Tribal Business News

Tribal Business News

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

Q+A: Eric Mahroum on DOE’s push to advance 450 tribal energy projects

22 August 2026 Chez Oxendine

Tribal energy projects can require navigating as many as a dozen federal agencies, lengthy permitting processes and significant development costs before construction begins. The Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs is laying out a strategy it says will make that process easier — while putting more federal resources behind projects led by tribes.

Rappahannock Tribe launches 8(a) technology joint venture for federal contracting

20 Aug

The Rappahannock Tribe’s economic development arm has formed an SBA Tribal 8(a) technology joint venture with Netmaker Communications, LLC expanding the Tribe’s push into the federal contracting...

PODCAST: Beyond the Grants

August 20

Banks have capital. Native CDFIs know their communities. But bringing the two together takes more than a grant.

Gila River invests $25M in tribal-land medical school to build physician workforce

August 18

Gila River Health Care will invest more than $25 million to establish a University of Arizona medical school branch on the Gila River Indian Community, a long-term workforce investment aimed at...

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community provides $150M financing for Niron magnet plant

August 19

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is providing $150 million in debt financing to Minneapolis-based Niron Magnetics to support construction of the company’s first full-scale manufacturing...

Havasupai begins $7M broadband buildout across Grand Canyon reservation

The Havasupai Tribe has begun construction on a $7 million broadband project that will extend communications infrastructure across the Havasupai Reservation, from the rim of the Grand Canyon to...

Sponsored Storytelling

AI, Genomics, and Tribal Sovereignty: Native Nations Need to Prepare for the Next Frontier

As artificial intelligence (AI) and precision medicine transform healthcare and scientific research, Indigenous leaders say tribal nations must prepare to govern one of their most valuable...

Poarch Creek Indians begin first phase of $24M road improvement project

Economic Development

The Poarch Creek Indians have begun the first phase of a four-part road improvement project backed by $24 million in federal funding, starting construction more than two years after the grant was awarded.

From powwow concessions to a growing Native-owned hospitality brand

Indigenous Entrepreneurs

For many restaurant startups, a food truck is the first step toward opening a brick-and-mortar location. For Indigenous Eats, it happened in reverse.

Q+A: Ted Piccolo on data, capital and financing tribal projects

Finance

Ted Piccolo has one piece of advice for tribes seeking financing: Have your data ready before you ask for money.

Why Infrastructure Stewardship Starts With Knowing What You Own

Sponsored Storytelling

Sponsored Storytelling. Tribal governments invest millions of dollars in clinics, administrative buildings, public safety facilities and other community infrastructure. Before leaders decide what to...

Tribal casino revenue surges 14.8%, but rising costs squeeze margins

Gaming

Tribal casinos posted strong revenue gains in 2025, but rising operating costs cut into profit margins, according to Wipfli’s annual benchmarking report on the Indian gaming industry.

Murray, Cortez Masto reintroduce bill to expand food assistance for tribal households

Food | Agriculture

Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., reintroduced legislation that would expand nutrition assistance for tribal households by allowing eligible families to receive benefits through two federal food programs in the same month.

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.

Seneca Nation gaming enterprise plans $47M Niagara hotel renovation

Real Estate

Seneca Resorts & Casinos plans to invest $47 million to renovate nearly all of the hotel rooms at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino as the Seneca Nation-owned gaming company expands capital spending across its Western New York properties.

The missing data in the prediction market debate

Sponsored Storytelling

Prediction markets — platforms where people stake money on the outcome of elections, sports, economic reports and other future events — are rapidly reshaping the online wagering landscape. They're...

Defense Department pauses next phase of CMMC 2.0 cybersecurity rollout

Native Contracting

The U.S. Department of Defense has suspended implementation of Phase II of its Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 program, delaying new cybersecurity certification requirements that were scheduled to take effect Nov. 10 while officials conduct a 60-day review of the program.

California woman fined $10K after admitting to selling counterfeit Native jewelry

Arts and Culture

A San Francisco woman was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to selling counterfeit Native American jewelry falsely marketed as authentic work by Native artists, federal prosecutors said.

Cherokee Nation, Rogers State sign clinical training MOU

Higher Education

The Cherokee Nation is expanding clinical training opportunities across its health system through a new agreement with Rogers State University, building on a $4 million tribal investment in the university and a separate nursing scholarship commitment.

Q+A: Sam Flores on building sustainable EMS systems in tribal communities

Sponsored Storytelling

In many rural tribal communities, providing timely emergency medical services can be a challenge. Long travel distances, workforce shortages, and limited healthcare infrastructure can make it...

Disney Cruise Line signs 15-year agreement with Huna Totem for Icy Strait Point

Tourism

Disney Cruise Line and Huna Totem Corporation have signed a 15-year agreement securing Disney ship calls at the Alaska Native corporation's Icy Strait Point through at least 2041, extending a partnership that provides long-term passenger traffic for the Indigenous-owned cruise destination.

Walker River Paiute Tribe, NV Energy settle Greenlink West rights of way

Energy | Environment

The Walker River Paiute Tribe has completed negotiations with NV Energy over a trespass dispute involving an expired power line easement and new rights of way for the utility’s Greenlink West transmission project, according to the tribe’s chairwoman.

IHS awards $15.3M for tribal health workforce housing

Health Care

The Indian Health Service is providing $15.3 million for eight staff housing projects as tribes and Native health organizations use employee housing to recruit and retain health care workers.

The Insects Moved Faster Than the Paperwork

Opinion | Op-Ed

Guest Essay. In the summer of 2019, a fire started along Interstate 5 in southern Oregon, at a spot the highway signs mark as Milepost 97. It burned into the forest that the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians had regained only the year before, when Congress placed more than 17,000 acres of the tribe’s ancestral homeland in trust for it. 1 The fire destroyed about 3,600 of those acres and damaged more than 45 million board feet of timber.

Why We’re Paying Attention to Prediction Markets

Sponsored Storytelling

As a Native law student and young professional engaged in tribal governance, gaming and federal Indian law, we have been paying close attention to the rapid rise of prediction markets and the debate...

Senate spending bill would delay OMB grant overhaul affecting tribes

Policy and Law

The U.S. Senate voted 90-6 Saturday to pass the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027, a stopgap spending bill that would fund the federal government through Dec. 11.

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Missing & Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Director

Q+A: Eric Mahroum on DOE’s push to advance 450 tribal energy projects

Cherokee Nation, Rogers State sign clinical training MOU

PODCAST: Beyond the Grants

Rappahannock Tribe launches 8(a) technology joint venture for federal contracting