 2023 A federal law was supposed to ensure returns of most remains by 1995. So why are thousands of Arizona tribal remains still not back with their people?
Glen Canyon Dam holds back Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River. The lake is currently at 28% of its capacity.

Tribe, US officials reach deal to save Colorado River water

Apr 6, 2023 The $233 million pact with the Gila River Indian Community, announced in Phoenix, was hailed as an example of the kind of cooperation needed to rescue the river.

FBI investigates rehab scams targeting Indigenous community

Mar 27, 2023 Bogus organizers defraud the government out of money meant to help people at their most vulnerable.

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