Navajo Nation

Roessel, a former director of the federal Bureau of Indian Education and president of the first tribal college to be established in the U.S., has died. He was 63.

Nuclear power has come a long way since the days of the Chernobyl and Three Mile Island disasters. Building today’s technology, however, comes with a steep price.

Nationwide, nearly 17,000 homes on tribal lands still need electricity hook-ups. A majority are spread across the Navajo Nation, where climate change is making it harder for families to keep cool. A mutual aid program, however, has helped to change lives.

Navajo Nation Attorney General Ethel Branch announced that an investigation has cleared the Navajo president of sexual harassment allegations by the vice president. Even as results of the investigation were announced Monday, Branch was removed from office by tribal lawmakers.

In the leadup to November, Democrats and Republicans have flocked to the furthest reaches of 22 Native American reservations in Arizona in a bid for votes. Native Americans, who make up about 5% of the state’s population, voted in big numbers for the Democratic Party in 2020.

Navajo family farms once lined the San Juan River in southeast Utah, but many have fallen idle. A water rights settlement with Utah has given some Navajo residents hope those farms can return.

Native Americans have grown food in the desert for ages, but many tribal agricultural traditions have disappeared. Now, people in southeast Utah are working to bring Navajo traditions back — one fruit tree and garden bed at a time.

About 32% of Navajo homes still have no electricity. Before the pandemic, Lorraine Black and Ricky Gillis filed the needed paperwork to get power. Nearly five years later, the couple’s mobile home in rural Halchita, Utah, was finally connected to the grid.

In recent years, thousands of new Navajo voters have registered, which could have an impact on some Utah elections. Challenges remain, however, when it comes to making sure Native voices are heard in state politics.

Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren says Navajo Vice President Richelle Montoya no longer represents his administration. The move was announced Tuesday during a news conference.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) wasn’t renewed by Congress earlier this year. Many people are still dealing with the health and financial effects of nuclear testing, and several Tribes traveled to Washington, D.C., in September to let lawmakers know about their concerns.

Writer and director Sydney Freeland hopes Native audiences see themselves in her basketball tale of tragedy and triumph.