U.S. Department of the Interior

Buffalos have long played a significant role for many Native American tribes. They have provided clothing, food, shelter and much more. This week, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced bipartisan legislation to create a permanent buffalo program that would help tribes manage current and future herds.

For generations, Native American tribes have fought for the return of their lands lost to the United States. In a historic move on Wednesday, the Pueblo of Santa Ana and Bureau of Indian Affairs signed an agreement allowing the federal government to take the former King Alamo Ranch into trust for the tribe.

Among Native American communities, people go missing and experience violence at disproportionately high rates. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) - the first Native cabinet secretary - has been working to implement the Not Invisible Act, which she helped pass as a Congresswoman in 2019. A commission traveled round the country hearing testimony from survivors, advocates, law enforcement and tribal leaders. It released a list of recommendations last November, and now the Departments of Justice and Interior have responded.

Four National Wildlife Refuges across the country now have support from the federal government to expand, and Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, which spans across the Texas-New Mexico border, is one of them.

This summer, Congress is set to look at President Joe Biden’s budgetary requests for FY 2025. Included in that is $1.6 billion for the Interior Department to reduce wildfire risk.

The U.S. Department of Interior held a listening session in Albuquerque last week to seek comments on proposed changes to the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. KUNM reports that the proposed changes are designed to better protect Native artisans.

The Biden administration will restore the White House Council on Native American Affairs, an interagency initiative that coordinates federal services and…

Last month, Deb Haaland made history as the first Indigenous person ever confirmed by the Senate to serve in a president's cabinet. In her first official…