Thursday, September 3, 2026

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A row of coal next to skid steer inside the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. coal yard in New Mexico. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio)

The Trump administration has just approved a plan that could let the Navajo Nation dig up more than 500 million tons of coal by extending the life of a New Mexico mine over the next century – until the year 2136.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has details.

The U.S. Interior Department says denying this permit would be at odds with President Donald Trump’s “Unleashing American Energy” agenda.

It could also destabilize the Navajo Nation economy.

The tribally owned Navajo Transitional Energy Co. fuels the aging Four Corners Power Plant. That lease is set to expire in 2041, but the U.S. government notes the next coal buyer is unknown.

The United States argues those financial factors outweigh a slew of environmental and other harms posed by the expansion – including the relocation of nearby families.

While the Bench Fire in Oregon has been largely contained, its effects are still being felt.

A ranching couple on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon needs help caring for their cattle and wild horses after the fire destroyed their grazing land.

Brian Bull of Underscore Native News and KLCC reports.

Jason Smith and Kremena Doust say they were preparing to do a live auction and photo shoot with their horses on July 25, but they canceled once they realized the Bench Fire was burning fast through their area.

Smith: “It run like 14 miles in one day, y’know. It made it from our westerly range where we run our cattle and horses, clear to our front door.”

Doust: “It was intense, it was orange. It was like pretty high in the sky.”

Smith: “There were a bunch of fires, just south of the reservation there. And they looked like they were comin’ our way big time, y;know.”

The flames almost came up to their doorstep, but a highway created a natural break that spared their home. They say at least 80% of their grazing district was consumed by fire, leaving between 400 to 500 wild horses and their cattle without food.

So now Smith and Doust are trying to raise funds to help buy emergency feed for their animals and offer the horses for adoption by good homes.

Doust: “So if we can take care of that through community support and grants, that would be a game changer.”

Smith: “The biggest thing is feed right now, though.”

Doust: “Right now, immediately feed. Absolutely.”

Mares, yearlings, and studs are all available on the ranch’s website for adoption. Doust said she is also trying to set up a nonprofit.

Two North Dakota Tribes are renewing their legal fight over a state legislative map they say weakens the voting power of Native people.

The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Spirit Lake Tribe, and individual Native voters moved Friday to file an amended complaint challenging North Dakota’s 2021 legislative districts.

The Tribes originally won their case in 2023, when a federal judge ruled the map violated the Voting Rights Act by denying Native voters an equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, but in May, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated an appeals court ruling in the case and sent it back for further consideration following another voting rights decision.

The Tribes now argue the map also violates the U.S. Constitution because it was drawn with discriminatory intent and improperly divided Native voters.

Spirit Lake Chairwoman Lonna Jackson-Street says the Tribes have fought the map for five years and are prepared to prove their case again.

 

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Check out today’s Native America Calling episode

Thursday, September 3, 2026 — Osage school closure delivers blow to tribe’s language revitalization