The Daily Spark

Anishinaabe songwriter Keith Secola and Cayuga actor and musician Gary Farmer recently spoke with MPR News host Nina Moini about touring northern Minnesota together as part of the Ancestral Fire Music Tour. The tour began March 12 and includes performances in Virginia, Bemidji and Grand Rapids before concluding March 15 with a show in south Minneapolis.

Secola, a member of the Native Music Hall of Fame, and Farmer, known for acting roles including Nobody in the 1995 film “Dead Man” and Uncle Brownie in the television series “Reservation Dogs,” are performing contemporary Native blues, rock and traditional music during the tour. Farmer said he is performing with guitarist Jaime Bird Yellowhorse of the Navajo and Pueblo peoples, while Secola discussed his recent album Ranger, recorded with a group of musicians rooted in northern Minnesota. The artists described the tour as a way to bring people together through music and shared cultural expression.

Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case defended the department’s handling of a serial killer investigation featured in the documentary series “Lost Women of Alaska,” which examines the case of Brian Steven Smith, who was arrested in 2019 and convicted of torturing and killing two Alaska Native women, according to reporting by the Alaska Beacon. In the series, victims’ families and advocates question how Anchorage detectives handled the case and broader investigations involving missing and murdered Indigenous people.

Case rejected claims in the series that Anchorage provides an environment where perpetrators can target women and said the department has implemented policy changes, increased enforcement and expanded technology use to improve investigations. According to the Alaska Beacon, the Anchorage Police Department reported 39 active cases of missing adults as of March 10. Case said the department is also working to establish a victim advocate position within the homicide unit to improve communication with families of victims.

The New Mexico Department of Justice’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Task Force met March 13 at Acoma Pueblo to discuss funding and support efforts addressing cases involving missing Indigenous people. During the meeting, Kayla Benally spoke about the disappearance of her father, Aaron Mark Bradley, a 68-year-old citizen of the Navajo Nation who was last seen Sept. 6 at a convenience store in Shonto, Arizona, according to reporting by New Mexico In Depth.

State lawmakers approved funding during this year’s legislative session for efforts related to the crisis, including appropriations to the Office of the Medical Investigator for testing human remains and the Crime Victims Reparation Commission, Rep. Charlotte Little, D-Albuquerque from San Felipe Pueblo, said during the meeting. According to New Mexico In Depth, the state budget also extends the task force’s ability to use the remaining $200,000 previously allocated for its operations while members work on funding recommendations and updates to the state’s response plan.

A cheering section known as the War Party provided organized support for the Riverside Indian School Braves during the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association state basketball tournament in March 2026, according to reporting by ICT.

About 50 Riverside students filled a corner section of the bleachers during recent regional championship games, coordinating cheers for the boys and girls teams as they advanced to the state tournament. Sandra Harris Tate, Sac and Fox and Ponca, has led the War Party for more than 20 years and said the group brings “spirit and energy” to the teams and school community. Norman Tippeconnie, a Comanche citizen who has served as the boys basketball coach for 23 years and as the school’s athletic director, said the cheering section helps connect students from many Native communities. Both Riverside teams reached the state tournament for the first time in school history but were eliminated in early rounds.

Tribal nations are pursuing new financing strategies for clean energy projects after losing roughly $1.5 billion in federal support, according to reporting by Grist.

The funding loss followed passage of President Donald Trump’s tax bill, referred to in the report as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which stripped money previously earmarked for tribal renewable energy and climate resilience efforts. Grist reported that nearly 1,600 projects by tribal governments and Native entities lost some or all of their federal funding. In response, tribes are turning to philanthropy, low-interest loans and Native-led financing groups such as Huurav, a tribal energy financing organization created by the Colorado River Indian Tribes. Nonprofits including the Alliance for Tribal Clean Energy are also helping fill the gap, while some tribes are seeking federal support for geothermal and transmission projects still available through existing programs.

The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in two cases challenging a permit issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission for Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project, according to reporting by Michigan Advance.

The commission approved the permit in December 2023, determining the proposed tunnel would reduce the risk of an oil spill from the dual pipelines that run through the Straits of Mackinac. The Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi appealed the decision along with the Environmental Law and Policy Center and Michigan Climate Action Network. Attorneys argued the commission limited its review and failed to consider alternatives to the project. Enbridge attorney John Bursch said the tunnel would be the safest option to prevent a spill. The court will issue a ruling at a later date.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is seeking ownership of the Shawnee Indian Mission State Historical Site in Fairway, Kansas, raising questions about how the site’s history is preserved, according to reporting by the Kansas Reflector.

The site operated as a Methodist boarding and manual labor school for Native children from 1839 to 1862 and now includes three historic buildings on about 12 acres of land. Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Chairman Joseph Rupnick told lawmakers during a legislative hearing that transferring ownership would allow the tribe to use the site for cultural revitalization, language preservation and ceremony. Kansas Historical Society Executive Director Patrick Zollner said the state remains the best steward of the property. Senate Bill 518, introduced by Sen. Adam Thomas, would allow the state to convey the land to the tribe beginning in July 2028 while prohibiting gaming or casino development on the property.

A new domestic violence shelter opened Feb. 23 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Porcupine, South Dakota, marking the first full-service shelter on the reservation since 2009, according to reporting by ICT.

The shelter is operated by the nonprofit Where All Women Are Honored and was founded by Norma Rendon, Oglala Lakota. Rendon said victims previously had to travel more than 90 miles to Rapid City or seek space at shelters on the Rosebud Reservation. The five-bedroom facility can house up to five families and provides emergency space if it reaches capacity. Rendon said the shelter aims to provide safety and support for people leaving abusive relationships. According to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, there are 55 Indigenous-focused domestic violence shelters nationwide. Rendon said the shelter is open to anyone in need, regardless of gender or whether they are Native.

Attorneys for North Dakota and the United States have asked a federal judge to void a nearly $28 million judgment against the federal government related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests so the parties can pursue a settlement instead, according to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor.

North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor ruled in April 2025 that the executive branch must pay the state $28 million over costs tied to demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017. The U.S. Department of Justice appealed the decision in June. According to court records cited by the North Dakota Monitor, the state and federal government have reached a tentative settlement in which North Dakota would receive a “substantial monetary payment” and the federal government would drop its appeal. The agreement would also require Traynor to nullify the $28 million judgment and several related rulings. Attorney General Drew Wrigley said in a Thursday statement he could not provide additional details about the tentative agreement.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a nomination hearing March 18 for Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to ICT. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Trump fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem last week and nominated Mullin for the position March 5, saying he hoped Mullin could begin the role by the end of the month, according to ICT.

Mullin, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, would become the first Native American to lead the department if confirmed, according to ICT. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told ICT she worked with Mullin when both served in the U.S. House. “And of course, I wish him the best, right?” Haaland was quoted as saying. “What’s happened in our country over the last several months, three people being shot in the streets of our cities. I hope that he can bring some calm.”

Josh Stein spoke at the United Tribes of North Carolina’s Annual Unity Conference on March 6 in Raleigh, reaffirming the state’s commitment to Native American communities, according to NC Newsline. The event marked the first time the conference has been held since the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina received federal recognition in December 2025.

“American Indians in North Carolina have helped shape our state and nation since before its founding,” Stein was quoted as saying. “As we reflect on America’s 250th anniversary, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting the 130,000 American Indians who call North Carolina home.” Tribal leaders and community members representing North Carolina’s eight state-recognized tribes and four Urban American Indian Organizations attended the conference, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. N.C. Department of Administration Secretary Gabriel Esparza said American Indian people are a critical part of the state’s history, economy and communities.

Leander “Russ” McDonald, president of United Tribes Technical College, has been named honoree of the year by the American Indian College Fund, according to KFYR.

The award recognizes individuals who have made an impact on the tribal college movement. McDonald, a member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, has served as president of the college for more than a decade. He will receive a $1,200 gift as part of the honor, according to KFYR.

Community leaders across the country are working to connect Indigenous sovereignty initiatives with reparations movements in an effort to strengthen both efforts, according to reporting by the Daily Yonder. One example is the Texas Tribal Buffalo Project, led by Lucille Contreras, Lipan Apache. The project is restoring bison herds and Indigenous stewardship on land in Gonzalez County, Texas. Contreras reportedly purchased 77 acres in 2020 with a USDA new farmer-rancher loan, and the project’s herd has grown to 34 bison since the first eight were acquired in 2021. “All of Texas is traditionally buffalo territory,” Contreras told the Daily Yonder. “We invite people to attend the buffalo harvest and have had 400 guests.”

Organizations including the South Dakota-based NDN Collective are also supporting land return initiatives. Through its NDN Fund, the Chugach Regional Resources Commission in Seward, Alaska, secured a loan to purchase and expand the 1.52-acre home of the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute, which conducts ocean restoration and marine research, according to the Daily Yonder. Nick Tilsen, Oglala Lakota and founder of NDN Collective, said the Land Back movement focuses on restoring Indigenous stewardship of land. “Sometimes indigenous ‘Land Back’ invokes fear that we are coming for individual people’s property rights and land, but that’s not what we are doing,” Tilsen was quoted as saying.

At the end of February, Dakota AIM Grassroots hosted AIM Liberation Day in collaboration with Wambli Ska at North Middle School on Maple Avenue to commemorate the 53rd anniversary of the Feb. 27, 1973, occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, according to Native Sun News. The American Indian Movement, founded in Minneapolis in 1968, was established to address issues including police brutality, poverty and discrimination against urban Native people, according to Native Sun News. The movement later expanded to focus on tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and the preservation of Native languages, culture and spirituality.

Wambli Ska Executive Director Christ White Eagle, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said the event included speakers discussing the significance of the 1973 standoff and its lasting impact. “It’s important to remember and honor those who fought for our rights,” White Eagle was quoted as saying. Jonathan Old Horse, Oglala Lakota pastor and resident, said the movement led to changes that continue to shape Native communities. “We can have long hair. We can practice our culture without being ashamed. It’s small things, but they were not available back then,” Old Horse was quoted as saying. The event also included traditional dancing, vendors and a buffalo feed honoring those involved in the movement.

Michigan lawmakers questioned state officials during a February subcommittee hearing about why a 300-page report examining the impact of Indian boarding schools in the state was not publicly released, according to reporting by The Imprint. The report, funded by more than $1 million in state appropriations in 2023 and produced by the Native American-led consulting firm Kauffman and Associates Inc., examined Michigan’s boarding school history and the role of the state in the system. The report was later obtained and published by Bridge Michigan, which first reported on the issue.

Testimony during the hearing included comments from boarding school survivors and representatives from Kauffman and Associates. “Limiting our role in this way was consequential,” Jo Ann Kauffman, president of the firm and a Nez Perce tribal member, told lawmakers, according to The Imprint. Boarding school survivor Marilyn Wakefield, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, criticized the delay in releasing the report. “It’s beyond ridiculous,” Wakefield was quoted as saying. “It’s unfair to the survivors and descendants who were part of this report.”

Federal proceedings continue in the murder case involving Sahela Toka Win Sangrait, 21, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe whose remains were discovered in March 2025 near Hill City, South Dakota, according to Native Sun News. Sangrait was reported missing Aug. 10, 2024. 

Quinterius Charles Chappelle, 24, an aircraft inspection journeyman stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, has been federally charged in connection with Sangrait’s death and entered a not guilty plea during a March 28, 2025, arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann, according to Native Sun News. 

The investigation involves the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Rapid City Police Department, FBI, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit. A jury trial is scheduled for May 26, after the court granted a 120-day continuance, according to Native Sun News.

Online gambling platforms operating through federal regulatory loopholes are raising concerns among tribal gaming leaders who say the industry threatens tribal gaming rights and state authority, according to ICT. Victor Rocha, conference chair for the Indian Gaming Association and a citizen of the Pechanga Band of Indians, said prediction markets allow companies to offer gambling-like services nationwide while avoiding state gaming compacts that govern tribal casinos.

Some tribes and states are exploring regulatory models that could include tribes in online gaming systems, according to ICT. A 2021 compact between the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the state of Florida established a “hub-and-spoke” model allowing mobile sports betting through servers located on tribal land. Wisconsin lawmakers are considering similar legislation that would allow the state’s 11 federally recognized tribes to operate online gaming systems within the state under tribal authority.

An Indigenous-led prayer camp established near Mni Owe Sni, also known as Coldwater Spring, in Minneapolis will close Wednesday evening after youth leaders and Lakota spiritual leader Arvol Looking Horse reached an agreement Sunday night, according to MPR News. The camp, set up in early February across from the Whipple Federal Building, had drawn debate among Indigenous community members over the use of the site, which is considered sacred and is understood by some leaders to include Dakota burial grounds.

Looking Horse told camp residents he believed establishing the camp at the location broke “spiritual law” because the area is recognized as a burial site, according to MPR News. Youth leaders said the camp was intended as a place for prayer and healing and a response to community concerns including immigration enforcement actions, housing instability and drug use in Minneapolis. After nearly four hours of discussion, both sides agreed the camp could remain temporarily so residents could pray before dismantling it later this week.

An instructor at United Tribes Technical College is teaching students the Hidatsa language as part of an effort to help preserve it, according to reporting by KFYR-TV. The language is considered to be in a state of emergency, with an estimated 65 fluent speakers remaining.

Amber Gwin is teaching the course this semester, the first time the Hidatsa language has been offered at the college. Nine students are enrolled, including Rollie Knight, who said learning the language helps him reconnect with his family and culture. Gwin said she is also relearning the language alongside her students after growing up hearing it as a child. She told KFYR that the goal is to keep the language alive and that she plans to teach the course again in the fall if there is enough interest.