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A lot of news out there. Thanks for stopping by Indian Country Today’s digital platform.

Each day we do our best to gather the latest news for you. 

Okay, here’s what you need to know today:

President Joe Biden unveiled his budget proposal for the fiscal year 2023 on Monday with significant increases for Indian health programs over the next decade.

A fact sheet from the White House says “for the first time in U.S. history, the President’s Budget is informed by direct consultation with Tribal communities, recognizing their inherent sovereignty, and honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations. We are best served when Tribal governments are empowered to lead their communities and when Federal officials listen to and work together with Tribal leaders when formulating budgets that affect Tribal Nations.”

The president’s budget is a formal wish list. It remains the task of Congress to actually budget and appropriate the funding. So there is often a gap between what the White House proposes and what Congress actually spends. But the White House budget is critical because it frames the debate. READ MORE— Mark Trahant, Indian Country Today

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Credit: U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas was one of the first two Native women elected to Congress. She is a citizen of the Ho-Chunk nation. (Photo courtesy of Sharice for Congress)

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, has a tough road ahead during the upcoming midterm election cycle. Beyond her opponent, her district has been unfavorably redrawn by the Kansas GOP.

The Ho-Chunk citizen represents District 3, which is made up of the Johnson and Wyandotte counties on the eastern edge of the state. The new law takes from her parts of the northern Kansas City area where she performs the best and moves them into the neighboring District 2. The map then shifts Lawrence, Kansas, from the neighboring 2nd into District 1 of western and central Kansas.

Davids said on “ICT Newscast with Aliyah Chavez,” that she was elected by the voters in District 3, and they hope to be represented in Congress and state legislator positions.

“The most important thing is that the folks in the 3rd District in Kansas, and really across the country, that the process is one that allows for the people’s voice to be heard,” she said. READ MORE — Kalle Benallie, Indian Country Today

SANTA FE, N.M. — Two tribal communities have been reassured they’ll be able to take part in New Mexico’s marijuana market opening in April without the threat of federal law enforcement interference on tribal land, according to agreements with state cannabis regulators signed on Friday.

The agreements outline plans for cooperative oversight of cannabis production and sales in the Picuris and Pojoaque pueblos, laying the groundwork for opening the industry in Indian Country in a state with 23 federally recognized tribes. It’s not clear how many other tribes may get involved amid mixed feelings about legalization.

There has been uncertainty about U.S. drug enforcement priorities after enforcement actions on reservations. Officials raided a household marijuana garden at Picuris Pueblo in northern New Mexico in September 2021, months after legalization went into effect.

Across the U.S., tribal enterprises have taken a variety of approaches as they straddle state and federal law, and jurisdictional issues, to gain a foothold in the cannabis industry. READ MORE — Associated Press 

Catch up on the stories that made headlines in this last month — READ MORE

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On Tuesday’s ICT newscast, we meet the chairwoman of the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and we learn about a new venture for the Mad River Brewing Company. Plus, ICT and its parent company celebrate a milestone this week

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