Mary Hudetz

Reporter

Photo of Mary Hudetz

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.

A Top UC Berkeley Professor Taught With Remains That May Include Dozens of Native Americans

Despite decades of Indigenous activism and resistance, UC Berkeley has failed to return the remains of thousands of Native Americans to tribes. The university is still discovering more human remains.

Help Us Investigate Museums’ Failure to Return Native American Human Remains and Cultural Items

Do you know about how museums and other institutions are handling the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items under NAGPRA? We want to hear from you.

Behind ProPublica’s Reporting on Repatriation

Our reporters answer frequently asked questions about The Repatriation Project from leaders and citizens of tribal nations.

America’s Biggest Museums Fail to Return Native American Human Remains

The remains of more than 100,000 Native Americans are held by prestigious U.S. institutions, despite a 1990 law meant to return them to tribal nations. Here’s how the ancestors were stolen — and how tribes are working to get them back.

Help Us Investigate Museums’ Failure to Return Native American Human Remains and Cultural Items

Do you know about how museums and other institutions are handling the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items under NAGPRA? We want to hear from you.

Follow ProPublica

Latest Stories from ProPublica

The Company Testing Air in East Palestine Homes Was Hired by Norfolk Southern. Experts Say That Testing Isn’t Enough.

Are Colorado’s Efforts to Curb HOA Foreclosures Working?

HOA Foreclosures Are a “Lose-Lose” Game for Coloradans, but These Lawyers Win Regardless of the Outcome

ProPublica and Partners Win Five SABEW Awards for Business Journalism