Tribal Government
RSSFederally-recognized tribal governments, tribal council actions, tribal-state compacts, sovereignty disputes, BIA programs
A sacred site promised in 1978 is being considered by Congress to go to Doyon
A sacred Athabascan site was promised to Doyon in 1978, then a national park grew around it. Congress is finally moving to hand it over.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Anchorage Assembly recognizes four Eklutna youth interns for Elders meal program
Anchorage Assembly recognized four Eklutna youth interns who spent the summer harvesting salmon and moose for an Elders Freezer Meal program, then delivered meals to tribal Elders' homes.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
A faster way to settle Native trust estates, starting in Alaska
Settling a Native allotment after a death has meant slow federal paperwork — now Interior has an online system to speed it up, and Alaska families are first to use it.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Nominations open for Arctic shipping panel with reserved Alaska seats
Alaska Native tribes and coastal groups have until Sept. 22 to seek seats on a new federal panel shaping U.S. Arctic shipping policy as sea lanes open.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
The federal unit handling Alaska's MMIP cases can't return a family's calls
The federal unit handling Alaska's missing and murdered Indigenous cases hasn't returned one family's calls in 10 months, a Crow Nation professor told Congress.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Deadline TONIGHT for Park Service tribal heritage preservation grants
Alaska tribes, Native villages and corporations have until 7:59 p.m. Monday to apply for Park Service grants preserving oral histories and sacred places.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
One new rural Alaska prosecutor, against deep tribal-justice cuts
The DOJ is adding one rural Alaska prosecutor while proposing to cut the budgets that fund tribal police and victim services by roughly a quarter.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court upholds ICWA termination, clarifies standards
Alaska Supreme Court upheld termination of parental rights for two Native children, clarifying courts must meet criminal-level proof and show active efforts to preserve families under federal Indian Child Welfare Act rules.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Anchorage health facility secures federal approval for land transfer to expand services
Senate approved 3.37 acre land transfer to Southcentral Foundation to expand mental health services for Alaska Native people. • Committee advanced eight tribal land bills nationwide for housing and wildfire management. • Administration proposed major cuts to tribal services including 32 percent reduction to Indian Education bureau.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Native leaders brought a unified salmon co-management demand to NCAI
Alaska Native leaders demanded Tribal co-management of salmon at a national Indigenous conference, citing food security and cultural crises from collapsed runs on Arctic, Yukon, and Kuskokwim rivers. • Subsistence communities have gone years without harvesting salmon while bearing the burden of conservation restrictions. • Current federal and state frameworks exclude Tribes from binding decision authority despite their sovereignty and stewardship responsibilities.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Petersburg trades a sliver of land for a place to put its 911 gear
Petersburg sold a 0.23-acre scrap of public land so it wouldn't have to build its own tower. 300 signatures couldn't stop the 6-0 yes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Metlakatla edible-only landscaping rule reshapes public plantings
Metlakatla passed an ordinance requiring all public landscaping to be edible, planting 50 fruit and berry trees across the Southeast Alaska community with a $105,244 federal grant.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Free disability-rights clinic comes to Bethel June 24
The Disability Law Center of Alaska brings a free clinic to Bethel on June 24 to help people with disabilities understand their education and employment rights under vocational rehabilitation programs.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Tanana Chiefs Conference reshuffles its leadership
Tanana Chiefs Conference staffed up this week — a former lobbyist to lead advocacy, a new tribal-priorities director, and a split of its top health job as the system keeps growing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A boat trip made Interior Alaska's needs visible. Who's responsible for them is the harder question.
A Tanana Chiefs boat trip showcased four remote villages' needs. Who's responsible for meeting them is a tangle of federal, state, corporate and tribal roles.
by Alaska News1mo ago3 min readAI
House panel hears bill to move tribal regulatory authority to Interior
A House subcommittee took testimony June 9 on legislation that would transfer a dormant 2000 tribal regulatory reform mandate from Commerce to Interior, 25 years after the authority was supposed to convene.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Begich bill would let the Indian Health Service fund rabies shots and spay/neuter in rural Alaska
Rural Alaska has rabid foxes biting dogs biting kids — and the IHS technically can't fund the shots. Begich's bill would change that.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
BLM Alaska to repatriate Native remains and cultural items under three federal notices
BLM is going to give some stuff back that they probably shouldn't have.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Fitch upgrades Tanana Chiefs Conference bond rating to AA-
Fitch upgraded Tanana Chiefs Conference bond rating to AA-, lowering borrowing costs for healthcare and infrastructure. • Karen Sitton named new CFO after 30-year finance career. • TCC opposes federal land transfer in Dalton Utility Corridor, citing threats to ancestral hunting grounds. • Morris Thompson Center hiring youth ages 14 to 21 for summer jobs.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
House Judiciary advances bill extending confidentiality to tribal advocates
The House Judiciary Committee moved forward legislation Monday that would extend confidentiality protections to tribal domestic violence and sexual assault advocates, closing a gap that leaves survivors served by tribal governments without the same privacy safeguards afforded to those served by other organizations.
by Alaska News3mo ago3 min readAI
Tribal groups seek $1.1M in fees after beating Alaska on Kuskokwim fishing rights
Tribal groups AVCP and Alaska Federation of Natives seek $1.1 million combined in attorneys' fees after winning a federal case that gave the U.S. government control over Kuskokwim River gillnet salmon harvests instead of Alaska.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska runs on federal money, and a proposed rule change has people worried
Alaska leans on federal money for basics — water plants, shelters, emergency response — and nonprofits, cities, and Tribes warn a proposed federal rule change could make that funding less reliable.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska's tribal school compact bill navigates sovereignty and public education law
Senate Bill 66 would authorize five-year pilot agreements allowing tribes to operate public schools under state funding while maintaining tribal governance, requiring new legislation to balance sovereignty with existing education statutes.
by Alaska News3mo ago4 min readAI
House panel advances tribal victim advocate confidentiality bill
The House Tribal Affairs Committee unanimously advanced House Bill 384, which extends confidentiality protections to tribal domestic violence and sexual assault advocates by adding two words to Alaska statute.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago2 min readAI
A federal court said it can order states to fix foster care. Alaska's case looms.
A federal court said it can order Alaska to fix foster care. Alaska's AG said please don't. Lawsuit pending.
by Alaska Newsadded 1mo ago3 min readAI
House panel hears bill to extend confidentiality to tribal victim advocates
The House Tribal Affairs Committee heard House Bill 384, which would add tribal governments to the definition of victim counseling centers, extending confidentiality protections to survivors who seek help from tribal organizations.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago4 min readAI