A South Dakota tribal leader discussed working with the state government on health care and law enforcement during a speech Wednesday, as South Dakota Searchlight’s Meghan O’Brien reports.

Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Kathleen Wooden Knife delivered the annual State of the Tribes address to lawmakers. She backed two pieces of legislation that impact tribal nations.

She wants support to move toward a tribal-managed care model. That would pool Medicaid funding and allow tribes to negotiate costs for off-reservation care.

She says support for managed care is essential for tribal members.

“Imagine that when a patient is looking for an appointment, the managed care call center helps find the best appointment, with the least waiting time.”

State. Rep. Will Mortenson (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/R-SD) from Fort Pierre is sponsoring a bill to help with the effort.

“I think this is among the most groundbreaking proposals that will come before the legislature this year.”

President Wooden Knife also supports a bill that would add tribal police to the state’s legal definition of a certified law enforcement officer. That would add protections, like making it easier to prosecute people who assault tribal officers on non-tribal land.

State Rep. Peri Pourier (Oglala Sioux Tribe/R-SD) from Rapid City, who recently switched her party affiliation from Democratic, is on a state committee studying the overrepresentation of Native American children in foster care.

There is no legislation on that this year, but she says committee members are making progress.

“They’re getting in the room, they’re having the conversations they need to have, and they’re coming up with mutually beneficial solutions.”

There are nine tribal nations in South Dakota. Nearly 10% of people in the state identify as Native American.

The Ketchikan Indian Community recently purchased and will convert the former Salmon Falls Resort into the state’s first tribally led addiction healing center. (Photo: Hunter Morrison / KRBD)

Alaska has one of the highest rates of fatal drug overdoses in the country, but addiction treatment services in Southeast Alaska are limited.

As KRBD’s Hunter Morrison reports, the Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) is looking to change that by opening the state’s first tribally led addiction healing center.

About 15 miles north of downtown Ketchikan, Second Waterfall gushes into a rocky shoreline.

The natural wonder can be seen – and heard – from inside the clubhouse of the former Salmon Falls Resort, a longtime tourist destination for fishing, dining, and lodging.

A long and blue staircase out the door leads directly to the large fall.

The 11-acre facility has gone through many hands over the years and was foreclosed on in November.

KIC purchased the property, in cash, two days after finding out it was up for grabs.

KIC President Gloria Burns says the new facility will blend Western and traditional healing practices that will focus on an individual’s needs.

“It met all of the qualifications we needed to be able to really move forward on a wellness center. For some people, they’re going to say that ‘my dissociation for not speaking my language is so profound that I can’t get by, and that is my path to healing.’ Some will say to us, ‘I dream of fish every day in the morning glory, I need to be on the water, I need to be providing for my family.’”

A 2020 study from a Ketchikan nonprofit found that addiction treatment is one of the most pressing health needs in the area, but the island has just two addiction treatment facilities.

Southeast Alaska’s only detox center, in Juneau, closed about a year ago.

Unlike some tribally run healing centers, which are only open to tribal members or Native people, KIC’s new facility will be open to everyone.

“We recognize that it takes the entire village to make somebody well. You can’t make the body well by just making the hand, and the arm, and the foot well. You have to make everything well.”

The tribe is still fleshing out a plan for what the healing center will look like and how it will operate, but Burns hopes it will be open next fall.

Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.

Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts.

Check out the latest episode of Native America Calling

Thursday, January 15, 2026 – What America’s bold actions in Venezuela could mean for the country’s Indigenous peoples