The Daily Spark

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is on track to become the first tribal nation to fully transition its school bus fleet to electric by the end of 2025, according to the World Resources Institute. The move follows the deployment of the tribe’s first electric school bus in 2022 and is part of a growing effort among tribal nations and Native communities to reduce emissions and improve student health.

As of July, more than 400 electric school buses operate in 70 Native school districts nationwide. Communities including the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina, the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Maine, Red Lake Nation in Minnesota and Shawnee Public Schools in Oklahoma have adopted the technology, citing cost savings, cleaner air and cultural integration as key benefits.

A new picture book, “The Sacred Stone Camp,” tells the story of LaDonna BraveBull Allard, tribal historian for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who founded the Sacred Stone Camp in 2016, according to The Seattle Times. Written by Seattle author Rae Rose and illustrated by Aly McKnight, the book recounts how Allard and her husband, Miles, organized the camp along the Cannonball River in North Dakota as part of the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Rose said she wanted to highlight Allard’s legacy and her philosophy of generosity, protection of sacred lands and advocacy for her people. The book also explores Lakota prophecies, the meaning of “Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ” and the broader message of environmental stewardship and unity.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe held its 2025 Inauguration for newly elected Chairman Steve Sitting Bear and several council members at the Prairie Knights Casino & Resort in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Friends, family, tribal members and government officials also honored retiring Chairwoman Janet Alkire, the tribe’s first enrolled woman to hold the position of chair, along with other outgoing council members and past tribal leaders.

Alkire told Buffalo’s Fire she never thought she’d step into the role of chairwoman four years ago, but “the Creator put her there” to serve with truth and compassion. She said she’s now ready to retire, and thinks the tribe’s future is in good hands with Chairman Sitting Bear.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation received a $249,262 federal grant to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan for the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, according to KXNET. The Nation is one of only two tribal nations selected for the 2025 USDA Community Wildfire Defense Grant.

The $200 million federal initiative supports 58 projects across 22 states and two tribal nations to improve wildfire preparedness, build capacity and strengthen fire management. The MHA Nation’s plan will focus on fuel management, community readiness and interagency coordination, led by the tribe’s Emergency Operations Center. A project coordinator and wildfire planning contractor will oversee the five-year effort, which follows the October 2024 Bear Den Fire that burned 13,000 acres in northwest North Dakota. The grant proposal was developed by retired Fire Management Officer Mare Baker.

The Indigenous musical “Bear Grease” is playing to sold-out audiences on a Canadian tour following a successful off-Broadway run in New York City, according to ICT. The show, created by Crystle Lightning and rapper MC RedCloud, reimagines the 1978 movie “Grease” with Indigenous music, humor and storytelling.

Lightning told the audience at Winnipeg’s Burton Cummings Theatre that the cast worked hard to bring Indigenous representation to the stage. “We’re the first Indigenous musical to have our own playbill,” Lightning was quoted as saying. “We had a dream, we had a goal, and we chased after it.” RedCloud said the all-Indigenous cast honors elders who “paved the way” and reflects how far Indigenous performers have come since the 1950s and 1960s.

A member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Maine has received a 2025 MacArthur Fellowship. Artist Jeremy Frey is one of 22 fellows who will receive the $800,000 award commonly known as a “genius grant.” The “no-strings-attached” fellowship recognizes “extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential,” according to the MacArthur Foundation.

In a video interview released by the foundation, Frey said his goal is to help redefine craft as fine art through his work in basketry, sculpture and weaving. He uses natural materials such as black ash and sweetgrass and said his family has practiced basketry for seven generations.

His work has been exhibited at the Portland Art Museum in Maine, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Bruce Museum in Connecticut, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

According to WyoFile, students from Arapahoe and Fort Washakie schools joined Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribal members for a buffalo harvest this week on the Wind River Reservation. The event, organized by the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative and the Food Bank of Wyoming, aimed to teach Native youth about cultural traditions and food sovereignty.

Jackie White, the Food Bank of Wyoming’s tribal relations specialist and a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, told WyoFile that the harvested buffalo will be processed and distributed in November food boxes for Wind River Reservation residents and elders. White said the effort connects generations and honors the buffalo as a sacred relative. “We have so much love and respect for our elders,” she said. “They are our knowledge keepers."

The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in Oklahoma have reclaimed the remains of 16 children from the Carlisle Indian School Cemetery, according to WGAL. The disinterments were part of this year’s program by the Office of Army Cemeteries, which oversees the return of remains from the former boarding school site.

The tribes had requested the return of 18 children who died while enrolled at the school in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Due to the federal government shutdown, the Army was limited in releasing information about the two children not yet accounted for. Since 2017, the Army has returned the remains of more than 50 children to their tribes.

Education leaders in North Dakota are completing an updated series of Native American history books for schools, according to KXNET. As Buffalo’s Fire previously reported, the project revises four textbooks first published between the 1990s and 2002 and adds a fifth volume featuring the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate. United Tribes Technical College will print the books this fall for distribution to schools, libraries and tribal colleges across the state.

The Hopi Tribe in Arizona lost $25 million in federal funding to connect 600 homes to electricity after the Trump administration ended the Solar for All program, according to NPR. The Environmental Protection Agency terminated the program in August, following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which eliminated tax credits for large-scale renewable energy projects.

Hopi Chairman Tim Nuvangyaoma said the tribe will now have to choose which families receive power through limited funding from the Tribal Electrification Program. The Hopi plan to join other tribes in suing the Trump administration to reinstate the Solar for All grants, which had been approved under the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

Chief Osceola and Renegade have performed at Florida State University football games with the approval of the Seminole Tribe of Florida since 1978, according to the Associated Press. The ritual, featuring a student rider portraying Osceola planting a flaming spear at midfield, began after FSU student Bill Durham worked with tribal leaders to develop the regalia and ceremony.

The university and the Seminole Tribe continue to maintain the partnership that defines the tradition, which FSU identifies as a symbol rather than a mascot. The pregame performance remains a central part of Florida State’s football identity nearly 50 years after its debut.

Valeriah Big Eagle, an Ihaƞktoƞwaƞ Dakota and Nakota woman from the Yankton Sioux Tribe, announced her campaign for the Ward 4 seat on the Rapid City Council in South Dakota, according to ICT. If elected, she would be the only Native woman currently serving on the council and the second Native person overall, joining Rosebud Sioux Tribe citizen Lance Lehmann.

Big Eagle said she aims to improve access to affordable housing, mental health resources and food security. She lives in Ward 4, a predominately Native area and food desert, and serves on boards for He Sapa Otipi and Oaye Luta Okolakiciye, organizations focused on community healing and development. The election is scheduled for June 2026.

Three North Dakota schools are receiving nearly $1 million through the Indian Children Program to improve education for Native American students, according to KFYR. The program supports development, testing and demonstration projects aimed at strengthening educational outcomes.

Devils Lake Public School District will receive more than $290,000, Turtle Mountain College will receive just over $360,000 and the University of North Dakota will be awarded nearly $300,000. The funding will also assist college students pursuing careers as teachers and administrators.

The State of North Dakota is encouraging residents to take part in the October Money Personality Challenge through the Smart With My Money program, according to the Minot Daily News. Participants can create a free account to complete a financial checkup and take a Money Personality Quiz that provides personalized learning recommendations.

Bank of North Dakota President and CEO Don Morgan said the challenge aims to help residents improve financial literacy after North Dakotans received a C grade in a recent Financial Industry Regulatory Authority study. The Smart With My Money initiative, launched in April 2024, seeks to make North Dakota the most financially literate state by 2027, according to the Minot Daily News.

Tribal nations across the United States are facing furloughs and service closures as the federal government shutdown continues, according to the Associated Press. Tribes with independent revenue sources said they can sustain operations for several months, while others dependent on federal funding have begun cutting staff. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada furloughed at least 25 employees and closed its museum, cultural center and education services.

Tribal leaders said they fear the Trump administration could use the shutdown to reduce the federal workforce responsible for upholding treaty and trust responsibilities. “I’m extremely nervous about that,” Liz Carr, vice president for intergovernmental relations for the Cedar Rock Alliance, was quoted as saying.

The Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in Saskatchewan plans to establish an Indigenous-governed trade corridor connecting Dakota territories in Canada and the United States, according to reporting by Mother Jones. The First Nation is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Fort Peck Sioux Tribes in Montana to formalize the partnership. The initiative seeks to revive ancestral trade routes and operate under Indigenous law, with a proposed $2 billion infrastructure plan to develop a cross-border trade portal and renewable energy corridors.

Chief Rodger Redman told Mother Jones the project fulfills promises made to Indigenous peoples under the Jay Treaty of 1794, which recognizes cross-border trade rights. Spokesperson Solomon Cyr said the corridor would allow Indigenous nations to control the movement of resources and strengthen sovereignty.

Traditional tribal healing practices are now eligible for Medicaid coverage in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon under new federal waivers, according to Stateline. The programs allow tribal and urban Indian health facilities to bill for traditional healing services such as sweat lodge ceremonies, talking circles and plant medicine.

Virginia Hedrick, executive director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health, said each tribe and facility will decide which services to offer, noting they can take place at sacred sites rather than clinics. Dr. Naomi Young of the Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board called the integration of traditional and Western medicine “exciting.” In Washington, state officials plan to apply for similar approval by the end of the year.

When Brad Hall became president of Blackfeet Community College, finding housing near campus was one of his biggest challenges, according to Montana Free Press. Like many reservation residents, Hall faced barriers to buying a home because most land on the Blackfeet Reservation is held in trust by the federal government, limiting traditional mortgage options.

Hall eventually secured financing through NACDC Financial Services, a Native Community Development Financial Institution that offers flexible lending for Indigenous borrowers. Executive Director Angie Main said NACDC has closed more than 100 real estate loans in Montana since 2017 but lacks sufficient funding to meet demand. Hall said owning a home has deepened his connection to the community.

Nearly half of federal funding allocated to Northwest tribal nations last year could be eliminated under President Donald Trump’s new spending bill, according to InvestigateWest. A report by Portland State University researchers found that about $530 million of the $1.19 billion in 2024 federal funds for tribes in the region is at risk.

Serina Fast Horse, co-director of the Northwest Environmental Justice Center, said tribes are deeply concerned about cuts affecting programs for clean water, housing, education and climate resilience. The report links potential reductions to the repeal of former President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14008 and cuts across agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior. William E. Ray Jr., chair of the Klamath Tribes, said the cuts threaten tribal culture and treaty-protected resources.