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Defense Secretary orders review of 8(a) contracts; Native firms received $16B in 2024

19 January 2026 Brian Edwards
The Department of Defense will conduct a line-by-line review of all sole-source contracts over $20 million awarded through the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday.

MacArthur names Megan Minoka Hill to lead new Native self-determination program

19 Jan
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has named Megan Minoka Hill as director of its new Native self-determination program, formalizing a philanthropic initiative developed over more...

Cherokee Nation launches opportunity zone program to boost investment in distressed reservation communities

January 17
The Cherokee Nation has launched a new initiative to drive job creation and private investment in distressed areas of its reservation by deploying its State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)...

Trump administration’s tribal broadband cuts, “reforms” raise red flags ahead of consultation

January 18
Guest Opinion. The future of tribal broadband has quietly but fundamentally shifted over the last few months.

Prairie Island Indian Community reaches halfway point on net zero carbon emissions project

January 17
The Prairie Island Indian Community set its net zero carbon emissions goal in 2021, becoming one of the first tribal nations in the country to commit to eliminating or offsetting all the carbon the...

Q&A: Lumbee Chairman John Lowery on federal recognition and economic development

After more than a century of advocacy, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina secured full federal recognition in late December, when Congress included the Lumbee Fairness Act in the annual National...
 

Our Favorite Stories of 2025

Economic Development
These were our favorite stories of 2025 because they reflect Indian Country as it actually is — and the kind of journalism we’re committed to doing. Not aspirational. Not abstract. Just stories grounded in decisions tribes and Native people are making right now about land, labor, capital and culture.

IN SERVICE | Ho-Chunk attorney Samantha Skenandore on tribal law and sovereignty

Indigenous Entrepreneurs
Samantha Skenandore once planned to be a veterinarian. Today, she is a founding partner at Madison, Wisc.-based Skenandore Wilson LLP, specializing in tribal law and governance.

Jamul Indian Village Development Corp. refinances $425M tied to new casino resort operations

Finance
Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation has refinanced $425 million of senior secured debt tied to the Jamul Indian Village’s gaming and resort operations in San Diego County, according to transaction details released by the lead arranger.

Agua Caliente Casinos plans $60M room renovation at Rancho Mirage resort

Gaming
Agua Caliente Casinos plans a $60 million renovation of all 340 guest rooms at its Rancho Mirage resort, part of a broader master planning effort that includes additional development at the property and in downtown Palm Springs, according to the tribal gaming operator.

Supreme Court refusal leaves federal subsistence priority intact in Alaska

Food | Agriculture
Alaska Native communities secured a victory in their fight to maintain federal subsistence fishing protections after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Alaska's appeal, leaving in place a lower-court ruling that preserves decades of precedent.

Q+A: Joe Kalt and Randall Akee on the Harvard Project — 40 years of tribal governance insights, a changing of the guard and the future of Native nation building

Sovereignty
After nearly four decades building the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development into the preeminent research center on tribal governance, Joseph P. Kalt handed the reins to economist Randall Akee this summer, marking a generational transition in how academic institutions study and support Native nation-building.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians receives Nikwasi mound in historic land transfer

Real Estate
The town of Franklin, N.C., formally transferred the Nikwasi mound to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Jan. 5, completing a years-long effort to return the largest un-excavated Cherokee mound in the Southeast to tribal ownership.

Cherokee Federal subsidiaries added to MDA’s $151B SHIELD Contract Pool

Native Contracting
Twelve subsidiaries of Cherokee Federal have been named among recent awardees on the Missile Defense Agency’s Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) multiple-award contract, according to a company announcement.

Blackfeet filmmakers win Frank Blythe Award for buffalo documentary

Arts and Culture
Blackfeet filmmakers Ivan and Ivy MacDonald won the Frank Blythe Award from Vision Maker Media for their documentary Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, which chronicles efforts to return wild bison to the Blackfeet reservation in Montana.

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.

South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance wins $175,000 to build tribal-controlled tourism economy

Tourism
A coalition of South Dakota's nine tribal nations will use a $175,000 prize to train Native youth and develop tourism businesses that keep revenue in Indian Country rather than flowing to outside operators.

DOE names new director of Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs

Energy | Environment
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Eric Mahroum as the director of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs.

Cherokee Nation proposes $30M partnership with University of Oklahoma for nursing school

Health Care
Cherokee Nation is pursuing a $30 million partnership with the University of Oklahoma to establish a satellite nursing campus in Tahlequah, Okla., as part of a broader effort to address healthcare workforce shortages in the region.

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Congress rejects nearly $1B in proposed tribal cuts in bipartisan FY26 funding package

Congress rejects nearly $1B in proposed tribal cuts in bipartisan FY26 funding package

Treasury awards $10B in tax credits to support economic development

Treasury awards $10B in tax credits to support economic development

Trump vetoes bipartisan bill to expand Miccosukee Tribe’s Everglades village

Trump vetoes bipartisan bill to expand Miccosukee Tribe’s Everglades village

CEO apologizes for ICE contracts as Oneida Nation moves to terminate agreements

CEO apologizes for ICE contracts as Oneida Nation moves to terminate agreements

Defense Secretary orders review of 8(a) contracts; Native firms received $16B in 2024

Defense Secretary orders review of 8(a) contracts; Native firms received $16B in 2024