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Expansion of Medicaid in Alaska could bring millions of dollars into the Alaska Native health system. (Trahant photos)

Two states with large native populations are considering expanding Medicaid: Alaska and Montana. The decisions made in Juneau and Helena could add millions of dollars to improve Native health. In Washington state, Medicaid expansion has already increased revenues to Indian health clinics by 38 percent, adding some 14 million new dollars.

Could we be near the moment to really address climate change?

A quick answer is “no.” Of course not.

But the idea of cheap gas could help sell climate action. If it’s not profitable to pump oil right now, perhaps, oil companies will find a reason to delay investments in new projects. That means leaving carbon products in the ground for a better return on investment.

The reason for the sharp decline in the price of oil is both demographic and structural. And it’s not likely to change soon.

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Participants at a First Alaskan Institute retreat look at what the next 10,000 years could be like.                  (Trahant photo)

What will Alaska look like in 10,000 years? Who will be here? What will they do? And, most important, what will preserved from the past kilennium? These are not easy questions. Even thinking about the next decade, let alone thousands of years, gets interrupted by every crisis that requires our attention. There is business to transact. Cell phones buzz. Unanswered emails compound. And, so, we think about the now, not the next.

The First Alaskans Institute recently gathered a group of people together for a week in Bethel to think about the future.  Elizabeth Medicine Crow said: “I think intuitively it makes a lot of sense for Native people. But I also think for most people it’s really hard to wrap their arms around, ‘what does that mean? For 10,000 years.’ It’s really not so much of a mystery for us because we can actually turn around and look directly at our past because we’ve been here for longer than that. We know that as stewards of our time, on behalf of our people, that we have at minimum a trajectory of that much time to look forward to.”

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The battle over federal spending is about to get ugly. Many Republicans made campaign promises to balance the budget within ten years. But other Republicans fear that cuts that deep would hurt the military.

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State of Alaska Governor Bill Walker and Lt. Governor Byron Mallott (Photo by James Brooks)

Do Alaska Native tribes possess sovereignty?

A simple question that in Alaska is an act of defiance. The state and many of its citizens have assumed, planned, and operated on the premise that tribal powers no longer exist, so the state is free to impose its will on Alaska Natives (often expressed through litigation). But court rulings and a new Interior Department measure to affirm tribal authority has raised many questions about what will happen next. Mark Trahant suggests the best course ahead is for the state to work with tribes through a government-to-government relationship. That means recognizing tribal sovereignty in Alaska.

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Dine’ College in Tsaile, AZ, was the first tribal college, opening as Navajo Community College in 1968. (Photo from American Indian College Fund.)

Congress has recognized the importance and the value of tribal colleges — and that’s a good thing because 32 accredited tribal colleges and universities reach thousands of students, delivering higher education for a fraction of the cost of other public institutions.

Mark Trahant reports that tribal colleges serve another important role as “anchor institutions” contributing to reservation economies and generating new ideas

Mark Trahant is a longtime journalist, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and is active on Facebook, Twitter and Flipboard.

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Photo by Paxson Woelber, Expedition Arguk

Mark Trahant says the Obama Administration’s decision to protect Arctic lands and oceans may be a turning point for the climate. This leaves oil in the ground instead of developing it and scientists say that’s key if we want to reverse global warming.

Trahant Reports is a weekly commentary about issues facing Native America. Mark Trahant is a longtime journalist, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and is active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.