The Daily Spark

The Changing of Seasons youth workshop will be held Oct. 3-5 at Wozu, 7039 Hwy 1806 in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The event is open to those between the ages of 12 and 18 and aims to connect young people with cultural teachings.

The three-day agenda includes a welcoming ceremony, camp assignments and speakers on traditional knowledge, such as star teachings, harvesting practices and plant identification. The workshop closes with a ceremony at noon on Oct. 5. For more information or to apply, contact Ron Lebeau, culture manager at Wozu, at ron@wozu.net or 701-455-3001.

Buffalo Public Schools Indigenous Parent Advisory Council will hold elections for the 2025–2027 term on Monday, Sept. 29, 5-7 p.m. Open positions include president, vice president, secretary, two members at large, student representative, elder representative and teacher representative.

The meeting will take place rain or shine. Attendees must be present to nominate, run for or vote for candidates. A meal will be provided. Current board members available for questions include Billie Jo Beheler, Wind Spirit Spotted Bear, Valerie Siqueiros, Logan Anderson and Tamsen O’Berry. Additional details about each position will be shared in upcoming posts.

An independent audit of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana found leadership failed to document more than $100,000 in credit card charges over a two-month period in 2024, according to Louisiana Illuminator. The review by the SJT Group of Albuquerque, New Mexico, reported 344 transactions without receipts, totaling $105,416, and noted 167 purchases with no business documentation to explain $100,254 in charges.

Tribal policy requires receipts for any purchase over $50 and expense reports for travel-related charges. In response, the tribal council said it has eliminated council credit cards and adopted new reimbursement policies. Tribal secretary and treasurer Kristian Poncho will complete a review of credit card policies by the end of September, according to the tribe’s statement. The findings follow the August 2024 resignation of former chairman Jonathan Cernek, who news outlets reported is under federal and state investigation.

The Wind River Food Sovereignty Project in Wyoming opened an elder healing garden at Trout Creek Farm near Fort Washakie on Sept. 20 with a ribbon cutting, prayer and community feast, according to WyoFile. The 30-acre farm, purchased in 2023, has been transformed with vegetable gardens, a high tunnel, transplanted native plants and circular paths designed for elders.

“This garden is a sanctuary, a place for healing, peace and connection with nature,” co-director Kelly Pingree was quoted as saying during the event. The project, founded in 2018 by Hank Herrera, is supported in part by a $36 million federal redevelopment grant awarded in 2024. Plans include expanding food production, education and access to healthy foods across the Wind River Reservation.

The Indian Gaming Association has announced the sudden death of its longtime chairman, Ernest L. Stevens Jr. Stevens, who died on Sept. 26, led the organization for more than two decades, working to advance tribal government gaming and strengthen tribal sovereignty, according to an IGA statement.

Jason Giles, executive director of IGA, said in the statement that the IGA Board and staff “are stunned and saddened” by Stevens’s passing. “Out of respect for his wife Cheryl, his lovely family and the Oneida Nation,” the statement continued, “we will issue a full tribute at the appropriate time. Please send your prayers to the Stevens family.”

Under Stevens’s leadership, Indian gaming revenues grew from $11 billion in 2000 to $43.9 billion in 2024, which IGA described as a reflection of his strategic vision and advocacy alongside tribal leaders nationwide.

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.

A new documentary, “In the Wake of Justice Delayed,” follows two Alaska Native families seeking justice for murdered loved ones, according to the Alaskan Beacon. The film tracks the Miller family of Teller, whose daughter Mingnuna Bobbi Jean Miller was killed in Palmer in 2019, and the Lane family of Point Hope, whose mother Harriet Lane was murdered in 1985.

The film, directed by Mary Katzke and produced by Affinityfilms, Inc., explores grief, barriers within the justice system and the broader crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous people in Alaska. It premieres in Anchorage on Sept. 21 and in Homer on Sept. 27, with a nationwide PBS broadcast set for Nov. 1, according to the Alaskan Beacon.

Alaskan Beacon

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.