The Daily Spark

Washington tribe appoints its first Tribal Conservation Law Enforcement Officer

Saturday gathering combines political organizing with community charity

The Samish Indian Nation is launching a tribal law enforcement program to protect its tribal citizens and natural resources, according to goSkagit. While other tribal law enforcement agencies work directly on reservation, Samish does not have a dedicated reservation, just trust lands spread across the region. The program’s first appointed officer, Brandon Bravo, is working with local jurisdictions, Skagit County officials and neighboring law enforcement agencies to build the Tribal Conservation Law Enforcement Program from the ground up.

Bravo is working on a 911 communication system as well as grant funding to expand the program. Samish Chairman Tom Wooten said the program is a show of tribal sovereignty and reflects the tribe’s commitment to partnering with state and local authorities.

Dem-NPL to host grand opening for new Central North Dakota office

Local leaders establish a new community hub to foster organizing and support the Bismarck Dream Center

The Bismarck/Mandan District of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party has announced that it will host a grand opening for its new Central North Dakota office on Dec. 7 at the Kennedy Memorial Center. The event will run from 2 to 4 p.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for 3 p.m.

According to an email from Chair Bob Valeu, the new office will serve as a hub for civic engagement, organizing and community building. Families and community members are invited to attend, with refreshments provided. Guests are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to support the Bismarck Dream Center’s mission of helping families in need. The Kennedy Memorial Center is located at 1902 East Divide, Suite 101, in Bismarck.

California Tribe regains some land lost over 170 years ago

Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation welcomes the return of ancestral grounds near Yosemite National Park

The Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, a tribe from Central California, is regaining land lost over 170 years ago when Yosemite National Park was formed, according to reporting by The Sacramento Bee. The land is being transferred by Pacific Forest Trust, which obtained it two decades ago and began restoration practices for the land return.

“Having this significant piece of our ancestral Yosemite land back will bring our community together to celebrate tradition and provide a healing place for our children and grandchildren,” Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation’s Tribal Council Chair and elder Sandra Chapman was quoted as saying. “It will be a sanctuary for our people.”

Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by lethal gun violence, new study reveals

Violence Policy Center report highlights alarming homicide and suicide rates, warning that underreporting masks the true scale of the crisis

A nationwide study by the Violence Policy Center finds that Indigenous communities experience high rates of gun deaths.

In 2023, Indigenous people were twice as likely as white people to die by homicide —- both gun-related and not gun-related — according to the study, which examined the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. That year there were 553 reported gun deaths in the Indigenous community — 246 homicides and 260 suicides. Indigenous communities face overall suicide and firearm suicide rates that are the second highest in the nation, surpassed only by the white population.

Previous VPC research shows the rate of Indigenous women killed by males since 2015 is the second highest in the nation, violence that is gaining international awareness in Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movements. Because of numerous unreported and misclassified deaths among Indigenous women and the community at large, the study warns that the real number of Indigenous people killed by guns is likely higher than reported.

Josh Sugarmann, the executive director of the Violence Policy Center, states in a press release about the study’s findings that Indigenous communities face “a continuing crisis of lethal gun violence that outside of impacted communities rarely receives the attention it demands.” He calls for advocates, organizations and policymakers to use the report to help reduce gun violence in Indigenous communities.

Tribal college students can submit blanket design to win money

Sixth annual competition offers $7,000 prize package and international distribution for winning student artist

The American Indian College Fund and Pendleton Woolen Mills are calling on tribal college and university students to submit original designs for their annual tribal college blanket design competition. Students have until Jan. 15 to submit designs expressing their culture and identity. The top three winners will receive scholarship money and cash. The grand prize is a $5,000 scholarship and $2,000 in cash.

The winning design will be added to Pendleton’s American Indian College Fund collection to be sold and distributed internationally. This is the groups’ sixth year holding the competition. Past winners have gone on to design for Pendleton and Nike, according to the Daily Montanan. No prior design experience is required. The blanket design application and guidelines can be found on the College Fund’s website.

Sitting Bull College to hold holiday market

Fort Yates event will feature traditional medicine, beadwork, and crafts from local vendors

Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates, North Dakota, will hold a holiday market Dec. 11 at the college auditorium. The market will feature traditional medicine, beadwork, baked goods and more.

Interested vendors can contact Melanie Howard at Melanie.Howard@sittingbull.edu or 701-854-8061. More information can be found on Sitting Bull College’s Facebook page.

Teachers push for inclusion of Indigenous history

"Reclaiming Native Truth" initiative seeks to combat erasure and modernize school curricula across the U.S.

Indigenous history in the U.S. didn’t start with Columbus’s “discovery” in 1492, nor the arrival of Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620.

Spectrum News 1 reports that educators are taking part in a national project called “Reclaiming Native Truth,” which aims to teach accurate and culturally sensitive history about the Native people who were in what is now the U.S. before colonization.

A Native teacher, Trish Corcoran of Rochester, New York’s Harley School, told Spectrum News 1 that there are 27 states that don't have any Native American curriculum in their schools, “but those that do, it's pretty narrow.” Corcoran —who is Tonawanda Onondowaga Seneca, Bear Clan— added that most of that curriculum is in the 1800s or earlier. “So that would give you an idea of why 87% of high school students think we're all dead.”

Organizers with "Reclaiming Native Truth" reported that nearly half of Americans say what they learned in school was inaccurate, while 72% believe it’s necessary to improve school curricula on Native American history. Many others weren’t even aware Native people still exist today.

“It's really important for everybody to know more about everyone,” Corcoran told Spectrum 1 News. “It makes us all stronger and better to be in community with one another.”

Prehistoric canoe ‘parking lot’ found in Wisconsin lake

Archaeologists and tribal preservation officers uncover a 5,000-year-old underwater network that functioned like a modern "ride-share" system

Archaeologists have found 16 canoes submerged in Lake Mendota, in Madison, Wisconsin. The Associated Press reports that they range from 1,200 to 5,200 years old and that researchers believe early Indigenous people deliberately left them near a network of trails for anyone to use as they needed, comparable to a modern bike-share service.

The Wisconsin Historical Society made the announcement. The organization’s maritime archaeologist, Tamara Thomsen, said users would usually bury canoes in sediment in waist- to chest-deep water to keep them from drying out or freezing.

The discoveries began in 2021 and were accomplished with the help of Sissel Schroeder, a UW-Madison professor who specializes in Native American culture, and preservation officers with the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

It’s believed that early Indigenous travelers may have been going to Lake Wingra, a large lake on the south side of Madison, Amy Rosebrough, the state archaeologist, said in a Wisconsin Historical Society release. Rosebrough added that the Madison area is part of the Ho-Chunk Nation’s ancestral homeland, and one of the springs that feeds into it was believed to be a portal to the spirit world.

AP reported that the Ho-Chunk’s tribal preservation officer, Bill Quackenbush, said in a news release, “The canoes remind us how long our people have lived in this region and how deeply connected we remain to these waters and lands.”

MMIP Christmas tree displayed at State Capitol building

"Dear Santa, all we want for Christmas is for our relatives to come home"

Sacred Pipe Resource Center has put together an MMIP Christmas tree, which will be displayed at the State Capitol building until Dec. 19. The tree features pictures of local missing Indigenous people pasted over the red MMIP handprint.

Near the top of the tree is a photo of Renzo Bullhead, who went missing while crossing a bridge from Mandan to Bismarck on March 16, 2025. A sign next to the tree states, “Dear Santa, all we want for Christmas is for our relatives to come home.”

Tribes to receive delayed household energy aid

Following a government shutdown delay, the administration releases $3.7 billion in winter heating assistance for 149 tribes and organizations

The Trump administration is releasing $3.7 billion in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds, according to E&E News. The funds were delayed due to the government shutdown. The program helps families pay electric and gas utility bills, and as winter begins, the funds will help keep families warm. In the most recent round of funding, 149 tribes and tribal organizations in 25 states received LIHEAP aid.

The allocation table dated Nov. 28 and released Monday, Dec. 1, shows tribes receiving $42,000 for fiscal year 2026. Tribes should receive the funds soon after they are processed by the Health and Human Services energy assistance division, the department spokesperson told E&E News.

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SNAP program will undergo changes this week, many recipient could lose benefits

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins cited unverified fraud statistics to justify strict new eligibility rules that experts warn could remove millions from food assistance rolls

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Trump administration will implement structural changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) this week, according to NPR. Rollins points to “massive fraud” in the program to justify the changes, claiming hundreds of thousands of Americans are receiving double benefits and thousands of deceased people are receiving benefits. The validity of these statistics are unclear, as the USDA has not confirmed Rollins claims.

The changes come on the heels of the November SNAP interruption caused by the government shutdown, which Rollins said spurred the structural changes. Rollins did not specify what changes will occur. A USDA draft of regulation submitted last month suggests the changes may narrow the “broad-based categorical eligibility,” which some welfare recipients can qualify under. A senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities told NPR an estimated 6 million people could lose benefits with a policy change this big.

Rollins also said all SNAP recipients would have to reapply to receive benefits. A statement from a USDA spokesperson seemed to walk back Rollins’s comment, saying the agency plans to use the standard recertification process.

Tribal nations honored for assistance in LA County fires

Local officials formally recognized fifteen indigenous communities in California, Oregon and Arizona for deploying crews to battle the Eaton and Palisades blazes

Fifteen tribal nations are being recognized by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for their assistance in the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that rapidly spread in California in January 2025. Fire crews from tribes in California, Oregon and Arizona were deployed to help, according to a press release from Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger.

“In January, tribes came to our aid in our time of need,” Barger was quoted as saying. “Their response reflects generosity, partnership, and a shared commitment to co-stewarding this land. Our Los Angeles County Fire Department relied on the incredible support of these tribal fire departments to provide mutual aid when it mattered most. I’m honored to welcome representatives from several of these tribal nations here today.”

Fire Chief Keith Alexander of the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation was quoted as saying the acknowledgement “honors the bravery of our personnel” and “uplifts the spirit of our nation.” He added, “We are proud to stand alongside the Los Angeles County Fire Department to protect lives and the land that we all cherish.”

Ancient earthen observatory in Ohio reveals vast astronomical knowledge of early Natives

After years of restricted access due to a private golf course, the Hopewell culture’s precise lunar tracking site recently joined the Pyramids and Great Wall on the UNESCO World Heritage list

More than 2,000 years after the Octagon Earthworks were developed, the series of earthen mounds built by early Indigenous people are finally getting their due recognition. PBS Newshour reports that archaeologists have compared this site in present-day Newark, Ohio, to Stonehenge for its precise design that tracks the moon’s 18.6 year journey across the sky. But the intricate series of mounds suffered centuries of development, including a members-only golf course that limited access for researchers.

In 2023, the World Heritage Committee rewarded more than 20 years’ effort by the Ohio History Connection by putting eight of its mounds on its list, alongside notable structures such as the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids of Giza. Earlier this year, visitors were invited to experience the Octagon Earthworks as an official World Heritage Site, an ancient astronomical observatory built by Indigenous people who lived roughly 1,500 years before Galileo.

A Native chief, Glenna Wallace of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, told PBS Newshour that when she visited the site, she could hear ancestors singing. The Eastern Shawnee are descendants of what researchers call the Hopewell people, who were driven out of Ohio with the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

Report: Native youths in Washington less likely to get diversion after first offense

A recent analysis indicates that racial disparities regarding court leniency widen significantly with subsequent offenses, prompting lawmakers to implement stricter data collection requirements

Native American youths in Washington are less likely than white youths to be offered diversion from juvenile court, particularly after a first offense, according to InvestigateWest. A 2025 analysis by the Washington Center for Court Research found that disparities widen when prosecutors decide on diversion for second and third offenses in large counties. “It’s rinse-repeat,” Indigenous rights attorney Gabe Galanda, a citizen of the Round Valley Indian Tribe, was quoted as saying. Researchers called the findings “really disheartening,” said Joshua Rovner of The Sentencing Project.

Lawmakers and researchers are pushing for better tracking. House Bill 1391 requires the state to define and collect data on formal and informal diversion. King County plans to replace most prefiling diversion programs after audits questioned performance and financial practices. The research center reported “very strong” evidence that race and ethnicity influenced diversion decisions for Native youths in Pierce County and “moderately strong” evidence in Spokane County, according to the report.

Family seeks answers 20 years after death of Sisseton woman in Missouri

Investigators suspect the 22-year-old was a victim of sex trafficking, but DNA evidence has failed to identify a perpetrator in the two-decade-old cold case

Twenty years after Lakota Renville was found dead in a vacant lot near Kansas City, her family is still seeking justice, according to ICT. Renville, a 22-year-old Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota woman and 2003 graduate of Crow Creek Tribal Schools, was discovered wrapped in a blanket in Independence, Missouri, in 2005. Police believe she was killed elsewhere and transported to the site.

Investigators said Renville had been a victim of sex trafficking and that DNA collected in the case has not yet identified a suspect. Her family continues to raise awareness through a Facebook page called “Justice for Lakota Renville,” while the Independence Police Department renewed its social media campaign on the 20th anniversary of her death. A candlelight vigil is held each year at the lot where Renville was found.

Energy Transfer asks North Dakota Supreme Court to pause Greenpeace case in Netherlands

The company argues that the foreign litigation improperly challenges a recent domestic jury verdict and is urging the state's high court to intervene before upcoming oral arguments

Energy Transfer is asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to order Southwest District Court Judge James Gion to halt a Greenpeace International lawsuit in the Netherlands while related litigation proceeds in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Monitor. The company argues the Dutch case “collaterally attacks the jury verdict” in Morton County and invites “a foreign tribunal to sit in judgment over North Dakota’s judiciary,” according to its petition. Gion denied a stay in September, finding the cases raise different claims and that the Netherlands matter is unlikely to affect the state case. The high court will hear arguments Dec. 18.

Greenpeace International says Energy Transfer has no basis to involve it in North Dakota and will join oral arguments in support of Gion’s decision, according to its filings. The state filed a neutral friend-of-the-court brief urging guidance on when courts should pause foreign cases. Gion recently reduced a jury award against Greenpeace from more than $660 million to about $345 million.

ICE personnel confront Native actress Elaine Miles

The Seattle Times reports that Elaine Miles, known for her roles in “Northern Exposure,” “Smoke Signals” and “The Last of Us,” said she was stopped outside a Redmond, Washington, bus stop by four men wearing face masks and garb emblazoned with the ICE label. In an account originally detailed in a Facebook post earlier this month, Miles said the men emerged from two black SUVs without front license plates and demanded to see her ID.

In that same post, Miles said when she presented her tribal ID card issued by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation of Oregon, one man called it “fake” while another said, “Anyone can make that.”

The men themselves did not share their names or badge numbers when Miles asked for them. When pressed on the validity of her tribal ID, she told them to call the phone number on the back of it. After she called the tribe’s enrollment office, the men attempted to take her phone but then retreated after a fifth ICE agent summoned them back to the SUVs.

Tribes have urged their citizens to remain calm if confronted by ICE and to present their tribal IDs, which are valid proof of U.S. citizenship, and they have called on government agencies to honor the IDs and exercise caution when detaining people.

On Veteran’s Day, a woman enrolled with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community had an ICE detainer placed on her as she was preparing to leave the Polk County Jail. A spokesman for the jail called the mix-up a “silly” clerical error.

Critics call these two incidents examples of racial profiling. ICE did not respond to requests for comment.

Native Conservancy promotes regenerative ocean farming in Alaska

The Native Conservancy is developing regenerative ocean farming projects in Alaska that focus on cultivating kelp and bivalves to restore ecosystems and strengthen Indigenous sovereignty, according to The Fish Site. Founder Dune Lankard, an Eyak Athabaskan from Cordova, said the initiative aims to revive Indigenous coastal economies and reconnect communities with ancestral food systems disrupted by colonization and pollution.

The Conservancy, the first Native-led and Native-owned land trust in Alaska, is collaborating with regional organizations to establish kelp test farms and collect environmental data on salinity, temperature and biomass. Tiffany Stephens, director of Ocean Back at the Conservancy, said the group is also working to address barriers such as permitting, workforce development and processing. Lankard said the project’s success will be measured by sustainability and sovereignty rather than profit.

Indigenous brand Tópa collaborates with Ralph Lauren for global collection

Indigenous-owned clothing brand Tópa partnered with Ralph Lauren for the fourth installment of the company’s Artist in Residence program, according to the National Indigenous Times, a news publication based in Australia. The collaboration blends Indigenous design elements with the American fashion house’s signature style.

Tópa is owned by Jocy and Trae Little Sky of the Oceti Sakowin. Jocy Little Sky is Dakota and belongs to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations, while Trae Little Sky is Oglala Lakota and Stoney Nakoda. The collection features men’s and women’s apparel and accessories inspired by the colors red, black, yellow and white. A short film was shot on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota to accompany the release.

Ralph Lauren announced a portion of proceeds will support the Lakota Language and Education Initiative through the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation.