2022 Intergovernmental News Stories
Pima County, Pascua Yaqui Tribe partner to prosecute cases (Tucson.com) 12/30/22
Biden signs Sen. Mike Rounds' RESPECT ACT to repeal discriminatory laws targeting Native Americans (Argus Leader) 12/29/22
A very merry Indigenous affairs year-in-review (High Country News) 12/27/22
8 tribal bills pass Senate, set to become law (Native News Online) 12/21/22
Hobbs intends to strengthen relationships with Arizona’s tribal nations (Arizona Mirror) 12/19/22
Rounds, Johnson get RESPECT Act passed through Congress (South Dakota Public Broadcasting) 12/15/22
RESPECT Act repeals laws discriminating against Native Americans (KEVN) 12/14/22
Michigan tribes, state reach tentative deal on Great Lakes fishing access (Bridge Michigan) 12/13/22
The Cherokee Nation was promised a delegate to Congress. Why doesn’t it have one? (High Country News) 12/12/22
USDA Forest Service signs 11 new agreements to advance tribal co-stewardship of national forests (Char-Koosta News) 12/8/22
187 years ago, the Cherokee Nation was promised a delegate to the House. It’s still waiting (FastCompany) 12/7/22
Representatives Kilmer, Warren introduce historic legislation to address barriers to sovereignty (Native News Online) 12/6/22
BIA, FBI sign agreement to improve law enforcement in Indian Country (Missoulian) 12/1/22
Biden affirms commitment to tribal nations, announces new initiatives at White House Tribal Nations Summit (Native News Online) 11/30/22
Interior Department announces new support for tribal sovereignty (Native News Online) 11/30/22
Four California tribes sign preservation agreements with the National Park Service (Sierra Sun Times) 11/24/22
USDA, tribes partner to conserve grasslands (Rapid City Journal) 11/17/22
Hoskin 'quite encouraged' as Cherokees press case for House delegate (Tulsa World) 11/17/22
Cherokees ask U.S. to make good on a 187-year-old promise, for a start (New York Times) 11/3/22
Sonoma County, Graton tribe will co-manage Tolay Lake (The Press Democrat) 10/15/22
Five Civilized Tribes council members pass resolutions addressing critical tribal matters (KTUL) 10/7/22
Yurok Tribe signs agreement with California State Parks for collaborative approach in North Coast Redwoods (California Department of Parks and Recreation) 9/28/22
Tribal-state tax compacts rise as a tool for tax clarity in Indian Country (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) 9/26/22
Yurok tribal leaders join California Governor Gavin Newsom for signing of historic Feather Alert Bill (
Indian Country Today) 9/26/22
‘Our policy is nation-to-nation’: Tribes join President Biden for celebration at White House (Indianz) 9/14/22
Coquille finally get hunting rights (Mail Tribune) 9/13/22
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples turns 15 (Cultural Survival) 9/13/22
Pascua Yaqui & state of Arizona agree on roles in foster children cases ahead of Supreme Court decision (Tucson Sentinel) 8/29/22
A federal appeals court says the state can't tax tribal lands that once fell out of tribal hands (Wisconsin Public Radio) 8/25/22
Federal report: Zinke violated ‘duty of candor’ (Montana Free Press) 8/24/22
Tribe seeks state recognition for enrollment cards (Smoky Mountain News) 8/24/22
FEMA releases first-ever national tribal strategy (Native News Online) 8/19/22
Historic Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact becomes Law (Alaska Native News) 8/12/22
Senate committee to hold hearing on tribal Freedmen (KFOR) 7/27/22
Impact of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on Native American tribes in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Public Radio) 7/27/22
Conservation groups want to intervene in state, tribal treaty negotiations over Great Lakes fishing (Michigan Live) 7/25/22
Local experts say new federal ruling on criminal authority has little impact on Yakama Nation (Yakima Herald-Republic) 7/22/22
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to hear testimony on three acts on Wednesday (Native News Online) 7/20/22
Reps. García, Underwood introduce Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Shab-eh-nay Band Reservation Settlement Act of 2022 (Indian Country Today) 7/19/22
Bill sought by Wabanaki tribes in Maine passes U.S. House (Maine Public Radio) 7/15/22
How a recent Supreme Court decision derailed a Native student journalist's free-speech lawsuit (Native News Online) 7/15/22
Appointment of Marilynn Malerba as first Indigenous US treasurer draws support from tribal leaders in Wisconsin (Green Bay Press Gazette) 7/12/22
Janet Mills’ pause on tribal-rights measure echoes politics in Muskie era (Bangor Daily News) 7/8/22
Supreme Court will hear Indian Child Welfare Act cases this fall -- What this means for Indian Country (Native News Online) 7/6/22
Tribe, Oregon enter historic rivershed agreement (The Columbian) 7/6/22
Native American ideas of democracy (Spokane Public Radio) 7/5/22
Oklahoma spent millions on a legal and PR campaign to paint reservations as 'lawless dystopias' and persuade the Supreme Court to weaken tribal sovereignty, experts say (Business Insider) 7/4/22
Navajo Nation authorized to file VA benefit claims (Albuquerque Journal) 7/4/22
The Supreme Court’s attack on tribal sovereignty, explained (High Country News) 7/1/22
In 5-4 ruling, court dramatically expands the power of states to prosecute crimes on reservations (Indianz) 6/30/22
National Congress of American Indians adapts resolution supporting the rights of nature (Native News Online) 6/30/22
Supreme Court limits historic McGirt ruling (Indian Country Today) 6/29/22
Minn. tribal leaders seek flexibility in tapping federal infrastructure aid (MPR News) 6/28/22
NDN Collective responds to Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade (Indian Country Today) 6/27/22
Biden administration backs Indian boarding school bill (Indianz) 6/27/22
President Biden nominates Patrice Kunesh for Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans (Native News Online) 6/24/22
Oregon tribe, state leaders enter historic agreement (Indian Country Today) 6/23/22
‘Historic appointment’: Tribal leader named Treasurer of the United States (Indianz) 6/21/22
Three Arizona tribal leaders appointed to new Interior advisory panel (AZ Mirror) 6/17/22
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee to host press conference at California State Capitol (Indian Country Today) 6/16/22
Committee approves bill to allow Maine tribes to benefit from future federal laws and benefits (Portland Press Herald) 6/15/22
SCOTUS rules in favor of tribal gaming in Yselta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas (Turtle Talk) 6/15/22
Threat to Samish is a threat to all Indian Country sovereignty (Indianz) 6/15/22
Gila River Indian Community response to PLF amicus brief in Brackeen (Turtle Talk) 6/14/22
Supreme Court winds down big term with first Indian law ruling (Indianz) 6/14/22
SCOTUS affirms in Denezpi v. United States (Turtle Talk) 6/13/22
Oneida man exonerated after 17 years in Wisconsin prison (Native News Online) 6/13/22
Supreme Court endorses back-to-back federal and tribal sentences (Courthouse News Service) 6/13/22
Interior Department launches Indian Youth Service Program (Native News Online) 6/10/22
United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, the Shawnee Tribe, and the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition to host a session on Indian Boarding Schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Indian Country Today) 6/9/22
What does it mean to Indigenize the USDA Forest Service? (Red Lake Nation News) 6/9/22
California Tribal Families Coalition applauds Biden administration for withdrawing the SUNSET Rule (Indian Country Today) 6/6/22
The Indian Country abortion safe harbor fallacy (LPE Project) 6/6/22
Subpoena authority could jeopardize boarding school truth and healing commission (Cronkite News Arizona PBS) 6/6/22
Schatz listens to concerns of Native Hawaiian leaders (Hawai'i Tribune-Herald) 6/3/22
New ‘roadmap’ helps tribes access historic levels of infrastructure funding (Indianz) 5/31/22
Why are there so few Native federal judges? (Balls and Strikes) 5/26/22
Duwamish Tribe sues Interior in federal court, alleging sex discrimination (High Country News) 5/19/22
Biden-Harris administration announces bipartisan infrastructure law investments for dam safety programs in Tribal communities (Red Lake Nation News) 5/19/22
Diné woman confirmed as first Native federal judge in California (Indian Country Today) 5/19/22
Navajo Nation concerned over lack of communication by National Park Service for Antelope Point Marina safety upgrades (Indian Country Today) 5/18/22
Supreme Court turns down Indian Country taxation case as high-profile session continues (Indianz) 5/16/22
Long Island Indigenous tribes back ancestral grave protection bill (WSHU) 5/13/22
North Carolina has never elected an Indigenous person to Congress (Indian Country Today) 5/12/22
Huy urges United Nations to protect U.S. Indigenous prisoner religious freedoms (Indian Country Today) 5/12/22
Navajo man executed in Arizona prison (Indian Country Today) 5/11/22
Indian boarding school bill up for first hearing on Capitol Hill (Indianz) 5/10/22
Duwamish Tribe prepares to sue federal government to secure tribal sovereignty (Native News Online) 5/10/22
GAO rebukes Native veteran home loan program in new scathing analysis (Tribal Business News) 5/9/22
The plan to ensure Indigenous peoples have a voice at the U.N. (High Country News) 5/9/22
Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Detective Sergeant Thomas appointed to federal commission (Indian Country Today) 5/6/22
‘Tell it like it is’: First Diné woman running for Utah House seat (Navajo Times) 5/5/22
Colorado Senate OKs new office, alert system for missing and murdered Indigenous people (Native News Online) 5/3/22
Dept. of Justice launches new missing and murdered Indigenous persons website (Native News Online) 5/2/22
Law gives Southwest Colorado’s American Indian tribes a voice at state Capitol (The Durango Herald) 4/28/22
With historical promises in mind, justices weigh state criminal jurisdiction in Indian country (SCOTUSblog) 4/28/22
6 Wisconsin tribes voice opposition to bill seeking to remove federal protections for wolves (WPR) 4/28/22
Chickasaw Nation citizen lands Native advisor role at White House (Indianz) 4/27/22
Ojibwe tribes oppose Senators Johnson and Baldwin's gray wolf delisting legislation (Earth Justice) 4/27/22
'The future is self-determination': Indigenous lawyers work to restore sense of self within community (WKAR) 4/26/22
Supreme Court takes another look at McGirt issues (Indian Country Today) 4/26/22
Indigenous leaders convene at UN to push for human rights protections (Grist) 4/25/22
In wake of McGirt ruling, federal judge affirms Tulsa police can still issue traffic violations (Native News Online) 4/25/22
Snoqualmie Tribe receives support from national tribal law experts in case regarding treaty rights (Bothell-Kenmore Reporter) 4/25/22
Maine tribes can regulate its water, bill signed (Indian Country Today) 4/22/22
Ute tribes invited to address annual joint session of Colorado legislature (Denver Patch) 4/21/22
Supreme Court denies Penobscot Indian Nation appeal (Indian Country Today) 4/19/22
Supreme Court: Yakama Nation land ownership ruling stands, half of Mount Adams remains part of reservation (The Spokesman-Review) 4/19/22
Gov. Mills opposes Rep. Golden’s bill to make future federal tribal laws apply to Maine tribes (Portland Press-Herald) 4/15/22
Maine House advances historic bill to restore tribes' sovereignty (Central Maine) 4/14/22
Establishing rights to self determination (Indian Country Today) 4/12/22
Indigenous group wants justice after 'traumatizing' raid at Detroit park (Detroit Free Press) 4/12/22
A new Supreme Court Justice: What does it mean for Indian Country? (Navajo-Hopi Observer) 4/11/22
Native juvenile lifer seeks reprieve amid push for leniency (Indian Country Today) 4/11/22
Tribal consultation bill hits snag on eve of ‘historic’ action in Congress (Indianz) 4/11/22
More than 50 Alaska Native tribes support Jackson for Supreme Court (Alaska Public Media) 4/5/22
In historic appearance before Congress, Maine tribes urge that future federal laws apply to them (Maine Public Radio) 3/31/22
Tribal consultation bill finally set for movement on Capitol Hill (Indianz) 3/28/22
State-tribal initiative aims to restore Michigan’s wild rice (Tribal Business News) 3/28/22
NDN Collective files federal lawsuit in response to Rapid City hotel threat to ban Native Americans (Dakota News Now) 3/22/22
A new era for Indian Country: National Congress of American Indians announces Sovereignty Institute (Native News Online) 3/22/22
Deb Haaland marks first year in office (Indian Country Today) 3/15/22
Tribal leaders allege state intentionally ignores treaty rights (Indian Country Today) 3/15/22
Schatz, Murkowski applaud Senate passage of historic tribal provisions in Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization (Indian Country Today) 3/14/22
NDIT, MHA Nation partner to increase cybersecurity (Minot Daily News) 3/14/22
Omnibus released with Violence Against Women Act and increased resources for urban Indian health (Indian Country Today) 3/10/22
Representative Stansbury calls on federal agencies to recognize tribal sovereignty, co-management, and repatriation of tribal lands (Indian Country Today) 3/9/22
Congress meets with Native leaders to discuss co-management of federal lands (High Country News) 3/9/22
'Everything is pressing': Indian Country funding mired in partisan stalemate (Indianz) 3/8/22
Asst. secretary says Interior will help tribes spend federal money (Navajo Times) 3/8/22
U.S. District Court affirms Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Native News Online) 3/5/22
Trinidad Rancheria prevails in legal challenge to its tribal sovereignty (Times-Standard) 3/3/22
Virginia Republicans kill bill giving Indian tribes a role in reviewing development on ancestral lands (The Washington Post) 3/2/22
Judge advances lawsuit over disputed rights to water in Oregon lake (Courthouse News Service) 3/2/22
Navajo Nation Vice President Myron Lizer running for Congress (Native News Online) 3/2/22
Training next generation of Indigenous leaders (Indian Country Today) 2/24/22
Argument in double-jeopardy case shines spotlight on prosecutorial issues faced by Native tribes (SCOTUSblog) 2/24/22
Interior Department announces $1.7 billion for water settlements with tribes (Native News Online) 2/23/22
During State of the Tribes address, president says natural resource conservation, racism top list of issues facing Wisconsin's Native communities (Wisconsin Public Radio) 2/22/22
Schatz, Murkowski lead U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs passage of bipartisan bill to advance Native American housing programs (Indian Country Today) 2/18/22
New Mexico legislature passes equal pay for Native language teachers (Indian Country Today) 2/17/22
Bureau of Indian Affairs releases blueprint for implementation of $466 million in bipartisan infrastructure law funding for Indian Country (Indian Country Today) 2/17/22
Bureau of Indian Affairs announces jail reforms after NPR investigation finds 16 deaths in 4 years (Native News Online) 2/16/22
US announces tribal lockup reform (Indian Country Today) 2/15/22
VAWA bill in Senate would expand power of up to 30 Alaska tribal courts (Alaska Public Media) 2/15/22
Dept. of Interior recognizes tribal sovereignty in allocation of environmental cleanup funds, includes Navajo Nation, precludes State of Oklahoma (Native News Online) 2/15/22
Pacific Northwest court case endangers tribal rights nationwide (Indian Country Today) 2/14/22
AFN President Kitka testifies in support of state-tribal education compacting before Senate Education Committee (Alaska Native News) 2/12/22
Pressure mounts for release of political prisoner Leonard Peltier (Native News Online) 2/12/22
Navajo Nation Council hosts meeting with the Office of Tribal Affairs at the White House (Indian Country Today) 2/10/22
Seneca Nation's women unite to oppose president's gaming settlement agreement (Indian Country Today) 2/9/22
Maine tribal sovereignty backers see ‘now-or-never’ moment ahead of elections (Bangor Daily News) 2/9/22
Committee kills bill to consider tribal concerns in officer training (South Dakota Public Broadcasting) 2/8/22
United Nation expert's statement on Nooksack (Turtle Talk) 2/8/22
Protesters rally to demand Native activist's release (The Santa Fe New Mexican) 2/8/22
Vice Chair Murkowski leads discussion on repatriation of Native American remains and sacred objects during U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing (Indian Country Today) 2/4/22
Nooksack Tribe puts housing evictions on ‘pause’ amid high-level attention (Indianz) 2/2/22
Maine Voices: People of faith urge legislators, Gov. Mills to support tribal sovereignty (Portland Press Herald) 2/2/22
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to host a hearing on Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (Native News Online) 2/1/22
Peltier's defense committee demands release of 77-year-old activist (Native News Online) 1/31/22
Full-time NAGPRA investigator hired for first time in decades (Indianz) 1/31/22
Oklahoma lawmakers seek $308 million for tribal justice, say McGirt 'bankrupting' tribes (The Oklahoman) 1/31/22
The Supreme Court has spoken (again); Let us move forward (Indianz) 1/31/22
White House won’t ‘predict’ decision on Leonard Peltier (Indianz) 1/28/22
Supreme Court appointment could re-position tribal law (Indian Country Today) 1/27/22
Pre-filed bills call on New Mexico lawmakers to address missing Indigenous persons cases (Farmington Daily Times) 1/18/22
Justice Breyer's Indian Law Record (Turtle Talk) 1/26/22
In historic statement, BIA pledges to safeguard Indigenous individuals' right (Indianz) 1/25/22
US Supreme Court will not consider overturning McGirt decision; Will rule on scope of the landmark ruling (Native News Online) 1/22/22
U.S. Department of Transportation announces Tribal Transit Grant awards (South Dakota Public Broadcasting) 1/21/22
Statements from Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. and U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva on ruling in Amber Ortega case (Indian Country Today) 1/20/22
White House Council on Native American Affairs to engage tribal leaders on bipartisan infrastructure law, public safety and criminal justice (Char-Koosta News) 1/20/22
Tribal housing grants benefit 74 tribes (Indian Country Today) 1/19/22
Water agreement reached between the Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, and The Nature Conservancy (The Nature Conservancy) 1/19/22
Legislation pre-filed to establish a 'Missing in New Mexico' event (Indian Country Today) 1/18/22
Navajo Nation leaders attend annual Arizona Indian Nations & Tribes Legislative Day (Navajo-Hopi Observer) 1/18/22
Tribal sovereignty ballot initiative smashes threshold (Indian Country Today) 1/18/22
On MLK Day, Maine leaders acknowledge progress in tribal relations, but see long road ahead (Maine Public Radio) 1/17/22
Seneca Nation, New York State agree to start Compact discussions — settle existing legal dispute (Indian Country Today) 1/14/22
A flurry of legal decisions (Indian Country Today) 1/13/22
Rapid City puts up $9 million for Native center (Indian Country Today) 1/12/22
Sinema hosts discussion with Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (Indian Country Today) 1/11/22
Navajo woman sworn in as Arizona Senate member (Indian Country Today) 1/11/22
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation names Native affairs director (Indianz) 1/6/22
Statecraft and history as Očéti Šakówiŋ Treaty Council examines treaties in life today (West River Eagle) 1/5/21
Debora Juarez (Blackfeet Nation) elected as Seattle City Council President; first Indigenous to hold post in city history (Native News Online) 1/4/22
People to Watch: Sara Hill hopes for 'acceptance phase' of McGirt for Oklahoma (Tulsa World) 1/2/22
