Native America
Biden meets with leaders of tribal nations, signs order easing access to federal funds
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that would make it easier for tribal nations to access and invest federal funding on their own terms. “It’s hard work to heal the wrongs of the past and change the course and move forward,” Biden said. “But the actions we are taking today are […]
Judge again rules against tribes’ effort to stop lithium mine
A Nevada federal judge ruled against three Native American tribes seeking to halt construction of the country’s largest open pit lithium mine, but will allow them to amend their complaint against the U.S. government. In the meantime, construction at Lithium Nevada’s mine near the Nevada-Oregon border will continue. Major construction on the lithium mine is […]
For Tribes in frontier Nevada, domestic violence brings a messy web of legal jurisdiction issues
[Advisory: This story includes details of domestic violence] Domestic abusers often evade the legal system with many cases being underreported, but on reservations, a lack of coordination between federal, state, and tribal laws makes prevention and prosecution even more difficult. Non-Native people commit an overwhelming amount of domestic violence against Native women and men, according […]
Confronting climate change impacts, tribes prepare and persist
This story is the last in a series. Read part one on infrastructure issues here, and part two on environmental consequences here. It can take up to a century for a piñon pine to produce the soft sweet seeds that birds, squirrels and other small mammals rely on for food. The Walker River Paiute Tribe has […]
Upstream solutions lead to downstream problems for Tribal plants and animals
This story is the second in a series. Read the first part on infrastructure issues here, and the final part of the series here. Sometimes the Pyramid Lake Fisheries director peers out from Popcorn Rock — a humorously shaped chunk of limestone — to watch the delta where the mouth of the Truckee River meets […]
From not enough water to too much: Floods in Nevada bring pain and relief
This story is the first in a series. Find part two on environmental consequences here. It’s the second year in a row the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe have had to hook tarps over roofs torn apart by historic storms and prepare temporary shelter for shaken residents. The tribe has lived in what’s now known as […]
Tribal health workers aren’t paid like their peers. See why Nevada changed that.
FALLON, Nev. — Linda Noneo turned up the heat in her van to ward off the early morning chill that persists in northern Nevada’s high desert even in late June. As the first rays of daylight broke over a Christian cross on the top a hill near the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone colony, she drove toward her […]
NV tribe sues feds over water rights, failure to protect endangered fish
For nearly two decades the federal government mismanaged tribal water rights and failed to preserve enough water to protect two threatened and endangered fish in Pyramid Lake, alleges the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in a federal lawsuit. Despite federal protections and efforts by the tribe to protect important habitat, the culturally significant cui-ui and Lahontan […]
This time it’s different? The rush to mine Indigenous lands
WASHINGTON – This won’t be an easy conversation: Can tribal nations love mining? Or at least accept mining as a necessary step in the creation of a clean economy? And can governments and international mining companies figure out how to respect and work fairly with Indigenous communities? The conversation is weighted by history. The mining […]
SCOTUS ruling on ICWA a victory for welfare of Native American children
Native people and legal experts applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday leaving intact the civil rights law called the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which they see as a victory for the welfare of Native American children by bolstering their connections to tribes and their land. The case centers on a child whose […]
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Indian Child Welfare Act in 7-2 decision
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a federal law aimed at keeping Native American children within the foster care system in Native American homes. The Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision upheld the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act, which established federal minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from their homes. […]
How NV tribes are saving Lahontan cutthroat trout from extinction
Thousands of captive-raised specimens of the largest cutthroat trout species in North America are released into Pyramid Lake every year, but despite the trout’s size and might, they are also one of the most threatened. Decades of overfishing, dam building, water diversion, and other human actions have set the Lahontan cutthroat trout up for unrelenting […]