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People on the move in Indian Country

30 August 2026 Tribal Business News Staff

Native professionals moved into new leadership roles across tribal enterprises, Native-serving organizations and higher education in August, while others received recognition for their work in business, journalism and their communities.

DOE cancels tribal transmission corridor aimed at bringing reservation power to market

30 Aug

The U.S. Department of Energy has halted a proposed transmission corridor that tribal leaders hoped would unlock grid investment needed to develop and export power from reservations across the...

Native joint venture wins $45M Army contract for Fort Buchanan microgrid

August 30

A joint venture between a tribally owned enterprise and a Native-owned energy developer has secured a $45 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contract to build a mission-critical microgrid at Fort...

Cayuse subsidiary joins $249M Navy ship-repair contract vehicle

August 30

Cayuse Native Hawaiian Veterans LLC has secured a place on a $249 million U.S. Navy contract vehicle for ship repairs in Guam, giving the tribally owned company an opportunity to compete for work...

Former tribal telecom CEO sentenced to two years for embezzlement

August 30

A federal judge sentenced Jessica Engle, former CEO of the Yurok Tribe’s wholly owned telecommunications subsidiary, to two years in prison for embezzling more than $550,000 from the company.

$1.7M grant backs tribal wood and biomass market initiative

The Intertribal Timber Council and Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit Sustainable Northwest received a five-year, $1.7 million grant to help tribal nations turn small trees, brush and low-grade logs...

Sponsored Storytelling

AI, Genomics, and Tribal Sovereignty: Native Nations Need to Prepare for the Next Frontier

As artificial intelligence (AI) and precision medicine transform healthcare and scientific research, Indigenous leaders say tribal nations must prepare to govern one of their most valuable...

NNAHRA launches scholarship program for Native HR professionals

Economic Development

The National Native American Human Resources Association Foundation has launched a scholarship and professional development program to support Native professionals pursuing careers in human resources and leadership.

From powwow concessions to a growing Native-owned hospitality brand

Indigenous Entrepreneurs

For many restaurant startups, a food truck is the first step toward opening a brick-and-mortar location. For Indigenous Eats, it happened in reverse.

PODCAST: Beyond the Grants

Finance

Banks have capital. Native CDFIs know their communities. But bringing the two together takes more than a grant.

Why Infrastructure Stewardship Starts With Knowing What You Own

Sponsored Storytelling

Sponsored Storytelling. Tribal governments invest millions of dollars in clinics, administrative buildings, public safety facilities and other community infrastructure. Before leaders decide what to...

Tribal casino revenue surges 14.8%, but rising costs squeeze margins

Gaming

Tribal casinos posted strong revenue gains in 2025, but rising operating costs cut into profit margins, according to Wipfli’s annual benchmarking report on the Indian gaming industry.

Murray, Cortez Masto reintroduce bill to expand food assistance for tribal households

Food | Agriculture

Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., reintroduced legislation that would expand nutrition assistance for tribal households by allowing eligible families to receive benefits through two federal food programs in the same month.

Supreme Court declines Chinook bid for federal recognition through courts

Sovereignty

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the Chinook Indian Nation’s petition on whether federal courts can recognize Indian tribes.

Seneca Nation gaming enterprise plans $47M Niagara hotel renovation

Real Estate

Seneca Resorts & Casinos plans to invest $47 million to renovate nearly all of the hotel rooms at Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino as the Seneca Nation-owned gaming company expands capital spending across its Western New York properties.

The missing data in the prediction market debate

Sponsored Storytelling

Prediction markets — platforms where people stake money on the outcome of elections, sports, economic reports and other future events — are rapidly reshaping the online wagering landscape. They're...

Rappahannock Tribe launches 8(a) technology joint venture for federal contracting

Native Contracting

The Rappahannock Tribe’s economic development arm has formed an SBA Tribal 8(a) technology joint venture with Netmaker Communications, LLC expanding the Tribe’s push into the federal contracting market.

California woman fined $10K after admitting to selling counterfeit Native jewelry

Arts and Culture

A San Francisco woman was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty to selling counterfeit Native American jewelry falsely marketed as authentic work by Native artists, federal prosecutors said.

Cherokee Nation, Rogers State sign clinical training MOU

Higher Education

The Cherokee Nation is expanding clinical training opportunities across its health system through a new agreement with Rogers State University, building on a $4 million tribal investment in the university and a separate nursing scholarship commitment.

Q+A: Sam Flores on building sustainable EMS systems in tribal communities

Sponsored Storytelling

In many rural tribal communities, providing timely emergency medical services can be a challenge. Long travel distances, workforce shortages, and limited healthcare infrastructure can make it...

Disney Cruise Line signs 15-year agreement with Huna Totem for Icy Strait Point

Tourism

Disney Cruise Line and Huna Totem Corporation have signed a 15-year agreement securing Disney ship calls at the Alaska Native corporation's Icy Strait Point through at least 2041, extending a partnership that provides long-term passenger traffic for the Indigenous-owned cruise destination.

Q+A: Eric Mahroum on DOE’s push to advance 450 tribal energy projects

Energy | Environment

Tribal energy projects can require navigating as many as a dozen federal agencies, lengthy permitting processes and significant development costs before construction begins. The Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs is laying out a strategy it says will make that process easier — while putting more federal resources behind projects led by tribes.

Gila River invests $25M in tribal-land medical school to build physician workforce

Health Care

Gila River Health Care will invest more than $25 million to establish a University of Arizona medical school branch on the Gila River Indian Community, a long-term workforce investment aimed at training and retaining physicians within tribal and rural health systems.

The Insects Moved Faster Than the Paperwork

Opinion | Op-Ed

Guest Essay. In the summer of 2019, a fire started along Interstate 5 in southern Oregon, at a spot the highway signs mark as Milepost 97. It burned into the forest that the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians had regained only the year before, when Congress placed more than 17,000 acres of the tribe’s ancestral homeland in trust for it. 1 The fire destroyed about 3,600 of those acres and damaged more than 45 million board feet of timber.

Why We’re Paying Attention to Prediction Markets

Sponsored Storytelling

As a Native law student and young professional engaged in tribal governance, gaming and federal Indian law, we have been paying close attention to the rapid rise of prediction markets and the debate...

Second defendant sentenced in $4.7M Oglala Sioux Tribe fraud scheme

Policy and Law

A federal judge sentenced a second defendant to six years and six months in prison for helping divert more than $4.7 million from the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Most Recent

Second defendant sentenced in $4.7M Oglala Sioux Tribe fraud scheme

Former tribal telecom CEO sentenced to two years for embezzlement

NNAHRA launches scholarship program for Native HR professionals

DOE cancels tribal transmission corridor aimed at bringing reservation power to market

Native joint venture wins $45M Army contract for Fort Buchanan microgrid

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