The Daily Spark

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced nearly $1 billion in disaster preparedness grants through 15 funding programs to help states and tribal nations improve readiness for natural disasters and human-caused incidents. Since July 25, the agency has offered over $2.2 billion in funding opportunities for state, local, tribal and territorial governments, according to FEMA.

To assist tribal emergency directors and managers, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security will host a webinar on Thursday, Aug. 7, at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Tribal leaders may register and submit up to three questions by 3 p.m. on Aug. 5. For more details, contact FEMA’s Tribal Affairs team at FEMA-Tribal@fema.dhs.gov.

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation will host a free regenerative medicine conference Aug. 6 at the MHA Interpretive Center in New Town, North Dakota, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to event organizers. The event will feature medical experts discussing stem cells, gene therapy, diabetes care, mental health treatment and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Speakers include Asher Milgrom, CEO of AMA Regenerative Medicine & Skincare, Travis Whitney, naturopathic doctor and founder of Innate Healthcare Institute, and Robbie Westerman, co-founder of Camelback Integrated Health and Wellness. A 30-minute session led by MHA member Ansen Wounded Face will also take place. Lunch, snacks and drinks will be provided, and attendees must be present to win raffle prizes.

Tribal health representatives are urging Montana officials to slow the state’s move toward Medicaid work requirements and premiums for the low-income health coverage plan, according to Montana Free Press. They warn the state may be acting too far ahead of the federal timeline laid out in the Trump administration’s domestic policy bill and have expressed concerns about potential administrative hurdles. At a July 29 consultation, stakeholders — including Urban Indian Organizations — said the state’s draft proposal risks disenrolling tribal members.

Although Native Americans are exempt from many new rules, state health officials, including Medicaid Director Rebecca de Camara, told tribal counterparts that the plan’s details don’t yet exist. Joel Rosette, CEO of the Rocky Boy Health Center, described the process as “a year ahead” with “more questions than answers.” He and other tribal leaders pressed the state to simplify applications and avoid replicating administrative failures from previous Medicaid redetermination efforts.

The Mohegan Tribe has reached an agreement to sell the Connecticut Sun to a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca for a record $325 million, according to the Associated Press. The deal includes plans to move the WNBA team to Boston by 2027 and build a $100 million practice facility there.

The tribe purchased the Sun in 2003 for $10 million and relocated it from Orlando to Connecticut. It was the first time an WNBA franchise was run by a non-NBA owner. The current sale, first reported by The Boston Globe, is pending approval by the league and its Board of Governors. According to ICT, the Mohegan Tribe issued a statement saying that any agreement involving relocation would require WNBA approval and is subject to non-disclosure terms.

The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg is set to close its Native American exhibit to facilitate the repatriation of thousands of artifacts and human remains to tribal nations. This action by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), reported by PennLive, aligns with the updated Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

NAGPRA is a federal law protecting tribal gravesites and providing a mechanism for tribal nations to reclaim ancestral property from federally funded institutions. The PHMC’s collection includes some 908 individual human remains and 79,628 funerary objects subject to this law, which was enacted in 1990 and updated in 2024 to expedite the repatriation process. "The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is fully committed to this process," Andrea Bakewell Lowery, the commission’s executive director, told PennLive.

The exhibit has been temporarily closed since early May so staff could identify and prepare items for return. The law has faced challenges in its implementation and enforcement, with some institutions found to be delaying compliance. James Riding In, a retired professor who is Pawnee, has said of unreturned remains, "We never ceded or relinquished our dead. They were stolen."

The removal process is expected to take months, and the exhibit will not reopen before the museum closes for renovations in August 2026, according to Bakewell Lowery. PHMC plans to develop a new Native American exhibit in consultation with tribal nations.

More than 120 Indigenous youth and allies from four continents completed a 310-mile journey down the newly undammed Klamath River in July, marking the first full descent of the river in over a century, according to reporting by Underscore Native News. The month-long paddle was organized by Paddle Tribal Waters, a program under Ríos to Rivers, and included participants from the Klamath Basin as well as river basins in Chile, Bolivia, New Zealand and China. The group convened for the Global Free Rivers Symposium at the mouth of the Klamath and signed the inaugural Klamath River Accord, calling for a global end to dam construction and the removal of existing dams. Youth participants said the event honored ancestors’ prayers.

Tribal leaders and public health advocates are asserting sovereignty over gender-affirming care in response to federal rollbacks, according to KFF Health News. At the Two Spirit Conference in Elko, Nevada, in June, organizers and attendees called attention to the challenges faced by two-spirit and LGBTQ+ Native Americans seeking health care. Myk Mendez, a citizen of the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, said he organized the event to preserve two-spirit traditions and educate the community.

Shortly after taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order recognizing only two sexes. In March, the National Indian Health Board passed a resolution affirming tribal authority over health issues, including gender-affirming care. Organizers and health consultants said tribal citizens are experiencing delays or denials in hormone treatment, even in areas where such care remains legal. The Indian Health Service has faced criticism for limiting access, and advocates warn that recent federal policy changes may further endanger Native LGBTQ+ and two-spirit communities

Tribal and state officials are calling on South Dakota lawmakers to formally recognize tribal police officers as law enforcement under state law, according to South Dakota Searchlight. Roberts County State’s Attorney Dylan Kirchmeier told the State-Tribal Relations Committee on July 31 in Agency Village that current statutes prevent him from filing felony charges for assaults against tribal officers, despite their regular coordination with city and county law enforcement.

Sisseton-Wahpeton Police Captain Gary Gaikowski said tribal and state officers often arrest the same individuals. Officials also discussed the complexities of mutual aid agreements between state and tribal agencies. Department of Public Safety Secretary Bob Perry and Tribal Relations Secretary Algin Young acknowledged progress but noted lingering mistrust. The committee’s next meeting will take place in mid-September and will be co-hosted by the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux Tribes.

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Chairman J. Garret Renville criticized a now-deleted social media post by South Dakota state Rep. Logan Manhart as “inflammatory” and “racially charged” during a State-Tribal Relations Committee meeting on July 31 in Agency Village, according to South Dakota Searchlight. The Instagram post, made on July 4, read, “it’s white boy summer and the boys are back in charge #MAGA.” Manhart represents District 1, which includes parts of the Lake Traverse Reservation.

Renville was quoted as saying at the meeting that such remarks “do not reflect the diversity or the values of District 1.” Committee Chair and Fort Pierre Rep. Will Mortenson told Renville that the committee “shares your sentiments to a large extent.”

The Fourth Convening of the Four Winds brought together Ponca bands in Niobrara, Nebraska, from May 16-18, making it the first time it was held outside Oklahoma, according to ICT. Co-hosted by the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, the Ponca PaThaTa and Movement Rights, the gathering focused on tribal sovereignty, rights of nature and environmental justice. Participants traveled from across Turtle Island to take part in prayer, ceremony and community planning at the Old Ponca Agency Grounds.

Organizers emphasized intergenerational activism and the importance of reconnecting with traditional knowledge. Conference attendees held a water ceremony and planted sacred Ponca corn on ancestral land, continuing a tradition reestablished in Nebraska in 2024. The coalition also released a statement supporting a July advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that links climate change to human rights obligations, according to ICT.

A meet and greet for the Documenters program was held Thursday, July 31, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates. The event took place in room 105 of the Entrepreneurial Center and included a free meal.

Attendees learned about the program’s goals and heard from current Documenters, who shared their experiences. New participants asked questions and joined the conversation, and everyone brought a story to the table. Connections were made among attendees as the event welcomed community members interested in learning how to take part in civic engagement and community reporting.

For more information about the Documenters program, please contact Daniela Aki at daniela@imfreedomalliance.org or Castle Fox at castle@imfreedomalliance.org.

The Haudenosaunee Nationals Women’s Lacrosse team won a bronze medal at the Pan American Lacrosse Association tournament on June 30 in Auburndale, Florida, qualifying for the 2026 World Women’s Lacrosse Championships in Tokyo, according to ICT. It was the team’s first time competing at the senior level in international play.

The team and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy have petitioned for recognition at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. On July 26, the Syracuse Mets honored the team at the NBT Bank Stadium for “Haudenosaunee Night.” Players celebrated with fans and shared messages of encouragement for young Native athletes.

The Texas State Board of Education voted 9-5 on June 27 to approve the American Indian/Native Studies course for state credit, allowing students to study Native perspectives and sovereignty, according to the Christian Post. The Texas Education Agency said the curriculum includes topics such as cultural exchanges among Native peoples and other ethnic groups, and contrasts Native egalitarian concepts with Euro-Western hierarchies.

Republican board member Julie Pickren criticized the course, saying it trains children to “resent the birth of America” and “resent Christians.” She specifically denounced the curriculum for teaching that “Christian missionaries kidnapped Indian children and sent them to re-education camps to become Americans and Christians.” She also said the curriculum was not publicly available for review before the vote.

The Chickasaw Nation implemented its inaugural Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program in 2024, reaching nearly 150,000 children across its service area and that of the Muscogee Nation, according to a case study by the Food Research & Action Center. The program provides eligible families with about $120 in grocery benefits per child during summer months to address gaps left by traditional nutrition programs.

The study highlights the importance of leveraging partnerships and strong data-sharing agreements with schools. It also recommends expanding eligibility beyond tribes operating WIC, increasing administrative funding, easing regulatory requirements and providing more federal technical support to enable broader tribal participation in Summer EBT.

A program in Kern County, California, that integrates traditional cultural practices to prevent suicide and substance use among Native youth faces uncertainty as federal funding ends, according to The Intersection. Since 2020 the Bakersfield American Indian Health Project has used federal grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support youth services.

The Trump administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposes eliminating Tribal Behavioral Health Grants, known as Native Connections. The program’s final funding round ends July 30 and technical assistance contracts expire in August. BAIHP CEO Angel Galvez said the reason for the grant’s discontinuation is unclear. Program director Johnny Delgado added that the loss of culture‑based services may reduce outreach and risk reduction for Native youth.

The North Dakota Chokecherry Festival will return to Davidson Park in Williston August 8-9, according to the Williston Visitor Center. Festival events include a pancake breakfast, 5K fun run, pit-spitting contest, mini train rides, a kids’ money dig and the 1,000 burger feed sponsored by Northwest Communications Cooperative. Visitors can shop from local vendors and enjoy chokecherry-flavored treats. The festival runs from 4-8 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, at 11th Street and 9th Avenue West.

Officials in Burlington, Vermont, plan to replace a deteriorated sculpture of Abenaki Chief Greylock with a new artwork commissioned by the state‑recognized Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi, according to VTDigger. The original statue was removed last week due to safety concerns.

However, the Missisquoi group’s role in the replacement has drawn criticism from state Rep. Troy Headrick, who urged officials to consult leaders from the Odanak and Wôlinak First Nations in Quebec. Those Abenaki communities argue that Vermont’s state‑recognized tribes, including Missisquoi, lack historical continuity and should not speak for all Abenaki representation. Burlington’s mayoral office said the delay in formally accepting the new statue was unrelated to tribal identity concerns and reaffirmed its partnership with the Missisquoi group under a 2022 city council resolution.

In a press release, the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers condemned the removal of signage at Muir Woods that referenced the enslavement of Native Americans by Spanish missionaries and the use of racist language by John Muir. The signage removal follows the implementation of Secretarial Order 3431 by the Department of the Interior.

“The removal of historical information at Muir Woods confirms our fears the Administration is actively working to erase evidence of the pain and suffering Indigenous peoples experienced,” said NATHPO Executive Director Valerie Grussing. In a June letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, NATHPO wrote that the order “appears to instruct federal agencies to obscure the efforts on the part of the government to eradicate vibrant Indigenous cultures.” The organization called on the administration to rescind the order, restore the signage and work with Native nations.

A team of Indigenous scholars at Arizona State University is working with tribal communities across Arizona to create water-centered exhibits that reflect each tribe’s stories, rights and relationships to water, according to ASU News. The Indigenous Water Stories Research Cohort, led by assistant professor Liliana Caughman, collaborates with the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative to build immersive displays in rural areas.

The exhibits feature language, oral history, technology and cultural revitalization. One South Phoenix exhibit, “Agua es Vida: Honoring Mothers and Water,” incorporated virtual-reality games, a water chatbot and personal storytelling. The cohort is working with the White Mountain Apache Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes and Navajo Nation, among others, to tailor each display to local perspectives. “We’re trying to engage with them and use this as a process to help them think about water, tell their stories and uplift their communities,” Caughman said.

ASU News