February 08, 2026
Opinion. Last weekend, I flew from Michigan to Minneapolis to report on the mobilization of tribal communities following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, 2026.
Currents
WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.
From Our Partners
New Ojibwe Children’s Book Shares the Seven Grandfather Teachings Through ‘Aaniin: I See Your Light'
One afternoon, during the pandemic, I sat alone at my kitchen table. Over the months I would read a lot (like so many of us did then). One theme kept resurfacing as I read books, articles, and social media posts: The Seven Grandfather Teachings (which I’ve included below).
Opinion
Opinion. Last weekend, I flew from Michigan to Minneapolis to report on the mobilization of tribal communities following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, 2026.
Guest Opinon. Governing a nation means paying attention to where our people are struggling and taking responsibility for fixing what stands in their way. In the Cherokee Nation, our advocacy for our citizens has always been about restoration, accountability, and looking out for one another as Cherokees.
Sovereignty
The Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council is punching back at the sanitizing of history by the Trump administration that is removing Native American signs, markers, monuments, or exhibits at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument.
Chadwick M. Elgersma, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Jose Farinango Muenala, 47, of Casselberry, Florida, pleaded guilty on January 28, 2026, to misrepresenting Indian-produced goods. U.S. District Judge William M. Conley sentenced Farinango Muenala to three years of probation and imposed a $25,000 fine.
Education
By 2029, it will be mandatory for all high school students to take courses in Native American history. The reason: California education has failed its first people.
Congress has approved $13.482 million in federal funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts for fiscal year 2026, rejecting a Trump administration proposal that would have eliminated the school’s federal appropriation.
Arts & Entertainment
SULPHUR, Okla. – First American artists are invited to participate in the 13th annual Artesian Arts Festival Saturday, May 2, in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
It’s been a meteoric rise in Hollywood for Kali Reis. Since her breakout role in 2021's Catch the Fair One , the Seaconke Wampanoag actor and sixth-time world champion boxer has garnered critical acclaim, most notably for her portrayal of Trooper Evangeline Navarro in HBO's True Detective: Night Country (2024). In the high-stakes thriller Mercy —coming to theaters nationwide on January 24—Reis stars as officer Jack Diallo in an intense procedural alongside co-star Chris Pratt.
Health
Environment
The Rappahannock Tribe has filed an appeal challenging a state-issued permit that allows Caroline County to withdraw up to 9 million gallons of water per day from the Rappahannock River and transfer it to the Mattaponi River.
Published on January 9, 2026