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Southern Ute gains expanded energy authority under first-ever TERA agreement

17 May 2026 Chez Oxendine

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe became the first tribe in U.S. history to secure federal approval of a Tribal Energy Resource Agreement on Monday, expanding tribal control over energy development on its trust lands.

Federal judge allows Ho-Chunk lawsuit against Kalshi sports markets to proceed

17 May

A federal judge in Wisconsin has allowed the Ho-Chunk Nation to move forward with a lawsuit challenging whether online sports prediction markets offered by Kalshi amount to illegal sports betting on...

Redding Rancheria secures $80M financing for Tribal Health Village project

May 17

Redding Rancheria has secured $80 million in senior secured credit facilities from KeyBank to help finance construction of its planned $230 million Tribal Health Village in northern California,...

People on the move in Indian Country

May 17

Leadership changes and national recognition continue across Indian Country as Tribal enterprises, Native-led organizations and federal agencies add executives, elevate emerging leaders and honor...

Clean energy developer, Native nonprofit launch 5-state tribal workforce initiative

May 17

A renewable energy developer backed by one of the country’s largest clean energy companies is partnering with a Native-led nonprofit to train tribal members for solar and energy infrastructure jobs...

Eastern Shawnee Companies launches healthcare staffing subsidiary

Eastern Shawnee Companies has launched a healthcare staffing subsidiary and hired an experienced management team as the tribal enterprise continues expanding its federal contracting operations.

Sponsored Storytelling

From the Crow Nation to the Courtroom: Celina Stops Makes History at Boyd School of Law

LAS VEGAS, NV - When Celina Stops arrived at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she was pursuing more than a law degree. She was stepping into territory that...

Wilton Rancheria expands Sacramento stadium project to $450M sports and entertainment venue

Economic Development

Wilton Rancheria and Sacramento Republic FC plan to build a 20,000-seat soccer stadium in downtown Sacramento, significantly expanding an earlier proposal and deepening the tribe’s investment in professional sports and mixed-use development.

Alaska business plan competition awards Native entrepreneurs tackling rural service gaps

Indigenous Entrepreneurs

Alaska Growth Capital is expanding support for Indigenous entrepreneurs across rural Alaska through its Alaska Marketplace Business Plan Competition, a program aimed at building business capacity in remote communities.

PODCAST: The Next Builders and the expansion of Native CDFIs

Finance

The number of Native community development financial institutions has remained largely unchanged for more than a decade — even as demand for capital in Native communities continues to grow. That may be starting to change.

How Section 105(l) is reshaping Tribal control of infrastructure and long-term funding

Sponsored Storytelling

The federal program is giving Tribes more control over the facilities their communities rely on, creating a more defined and predictable approach to funding, operations, and long-term infrastructure...

Embattled North Fork Rancheria casino in limbo as California high court declines review

Gaming

A long-running fight over a proposed off-reservation casino in the Central Valley reached a decisive point this month after the California Supreme Court declined to review a lower court ruling that blocks the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians’ project without a valid state approval.

$6M federal award backs Klamath spring-run Chinook reintroduction effort

Food | Agriculture

Federal agencies have awarded $6 million to the Klamath Tribes, the Yurok Tribe and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to launch the upper basin’s first long-term spring-run Chinook salmon reintroduction effort.

Supreme Court declines Chinook bid for federal recognition through courts

Sovereignty

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the Chinook Indian Nation’s petition on whether federal courts can recognize Indian tribes.

New law targets BIA delays in tribal trust land mortgages

Real Estate

President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation this week aimed at speeding up mortgage approvals for homes and businesses on tribal trust land, a longstanding barrier to homeownership and private lending in Indian Country.

As data becomes a strategic asset, Native leaders face a new sovereignty test

Sponsored Storytelling

Sponsored Storytelling. For more than a decade, Indigenous researchers and advocates have built frameworks to govern Native data.

Native contractors press SBA over 8(a) approval delays

Native Contracting

Native-owned federal contractors and tribal enterprises are pressing the U.S. Small Business Administration over delays in its 8(a) Business Development Program.

Sundance Institute selects four filmmakers for 2026 Native Lab

Arts and Culture

The Sundance Institute selected four filmmakers for its 2026 Native Lab, a development program supporting Indigenous storytellers working on feature and episodic projects.

Red Lake Nation College establishes endowment with $7M MacKenzie Scott gift

Higher Education

Red Lake Nation College will deploy a $7 million unrestricted gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to establish a permanent endowment aimed at long-term financial stability, college leaders said.

Tribal Leaders Focus on Risk, Revenue and Stewardship at Native Ag Summit

Sponsored Storytelling

Sponsored Storytelling. In a packed conference room filled with nearly 150 attendees — boots and jeans, cowboy hats and notebooks — tribal leaders, ranch managers and agriculture professionals...

Laguna Creek raises $6.3M to scale software for tribal tourism operators

Tourism

Gilbert, Ariz.-based Laguna Creek LLC has raised $6.3 million in a Series A round led by Tempe-based Dali Capital Partners to expand its software platform for tribal hospitality and tourism businesses, the company said.

DOE sets aside $2.3M for tribal colleges in energy workforce initiative

Energy | Environment

The U.S. Department of Energy will make up to $2.3 million available exclusively for Tribal Colleges and Universities as part of a broader $11.3 million workforce initiative tied to oil, natural gas, coal and geothermal energy industries.

$132M tribal health workforce housing project closes financing

Health Care

Tribal Development Partners LLC said it closed financing on a $132 million workforce housing project in Kotzebue, Alaska, aimed at stabilizing health care staffing across 12 Native communities in the Northwest Arctic region.

Congress made two kinds of tribes in 1953

Opinion | Op-Ed

Guest Essay. A non-Native man in tribal custody at the Quapaw Nation jail had a heart attack. Tribal staff called an ambulance. He was treated at the local emergency room. The bill came back at $25,000.

Calling Community Change Makers: Prevention Scholarship Now Open

Sponsored Storytelling

Sponsored Storytelling. Across reservations and Native communities, leadership doesn’t always come with a title. It looks like organizing community events, mentoring youth, advocating for health and...

U.S. sues contractors over alleged $2.1M fraud in Rosebud Sioux broadband project

Policy and Law

Federal prosecutors have filed a civil fraud complaint against Arizona-based telecommunications contractors accused of inflating costs and billing for nonexistent equipment on a federally funded broadband project on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation.

Most Recent

Federal judge allows Ho-Chunk lawsuit against Kalshi sports markets to proceed

Southern Ute gains expanded energy authority under first-ever TERA agreement

Eastern Shawnee Companies launches healthcare staffing subsidiary

Clean energy developer, Native nonprofit launch 5-state tribal workforce initiative

Redding Rancheria secures $80M financing for Tribal Health Village project