The Daily Spark

A Native-led nonprofit on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Sassafras Earth Education Inc., received a $50,000 grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to emphasize climate action close to home through Indigenous environmental stewardship.

The MassCEC program supports sustainability efforts spearheaded by marginalized people in the commonwealth, local journalist Maria Barros reports. Sassafras brings two decades of local experience leading environmental education rooted in traditional knowledge from the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

The husband-and-wife duo who founded Sassafras, Saskia and David Two Arrows Vanderhoop, plan to use the grant funding to bolster their education programs. In particular, they told the MV Times, they’ll put the investment toward staff training for mentors and new hires to promote their youth programming.

Sassafras’ approach integrates ecosystem restoration, traditional food security and environmental education from a decolonial lens. Their programs foster connection to the land of the island and an understanding of the local environment.

The U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation voted July 24 to scrap a process that tribal authorities use to protect historic and culturally significant land from development. On Aug. 18, the National Congress of American Indians, the Association on American Indian Affairs, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, and the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund issued a joint statement urging the continued implementation of Section 106 in the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

Acknowledging that Section 106 in its current form is “far from a perfect safeguard,” the signatories of the joint statement nonetheless highlighted the role that the established procedural review mechanism plays in complex federal decisions. 

The proposed revisions would undermine tribal sovereignty and threaten the unique legal relationship between the U.S. government and Native nations, according to the joint statement. There’s also the possibility of creating irreversible harm and unnecessary costs to projects that fail to account for significant considerations at the outset. 

“When conducted early, consultation with Tribal experts can identify conflicts before substantial resources are committed, allow projects to avoid culturally sensitive places, inform alternatives, and reduce the potential for disputes, litigation and subsequent project delays,” the statement explained.

From potentially polluting the Great Lakes to disturbing significant cultural resources, the concerns around the Line 5 tunnel project through the Straits of Mackinac run deep. In Lansing, Michigan on Aug. 26, advocates from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe rallied to shut down a new tunnel under an existing crude oil and natural gas pipeline. 

The project ostensibly aims to mitigate risks related to the active Line 5 pipeline sustaining an oil spill and suffering anchor strikes — two problems that developer Enbridge has already encountered in the region, Michigan Advance’s Kyle Davidson reported. 

Opponents who worry about the latest developments between the state and the developer cited the need to dig up Anishinaabe ancestral remains if the tunnel moves forward. And the 23 gallons of hazardous material flowing through the pipeline each day could wreak major damage on the Great Lakes.

Enbridge’s Cultural Resources Mitigation and Monitoring Plan is due to the Michigan Office of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy by Dec. 31, 2026.

Christopher Billey, executive director of the Tribal Homeownership Coalition of the Southwest, sees a “missing link” between potential homebuyers and homeowners on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.

With long waitlists for most tribal-run housing options, Billey said, there are opportunities to provide housing and financial resources to tribal members using methods popular off the reservation. His organization surveyed more than 300 tribal members across the two southwestern states over the past two years. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, Billey said, want to purchase a home in their tribal communities. 

He also observed growing demand for housing at fair-market rates among Indigenous working professionals, and there’s a supply of tribal housing stock — about 10% — that he said belongs to individuals or families. 

Billey told Source NM’s Patrick Lohmann the potential for opening up market-rate housing on tribal lands presents a “double-edged sword.” Sales of Native-owned homes could be subject to the booms, busts and speculation that characterize the U.S. private sector housing market. But Billey said there’s also room for designing tribal housing markets that reflect the community’s values as the burgeoning movement gains speed.

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Montana’s unique commitment to teaching Native American history and culture as a central component of general public education — enshrined in the state’s constitution and reaffirmed in the 1999 Indian Education for All Act — has repeatedly fallen short of its lofty goals, according to Montana students, families and tribes. 

Nora Mabie with the Montana Free Press reports that a 2021 lawsuit against the Montana Office of Public Instruction and the Montana Board of Public Education has reached a settlement that could bring closure to a long-running legal dispute over adequate investment in Indigenous education.

The Montana Legislature has appropriated around $3.5 million annually since 2007 for school districts to develop curricula, purchase class materials and train teachers in Indigenous education. But according to court documents, only 10% of Montana school districts could account for spending those investments on appropriate related expenses in 2019 and 2020 — the two years prior to filing the lawsuit.

It’s a failure to fully realize Montana’s commitment to K–12 public education that recognizes the “distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians,” according to the plaintiffs.  

On Monday, Aug. 24, a district court judge approved the settlement, which will require the Office of Public Instruction to account for evidence of the funds’ implementation, establish enforcement mechanisms for schools, “strengthen and formalize” tribal consultation processes and publish a list of noncompliant schools.

The last remaining step in the process of settling the suit will be a notice period followed by a decision of final court approval. 

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Aug. 18 banning nonferrous mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, according to reporting by the Minnesota Reformer.. The order directs state agencies to stop environmental reviews and permits in the Rainy River Headwaters Watershed and blocks new state mineral leases there.

If it stands, the order would likely kill Twin Metals' proposal to extract metals near Ely and Babbitt. State permits are required even on federal lands, and mining operations have not yet begun.

The directive also requires the immediate review of existing leases to strictly enforce compliance with their terms. MiningMinnesota, an industry group, criticized the move and claimed the order lacks legal standing.

Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe Chairman Carlos Hernandez praised Walz's efforts to uphold treaty obligations by protecting traditional homelands. The preservation of the Boundary Waters also holds personal significance for Walz, who noted his brother died during a 2016 camping trip in the wilderness area.

Because it is an executive order and not a state law, a future governor could choose to either continue the prohibition or reverse course.

The FBI announced Aug. 18 the launch of a new webpage and is offering rewards of up to $25,000 as part of its Voices Not Forgotten initiative, according to reporting from the Arizona Daily Sun. The program draws attention to unsolved major-crime investigations on Native American lands.

The effort highlights the January death of 8-year-old Maleeka “Mollie” Boone as one of its six initial cases. She was found dead in a field in Coalmine, a Navajo Nation community about 18 miles southeast of Tuba City.

Boone’s case appears alongside five other investigations on the new interactive webpage. The agency said featuring the cases is intended to generate new investigative leads and bring greater public awareness to unresolved crimes that occurred in these communities.

New Mexico and Navajo Preparatory School plan a December groundbreaking for a Navajo Code Talkers museum in Farmington, outside the Navajo Nation, despite descendants’ objections over location and consultation, according to reporting from New Mexico In Depth.

Zonnie Gorman, daughter of original Code Talker Carl N. Gorman, called the plan an “overstep and overreach by the governor.” New Mexico In Depth reported that New Mexico has set aside $20 million for museum construction and exhibits. Chevron donated about 200 acres in Tse Bonito near Window Rock in 2009, but the project is planned in Farmington.

Navajo Prep says descendants will be consulted on exhibit design, while the state will own the project during construction and then transfer it to the school. The state will cover estimated annual operating costs of $600,000 for the first several years.

An NIH-funded yearlong randomized trial found the prevention program Traditions and Connections for Urban Native Americans reduced substance use among a total of 541 Native adults ages 18 to 25 living in urban areas across the United States, according to reporting from Native News Online. Lead author Elizabeth D’Amico told Native News Online, “Strength-based approaches work and culture is protective.” The NIH-funded study involved RAND Corporation, the University of California, Los Angeles and Sacred Path Indigenous Wellness Center in Long Beach.

It compared Traditions and Connections for Urban Native Americans with a shorter health and wellness cultural intervention among participants representing more than 200 tribes and 37 states. Over 12 months, Traditions and Connections for Urban Native Americans participants reported significantly less alcohol and cannabis use.

Both Traditions and Connections for Urban Native Americans participants and those in the shorter intervention group spent less time with people who drink alcohol and use opioids.

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Former Democratic Party of New Mexico Secretary Brenda Hoskie filed a lawsuit in Second Judicial District Court in Bernalillo County against Chair Sara Attleson and Executive Director Sean Ward, alleging party leaders improperly removed her as secretary after she raised concerns about discrimination, harassment and retaliation against Navajo party members, according to reporting from Source NM The lawsuit says Attleson and Ward held a Committee on Discipline meeting in May without Hoskie, then told the State Central Committee in an Aug. 7 email that the secretary’s office was vacant.

Source New Mexico originally published the story. Hoskie, who is Navajo, seeks to restore her to the secretary position.

She has said party officials wanted her as “a brown face in the photo” but not a voice at the table.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the Tohono O’odham Nation’s request to stop the Trump administration from building a border wall on its Arizona reservation, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

He ruled the nation had not shown a wall would alter reservation boundaries without congressional authority. He also rejected its trespass claim, writing that border security, immigration enforcement and public safety outweighed surviving irreparable harms.

The Tohono O’odham Nation reservation in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert abuts 62 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Its lawyers said a wall would fray ties between O’odham communities and families on opposite sides of the border.

Chairman Verlon M. Jose said the nation strongly disagreed and would consider all possible options.

Erin Stresow became the new president of Leech Lake Tribal College in early July, and an Aug. 17 investiture ceremony at Cedar Lakes Event Center in Cass Lake formally marked her arrival, according to reporting from MPR News. She took over from interim president Stacy Lyon.

The two-year college, in Cass Lake within the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation in northern Minnesota, offers transfer, career and technical degrees grounded in Anishinaabe values and culture. Stresow said she will focus on culturally grounded higher education, workforce development and Indigenous data sovereignty.

The college will begin its fall semester next week. 

Researchers found smallpox DNA in ancestral remains of two adults at Camarones in northern Chile, a finding that offers the firmest evidence yet that European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas. The Associated Press reported that the adults likely died between 1492 and 1631.

Genetic comparisons placed the virus between medieval European strains and later versions, indicating that strains infecting people in the Americas evolved from European strains. Shigeki Nakagome, a Trinity College Dublin geneticist, said the work shows how colonization reached remote populations.

Biologist Patricia Foster was quoted as saying, “Nobody would ever question that smallpox came to this hemisphere from colonization, but this proves it.” The study authors said it remains unclear which population brought smallpox. The infections were found in an area without a previous disease record, raising questions about how the virus reached so far south.

The Office of Indian Economic Development is accepting applications through grants.gov until Aug. 28 for a $1.5 million cooperative agreement under the NATIVE Act, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Interior. Funding is annual, subject to appropriations and can continue for up to five years.

The agreement will provide technical assistance for Tribal Tourism Grant Program and Office of Native Hawaiian Relations applicants. 

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Billy Kirkland said tribal tourism displays communities’ cultures, histories and traditions while creating jobs and strengthening local economies. 

Cherokee Nation opened the School of the Seven Directions Cherokee Immersion Middle School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug. 17, a $30 million investment in Cherokee language revitalization, according to reporting by Indian Gaming. The school year begins Aug. 27.

Cherokee Nation said the more than 66,000-square-foot school near the Durbin Feeling Language Center will serve grades four through eight in 16 classrooms. Signage is entirely in Cherokee, and English will not be spoken there.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. was quoted as saying, “This middle school is one major step closer to our goal” of revitalizing the Cherokee language, culture and traditions. The campus will hold traditional ceremonies, and its courtyard and specialty classrooms will be available to Durbin Feeling Language Center and Greasy Immersion School students.

Mary Peltola advanced from Alaska’s Tuesday U.S. Senate primary with 48% of the vote, compared with 43% for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, with 324 of 403 precincts reporting late Tuesday, according to reporting from ICT. The November contest could affect control of the U.S. Senate. 

If Peltola, a Yup’ik woman, wins, she could become the first Native female senator, though she might end up sharing the title. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth) is leading in the polls against the Republican candidate, according to the ICT reporting.

Alaska’s system sends the top four vote-getters among 16 Senate candidates to November’s general election. ICT reported that Sullivan was third and appeared set to advance. 

Peltola raised about $18.5 million, compared with about $11.7 million for Sullivan. The Democrat, a former U.S. representative, first won Congress in a 2022 special election after longtime Republican Rep. Don Young died.

Joe Nelson, Peltola’s ex-husband and Tlingit leader from Juneau, called the contest “a real race.”

Buffalo Plains Recovery, based in Rapid City, South Dakota, announced in an Aug. 13 press release that it was selected for a $1.54 million award through the South Dakota Digital Health Modernization and Technology Grant Program. The funds will be used to build a modern, technology-driven treatment environment in western South Dakota.

The grant is intended to improve patient care, strengthen medical and clinical operations and better connect patients with the services they need throughout recovery.

Buffalo Plains Recovery serves Rapid City, the Black Hills, and surrounding communities, offering a continuum of care that includes 24-hour medically supervised detoxification, residential treatment and outpatient services. CEO Ryan Letterman said the funding will give the team the tools and infrastructure needed to deliver exceptional behavioral health care.

“Technology may operate behind the scenes, but ultimately this investment is about people,” Letterman was quoted as saying. He noted that the investment will help people enter treatment when they are ready, giving them excellent care close to home and the support needed to build lasting recovery.

Ten bills authored by California Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla community and the first Native American elected to the state Legislature, have been approved by the California Senate Appropriations Committee, according to reporting from Native News online. The bills are now headed to the full Senate for consideration before the Aug. 31 deadline marking the end of the 2025-26 legislative session.

The legislative package covers issues important to Californians, including education, public safety, tribal rights and inclusion. Ramos hopes the bills will pass the full Senate and reach Gov. Gavin Newsom before the session concludes.

“It’s a robust package that I hope to get to the governor for his approval this year,” Ramos was quoted as saying. “The bills touch on education, public safety and clarifying tribal rights and inclusion.”  

Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, Yup’ik, is seeking the Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan on Tuesday, when 17 Native candidates will appear on Alaska primary ballots, according to reporting from ICT. Voters may choose among 16 Senate candidates outside their party under the state’s ranked-choice system.

Peltola raised about $18.5 million, compared with $11.7 million for Sullivan. Major polls show the candidates neck and neck.

Peltola first won a 2022 special election after Republican Rep. Don Young died following nearly 50 years in office, then lost her 2024 reelection bid to Nick Begich. If elected, she could be the country’s first female Native U.S. senator.

Her campaign said she would lower costs, defend subsistence fishing rights and expand a federal business development program that grants preferences to tribes in federal contracts.