Gabriel Pietrorazio/KJZZ
Her death in the opening days of the Iraq War in 2003 shook her home state of Arizona and led to the renaming of a freeway and mountain peak. More than two decades later, the 23-year-old Army specialist, a Hopi from Tuba City, was swept up in a recent executive order striking DEI references from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Mihio Manus/Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council
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In the fallout, some of the Hayes descendants are stepping up. These relatives were reminded why they keep on sharing his story — even eight decades later — from where he grew up on the Gila River Indian Community. -
From Ira Hayes to Lori Piestewa, Arizona’s Indigenous war heroes were literally erased from the annals of military history last month as part of the Trump administration’s attack on DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — within the U.S. Department of Defense. -
University of Arizona Ph.D. student Deandra Jones researches black bears in the Navajo Nation, combining traditional knowledge and science to guide respectful coexistence. -
Canyon de Chelly is one of the most impressive places in the Southwest. Its vertical canyon walls tower 1,000 feet high as the Rio de Chelly winds through its ancient walls. -
President Donald Trump signed a slate of executive orders on Tuesday aiming to deregulate coal mining on federal lands and revitalize the industry nationwide. -
The Light Up Navajo project will send SRP crews near the Leupp community to install electric lines in remote areas of the reservation. Around a quarter of homes in the Navajo Nation do not have electricity, according to SRP. -
Growing violence in the Gila River Indian Community drew hundreds to protest there over the weekend. Organizers claim there are at least 140 unsolved crimes from across the nearly 600-square-mile reservation south of Phoenix. -
A controversial land swap would allow Resolution Copper to access a multi-billion dollar ore deposit beneath public lands nestled in the Tonto National Forest. But a federal judge is ordering the U.S. Forest Service to release new details about that pending deal. -
Last week, the Gila River Indian Community celebrated Earth Day a month ahead of the globally recognized date. The day is dedicated to embracing environmental awareness and action. The Valley-based tribe welcomed a special guest. -
A 7 p.m. curfew for juveniles in the Gila River Indian Community will continue, despite being scheduled to end on Monday. Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis issued the emergency declaration, citing public safety reasons in late February. -
Native American tribes including the Navajo and Hopi have formed a coalition to protect a national monument in southern Utah against potential oil and gas drilling plans by the Trump administration. -
A bipartisan bill that would put state funds toward a water pipeline project on the Navajo Nation passed the state Senate on Tuesday.
