KIPI News, November 2, 2022 – Part 1

2 min read

Where do candidates stand on tribal issues? Often, the answers are nowhere to be found…Search major Arizona candidates’ websites or look at campaign ads and you’ll find positions on topics ranging from water to law enforcement and the border. But one issue receives only mixed levels of attention, even as it grows more important in policymaking: the roles of tribes across Arizona. The influence of the 22 tribal nations in Arizona is clear: They control more than 40% of the state’s Colorado River water rights. About 28% of the state’s land base is tribal land. More than 385,600 Native people call Arizona home, the third-largest population of Native peoples in the United States.

A former government official of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation accused of accepting bribes and kickbacks from a construction contractor has pleaded guilty to federal charges in North Dakota. Randall Phelan was an elected representative of the governing body of the Three Affiliated Tribes from the end of 2012 to the middle of 2020. Investigators say Phelan used his official position to help the contractor’s business by awarding contracts, fabricating bids and managing fraudulent invoices. His trial had been scheduled to begin Tuesday. Phelan and two others were originally charged with receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bribery scheme on the oil-rich Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. The contractor has pleaded guilty to bribery.

USD receives a $1M grant to grow the rural nursing workforce by 5% in South Dakota…

Leaders in the University of South Dakota’s nursing department have been awarded the grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to increase the number of nurses in rural and underserved areas in South Dakota. New training developed by USD will provide students with intensive, real-world experiences and perspective of the nursing role in rural clinical settings, including working with experienced professionals in a variety of departments.  Goals set for the end of the grant term in Sept. 2025 include Increasing the number of Native American nursing students at USD by 5%. ….”

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