The Daily Spark

Four emerging Indigenous women artists are exhibiting their work this summer at the North Boulder Library through the Art + Place program, according to reporting by KUNC. The exhibition, presented by the NoBo Art District in collaboration with Thunder Wolf Native Arts and Culture, features artists younger than 25 and aims to expand opportunities for Native artists while bringing Indigenous perspectives to public spaces.

Among the featured artists is 19-year-old Maxx Wapasha Lake, who is part of the San Carlos Apache Tribe and a descendant of the Navajo Nation. Curator Tom Myer, who is Cayuga of the Haudenosaunee and Ngäbe-Buglé, told KUNC the exhibition also helps educate the public about Native history and contemporary Native life. The gallery is open during library hours through the end of August, and all artwork is available for purchase.

The Little Bighorn Film Festival brought Indigenous filmmakers and storytelling to Billings, Montana, during the 150th anniversary of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, according to reporting from MTN News. Held June 25–27 at the Northern Hotel and the Art House Cinema and Pub, the festival featured 22 short films, documentaries and feature films focused on the history, culture and resilience of the Allied Tribes that fought in the 1876 battle. The event also included filmmaker presentations, live music and awards honoring Native contributors.

Festival organizer Russell Brooks said the event was created to celebrate the resilience of the Allied Tribes while sharing Native perspectives on the battle, according to the MTN News reporting. Organizers also presented a lifetime achievement award to the family of Blackfeet actor Steve Reevis, who died in 2017. Dr. Brooke Beaverheart Gondara said the festival offered an opportunity to share Indigenous history that many people may have never learned.

Arizona authorities arrested 42 people in 10 separate cases tied to a nearly $3 billion sober living home fraud scheme that targeted Native Americans, according to reporting by Native News Online. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the arrests June 24. The charges include fraudulent billing, theft, conspiracy, vulnerable adult abuse, manslaughter and negligent homicide.

The scheme involved kidnapping Native Americans and enrolling them in the American Indian Health Program through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, and billing Medicaid for mental health services that were allegedly never provided, according to the Native News Online reporting. The state estimates the fraud cost taxpayers $2.8 billion. Native News Online reported that nearly 180 people have been indicted, 41 have been convicted and about 200 cases remain under investigation. Native advocates told the outlet they believe recruiters continue targeting vulnerable Native people.

The National Native American Hall of Fame announced six inductees for its 2026 class, according to a Hall of Fame press release. The honorees are Tom Cole of the Chickasaw Nation; Carol Juneau of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation; Arlinda Locklear of the Lumbee Tribe; the late Richard Milanovich of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; Ernie Stevens Jr. of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin; and Lyle Thompson of the Onondaga Nation. The induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 21 at the OKANA Resort & Hotel in Oklahoma City.

According to the news release, the inductees were recognized for contributions in government, law, education, tribal leadership, gaming and athletics. The National Native American Hall of Fame said the 2026 class reflects achievements across multiple fields that have shaped Indian Country and Native communities.

A proposed settlement to secure Colorado River water rights for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe remains stalled after Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming opposed key provisions, according to reporting from ProPublica and KJZZ News-Phoenix. The Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act would resolve the largest outstanding tribal claim to the Colorado River and provide about $5 billion in federal funding for water infrastructure.

Supporters say the settlement would bring running water to communities that lack reliable access while allowing the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe to lease some water rights to help pay for infrastructure, according to the ProPublica and KJZZ News-Phoenix. The Upper Basin states have raised concerns about the leasing provisions and their effect on Colorado River management. Marilyn Tewa, a member of the Hopi Tribal Council, said she hopes the agreement is approved "for all three tribes."

MiigWitches Brew, a Native-owned coffee business on the Fond du Lac Reservation in northeastern Minnesota, is expanding while focusing on community over profit, according to reporting from MPR News. Jackson Ripley, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, and his family opened the first location in 2024. The business recently added a second shop at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.

Ripley said he wanted to bring quality coffee to the reservation, where residents previously traveled farther for coffee. The business also supports other Native and local businesses by purchasing coffee, baked goods and maple syrup from nearby suppliers. Andrea Reese, CEO of the Mni Sota Fund, told MPR News that Native entrepreneurs often prioritize supporting their communities over maximizing profits. Ripley said staying close to family and serving the community remain central to the business.

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament is highlighting the role skateboarding plays in Indigenous communities through the short documentary "Paving the Way," according to reporting from The Associated Press. The film premiered June 8 at the Tribeca Festival and follows skater and artist Alishon Kelly while showcasing new skate parks being built across the Flathead Reservation through a partnership between Ament's Montana Pool Service and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Ament, who created original music for the film, said the parks give young people a place to connect and express themselves, according to The Associated Press reporting. The documentary also features skater Terrence Lozeau, who said the parks build community. "These parks are where we come together and where we look out for each other," Lozeau said. "You see little kids watching the older ones and learning."

Dakota Plains Legal Services is facing a $176,000 budget shortfall that is affecting staffing and services, Interim Director William Sulik told the Commission on Equal Access to Our Courts, according to reporting from South Dakota Searchlight. The nonprofit serves western South Dakota and Native Americans on and off tribal lands statewide. Sulik said the organization is delaying hiring, reviewing operations and leaving three recently vacated positions unfilled to help preserve services.

The financial challenges could continue if federal funding is reduced. According to reporting from South Dakota Searchlight, Dakota Plains received about $76,000 less this year from the Legal Services Corporation, which provides about 73% of the organization's operating budget. Sulik said funding and staffing shortages have also slowed expansion of the Justice Bus, a mobile legal aid clinic serving rural and tribal communities. "We're trying the best we can," Sulik told South Dakota Searchlight.

A new Indigenous-led whale watching experience launched June 16 in Seattle, offering visitors a tour rooted in Coast Salish history, culture and traditional knowledge, according to reporting from Underscore Native News and ICT. The inaugural voyage of the "First Stories of the Salish Sea" tour included Indigenous storytelling, cultural education, and sightings of orcas and a humpback whale in Elliott Bay.

Valerie Segrest, a citizen of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and chief executive officer of Taproot Travel Co., said the tours are designed to share Indigenous perspectives with visitors, according to Underscore Native News and ICT reporting. During the nearly four-hour tour, Owen Oliver, a citizen of the Quinault Indian Nation and Isleta Pueblo, shared stories about treaty rights, Coast Salish history and animal relatives while Elizabeth Campbell, a citizen of the Spokane Tribe, led a tasting featuring teas made from Native plants.

Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, an Anishinaabe woman from Wikwemikong First Nation, is among Indigenous advocates whose efforts helped challenge gender-based discrimination in Canada’s Indian Act. According to reporting in The Globe and Mail, Corbiere Lavell lost her Indian status in 1970 after marrying a non-Indigenous man and later joined a legal fight that contributed to reforms under Bill C-31 in 1985, which restored status to many Indigenous women.

The debate has shifted to the Indian Act’s second-generation cutoff, a provision that can prevent descendants of some Status Indians from obtaining status. Dawn Lavell Harvard, director of Trent University’s First Peoples House of Learning and Corbiere Lavell’s daughter, is among those supporting Bill S-2, which would eliminate the cutoff. According to Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty’s office, the bill would restore status to about 3,500 people and their descendants. The legislation is being studied by the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, and could be considered for a vote this fall.

The Caddo Nation plans to open a new child-care center in Hinton, Okla., this fall to address limited child-care options for families in the region, according to reporting from ICT News. Caddo Nation Child Care Director Lauren French, who is Delaware and Caddo, said families have faced long waitlists and extended travel times to reach available providers. The 12,250-square-foot facility is located near Interstate 40 and will serve up to 75 children from six months to 12 years old.

The center was developed through a partnership between the Caddo Nation and the nonprofit design organization Model of Architecture Serving Society, known as MASS, according to reporting from ICT News. The facility will include indoor and outdoor learning spaces, a gym, pool, library, nursing center and playground inspired by the Caddo Nation’s mound-building tradition. The project is expected to create 20 to 23 jobs and was constructed by Arrowood Kakinah Enterprise, a Caddo-owned construction company. The building’s design incorporates elements inspired by traditional Caddo Koo Hoo Kiwat homes.

Tribal leaders and advocates are challenging a New Mexico directive that requires the state’s child welfare agency to seek custody of newborns exposed to drugs or alcohol in utero, arguing the policy conflicts with protections for Native families and tribal sovereignty, according to reporting from The Guardian. Nine tribes joined an emergency petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues the directive does not address safeguards required for Indian families established in state and federal law.  

At least 25 Native children have been flagged by child welfare authorities since the directive took effect, with tribes taking jurisdiction in 10 cases, according to The Guardian’s reporting. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren wrote in an April letter that the proposed rule raises concerns about tribal sovereignty, jurisdiction and unnecessary involvement in the child welfare system. Donalyn Lorenzo, a former New Mexico child welfare official, also questioned whether tribes were adequately consulted before the policy was implemented.

A new book tells the stories of Native American women in the Twin Cities, who for decades helped build organizations, advance the arts, and strengthen education and community programs, according to reporting by MPR News. The book was co-authored by White Earth Nation citizen Audrey Thayer and Colette Hyman. “Weaving Community: Indigenous Women and Leadership in the Twin Cities” chronicles the work of women activists who founded and led about 25 organizations in Minneapolis and St. Paul beginning in the 1950s.

According to Thayer, the nine-year project includes perspectives from more than two dozen Dakota, Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk women, and documents the histories of organizations including the Indigenous Peoples Task Force and MIGIZI Communications. Thayer said the book was inspired by a lack of educational resources focused on Indigenous women’s leadership. Published by Minnesota Historical Society Press, the book also explores the impacts of boarding schools and relocation to Minneapolis and St. Paul for work and education opportunities.

A conference at Yale University explored the American Revolution through the experiences of Native nations as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, according to reporting by Connencticut Public. The event, “First America: The Legacies of the Declaration of Independence for Native Nations,” was organized by The Yale Group for the Study of Native America and The NYU-Yale American Indian Sovereignty Project. Participants discussed Indigenous history, land dispossession, democracy and Native visibility in narratives about the nation’s founding.

Chris Newell of the Passamaquoddy Tribe discussed his book “If You Lived During the American Revolution,” which includes Indigenous and Black perspectives. Conference organizer Ned Blackhawk, a Western Shoshone historian at Yale University, said Native communities have been left out of many accounts of American history. Participants said Native history remains an ongoing part of the American story, not one confined to the Revolutionary era.

A California county court has ordered the City of Corona to stop work on a wastewater expansion project after Native American remains were unearthed at the construction site, according to Native News Online. According to the Riverside County Coroner confirmed the report to be prehistoric Native American remains. The California Native American Heritage Commission identified the ancestors as most likely belonging to the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, along with the Kizh Nation, Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians and the Pechanga Band of Indians.

The affected tribes concluded the area should be treated as a cemetery, the remains reinterred and further construction avoided, according to Native News Online reporting. After the city argued it could proceed under earlier recommendations from the Kizh Nation, tribes sought a preliminary injunction in 2023. Mark Macarro, chairman of the Pechanga Band of Indians, called the ruling a victory. "Today's ruling affirms what we have known for generations — these grounds are sacred, and the remains of our ancestors deserve the full protection of the law," he said in a press release.

U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is pressing Harvard University to explain delays in returning Native ancestors and cultural items under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, according to reporting from The Harvard Crimson. In a June 8 letter to Harvard President Alan M. Garber, Schatz requested updates on the university's compliance efforts, including how many ancestors and cultural items have been returned and how many remain in its collections.

Schatz, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, gave Harvard 30 days to respond and asked whether the university met its pledge to complete the disposition of ancestors and associated funerary belongings by 2025. According to the Harvard Crimson’s reporting, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology had repatriated 5,464 ancestors and more than 20,000 funerary belongings as of Dec. 31, 2025. Still, 4,643 ancestors remained in the museum's possession, either in active consultation with tribes or awaiting consultation. "Indigenous people have waited long enough," Schatz said in a press release. "It's time for these museums and universities to stop the delays and finally do the right thing."

The Santa Fe Indian School, established in 1890 as a federal boarding school intended to assimilate Native children, now serves as a tribally controlled institution focused on preserving Indigenous culture and language. According to reporting from GPB, students and staff are reshaping the school's legacy through Native-centered curriculum, language instruction and efforts to reclassify library materials that students say portray Native people as history rather than living communities.

The school offers instruction in about 11 Indigenous languages and allows tribes to guide what students learn. Kyle Shutiva, a junior at the school, said the library recategorization project reflects that mission. "We're just trying to decolonize this area," he said. "[The] 970s [of the Dewey Decimal System, where Native American materials are categorized] show that Native Americans are history, but we're still here, truly." Language teacher Tasha Pino, an alumna of the school, said teaching is a way to give back. "Being able to give back to my community and to my students," she said, "this is the way I can do that."

American Indian and Alaska Native people have some of the highest overall cancer death rates among U.S. racial and ethnic groups, according to the American Association for Cancer Research's Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2026. The report also found that American Indian and Alaska Native populations are experiencing some of the largest increases in early-onset colorectal cancer rates, underscoring ongoing inequities in cancer outcomes.

The report noted progress in narrowing some racial disparities in cancer mortality but said significant gaps remain across the cancer continuum. American Indian and Alaska Native populations continue to experience higher incidence and mortality rates for stomach, gallbladder and liver cancers. The AACR called for sustained federal investment in cancer disparities research, screening and prevention programs, warning that recent funding disruptions threaten efforts to ensure that advances in cancer care benefit medically underserved communities.

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would permanently establish the Small Business Administration's Office of Native American Affairs, according to reporting from Tribal Business News. The Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act, introduced by Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., passed the House on June 23 and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

The bill would codify the office into federal law, create an assistant administrator position reporting directly to SBA leadership, and expand its role in tribal consultation, contracting, entrepreneurial development and access-to-capital programs. Davids, an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, said the measure would improve Native entrepreneurs' access to SBA resources.