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People on the move in Indian Country

8 February 2026 Tribal Business News Staff
Indian Country saw significant leadership movement in February, with appointments spanning tribal government, legal practice, cultural institutions and economic development.

Tribal gaming exclusivity faces 'existential threat' as prediction markets expand

08 Feb
A fast-growing class of online prediction markets is colliding with tribal gaming sovereignty, raising alarms in Indian Country over what a recent Brookings Institution report by legal scholar...

Appeals court overturns White Earth member's cannabis conviction in sovereignty ruling

February 06
The Minnesota Court of Appeals has overturned the cannabis-possession conviction of Todd Jeremy Thompson, a White Earth Band of Ojibwe member, ruling that Minnesota lacked jurisdiction to charge him...

Warm Springs tribes receive $1M state grant for solar and battery systems at tribal housing sites

February 08
The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon has been awarded $1 million from the Oregon Department of Energy to install solar and battery energy storage systems at tribal...

Tallsalt Advisors forms Native-owned joint venture to advise tribes on interest rate hedging

February 08
Tallsalt Advisors has formed a majority Native-owned joint venture with Derivative Logic to provide independent interest rate hedging advisory services for tribal governments, tribal enterprises,...

New podcast takes a deeper look at Native finance, policy and economic impact

Difference Makers 3.0, a podcast partnership between Tribal Business News and the Native CDFI Network, will launch its new season Thursday, Feb. 12, expanding the series’ focus from small business...
 

GAO: Authority gaps limit tribal role in federal land management

Economic Development
Federal agencies are expanding shared decision-making agreements with tribes, but gaps in authority and capacity continue to limit tribal control over federal land and water management, a new Government Accountability Office report found.

Former federal officials launch firm to advise tribes on policy, land stewardship

Indigenous Entrepreneurs
Andrea Delgado and Onna LeBeau met through a mutual friend who thought they should know each other. The connection stuck — first over a planned camping trip in Colorado that got too cold, then a hike in the Rocky Mountain National Park that solidified their partnership.

PODCAST: Tribal economies and sovereignty with Robert J. Miller

Finance
Talking with Robert J. Miller is a reminder of how much of American economic history has been misremembered — or deliberately forgotten. The attorney, author and law professor, who is a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, joined the first episode of Difference Makers 3.0 to help set the foundation for the season: Native communities did not begin on the margins of the economy. They were building, trading, governing and sustaining complex economies long before modern banks or federal policy existed.

Scotts Valley Band plans temporary casino in Vallejo amid federal review

Gaming
The Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians plans to open a temporary “preview casino” in Vallejo as federal officials continue reviewing the tribe’s eligibility to conduct gaming on its trust land.

‘If you don't fill the space, somebody else will’ 

Food | Agriculture
National organizations are pushing tribal nations to establish formal agricultural authority, pointing to Oneida Nation and a handful of other early adopters as models for claiming regulatory control before state and local agencies do it by default.

22nd State of the Tribes address set for Feb. 10 at Wisconsin Capitol

Sovereignty
Wisconsin tribal leaders will gather at the state Capitol in Madison on Feb. 10 for the 22nd annual State of the Tribes address, one of the few formal moments each year when tribal governments speak directly to state lawmakers from the Assembly floor.

IN SERVICE | Kayla Palmer chose construction over law to serve her tribe sooner

Real Estate
At just 18 years old, Kayla Palmer survived a car accident that left her with medical injuries doctors said would prevent her from ever having a career.

ASRC Federal wins Defense Logistics Agency supply chain contract with $2.3B ceiling

Native Contracting
ASRC Federal, an Alaska Native–owned government contractor, said it has won a contract valued at up to $2.3 billion from the Defense Logistics Agency to manage the U.S. military’s global supply chain for chemicals and packaged petroleum oils and lubricants.

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.

Harvard Project names new senior program director

Higher Education
The Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development has appointed Amy Besaw Medford as senior program director, marking her return to an organization where she has worked for nearly two decades.

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.

Q+A: Native energy developer Elizabeth Perez on federal funding disruptions, energy sovereignty and keeping projects moving

Energy | Environment
Renewable energy in Indian Country faces growing uncertainty as federal clean energy funding slows or stalls. For Elizabeth Perez, a U.S. Navy veteran turned clean energy entrepreneur, uncertainty is familiar terrain.

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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