Independent News from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

United Tribes Legends Softball Hall of Fame welcomes three players and two teams

The ceremony also honored players who have passed

4 min readGabrielle Nelson

Buffalo’s Fire and Prairie Public Radio link for live coverage at UTTC powwow

Radio collaboration highlights importance of cooperation in a season of funding cuts for local media

1 min readJolan Kruse

A shared history: memorial to Japanese American WWII inmates at Fort Lincoln

A memorial in the Snow County Prison, now the United Tribes Technical College campus

1 min readBrian Bull

Thousands gather for start of 55th annual UTTC International Powwow

Crowd told, ‘All the Nations here in North Dakota welcome you’

2 min readErin Hoover Barnett

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

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

3 min readErin Hoover Barnett

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

3 min readGabrielle Nelson

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.
Get the Buffalo's Fire Newsletter.

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

Movement Resilience

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

4 min readBrian Bull

MMIP activists hold late summer walk in Oregon to spread awareness

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

Native Nations

Standing Rock holds its first Red Dress Special

4 min readJolan Kruse

Water Celebration

Community and candy: Fort Yates holds Long Soldier Parade

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

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’?

Stories you might have missed

UTTC International Powwow flexes its cultural and economic muscle

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

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

Pandleton image