Navajo Nation

Earlier this year, Sen. Affie Ellis (R-Cheyenne) announced her retirement from the Wyoming Senate, where she helped pass legislation relating to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples' crisis, among other measures.

According to recent reporting, shelters are at capacity, especially on reservations with underfunded infrastructure. And climate change is compounding the problem.

Delbert Anderson is rallying musicians from the Four Corners region and online to perform his compositions, where one note comes every few months. In Farmington, New Mexico, Anderson teaches community members about the historical impact of the Long Walk of the Navajo.

The Supreme Court has ruled against the Navajo Nation in a case centered on the tribe’s rights to the drying Colorado River. The tribe claimed it was the federal government’s legal duty to help figure out their future water needs, and aid them in using their rights. But in a 5-4 decision, the justices said an 1868 treaty included no such promises.

The ban has been in place for almost 20 years. This new legislation would recognize all marriages, and impacts spousal property rights and employee benefits.

From Florida to Alaska, dozens of tribes are working to harness energy from wind, sun and water to generate millions of dollars in revenue, create short- and long-term jobs and reduce utility costs for citizens, while also helping combat climate change and boost energy independence.

Abandoned uranium mines are found in all corners of the Southwest. With big money flowing in the coming decade from settlements with large corporations and the U.S. government for contamination, cleanup of hundreds of abandoned mines will finally begin after decades of neglect. And that means jobs for tribal citizens and businesses, providing an economic balm for areas that need work.

The Navajo Nation lies within Arizona, Utah and New Mexico and is the largest tribal nation by both population and land mass. It's now considering a bill that would repeal its 2005 ban on same-sex marriage.

Nearly half of tribal homes across the country don’t have steady access to clean water. Many in the Southwest rely on aging wells with polluted water, or truck in bottles from far away. In To'hajiilee, New Mexico, a Navajo community hopes a new pipeline from Albuquerque will remedy decades of struggle to get clean water.

States around the Mountain West are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, and it's started to affect some tribes, too. The Navajo Nation's increase in cases is modest compared to surges in states like Arizona, though.