Mary Hudetz
Mary Hudetz is a reporter focusing on tribal issues throughout the Southwest.
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Mary Hudetz is a reporter focusing on tribal issues throughout the Southwest.
She joined ProPublica from the Seattle Times’ investigative team, where she helped lead coverage of COVID-19’s spread inside the Life Care Center of Kirkland nursing home, site of the nation’s first known coronavirus outbreak. That work was selected as a finalist for the Scripps Howard Foundation’s breaking news award.
Previously, she was a law enforcement reporter for the Associated Press in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and an editor for AP’s West Regional Desk in Phoenix. An enrolled member of the Crow Tribe in Montana, Hudetz is a past president of the Native American Journalists Association. She has extensive experience investigating and writing about issues facing Native Americans and tribes, particularly in the Southwest. In 2019, her reporting with two AP colleagues on cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women won several awards, including a Dori J. Maynard Award for Justice in Journalism from the News Leaders Association.
Hudetz’s work at ProPublica will focus on investigating tribal issues throughout the region. She will be based in Albuquerque.
Dozens of People Died in Arizona Sober Living Homes as State Officials Fumbled Medicaid Fraud Response
Arizona officials acknowledged that a fraud scheme targeting Indigenous people with addictions cost taxpayers $2.5 billion. But they haven’t accounted publicly for the number of deaths tied to the scheme.
Right-Wing Activists Pushed False Claims About Election Fraud. Now They’re Recruiting Poll Workers in Swing States.
Experts say these poll workers could sow distrust in democracy and bolster court cases challenging the election. ProPublica and Wisconsin Watch reviewed dozens of hours of trainings and presentations in which activists discussed their plans.
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Arizona Cracked Down on Medicaid Fraud That Targeted Native Americans. It Left Patients Without Care.
Arizona suspended scores of behavioral health providers as authorities investigated them for defrauding the American Indian Health Program. The state’s actions left patients homeless and without treatment.
Some Museums Scrambled to Remove Native American Items From Display. These Museums Didn’t Need to.
When new federal repatriation rules went into effect last month, some museums quickly removed Native American items from display. But others were prepared to meet the moment.
Senator Urges Museums to Return Native Remains and Objects: “Give the Items Back. Comply With Federal Law. Hurry.”
In a Senate floor speech that centered America’s colonial history, Brian Schatz said institutions have a moral obligation to comply with federal repatriation law. He demanded urgent action.
The American Museum of Natural History to Close Exhibits Displaying Native American Belongings
The change is in response to new federal regulations that went into effect this month following reporting by ProPublica on institutional failures to return Native American remains and sacred objects to tribes.
The Remains of Thousands of Native Americans Were Returned to Tribes This Year
Following decades of Indigenous activism and the 2023 publication of ProPublica’s “Repatriation Project,” federal officials have seen more activity leading to the return of ancestral remains to tribal nations than any other year since 1990.
New Federal Rules Aim to Speed Repatriations of Native Remains and Burial Items
The new Interior Department regulations address long-criticized loopholes and issues identified by ProPublica’s reporting. They will go into effect in 2024.
Tribes in Maine Spent Decades Fighting to Rebury Ancestral Remains. Harvard Resisted Them at Nearly Every Turn.
The university’s Peabody Museum exploited loopholes to prevent repatriation to the Wabanaki people while still staying in compliance with NAGPRA. The tribes didn’t give up.
UC Berkeley Takes Significant Step to Repatriate 4,400 Native American Human Remains
It would be the largest repatriation by far at an institution that holds more than 9,000 ancestral remains and has lagged behind in returning its holdings under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
We Carry the Burden of Repatriating Our Ancestors. Here’s What It’s Like to Report on the Process as an Indigenous Journalist.
Mary Hudetz describes the financial cost and emotional distress that tribal communities face as they continue to wait for the return of the remains of their ancestors, thousands of which are held in museums across the country.