Two weeks ago, Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis imposed a 7 p.m. curfew on juveniles due to a recent rise in crime across the almost 600-square-mile reservation.
Although that curfew was originally supposed to end March 9, the tribe still canceled a marquee event that was scheduled for this week. The curfew has since been extended to March 31.
The Mul-Chu-Tha Fair and Rodeo is an annual gathering dating back to 1962, but it’s been called off, citing unspecified safety concerns. This celebration is considered to be one of the largest tribal fairs in Indian Country.
The multiday attraction hasn’t been postponed since 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while more than 21,000 visitors attended last year’s festivities in the tribal capital of Sacaton.
Lately, the tribe, located south of Phoenix, has seen an uptick in violence, prompting a public safety emergency declaration in February.
Similar action was taken last June, after 23-year-old Gila River deputy Joshua Briese was fatally shot and another officer wounded while responding to a disturbance in the community of Santan.
In response, the tribe imposed a temporary ban on dances.
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The application for preliminary permits is Nature and People First's latest proposal for energy development on tribal land. The federal government denied a similar proposal by the company in 2024. -
The University of Arizona has recently released a new report highlighting the huge impacts of tribal agriculture throughout the Grand Canyon State — including 2,300 jobs and $750 million in total economic output statewide. -
The Quitobaquito tryonia is a tiny freshwater springsnail — no bigger than the size of a poppy seed — that can only be found inside Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona. -
Born in Chinle, Arizona, Kim Etsitty spends much of her year teaching science at Navajo Pine High School in New Mexico. That is, until summer recess — but she won’t be taking a break this year. -
![Interior Secretary Doug Burgum [right] and Southern Ute Indian Chairman Melvin Baker ink the first-ever Tribal Energy Resource Agreement on May 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e389544/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5120x2853+0+280/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff2%2Fc6%2Fa2c5a96f4513a12c674f76c63de9%2Fdoug-burgum-southern-ute-indian-tribe-tera-signing-20260511.jpg)
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in southwest Colorado sitting above the border of New Mexico has entered the first-ever TERA — or Tribal Energy Resource Agreement — more than two decades after Congress enacted the law.
![Interior Secretary Doug Burgum [right] and Southern Ute Indian Chairman Melvin Baker ink the first-ever Tribal Energy Resource Agreement on May 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b9a83a0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5120x2853+0+280/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ff2%2Fc6%2Fa2c5a96f4513a12c674f76c63de9%2Fdoug-burgum-southern-ute-indian-tribe-tera-signing-20260511.jpg)
