The Daily Spark

Community members gathered at the Austin Town Hall Cultural Center on Nov. 6 for a staged reading of Bingo Hall and a panel discussion on identity, heritage and belonging, according to Austin Weekly News.

Playwright Dillon Chitto, a Mississippi Choctaw, Laguna and Isleta Pueblo artist, joined Osage director Elise Bear and moderator Tony Bondoc from the League of Chicago Theatres. The play follows a young Pueblo man, Edward Anaya, who faces the decision to leave home for college or stay connected to his community. Bear said the themes resonated with their own experiences growing up on the Osage Reservation, and Chitto said the work aims to highlight migration and movement rather than focusing solely on trauma.

Leaders of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina urged the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to grant full federal recognition, according to ICT. The proposal, known as the Lumbee Fairness Act, would amend the 1956 Lumbee Act and allow the state-recognized tribe to access federal services and place land into trust. Lumbee Chairman John Lowery said more than 200 tribes and major Native organizations support recognition.

Opponents, including Shawnee Chief Ben Barnes and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Principal Chief Mitchell Hicks, questioned the Lumbee’s lineage and process. Department of the Interior officials submitted a written statement supporting the legislation, saying it would resolve ambiguities in the 1956 law. Lumbee attorney Arlinda Locklear told the committee the tribe meets federal standards for recognition.

The Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation have launched food assistance efforts to help families affected by the pause in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, according to KXNET.

Spirit Lake Nation began distributing food vouchers Nov. 10 through its Food Distribution Program and Benson County SNAP Office. The start was delayed about an hour due to technical issues, with distribution beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eligible participants must bring identification and enrollment verification.

A similar program was started by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, which is providing grocery cards to supplement food budgets for those impacted by the SNAP interruption.

In New Town, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation is partnering with Great Plains Food Bank for a two-day food drive beginning Nov. 13. Organizers plan to distribute 40,000 pounds of food, prioritizing SNAP-dependent families who present EBT cards. Remaining supplies will be available to other families on Nov. 14 at 975 New Town Drive.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe urged the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse a March dismissal of its lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, arguing the agency is allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to operate at Lake Oahe without a valid easement, according to the North Dakota Monitor. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg threw out the case in March, finding the tribe was relitigating claims from a 2016 suit. “This appeal is a necessary step to hold the Corps accountable,” Standing Rock Chair Steve Sitting Bear said in a statement on Friday.

The tribe says the Corps’ yearslong inaction on an environmental impact statement and easement is an ongoing violation, and alleges failures on spill response standards and cultural site protections. Energy Transfer, whose affiliates own Dakota Access, called the claims “old, untrue.” The North Dakota Monitor reports that responses from the federal government, intervening states and Dakota Access are due by early January.

Findings show Native youth in Washington state are nearly five times more likely to be sentenced behind bars than white kids in the same age group. A new Associated Press report reviewed data from 2019 to 2023 from the nonprofit Sentencing Project and the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. While all youth of color have suffered disparate punishment in Washington state’s legal system, the treatment for Native children surpasses national averages, especially for non-violent offenses. The state’s largest disparity was found in rural Whitman County, where Native youth were nearly seven times more likely to be arrested than white peers. And in Okanogan County near the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Native youth made up more than half of all juvenile arrests in 2022, despite making up just 8% of the population. Advocates are calling on state lawmakers to revisit reforms and consider tribal notifications whenever Native youth are in juvenile court.

As people across the U.S. observe Veterans Day through parades, tributes and discounts, Native people are especially thankful to their vets, who have historically served at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group in the country.

Nearly 19% of Native Americans have served in the military, compared to about 14% of all other demographics. Native service dates back to the Revolutionary War and continues to this day. Notable contributions include serving as scouts, or providing their language for coding troop movements. The most famous example: the Navajo Codetalkers, who relayed messages to each other during Pacific operations in World War II. The Japanese were never able to decipher their messages. Other tribes that have provided code during World War I and II are the Choctaw, Cherokee and Comanche.

Native people served even when they weren’t officially recognized as U.S. citizens and lacked the right to vote. Today they’re regularly honored in tribal communities, including leading the grand entry at powwows, bearing the American flag, eagle staff and sometimes the MIA flag.

According to The Los Alamos Daily Post, tribal nations and organizations received seven of the nine awards at the 2025 New Mexico Infrastructure Finance Conference in Albuquerque. The awards recognized investments made through the Capital Outlay funds and the Tribal Infrastructure Fund, administered by the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department.

Honorees included the Navajo Nation for the Shiprock Incident Command Center and the Jemez Pueblo for the Hemish Path to Wellness and Jemez Pueblo Tribal Network projects. Other recipients included the Pueblo of Taos, Pueblo of Zuni, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and Mescalero Apache Tribe.

The Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance Advocacy Committee and student publication In Our Nature co-hosted a panel discussion titled “Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Justice” at Northwestern University on Friday, according to The Daily Northwestern.

Panelists Forrest Bruce, who is Ojibwe, and Cece Hoffman discussed Indigenous land-based education and its role in addressing environmental issues. Bruce said traditional systems of learning existed before colonization and emphasized connecting with the land and ancestors through outdoor education. Hoffman said reviving Indigenous practices is critical to environmental justice.

Audience members shared perspectives on maintaining ancestral traditions and protecting Indigenous sovereignty. Participants agreed that preserving cultural and linguistic connections to the land remains central to Indigenous identity.

Dozens of Ohio residents gathered in Cleveland for the second annual Tribal Nations Day, founded by Honduras native Alejandro Meza to highlight Indigenous cultures and traditions of Turtle Island and Abya Yala Island, according to Spectrum News 1.

Meza said the event aims to “rebrand Thanksgiving” by honoring Indigenous history and resilience. Attendees participated in cocoa and hapé ceremonies, viewed multimedia art and sampled traditional foods such as frybread tacos. Co-host Ajha “Yona” Dean-Phillips, who is of Afro-Indigenous heritage, shared artwork reflecting Native identity and said the event helps preserve cultural history.

Meza said the celebration invites people of all backgrounds to support Indigenous communities year-round through learning, art and contributions.

According to a release from the Chickasaw Nation, a new monument in Paestum, Italy, honors 50 First American tribes whose members served in the 45th Infantry Division during World War II.

The 10-foot-tall obelisk, marked with the division’s Thunderbird symbol, stands among other memorials to Allied units that landed in southern Italy in September 1943. The monument includes a map of the division’s route through Italy, France and Germany as part of the new Thunderbird Trail.

Oklahoma State University professor David D’Andrea, the trail’s historical adviser, said the project records where the 45th passed, from Sicily to Germany. Maj. Gen. Brad Bowlin of the 36th Infantry Division said in a message that the monument honors both Allied soldiers and the “resilience and spirit of the Italian people.”

Louisiana State Police confirmed its gaming division is investigating allegations of financial misconduct at the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, according to reporting by Louisiana Illuminator. The inquiry involves former tribal chairman Jonathan Cernek and former casino employees Todd Stewart and Paula Corliss.

An independent audit and internal documents allege Cernek used a casino credit card without tribal approval to build and furnish his personal home. Cernek resigned as chairman in August 2024. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs have also reviewed the casino’s finances, according to Louisiana Illuminator.

Separately, local and tribal police are investigating a gunshot fired late Sunday into the home of current Chairman David Sickey. No injuries were reported, but the tribe reported that a bullet entered the bedroom of Sickey’s child, who was asleep at the time.

Citizens of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate who’ve suffered flood or wind damage from last June’s storms have until Dec. 6 to apply for FEMA relief.

The heavy storms hit the Lake Traverse Reservation June 12-16, and renters and homeowners are encouraged to visit FEMA at the Flood Assistance Center at the tribal headquarters building at 12554 BIA Hwy. 711, Agency Village, between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

According to reporting by Keloland News, the IRS will offer tax relief for those affected by the June storms as well.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety is asking hunters to stay alert for signs of missing people during the firearm opener, according to KSTP. The department’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office said hunters often explore remote areas that others rarely visit, offering a chance to spot potential evidence.

“Families across Minnesota are waiting for answers,” Ana Negrete, community planner with the office, was quoted as saying. “Even the smallest of clues can bring closure and healing to a family who has carried the pain of an empty seat at the dinner table for far too long.”

Officials advised hunters not to touch any items or remains they find, to photograph them if possible, mark the location and report it to law enforcement.

The disappearance of 14-year-old Neveah Alessandro Campos from Glendale, Arizona, did not trigger a statewide Turquoise Alert, prompting renewed questions about the state’s new missing person system, according to Arizona Luminaria.

Campos, who is Navajo and Latino, was reported missing Nov. 1 after leaving a family member’s home. Despite her high-risk status and hospital-issued safety plan, Glendale police said her case did not meet the criteria for an alert. Her mother, Ashley Alessandro, said she received no contact from investigators until Nov. 6.

Officials with the Arizona Department of Public Safety said runaway cases “without articulable danger or suspicious circumstances” do not qualify for Turquoise Alerts. Advocates and families of missing Indigenous children have criticized the system, saying it fails to respond with urgency. Campos was reunited with relatives Nov. 8 after social services located her, Arizona Luminaria reported.

The Walker River Paiute Tribe in Nevada lost a $20 million federal grant meant to fund water, energy and housing projects after the Environmental Protection Agency terminated the award earlier this year, according to Nevada Current.

The EPA’s Community Change Grant was part of a $2.8 billion program created under the Inflation Reduction Act to help tribes and local governments address climate impacts. The funding ended May 1 when EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin canceled more than 780 environmental-justice grants under a presidential executive order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

Tribal Chair Melanie McFalls said the loss halted key climate-resilience plans, including weatherizing homes and expanding water infrastructure. Despite setbacks, the tribe has continued smaller water and food-security projects with limited funds, Nevada Current reported.

Five South Dakota tribes are asking Congress to restore funding for a tribal data repository project led by the Native BioData Consortium in Eagle Butte, according to reporting by South Dakota Searchlight.

The lab was the primary recipient of a $7 million federal grant for the Data for Indigenous Implementations, Interventions, and Innovations Tribal Data Repository project, funded by the National Institutes of Health. The funding ended in March after the agency halted COVID-19 research.

In letters to U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, tribal leaders called the cut “collateral damage in a blanket cut to all COVID-19 research” and said the repository would protect tribal communities in future health crises. Consortium director Joseph Yracheta told South Dakota Searchlight the project would allow tribes to store and share genetic data securely and on their own terms.

The multijurisdictional search for Danice “Tynee” White, a Spirit Lake citizen, has come to a close after her remains were recovered during a water search Nov. 6. Vicki Alberts, public information officer for the tribe, told Buffalo’s Fire no foul play is suspected. Alberts said more details will be released at a later time to allow family members time to process this tragedy. Chairwoman Lonna Jackson-Street commented on the heartbreaking discovery in a press release: “Our hearts are heavy with this news. Danica was a vibrant young woman with her whole life ahead of her. We ask everyone to keep her family in your thoughts and prayers and to respect their privacy as they grieve.” A fund has been set up to assist the family with funeral expenses. Donations can be made at Gate City Bank in Devils Lake, North Dakota, under the account title “Benefit of Danica Tynee White.” Contributions are accepted in person or through the mail.

Melissa de Vera, a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, received the 2025 Arthur S. Flemming Award for her work with the Indian Health Service, according to MPR News. De Vera serves as assistant director of operations for the agency’s Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction in Bemidji, Minnesota.

MPR News reported that de Vera was recognized for leadership that helped IHS deliver $3.5 billion in sanitation projects funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. She led recruitment efforts through partnerships with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society to fill vacant engineering positions serving tribal communities.

Bismarck Documenters will host a meet and greet Thursday, Nov. 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the United Tribes Technical College campus in the Student Union room, according to program organizers.

Attendees can learn about the program’s recent coverage, the importance of documenting public meetings, and opportunities to get involved. The event includes time to share experiences, ask questions and connect with community members. A free meal will be provided.

For more information, contact Daniela Aki at daniela@imfreedomalliance.org or Castle Fox at castle@imfreedomalliance.org.