The Daily Spark

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that tribal officials cannot claim tribal sovereign immunity or qualified immunity in lawsuits brought under the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, according to a legal analysis published by JD Supra. In State ex rel. Bonta v. Del Rosa, the court held that California may pursue enforcement claims against individual officers of the Alturas Indian Rancheria Tribe for alleged failures to remit cigarette taxes required under federal law.

The case arose from a 2023 lawsuit against Azuma Corporation, a tribally owned cigarette manufacturer and distributor, and three tribal business committee members who managed tobacco operations. While claims against the company were dismissed based on sovereign immunity, the courts allowed claims against the individual officials to proceed. According to JD Supra, the Ninth Circuit found that the PACT Act permits injunctive relief against tribal officials and that qualified immunity does not apply when a state seeks to enforce federal and state laws.

Two Native community members are among seven Minnesotans awarded the 2025 Virginia McKnight Binger Heart of Community Honor, according to MPR News. The award recognizes individuals across the state who have made a significant impact on Minnesota communities.

Joshua Jones of Red Lake Nation was selected as the northwest region recipient for his work in youth programming. According to MPR News, Jones is a hydrologist with the Red Lake Nation Department of Natural Resources and leads internship and outdoor work programs that provide paid experience while connecting youth to Ojibwe culture. Wanetta Thompson of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe was named the central region recipient for her work through Bear Paws Cultural Art. MPR News reported that her organization offers free art workshops focused on cultural revitalization, community healing and engagement between Native and non-Native participants. Both were honored at an award ceremony held by the McKnight Foundation in late November.

NDN Collective has launched the “Feed the People” campaign to support Indigenous families affected by the disruption of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Oceti Sakowin. According to NDN Collective, the campaign seeks immediate funding to purchase and distribute bison meat boxes, combining food relief with cultural revitalization grounded in reciprocity and respect for the animal.

According to NDN Collective, the effort will prioritize those most impacted by the SNAP crisis, including elders, children and people with accessibility needs. Meat will be sourced from tribally managed or Native-led bison herds to strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty. The organization said the goal is to provide direct food relief while reinforcing traditional food systems and community health in Rapid City, South Dakota, and surrounding rural areas.

The California State University system has adopted a Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act policy requiring the return of human remains and cultural items held across its campuses, according to the Long Beach Current.

The policy sets systemwide standards for repatriation and consultation with tribal nations and acknowledges the harm caused by withholding ancestors and sacred belongings. Twenty-one CSU campuses currently hold Native remains or cultural items. Each campus must hire a full-time repatriation coordinator, report regularly to the Chancellor’s Office and Legislature and consult with tribes on reburial options.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is facing criticism from other Native Americans after a tribally owned company signed a nearly $30 million contract to help design immigration detention centers, according to the Associated Press. The contract, awarded in October to KPB Services LLC, a newly formed business affiliate, was made without competitive bidding. The The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and the Prairie Band LLC fired economic development officials involved in the deal last week.

Amid growing outrage, tribal leaders said they are seeking to end the agreement. “We know our Indian reservations were the government’s first attempts at detention centers,” Tribal Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick said in a video message, adding, “We must ask ourselves why we would ever participate in something that mirrors the harm and trauma once done to our people.”

The contract’s disclosure comes as federal scrutiny increases over tribal partnerships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

More than 150 people gathered Nov. 8 at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for a ground blessing at the future site of the Jim Thorpe Center for the Futures of Native Peoples, according to ICT. The center will be constructed in 2026 with a $20 million gift from alumnus and philanthropist Samuel G. Rose.

The new facility will include ceremonial spaces, classrooms and an art gallery featuring Indigenous works. Amanda Cheromiah, Kawaika/Laguna Pueblo, executive director of the center, said it was designed as “a place for us to gather and heal.” The center honors Sac and Fox Olympian Jim Thorpe, a Carlisle Indian Industrial School alumnus.

Seventy Native American high school seniors representing 48 tribal nations, 21 states and Canada played Sunday in the fourth annual Native All-American football game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, according to MPR News.

The event, hosted by the Native American Athletic Foundation, featured Team Ta’tanka and Team Wa’ya. Former NFL player Ahman Green coached Team Ta’tanka and former NFL player Levi Horn coached Team Wa’ya.

Mike Andrews, a founding member of the foundation, said the game provides visibility for athletes who often lack access to recruiting networks. “Hopefully, there’s a college scout that’s looking for a top-notch student athlete who happens to be Native,” Andrews told MPR News.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services has reinstated its tribal relations manager position after eliminating the role in 2023, according to the Montana Free Press.

Heidi DeRoche, formerly a programs officer within the department’s Office of American Indian Health, now serves in the role. Misty Kuhl, director of the governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, was quoted as telling legislators during a State-Tribal Relations Committee meeting that DeRoche will bring “a breath of fresh air” and help unify the office.

The position was previously cut, prompting criticism from tribal leaders who said it was essential to communication and consultation between the state and tribes. DeRoche said she has been in the role for two weeks and now reports directly to department Director Charlie Brereton, marking a structural change since the resignation of former Office of American Indian Health Director Stephanie Iron Shooter.

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation to protect a portion of the Wounded Knee Massacre site on the Pine Ridge Reservation, according to the North Dakota Monitor. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds with Majority Leader John Thune as a cosponsor, now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature. U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson introduced the measure in the House, where it passed in January.

The legislation would place 40 acres at the site in restricted-fee status, preventing its sale, taxation or lease without approval from Congress and the Oglala Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, which jointly purchased the land three years ago.

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Frank Star Comes Out was quoted as saying the measure promotes “tribal self-determination” and protects the sacred site “in perpetuity.”

Volunteers are needed in a search Dec. 13 for Navajo elder Aaron Bradley, who was last seen in Shonto, Arizona on Sept. 6. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Sinclair Gas Station in Red Mesa, Arizona, at 10 a.m. to search along Highway 160. Bradley has been known to hitchhike in the area, as well as in Bluff, Utah. Anyone with information related to his disappearance can contact Kayenta Police at 928-697-5600. A candlelight vigil for Bradley will be held Dec. 27 at the Shonto Chapter House. More information can be found on the Facebook page “Help Find Aaron Mark Bradley.”

Tribal producers, leaders and advocates gathered in Las Vegas this week at the 2025 Intertribal Agriculture Council Annual Conference, one of the most important networking events in tribal agriculture. Speakers stressed the importance of topics such as agriculture financing, buffalo restoration, food sovereignty and land back.

IAC Executive Director Kari Jo Lawrence closed the three-day conference on Thursday, Dec. 11, encouraging attendees to stay connected and to use the knowledge they gained to advance their communities. She said their greatest strength is collaboration.

This week, Cherokee families can download a new app designed to help them learn, practice and preserve their traditional language.

Tribal news outlet Andadisgoi reports that Cherokee leaders and language speakers unveiled the Cherokee Language Dictionary app, with representatives of Kiwa Digital Ltd.

The mobile app packs translations of more than 6,000 Cherokee words, as well as audio recordings, grammar notes and phonetics.

“Every Cherokee family, no matter where they live, can now carry this resource in their pocket,” Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. was quoted as having said at an event in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. “This app represents our sovereignty, our knowledge, and our commitment to keeping the Cherokee language strong for generations to come.”

Kiwa Digital Ltd. specializes in language and dictionary app creation, with a focus on endangered Indigenous languages. The Cherokee Language Dictionary App is available for iPhone and Android phones.

“Our goal is to get at least 25,000 to 50,000 words on the app in order to have a more comprehensive overview of the language,” said Howard Paden, executive director of the Cherokee Language Department.

Two Feathers Native American Family Services, a California-based organization, will open two new wellness centers in 2026, according to reporting by The Imprint. The centers, which will be in Northern California, aim to provide services for mental health and substance abuse for Indigenous children.

The organization has provided services since 2002, with the goal of preventing local Indigenous children from entering foster care. Rooted in tribal culture, the organization addresses youth violence, addiction and suicide through family counseling and traditional teachings.

“I have a lot of the same or similar lived experiences as the youth we work with,” executive director Virgil Moorehead Jr. told The Imprint. “I’ve always had that mindset of helping others and wanting to prevent things I went through.”

A berry prized by Native people for its sacred and medicinal attributes is being explored as a commercial commodity.

Civil Eats reports that demand for elderberries has skyrocketed, with farmers, entrepreneurs and Indigenous non-profits working to develop a market. Part of the berry’s appeal is that it has adapted to hotter and drier climates, which can help farmers diversify their crops with a more drought-tolerant product. But according to Civil Eats, “Blue elderberry is functionally still a wild plant, without the consistency that comes from research and development.”

Federal budget cuts have hampered research into elderberries. The Elderberry Project, spearheaded by the Santa Barbara nonprofit White Buffalo Land Trust, wanted to explore the potential of a traditional food that Indigenous communities cultivated for more than 10,000 years. But in April, a sudden cut to the project’s $4.6 million grant from the USDA’s Partnerships in Climate Smart Commodities Program put the brakes to those efforts.

Civil Eats reports that the USDA is reviewing existing projects based on new criteria while continuing funding for qualifying projects under a new name, the Advancing Markets for Producers initiative.

Elderberries have been used in products ranging from syrup to hand creams.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and the Prairie Band LLC fired several senior staff members over a multimillion dollar contract with the Department of Homeland Security, according to KSNT. The Prairie Band LLC was meant to “perform due diligence and concept designs” for ICE detention centers. The firings took place after a KSNT report on the contract.

In a Dec. 9 press release, the Prairie Band LLC and Tribal Council said the contract does not align with their values as a sovereign Nation, and in response, they terminated senior members of the LLC’s leadership team: “As a Nation, we take seriously our responsibility to ensure all future engagements align clearly with our values and mission.”

North Dakota Native Vote is holding an open house on Dec. 11. The two-hour event will offer “opportunities to connect with people who care about protecting Native voting rights, uplifting Native voices, and building community power,” according to an announcement on Facebook. Traditional foods and hot drinks will be served. The event is open to the public and takes place from 5-7 p.m. at 919 South 7th St., in Bismarck.

Jerry Laktonen, an Alaskan Alutiiq artist, has won the Distinguished Artist Award for his traditional Alutiiq carvings. The award, which is part of the Rasmuson Foundation’s Individual Artist awards program, includes a $50,000 grant.

Laktonen has been carving since the 1940s, and his work has been featured at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, according to reporting by ICT.

“Jerry Laktonen brings intention and integrity to every piece he creates,” Gretchen Guess, president and Chief Executive Officer of Rasmuson Foundation, was quoted as saying. “He has worked tirelessly to ensure Alaska Native artists are recognized and respected. His commitment to authenticity has left a lasting mark on both his community and the field. Artists like Jerry Laktonen remind us that culture is not only preserved. It is lived, shared, and continually reimagined.”

Congress is poised to vote on the latest national defense spending agreement soon, and this version would grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina, The Assembly reports.

Tribal chairman and North Carolina state representative John Lowery celebrated the move, when the $900 billion bill was released Dec. 8.

“We move forward with hope and determination, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends in Congress and the White House to secure final passage,” Lowery said in a Facebook post the night before.

The Lumbee have 55,000 citizens, which makes them the largest Native tribe east of the Mississippi River. They’ve been seeking full federal recognition for more than a century. Congress granted the Lumbee partial recognition in 1956, but that’s not enough to allow them to develop casinos or to make them eligible for federal dollars.

While past efforts have failed, President Trump directed the U.S. Dept. of the Interior to explore paths toward recognition after assuming office this year. Other allies include Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who tried last year to block recognition of the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial and Sacred Site in South Dakota. More recently, Tillis urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ cannabis operation in western North Carolina, where the tribe runs a casino.

The Eastern Band — which is the only one in North Carolina with full federal recognition — is against the Lumbee Fairness Act. They argue the Lumbee people descend from several tribes who mingled with white and Black settlers, and lack both a shared history and identity.

The Assembly says the Eastern Band’s principal chief, Michell Hicks, stated that his tribe was “deeply disappointed and alarmed” that Congress put Lumbee recognition in this latest defense bill.

“A national defense bill is not the appropriate place to consider federal recognition, particularly for a group that has not met the historical and legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations,” said Hicks.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders reclaimed dozens of artifacts from the Vatican on Saturday, Dec. 6, according to AP News. Pope Leo XIV gave back the 62 items after years of Indigenous leaders calling for their return. They are now at the Canadian Museum of History in Quebec but are not on display as each artifact is studied for its origin.

The returned artifacts include an Inuit kayak, soup ladle, needle casings and an ulu knife. It’s unclear how the kayak was acquired by the Vatican, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed said at an event on Tuesday where the artifacts were revealed. But, he was quoted as saying, their return is “part of reconciliation.”