Author: Owen Herne

In meeting with secretary of interior, Wabanaki tribes ask for support in quest for sovereignty

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, center of the front row, poses with leaders from Maine’s four federally recognized Native tribes during a meeting at the Penobscot Nation’s Indian Island Reservation on Thursday, June 17, 2021. Representatives of the four federally recognized Native American tribes in Maine on Thursday asked the nation’s highest-ranking official on Native[...]

June 18, 2021

Swinomish affordable housing project could break ground this fall

This artist rendering shows what the didgwálič Wellness Center campus may one day look like. ANACORTES — The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community could start construction this year on a 32-unit affordable housing project affiliated with its addiction treatment facility in Anacortes. This is in part due to $4.5 million recently approved for the project through[...]

June 18, 2021

Tribal leaders bring litany of needs to hearing on federal funding

Roads and schools are two of the biggest infrastructure needs in Indian Country: In this 2019 photo, a Navajo student walks away from a school bus that was stuck in the mud on an unpaved road. But tribal leaders say the need includes everything from water systems to hospitals to utilities and broadband. (Photo courtesy[...]

June 18, 2021

Advice for Tribal Economic Development Directors

First Steps Your initial assessment of your community’s economic strengths and weaknesses will inform your tribal community planning (link TBD). Employment You can start by evaluating your community’s economy by obtaining baseline economic information regarding unemployment, underemployment, and labor participation rates. If tribal members must travel outside their community for jobs or services, determine whether[...]

June 18, 2021

Palms deal continues growth of Native American ownership of Nevada casinos

SMGHA acquisition of the Palms Casino Resort highlights growth of Native American ownership in Nevada The recent announcement that the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas is transferring into Native American ownership is another hugely exciting development for the Nevada gambling industry. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the San Manuel Gaming and[...]

June 18, 2021

PHOTOS: Catawba Indian Nation, Delaware North provide first look at pre-launch facility for casino in Kings Mountain

Project leaders for the Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort say the first piece of the project is just weeks away from opening. After a tour of the pre-launch facility for the casino on Thursday, it appears the beginning of gaming in Kings Mountain is near. Representatives from casino operator Delaware North and the Catawba Indian[...]

June 18, 2021

Gig Harbor Salmon Conservation Project Close To Securing Funding

Gig Harbor has teamed up with the Puyallup Tribe to buy and conserve critical salmon habitat. (Shutterstock / Dee Browning) GIG HARBOR, WA — A Gig Harbor conservation proposal has cleared a major hurdle. According to the City of Gig Harbor, its effort to buy and preserve critical salmon habitat has received the approval of[...]

June 18, 2021

Quechan Tribe Tries To Stop Gold Mining Project

A southwestern Arizona tribe is trying to stop another mining project on its land. The Quechan Tribe’s land stretches from around the U.S.-Mexico border, up through Yuma, along the Lower Colorado River Valley and west into California’s Imperial Valley. There’s been gold mining on and off in the area since around the 1820s. And now,[...]

June 15, 2021

Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue upgrades its engine

4 Photos WOODLAND: Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue received a new fire engine at its Station 29 in Woodland. WOODLAND — Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue acquired a new fire engine at Station 29. To mark the occasion, Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue performed a “push-in” ceremony at Station 29 on May 25. Thirteen personnel, including Woodland City Administrator Pete Boyce,[...]

June 15, 2021

The High Cost of Lithium Mining for Indigenous Communities

Roberto (Bear) Guerra / High Country News The Cholla Canyon Ranch protects a Hualapai sacred site named Ha’ Kamwe’ — known in English as Cofer Hot Springs. Photo credit: Reading Time: 8 minutes This story by Maya L. Kapoor originally appeared in High Country News and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now[...]

June 15, 2021

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