Local news and developments affecting Native communities, organizations, families, and community members.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) announced on Friday, October 16th that two Minnesota businesses discriminated against Native American customers by refusing to recognize identification cards issued by their Tribal Nations. The department found probable cause that Wings Financial Credit Union in Coon Rapids and The Office Pub and Grill […]
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Every year on September 30, people across Canada and the United States wear orange shirts to honor Indigenous children affected by residential and boarding schools and to remember the survivors, families, and communities who continue to carry their impacts. Orange Shirt Day began in Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada, following the 2013 St. Joseph Mission […]
Efforts to preserve and strengthen Dakota and Ojibwe languages continue across Minnesota through schools, Tribal Nations, immersion programs, and community organizations. Minnesota is supporting that work through multiple language revitalization programs during the current biennium, including grants administered by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and Minnesota Department of Education. The Minnesota Department of Education made […]
The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Bois Forte Band of Chippewa are calling on Minnesota to take a broader look at the cumulative effects of mining and other extraction across northeastern Minnesota’s 1854 Treaty Ceded Territory. The two Tribal Nations announced Sept. 23 that they will formally request the Minnesota Environmental Quality […]
RICHFIELD, Minn. — Native elders from across Minnesota gathered at Veterans Memorial Park on Wednesday, Sept. 16, for the third annual Native American Elder Day picnic hosted by Spirit Care Services. According to an event organizer, elders from 10 of Minnesota’s 11 tribal nations attended this year’s celebration. Tribes and Native organizations from outside the […]
Federal funding for Indian health increased for fiscal year 2026, including a significant boost for a program supporting diabetes prevention and treatment in Native communities. Congress provided approximately $5.86 billion for Indian Health Service services and facilities, a 1.3% increase over fiscal year 2025. The total includes approximately $5.05 billion for health services and $809.2 […]
Medicaid changes are raising concerns about long-term financial pressure on Tribal health organizations, even as Minnesota begins distributing millions of dollars through a new federal program to transform rural health care. The federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), created in 2025, will provide up to $50 billion to states over five years from 2026 through […]
MINNEAPOLIS — The Native American Community Clinic (NACC) will open its new health campus to patients Tuesday, September 15th, marking a major expansion of culturally grounded health care and community services for Native families in the Twin Cities. Located along the American Indian Cultural Corridor in south Minneapolis, the new clinic is part of an […]
The 20th Annual Gathering for Our Children & Returning Adoptees Powwow will take place Saturday, November 7th, 2026, at the Minneapolis American Indian Center. The annual gathering has long served as a place of welcome, healing, and reconnection for Native adoptees, formerly fostered individuals, birth relatives, and families. The gathering was established in 2003 to […]
The Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is facing multiple federal lawsuits that raise a larger question: How much authority does a tribal nation have to govern and protect its reservation and natural resources? In April 2026, Wisconsin sued the tribe after it passed resolutions restricting non-member fishing for walleye and muskellunge on 19 […]
Concerns are rising over a proposed reroute of a petroleum pipeline near Pipestone National Monument in southwestern Minnesota; here’s what we know. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is reviewing the Pipestone Pipeline Reroute Project (Docket IP-7109/PPL-23-109). The applicant is Magellan Pipeline Company, L.P., now part of ONEOK. The proposal would reroute approximately 0.74 miles of an existing eight-inch […]
A recent fire at the building housing The Circle’s office has created unexpected challenges for our independent Native newspaper.
Thankfully, with the help of community members, we were able to recover our newspaper archives dating back to the 1980s. These irreplaceable records preserve decades of Native community history, cultural knowledge, and stories.
Your donation will help The Circle recover from the fire, protect our historical archives, and continue sharing Native voices for generations to come.
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Pinagigi — Thank you for helping preserve generations of Native stories.
