Native News
Monday Morning (March 23, 2026): Articles You May Have Missed This Past Weekend
Happy Monday!
Here are some of the articles you may have missed this past weekend:
The Senate voted Sunday to advance the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to replace Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, marking a step toward restoring stability at an agency that has faced turmoil since the fatal shooting of two protesters in Minneapolis earlier this year. Mullin is a tribal citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
The vote sets up a vote on either today or tomorrow.
Sen. Murkowski Opposes SAVE Act, Warns It Would Suppress Native Voter Access
WASHINGTON — Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), is voicing opposition to the SAVE America Act, legislation being aggressively pushed by the Trump administration.
Speaking Wednesday morning during a briefing on the NAHASDA Modernization Act of 2026, Murkowski pivoted to outline her concerns.
For Indigenous voters, she said, several provisions in the SAVE Act would pose significant challenges. While tribal identification cards may be accepted for voting, she noted they would not qualify for voter registration. She also cited the long distances to travel to register to vote would prevent some to do so.
If Chavez’s Name Comes Down, Columbus Should Follow
I felt a deep unease watching how quickly a Mexican American civil rights leader’s legacy was dismantled in the public square. It forced me to think about how this country chooses which histories to confront—and which to leave standing.
Consider Christopher Columbus. For many Indigenous communities and historians, he is not a hero, but a symbol of brutality and colonization. His arrival in the Americas set off a wave of violence against the Taíno people — marked by enslavement, forced labor, torture, and impossible demands for gold. Historical accounts also document acts of sexual violence committed by his men against Indigenous women, part of a broader system of dehumanization that devastated entire populations and shaped centuries of oppression.