Indian Country News

Talon Metals progresses state environmental review process for proposed nickel mine near Tamarack

Talon Metals Corp.through its subsidiary Talon Nickel (USA) LLC submitted an amended Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for the State’s Environmental Impact Statement scoping process for the Tamarack Nickel-Copper Project, a proposed small-footprint, high-grade underground nickel mine that would be located near the city of Tamarack in Aitkin County. Talon first began the review process in June 2023. Since that time, the proposed Tamarack Mining Project has gone through two rounds of comments with the Minnesota regulatory agencies and participating tribal governments/organizations. After receiving the second round of comments on the EAW in February 2024, Talon has taken steps to investigate and propose engineered solutions to potential concerns.

Bois Forte Tribal Chair Chavers to Step Down After Nearly 50 Years of Service

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians Tribal Chair Cathy Chavers announced she will step down at the end of January to focus on her mental health. The decision marks the end of nearly 50 years of service to the Bois Forte Band, including stints in tribal health care and as a council member before winning the tribal chair position in 2016. Chavers won her third term as chair in June 2024. Bois Forte Tribal Vice Chair Shane Drift will serve as acting chair until the seat is held. Chavers told the local ABC-TV affiliate, “I’m just mentally exhausted— tribal government and politics are tough, and it was time for me to take care of myself.” During her tenure as chairwoman, Chavers led the tribe through major events, including rebuilding a burned-down government center and managing the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, she helped secure the return of 28,000 acres of ancestral lands through a partnership with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation and the Nature Conservancy nonprofits. The transfer remains the largest such return in Minnesota history and one of the largest such land returns in the history of the United States. Source: Native News Online.

Navajo Nation leaders raise alarm over reports of Indigenous people being questioned and detained during immigration sweeps

At least 15 Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico have reported being stopped at their homes and workplaces, questioned or detained by federal law enforcement and asked to produce proof of citizenship during immigration raids since Wednesday, according to Navajo Nation officials. The reports, which have caused panic amongst tribal communities in both states, come amid the Trump administration’s attempt to ramp up undocumented immigrant arrests nationwide and amass a larger force to carry out the president’s deportation pledge. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. The reported raids and the exact number of Navajo and other Indigenous tribal citizens who were apprehended are still under investigation, Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley told CNN. It is unclear if Immigration and Customs Enforcement or other law enforcement entities were conducting the apprehensions. ICE has not responded to CNN’s request for comment. Curley told CNN, “I think there’s a confusion with other races, maybe just because having a brown skin, automatically being profiled or stereotyped to be in a certain group of race.” There are concerns for the safety of multiple Native tribes who live in areas near the border, including Tohono O’odham, who have been in the Sonoran Desert for thousands of years and live on both sides, regularly traveling back and forth. Source: CNN.

Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans

A federal judge on Tuesday, Jan. 28., 2025, temporarily blocked a push from President Donald Trump to pause federal funding while his administration conducts an across-the-board ideological review to uproot progressive initiatives. The order capped the most chaotic day for the U.S. government since Trump returned to office, with uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline causing panic and confusion among states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the funding freeze only minutes before it was scheduled to take effect. The administrative stay, prompted by a lawsuit brought by nonprofit groups that receive federal money, lasts until Monday afternoon. Another court hearing is scheduled that morning to consider the issue. Source: MPR.

Walz: Trump's federal funding freeze threatens $1.9 billion-a-month for Minnesota schools, healthcare, police

The unilateral decision by President Donald Trump to temporarily freeze federal funding already approved by Congress threatens up to $1.9 billion in monthly funding in Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz said. The federal Office of Management and Budget issued a two-page memo late Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, announcing a temporary pause on federal grants and loans. On Tuesday, there were widespread reports that the federal portal that distributes Medicaid funding to states had stopped working, with The New York Times is also reporting there have been interruptions in funding for Head Start early childhood education providers. Source: Bring Me The News.