RENO, Nev. -- A group of Alaska Natives are in Nevada this week as part of a tour of the Southwest. They're stoking opposition to a bill that would authorize oil and gas drilling in their homeland, including parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Two women from the Gwich'in Tribe spoke in Las Vegas Sunday and will speak in Reno Tuesday at a showing of a short film about their battle to save their ancestral lands and the caribou herd that has sustained them. Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee, said the herd is a central part of their heritage - which is why her tribe has taken a firm stand against development for decades.

"Just like the Native Americans with the buffalo, they have that spiritual and cultural connection, that's that same connection that we have to the Porcupine caribou herd,” Demientieff said. "The Gwich'in Nation used to migrate with the caribou herd for over 20,000 years. What befalls the caribou, befalls the Gwich'in."

Supporters of the tribe want to block oil and gas drilling by giving wilderness protection to 1.5 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They have introduced House Resolution 1889, the Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act.

But Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski has sponsored Senate Bill 49, to permit drilling on 2,000 acres of the refuge.

Fawn Douglas, a member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, said the Gwich’in Tribe's struggle is very similar to Nevadans' fight to protect Gold Butte.

"They're trying to protect their homelands from any development. And we did do that here when it came to Gold Butte,” Douglas said. “And to think about any part of that being desecrated or ruined by any mining or development is just absurd. And they're going through the same battle, the same fight."

The Gwich'in Tribe says the caribou herd's migration and calving areas would be disturbed if Congress approved drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They're hoping Nevadans will write their representatives to urge protections for the area.

Tuesday’s event in Reno will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Patagonia store on Center Street.


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Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago says its student body and campus are growing - and so are its options for people to study in STEM fields.

Little Priest has always offered some health and science courses, but college Vice President of Finance and Operations Mark Vasina said the two-year school is also creating pathways to higher education for its graduates.

It has transfer agreements with several area colleges - in many cases, with free tuition for getting a bachelor's degree - including Wayne State in Wayne, Nebraska, and Briarcliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.

Vasina said one Briarcliff agreement allows Little Priest health-science grads to earn a nursing degree in two years, tuition free.

"Here on the reservation, we have the Twelve Clans Hospital, and they have a constant need - as all over the country - for nurses," said Vasina. "But they also need other lab technicians, and people who are trained in science and technology applications."

This month, Little Priest broke ground on a 12,000 square foot science building. In addition to government agencies, the reservation is home to Ho-Chunk Farms, which employs some of the school's diversified ag students.

Vasina says Little Priest is helping to build a skilled workforce in an area where employers sometimes struggle to fill positions because of the town's small size and distance from metropolitan areas.

An ongoing issue on the Winnebago reservation is water quality, because of excessive mineral content and other contaminants. Vasina pointed to water monitoring as another local need for STEM-trained individuals.

"We also have our EPA," said Vasina. "We have water testing, we have our Department of Natural Resources - all of these programs are starving for qualified individuals who are trained in modern lab techniques."

And Little Priest offers dual-enrollment courses at three area high schools, which Vasina said is one way they generate interest and promote readiness in potential future students.

"We're reaching backwards into the high school and middle school," said Vasina, "as well as forward to the four-year schools, so that students can recognize that coming here leads them into something even greater and better beyond."

The college celebrated its 25th anniversary this month and is seeing record enrollment. Since summer 2020, tuition has been free for all students.

Today is National Voter Registration Day, and in Montana, Indigenous advocates are working to register people and get out the vote.

As part of its civic engagement initiative, Western Native Voice is encouraging Indigenous Americans to register to vote and cast a ballot in the next election ... and they are doing it via a drive-through voter registration effort in Billings.

Adam Beaves-Fisher, deputy director of government and political relations for Western Native Voice, is strongly encouraging Indigenous people to register, get involved in the democratic process and continue to be engaged, contrary to what has happened in the past.

"Native Americans have been disenfranchised from the process historically, as well as voting in lower rates," Beaves-Fisher explained. "We're really making sure that we're creating that tradition across our communities: not only voting, but being engaged in the civic process."

The event takes place in the Western Native Voice office parking lots on 25th Street West in Billings. It starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 7 p.m.

Beaves-Fisher pointed out staying involved in the process is important for every American voter, but especially so for Indigenous people who face unique barriers when it comes to casting a ballot. He added it has become increasingly important for Native Americans to have a louder voice in the democratic process because of the barriers they have faced in the past.

"Some of the real barriers are just life in rural Montana," Beaves-Fisher observed. "When you have consolidated polling locations, uneven registration hours or voting hours, changing laws about the process creates a lot of confusion for every voter."

Today's drive-through event will feature a variety of voter-related activities, including updating voter registration information, signing up for mail-in voting and first-time voter registration.

As food-sovereignty efforts continue among Native American tribes, a South Dakota organization is bringing together stakeholders for a key brainstorming session.

Around the U.S., many tribes are trying to reclaim access to their food systems. It's part of broader movements to revitalize various Indigenous practices and cultures, eroded under the weight of colonization.

The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit serving Lakota people in the Pine Ridge Reservation, is hosting a Lakota Food Summit in mid-September.

Chance Weston, food sovereignty director for the corporation, said highlighting traditional methods is important, but so is a "looking ahead" approach.

"We're always trying to bridge, a lot of times, our ancestral knowledge, but also our modern regenerative ag," Weston explained. "In contemporary times, we want to be able to open it up for all groups."

Tribal leaders, community leaders, food experts and policymakers will bounce ideas and approaches off each other in hopes of expanding food systems. The event will run from Sept. 14-16 at the Box Elder Events Center.

Weston noted long-term, he hopes the sharing and implementation of ideas will eventually minimize the need for a "call to action."

"Because there shouldn't have to be a food sovereignty initiative," Weston contended. "This should be something that exists already within our communities."

As for the summit, he added it will not be limited to speakers and roundtable discussions. Indigenous chefs will be on hand to provide food samples as attendees look for inspiration. The sessions will be open to community members looking to learn more information.