The Daily Spark

Hundreds of Native American remains taken from Louisiana gravesites remain in museums, universities and government collections nearly 35 years after the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, according to reporting by The Advocate.

In 1968, a prison guard looted a Tunica-Biloxi burial site in West Feliciana Parish, discarding the unearthed skeletons into the Mississippi River and keeping artifacts, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Earl Barbry Jr. said. Although the Tunica-Biloxi later won a court case that set precedent for NAGPRA, repatriation has been slowed by lack of funding, inconsistent federal data and reluctance by some institutions to release remains. “It’s a sorrow in that it was taken out of the ground, but relief that it’s come back to be housed here and taken care of and honored,” Barbry said.

Brianna Howard, a University of Oklahoma junior and member of the Choctaw Nation, became the first female Native American to drive the Sooner Schooner during OU’s Sept. 20 home game against Auburn, according to Central Oklahoma Weeklies. Howard, a 2023 Tuttle High School graduate, was promoted from her role with the Ruf/Nek Lil’ Sis to driver trainee this fall.

Howard said her first official run felt “surreal” after months of training. “All of those practices don’t do the real run justice,” she told Central Oklahoma Weeklies. “Once I started driving, it was like everything went silent. All I could think about was the ponies and making that turn.” She said she takes pride in representing Native people and has received encouragement from community members who expressed excitement at seeing her in the driver’s seat.

According to a press release from Senator Kevin Cramer, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $1,397,350 to three North Dakota colleges under the Indian Education Professional Development Grants. The funding aims to train Native students for careers as teachers and administrators and to support students at tribal colleges and universities.

The release says the University of Mary will receive $500,000; Sitting Bull College, $472,340; and Turtle Mountain College, $425,010.

According to KXNET, Crystal Two Hearts of the Spirit Lake Nation has been sewing star quilts for 15 years and now runs Eternal Bloom Blankets in Bismarck full time. She said quilts are sacred gifts in Native culture, representing the embrace of ancestors during life events such as graduations, weddings and funerals.

Two Hearts learned the skill from her mother-in-law and now hopes to pass it on to her daughter, according to KXNET. Working with a vintage machine, she spends up to eight hours a day stitching and often a full week completing a quilt. She also sews handbags, keychains and skirts, donating items to Standing Rock to support fundraising efforts. Two Hearts said the work grounds her and connects her to her culture.

The U.S. Department of Justice has selected six federally recognized tribes to join the Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. The program gives tribal governments access to national crime information systems maintained by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services Division.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the expansion arms tribal law enforcement with data to identify criminals, track predators and deliver justice for victims. The selected tribes are the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas; Cayuga Nation in New York; Duckwater Shoshone Tribe; Pueblo of Zia; Seneca-Cayuga Nation in Oklahoma; and Southern Ute Indian Tribe.

According to Native News Online, Navajo Nation Delegate Eugenia Charles-Newton met with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials Sept. 10 to raise concerns about systemic health barriers and declining COVID-19 vaccine allocations to Indian Health Service facilities. Charles-Newton, chair of the Law and Order Committee, said communities cannot afford to be left behind as infections rise.

During the consultation, Mark Cruz, senior counselor to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pledged to follow up on vaccine distribution and supply issues. Cruz also announced an upcoming funding opportunity through the Rural Health Transformation Program and outlined ongoing Indian Health Service reform initiatives, including regional realignment and departmental reorganization. Leaders from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Blackfeet Nation, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe echoed concerns over health access, mental health crises and nutrition programs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded a projected $15 million, five-year grant to StrongHearts Native Helpline to operate as the first standalone National Indigenous Domestic Violence Hotline for American Indians and Alaska Natives, according to a Sept. 24 announcement. The grant, authorized by the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, will fund culturally appropriate support and advocacy provided by trained staff with expertise in tribal cultures, sovereignty and jurisdictional complexities.

According to the Administration for Children and Families, the hotline will also serve as part of the FVPSA Training and Technical Assistance Resource Network, helping expand domestic violence programs nationwide. The service operates 24/7, offering confidential, toll-free support via call, text and online chat at 844-762-8483 and www.strongheartshelpline.org.

The Red Owl Group, formed by several Three Affiliated Tribes citizens, is holding community meetings on the Fort Berthold Reservation for tribal citizens to learn about their rights under the tribe’s constitution. The group will also discuss its advocacy efforts, which include suing the MHA Nation Tribal Business Council. A first session was held Sept. 23 in Twin Buttes, North Dakota. Other sessions will take place on Sept. 25 at Water Chief Hall in Mandaree and Sept. 29 at Ralph Wells Junior Community Center in White Shield. Both are 5-7 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. The group is recording the sessions. For more information, please contact Terry Fredericks at 701-214-2979.

The Osage Nation has completed its 17-year effort to fully reacquire Sugarloaf Mound, the last remaining Native American mound in St. Louis. Built between A.D. 600 and 1200, the mound is considered the city’s oldest known human-made structure, according to News9.

The Osage Nation began its reclamation in 2008 by purchasing one-third of the property and later acquired and demolished a house that had stood on the summit since 1928. The final two properties were transferred back to the tribe this year. Andrea Hunter, the tribe’s Historic Preservation Officer, said, “I am thrilled to finally see the entire mound come under Osage Nation control.” The tribe plans to pursue preservation projects, including stabilizing the mound and creating an interpretive center for education and public engagement.

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians hosted Sovereignty Day celebrations on Sept. 21, according to the Petoskey News-Review. The event marked the 1994 ratification of Public Law 103-324, which granted federal recognition to the Little Traverse Bay Bands and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

The celebration began with a parade through downtown Harbor Springs, Michigan, followed by a traditional powwow at the LTBB Government Complex. Tribal Chairperson Winnay Wemigwase was quoted as saying during the event, “It’s always important for us to remember that our sovereignty and our government is a big responsibility.” The day included veteran honors, dancing, vendors and a community feast.

According to an announcement by the Sacred Pipe Resource Center, the 9th annual Indigenous Arts, Craft and Entrepreneur Fair will take place Nov. 29 at the Bismarck Event Center, 315 S. 5th Street. The event, held on Small Business Saturday, will feature more than 40 vendors and artists, along with music and door prizes.

Organizers said admission is free and the fair is intended to provide a space for holiday shopping while supporting Indigenous artists and entrepreneurs. For more information, community members can call 701-663-3686.

The Spirit Lake Tribal Council has designated the Dakota language as the core language of the Spirit Lake Tribe, according to a Spirit Lake Tribe press release. The council issued a proclamation Aug. 20, mandating the permanent inclusion of Dakota in schools, tribal programs and businesses under the tribe’s jurisdiction.

Signed by Tribal Chairwoman Lonna J. Street and Secretary-Treasurer Darcie Lohnes, the proclamation highlights the Dakota language as essential to heritage, identity and community. It also acknowledges the decline in fluent speakers, noting fewer than 1% of the tribe’s 7,800 members are fluent, most of them elders. Street was quoted as saying, “Our Dakota language is not just a way of speaking; it is a living part of who we are as Dakota people.” The council called on educators and community members to participate in revitalization efforts to ensure the language is spoken by future generations.

According to Montana Free Press, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council has banned the sale, use and possession of kratom on the reservation in north-central Montana.

The resolution, passed Sept. 12, applies criminal penalties to retailers selling kratom. Council member Lyle Rutherford said penalties for possession have not yet been set because enforcement mechanisms still need to be determined. The resolution cites risks of “dependence and withdrawal symptoms similar to those experienced with opioids” and the lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration enforcement as motivating factors. The Blackfeet Tribe Department of Revenue notified kratom-selling or promoting businesses of the ban on Sept. 22.

According to reporting by CalMatters, the California Legislature approved a bill that would ban companies from offering online sweepstakes games that casino-owning tribes say threaten their exclusive gambling rights. The measure passed both chambers without opposition and now awaits Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision.

Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians Chairman Isaiah Vivanco told a Senate committee the games “erase all benefits of regulated gaming while exposing consumers to serious risk.” Tribes supporting the bill have contributed at least $7.6 million to California legislators since 2015. Opponents, including online gaming companies and small tribes without large casinos, argue the games are legal and offer revenue opportunities. If signed, the bill would create criminal penalties for operators and affiliated businesses, with violators facing up to a year in jail and fines of up to $25,000.

A new orange “Every Child Matters” crosswalk was unveiled Sept. 17 at Dollarton Highway and Sleil-Waututh Road in North Vancouver, according to the North Shore Daily Post. The project was a collaboration between səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation), the Orange Shirt Society and the District of North Vancouver, and is one of eight such crosswalks across Canada.

The design, created by Tsleil-Waututh artist Candace Thomas, features a Thunderbird symbol honoring residential school survivors who never returned home and missing and murdered Indigenous women. Phyllis Webstad, CEO of the Orange Shirt Society, attended the ceremony. səlilwətaɬ Chief Justin Sky George was quoted as saying the crosswalk honors survivors and “sends a clear message to the external community and allies that we welcome them to walk with us on this journey of reconciliation.” Orange Shirt Society President Seli’xwelut-Shannon Henderson said each crosswalk is a promise to remember and stand with Indigenous families and communities.

According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release, HHS is dispatching more than 70 Public Health Service officers from the USPHS Commissioned Corps to Indian Health Service facilities across the country. Officers from leadership and frontline ranks will be detailed to IHS sites with the most urgent staffing shortages.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the mobilization “takes bold action to close gaps and deliver timely, quality care to Native families.” Acting IHS Director Benjamin Smith said the officers will help expand preventive care, improve chronic disease management and advance wellness across Indian Country. The IHS serves about 2.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives across 574 federally recognized tribes.

On the Sipayik peninsula in Maine, Passamaquoddy tribal members face rising seas, eroding marshes and the risk of flooding that threatens homes and infrastructure, according to Inside Climate News. The tribe created the Sipayik Resilience Committee in 2022 and filed a climate action plan with the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024.

Aquatic restoration coordinator and former chief Ralph Dana said he has watched the community’s coastline recede and fish stocks decline. “We’ve got nowhere to go. Our infrastructure is in danger,” Dana told Inside Climate News. The tribe is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and nonprofit partners on adaptation projects. Robert Wood, who oversees the tribe’s planning grant, said the goal is to build a “resilience basket” to strengthen food security, housing and cultural connections so the community can respond quickly to climate threats.

According to North Dakota Monitor, nonprofits serving homeless North Dakotans received a record $5 million this year from the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency. The money came from the state’s North Dakota Homeless Grant and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Emergency Solutions Grant. Eighteen organizations were awarded $4.2 million through the state grant, and seven received $731,980 in federal funding.

Community Action Partnership of North Dakota received the largest award at $2 million, which includes $1.2 million for housing services and $821,000 for prevention. Executive Director Andrea Olson said the organization helps with rent, utilities, deposits and job searches. Michelle Erickson, executive director of the Abused Adult Resource Center in Bismarck, said her group received $125,000 but noted that demand remains high. State data shows 3,824 people received homelessness services in 2024, an increase from 2023.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican from North Dakota, will host a Tribal Housing Forum with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner on Sept. 22 in Bismarck, according to reporting by Quiver CongressRadar. The forum will bring together tribal leaders and housing authorities to discuss federal tribal housing programs, treaty responsibilities and housing challenges in North Dakota.

Cramer described the event as a “great opportunity” for stakeholders to engage on federal housing concerns in Indian Country. The forum will also feature a special announcement at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation highlighting ongoing tribal housing development efforts.