Rez Life Weekly

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor   The Utah House of Representatives has approved legislation that would exempt traditional Indigenous healers from state licensing requirements, marking a significant step toward recognizing cultural healing practices that have sustained Native communities for generations.   House Bill 277, sponsored by Rep. Jake Fitisemanu (D-West Valley City), passed with a 51-18 vote and now moves to the Utah Senate for consideration, according to report

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor When Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations intensified in Minneapolis's Phillips neighborhood beginning in December 2025, Native American residents didn't wait for others to protect their community. They organized patrols, established encampments, and drew on centuries of resistance to push back against federal enforcement actions that were detaining not only their immigrant neighbors but Indigenous people themselves.   According t

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor   U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has expressed willingness to investigate a contentious dispute between the town of Lac du Flambeau and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, potentially seeking compensation from the tribe for approximately $600,000 in road access payments that a Wisconsin congressman has characterized as "extortion."   The attorney general's indication came during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Februa

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has filed a petition for judicial review in Wisconsin's Iron County Circuit Court, challenging a recent ruling that approved permits for Enbridge's proposed Line 5 pipeline reroute. The legal action contests Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy's decision to uphold Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits for the 41-mile project. Tribal Chairwoman Elizabeth Arbuckle announced the f

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor The numbers are unacceptable. Native women and girls go missing at rates that outpace every other demographic in the country, and our communities have been screaming about it for decades. The good news? 2026 is bringing new tools, better coordination, and real momentum in Indian Country. From federal alert systems to state-level cold case units, we're finally seeing resources that match the urgency of this crisis. Here's what you need to kn

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor A long-standing dental practice within the federal health system serving Native communities is coming to an end, as the Indian Health Service announces plans to eliminate mercury-based dental fillings across its clinics nationwide. The move signals more than a routine medical update. For many tribal health advocates, it represents a step toward addressing long-standing disparities in health care options available to Native American and Alas

NCAI Press Release The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) today announced the launch of a new collaborative digital resource hub designed to empower Tribal Nations in exercising their sovereignty through agricultural development and food system regulation.   This partnership brings together IFAI's legal and policy expertise with NCAI's national advocacy and representative strength. The newly unveiled webpage

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor Standing before lawmakers inside the Wisconsin State Capitol, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Chairwoman Nicole Boyd delivered a State of the Tribes address that was at once ceremonial, urgent, reflective, and direct.   Her message centered on sovereignty, environmental protection, education, health, and the continued strength of Wisconsin’s tribal nations. But at its core, the speech was about something even more fundamental.   “W

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor A newly passed resolution by Mille Lacs County commissioners is threatening to reopen one of the most significant legal disputes between the county and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in recent history.   The county board voted last week to ask the federal government to withdraw a legal opinion that affirms the boundaries of the Mille Lacs Reservation. That opinion, issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2015, concluded that the 61,

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor On the crisp morning of December 23, 2025, an important moment unfolded for the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin as the Tribal Council signed the final document for the tribe’s fee-to-trust application for the long-anticipated Turtle Lake Casino Project. The action marks the culmination of years of planning, negotiation, and collaboration between the Tribe and partner governments, and sets the stage for what leaders say will become a

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor   Drug overdose deaths across the United States are falling at a pace not seen in decades, and officials in Indian Country say tribal communities are also seeing fewer fatalities, a shift many attribute to expanded access to the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, known as Narcan, and a reduced flow of fentanyl into local communities. According to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths declined b

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor   A major federal contracting pipeline used by tribally owned businesses is facing sudden turbulence after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a sweeping Department of Defense review of certain SBA 8(a) Business Development Program contracts, saying the Pentagon will take a “sledgehammer” approach to what he characterized as abuse and “DEI” driven contracting.   In public remarks reported by multiple outlets, Hegseth framed the review

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor Wisconsin could see online sports betting become legal as early as 2026 under new legislation that would place control firmly in the hands of the state’s tribal nations, according to reporting by Gaming America.   The proposal, Assembly Bill 601, would allow Wisconsin tribes to offer online sports wagering through mobile platforms while keeping major national sportsbook operators such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM outside the state’s b

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor The U.S. Department of the Interior announced that high school graduation rates among Bureau of Indian Education funded schools have reached the highest level in the agency’s history, according to a department press release.   According to the Department of the Interior, graduation rates at Bureau of Indian Education funded high schools increased from 51 percent in 2015 to 79 percent in 2025. Federal officials said the gains surpass pre pan

By Jazmin Orozco Rodriquez KFF Health News Just hours after Rhonda Swaney left a prenatal appointment for her first pregnancy, she felt severe pain in her stomach and started vomiting. Then 25 years old and six months pregnant, she drove herself to the emergency room in Ronan, Montana, on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where an ambulance transferred her to a larger hospital 60 miles away in Missoula. Once she arrived, the staff couldn’t detect her baby’s heartbeat. Swaney b

Rez Life Weekly Staff The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe marked a significant milestone in community care and child protection with the grand opening of its new Child Advocacy Center in Wahkon on Dec. 18, 2025. Photo by Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin According to Inaajimowin, the official news publication of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, the opening brought together an extensive network of partners committed to supporting children and families who have experienced trauma. The event

By Chandra Colvin Minnesota Public Radio Read Story Here Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, gave the tribe’s 42nd annual State of the Band address on Tuesday at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia. The address updates band members on current tribal affairs and provides updates from the previous year. Last year, Wind named 2025, “Year of the Child.” The tribal government said it would update the band’s K-12 schools.   Since then, he said the band

By Jill R. Dorson Ingame.com Arguing that despite the efforts from Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation to “affix the ‘sports betting’ label” to its sports event contracts, the U.S. Congress allows for trades made on a designated contract market (DCM) to be exempt from tribal gaming laws, Kalshi Monday filed a brief in support of dismissing the tribe’s case to keep it from operating on Indian land. In the case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, the Ho-Ch

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor The Oneida Nation has removed the former president and chief executive officer of its economic development group after one of its companies entered into contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a move that tribal leaders and citizens said conflicted with the nation’s values and culture.   On Thursday, Oneida ESC Group announced that Matt Kunstman had been appointed interim president and CEO effective January 5, replacing Jef

By Joe Morey Rez Life Weekly Editor Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out said the federal government crossed a dangerous line when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused to provide basic information about detained tribal citizens unless the tribe agreed to enter into what he described as an “immigration agreement with ICE.” In a memo addressed to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Star Comes Out inf