Tribal Government
RSSFederally-recognized tribal governments, tribal council actions, tribal-state compacts, sovereignty disputes, BIA programs
Court orders former Curyung Tribal Council accountant to repay $125,834 to tribe
Federal court ordered former Curyung Tribal Council accountant William Corbett to repay $125,834 after he embezzled funds through forged checks and falsified payroll documents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1h ago2 min read
Three Alaska tribal housing groups win $15.7 million in federal grants for 58 homes
Three Alaska tribal housing groups won $15.7 million in HUD's latest competitive round, enough for 58 homes in Haines, Galena and Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3d ago2 min read
Tlingit & Haida delegates reelect Richard Peterson as president
Tlingit & Haida delegates reelected Richard Peterson as president Thursday and chose Clinton Cook as first vice president at the tribe's 91st Tribal Assembly.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
A federal grant funds Tlingit & Haida's plan to hear child protection cases
The Tlingit & Haida Tribal Court is preparing to open its own child protection cases, using authority Alaska courts recognized more than a decade ago.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago3 min read
Bert Adams takes over as Sitka Tribe of Alaska general manager
Bert Adams started as general manager of Sitka Tribe of Alaska on Aug. 17, ending nine months without a permanent leader after the previous manager resigned in November 2025.
by Alaska Newsadded 1w ago1 min read
BIA sends nearly $800,000 to five Alaska tribal governments, most of it road money
The BIA sent about $794,000 to five Alaska tribes this month, mostly for roads in Y-K Delta villages that have no road system.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min read
Congress weighs $500 million in tribal water money Alaska can't reach
Congress is moving $500 million for one California tribe's water rights, a kind of federal money that Alaska's tribes, by their legal status, can barely reach.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read
Museums have cleared 46 Alaska Native ancestors to come home
At least 46 Alaska Native ancestors and 14 belongings have been cleared to come home. Twelve of the dates they could have left have already passed.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Ninth Circuit says tribal law cannot shield employees from federal civil rights suits
A federal appeals court ruled tribal governments cannot shield their own employees from civil rights lawsuits by writing immunity into tribal code.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
A tiny Bering Sea tribe runs its own healing court, from the island to Anchorage
A tiny tribe in the Bering Sea runs its own healing court for people facing addiction, and a federal grant will extend it to members who've moved to Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Nine Southeast Alaska communities are getting naloxone vending machines
Naloxone is going into vending machines in nine Southeast Alaska communities you can reach only by boat or plane. None of the sites exist yet.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
NOAA will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every council meeting
NOAA Fisheries will stop briefing Alaska tribes before every North Pacific council meeting, citing a substantial drop in staff since 2025.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
TCC will hold a November summit on what villages told it this summer
Tanana Chiefs Conference will hold a November summit on priorities its chief gathered during summer visits to seven Interior villages.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Tlingit & Haida back a Ketchikan plan to treat addiction closer to home
The Tlingit & Haida tribe backs a Ketchikan plan for a residential addiction treatment center so Southeast Alaskans no longer have to leave the region for care.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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 2mo ago2 min read
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 2mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 News3mo ago3 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 3mo ago2 min read
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 3mo ago1 min read
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 3mo ago3 min read
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 3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
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 News3mo ago1 min read
House panel hears bill to move tribal regulatory authority to Interior
A House panel heard testimony on moving a 25-year-dormant federal authority for tribal business development from Commerce to Interior, where it could finally function for Alaska's 229 tribes.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago2 min read
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 3mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
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 4mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
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 5mo ago4 min read
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 5mo ago2 min read
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 News5mo ago3 min read
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 News5mo ago4 min read