TISHOMINGO, Okla. – During his Oct. 3 State of the Nation Address, Chickasaw Nation Governor Chris Anoatubby credited the tribe’s continued progress and self-determination to decades of planning, innovation and a unified vision. “It is my great honor to report to you today the state of the Chickasaw Nation is strong, and we have a bright future ahead,” Governor Anoatubby said at the Chickasaw Annual Meeting. “Our economic foundation is solid, our culture flourishes, the heart of our Nation beats strong, and our commitment to one another — unyielding. Together we have accomplished extraordinary things, and together we will continue to build a brighter, stronger and healthier future for every Chickasaw citizen,” Governor Anoatubby said.

Guest Opinion Almost a decade ago, a Russian billionaire, Igor Ashurbeyli, committed to funding a space station-project that would orbit earth in low orbit (LEO), named Asgardia (from Asgard, the mythical Norse world where gods reside.) At the time, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong bureau, contacted me because I teach “Space Law”, to ask if I thought it was realistic for Igor Ashurbeyli to apply for (and obtain) United Nations membership for Asgardia. I thought it would be interesting to share my answer, and to follow up and see how Asgardia is doing today.

Happy Monday Morning! Here are some of the articles you may have missed this past weekend: Ramos Closes Two-Year Legislative Session With 20 Enacted Laws California Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) closed the 2025-26 legislative session with 20 bills enacted into law, addressing issues ranging from tax relief for military retirees and suicide prevention to public safety, homelessness and Native American inclusion. Ramos. a member of the Serrano and Cahuilla tribes and a lifelong resident of the San Manuel Indian Reservation (Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, is the first and only California Native American serving in the California Assembly.

Native Vote 2026 Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (Yup’ik) brought her campaign for the U.S. Senate to Dillingham, meeting with residents, community leaders and local officials to hear directly about the issues affecting families in the Bristol Bay region. Peltola, a lifelong Alaskan and former commercial fisherwoman, said she is traveling throughout the state to hear from residents about the rising cost of living and other challenges facing Alaska communities. She is challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan in the Nov. 3 general election. Alaska election officials list Peltola and Sullivan among the certified candidates for the Senate race.

The White Mesa Ute Community will hold its 10th annual spiritual walk on October 17 to protest the Energy Fuels uranium mill and raise concerns about the potential impacts of radioactive waste processing on the community’s water, air, land, culture and sacred sites. The community-led rally and spiritual walk will begin at 11 a.m. MDT at the White Mesa Ute Community Center. Participants will then walk approximately five miles on relatively flat pavement to the Energy Fuels uranium mill, located just north of the community and east of Bears Ears National Monument.

WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently. Senate Passes Bill Giving Tribal Courts Access to Electronic Evidence The U.S. Senate unanimously passed bipartisan legislation led by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) that would give Tribal courts greater access to electronic evidence, including emails and social media messages, in criminal investigations. The Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives.

California Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) closed the 2025-26 legislative session with 20 bills enacted into law, addressing issues ranging from tax relief for military retirees and suicide prevention to public safety, homelessness and Native American inclusion. Ramos. a member of the Serrano and Cahuilla tribes and a lifelong resident of the San Manuel Indian Reservation (Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, is the first and only California Native American serving in the California Assembly.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Council has formally opposed hyperscale data center development on or near the southern portion of the Akwesasne Territory, citing concerns about potential impacts on the community’s health, environment, economy and cultural resources. The Tribal Council adopted Tribal Council Resolution 2026-41 on October 2, 2026, formally establishing the Tribe’s opposition to hyperscale data centers on or in close proximity to Akwesasne. Since establishing the Tribal Task Force on Energy and Industry in May, the Tribal Council has identified a range of concerns associated with data center development, including significant energy consumption, water resource use, air quality, and noise and light pollution.

Native Vote 2026 The American Indian College Fund is providing nine tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) with voter education and engagement micro-grants as part of its Reclaim Native Democracy campaign, aimed at promoting voter registration and participation in the upcoming midterm elections. The micro-grants will support student- and community-led activities focused on voter registration, understanding what will appear on the ballot, transportation assistance and ridesharing coordination to polling locations, and civic engagement lunch-and-learns on TCU campuses.

The Bureau of Indian Education has appointed Dr. Alex Red Corn, Ed.D., as president of Haskell Indian Nations University following his successful tenure as interim president through an Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement with the University of Kansas. The appointment reflects the BIE’s emphasis on community-rooted leadership and its efforts to advance Haskell’s mission and future. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve Indian Country at this historic university that has meant so much to so many tribal communities,” said Red Corn.

The Fort Sill Apache Economic Development Authority is opening The Vault, a premium cigar and liquor lounge at Apache Casino Hotel, offering Player’s Club members an upscale space featuring premium cigars, spirits, private cigar lockers and specialty services. The new lounge will host a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 8, at 2 p.m. on the second level of Apache Casino Hotel. Guests attending the ceremony will receive a complimentary welcome gift, while supplies last, along with other surprises. Guests must be 21 or older to enter The Vault…

Emily Johnson / Catalyst’s new multifaceted project, Overflow Radio, is a performance, skill-share, tree-planting initiative and radio transmission taking place over 24 nonconsecutive hours within a massive quilt installation and across geographies and territories. Overflow Radio will premiere at Northrop, University of Minnesota, Oct. 9–12, running from noon to 6 p.m. each day. Pick Your Price tickets start at $16. Overflow Radio, the performance is housed within a quilt installation that has been part of a decade-long community sewing project. Designed by Minneapolis textile artist Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe), the quilts feature handwritten messages and visions from hundreds of community co-creators.

Odawa Anishinaabe journalist Sierra Biidaaban Nadeau set out to investigate the history of Indian boarding schools in Michigan. She didn't expect the investigation to lead directly into her own family. While researching enrollment records, Nadeau discovered that 10 of her ancestors had been forced to attend Indian boarding schools. What began as a journalistic investigation became a deeply personal journey into her family's history and the stories that had been hidden for generations. On Friday, October 2, at 12 p.m. ET, Native Bidaské host Levi Rickert sits down with Nadeau, an award-winning Odawa Anishinaabe journalist and author of the new book…

Indian Gaming Association Chairman David Z. Bean and Executive Director Jason Giles met with Arizona Tribal leaders at Palms Casino Resort during the Global Gaming Expo to reinforce the association’s opposition to what it describes as illegal online gambling offered through prediction markets and to call for sustained, united action to protect Tribal sovereignty. Bean and Giles provided an update on IGA’s advocacy and litigation efforts and discussed how Tribal Nations can strengthen the national response to prediction market platforms that offer sports wagering and casino-style games while characterizing them as financial products.

Like many, I have been reading the back and forth about President Donald Trump’s campaign visit to the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma. Most of the discussion in Indian Country is about the appropriateness of the Choctaw Event Center as a campaign site. Choctaw Nation Principal Chief Gary Batton released a statement saying he welcomes Trump to the reservation. “This is the third time we have had the honor of a sitting U.S. president coming to the Choctaw Nation, and we welcome President Trump,” Batton said. “We hope his visit provides an opportunity to learn more about what we do as a sovereign nation for our members and for all people in southeast Oklahoma.”

A New York lawmaker has introduced legislation that would restore criminal jurisdiction over Seneca Nation lands to the tribe. Last week, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced the Seneca Nation Law Enforcement Efficiency Act, which would nullify 25 U.S.C. § 232, a termination-era law Congress passed in 1948 that gave the state jurisdiction over the tribe’s land, triggered decades of confusion among law enforcement agencies and left the tribal nation vulnerable to criminal activity. Seneca Nation President J. Conrad Seneca said in a news release that the lack of accountability among agencies has created an environment where drug dealers and traffickers have thrived, putting Seneca people at risk.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Tribal leaders, economic development professionals, finance executives and development partners will gather Oct. 6–7 in Mount Pleasant for the fifth annual Great Lakes Tribal Economic Summit, focused on how tribal priorities become financed, constructed and operating projects. Tribal Business News, Native News Online's sister publication, in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, will host the summit at Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort under the theme “How Projects Get Done.” “This is our fifth annual tribal summit. The good news is that with innovation and economic development in Indian Country, we never run out of topics to present at our summits,” Levi Rickert, co-publisher of…

In the past decade, Native communities suffered $4.4 billion worth of damage from natural disasters but received only $810 million in disaster response and recovery funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That’s according to a new analysis by the Urban Institute, which examines the disproportionate risk of natural disasters Indian Country faces and the lasting consequences of limited access to response funding. The analysis included federally recognized tribes, Alaska Native villages and three U.S. territories. Native Hawaiian communities were not included because of data limitations. Since 2016, more than half of all Native communities in the U.S.

The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum will open A Beauty That Endures: Native Painting, Ceremony, and Resilience in the 20th Century on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, bringing together more than 50 paintings that examine the development of Indigenous painting as an important movement in 20th-century American art. Curated by Tony Abeyta (Diné/Navajo), the exhibition features works from the renowned collection of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma. The exhibition focuses on the first half of the 20th century, a period in which Native artists developed new forms of visual expression while responding to significant political, cultural and social changes.

The U.S. Senate has passed legislation that would transfer a portion of the former Albuquerque Indian School campus to the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico for the expansion of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) announced passage of the Albuquerque Indian School Act of 2026, which would place portions of the former school campus, currently managed by the General Services Administration, into trust for the benefit of the 19 Pueblos. The legislation now heads to the U.S. House for consideration. “Our legislation will help the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center expand its reach, create new economic opportunities, foster entrepreneurship, and help local small businesses grow,” Heinrich said.

Phyllis Webstad, a tribal citizen of the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, is a prime example of how one person can make a difference and create an Indigenous movement across North America.

Guest Opinion We have one week left to speak out against the Trump administration’s latest violations of our treaty right to education, and therefore Tribal sovereignty. Right now, the Department of Health and Human Services is proposing changes to the national Head Start program, which serves tens of thousands of Native and Alaska Native children. HHS’s proposal would eliminate more than 1,400 federal requirements governing Head Start, including those that guarantee the protection of Native languages, culture, and management of Native Head Start programs. One proposed change would require all Head Start programs to comply with state and local regulations, expanding local jurisdiction over a Tribe or Tribal organization.

aLocal.ai, an AI-driven economic software company, has partnered with ARM Hospitality to launch aBets.ai, a new venture focused on providing analytics, capital strategies and management services to the gaming and hospitality industries. The venture combines aLocal.ai’s proprietary economic engine with ARM Hospitality’s industry expertise and the partial acquisition of Epic Lodging Partners GP. The companies say aBets.ai will provide casino and hospitality operators, investors and government partners with data-driven insights into performance, player preferences and market demand. “We are executing a growth strategy that extends our award-winning AI foundation into new, high-demand verticals,” said Eric S.

A grave marker associated with an unknown U.S. Army 7th Cavalry Soldier was formally returned to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Tuesday during a ceremony attended by representatives of the National Park Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Army and community partners. The marker is believed to have been stolen from the national monument more than 40 years ago. Its return restores a tangible piece of the battlefield’s history and allows the marker to once again be cared for at the site where the Soldier it represents is remembered. “This is a meaningful moment for Little Bighorn Battlefield,” said Superintendent James Novitsky.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday declined to rehear three lawsuits seeking to protect Oak Flat, a sacred site of the Western Apache in Arizona. The decision marks another setback for efforts to prevent the planned destruction of Oak Flat by the proposed Resolution Copper mine. But the court’s action also produced unusually strong criticism from 11 Ninth Circuit judges, who questioned the court’s earlier ruling and urged the Supreme Court to consider the case. Dr. Wendsler Nosie Sr., founder of Apache Stronghold and a former chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, said the fight to protect Oak Flat is far from over.

More than 30,000 people gathered at the Morongo Indian Reservation September 25–27 for the 35th Annual Morongo Thunder & Lightning Powwow, celebrating Native American music, art, dance and cultural traditions. Recognized as one of the nation’s premier powwows, the three-day event coincided with California Native American Day and brought together more than 900 competitive dancers and 20 drum groups from across the United States and Canada. The family-friendly event was free and open to the public. Throughout the weekend, dancers wearing intricate, handcrafted regalia featuring leather, fine beadwork and brightly colored feathers competed in a variety of dance categories representing the diversity of Native dance traditions from across North America.

Each year on Sept. 30th, known as Orange Shirt Day, Tribal Nations across North America pay tribute to the Native children who were forcibly removed from their families and placed in boarding and residential schools. Here is Native News Online’s round-up of events happening tomorrow to commemorate Orange Shirt Day. United States Arizona Tucson Indian Center Orange Shirt Day gathering When and where: 8 a.m.–4 p.m.; University of Arizona Campus Store, 1209 E. University Blvd., Tucson Memorial walk, lunch and guest speakers; walk check-in starts at 8 a.m. Event details…

Courtney John Barrett Sr., 56, of Red Lake, had been charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. The charges stem from an investigation by the FBI and the Red Lake Police Department. According to a press release from the office of United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen, Barrett Sr., 56, of Red Lake, had his initial appearance hearing on Sept. 22 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jon T. Huseby. According to the indictment, Barrett knowingly engaged and attempted to engage in a sexual act with a minor victim on at least two occasions from on or about June 2023 to February 2025.

The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (NABS) is recognizing the Week of Remembrance, September 27 through October 3, as a time to honor the children who never returned home from Indian boarding schools, recognize the strength and resilience of survivors and descendants, and acknowledge the lasting impacts of the boarding school era on Native families and communities. September 30 is the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School Survivors, providing an opportunity to pause, remember and reflect on the children, survivors, families and communities impacted by the Indian boarding school system.

Opinion With the recent controversies surrounding the iconic John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, I found myself thinking about a special evening I spent there with Native Americans from across Indian Country on July 1, 2022. Before a sold-out audience of more than 1,150 people at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater, dozens of Native American actors, dancers, singers, and other artists came together for a two-hour performance called We The Peoples Before. Presented by the First Peoples Fund and the Kennedy Center, the event brought more than 50 Native performers to the stage.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation is mourning after a shooting Friday evening in New Town, North Dakota, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, located in the nortwest part of the state, left two people dead and another injured. The injured victim was transported to Trinity Hospital in Minot, North Dakota. One of the people killed has been identified as Marc Smith Jr., 23, of New Town. Authorities have not publicly identified the second person killed in the shooting. Immediately after the shooting, Three Affiliated Tribes Law Enforcement Services issued a shelter-in-place order as law enforcement officers searched for armed suspects.

Happy Monday Morning! Here are some of the articles you may have missed this past weekend: Trump to Hold Midterm Political Rally at Choctaw Nation Event Center in Oklahoma The White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump will hold a political rally in Durant, Oklahoma, which is located within the Choctaw Nation, next Thursday, October 1. With polls showing the beleaguered second-term president facing falling support, Trump has embarked on a campaign tour to support Republican candidates in various parts of the country.

Native Vote 2026 One of these days, it would be wonderful to see campaigns debated on ideas instead of personalities. There are substantive differences in how Republicans, Democrats and Independents think about government, taxes, and, well public policy. But then there would be less theater. To read more articles by Mark Trahant, go to: Marktrahant.substack.com Yesterday was a case in point. The New York Times published an expose about how Mary Peltola, Yup’ik, treated her staff. The headline from the Times exclusive: “Angry Outbursts, Slurs and Firings: Tumult Rocks a Key Senate Campaign…

Louise Erdrich, a tribal citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, was named Friday as the 2026 recipient of the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the nation’s major honors for artists. The award is presented annually to an artist for an “outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.” Erdrich, one of the most celebrated Native American authors of her generation, was recognized not for a single book but for a body of work spanning more than four decades.

Guest Opinion Words have power in the Cherokee Nation. From contracts and treaties to the Cherokee Nation Constitution, words are the mortar bonding generations of cultural heritage to a modern, worldwide community as one tribe. No one in our history understood this better than Sequoyah, who created our Cherokee syllabary and made a written Cherokee language possible. His vision continues to unfold today, as we make historic investments through the 2024 Durbin Feeling Language Preservation Act and reinvigorate our language, including at our newly opened, $30 million Cherokee Immersion Middle School…

WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández Honors Indian Boarding School Relatives Ahead of September 30 Day of Remembrance U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) recognized Native children, Indian boarding school survivors, families and descendants on the House floor ahead of the September 30 National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding School survivors. Leger Fernández called for continued efforts to pursue truth, justice and healing for those impacted by the federal Indian boarding school system.

The White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump will hold a political rally in Durant, Oklahoma, which is located within the Choctaw Nation, next Thursday, October 1. With polls showing the beleaguered second-term president facing falling support, Trump has embarked on a campaign tour to support Republican candidates in various parts of the country. Thursday’s rally is in support of Republican nominee for Oklahoma governor Mike Mazzei, a former Oklahoma state senator and Tulsa businessman. While the rally is scheduled to be held at the Choctaw Nation Event Center in Durant, the Choctaw Nation said Friday that it is not endorsing any candidates or hosting the rally.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana is marking 45 years of federal recognition, honoring the generations of Tribal citizens and leaders who worked to preserve the Tribe’s identity and secure its relationship with the United States. The Tribe’s federal recognition became effective on September 25, 1981, following years of work to document the Tunica-Biloxi people’s history, ancestry and continued existence as a Tribal Nation. The federal determination traced the Tribe’s documented history to 1698 and recognized the modern Tunica-Biloxi Tribe as the successor of the historic Tunica, Ofo and Avoyel tribes and part of the Biloxi Tribe.

Cherokee Nation Language Department Executive Director Howard Paden took an oath of office Thursday after being confirmed by the Council of the Cherokee Nation as the Secretary of Language and Culture during a special committee meeting. “There are few people as dedicated to the Cherokee language as Howard Paden. He has made an effort to share the Cherokee language his entire career,” said Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “The language department that Paden directs has created 123 high-level second-language speakers, provided essential needs to more than 1,000 first-language fluent speakers, delivered over 200,000 hours of language lessons to citizens near and far, and it is helping build the next generation of first-language speakers.”

A statewide study documenting the economic contributions of Michigan’s Tribal Nations has received national recognition from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). aLocal.ai, an artificial intelligence-based economic and market research company, received the IEDC’s “Excellence in Economic Development” silver award for its research on the Michigan Non-Gaming Tribal Economic Impact Study. The study was funded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and coordinated by Waséyabek Development Company. It brought together Michigan’s 12 federally recognized Tribal Nations to examine the economic impact of Tribal non-gaming enterprises across the state.

The Navajo Nation presidential candidates, Justin Jones and Crystalyne Curley, will participate in a debate Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at the Wellness Center on the main campus of Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico. Jones, an attorney, was the top vote-getter in the August primary. Curley is the current speaker of the Navajo Nation Council. The two emerged from a field of 16 candidates in the Navajo Nation presidential primary held July 21, 2026. Jones led the field with 15,039 votes, followed by Curley with 8,424 votes. Current Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, who was seeking a second four-year term, finished third with 7,410 votes, ending his reelection bid.

A young woman from the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes has been repatriated 126 years after she died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School in Pennsylvania. According to a statement from the Tribe, Della Tuscarora Atkins was a 17-year-old Shoshone woman who arrived at Carlisle on December 12, 1900. She died just 13 days later on Christmas Day from complications of advanced brain cancer. Her body was buried at the school, and due to misspellings in her name, her family wasn’t notified of her death, After a search and verification of living relatives, Atkins’ descendants traveled across the country to bring her remains back home to the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Nevada.

The Pine Ridge Girls School has been announced as a finalist for the $1 million Yass Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes innovation in education. The Pine Ridge Girls School is an independent, all-girls school located on the th sovereign Oglala Lakota reservation in South Dakota. The school is the first and only all-girls college preparatory school on a Native American reservation. Founded in 2016, the school’s philosophy is grounded in Lakota culture and girls’ empowerment. By offering a rigorous college preparatory education, rooted in Lakota language, history, and values, the school aims to deepen students’ connection to their community and cultural identity, while preparing them for success in higher education.

Who controls Indigenous knowledge when it enters the world of academic publishing and digital data? On Friday, September 25, at 12 p.m. ET, Native Bidaské host Levi Rickert sits down with Dr. Lydia Jennings of Dartmouth College to discuss new guidelines for the governance of Indigenous peoples’ data in scholarly publishing. Jennings helped lead a collaborative effort that brought together Indigenous scholars, allied scholars, journal editors and data and metadata experts to develop the guidelines.

YouTube video by Native News Online

As AI transforms research and healthcare, Native Bio-Data says tribal nations must build the institutions and governance needed to manage data as a strategic resource.

In the morning, before sunrise, I pray with corn pollen in my right hand. The corn was harvested from red clay soil in the fields of the Zuni Mountains, where my Pueblo relatives live and pray in the same way. At an early age, I was taught that a corn-pollen prayer centers the belief that a person is exactly where they’re supposed to be at any given time and place, creating a presence with all existence that is determined by the prayer itself.

Energy developer Avangrid withdrew last month its longstanding permit application to build industrial-scale solar on a site sacred to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Confederated Tribes and bands of the Yakama Nation. The proposed project site on Badger Mountain in central Washington straddles private land as well as public land owned by the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Last week, Chickasaw Nation broke ground on what will be one of the largest Native American hospitals in the country. When complete, the 160-acre Chickasaw Nation Health Newcastle Medical Center campus, located at the intersection of Southwest 16th Street and U.S. Highway 62, will contain 12 buildings, including a hospital, outpatient clinic, and more than 23 medical specialties. “Today is the next step in our journey to provide quality, accessible healthcare,” Chickasaw Nation Governor Chris Anoatubby said at the July 31 groundbreaking ceremony.

Guest Opinion The FDA’s Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee met on Thursday and Friday, July 23-24, 2026, convening to consider whether seven peptides should be be made more widely available. Six of the seven received a green light, so to speak. This committee is subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires its members to be non-federal employees. Its meetings must be open to the press, and its documents are subject to the Freedom of Information Act.