Tribal Business News

Tribal Business News

Mobile Ad Container

Details: By Brian Edwards; Uncategorized; January 1, 2022

People on the move in Indian Country

27 April 2026 Tribal Business News Staff

Organizations across Indian Country and Native-serving institutions announced a series of leadership appointments, hires and recognitions in recent weeks, spanning tribal enterprises, consulting firms, education, land stewardship and federal contracting.

Land trust transfers 308 acres to California tribe

27 Apr

Placer Land Trust transferred 308 acres of forestland near Foresthill, Calif., to the Colfax-Todds Valley Consolidated Tribe, its largest land-back project to date.

Lawmakers introduce bills targeting tribal water rights, infrastructure gaps in the West

April 27

Congress is mounting a broader push to close long‑standing drinking‑water gaps in tribal communities across the Western United States. Legislators have introduced two bills aimed at securing water...

Alaska Native leader Alannah Hurley wins Goldman Environmental Prize for Bristol Bay advocacy

April 27

Alaska Native leader Alannah Acaq Hurley has been named a 2026 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, an international award recognizing grassroots environmental leadership and campaigns with...

USDA opens $32.4M in local food grants; tribes eligible, no set-asides

April 27

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced $32.4 million in available grant funding through the Local Agriculture Market Program, opening a new round of support for projects that strengthen local...

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

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...

Sponsored Content

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

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...

‘For some people, we’re it’ | Native-serving radio stations struggle to stay on the air after loss of federal funding

Economic Development

In early April, Desiree Hagen took over as acting general manager of Alaska-based KOTZ Radio — a station that nearly shut down months earlier after losing a major share of its funding.

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.

After delays, OMB clears $289M for CDFI Fund, including $28M for Native lenders

Finance

The Office of Management and Budget has cleared $289 million in fiscal year 2025 funding for the U.S. Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, including $28 million for the Native American CDFI Assistance Program, according to federal budget documents.

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

Sponsored Content

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

Tribes warn CFTC move on sports prediction markets would undermine gaming compacts

Gaming

A push by federal regulators to classify sports betting as a financial product is drawing sharp opposition from tribes, who say it could undermine tribal gaming compacts and redirect billions in revenue.

USDA terminates land-access grants, stalling tribal agriculture projects and stripping millions in funding

Food | Agriculture

A U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to terminate previously awarded land-access grants is disrupting plans by tribal and Native-serving organizations tied to land, capital and infrastructure.

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.

NDN Collective launches Landback Action Network to coordinate land return efforts

Real Estate

After years of building relationships across Indian Country, NDN Collective is formalizing a network it says has already been operating in practice.

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

Sponsored Content

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...

CIRI subsidiary launches tech firm to expand federal IT, cybersecurity contracting

Native Contracting

Cook Inlet Region Inc. (CIRI), an Alaska Native corporation, has launched OSC Technical Solutions as a standalone operating company focused on federal IT, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure services.

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.

Calling Community Change Makers: Prevention Scholarship Now Open

Sponsored Content

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...

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.

EPA plans $90M for water infrastructure, with $30M through IHS partnership

Energy | Environment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will deploy $90 million in new grant funding to support drinking water and wastewater infrastructure serving tribal nations and rural communities, the agency announced April 24.

$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.

Three ways economic data will strengthen Indian Country over the next decade

Opinion | Op-Ed

Blending historical approaches with modern data applications, tribal leaders and organizations set the stage for the next decade of economic data innovations.

Aambé Health Launches “Living Food” Initiative with One Season Farmers and Harvest Today to Expand Tribal Food Systems

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Storytelling. New partnership introduces scalable indoor farming solutions to improve food access, health outcomes and food sovereignty for tribal communities.

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

NDN Collective launches Landback Action Network to coordinate land return efforts

EPA plans $90M for water infrastructure, with $30M through IHS partnership

Alaska Native leader Alannah Hurley wins Goldman Environmental Prize for Bristol Bay advocacy

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

USDA opens $32.4M in local food grants; tribes eligible, no set-asides