The Daily Spark

A proposed amendment to an Alaska bill would exempt some Alaska Native village corporations from state public financial disclosure requirements, according to reporting by the Alaska Beacon. The amendment to House Bill 126 was approved Monday by the Alaska Senate Labor and Commerce Committee and would limit disclosure requirements to corporations that had at least 500 shareholders when they were created. Current state law requires corporations with at least 500 shareholders and $1 million in assets to file financial documents with the Alaska Division of Banking and Securities, where the records are treated as public. 

The proposed change could exempt at least seven village corporations from filing reports, though shareholders would still have access to financial information. Curtis McQueen, executive director of the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association, supported the amendment, saying it would allow smaller corporations to focus on community benefits rather than reporting requirements. The bill advanced to the Senate Rules Committee and could move to a full Senate vote.

Indigenous leaders from tribes along the U.S.-Mexico border said ongoing border wall construction is damaging sacred sites and cultural areas, according to the Associated Press. Kumeyaay leaders said federal contractors have blasted and bulldozed parts of Kuuchamaa Mountain, a sacred site that spans California and Baja California, during construction of new wall segments. Tribal leaders also raised concerns about damage to cultural and archaeological sites in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. 

The Associated Press reports that the Department of Homeland Security waived cultural and environmental laws to accelerate border wall construction projects this year. The Tohono O’odham Nation said contractors damaged a 1,000-year-old geoglyph site in Arizona despite prior warnings from tribal leaders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection was quoted in a statement as saying that the site was “inadvertently disturbed” and that the agency is working to minimize impacts on cultural and natural resources during construction.

Mountain Shadow Association, a nonprofit serving the Apsáalooke Nation in Lodge Grass, received $150,000 over two years from the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust to support Kaala’s Village, a family healing center focused on addiction recovery and family reunification, according to Native News Online. The center is designed to allow parents to pursue long-term treatment while their children remain nearby instead of entering foster care.

Native News Online reports the funding will support behavioral health services for children and parents participating in Mountain Shadow’s recovery programming. Kaala’s Village will also provide workforce training in construction, agriculture, hospitality, childcare and food processing before families transition into housing and employment. Executive Director Megkian Doyle said the funding will help support a culturally rooted model of healing centered on family and community stability.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation is scheduled to host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday for the Four Bears Dock Side Den Airbnbs on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, according to an MHA Nation media advisory. Organizers said the cabins are the first tribally owned Airbnbs on Fort Berthold.

According to the advisory, the development includes eight cabins near the Four Bears Peninsula and offers amenities including lake access for fishing, swimming and boating, a community hot tub, a firepit and air conditioning. The cabins are located near 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, 4 Bears Water Park and the MHA Interpretive Center. Opening remarks are scheduled to include MHA Nation Chairman Mark N. Fox and Four Bears Councilman Robert White. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 21.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana are combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Western science in ongoing climate planning efforts, according to NPR. Mike Durglo Jr., the tribes’ climate change coordinator, helped develop one of the first tribal climate action plans more than 15 years ago. The plan includes projects focused on wildfire mitigation, ecosystem restoration, water conservation and renewable energy development on the Flathead Indian Reservation. 

According to NPR, the tribes are restoring whitebark pine forests, expanding wildfire smoke monitoring systems and establishing clean air centers for reservation communities. Durglo also worked with other tribal nations, including the Blackfeet Nation, to develop climate planning strategies tailored to local environmental conditions. Tribal leaders said collaboration has become increasingly important as federal funding for some climate-related projects has been reduced.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ordered lower courts to reconsider a North Dakota voting rights case brought by two Native American tribes after a recent high court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act, according to the Associated Press. The case centers on a decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said only the federal government can sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a provision commonly used in lawsuits brought by voters and advocacy groups.

The Associated Press reports that the Supreme Court blocked the appeals court ruling in July, allowing the tribes’ preferred voting maps to remain temporarily in place. Native American Rights Fund attorney Lenny Powell told the AP tossing out the appeals court ruling was the right call. 

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from Monday’s decision, saying she would have fully reversed the ruling in the North Dakota case.

Dozens of people gathered Monday in Hot Springs, South Dakota, to oppose a proposed uranium drilling project in the southern Black Hills during the opening day of a weeklong permit hearing, according to a South Dakota Searchlight article. Opponents raised concerns about possible groundwater contamination, impacts on tourism and agriculture and damage to Craven Canyon, an area near the proposed drilling sites that contains ancient Native American petroglyphs. 

According to the article, Clean Nuclear Energy Corporation and its parent company, Nexus Uranium, applied in March 2024 to drill exploratory holes for uranium on state-owned land near Edgemont. The South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment is considering whether the project could negatively affect historical or archaeological sites or nearby aquifers. The hearing is scheduled to continue through Friday.

Members of Congress introduced bipartisan legislation that would require Department of Homeland Security personnel to recognize and properly handle tribal identification documents during immigration enforcement activities, according to ICT. The Respect Tribal IDs Act was introduced by Reps. Sharice Davids, Don Bacon and Teresa Leger Fernández, along with Sen. Ben Ray Luján.

The bill would require DHS, in coordination with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal nations, to create standardized training on tribal citizenship, tribal IDs and protocols for interacting with enrolled tribal members. The legislation follows reports of Native Americans being questioned, delayed or detained after officers failed to recognize tribal identification as proof of U.S. citizenship. National Congress of American Indians Executive Director Larry Wright told ICT the legislation would help prevent confusion and improve interactions between federal agents and tribal citizens.

Summer Wildbill, a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and a student at New York University, is helping develop a financial literacy app for Native youth in partnership with Nixyáawii Community Financial Services and Cayuse Native Solutions, according to Underscore Native News and ICT. The app, called NativeCents, is intended to help young people better understand saving, investing and financial decision-making.

Wildbill said the project grew out of her own experience adjusting to college life in New York and recognizing gaps in financial education. According to Underscore Native News and ICT, the app will include lessons focused on emotional relationships with money and financial goal-setting. Dave Tovey, executive director of Nixyáawii Community Financial Services, said the project aligns with the organization’s efforts to expand youth financial education within the Umatilla community. Wildbill said she hopes the app will launch by the end of the summer.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe and the Pojoaque, Sandia and Isleta pueblos filed a lawsuit against prediction market platform Kalshi, alleging the company enables sports gambling on tribal land in violation of tribal gaming compacts and federal law, according to reporting by Source NM. The lawsuit alleges Kalshi allows users 18 and older to place sports-related wagers in New Mexico, despite tribal gaming compacts limiting gambling at tribal casinos to people 21 and older.

According to Source NM, the lawsuit argues Kalshi should have created a geofence to block use of the platform within tribal boundaries. Tribal leaders said the platform diverts gaming revenue used to fund schools and other tribal services. Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano was quoted in a statement as saying that the markets provide “an end-run around regulation of gaming on our lands.” The lawsuit follows similar litigation filed last year by the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin against Kalshi.

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act applies in the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s effort to recover the remains of two boys who died at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School more than a century ago. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision and found the tribe is entitled to seek repatriation of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley under federal law.

According to reporting by ICT, the Winnebago Tribe filed suit in 2024 after the U.S. Office of Army Cemeteries denied the tribe’s request to return the boys’ remains. The court ruling sends the case back to a lower court for further proceedings. Winnebago Chairman Coly Brown said the decision “brings joy to the tribe,” while Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition policy director Ponka-We Victors-Cozad called the ruling “a step forward” in efforts to return Native children buried at boarding schools to their tribal communities.

Racing Magpie selected three collaborative projects to receive $10,000 grants through its Spring 2026 Sinew Fund, according to a Lakota Times article highlighting the recipients. The fund supports Oceti Sakowin visual creatives working on artist-led, community-based projects in Lakota communities across the United States.

The recipients include the “Ma Lakota Project,” led by Amanda Takes War Bonnett and Jennifer Young Bull Bear, which will host workshops on traditional crafts on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Another funded project, “Creative Regenerations,” led by Donald Montileaux and Keith BraveHeart, will guide students and staff at Rockyford School in creating a ceramic mural installation. “Sovereign Selfies,” led by Adonica Little-Hamilton and Teslah Knight, will create an interactive art installation featuring Oceti Sakowin design elements at the Black Hills Powwow.

A coalition of Maine environmental and community health organizations released a five-year policy guide calling on state leaders to expand protections for Wabanaki sovereignty, environmental conservation and clean energy initiatives, according to an article in the Maine Morning Star. “Meeting the Moment” outlines policy recommendations ahead of this year’s elections for governor and the Maine Legislature.

According to the article, the report recommends the state work with Maine’s congressional delegation to restore self-determination for the Wabanaki Nations and establish an Office of Indigenous Studies within the Department of Education. The proposal also calls for funding Wabanaki Studies curriculum in schools and requiring the coursework for high school graduation. Wabanaki Alliance Executive Director Maulian Bryant said the current status of the Wabanaki Nations has resulted in missed economic opportunities and limited self-governance compared with other federally recognized tribes.

Amanda Page, a citizen of the Klamath Tribes, is running for Deschutes County Commissioner, Seat 3, in Oregon and said she hopes to expand Indigenous representation in local government, according to Underscore Native News and ICT. Page, who currently serves on the Redmond School Board, said her campaign is focused on affordable housing, environmental protections and support for tribal sovereignty.

Page criticized developments she said could affect water resources and tribal treaty rights, including a proposed resort project near Redmond. She also said tribes should be consulted earlier in land use decisions affecting culturally significant areas and natural resources. Primary elections for the Deschutes County commissioner race are scheduled for May 19.

The Turtle Mountain community gathered Friday evening in Belcourt, North Dakota, to honor 12-year-old Abrium Swain following confirmation that a body found near Dunseith was identified as the missing boy, according to KMOT. A candlelight vigil originally scheduled for Thursday at the Tribal Welfare Center was moved to the school football field in Belcourt.

According to KMOT, Abrium was reported missing March 15 after reportedly leaving a child welfare center. The FBI is leading the investigation into his death alongside tribal, state and local agencies. Turtle Mountain tribal leadership said preliminary reports indicate foul play is not expected and investigators believe the boy died from exposure, though final federal reports are still pending. Turtle Mountain Community Schools released a statement offering counseling services to students and staff following the death of the sixth-grade student.

Native artists participating in the Minnesota Historical Society’s Native American Artist-in-Residence Program said the initiative has helped preserve and share traditional Indigenous art forms through research and community education. According to MPR News, the program has supported 23 artists from Minnesota and surrounding states since 2013 by providing financial support and access to museum collections for research.

Jennifer Adams, a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is researching paaxge beadwork, a traditional Ho-Chunk art form used in regalia and jewelry. Adams said she plans to create a pattern book to share with her community. Former resident Giizh Agaton Howes, a citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, created an Ojibwe moccasin pattern book during her residency. Artist Cole Redhorse Taylor said the program changed how he viewed his ancestors, homeland and Dakota cultural traditions through his research on moccasins and Indigenous trade.

I.Am.Legacy, a Rapid City-based organization focused on supporting people impacted by incarceration and their families, hosted a three-day seminar called “From Chains to Ceremony” this month at the Ramkota Hotel, according to Native Sun News Today. The organization was founded by Eric Brings White after he faced barriers to employment and housing following his release from prison, despite earning a social work degree and completing parole early.

Co-founder Morgan Brings White said I.Am.Legacy opened in 2019 as a culturally grounded community hub for people leaving jail or prison and their relatives. The organization offers jail-based programming, recovery support and cultural activities aimed at addressing generational trauma, addiction and reentry challenges. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, Native Americans account for nearly 57% of the federal caseload in South Dakota. Morgan Brings White said the organization is open to everyone and works to help families navigate systems including Child Protective Services and the Department of Social Services.

Lita Davis opened Bully Brew Coffee, a full-service cafe in Dunseith, North Dakota, after returning to the Turtle Mountains with her family following 23 years in Minneapolis, according to KMOT. The cafe serves specialty coffee drinks, soups and sandwiches and is located at 10 Main St. 

Davis told KMOT the idea came after noticing limited local dining options in the community. She now operates the cafe alongside her mother and business partner, Lynn Gladue. Davis said the business is an Indigenous-woman-owned operation and has created jobs in the community. According to KMOT, Davis also plans to expand the cafe and add more menu items in the future. The cafe’s coffee is roasted by North Dakota Coffee Roastery in Grand Forks.

A 12-year-old boy who had been missing from the Turtle Mountain Reservation since March was found dead near Dunseith, North Dakota, according to KX News. Family members confirmed that Abrium Swain, who disappeared March 15 from the Turtle Mountain Child Welfare Shelter in Belcourt, was identified through a DNA test with his father.

According to KX News, federal officers believe Swain died from exposure after his body was found near the north housing unit in Dunseith. Family members previously told KX News that Swain ran away from the shelter the morning he disappeared, briefly returned later that day, then left again. KX News reported that Turtle Mountain Child Welfare declined to release information about the case and that the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Turtle Mountain Chairman’s Office and the FBI had not responded to requests for comment as of Thursday.