Monday, April 13, 2026

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Photo: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to Native American leaders gathered at Gila River Indian Community’s Wild Horse Pass Casino on April 8, 2026. (Caitlin Sievers / Arizona Mirror)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a stop in the Phoenix, Ariz. metro area to visit the Gila River Indian Community last week.

As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, Sec. Kennedy touted tribal health accomplishments a year into President Donald Trump’s second term.

Kennedy briefly took the stage at Wild Horse Pass during the annual Tribal Self-Governance Conference.

“ We’re going to make Indian Country healthy again. Thank you all very, very much.”

In his speech, Kennedy talked about making progress on key issues like food sovereignty, chronic disease, and federal dietary guidelines.

He, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) literally flipped the food pyramid upside down.

Tackling staffing shortages and aging infrastructure throughout the entire Indian Health Service (IHS) was another topic.

Yet, the now defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) terminated a dozen leases for IHS facilities.

This decision was seen as a costs-saving measure to shore up funds tied up in federal office space. And according to data from Stanford’s Big Local News, the U.S. cancelled 121 IHS contracts totaling over $8 million last year.

The federal government is encouraging tribes to partner with data centers. That could mean leasing land or, as the Mountain West News Bureau’s Hanna Merzbach reports, selling power.

At a U.S. Department of Energy webinar, Ken Ahmann with Colusa Indian Energy said that is where the big bucks come in.

“ Potentially billions of dollars into the coffers of tribes.”

His company provides energy infrastructure to data centers on tribal land. He says these partnerships can be good for tribes that have land and resources to power big projects like the Osage Nation in Oklahoma.

Paul Bemore is the chair of the tribe’s utility board.

“Tribes that are casino-dependent really need to look at other ways to build their economies, and I think data centers is one of those opportunities.”

Though Bemore says people may be wary about how this will impact the environment. Other tribes have expressed concerns about data centers draining precious water supplies.

The Native Youth Olympic (NYO) games begin this week in Anchorage.

The games kick off Thursday at the Alaska Airlines Center, bringing together hundreds of student athletes from across the state.

Now in its 54th year, NYO celebrates traditional Alaska Native games rooted in survival skills, strength, and endurance.

Events include the one-foot high kick, seal hop, and wrist carry — all designed to test both physical ability and mental toughness.

Ann Lawrence is from Point Hope, Alaska and a cultural advisor for Cook Inlet Tribal Council. She says watching the children reunite every year brings her joy.

“I love watching the kids participate. You see the friendship has grown over the years. Some of them that have started out as freshman, are graduating from high school, and they’re very involved, and it just warms my heart that these kids know that what they’re doing here is something that they can share with their future relatives. Maybe as they become parents, grandparents, I think is so important.”

The games run through Saturday and are free and open to the public.

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Check out today’s Native America Calling episode