Skip To Main Content
Debra Utacia Krol on Muck Rack

Debra Utacia Krol

Verified
Phoenix
As seen in: AZCentral | The Arizona Republic, MSN, Yahoo Life, HuffPost, USA Today, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News, Aol, New York Daily News, Yahoo Finance, VICE and
Covers:  Native American issues, including but not limited to environment, health, science, travel, gaming; I also cover general travel and eco tourism
Doesn't Cover: Play-by-play sports [except, of course, the World Hoop Dance Championship!]
Bot blocker. Jolon NDN reports Indigenous issues for @azcentral-my stories are free to read #NativeTwitter #Indigenous also at @debkrol.bsky.social

Get in touch with Debra Utacia

Contact Debra Utacia, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Debra Utacia Krol’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

Specialties: Native American issues, including science and environmental issues, economic development, business, Native American art; travel/tourism [both Native and mainstream]; and photojournalism.

Indigenous storyteller Debra Utacia Krol is an award-winning journalist with an emphasis on Native issues, environmental and science issues, and travel who's fond of averring that "My beat is Indians." She is an enrolled member of the Xolon (also known as Jolon) Salinan Tribe from the Central Ca…

Debra Utacia Krol’s Journalist Portfolio

See all →
Winds of Change, Spring 2018

Winds of Change, Spring 2018

Anuhea Parker may still be in high school, but the Native Hawaiian is already an accomplished science student.

View article →
Borders and Baskets: How the Creation of Borders Changed Kumeyaay Life

Borders and Baskets: How the Creation of Borders Changed Kumeyaay Life

Artbound "The Art of Basket Weaving" is a KCETLink production in association with the Autry Museum of the Ame…

View article →
Will the Southwest U.S. Run Short of Water in 2019? * The Revelator

Will the Southwest U.S. Run Short of Water in 2019? * The Revelator

Water managers say no, but Native American tribes are keeping careful watch on the "water that connects us." …

View article →
2018 Arizona Official State Visitor's Guide

2018 Arizona Official State Visitor's Guide

26 ways to experience Indian Country in Arizona.

View article →
Native Americans Are Pissed Off at Trump's Move to Slash Public Land

Native Americans Are Pissed Off at Trump's Move to Slash Public Land

The Valley of the Gods in Bears Ears National Monument Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty …

View article →
Native Hidden Figures

Native Hidden Figures

The 2016 film Hidden Figures depicts three female African-American mathematicians whose work supported the s…

View article →

Articles

With the 'power of the language,' Navajo Code Talkers helped win WWII

|
By Debra Utacia Krol Verified
| AZCentral | The Arizona Republic Verified
Updated Aug. 14, 2026, 2:15 p.m. MT Navajo Code Talkers used their native language to create unbreakable codes that were critical to Allied victory in World War II. The Code Talkers relayed vital, error-free intelligence during every major U.S. Marine Corps assault in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945. Only two of the estimated 420 Navajo Code Talkers, Thomas H. Begay and Peter MacDonald, are still living. Thomas H.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

FEMA unlocks aid for San Carlos Apache flood victims

|
By Debra Utacia Krol Verified
| Arizona Daily Star Verified
The Federal Emergency Management Administration has approved a disaster declaration for the San Carlos Apache Tribe to support recovery from flooding nearly a year ago. The declaration covers the tribal reservation for both physical and economic damages suffered from Oct. 10-13, 2025, and within the contiguous counties of Apache, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Navajo and Pinal for assistance from the Small Business Administration.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

Colorado River tribes say feds left them out of final shortage talks

|
By Debra Utacia Krol Verified
| Today’s News-Herald Verified
Arizona's largest and most senior water rights holder says it was left out of final discussions about the federal government's proposed plan to deal with ongoing water shortages in the Colorado River.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 894 licensed articles (2,878 Total)

Interview

See all →

What was your first job as a journalist?

Writing intern for the Science and Technology News Network.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes.

How is social media changing news?

It's made reporting more real-time, but it also requires warp-speed verification to avoid snafus.

Awards

See all →

Native American Journalists Association Tribal Media Award

2013 - Environmental Story - Division III

Best Environmental Story for "Honoring the Eagle," which spotlights a unique collaboration between tribal, state and private entities to bring the desert nesting bald eagle from the brink of extinction. Winds of Change magazine, Fall 2013.

View Award

Native American Journalists Association Tribal Media Award

2011 - Best Environmental Story

Best Environmental Story for "Beetle Decimating Environment in North America," an in-depth look at the emerald ash borer and this invasive species' effects on the environmental, cultural and economic health of Northeastern tribes. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/02/28/beetle-decimating-environment-north-america-19352

View Award

Native American Journalists Association National Tribal Media Award

2018 - Online – Best News Story

The Feds Are Attacking a Program That Gives Indigenous People Land. A land trust in Guam set aside for native people is being sued by Trump's Department of Justice because it won't lease to non-natives.

View Award

Native American Journalists Association National Tribal Media Award

2018 - Print / Online – Best Elder Coverage

Paiute Tribe elders navigate a faltering health care system. As federal funding dwindles, remote Nevada tribes struggle for access.

View Award

Best Beat Reporter - Environmental Issues

2019 - Best Journalism

This award is given to a Native American journalist whose body of work demonstrates her or his expertise in covering a beat.

View Award

National Press Foundation Award

2021 - Feddie Award

Photo/videographer Cheryl Evans and I accepted the 2021 Feddie Reporting Award for documenting the struggles of Indigenous peoples to access and protect important religious sites on land controlled by the federal government. The series ran in the Arizona Republic.

View Award