Tribes say Senate permitting bill threatens sacred sites

Utah Senator, Mike Lee. (Courtesy photo) WASHINGTON—A bipartisan Senate bill intended to speed construction of energy and infrastructure projects is drawing strong opposition from tribal organizations that say it could weaken one of the few federal laws protecting sacred sites and cultural resources. The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 20, 2026

A history of the Lakota treaties

AI Graphic RAPID CITY—No treaty history for any tribe is orderly or simple. What follows are the three main treaties impacting the Lakota Nation. THE 1825 TREATIES In 1825, federal commissioners Henry Atkinson and Benjamin O’Fallon traveled up the Missouri River to make treaties with different tribal nations to secure

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 20, 2026

Explaining Amendment L

AI Graphic RAPID CITY—South Dakota voters will decide in November whether a majority should remain a majority when they amend their state constitution. Constitutional Amendment L would require every future amendment or revision to the South Dakota Constitution to receive 60 percent of the vote. The present requirement is a

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 20, 2026

“When will we begin Healing and STAND”

AI Graphic NORTHERN CHEYENNE—A conversation ensued, on Red Shirt Talks, a YouTube podcast, concerning the dilemma facing the Northern Cheyenne. The host, an extremely bright young man from Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota had Gene Small, President of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe for an hour long talk show,

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 20, 2026

Eagle Nest District achieves SBA 8(a) certification

Manager of Eagle Nest Industries Monte Gonzalez WANBLEE— Eagle Nest District, a political subdivision of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, officially received certification as a participant in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program, effective August 17, 2026, according to a press

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 9, 2026

Northern Cheyenne Council votes to remove President Gene Small

Northern Cheyenne Tribal President Gene Small. (Photo courtesy of billingsgazette.com) On Thursday, October 1st, the re-installed Tribal Council voted unanimously to impeach/remove Tribal President Gene Small from office.  The meeting was chaired by Tribal Vice-President, Ernest Little Mouth, Sr. The events surrounding that development were rather chaotic. This article is

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 9, 2026

Trump visit puts Indian Country in national spotlight

U.S. President Donald Trump at midterm campaign rally in Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. (Courtesy photo from Meta.) DURANT, OK— President Donald Trump brought his midterm campaign push to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Thursday, making him one of only a handful of sitting presidents to visit an Indian reservation. The

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 9, 2026

A homeland shaped by exile and survival

Crow Creek Reservation marker. (Photo courtesy of hmdb.org) There are places where history remains safely in the past. Crow Creek is not one of them. The reservation on the east bank of the Missouri River in central South Dakota was shaped by war, forced removal, starvation, federal land taking and

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 9, 2026

Federal MMIP audit finds staffing shortages, misallocated funds

Graphic courtesy of AI RAPID CITY—A federal investigation into the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Missing and Murdered Unit has exposed serious administrative failures, raising questions about whether millions of dollars appropriated to investigate missing and murdered Indigenous persons have been effectively spent. The September 9 audit by the Department of

Read More
Shared by Native Sun News Today October 2, 2026