Meet the Team

Tristan Ahtone

Poverty and Public Health Reporter

Tristan Ahtone is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. He’s also German and English and a few other dashes of European (just to make things more interesting). Before becoming a reporter, Tristan held a number of exciting jobs, such as door-to-door salesman, delivery driver, telemarketer, secretary, janitor, busboy, and office clerk to name a few. In 2006, Tristan graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts with a bachelors degree in Creative Writing. In 2008, he received a masters degree in broadcast journalism from the Columbia School of Journalism. Since 2008, Tristan has specialized in covering Native American, environmental and healthcare issues, and has worked with The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, National Native News, Frontline, Indian Country Today, Sirius Satellite Radio and NPR. Before moving to the southwest, Tristan worked as Morning Edition Host and Reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. He currently serves as KUNM's Poverty and Public Health Reporter.

MORE STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR

Navajo Nation Funds Water Projects

Tristan Ahtone

With drought affecting much of the Southwest, the Navajo Nation is working to bring water to its citizens with the tribal government recently approving more than $8 million for water infrastructure projects.
Zuni Pueblo Housing Breaks Ground

Tristan Ahtone

In what is thought to be the first housing program of its kind brought to a tribal community, the Pueblo of Zuni in western New Mexico has broken ground on a series of homes financed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Health

Indian Health Services Now Part Of Bigger Health Care Picture

Tristan Ahtone

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Health Care Act is expected to bring in much-needed dollars to the chronically underfunded Indian Health Service. But for the first time ever the IHS will be competing for non-Indian patients in order to survive.
Medicaid Expands Choices For Native Americans In New Mexico

Tristan Ahtone

Around 25,000 Native Americans in New Mexico will become eligible for Medicaid when the Affordable Care Act goes into effect next year. The change translates to more money for the Indian Health Service. But Medicaid expansion will also force Native health providers to deal with something they’ve never faced before: competition from non-tribal health programs.