The Daily Spark

James Crawford, a citizen of the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, was sworn in on July 11 as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s assistant secretary for tribal affairs, according to a news release from USDOT. Crawford joined the department in May as deputy assistant secretary and previously served as chairman, vice chairman, council member and secretary of his tribal government.

Crawford said he will work to strengthen tribal sovereignty through the department’s Tribal Transportation Self‑Governance Program. As chairman of the Forest County Potawatomi Community, he signed the tribe’s compact and funding agreement with USDOT for self‑governance in August 2024.

U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper and Martin Heinrich, along with U.S. Representatives Joe Neguse and Gwen Moore, introduced the Tribal Access to Clean Water Act on July 14 to expand water infrastructure in tribal communities, according to a press release from Sen. Bennet’s office. The bill would increase funding for the Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Reclamation to support projects that improve access to clean drinking water and sanitation.

“An estimated 48 percent of homes on tribal lands lack access to clean drinking water or sanitation services,” Moore was quoted as saying. Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Manuel Heart said the bill’s investment in technical assistance and operations is essential for tribal water governance. The National Tribal Water Council and Native American Rights Fund also expressed support for the legislation.

The seventh celebration of Indigenous Milk Medicine Week will be held August 8-14, according to organizers. The event will feature a virtual conference with educational sessions focused on knowledge sharing.

This year’s theme, “Unapologetically Indigenous: Love, Landback and Liberation,” aims to celebrate strength, connection and healing through community care. The event will honor Indigenous breastfeeding and maternal health practices, according to event materials.

California Indian Nations College has announced that it will host its third annual Fire Gala on Friday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m. in the Cahuilla Ballroom at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage. The event will celebrate Native excellence and the role of higher education in fostering leadership, sovereignty and academic achievement, according to event materials.

The evening will include dinner, entertainment and a silent auction. Native comedian Jim Ruel, a citizen of the Bay Mills Band of Ojibwe, is scheduled to perform. The gala raises funds for scholarships, academic programs, student services and cultural initiatives through sponsorship table packages, ticket purchases and auction participation.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed two bills related to Native land rights. The Alaska Native Vietnam Era Veterans Land Allotment Extension Act of 2025 extends the deadline for eligible Alaska Native veterans or their heirs to apply for up to 160 acres of federal land. The new deadline is December 29, 2030, according to congress.gov.

The House also passed the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, which expands the Miccosukee Reserved Area to include Osceola Camp within Everglades National Park. According to the bill summary, the Department of the Interior must consult with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians and take steps to protect Osceola Camp structures from flooding. Both bills were agreed to in the House on July 14, without objection.

Bacone College, Oklahoma’s oldest continuously operating college, has closed after 145 years due to financial collapse and mounting governance issues. The private, nonprofit institution in Muskogee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2025 and was later forced into liquidation after a federal judge converted the case to Chapter 7, according to Higher Ed Dive.

The Higher Learning Commission revoked Bacone’s accreditation in July, citing the absence of dedicated faculty, insufficient funds and the suspension of new enrollment. A U.S. bankruptcy trustee accused college leadership of “gross mismanagement,” including a $16,500 payment on a loan allegedly taken out in the president’s name. The institution, originally chartered by the Muscogee-Creek Nation in 1880, had long struggled to retain Native students and meet federal requirements for tribal college status, according to Higher Ed Dive.

The Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival will take place August 15-17 at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino on the Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico. The three-day event showcases a wide range of Indigenous artwork from traditional Pueblo potters to contemporary emerging artists.

Organized by Indigenous people for Indigenous people on Indigenous land, Pathways is described on the Poeh Cultural Center’s website as Santa Fe’s fastest-growing Native art market. The festival offers visitors and collectors an opportunity to explore vibrant, top-quality art across diverse genres.

Warming waters, erratic seasonal patterns and lakeshore development are threatening walleye populations and the Ojibwe practice of spring spearfishing, according to the Associated Press. On the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation in northern Wisconsin, tribal members are seeing firsthand the changes affecting fish reproduction and survival.

Brian Bisonette, director of The Lac Courte Oreilles Conservation Department, indicated that recent ecological shifts raise questions about what future generations will experience. Efforts to keep traditions alive include stocking lakes, limiting permits and documenting fish data. Tribal reliance on nature for food has inspired members to take action and continue fighting for spearfishing traditions. “That’s one thing for all Indigenous populations, they want to adapt,” Bisonette was quoted as saying.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong and representatives from more than a dozen state agencies met with Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians leaders on July 10 to identify shared priorities and strengthen partnerships. According to Knox Radio, the meeting at Sky Dancer Event Center included TMBCI Chairman Jamie Azure, tribal council members, legislators and other stakeholders. Discussions covered health care, education, workforce development, public safety, emergency management, transportation, gaming, natural resources and the need for natural gas service on the reservation. The visit is part of Armstrong’s plan to meet with all five tribal nations in North Dakota during his first year in office.

The bald eagle’s designation as the official national bird of the United States brings renewed pride and hope to many Native communities, including members of the Prairie Island Indian Community in Minnesota, according to the Associated Press. At a recent graduation ceremony by Prairie Island’s riverbank, high school graduates received eagle feathers — symbols of achievement and reverence — as drummers and singers honored them.

Jim Thunder Hawk, Dakota culture and language manager for the Prairie Island Indian Community, said he hopes the nation will be less divided now that the eagle is respected. The bill, sponsored by Minnesota legislators, was signed into law in December 2024. It acknowledges the eagle’s spiritual significance to Indigenous peoples.

The National Congress of American Indians has named Meghan Bishop (Sugpiat/Native Village of Afognak) as its new policy director. Bishop has nearly 20 years of experience in law and public policy, focusing on justice reform, tribal self-governance and child and family welfare, according to NCAI.

Bishop previously served as senior counselor to the assistant secretary of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, managing public safety portfolios, social services, education, Tiwahe, the PROGRESS Act and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women initiatives. She also acted as associate director for Tribal Justice Support at the Office of Justice Services, overseeing a $65 million budget and providing technical assistance to tribal justice systems nationwide.

“Meghan’s expertise, leadership, and unwavering dedication to tribal sovereignty make her an outstanding addition to our policy team,” NCAI Executive Director Larry Wright Jr. said in a press release. Bishop holds a law degree from Willamette University School of Law and a master’s degree from George Washington University.

A House-passed bill that would rescind $9.4 billion in federal funds could eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, threatening the future of tribally licensed radio and media stations, according to ICT. The Rescissions Act of 2025, approved by a 214-212 vote, has not yet reached the Senate. Among those affected would be 36 tribally licensed radio stations and Native-led media nonprofits like Vision Maker Media, Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and Native Public Media.

In a letter to Congress, National Congress of American Indians President Larry Wright Jr. said CPB funding is essential to maintaining tribal voices in media and providing critical services such as emergency information, public health messaging and culturally relevant content. Francene Blythe-Lewis, president and CEO of Vision Maker Media, said losing CPB support would “almost virtually eliminate” the organization. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Cherokee, said on X that he plans to vote ‘yes’ when the bill reaches the Senate.

Two North Dakota tribes and three tribal citizens plan to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found they lacked standing to sue the state over alleged voter discrimination, according to the North Dakota Monitor. The case involves the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and a 2021 redistricting map the plaintiffs argue illegally diluted Native voting power.

The 8th Circuit reversed a lower court decision favoring the plaintiffs and reaffirmed its position that only the U.S. attorney general can enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In a brief filed Wednesday, the plaintiffs asked to maintain the lower court decision. The request was denied on Thursday.

A Las Vegas resident has been indicted for allegedly misrepresenting goods as Native American-made in violation of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada, Jose Skywolf Martinez, 61, made his initial court appearance Tuesday. He is charged with one count of violating the federal law. A jury trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8.

Prosecutors allege Martinez sold goods he falsely suggested were produced by a Native person or tribe. The director of the Interior Department’s Indian Arts and Crafts Board, Meridith Stanton, was quoted as saying that the counterfeit art allegedly sold by Martinez harms Native “economies, culture, and traditions.” If convicted, Martinez faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

The Muscogee Nation filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the City of Henryetta and its attorney, John Insabella, for prosecuting Native citizens within reservation boundaries in violation of McGirt v. Oklahoma, according to KOSU. The tribe initially contacted Insabella in September 2024 after learning of the prosecutions but received no response. The tribe later discovered the city's police chief had instructed officers not to involve Muscogee Lighthorse Police in traffic stops involving tribal citizens. Insabella later stated the city would continue prosecuting tribal members.

The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District court, seeks a declaration that Henryetta lacks criminal jurisdiction over Native defendants. The filing comes amid similar disputes, including a recent Tulsa settlement and a January lawsuit against two district attorneys.

Native Americans are frequently misidentified in public health records, leading to undercounts in disease and mortality data, according to reporting by WUNC that cites a JAMA study. The study found that death certificates more often misclassify Native identity in cases involving cancer or heart disease than in deaths caused by drugs, alcohol or violence.

The data gaps impact public health responses, according to Lumbee citizen Ryan Dial, a program manager at University of North Carolina’s American Indian Health Center and Lineberger Cancer Center. “Public health action is driven by data,” Dial told WUNC. “People look at incidence rates and mortality rates of Native communities and assume, ‘Oh, there's not a disparity there. There's not a problem. We can move on.’”

Austin Peay State University students recently traveled through New Mexico as part of a summer study away program exploring Native American art and literature, according to Clarksville Now. The group from the Tennessee university visited Bandelier National Monument, Acoma Pueblo and other cultural sites while meeting with Indigenous artists and writers, including Diné painter Ryan Singer and Diné author Brendan Shay Basham.

ARTnews reports that 90 works of contemporary Native art from the John and Susan Horseman Collection have been acquired by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Art Bridges Foundation. The acquisition includes pieces by Kent Monkman, George Morrison, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Rose B. Simpson and T.C. Cannon. Crystal Bridges will receive nine works; the remaining 81 will go to Art Bridges.

The acquisition expands both institutions’ collections and exhibition offerings. Jordan Poorman Cocker, curator of Indigenous art at Crystal Bridges, was quoted as saying that the artists in the collection “tell stories about collective history that predates America.” Ashley Holland, director of curatorial initiatives for Art Bridges, said Native perspectives are foundational to American art.

The Caddo Nation Economic Development Authority (CNEDA) and Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology (OSUIT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch customized training programs in renewable energy, construction and infrastructure, according to a July 3 press release. The agreement supports the Caddo Nation’s economic development plans by preparing citizens for careers aligned with tribally owned enterprises.

Under the partnership, OSUIT will provide non-credit training, credentialing, faculty expertise and access to facilities, while CNEDA will coordinate recruitment and ensure alignment with tribal priorities. According to Caddo Nation Chairman Bobby Gonzalez, the collaboration marks “a transformative moment” for the Nation’s long-term economic growth. The first programs are expected to launch in fall 2025.