Newswatch Nations State-by-State
Alabama
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe breaks ground on Naskila Casino Resort
June 18, 2026 07:24 PM EDT
KTRE-TV.
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe broke ground today on a new casino resort in Livingston, marking the culmination of decades of planning and legal battles.
Alaska
Alaska Indigenous Corporations Awarded $1.8M in Attorney Fees in Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishing Dispute - News and Statistics - IndexBox
June 17, 2026 08:21 AM EDT
IndexBox Inc
A legal dispute over subsistence fishing on the Kuskokwim River ended on 15 June 2026, with a district court judge awarding Alaskan Indigenous corporations USD 1.8 million in attorney fees after the state of Alaska was found to have waited too long to argue sovereign immunity.
Arizona
Despite land transfer, Apache Stronghold continues effort to protect sacred Arizona site
June 22, 2026 04:25 PM EDT
Open Source Vulnerability News.
"There are still four active lawsuits challenging continued construction of the mine and challenging the land transfer and trying to get it rescinded."
Arizona
The Wall the Tohono O'odham Don't Want
June 20, 2026 07:31 AM EDT
The Atlantic.
Trump threatens Native sovereignty in Arizona.
Arizona
Tohono O'odham Nation files suit to halt border wall construction on Arizona reservation
June 17, 2026 02:56 PM EDT
KJZZ
The 37,000-member tribe has just submitted a Wednesday preliminary injunction before the D.C. federal district court in hopes of halting the Trump administration from looking to build a wall along its 62-mile international boundary with Mexico.
California
Federal judge allows Round Valley Tribes' amended cannabis raid lawsuit to proceed
June 22, 2026 09:26 PM EDT
MJBizDaily.
A federal magistrate judge in Eureka, California, has refused to dismiss an amended lawsuit filed by the Round Valley Indian Tribes against Mendocino County over cannabis raids conducted on…
California
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation awards $750,000 to California Tribal Families Coalition
June 20, 2026 01:15 PM EDT
Daily Democrat.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, through Doyuti T’uhkama, recently awarded $750,000 over three years to the California Tribal Families Coalition (CTFC) to expand its legal advocacy and tribal capacity-building efforts supporting Native c…
Florida
Could prediction market offerings put Florida's gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe at risk?
June 18, 2026 06:38 AM EDT
**Action News Jax**
In Florida, the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Bet app is supposed to be the only legal way to place sports bets, but in recent months, new ways of wagering, or “investing” in the outcome of sports have come online in the Sunshine State.
Georgia
Georgia Republican legislative leaders reject governor's call for 2028 redistricting
June 17, 2026 01:45 PM EDT
The New York Daily News
They noted legal challenges are still ongoing against some of their current districts.
Hawaii
UMaine museum files notice to return Native Hawaiian artifacts
June 22, 2026 07:23 AM EDT
Maine Public Broadcasting Corporation
The Hudson Museum says it has identified 41 objects for repatriation.
Indiana
The Miami Nation of Indiana hasn't given up its hope to regain federal recognition
June 16, 2026 04:30 PM EDT
The Statehouse File.
The Miami Nation of Indiana recenty hosted its 18th annual All Nations Gathering—a two-day event and public powwow where members of the state’s Indigenous population sang honor songs and performed
Maine
Maine's Wabanaki Nations want sovereignty. They got iGaming instead. - The Boston Globe
June 19, 2026 08:11 PM EDT
The Boston Globe
How Maine became only the eighth state to legalize online casinos. Anti-gambling advocates are not happy.
Michigan
Michigan tribes, museums negotiate new deadline for returning sacred objects
June 17, 2026 11:05 PM EDT
The Detroit News
Funding and staffing shortages get in the way of Michigan's museums and Native American tribes, as they attempt to return human remains taken from burial grounds across the state.
Minnesota
“A Manufactured Crisis”
June 18, 2026 01:00 AM EDT
Human Rights Watch
The 180-page report, “‘A Manufactured Crisis’: Minnesota Communities Terrorized by the Federal Government,” comprehensively documents how the US government’s “Operation Metro Surge” caused a human rights crisis in Minnesota, particularly in and around the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The campaign included two unlawful killings, repeated instances of excessive force, racial profiling, unlawful detentions, and abusive detention conditions. These abuses and the terror they spread also led to less visible harm, forcing many people to stay at home out of fear, causing them to miss work, school, and even essential health care. The report calls for accountability at the highest levels of government, and names those with responsibility for overseeing the operation.
Montana
A food bank serving eastern Montana's Tribal communities braces for cuts
June 17, 2026 05:40 PM EDT
Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Montana food banks are trying to adjust after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut $500 million dollars in April, from a nationwide emergency food assistance program. One of the organizations
New Mexico
'Native children belong in Native communities': tribes decry New Mexico drug-exposed newborn rule
June 21, 2026 11:00 AM EDT
The Guardian.
Groups say new directive fails to respect Native sovereignty amid complicated history of Indigenous child removals
New York
New York Tribe Sues Caesars Over Sportsbook Availability - Poker News
June 19, 2026 07:52 PM EDT
Card Player Media
The Cayuga Nation Tribe has sued Caesars, claiming that it's allowing its sportsbook to be accessed on tribal lands without the tribe's OK.
New York
New York's Cayuga Nation Sues Caesars Sportsbook Over Bets Placed on Tribal Land
June 18, 2026 08:28 PM EDT
Casino.org.
The Cayuga Nation operates several Class II gaming venues under its LakeSide Entertainment brand in New York's Finger Lakes region. (Image: Cayuga Nation)
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Historical Society book talk examines peyote history, making of the Native American Church
June 22, 2026 05:30 AM EDT
KOSU Radio.
The Native American Church was legally incorporated more than 100 years ago to protect peyote use. The early history of the church is chronicled in Peyote Politics, a book at the center of an Oklahoma Historical Society discussion happening this week.
Oklahoma
Legislative Roundup: New Oklahoma Governor Could Clear Path For Tribal Sports Betting
June 19, 2026 12:34 PM EDT
InGame
Oklahoma and Wisconsin will elect new governors in November. That could finally open door for legal betting in OK and change format in WI.
Oklahoma
'Oklahoma City' history is more than just the Land Run
June 18, 2026 06:15 AM EDT
The Oklahoman
Oklahoma City was born in a day but its history of opportunity and fresh starts is complex, involving Indigenous displacement and segregation.
Oregon
Roseburg Schools to begin granting credit for learning Oregon tribe's Native language
June 22, 2026 10:12 AM EDT
KLCC Public Radio.
Roseburg Schools and the Cow Creek Umpqua Tribe partner to offer high school credit for the revived Takelma language and boost Native student support in Oregon.
South Dakota
Agencies in South Dakota work together to solve MMIP cases
June 18, 2026 12:00 PM EDT
Kwit Radio.
Three agencies in South Dakota are increasing efforts to close gaps of injustices of violent crimes on reservations.
Texas
Conservation groups sue to block SpaceX land swap over refuge, ocelots, and sacred ground
June 16, 2026 07:04 PM EDT
The Cool Down.
A new legal battle over SpaceX's expansion in South Texas is again drawing attention to the future of public land, wildlife habitat, and sacred Indigenous sites in the region.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes raced-based scholarship program
June 19, 2026 06:04 PM EDT
The Daily Cardinal.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously ruled the Minority Undergraduate Retention Program as unconstitutional June 18, ending a 40-year-old program that awarded financial aid to college students of specific racial backgrounds.
