Indian Country

PHOENIX – Navajo Nation calls for resources, ASU launches drive-thru testing and more in today’s COVID-19 report.

PHOENIX - Tribal response to the 2020 Census badly trails state and national rates, according to Census Bureau data, with the already-challenging task of counting in tribal areas further complicated by the arrival of COVID-19.

PHOENIX – Public schools are closed for the academic year; a lawsuit is being filed on behalf of displaced university students and more updates from the Grand Canyon State.

PHOENIX – There are 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus among Arizona State University students, and more of the latest news about the novel coronavirus

LOS ANGELES – With the recent closure of the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station, the Navajo leaders are looking to jump start the tribal economy by partnering with Los Angeles to bring clean energy to the second-largest U.S. city using resources on tribal land.

WASHINGTON – Tribes around the country are scrambling to protect their people from the novel coronavirus, but they face an uphill battle because of lack of funds for Indian health care programs coordinated by the U.S. government.

WASHINGTON - An emotional Tohono O'odham Nation chairman told lawmakers Wednesday that blasting on sacred sites in national monuments to build a border wall near his reservation has "forever damaged our people."

WASHINGTON - Tribal officials this week raised issues ranging from polluted water to underfunded police but there was one message they all had for House lawmakers - the government needs to be a more reliable partner on critical projects

WASHINGTON - Voting barriers for Native Americans have always existed, but polling cutbacks, discriminatory voter ID laws and lack of funding are making things worse, advocates told a House panel Tuesday - the same day a federal court reinstated an Arizona law against "ballot harvesting."

WASHINGTON - Despite some "encouraging developments," threats to tribal sovereignty still come "from every branch and every corner of federal and state governments," the president of the National Congress of American Indians said Monday.

WASHINGTON - Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris said the "controlled blasting" in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, for a border wall that will ultimately cut through his reservation, is just the latest example of the federal government ignoring its duty to consult with tribes.

KYKOTSMOVI – Access to VA health care has been a challenge for Native Americans for decades, and they suffer some of the worst health outcomes. Now, advocates are hoping a new law could expand health care for Native American veterans.