Stories - AZPM

Duane Garvais-Lawrence paints the name of a missing Indigenous woman on his arm before starting a run around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the final stop in 2021 for the MMIW Bike Run USA to raise awareness of the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

MMIP task forces are given years to solve a problem centuries in the making

Gov. Katie Hobbs’ Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People face a “big ask” – to “reduce and end violence against Indigenous people” in the state.

Jon Proudstar as Leon in the FX series "Reservation Dogs" on Hulu.

It's "Reservation Dogs" final season, cast member Jon Proudstar shares how it began.

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Meet Robaba, a refugee from Afghanistan with a passion for knowledge and a story to tell; members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness share "Moments to Cope"; and remembering filmmaker William Friedkin.

Tucson eyes solutions to prevent more fraudulent sober homes from coming

Tucson's mayor and council directed staff to examine how the city can incorporate regulations for the future.

President Biden signed an Executive Order designating a new Grand Canyon National Monument. August 8, 2023

Biden creates new national monument near Grand Canyon

Tribes in Arizona have been pushing the president to use his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to create the new national monument.

A view from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, next to the Kolb Studio, September 2018.

Tribes hope Biden's Arizona visit means long-sought Grand Canyon monument

Representatives of various northern Arizona tribes have been invited to attend the president's remarks.

Clients participate in a smudging ceremony at The Haven, a local substance use treatment center in Tucson, Arizona. The facility offers a Native Ways Program, a treatment plan that incorporates Native American culture and practices.

The Haven strives to become go-to resource for Native American women in recovery

Federal funding has helped expand services and outreach.

File image of equipment in a trauma room at a hospital in Tucson.

COVID-19 pandemic delays rare disease diagnosis on Arizona's Tribal lands, new study finds

Testing delays and the focus on response to the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in the region may have been factors.

Navajo president presses Congress for more time, money, for water project

The project would deliver 37,767 acre-feet of water annually from the San Juan River basin through 300 miles of pipeline to 43 Navajo chapters, the city of Gallup, New Mexico, as well as the Teepee Junction area of the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

Navajo President Buu Nygren urged the House Natural Resources Committee to reverse a ban on mining and drilling for 10 miles around Chaco Canyon, saying it deprives tribe members from collecting payment on their mineral allotments and violates the tribe’s sovereignty. July 2023

Navajo witnesses clash over government’s Chaco Canyon mining ban

A new 20-year moratorium on drilling and mining within 10 miles of the Chaco Canyon tramples on tribal sovereignty and denies Navajo badly needed royalty payments, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren told lawmakers.

After two decades of drought, parts of Lake Mead that were once underwater have been exposed as the lake falls to historically low levels.

21st annual Water Resources Research Center brings in international collaborators

The conference focused on water solutions in a changing arid climate.

Harris visited the Gila River Indian Community on July 6, 2023, to address the administration’s plan to support Native communities.

Kamala Harris discusses commitment to Native communities during Arizona visit

The vice president met with Gila River youth leaders prior to her speech.

Navajo police officers from the Shiprock District conduct a checkpoint on April 1, 2020, to remind the public about the nightly curfew on the Navajo Nation.

Navajo Nation’s COVID-19 curfews saddled hundreds with citations, netted no money for police, news investigation finds

he curfew was among the most stringent measures any U.S. tribal or non-tribal government enacted to check the spread of the virus.

Water levels in Lake Powell, seen here in May 2021, are dipping dangerously low. The federal government has proposed an unprecedented plan to cut back on water supplies for Arizona, Nevada and California. The measure aims to keep water levels high enough to generate hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam.

Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case

Colorado had argued that siding with the Navajo Nation would undermine existing agreements and disrupt the management of the river.

A billboard is seen in Scottsdale, Ariz., Saturday, June 10, 2023, near the health care facility of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, which has been affected by a gigantic Medicaid fraud scheme involving sober living homes that promised help to Native Americans seeking to kick alcohol and other additions. Navajo National Attorney General Ethel Branch said Monday, June 12, 2023, that Navajo law enforcement teams that fanned out over metro Phoenix in recent weeks made contact with several hundred Native Americans from various tribes on the streets amid the state crackdown.

Navajo Nation declares widespread Medicaid scam in Arizona a public health state of emergency

The declaration allows the tribe to add more personnel, travel resources, medical supplies, funding and other means of support to address the ongoing problem.

Michael Kotutwa Johnson says Hopi corn “has 10 to 15 times more mineral content” than supermarket corn. He hopes to share it with the Hopi people and believes they will see an improvement in health.

Honor your ‘mother’: Working to keep traditional ways, types of Hopi corn

“Corn represents our mother, and we need to take care of her so she can take care of us.”

Navajo Code Talker Memorial at Window Rock, Arizona.

Navajo leaders seek tribal members caught up in sober-living Medicare scam in Arizona

The operation known as Rainbow Bridge was launched in response to recent actions by the state of Arizona against more than 100 unlicensed and fraudulent sober living homes in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

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