The Daily Spark

First Nations Development Institute is accepting applications from federally and state-recognized tribes for pilot projects focused on acquiring conservation easements or equivalents on trust lands. According to First Nations Development Institute, the funding is part of its Stewarding Native Lands program, which supports tribal land protection, community access and stewardship. Conservation easements are voluntary legal agreements that limit land use to preserve cultural and environmental values. First Nations Development Institute expects to award six grants of up to $50,000 each with support from the Doris Duke Foundation. Grant recipients will also receive technical assistance, training and legal support. The application deadline is June 11 at 6 p.m. Central Time.

North Dakota’s interstate speed limit will increase to 80 mph starting Aug. 1, according to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor. Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed House Bill 1298 into law on May 5, raising the limit and increasing fines for speeding violations.

The new law sets a fine of $20 or $5 per mph over the limit — whichever is greater — on roads posted at 65 mph or higher. On lower-speed roads, fines will be $20 or $3 per mph over. Drivers exceeding the limit by more than 16 mph will face an additional $20 fine. Speeding in construction zones with workers present will now carry an extra $150 fine. Armstrong said in a statement that the law balances higher limits with deterrents, aligning the state’s policy with South Dakota and Montana.

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) marked Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Week on the Senate floor, calling for more federal action to address the ongoing crisis. Schatz, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, highlighted the disproportionate violence faced by Native women and girls, including murder being the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women. He stressed the decades-long failure of the federal government to adequately address the issue, leaving many communities to bear the burden of finding justice on their own. According to a press release from his office, Schatz noted his role in the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which restored tribal jurisdiction over certain crimes and expanded resources for Native communities, but said, “There remains so much work to be done to ensure that Native people feel safe in their homes and communities.”

Beginning Aug. 1, all local public boards in North Dakota will be required to offer a public comment period at each meeting, according to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor. The mandate, established under Senate Bill 2180 and signed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong on April 30, applies to all public boards, including school districts, park districts, and water resource boards.

The new law allows boards to limit comments by total time, individual speaking time or both, and restricts topics to agenda items from the current or previous meeting. Boards must also establish public comment policies that prohibit defamatory or disruptive remarks, the North Dakota Monitor reported.

Progressive organizations in North Dakota will host an all-day event called “The People’s Session” on May 16 to gather public input on future policy priorities. The event is organized by Gender Justice, Prairie Action and the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.

The session aims to develop proposals for the 2027 legislative session on issues including health care, housing, education, LGBTQ rights and reproductive access, according to reporting by the North Dakota Monitor. A survey commissioned by Gender Justice found North Dakotans broadly support expanding reproductive rights and affordable housing, but organizers said those priorities were largely overlooked during the 2025 session. The event is free and will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Heritage Center, with registration required through Gender Justice’s website.

The North Dakota Health and Human Services has reported five additional measles cases in Williams County, bringing the state’s total to nine cases in 2025. All individuals with new cases were unvaccinated and isolated at home to prevent further spread. People who visited Williston Walmart on April 29 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. may have been exposed and are advised to monitor for symptoms.

Affected schools in Williston will temporarily exclude unvaccinated students and staff who are not immune. To help curb the outbreak, the HHS recommends MMR vaccination for all residents and travelers in the area. Vaccination clinics will be held on May 8 and 9 in Williston. For more information, visit hhs.nd.gov/measles.

At the Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s Denełchin Lab in Anchorage, youth are turning recycled plastic into colorful creations while learning about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The program, which has served over 1,000 students in a year, emphasizes hands-on learning through cultural connections, safety training and creative fabrication, according to Alaska Business.

Students sort plastic by color using Dena’ina words and shape the material into fish keychains, earrings, and even stools using lab equipment like 3D printers and plastic presses. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the STEM program aims to launch similar recycling labs in five rural Alaskan communities.

Oregon lawmakers on Tuesday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services, which allows the state’s nine federally recognized tribes to advise on legislative matters. The Oregon Senate unanimously passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 31 to honor the commission’s contributions since its 1975 founding, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

Chairman Gary Burke of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation opened the Senate session with a song in his Native language. Senate President Rob Wagner, the resolution’s sponsor, called on lawmakers to engage tribal communities with respect and to honor treaty obligations. The resolution now moves to the House for consideration.

The California Capitol dome in Sacramento was lit red on Tuesday and Wednesday to mark Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Day, recognized annually on May 5. The observance raises awareness of violence affecting Indigenous communities, especially women, girls and two-spirit people.

A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday evening on the Capitol West Steps, according to KCRA. Organizers said previous vigils have drawn up to 800 attendees. State Assembly member James Ramos is expected to present a resolution Thursday on the Assembly floor to designate May as Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Awareness Month.

Urban Native families in Albuquerque are gathering weekly at the Resilience Hub, a space run by New Mexico Community Capital, to reconnect with cultural traditions through free powwow classes led by Niko DeRoin-Silva (Otoe-Missouria/Choctaw). The classes provide a space for participants to learn powwow etiquette, practice dancing and create regalia together.

At an April class, families participated in grand entry to a song by drum group Shield Chief. “I wanted to provide a safe space where adults and youth could come and explore their culture in a positive way,” DeRoin-Silva said. Juanita Growing Thunder (Assiniboine/Sioux) said she appreciates the opportunity for young people to learn without embarrassment. This story is part of Indigenously Positive, a series by New Mexico In Depth and New Mexico PBS.

Western Native Voice, a Montana-based nonprofit focused on Native equity and opportunity, is opening a new office in Washington, D.C., on May 12, according to reporting by Public News Service. Formed in 2022, Western Native Voice has worked closely with tribes across the West and sees the new office as a way to be more effective at the national level.

“Being able to be right there, be on top of the action and be able to use our voice in Washington is going to help us be a little bit more proactive,” Keaton Sunchild, the group’s director of government and political relations, was quoted as saying.

Sunchild said key national priorities include criminal justice funding for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and drug crises in tribal communities. Sunchild also flagged voting rights as a continued concern and said he plans to work on funding for more satellite election offices and for protections to ensure that tribal IDs are recognized for voter registration.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong has deployed the North Dakota National Guard to assist with wildfires on the Turtle Mountain Reservation, where more than a dozen fires burned near Belcourt and Rolla on May 5, according to reporting by InForum. Two Black Hawk helicopters and a surveillance plane were used to help contain flames in forested areas.

Jamie Azure, chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, told InForum that half of the fires were large but all were contained by Monday evening. Azure described the scene as looking “like a fire tornado” and said the cause may have been children playing with lighters. Several homes and a nursing home were evacuated, but none were damaged.

The Indigenous Student Advisory Team at Bismarck Public Schools is working to integrate Native American culture into schools by centering student voices, according to a report by KFYR-TV. The group was formed to identify student needs. Adviser Tomi Cimarosti told the station students asked for representation and involvement rather than material items.

The team has organized events, proposed mentorship programs and invited elders to share knowledge of language and tradition. Student Rita Wise Spirit told the station that the presence of elders would help restore cultural teachings, saying, ”A lot of us don’t know how to speak our language, and they can teach us a couple of things, and they can teach us about the old ways.” The group is now planning summer activities.

Spirit Lake Nation is continuing its efforts to search for missing Indigenous people in North Dakota, including a recent focus on Renzo Bullhead, a 20-year-old member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. According to a recent Spirit Lake Nation press release, the tribe has joined other tribes in deploying numerous resources, including drones and boats, to assist in the search. The Spirit Lake Tribe is also offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of two of its own members, Isaac Hunt and Jemini Posey. In honor of Posey and Missing Indigenous Women's Month, a 5K walk/run is set for May 11 at 2 p.m. in Fort Totten, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota, is preserving Native American culture with a seed bank project aimed at maintaining access to traditional crops. The project, part of the Land Grant program, preserves crops that have been integral to Native communities for generations, including varieties of corn over 150 years old, according to reporting by KFYR TV. The seed bank will allow the college to share these historical crops with other tribal communities and institutions.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced $6 million in grants to 11 Tribal Nations and nonprofit organizations across Arizona to assist individuals impacted by fraudulent sober living home practices, according to a May 1 statement from the Attorney General’s Office. The Sober Living Home Support Program, funded through Arizona's Anti-Racketeering Revolving Fund, provides up to $500,000 per recipient for compensation, remediation and supportive housing services.

Grantees include the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Native Action Program, Native American Fatherhood and Families Association, Native Health, Navajo Veterans Organization, Tucson Indian Center and others. The funds are intended to address harm caused by fraud involving the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. “Although we can never fully make up for the harm this fraud caused, we can make sure justice is served,” Mayes said.

Native American women from southeastern tribes are reviving the tradition of facial tattoos, known as inchunwa, as a form of cultural expression and identity, according to reporting by The Guardian. The Inchunwa Project, established in 2017 by a group of Choctaw women and two spirit people, is central to this resurgence, offering educational resources, retreats and a podcast to support the revitalization efforts. This project emphasizes the spiritual and communal significance of these tattoos, which are often applied during rites of passage and evolve with life milestones. While traditional hand-poke techniques are favored, modern methods are also utilized.

Native leaders say President Trump’s recent announcement that he will not recognize Indigenous Peoples Day and will bring Columbus Day “back from the ashes” highlights the ongoing need to advocate for Indigenous representation during Trump’s second term, according to reporting by the Associated Press.

Jonathan Nez, former president of the Navajo Nation, said the move disregards the hard-fought recognition of Native sovereignty and “takes us back in time.” Montana state Sen. Shane Morigeau, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation, has introduced a bill to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in the state alongside Columbus Day. He emphasized the goal is not to erase history but to teach it accurately. Bryan Newland, former Interior official and a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community (Ojibwe), said the fight for recognition is generational and will persist beyond any administration.

Researchers have discovered a new species of electric-conducting bacteria in the Yaquina Bay estuary and named it Ca. Electrothrix yaqonensis in honor of the Yaqona people, whose descendants are part of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, according to KLCC. The bacteria was identified in intertidal sediment samples by Clare Reimers, professor emerita at Oregon State University. The bacteria’s nickel-based fibers allow for long-distance electron transport, aiding in sediment nutrient cycling and pollutant cleanup.