Members of the Nebraska Santee Sioux Tribe hope a solution to their five-year water ordeal may be on the way.

Their tap water has been unusable for drinking or cooking since 2019, when unsafe manganese levels led the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a "no drink" order.

Kameron Runnels, vice chairman of the Santee Sioux Nation, said a bill passed in the Nebraska Legislature allows them to tap into the state's Water Sustainability Fund for possibly as much as $20 million, although it is not a long-term solution. Ultimately, the tribe hopes to connect to the Randall Community Water District in South Dakota, which will cost roughly $53 million.

"Connecting to that water system would provide us that generational change to our water system and give us clean water for the next, who knows, maybe forever," Runnels explained.

The tribe is waiting to hear the status of its Water Sustainability Fund application, and a $20 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant it applied for more than a year ago. For now, they continue to provide bottled water for the 800 members who reside on tribal lands, at a cost of nearly $15,000 a month.

A Bureau of Indian Affairs grant that covered the water costs for about a year recently ran out, but Runnels said they were just awarded a grant from the Omaha-based Sherwood Foundation which should cover another year of bottled water. He noted nobody knows why the manganese levels are so high and pointed out the Indian Health Service went to great lengths to try to find available safe water.

"They used ground-penetrating radar, using airplane flights, looking for pockets of water all over our tribal lands," Runnels recounted. "They did exploratory drilling in about 20 different sites but they could never find quality or quantity of water."

Runnels added the Water Sustainability Fund and the attention they are getting from state and federal lawmakers has been encouraging. He regrets other Nebraska Tribes were not helped by the new state law and said water issues are rampant among the country's Indian population.

"Somewhere around 50% of tribal households have some kind of water quality situation," Runnels reported. "They either don't have water or they just don't have clean drinking water."


get more stories like this via email

Tourism generates $3 billion annually in North Dakota but tribal officials say direct spending from visitors does not always reach their areas. Now, a new grant program aims to help Native American tribes promote their sites.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong recently signed a bill which sets aside $100,000 for North Dakota's five tribal nations to share for tourism-related projects.

Kiera Fox, acting tourism director for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said it might not seem like a lot of money but it is a foot in the door. She noted her team can use it to improve signage and other needs, while promoting their history in a culturally-appropriate way.

"We get to tell our stories with our own voices," Fox explained. "Reeducate a little bit, correct some of those misconceptions everybody has about Native Americans."

She pointed out the MHA Nation is off the beaten path More visibility with signs might convince drivers to take a detour and check out sites, including a local museum and the Crow Flies scenic overlook. The bill sailed through the Legislature with minor opposition; however, the final sum is lower than the proposed $500,000.

Bill sponsors said the initiative benefits regional economies, with promotion from tribal and non-tribal areas working hand-in-hand. As for Indigenous communities, Fox emphasized having more tourists spend money locally expands their revenue base.

"For these businesses, some these entrepreneurs, our Native artists, they benefit," Fox stressed. "And then (there are) more funds going into infrastructure, updating our amenities."

Other tribes submitting testimony said Native entrepreneurs have difficulty working through issues like land use regulations, putting them at a disadvantage in becoming a tourism draw. The state Commerce Department does have other grant programs for local areas to promote themselves but tribal advocates said they are often out of reach for Native entities.


get more stories like this via email

Voter turnout from tribal communities in Wisconsin has increased in recent years, with historic numbers for the state Supreme Court election this month.

The Menominee reservation turnout increased by more than 80% from the spring 2023 election and both the Red Cliff and Bad River Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa saw turnout jump more than 60%, according to Wisconsin Conservation Voices, which works with tribal communities through its Wisconsin Native Vote program.

Maria Haskins, native regional tribal organizer for the group, said listening sessions, roundtables and regional dinners have been crucial in building relationships and getting people to the polls.

"With people seeing their peers being more active in the polls and becoming more informed about a lot of these issues, is what is really motivating them to go out and cast their ballot," Haskins observed. "Because I think that people are realizing their vote is their voice."

Haskins noted communities shared concerns at the events about issues like the opioid epidemic, which is severely affecting tribal communities, while drawing the connections of voting to their goal of tribal sovereignty.

The Menominee community has seen some of the most dramatic jumps in voter turnout. In 2023, community voting increased by 75% and has seen a 220% increase since 2019. Haskins believes the influx reflects the increase tribes are also seeing in representation, with more Native Americans running for office.

"I think that it's a huge movement," Haskins emphasized. "It's just something saying, 'Our people deserve to have a voice in what is happening, and we deserve to have the ability to be involved.'"

At a time when the country is seeing the rapid-fire dismantling of DEI initiatives and priorities, Haskins thinks it has never been more important to stay connected and involved.

"I'm super thankful for every community that we work in and I just can't express the importance enough of being in community and leaning on community right now," Haskins added. "I think that it's really important for all of us to have those connections and continue moving forward."


get more stories like this via email

The Jackson-based group Native American Jump Start has been providing grants to Native students, interns and young workers for decades and this year, has added an ambassador program.

Nine ambassadors across the country will help spread the word on Native American Jump Start opportunities, up to 100 microgrants per year to help, among others, students at any level of higher education.

Wicahpi Chaddlesone-Yankton, grant and operations coordinator for the group, said they want to highlight more student voices and half of ambassadors in the first cohort are current students.

"We wanted to have our ambassadors work with their Native student centers or organizations on their campus and just help bring NAJS's voice into a bigger light," Chaddlesone-Yankton explained.

The group is funded by private donations and therefore will be directly affected by cuts from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the Native American Rights fund in March sued the U.S. Interior Department and the Office of Indian Affairs over the federal administration's cuts to the Bureau of Indian Education.

O'Shay Birdinground comes from the Great Apsaalooke Nation and will graduate this spring from the University of Montana. He first used Jump Start funding to attend a conference. Now as an ambassador, Birdinground encouraged "future Indigenous leaders" to take advantage of educational opportunities.

"There are a lot of opportunities out there for education and leadership development," Birdinground emphasized. "I wouldn't hesitate to jump on any one of those opportunities that is provided to you."

The application period for Native American Jump Start's education grant funding for this fall opens April 1.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.