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Federal Reserve Bank launches first national survey of tribal government finances

12 October 2025 Brian Edwards
MINNEAPOLIS — The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis formally launched its Survey of Native Nations to all federally recognized tribes Thursday, expanding a data collection effort that tribal leaders say addresses critical gaps in economic information about Indian Country.

Tribes need data control to build economic power, strengthen governance, Brookings researcher says

12 Oct
MINNEAPOLIS — Tribal leaders need better tools to address persistent data gaps that undermine their governance and economic development efforts, according to Rob Maxim, a fellow at the Brookings...

Supreme Court declines gaming challenge, preserving Washington tribal compacts

October 08
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear RunItOneTime LLC v. United States, ending a challenge to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and preserving the state of Washington’s tribal gaming...

Native lenders deliver on mortgage pilot, spurring $50M Senate authorization

October 12
Colleen Steel has seen firsthand how federal mortgage dollars can transform Native communities when they’re delivered by lenders who know the borrowers and live among them.

Trump administration eliminates CDFI Fund staff, threatening Native lenders

October 12
The Trump administration has terminated the entire staff of the Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, eliminating a federal office that provides critical capital...

Coalition sues EPA over $7B Solar for All program cancellation

A coalition of labor unions, nonprofits, solar companies, and homeowners filed suit Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency. The group alleges the agency unlawfully terminated $7 billion...
 

New Federal Reserve data tool charts Native economic trends 

Economic Development
MINNEAPOLIS — The Center for Indian Country Development has launched a data visualization tool that tracks socioeconomic changes in Native communities over more than three decades, offering tribal leaders and policymakers new ways to analyze economic trends across Indian Country.

New equity fund targets financing gap for Native entrepreneurs

Indigenous Entrepreneurs
One Navajo entrepreneur with helicopters wants to build fuel stations across the reservation. Another, a metal fabricator in Phoenix, struggles to secure even basic credit. These contrasting examples illustrate what Heather Fleming calls a persistent challenge: Native businesses that have outgrown microloans but remain too small for traditional bank financing.

Warner blasts CDFI Fund layoffs, warns move would cripple program serving Native and rural lenders

Finance
Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) warned Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to fire all employees at the Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund could undermine decades of bipartisan investment in underserved communities — including Native nations that rely on the agency’s Native American CDFI Assistance Program.

Interior reversal casts doubt on Alaska tribal gaming projects

Gaming
A federal reversal on tribal jurisdiction over Alaska Native allotments has cast uncertainty over two high-profile tribal gaming projects, including a planned gambling hall on Douglas Island and an operating facility near Anchorage.

Owamni to relocate to Guthrie Theater in spring 2026

Food | Agriculture
Owamni, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant operated by the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), will move to the Guthrie Theater’s main floor restaurant space in spring 2026.

Q+A: Dr. Richard Luarkie on moving Native nations from sovereignty to significance

Sovereignty
At a recent First Nations conference he attended in Canada, Dr. Richard Luarkie noticed something was missing—almost no one mentioned sovereignty.

Alaska Native commission leverages federal lease program to gain property ownership

Real Estate
The Chugach Regional Resources Commission closed a landback loan from NDN Fund on Sept. 25 to acquire the Seward, Alaska property that houses its operations — an innovative deal that turns a federal leasing program into a path to tribal land ownership.

Cherokee Federal acquires Salesforce practice to expand digital services

Native Contracting
Cherokee Federal said it will acquire the Salesforce practice of HigherEchelon, known as HESFP, effective Nov. 1, the company announced Oct. 7.

Cherokee Nation enacts AI policy to balance innovation with cultural protection

Arts and Culture
The Cherokee Nation has become one of the first tribes to establish comprehensive artificial intelligence guidelines, signing a policy that allows AI use while protecting Cherokee language and culture.

Muscogee Nation college partners with UNLV on tribal gaming, hospitality degrees

Higher Education
The College of the Muscogee Nation and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas signed an agreement that will allow tribal college students to transfer into UNLV's hospitality program with a focus on tribal gaming and hospitality management.

Alaska Native Corporation partners with Indigenous water company to cut plastic waste

Tourism
Huna Totem Corporation expects to eliminate 15,000 pounds of plastic waste this year through a partnership with an Alaska Native-owned water company that packages glacial water in reusable aluminum bottles.

New investor guide urges integration of Indigenous rights into energy transition strategies

Energy | Environment
Investors face mounting financial and reputational risks when they fail to properly engage with Indigenous communities on energy transition projects — particularly mining and renewable projects that overlap Indigenous territories, according to a new report released Monday.

Cherokee Nation citizen Clayton Fulton named chief of staff at IHS

Health Care
The Indian Health Service named Clayton Fulton, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, as its new chief of staff. Fulton will oversee coordination of agency operations and support the Office of the Director in implementing initiatives and policy priorities, the agency said in a statement.

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