Compiled by ANN TOINEETA
One Feather Intern
U.S. Department of Education to award $41.3 million in grant funding to 26 Alaska grantees
Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has announced that the U.S. Department of Education “is expected to award $41.3 million in grant funding through the Alaska Native Education Program to 26 Alaska grantees.” The Alaska Native Education Program supports the needs of Alaska Native students.
Source: Alaska Beacon
Former Miss Universe Canada calls out pageant contestants for cultural appropriation
Former Miss Universe Canada and member of the Enoch Cree Nation, Ashley Callingbull called out two 2026 Miss Universe Canada contestants, Karisa Haverkamp and Jasleen Kaily, for cultural appropriation due to outfits they wore during the pageant’s national pageantry costume competition in Windsor, Ont.
Source: CBC
Mark Cruz to be next Indian Health Service director
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Mark Cruz, a member of the Klamath Tribes, “to be the next Indian Health Service director under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” Cruz was previously a “senior advisor in the Immediate Office of the Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
Source: Indian Country Today
Indigenous actresses to star in new mystery drama
Paulina Alexis, a member of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation, and Crystle Lightning, a member of the Enoch Cree Nation, will star in “Anna Pigeon”, a new mystery drama premiering on USA Network. “Based on Nevada Barr’s bestselling novels, the 10-episode series follows park ranger Anna Pigeon as she investigates crimes hidden across America’s national parks.”
Source: Indigenous TV
Peggy Flanagan wins Minnesota Democratic U.S. Senate primary
Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation, has won the Minnesota Democratic U.S. Senate primary, defeating her Republican opponent, Angie Craig. “With 79% of the vote counted, Flanagan led Craig 58.8% to 39.7%.”
Source: Native News Online
Navajo Nation secures USB flash drive that contains confidential veteran records
The Navajo Nation has secured a USB flash drive that contains confidential Navajo veteran records “after concerns about a potential data breach were raised during a Monday meeting of the Legislative Branch’s Health, Education and Human Services Committee.” The device was found at a laundromat by a Navajo veteran and “reportedly contained sensitive personal and financial records belonging to Navajo veterans.”
Source: Native News Online
Federal appeals court sides with Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
The Fourth U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago, Neb has “sided with the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and ruled it will not revisit previous decisions that cleared the way for the tribe to bring home the remains of two boys who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania more than a century ago.” This ruling holds the court’s decision that the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) “applies to the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley, two Winnebago boys buried in the Army-run cemetery at Carlisle Barracks in Pennsylvania.”
Source: Indian Country Today
Sam McCracken Youth Project makes new appointments to its Board of Directors
The Sam McCracken Youth Project (SMCYP) has appointed Kathy Baird, Charles W. Galbraith, and Mary Hiratsuka Mazilo to its Board of Directors. The SMCYP is “a Native-led nonprofit dedicated to advancing the mental, physical and cultural well-being of Native youth.” The new board members will “bring expertise in business, law, public policy, communications, organizational leadership and community engagement.”
Source: Native News Online
Two tribes sue BLM over Mojave Groundwater Bank project
The Fort Mojave and Chemehuevi Indian Tribes are suing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over the Mojave Groundwater Bank project, “a plan to pump billions of gallons of groundwater from under the Mojave Trails National Monument.” Although the plan was blocked by a federal court in 2022, the BLM has recently approved a new grant for the project.
Source: Indian Country Today
