Indian Country

In Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, less than 8% of qualifying households had taken advantage of a federal broadband subsidy. But an expansion in eligibility may mean an uptick in uptake.

“We have to think swiftly,” said Crystal Tulley-Cordova, principal hydrologist for the Navajo Nation. “Otherwise, we will continue to be in the situation that we are in, or even in worse circumstances.”

The Interior Department's moving the Bureau of Land Management's headquarters back to Washington, D.C., while establishing a Western HQ in Colorado. On Tuesday, BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning shared details on how that'll work.

“Anything that has to do with water, we’ve been totally blocked out,” said Christopher Tabbee of the Ute Indian Tribe. “We’ve never been consulted on any decisions.”

On the first day of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to create a comprehensive strategy for federal law enforcement’s efforts to prevent and respond to violence against Native Americans.

Last year, Congress passed two laws addressing the crisis of violence against Indigenous women. But a new report by the Government Accountability Office finds that federal agencies have failed to meet the laws' requirements.

Charles F. Sams III would be the 19th director of the National Park Service – and the first Native American to lead the agency.

Willy Pepion had a cracked skull, and guards at the federal jail on the Blackfeet Reservation dismissed his pleas for help. He died in his cell. Three hours went by until anyone noticed.

The National Congress of American Indians has urged the federal government to place medical personnel in its tribal jails, arguing that the current situation "exacerbates the already challenging problem of health disparities for American Indians."

After months of repeated written questions and public records requests from NPR and the Mountain West News Bureau, Interior Department officials said they now plan to contract with an outside agency to examine the troubles plaguing tribal detention centers.