Independent News from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

Tune in Saturday to our live UTTC International Powwow coverage, 1-3 p.m. CT

Buffalo’s Fire is partnering with Prairie Public Radio

UTTC International Powwow flexes its cultural and economic muscle

Event draws thousands of participants and celebrants to Bismarck

5 min readBrian Bull

Loved ones urge community to remember Renzo Bullhead as relatives flock to Bismarck for International Powwow

Family holds gathering Sept. 4 to ask people with information to come forward

1 min readJolan Kruse

related stories

Renzo Bullhead’s family hang on to hope and prayer as search continues

What caused a splash in the Missouri River the night Renzo Bullhead disappeared?

Bismarck-area couple seeds endowment for UTTC students with $100,000 donation

Terrence and Patricia Leier are ‘giving back for the sacrifice that the Natives made’

3 min readErin Hoover Barnett

UTTC Tribal Summit: Cody Two Bears urges tribal nations to unite for sovereignty

It’s just as important as preserving Native language and culture, he says

3 min readGabrielle Nelson

United Tribes Technical College Tribal Leaders Summit opens with unity and strength

4 min readErin Hoover Barnett

Tribal citizens stuck with an act, an IRA constitution they didn’t support

6 min readTodd Hall

Movement Resilience

Despite major foundation cuts, NDN Collective vows to ‘double down’

4 min readBrian Bull

Dentalium image

Special Feature

For the love of dentalium

Harvested in the Pacific and traded inland, dentalium shells served Indigenous peoples as valuable currency, status symbols, and sacred items for millennia, a tradition that persists. Read our coverage.

Sovereignty, Community, Press Freedom.
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The Daily Spark

Quick stories, must reads

Bismarck-Mandan

Crisis Response

North Dakota Legislature passes law aimed at tackling MMIP crisis

2 min readAlix Dobler

Northern Plains

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe elder accused of threatening lives of federal officers

4 min readJolan Kruse

UTTC agriculture students connect with Native roots

Law Enforcement

Spirit Lake Nation responds to misconduct allegations at sheriff’s office, calls out ‘urgent need’ for responsive law enforcement

MHA Nation decriminalizes medical marijuana

16 North Dakota organizations receive $8 million in opioid grants

What caused a splash in the Missouri River the night Renzo Bullhead disappeared?

North Dakota ranked No. 2 for aging in place in national study

Native Issues

MMIP activists hold late summer walk in Oregon to spread awareness

3 min readBrian Bull

Lake Stewardship

Native nations push through funding uncertainties to keep protecting the Great Lakes

Creative Wealth

Bush fellow to explore culturally attuned investment strategies for fellow creatives

Emergency Preparedness

Red Thread Network provides a template for what to do if a loved one goes missing

Dispatch from the IJA conference: As event winds down, president reflects on ‘full-circle’ moment

Emmy Award goes to animated documentary honoring MMIP

Standing Rock holds its first Red Dress Special

Native Nations

Water Celebration

Community and candy: Fort Yates holds Long Soldier Parade

4 min readGabrielle Nelson

Cultural Revival

Standing Rock nonprofit connects people with Native traditions

Elder Celebration

MHA Nation elders gather for summer luncheon

Dakota Access Pipeline

Federal government appealing $28M award to North Dakota for pipeline protest costs

Twin Buttes Powwow in North Dakota celebrates every child as a champion

Arts & Culture

Look in the mirror: Powwow community reflects on ‘the Last Dance’ for Gathering of Nations

9 min readGabrielle Nelson

Heritage Remembered

Lost in the flood: MHA Interpretive Center honors Elbowoods in new exhibit

Buffalo’s Fire and Prairie Public partnering at UTTC International Powwow

Powwow etiquette: A respectful visitor’s guide

Catching up with Gary Farmer on Route 66

A Nez Perce elder’s remembrance of Nagasaki resonates to this day

Hollywood vs Heritage

Best Native American movies, series — the ones worth watching

Opinion

Justice Delivered

June 30, heirs’ deadline to file for allotment land royalties

4 min readTalli Nauman

Tribal Sovereignty

Supreme Court should uphold sovereign status for Native nations in Voting Rights Act case

Community Uprising

Cheyenne River Sioux families walk to draw attention to allegations of mistreatment at the jail

Why Buffalo’s Fire was red for one day

Harvesting Connection: Dentalium and the two ‘Indian’ worlds

When is being ‘elder’ more than just being ‘older’?

Cultural Preservation

A look inside the Denver March Powwow

Stories you might have missed

Dispatch from the IJA conference: ‘We shall remain’

In ID we trust: Reflections on self-preservation in an age of deportations

Healing Journey

Conference addresses gender-based violence in Native communities

Leadership Growth

Educator John Little advocates for more Natives in higher ed

Standing Rock woman dedicated to bringing home missing Indigenous people

Funding Slashed

Trump administration delivers blow to Native media

Ready the skunk cabbage, it’s the great camas bake-off

Pandleton image