Brigitte Silk trusted Standing Rock Community High School coaches to keep her son safe in an after-school workout program. The open gym program was intended as a constructive and fun way to keep kids out of trouble while they improved their physical fitness. But on Oct. 8, Silk’s son, then a 14-year-old freshman, emerged from a workout session with compression fractures of the spine, fluid in the peritoneal cavity and low back injury, which medical records attribute to “physical assault.”
Silk told Buffalo’s Fire the injuries were caused by an act the students call “bunning,” which involves simulated sex and is often recorded and then shared on social media. “During a weightlifting session, where the male athletes were left unsupervised, he was assaulted in a sexual manner by members of the basketball team,” she said. “He was held down on a bench while another student recorded the assault and later shared the assault on the social media app Snapchat.”
After the assault, Silk’s son was left alone in the weight room, Silk said. About 20 minutes later, he realized no help was coming. She said he made his way down a flight of stairs in “extreme pain” and drove himself home.
With the pain in his back getting worse, he called a friend to drive him to the Indian Health Service emergency room in Fort Yates, North Dakota. According to medical records, the facility lacked trauma surgery and operative care services, prompting him to be airlifted to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, roughly 200 miles away.
Silk said her son gave his account of the assault to Bureau of Indian Affairs officers before he departed for Fargo a little after 2 a.m.
According to an internal BIA email dated Oct. 10 that Buffalo’s Fire obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, a juvenile male at the Fort Yates Indian Health Services emergency room told BIA police that “he was held down by five males and sexually assaulted at the Standing Rock High School.” The email also says, “The juvenile male stated he attempted to scream, but the five males covered his mouth, and he almost lost consciousness as a result of his mouth being covered.”
(Buffalo’s Fire confirmed with Silk’s son his account of the Oct. 8 incident but is not naming him or any of the minors alleged to have been involved in it.)
Within days of the incident, two adult students were charged in tribal court with sexual assault and simple assault, and two school coaches were charged in tribal court with failure to report child abuse, child neglect and hindering law enforcement for “lying to investigators,” according to BIA documents.
Standing Rock Tribal Court officials would not provide any information about the status of the sexual assault charges, or about charges Silk said were filed against two minors who allegedly held her son down during the assault.
Federal charges were also filed. In the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, a grand jury indicted Rylen Yellow Hammer and James Essert, 18-year-old seniors, for “assault resulting in serious bodily injury” to a minor victim and “aiding and abetting” the alleged assault, which occurred on “or about” Oct. 8, 2025.
Silk’s son was discharged from the hospital after two days but wore a back brace for the next three months.
In the nearly five months since the assault, Silk said her son — now 15 — has been “hanging in there” and healing. After missing nearly three weeks of school, the transition back on Oct. 27 wasn’t easy. Although the students accused of the assault were suspended and participating exclusively in remote learning, Silk said her son sometimes saw them when they came to school to pick up their assignments. In a Jan. 27 interview with Buffalo’s Fire, Silk said: “He called me the other day and he was freaking out. So it's, you know, really traumatizing.”
Silk said in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 8 incident, a series of “bunning” videos unrelated to her son’s assault were shared on social media among members of the school’s athletic crowd. She shared some of those videos with Buffalo’s Fire.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260422054734-caa3nqcaa3nqcaa3.png"},{"id":17585,"title":"Montana state Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy withdraws from U.S. House primary amid ‘allegations of serious sexual abuse’","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/state-sen-jonathan-windy-boys-withdrawal-from-eastern-district-house-primary","date":"2026-04-20T17:13:48.012Z","excerpt":"Pennsylvania woman alleges Windy Boy propositioned her underage daughter and niece in the early 2000s","content":"State Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy has dropped out of the Democratic primary for U.S. House representing Montana’s Eastern Congressional District amid allegations by a Pennsylvania woman that he sent sexually explicit photos and messages to underage girls in 2002.
The news of Windy Boy’s departure from the race came in a Thursday morning announcement by the Montana Democratic Party that referenced unspecified “allegations of serious sexual abuse against Mr. Windy Boy.”
Helena attorney Brian Miller, another Democratic primary candidate in the Eastern District, on Thursday confirmed to Montana Free Press that he has been in contact with the woman alleging misconduct for weeks and that, as of Thursday, she is his client. Brenda Russell, who in February and March posted on Facebook allegations that Windy Boy propositioned her underage daughter, confirmed in an interview Thursday that she is Miller’s client.
Russell told MTFP she met Windy Boy on a Yahoo! chat room in the early 2000s and developed a relationship with him online.
“We talked for over a year on the internet, and he told me how he’s such a good guy and everything. He was being nice to me, and he won over my trust,” Russell said.
Russell said that unbeknownst to her at the time, when she wasn’t at her computer, Windy Boy engaged in online conversations with her teenage daughter and niece, who sometimes used the computer to chat. It was in those chats that Windy Boy first sent sexually explicit messages and nude photos to the teens, Russell said she later found out.
Russell said Windy Boy invited her to meet him at a powwow at Fort Totten, North Dakota, in July 2002. Windy Boy was the event emcee, and he told Russell he would dance for her, she said.
“He told me he was there, to come up and see him dance. But what he didn’t say was that when I wasn’t at the computer, that he showed himself naked to my children. He didn’t say that,” Russell said.
Russell said she didn’t find out that Windy Boy had sent sexually explicit messages and propositioned her then-15-year-old daughter and then-15-year-old niece — whom she had brought with her to the powwow — until they met him at the powwow. Russell said she didn’t believe the girls at first, but later she listened in on a phone call in which she claims Windy Boy propositioned the teens to come to his hotel room at the Spirit Lake Lodge and Casino, where Russell was also staying with her daughter, niece and mother.
“I told them to stay away from him, and we didn’t talk to him no more,” Russell said. “Then, when we left there, we went to Canada and the girls said, Jonathan Windy Boy’s on [the computer] again. He’s showing himself naked.’”
Russell said she called Windy Boy and told him not to contact her or the girls again.
“I said, just stay away from the girls. Leave them alone. And we went on home, and when we got home, he continued to do it.”
In a video statement posted Thursday afternoon to the Facebook page of American Indian Caucus Director Lance FourStar, and later removed, Windy Boy said he is suspending his campaign, citing his declining health and grief over the deaths of his cousin, who he said died last month, and his daughter. MTFP reached out to Windy Boy for comment Thursday but had received no reply by publication time.
Democratic Party Chair Shannon O’Brien Thursday released a statement saying “Jonathan Windy Boy has notified me that he will be dropping out of the race for the 2nd Congressional District” and stating that she is “deeply troubled to learn about allegations of serious sexual abuse against Mr. Windy Boy.”
“Democrat or not, Windy Boy should be investigated and held accountable, as should anyone else with allegations of this nature,” O’Brien wrote.
The statement contained no additional information or context regarding the allegations. A spokesperson for the Montana Democratic Party declined to make a representative of the party available for an interview, instead directing questions about the allegations to Miller, who the party said is representing a victim.
Miller later told MTFP he is representing Russell, whom he described as “a person who has been trying to get taken seriously for a long, long time.”
Miller on Thursday afternoon provided MTFP with contact information for Russell.
Miller said he has been in contact with Russell for several weeks, but did not agree to represent her until Thursday, after the announcement of Windy Boy’s withdrawal. Miller said he informed the state Democratic Party of the allegations “about 10 days ago” and confirmed that Russell is the source of the allegation referenced in the Democrats’ Thursday press release.
In recent months, Russell has made allegations against Windy Boy on her public Facebook page, alleging that Windy Boy “propositioned” her teenage daughter and niece, though the posts don’t indicate when or where the incident occurred.
In one post, Russell shared a grainy photograph of a webcam image of a bare-chested man with long black braids, which she claimed is a photo sent to her by Windy Boy. She claims Windy Boy sent additional nude photos to her daughter and niece, who she said were 15 at the time.
“He shows everything and I have the pics I can’t post on my page,” she wrote in the post.
In another post, Russell wrote: “he showed them his penis and said s**ual things he wanted to do to them. We have naked pics of him in his Montana rocky Boy [sic] home.”
“He propositioned the girls and messaged them on Facebook showing them his nakedness,” she wrote in a Feb. 12 Facebook post. “I asked him to never talk with them again but he didn’t stop.”
Russell also indicated on Facebook that she has recently sought to bring attention to her allegations.
“Everyone I’m stirring the pot I’ve contacted some people like Fox and attorney general to see if they could open the case back up,” she posted on March 4.
In the Feb. 12 Facebook post, Russell indicated that her allegations had been investigated and that her computer had been confiscated.
In Thursday’s interview, Russell said at first she didn’t know what to do about the 2002 incident.
“I was embarrassed. I didn’t want my family to know about it because I figured, you know, I was at fault for putting the girls around him,” Russell said. “I didn’t want anybody to know from my family, but I wanted everybody out there [in Montana] to know. So I put it online.”
Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning, who chairs the Montana Legislature’s American Indian Caucus, told MTFP the caucus was recently “made aware of allegations of misconduct from Jonathan Windy Boy on texting minors.”
Running Wolf said he was not aware of specific details regarding the allegations, whether charges had been filed, or whether any victim had come forward. The caucus, he said, “is really, deeply concerned about these allegations involving Sen. Windy Boy.”
“This behavior described is serious, and if it is true, it’s completely unacceptable to be representing that way, as a senator and also running for [Congress],” Running Wolf said. “Him suspending his campaign, we support that, and we also support whatever decision the Senate leadership works out with Jonathan directly.”
In a Thursday statement, the American Indian Caucus said it “supports a transparent and thorough investigation into these allegations, ensuring that political standing does not impede justice.”
“As representatives of Native communities, we believe it is essential to hold leaders to the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and respect,” the statement reads.
Windy Boy is a state senator from Box Elder who has served as a representative and senator in the Montana Legislature since 2003. O’Brien’s statement called on Windy Boy to resign his Senate seat.
Sen. Minority Leader Pat Flowers, D-Belgrade, also asked Thursday for Windy Boy’s resignation in a statement that referred to the allegations as “deeply disturbing.”
FourStar, who identified himself as a consultant on Windy Boy’s campaign, said Windy Boy had intended to drop out of the race Thursday for reasons unrelated to the allegations, including his physical and mental health. FourStar lamented the end of Windy Boy’s campaign.
“We’ve lost a candidate that could potentially have done some really, really good work, like he has for the past 24 years,” FourStar said.
FourStar said he was not aware of the allegations until Thursday, but called them “very serious.”
“If the powers that be decided that these allegations are true, of course, anybody would need to step down,” FourStar said.
Windy Boy has not been charged with any crime, and is not currently the subject of any lawsuit.
An investigation found that in 2017 a legislator later identified as Windy Boy sent harassing text messages to a female colleague in the Legislature, according to reporting by The Associated Press in 2019. According to that reporting, legislative leaders in 2018 discussed disciplining Windy Boy, and then-Speaker of the House Austin Knudsen suggested removing him as a committee chairman. According to Knudsen, as reported by AP, Democratic legislators asked to meet with Windy Boy before any disciplinary action was taken. Windy Boy later resigned from his committee chairmanship prior to the 2019 legislative session. No legal action was instigated regarding the 2017 incident.
In March, Miller released a campaign statement criticizing Windy Boy over the 2017 harassment allegations but did not suggest any action be taken.
Erica Shelby — founder of Just Indigenous Corporate Services, which helps Indigenous families navigate the criminal justice system when a relative goes missing or is murdered — said she was stunned when Windy Boy ran for the state Legislature after the allegations of harassment were made public in 2019.
“It was a big scandal the first time around and we were like, ‘Oh my God. This is disgusting,’” she said. “When he decided to run again, we thought, ‘What is he doing? How are his peers not holding him accountable?’ And he won.”
Shelby, who also does voter outreach on the Flathead Reservation, said the allegations represent “a major betrayal” to Indian Country.
“We fight so hard to get Indigenous people to represent Indigenous people,” she said. “And at the end of the day, when one of those people has betrayed the trust of the Indians here in Montana, that is paramount to our trauma. That’s where a lot of our trauma comes from. If we want to address healing, we need to start taking a good, long look at ourselves and holding our leaders to account.”
Two Democrats remain in the Eastern District primary: Miller, and Sam Lux, a farrier in Great Falls.
The seat is currently held by one-term Republican incumbent Troy Downing, who won by 30 percentage points in 2024.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260420171149-20260403lm-mansfieldmetcalf.jpg"},{"id":17584,"title":"Native administrators rail against Trump’s proposed elimination of funds for TCUs","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/trump-budget-targets-tribal-college-funding-cuts","date":"2026-04-17T12:00:00.000Z","excerpt":"The administration has attacked tribal education second year in a row","content":"All Wanda Parisien wanted to think about this month was preparing Turtle Mountain Community College for its spring graduation ceremony.
“Our students are graduating May 15th,” she told Buffalo’s Fire. “Our administrative team doesn't want to have to worry about what's going to happen next year.”
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa established the college in 1972, during an era in which higher education was seen as key to Native empowerment. Starting with barely five dozen enrolled students in its earliest years, the college now has between 800 to 900 students across three campuses.
But threats to government support mean those numbers could soon drop. The Trump administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 aims to cut all dedicated funding for the nation’s Tribal Colleges and Universities as well as for two institutions operated by the Bureau of Indian Education: the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico and Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas.
This marks the second year in a row the Interior Department has proposed such cuts under the leadership of former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. The DOI budget slashes $160 million from TCUs, tribal technical colleges and BIE-operated institutes or scholarships — dropping federal funding to zero. A request to the Interior Department for a comment from Secretary Burgum went unanswered.
Parisien said without such funding Turtle Mountain Community College would have to cut programs and raise tuition, likely resulting in a drop in student enrollment. “It's disheartening really, because it seems like the tribal colleges are always the focal point of, ‘Let's cut there,’ and it's unfair,” said Parisien.
Last year’s proposed budget cuts never came to pass, and she said she’s “hoping and praying” that this new round will also fail to materialize. But if it does, she said, “We're not gonna have the money to pay our instructors. It's like a ripple effect. We don't want to do that. We live in a poverty stricken area.”
Another affected North Dakota institution is Sitting Bull College, which was established by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in 1973. Its president, Tomi Kay Phillips, doesn’t understand why the Interior Department has proposed cutting all funds to tribal colleges.
“The Interior has the federal government’s clearest trust and treaty responsibility to tribal nations,” said Phillips. “Its support for TCUs should be leading. They should be working to make sure that we are taken care of.”
Sitting Bull College has between 320 and 340 students, according to Phillips. Enrollment took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but she said the numbers have been steadily rising. Their most popular programs include business and nursing.
“Right now, our nurses have jobs by the time they graduate,” she added. As for the assurances she can give students in this time of uncertainty, Phillips said she and other campus administrators will always look out for them. “We will never falter from that. Our students are always first and foremost.”
In a statement released April 6, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium said it was “deeply concerned” that President Trump’s budget “does not align with the Administration’s stated policies to support rural America and expand access to higher education.”
The statement pointed out that in fiscal year 2022-2023, “TCUs generated $3.8 billion in economic growth for the United States and supported more than 40,700 jobs across key sectors, including healthcare, government, retail, and professional services. Every federal dollar invested in TCUs returns $1.60 in tax revenue, demonstrating the efficiency and impact of this investment.”
Twyla Baker, president of Nueta, Hidatsa and Sahnish Community College, echoed that economic argument. The Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in New Town, North Dakota, founded the college, which has between 250 and 300 students each term.
“Our best response is really to work with our congressional representatives, and fortunately for the schools in North Dakota, our representatives are highly cognizant of the fact that we are economic drivers in our communities,” Baker said.
Like Parisien, she’d much rather have her energy and attention focused on running her college. But now she has to focus on navigating what she considers a “poorly thought out plan” from the Trump administration that she said “does not serve the promise that was made to rural America.”
All three administrators say this battle for funding and survival is especially dire under President Trump’s administration. Parisien says prejudices directed at minorities threaten the future education of Native students.
“The treaties that were signed, we were supposed to be able to have this education,” said Parisien. “But now it seems like with Trump, we have to worry about what's going to happen.”
Phillips suspects that eventually TCUs will get the funding. Last year, a few months after Trump announced cuts for TCUs, his administration moved $500 million to them and historically Black institutions from Hispanic-serving institutions. The AIHEC said it was a one-time $56.2 million funding increase for TCUs. It’s unclear if that would happen again, or if a protracted battle involving lawmakers and the courts is on the horizon.
“As Native American people, we adapt. We make do with what we have, if we have to,” she added. “We'll always be OK because we know how to do that. Our ancestors went through worse things. And we will always be OK.”
In an email toBuffalo’s Fire, AIHEC had a more dire outlook: “Tribal Colleges and Universities by necessity rely on core, operational funding from across several different federal agencies just to keep their lights on and their doors open. Think of it like the legs of a stool: if you knock one leg out, the whole thing falls over. The funding that Tribal Colleges and Universities receive from the Department of the Interior is their single most important source of operational funds. Without these funds, every single Tribal College and University would have to close their doors.\"
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260416132535-turtle-mountain-college.jpg"},{"id":17583,"title":"Indian Country needs media pillar for a just society","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/free-press-transparency-indian-country","date":"2026-04-15T04:20:05.324Z","excerpt":"Civic information, data, local news strengthen Native communities","content":"Does the Fourth Estate exist in Indian Country? Some might not know what this means if they’ve never experienced a robust local tribal media system where tribal journalists – and citizens – have access to government records, budgetary information and open meetings.
In a democracy, the media exist as an essential pillar of society. The free press reports on the government, thereby creating transparency, and holding power to account, and, equally important, helping to create an informed citizenry.
Unlike every state in the country and the federal government, the majority of the 575 federally recognized tribes have not enacted transparency or Freedom of Information codes for tribal citizens or the media. Some tribal constitutions address press freedom issues with strong language, but constitutional protections mostly lack luster. The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, religion and speech, while also securing freedom to petition the government and the right to assemble. These same freedoms do not handily apply to tribal citizens given each tribe’s interpretation of tribal sovereignty.
The Red Press Indigenous Journalists Association survey of tribal news producers and tribal news consumers found that only 7% of producers said they definitely had access to tribal government records, while 16% said they definitely did not. Fourteen percent of producers said they “definitely yes” had access to budgetary information, while 14% said, “definitely not.”
While most tribal leaders have been slow to enact laws that give citizens access to internal data and records, they do assert sovereignty principles to obtain and control Indigenous data for their own use. The Native Nations Institute defines Indigenous data sovereignty as “the right of a nation to govern the collection, ownership and application of its own data.” In 2019, the Global Indigenous Data Alliance, or GIDA, established CARE principles to support Native nations’ role in data management, which also acknowledges the information needs of citizens who do not wield sovereignty like tribal leaders.
“Indigenous people also participate in other Indigenous stakeholder groups that do not hold inherent sovereignty, including daily life within Indigenous communities (groups of individuals) that may be within their nations or embedded in mainstream society and interaction with Indigenous organizations such as health care entities, non-profits, businesses,” according to authors of The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.
Even as most tribal citizens have no means to access tribal data and records, at least a dozen tribes have taken steps to enact transparency and freedom-of-information codes setting the stage for governmental transparency and accountability. This practice makes good sense because everyone benefits when data and information can be used for the public good, a few examples include local entrepreneurs, language revitalizers and GIS map makers.
Access to information also promotes good governance, solid research and trustworthy community journalism.
The majority of tribal newspapers and radio stations are controlled by tribal governments, which often wield editorial, financial, hiring and firing oversight of local media operations. Shield laws typically do not exist at tribal newspapers to protect sources.
Some tribes don’t even have any media outlets, leading many to share or gather information on social media, a venue with no fact-checkers. I’ve heard many elected tribal councilmen complain about community rumors that could have been easily addressed by independent media.
The Indigenous Journalists Association’s 2019 Red Press Initiative survey results show that tribal newspapers reinforce tribes’ cultural values, according to 92% of news consumers, editors and reporters who took the survey. But the survey also reveals a trend towards intimidation and censorship of tribal news producers as well as a requirement to get prior approval of stories from tribal officials. The survey also shows that 40% of Native news consumers reported that tribal media reflects tribal citizens’ opinions and concerns only sometimes, or never.
In 2018, I served on the IJA's Red Press advisory board for a survey on Indigenous media. Here are some findings from news producers who took the survey:
It’s a reporting climate that could dissuade young and aspiring local journalists from choosing to report for the local tribal newspaper, if one exists. Meanwhile, deciding on a journalism career at one of the 37 Tribal College Universities really isn’t an option considering only one known college, Haskell Indian Nations University, offers an associate’s degree in media communications.
Leander “Russ” McDonald, president of United Tribes Technical College, told me that a communications degree, or something similar, could be created within one to two years, providing the college had faculty who could teach the core elements. It would make sense, he said, to include courses on writing tribal transparency codes, operating a sustainable business, courses on ethics and writing an accurate news story.
McDonald also serves on the International Advisory Council of the Native Nations Institute, which assists tribes in exercising sovereignty through good governance to achieve political, economic and community objectives. He said if tribal newspapers and radio stations were combined, they could be a “the voice for the people, to be that eyapaha for the people of what's happening for the whole nation.” The eyapaha went around camp and told everybody what was happening for that day “and put the news out,” he said. “And that was their role,” one they followed with protocols.
Tribal leaders clearly understand the importance of access to information in making well-informed decisions for the people they were elected to govern. It’s a good reason to support Indigenous data sovereignty.
Data can assist tribes in caring for their lands, people, and culture, to name just a few areas. But data and information also need to be accessible to tribal citizens, many of whom are engaged in grassroots or entrepreneurial work and who have ideas to improve the community's quality of life. A free flow of information also helps connect tribal leaders with the people who elected them.
The late Osage Principal Chief Jim Grey governed his nation from 2002 to 2010. His legacy is that of a visionary tribal leader who understood the importance of constitutional reform and the need to legislate press freedom. Under Grey’s leadership, the Osage Nation passed the 2009 Open Records Act.
Other examples of Native nations with transparency laws include the Hopi, Oglala, Confederated Tribes of the Salish and Kootenai, Navajo, Cherokee, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and Muscogee Creek.
But even for the tribes that have created access-to-records laws, challenges remain.
The Grand Ronde in Oregon established a formal transparency framework through its Freedom of Information Ordinance, which was adopted in 2007 and amended as recently as 2020.
The law promotes \"open and transparent\" government and provides mechanisms for tribal members and the tribe’s independent newspaper to request and obtain access to certain tribal records. Other records are explicitly exempt from disclosure.
The law works, but it has limitations. The process of sharing information “needs to be blind, particularly to the politics of a tribe,” Chris Mercier, vice chairman of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, told me. Without a law, the process of giving records to tribal citizens becomes arbitrary.
“In my own experience,” Mercier said, “that means that the decision to turn over records or information will come to the Tribal Council-elected leadership, and they will base their decision on usually two things,” said Mercier. First, who makes the request, and second, “whether releasing the record harms somebody they don’t like, or helps somebody they do like,” said the elected leader. “Both are bad reasons.”
Mercier said an effective Freedom of Information ordinance will depend on how it is written and administered. It should outline what records can be disseminated and who is responsible for that decision; whoever bears that responsibility should be objective and professional. Record requests should also be addressed in a timely manner.
In Oklahoma, the National Council passed the Muscogee Creek Nation Free Press Act in 2015 to break the editorial shackles that connected Mvskoke Media to the tribal government’s public relations department. It’s a story that unfolds brilliantly in the documentary “Bad Press,” which won the Sundance Film Festival’s U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression in 2023. The Hollywood Reporter described the film as “the perfect illustration of what happens when you dismantle the Fourth Estate and wind up putting democracy in peril.”
Muscogee tribal citizens joined the fight for press freedom in 2021 by overwhelmingly voting for a constitutional amendment that included press protections. This is not quite a happy ending, however, even with landmark legislation on the record.
Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, a Muscogee citizen and the executive director of the Indigenous Journalists Association, said she’s submitted FOIA requests for freelance projects to her tribe over the years and never received a response. “Our law is unique and only citizens may submit requests, so when those go unanswered, it's the citizens who are being denied information about their tribal government,” she told me. “I think that's the next chapter in free press in Indian Country — how are these laws going to be challenged in our tribal courts, if at all?”
Angel Ellis, chair of the Indigenous Journalists Association ethics committee, agreed:
“I’ve observed how the FOIA law has worked since adopted at the Muscogee Nation. When it was first adopted, we didn’t see any requests granted.”
The issue becomes a litmus test of compliance. “At first Mvskoke Media didn’t have legal representation to go defend FOIA in tribal court,” said Ellis, who’s also the protagonist in “Bad Press,” a film co-directed by Landsberry-Baker. “FOIA is a great tool, but one component of its success is going to be a healthy court system. I’m hopeful now that we have access to the judicial process, the Muscogee Nation FOIA law will produce more transparency.”
Indian Country needs to clear a path for freedom of information and good governance; which isn’t a novel concept. Traditional Native leadership often followed the norm of consensus, a model that greatly impressed the immigrant founders of what would become the United States.
Those early builders of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights based their democratic ideals upon what they learned from Native Americans — not European governments — particularly the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
“The social order of Indigenous tribes continued to influence the ongoing debate on constitutional interpretation” and “specifically in terms of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment,” wrote Paula Peters, journalist and Mashpee Wampanoag historian, in an essay for the National Museum of the American Indian.
In a 1787 letter to Col. Edward Carrington, Thomas Jefferson addressed the importance of free speech, press freedom and listening to the public. “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter,” wrote Jefferson.
Jefferson noted that the “Indians” enjoyed “an infinitely greater degree of happiness than those who live under European governments.”
During this time, tribes had not yet adopted constitutions, but the Cherokees would become the first to do so on July 26, 1827. The Cherokee Constitution was modeled upon the U.S. Constitution, with three branches of government, but it was also polarizing and seen as a threat to traditional governance.
Within a year of adopting the constitution, the Cherokee published the first Native American newspaper in the United States on Feb. 21, 1828. It also became the first bilingual newspaper in North America, printing in both Cherokee and English from the tribe’s capital in New Echota, Georgia.
The newspaper reflected the tribe’s views regarding sovereignty and the looming forced relocation of the Cherokee from their eastern homelands to territory west of the Mississippi River.
“The paper was never intended to be a vehicle of free speech but an instrument of the official leadership of the Cherokee Nation, which vehemently opposed Cherokee removal on any terms,” according to an article Yale scholar Angela Pulley wrote for the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
Nearly 200 years later, the Cherokee Phoenix, now based in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, operates under a transparency mission “to report without bias the activities of the government and the news of interest in order to have informed citizens.” The Cherokee Independent Press Act requires independence “from any undue influence and free of any particular political interest.”
While some tribes practice good governance by adopting codes of transparency, only a dozen or so of the 575 tribes doing so should give pause. We need a significant shift in creating an information flow across Indian Country. A rapid current should align with the Indigenous data sovereignty movement, which calls for tribes to have access to information, but we need more emphasis on access to data and information for the press, and the people.
We can respect tribal sovereignty that practices good governance and embraces an informed citizenry.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260415023112-img.jpeg"},{"id":17582,"title":"Black Hills uranium exploration permit hearing postponed to May","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/uranium-hearing-in-hot-springs-reset-for-may-dates","date":"2026-04-14T17:38:01.477Z","excerpt":"Drilling project’s opponents have raised concerns about Native American petroglyphs in Craven Canyon","content":"A public hearing about an application to explore underground for uranium in the Black Hills has been rescheduled to May 18 through May 22.
The hearing will take place in Hot Springs, South Dakota, at the Mueller Civic Center. It had previously been scheduled for this week but was postponed.
In March 2024, Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation and its Canada-based parent company Nexus Uranium filed an application to drill exploratory holes in search of uranium near Craven Canyon in the southern Black Hills.
The company plans to use 50 sites to drill holes as deep as 700 feet on state-owned land, according to its application. Each hole will take approximately two weeks to drill. The company has additional drilling plans on federally owned land, which are under review by the U.S. Forest Service.
Dozens of individuals and groups have raised formal complaints to the state’s Board of Minerals and Environment about the potential adverse effects of the proposed drilling, including concerns for cultural resources and historic sites, such as ancient Native American petroglyphs in the canyon, and water quality.
Uranium is a metallic, radioactive element used as fuel in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants. Interest in uranium exploration and mining has risen recently in response to nuclear energy’s potential to meet the growing electricity demands of data centers, which handle the computing needs of artificial intelligence.
The state Board of Minerals and Environment can deny an application to explore for uranium for several reasons, including negative impacts on historical, archaeological or recreational aspects of an area, if those impacts outweigh the benefits of the exploration. The board can also deny the permit if it will negatively affect the productivity of aquifers.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260414173626-uranium.png"},{"id":17581,"title":"Scott Davis steps down from Interior Department, returns to North Dakota","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/scott-davis-leaves-interior-post-and-returns-to-north-dakota","date":"2026-04-10T11:48:00.338Z","excerpt":"Davis says he’ll continue supporting Native communities as a member of the private sector","content":"After a year working for the U.S. Department of the Interior, 56-year-old Scott Davis has stepped down from his role as deputy assistant secretary of Indian Affairs and is happy to be returning to private sector life on the prairie.
“It was never my goal to be working in government, but sometimes that's where the Creator puts you, and you got to do your job,” Davis, a Standing Rock Sioux Tribe citizen with Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa heritage, told Buffalo’s Fire.
Davis is a familiar face to many in North Dakota, having served as executive director of the state’s Indian Affairs Commission from 2009 to 2021, where he worked with 25 tribal chairs and three governors, including Doug Burgum.
“In that time we became really close, good friends,” Davis said of Burgum. “I consider him a brother.”
Burgum’s political trajectory has elevated Davis’s as well. While Burgum’s presidential — and vice-presidential — aspirations weren’t realized, President Donald Trump nominated him to be the 55th U.S. Secretary of the Interior, a role he began in 2025.
“He asked me to join him on board,” said Davis. “And I was reluctant at the time because I was in the private sector and working for tribes, and doing well and happy, stable and content.”
But Davis added that his friend needed support and assistance in the “ASIA hallway,” his term for the location of the acting secretary of Indian Affairs’ offices. Davis served as acting assistant secretary for eight months, then deputy assistant secretary for four.
Davis said during that time he commuted every weekend between North Dakota and Washington D.C. There were plenty of 12-to-14 hour days. He met with 400 tribes, either in D.C. or in their communities, pushing for self-governance and energy development and cutting down on red tape for tribes.
He also tackled probate cases. He gave an example of the work his staff would do in the case of someone’s grandfather dying: “Does he have a will? Does he have what's going to happen to his land, his house, those things?” He said the federal government does this kind of work on behalf of tribes and tribal citizens, but estate work gets complicated for relatives with cases stretching back years. “I think there was about 45,000 cases that were backlogged, it's crazy.” Davis said a “pretty robust strike team” was developed to get those numbers down.
When Davis returns to North Dakota, he’ll resume work with his consulting and lobbying firm, primarily in the Bismarck-Mandan area. He is the CEO and founder of Tatanka Consulting Group, which has specialized — since October 2023 — in tribal relations on issues related to healthcare, education, natural resources and legal matters. According to its website, the firm also “partners with government agencies, associations, private corporations and special interest groups to navigate complex systems, challenges and initiatives.”
Davis will also focus on spending time with his family. He has two daughters in college, a stepson, grandkids and a seventh-grade son.
“I missed a lot of basketball games and a lot of his events,” said Davis. “It's really, really hard to do when you're gone every week, especially in those eight months as acting ASIA.”
Davis officially left his federal post on Thursday, April 2, announcing his departure on his LinkedIn account the following day.
He called it an honor “to serve our Country, Tribal Nations and our Relatives,” adding that he and Burgum had “an understanding that I would help him in the first year of his office” to get “the ASIA hallway set up and engaging Indian Country.” He added that his “good friend and brother” Billy Kirkland was confirmed as his successor and that “Indian Country is in good hands.”
Davis said for Native tribes and the Trump administration to work together, communication will be key going forward “with the tribes flexing their political muscle on the Hill.”
“We thank Scott Davis for his dedicated service to the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” a DOI spokesperson said in an email to Buffalo’s Fire. “Throughout his tenure, he played an important role in advancing the Department’s mission and supporting tribal communities. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
Other parties expressed gratitude for Davis’s work as well, including the National Congress of American Indians and the InterTribal Buffalo Council.
“Scott has been a strong and steady advocate for Tribal Nations and for the return of buffalo to our homelands,” the council said in a Facebook post. “He understands that buffalo are more than animals, they are relatives, and he supported Tribal-led efforts in a way that made a real and lasting difference. His work has helped move restoration forward for the InterTribal Buffalo Council and our member Tribes, strengthening both land and culture. We are grateful for his partnership, his respect, and his commitment to this work.”
Davis says partners in making things better for Native people — regardless of political party — should see themselves as being on the “tribal team.” And he’s ready to keep working on behalf of Indian Country.
“Make no doubt, every day when I put my suit jacket on or my tie, I'm always working on the behalf of tribes,” he said.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260410114610-davis-burgum-ndnatguard.jpg"},{"id":17580,"title":"U.S. Forest Service and 11 tribes sign historic agreement to co-manage sacred area in South Dakota","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/agreement-sets-shared-stewardship-in-black-hills","date":"2026-04-07T16:03:26.359Z","excerpt":"The agreement concerns the Black Elk Wilderness, a ‘place of profound spiritual, cultural, and historical importance’","content":"On Saturday, March 21, U.S. Forest Service officials and Great Sioux Nation tribal leaders spent the morning hiking up Black Elk Peak. After remarks and a song by a drum group, they added their signatures to a Memorandum of Understanding that allows collaborative stewardship of more than 13,000 acres of forest land in western South Dakota.
Those acres are protected by a 1980 law that created the Black Elk Wilderness area in the Black Hills National Forest.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz stated in a press release that the Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed by some parties on March 19, “focuses on active management for recreation, habitat improvement, wildlife benefit, invasive species mitigation and wilderness management.”
The release added that the MOU “enhances opportunities for tribal guidance, knowledge, and consultation regarding wilderness management, resource protection, recreation, and cultural interpretation” and “ensures tribal interests of preservation, site protection, wilderness integrity, and cultural practice and access are heeded.”
The 11 tribes represented in the agreement are the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Yankton Sioux Tribe.
Boyd Gourneau, chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, told Buffalo’s Fire that the MOU was important, especially for younger generations: “Our children are one of the most important resources for the future of our nation. We want our kids to have a chance to visit the sacred lands our ancestors roamed free at one time.”
Boyd also expressed that while the MOU is important, he would’ve preferred a Memorandum of Agreement, which he described as more binding and having “more bite.”
Boyd added that the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 “was supposed to have bite, and it didn’t” and said, “I’d like to see all the land returned to the tribes.”
In a Facebook post, the Cheyenne River Administration said that the MOU “recognizes the Black Hills, known to the Lakota as Pahá Sápa, as a place of profound spiritual, cultural, and historical importance and affirms a renewed nation-to-nation relationship rooted in respect and collaboration.” The post also said that for the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people, the Black Hills are the “heart of everything that is” and Hiŋháŋ Káǧa — also known as Black Elk Peak — stands at the center of the Black Elk Wilderness and has been long considered the “Center of the World.”
“For generations, Indigenous peoples have journeyed to these lands to pray, fast, and seek guidance, maintaining a living connection to their ancestors and to the natural world,” the post adds.
Buffalo’s Fire requested a copy of the MOU from the U.S. Forest Service but did not receive it before press time. But the Cheyenne River Administration’s post said that “while non-binding, the agreement formally commits the parties to ongoing consultation, shared stewardship, and coordinated management of the wilderness, consistent with federal law and the Wilderness Act. Importantly, the agreement explicitly upholds Tribal sovereignty and does not waive any treaty rights under the 1851 or 1868 Sioux Nation Treaties.”
In its release, the U.S. Forest Service said that the “historic partnership” will serve as a model for future agreements for co-stewarding efforts.
In a Facebook post, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers celebrated the MOU, calling it “a remarkable step forward” to ensure the protection of sacred lands in the Black Hills.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260407155852-hikers-blackelkpeak-pkeres.jpg"},{"id":17579,"title":"Greenpeace seeks new trial, claiming jury pool biased in case over Dakota Access Pipeline","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/greenpeace-seeks-new-trial-in-345m-pipeline-case","date":"2026-04-06T12:24:31.925Z","excerpt":"Group challenges $345M Dakota Access Pipeline verdict, citing jury bias and trial errors as appeals and bond dispute move forward","content":"Greenpeace has asked for a second trial after a judge entered a $345 million judgment against the organization in a landmark case brought by the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The case “threatens to result in one of the largest miscarriages of justice in North Dakota’s history,” attorneys for the environmental group wrote in a brief filed March 27.
After a three-week trial roughly a year ago, a Morton County jury directed Greenpeace to pay Energy Transfer about $667 million, finding the environmental group at fault for inciting illegal acts against the company during anti-pipeline protests in North Dakota in 2016 and 2017 and for publishing false statements that harmed Energy Transfer’s reputation.
Greenpeace denies Energy Transfer’s claims and maintains that it brought the lawsuit to hurt the environmental movement.
Southwest Judicial District Judge James Gion in October slashed the jury’s award to $345 million, though he didn’t finalize the award until late February.
Greenpeace is now taking steps to fight the judgment, which includes its motion for a new trial.
The environmental group’s reasons for the request include claims that the jury instructions and verdict form contained errors, and that Energy Transfer was allowed to present unfair and irrelevant evidence to jurors. The group also alleges the jury pool was biased.
Greenpeace says the jury’s award assumes that Greenpeace was entirely responsible for any injury Energy Transfer sustained related to the protests. Jurors were not given the opportunity to consider whether Greenpeace was only at fault for a portion of the damages, the organization wrote in its brief.
Attorneys for Greenpeace also referenced the mailers and other media circulated to Mandan and Bismarck residents before the trial that contained anti-Dakota Access Pipeline protest and pro-energy industry content.
The environmental group seeks a new trial in Cass County, arguing in part that the jury pool in the Fargo area would be more fair because its residents did not directly experience the Dakota Access Pipeline protests and because the local economy is less dependent on the energy industry.
If Greenpeace’s request for a new trial is denied, it plans to appeal the case to the North Dakota Supreme Court, the organization has said.
Greenpeace previously asked for the trial to be moved from Morton County to Cass County in early 2025, which Gion and the North Dakota Supreme Court denied.
The lawsuit is against three separate Greenpeace organizations — Greenpeace USA, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Fund.
Energy Transfer as of Wednesday morning had not submitted a response to Greenpeace’s motion for a new trial. Previously, the company has defended the jury’s verdict and disputed Greenpeace’s claims that the court proceedings were not fair.
Energy Transfer has indicated it may appeal Gion’s decision to reduce the award to $345 million.
Greenpeace will not have to pay any of the $345 million judgment for at least a couple of months, Gion ruled March 31.
Court documents indicate that the organization could have to pay a bond of up to $25 million while appeals proceed, though the environmental group has asked the judge to waive or reduce this amount. Gion has not decided on this motion.
He noted that obtaining such a large bond will be challenging.
“The magnitude of this matter defies simple decisions,” Gion wrote.
Energy Transfer in court filings urged the judge to require Greenpeace to post the full $25 million.
Any bond money Greenpeace provides would be held by a third party while the appeals proceed, according to Greenpeace USA.
Greenpeace International has filed a separate lawsuit in the Netherlands that accuses Energy Transfer of weaponizing the U.S. legal system against the environmental group. Energy Transfer asked Gion to order that the overseas suit be paused while the North Dakota case is still active, which Gion denied. The company appealed his ruling to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which has yet to make a decision on the matter.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260406122157-dapl.jpg"},{"id":17578,"title":"Buffalo’s Fire launches Flyers Board for community notices and events","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/buffalos-fire-launches-flyers-board","date":"2026-04-03T21:48:48.802Z","excerpt":"New page organizes local flyers around the newest postings, creating a digital bulletin board for gatherings, workshops, fundraisers and public notices","content":"Buffalo’s Fire has launched the Flyers Board, a new community page designed to bring local notices, event promotions and public-interest announcements into one shared digital space. The page presents flyers as a living bulletin board, with the newest postings placed at the center and older ones arranged around them. This layout echoes the feel of a community center wall or grocery store notice board while remaining easy to browse on desktop and mobile devices.
The new feature is intended to help readers quickly find workshops, powwows, meetings, fundraisers, hearings and other community events in a format that feels immediate and familiar.
The newest flyer is located at the center of the page; scroll in all directions to see the rest. Tap or click on any flyer to view it in full screen and read a brief summary of its content. Share flyers on social media and use our submission form to send us flyers for your events—both local and from afar—and we’ll post them for all to see. We’re creating a community of engaged citizens, gathering like-minded allies and chasing change together.
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260403214711-flyers.png"},{"id":17576,"title":"South Dakota passes ‘Data Center Bill of Rights for Citizens,’ fails to consult with tribes","link":"https://www.buffalosfire.com/south-dakota-sets-limits-on-data-centers-rejects-moratorium","date":"2026-04-03T12:53:52.203Z","excerpt":"While new legislation aims to protect local customers from rising electricity rates, an Indigenous land conservation group is calling for a moratorium on data centers","content":"Last week, South Dakota lawmakers rejected a one-year moratorium on the building or expanding of data centers but passed two bills placing limits on the industry.
Backers of those bills said data centers could bring more jobs to the state and more property tax revenue to local governments. But opponents say that the energy large data centers use, including water and electricity, will be greater than anticipated and raise the costs of living.
Some also expressed to Buffalo’s Fire concerns over tribal sovereignty and the lack of input by the state’s federally recognized tribes and regional treaty councils.
Honor the Earth, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization that supports Indigenous land conservation, is leading an effort to oppose large data centers.
Joseph White Eyes, an Honor the Earth organizer who lives in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, said laws that affect the lands and resources in treaty territories need to respect government-to-government relationships. “Passing something at this capacity without consultation of any tribal government is a slap in our face,” he said.
On April 7, Honor the Earth will appear at a public hearing in Fort Yates, North Dakota, organized by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, to argue in favor of a moratorium on new data centers on tribal lands and treaty territory.
“Treaty territory is anywhere on the eastern banks of the Missouri River to the original treaty territories,” White Eyes said, referring to the treaty territory of the Oceti Sakowin, politically and historically known as the Great Sioux Nation. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 further established the Great Sioux Reservation, which included the Black Hills and lands in South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana. So far, there are no large-scale data centers in treaty territory, but smaller ones are planned for construction in the Black Hills area.
“Regardless of tribal nations’ stances on data centers, the state has shown us that it does not want to build relationships with us in regards to the development of larger technology in general,” White Eyes said.
A 30,000-square foot data center at the Black Hills Industrial Center on Highway 16 is expected to be completed in 2027. The developer, Sequitor Edge, has not shared additional plans with the public but has said its proposed 2-megawatt facility could expand to a 10 megawatt, 10-acre project.
At its 5th annual conference in Rapid City, in December, the Oceti Sakowin Treaty Council passed a resolution opposing the construction and operation of data centers in treaty territory. “There are laws and policies that protect us and our rights, but when the state continues making decisions like this without involvement as tribal nations, they continue to extract our resources,” White Eyes added. “What little oversight we have over the little resources that are left is overlooked.”
On March 24, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed Senate Bill 135 and House Bill 1038, adding protections for consumers amid the growing data center industry.
Data centers use a massive amount of energy and water. House Bill 1038 applies to data centers with a peak demand of ten megawatts or greater, allowing the Public Utilities Commission to conduct a review of their actual usage and requiring data centers to pay for the costs associated with that review.
SB 135, known as the Data Center Bill of Rights for Citizens, requires data centers with a peak electrical demand of 10 megawatts or greater to pay for any increased electricity rates. Reports from other regions indicate large data centers are raising the costs of electricity to consumers, and consumers don’t want to incur those costs. SB 135 also adds water usage regulations and prohibits the state from limiting the authority of local governments to regulate or ban data centers.
“We made important strides with the passage of the Data Center Bill of Rights, helping to ensure greater transparency, accountability and local input for future projects,” State Sen. Red Dawn Foster told Buffalo’s Fire. “While I would have preferred a full moratorium on new data center development in South Dakota, I am grateful for the progress we achieved this session.”
South Dakota was one of 11 states, and the only one in the Plains, that considered moratoriums on new data center construction in 2026. Another bill that failed to pass would have incentivized the construction of large data centers by providing a 50-year sales-tax exemption.
Foster, who represents Oglala Lakota County, called the bill’s failure a “critical victory for taxpayers,” saying, “We should not be subsidizing big tech.”
Another bill would have exempted large backup generators from regulatory review by the state Public Utilities Commission. Backup generators would likely be used during construction on new data centers, and with no review there would be no public data on a project’s energy consumption.
“This effort is about protecting South Dakota’s water, land and way of life,” Foster said. “These are not abstract concerns, they are the foundation of our rural communities, our agricultural economy and our future. Any development must respect and preserve these essential resources.”
","featuredImage":"https://d2g6e42mls53l2.cloudfront.net/bf/20260403124939-00c58367fb-o.jpg"}]