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Maine OKs iGaming for Wabanaki Nations, expanding tribally controlled revenue

9 January 2026 Brian Edwards
Maine is expanding the economic toolkit available to the state’s tribal governments after Gov. Janet Mills announced she will allow a bill authorizing the Wabanaki Nations to operate regulated online gambling statewide to become law.

Congress rejects nearly $1B in proposed tribal cuts in bipartisan FY26 funding package

05 Jan
WASHINGTON — Congress released bill text Monday for a bipartisan, bicameral package of three fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills that would reject nearly $1 billion in proposed cuts to tribal...

Jamul Indian Village Development Corp. refinances $425M tied to new casino resort operations

January 10
Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation has refinanced $425 million of senior secured debt tied to the Jamul Indian Village’s gaming and resort operations in San Diego County, according to...

Rappahannock Tribe challenges Virginia water permit, cites sovereign rights

January 10
The Rappahannock Tribe is objecting to a state decision allowing Caroline County to withdraw up to 9 million gallons of water per day from the Rappahannock River, saying the permit threatens the...

Cherokee Nation proposes $30M partnership with University of Oklahoma for nursing school

January 05
Cherokee Nation is pursuing a $30 million partnership with the University of Oklahoma to establish a satellite nursing campus in Tahlequah, Okla., as part of a broader effort to address healthcare...

CEO apologizes for ICE contracts as Oneida Nation moves to terminate agreements

The Oneida Nation in Wisconsin is working to terminate a federal contract awarded to one of its companies after the agreement's connection to Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities sparked...
 

Our Favorite Stories of 2025

Economic Development
These were our favorite stories of 2025 because they reflect Indian Country as it actually is — and the kind of journalism we’re committed to doing. Not aspirational. Not abstract. Just stories grounded in decisions tribes and Native people are making right now about land, labor, capital and culture.

IN SERVICE | Ho-Chunk attorney Samantha Skenandore on tribal law and sovereignty

Indigenous Entrepreneurs
Samantha Skenandore once planned to be a veterinarian. Today, she is a founding partner at Madison, Wisc.-based Skenandore Wilson LLP, specializing in tribal law and governance.

Oneida Indian Nation closes $440M credit facility to finance Turning Stone expansion

Finance
Turning Stone Resort Casino, LLC, a governmental instrumentality of the Oneida Indian Nation, has closed a $440 million senior secured revolving credit facility that will refinance existing debt and provide flexible capital to support a $370 million expansion of its flagship resort in Central New York.

Casino Del Sol secures $60M naming rights deal for Arizona Stadium

Gaming
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Casino Del Sol will pay more than $60 million over 20 years for naming rights to the University of Arizona's football stadium, the largest such deal in Big 12 Conference history.

USDA backs $25M loan for flour mill on CTUIR tribal land

Food | Agriculture
USDA Rural Development has approved a $25 million loan guarantee for the Blue Mountain Mill, a regenerative flour mill under construction at Coyote Business Park on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in northeastern Oregon.

Q+A: Joe Kalt and Randall Akee on the Harvard Project — 40 years of tribal governance insights, a changing of the guard and the future of Native nation building

Sovereignty
After nearly four decades building the Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development into the preeminent research center on tribal governance, Joseph P. Kalt handed the reins to economist Randall Akee this summer, marking a generational transition in how academic institutions study and support Native nation-building.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians receives Nikwasi mound in historic land transfer

Real Estate
The town of Franklin, N.C., formally transferred the Nikwasi mound to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Jan. 5, completing a years-long effort to return the largest un-excavated Cherokee mound in the Southeast to tribal ownership.

Oneida Nation bars tribal entities from ICE contracts after $6.4M award discovery

Native Contracting
The Oneida Nation Business Committee said it adopted a resolution requiring all tribal divisions, entities and corporations to disengage from contracts involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement, following the discovery that a tribally owned joint venture had secured two sole-source contract awards with the federal agency.

Blackfeet filmmakers win Frank Blythe Award for buffalo documentary

Arts and Culture
Blackfeet filmmakers Ivan and Ivy MacDonald won the Frank Blythe Award from Vision Maker Media for their documentary Bring Them Home/Aiskótáhkapiyaaya, which chronicles efforts to return wild bison to the Blackfeet reservation in Montana.

Muscogee Nation college partners with UNLV on tribal gaming, hospitality degrees

Higher Education
The College of the Muscogee Nation and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas signed an agreement that will allow tribal college students to transfer into UNLV's hospitality program with a focus on tribal gaming and hospitality management.

South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance wins $175,000 to build tribal-controlled tourism economy

Tourism
A coalition of South Dakota's nine tribal nations will use a $175,000 prize to train Native youth and develop tourism businesses that keep revenue in Indian Country rather than flowing to outside operators.

REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: Tribes rebuild energy future after $2B federal collapse in 2025

Energy | Environment
Covering Indian Country energy in 2025 felt a little like watching someone finish some wiring, hit the switch, and hearing a “pop” somewhere as the bulbs flickered and died. The repair work now is less about flipping the switch again than rebuilding the system behind it.

Tribe to build new co-location health model on reservation land

Health Care
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation will build a new 21,000-square-foot health center in partnership with Hartford HealthCare, expanding access to medical services for tribal members and the broader southeastern Connecticut community.

Most Recent

Trending Stories

Treasury finalizes tribal tax rules ending decades of uncertainty 

Treasury finalizes tribal tax rules ending decades of uncertainty 

Prairie Band Potawatomi chairman vows federal contract cancellation as tribal leaders respond to community outcry

Prairie Band Potawatomi chairman vows federal contract cancellation as tribal leaders respond to community outcry

Congress rejects nearly $1B in proposed tribal cuts in bipartisan FY26 funding package

Congress rejects nearly $1B in proposed tribal cuts in bipartisan FY26 funding package

Treasury awards $10B in tax credits to support economic development

Treasury awards $10B in tax credits to support economic development

Trump vetoes bipartisan bill to expand Miccosukee Tribe’s Everglades village

Trump vetoes bipartisan bill to expand Miccosukee Tribe’s Everglades village