Native American News

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California tribes sue to ban private casino "banked" games

California's Native American tribes are seeking to stop non-tribally owned casinos from offering Las Vegas-style card games like blackjack in a legal challenge that could dramatically upend the state's gambling industry.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/02/california-tribes-lawsuit-casino-card-rooms?

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A town refuses to give up the school’s Native American mascot — and gets Trump’s support

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) — As a high school hockey player, Adam Drexler wore his Massapequa Chiefs jersey with pride.

https://apnews.com/article/massapequa-chiefs-mascot-team-name-trump-ny-fc750c700733949805afd8266c69a975?

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The last dance? Organizers of North America’s largest powwow say 2026 will be the event’s final year

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — For decades, tens of thousands of people have descended upon Albuquerque for what is billed as North America’s largest powwow, a celebration showcasing Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world.

https://apnews.com/article/gathering-of-nations-powwow-indigenous-native-american-f9d69ff3b3a62d08f7f2116aa5465c61?

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The remains and stories of Native American students are being reclaimed from a Pennsylvania cemetery

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — The Carlisle Indian Industrial School had not yet held its first class when Matavito Horse and Leah Road Traveler were taken there in October 1879, drafted into the U.S. government’s campaign to erase Native American tribes by wiping their children’s identities.

https://apnews.com/article/native-american-boarding-school-carlisle-pennsylvania-3d94e92ee1ba56145c96c66965a4acdc?

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A town in North Carolina is returning land to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

An important cultural site is close to being returned to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians after a city council in North Carolina voted unanimously Monday to return the land.

https://apnews.com/article/noquisiyi-mound-eastern-band-of-cherokee-indians-61193017a9aaf281b3646c0cf3594407?

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For Indigenous Americans it’s unthinkable, but true. ICE is arresting, detaining Native Americans.

For Indigenous Americans it is unthinkable, but true.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/02/11/repub/for-indigenous-americans-its-unthinkable-but-true-ice-is-arresting-detaining-native-americans/?

ps:These people are unreal!!!!!

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Tribes sue to halt exploratory drilling in Black Hills near sacred ceremonial site

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Nine Native American tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska are suing the federal government in a bid to stop exploratory drilling for graphite near a sacred site in the Black Hills.

https://apnews.com/article/black-hills-tribes-mining-exploration-protest-cd7b175dbedf750889e26db3689d6398?

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Cherokee Nation integrates culture into new treatment center built with opioid settlement funds

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — Culture is vital for recovery. That’s a lesson Juli Skinner, a citizen of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, learned during her time in foster care, years later working in child welfare and now, as the senior director of the Cherokee Nation’s behavioral health center.

https://apnews.com/article/tribes-opioids-cherokee-settlement-culture-addiction-treatment-e2184c74f88ae03d2de97c84e9c871fb?

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Native Americans mark the US 250th with pride, pain and patriotism

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Swiftly marching toward westward expansion, the United States in the 1800s brought with it a tidal wave of displacement and cultural suppression for Native Americans.

https://apnews.com/article/native-americans-250-history-4c953698465c5bfc957808c0415484d7?

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Watchdog for $46 billion tribal gambling industry can't enforce the law without a chairperson

On opening day at the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma's new Harrah’s-branded casino, the tribe's chairman watched customers pack the gambling floor while a queue of cars spilled out of the parking lot. Read More.

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💥 Native Americans' 2028 power play

Illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios. Stock: Getty Images

💪 The 2028 race for the White House will give new political clout to a long-overlooked constituency: Native American voters. Driving the news: New Mexico now holds an influential early spot as one of the first states to vote in the Democratic primary — on Feb. 15, 2028. That's put Native Americans, who make up about 12% of the state, in position to wield more influence in the presidential race than ever before. In recent Democratic primaries, New Mexico typically has voted late in the season, in June. States that held the earliest primaries had much smaller Native populations. Now potential presidential campaigns are scrambling to adjust to the 2028 lineup, calling Native leaders to learn about Indigenous power players and the dynamics of tribal governments, Democratic operatives tell Axios. 🔎 Zoom in: Any presidential candidate who wants to win New Mexico is "going to have to listen to tribes," warned Deb Haaland, the former U.S. interior secretary who made history in 2021 when she became the first Native American to head a cabinet agency. "We could be a large part in who that nominee is." Native leaders and their allies say that will force presidential candidates to engage closely with tribal governments and pay attention to issues such as tribal sovereignty, land and water rights, and rural infrastructure. 📝 Several potential 2028 contenders are already taking notes. Isaac Dakota Casados, a New Mexico Democratic consultant and Navajo Nation member, told us his phone has been ringing off the hook as presidential campaigns-in-waiting look to learn more about Native voters. "They're really trying to figure out how the Native American demographic plays into this larger picture," he said. "I think they're used to speaking to Hispanic and Latino populations within their states. This is a very unique variable that's very different to them." Casados said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged to him that he's "really gotta learn" about tribal leadership, while New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was "fascinated" by New Mexico's myriad tribal cultures in a recent conversation. Kalyn Free, a Choctaw Nation citizen who's on the Democratic National Committee's powerful rules and bylaws committee, also said she's been getting outreach from presidential hopefuls and their teams. The jockeying among 2028ers to win Native American voters could help elevate new power players in the Indigenous community. Tribal governments will likely be courted for endorsements. Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, is uniquely poised to become a sought-after validator for 2028 candidates in Indian country: She's running for governor of New Mexico this year. Some potential 2028 contenders already appear to be wooing Haaland. She met recently with Booker and is rallying with former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this weekend. Pritzker helped raise money for Haaland at an event in New Mexico this month. Haaland told us she talked with Pritzker about her efforts to investigate the troubled legacy of federal Indian boarding schools and President Trump's slashing of protections for Native American sacred sites. 🔭 Zoom out: New Mexico has the nation's third-largest share of people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, and it includes 23 federally recognized tribes. When New Mexico votes in the presidential primary, the race will probably have been narrowed to two or three candidates — giving the state an oversized say in helping pick the party's nominee, Democratic strategists say. Native leaders say their community's voters don't easily map onto the party's progressive-vs.-moderate divide, and stressed that the community isn't a monolith in general elections, either. In the 2016 Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton won some states with significant Native populations, such as New Mexico and Arizona — but Bernie Sanders carried others, such as Alaska and Montana. In 2024's general election, some Native voters across the country — who polls suggested had been hit particularly hard by inflation — shifted toward Trump. Axios' Russell Contreras contributed reporting. — Holly Otterbein