Native American

In March, the Trump Administration issued an executive order that would limit mail-in voting by having a federal agency create a list of American citizens who are eligible to vote by showing proof of citizenship beforehand. KUNM spoke with Jacqueline De León (Isleta Pueblo), senior attorney for the Native American Rights Fund on how this move could impact Native American voters in rural areas.

The Pueblo of Isleta could lose federal funds for its Head Start program because online betting and prediction markets are hurting the tribe’s gaming revenues. U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) met with tribal leaders on Wednesday to discuss the importance of preserving early education programs on sovereign Native lands.

In the 1970s, thousands of Native American women were sterilized by the Indian Health Service without their consent, including here in New Mexico. KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios sat down with three state senators who helped pass a memorial to investigate this history on New Mexico in Focus. Joining her were Senators Shannon Pinto, Antoinette Sedillo Lopez and Linda Lopez, who talked about what they heard from survivors.

The Federal Communications Commission estimates that 93% of U.S. residents have access to high speed internet. But that could be overstated. According to a new report by the Urban Institute, rural and Native American communities continue to face barriers to broadband access.

For decades starting in 1907 Indigenous women and women of color across the country, including New Mexico, were forced or coerced into sterilizations without their informed consent. On Thursday, a coalition of Indigenous women’s reproductive rights advocates called on state lawmakers to create a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the abuses.

On Thursday, health advocates told lawmakers that increasing extreme heat is impacting Indigenous people’s wellbeing and traditional ways of life.

The New Mexico spring winds were not kind Sunday afternoon, but that did not deter hundreds of people from gathering to witness Indigenous dancers dressed in their traditional regalia moving to the beat of drums surrounded by onlookers in a circle.

Cherokee writer and audio journalist Rebecca Nagel’s recently published book “By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land” explores the forced removal of Native people and the Supreme Court case that resulted in the largest restoration of tribal land in U.S. history.

Native American students make up 11% of public school enrollment in New Mexico. Yet there are not enough resources for them to learn their Native languages. A bill passed in the recent legislative session would create new schools under a state-tribal compact to address those gaps.

The 2025 session of the New Mexico state legislature is nearly over and it was a first for a number of newly elected lawmakers, including Rep. Michelle Pauline Abyeta (D-To'hajiilee) who is Diné. Her large district encompasses six counties west of Albuquerque, from White Rock all the way to Alamo Navajo Reservation. Abeyta told KUNM her priority for this session is to have bills that touch every demographic in her district.