The Daily Spark

Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis marked the 50th anniversary of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act by emphasizing tribes’ political status and treaty rights during a panel hosted by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 8. Tribal leaders discussed self-governance in health care, food sovereignty and artificial intelligence. Many voiced concern over federal policy shifts and AI use in Native health systems.

The U.S. Postal Service will issue four new forever stamps April 25 in Albuquerque, N.M., honoring Native American powwow traditions. Titled Powwows: Celebrating Native American Culture, the stamps feature artwork by Cochiti Pueblo artist Mateo Romero and depict the Crow Hop, Women’s Traditional, Women’s Fancy Shawl, and Men’s Hoop dances. The release coincides with the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow. A first-day ceremony is planned at Tingley Coliseum during the event.

U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer has invited Elon Musk and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to North Dakota, highlighting tribal health and food initiatives. Cramer hopes Kennedy will meet with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, citing the need for a new hospital at Standing Rock and community agriculture programs. Musk’s attendance remains uncertain, but Cramer noted past collaboration on Starlink with Grand Sky.

The National Congress of American Indians reaffirmed its support for Tribal Nations as national monuments face renewed threats of revocation. Citing sacred sites like Bears Ears and Chuckwalla, NCAI leaders said rolling back protections undermines tribal sovereignty and spiritual survival. “These places carry the songs, the stories, the ancestors, and the spirit of our people,” said NCAI President Mark Macarro. The organization emphasized that current protections were won through collective tribal advocacy, not granted.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a California court order requiring the reinstatement of 16,000 fired probationary federal workers. The stay, granted on April 8, follows a ruling that agreed with the Trump administration’s argument that nonprofit groups lacked standing to challenge the firings. The case will now return to the Ninth Circuit for further review. It pertains to workers from six federal agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, however most of the employees are currently protected by a separate Maryland court ruling that reinstated fired probationary workers. The Maryland case is on appeal in the Fourth Circuit.

"Portraits in RED: Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples Painting Project" is on display at the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts. Created by Métis artist Nayana LaFond, the exhibit features portraits of missing and murdered Indigenous people, family members, or advocates, each marked with a red handprint symbolizing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s movement. Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately represented among cases involving missing and murdered people in the U.S. The exhibit is open through September 7. A reception is set for April 10.

The North Dakota Legislature advanced a bill on April 7 to create a state-funded task force to address the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis. House Bill 1199 will bring together representatives from several state and tribal agencies, including the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, Spirit Lake Nation, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Nation. The task force will manage $250,000 to improve data collection and establish a "Feather Alert" system for missing Indigenous persons.

Leaders of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe met with North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong and South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden on April 7, 2025, at the tribe’s administrative center in Fort Yates, North Dakota. The meeting was prompted by concerns that federal funding cuts could affect education, healthcare and law enforcement services in Indian Country. Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire told the governors that Standing Rock is counting on them to help make sure the federal government is meeting its responsibility to Native communities. Both governors committed to supporting the tribe's needs.

The Powwow for the Planet will be held on Saturday and Sunday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The event will highlight the cultural and spiritual significance of national monuments on tribal lands, such as Avi Kwa Ame and Gold Butte. The powwow will feature traditional dances, a new drumming contest, and public intertribals. Organizers also want to raise awareness of sacred sites that tribal nations are proposing as monuments, such as Bahsahwahbee and East Las Vegas.

Three national Native organizations filed an amicus brief on April 7 in two Oklahoma education cases now before the U.S. Supreme Court. Represented by the Native American Rights Fund, the organizations are pushing back against claims that federal Indian boarding schools set a precedent for public funding of religious education. The groups say this misrepresents a system rooted in cultural genocide.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials met with tribal leaders in Chandler, Arizona, on April 7 to discuss the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), a continuing effort to improve food access in Native communities. The consultation, held during the Tribal Self Governance Conference, included Acting Deputy Under Secretary John Walk. FDPIR provides food and nutrition education to roughly 53,000 income-eligible Native American households and is administered by 107 Indian Tribal Organizations and three state agencies.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department will host Pollinators in the Classroom, a professional development workshop for K-12 educators, June 10–11, at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck. Participants will explore pollinators’ roles, habitats and life cycles through hands-on lessons and field activities. Attendees will receive the Urban Pollinator Program Curriculum and all course materials. The event costs $50 and includes walking field trips.

For details, contact Sherry Niesar at 701-527-3714 or sniesar@nd.gov.

Register here: https://gf.nd.gov/education/educator-workshops/schedule

A confidential agreement between the Navajo Nation and Energy Fuels allows the company to haul uranium ore from its Arizona mine across the Navajo Nation to Utah. Anti-nuclear advocates and residents are concerned that a provision in the agreement could apply to future mining activity at Roca Honda, a proposed mine located in New Mexico near Mount Taylor. The Navajo people consider the mountain sacred and oppose the development of any mines near it. Stephen Etsitty, executive director of the Navajo Environmental Protection Agency, acknowledged the provision in the agreement but stressed the Nation has not endorsed new mining.

Playwright Larissa FastHorse’s latest production, “Fake It Until You Make It,” is now showing at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The farce, which premiered in California, satirizes the nonprofit world through the rivalry of two leaders—one Indigenous, one not—highlighting racial and political disparities in funding and representation. FastHorse, a Sicangu Lakota Nation citizen, explores the themes of identity, sovereignty and Two-Spirit visibility.

A study led by the University of California, San Diego, has found that culturally tailored efforts to reduce commercial tobacco use in Native American communities are showing promising results. The California Native American Tobacco Initiative, launched in 2019 by the state’s Department of Public Health, funded 13 tribes and four tribal-serving organizations, aiming to reduce tobacco-related health disparities in Native American communities by focusing on tobacco cessation programming, community engagement and policy changes. Researchers prioritized cultural humility and respected the sacred role of traditional tobacco.

Former President Donald Trump said he will not retreat from broad new tariffs set to begin Wednesday, calling them “medicine” to fix global trade. The announcement has roiled financial markets worldwide, with U.S. futures and Asian stocks experiencing a sharp decline. Trump said more than 50 nations have reached out to negotiate, but no agreements have been made. Some Republican lawmakers are pushing a bill to limit presidential tariff powers.

Ernie Stevens Jr., chair of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), expressed calm resolve in an interview with CDC Gaming in which he discussed the challenges facing tribal gaming, including obstacles from the Trump administration, sweepstakes operators and online gaming markets. Despite these threats, Stevens emphasized the importance of tribal sovereignty and lobbying efforts to protect Indian Country’s interests. Under his leadership, tribal gaming revenues have grown significantly, from $11 billion in 2000 to over $49 billion in 2024. Stevens stressed the importance of unity and education, urging tribal leaders to engage with lawmakers to defend tribal rights.

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission recently rescinded a 1980 agreement between the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, completing the process to restore the tribe’s full hunting and fishing rights. This action follows federal law and a court ruling to vacate the Siletz Tribe Consent Decree, which had severely limited the tribe’s rights. The move recognizes the tribe’s sovereignty, strengthens collaboration between the state and the tribe and, ODFW Director Debbie Colbert said, “rights a historic wrong.”

Governments can play a critical role in advancing Indigenous entrepreneurship through targeted trade and investment policies, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum. The report outlines six key strategies: including Indigenous rights in trade agreements, enabling culturally informed trade promotion, ensuring access to financing, and adopting inclusive procurement laws. The report also highlights the importance of protecting Indigenous intellectual property and traditional knowledge.