Independent News from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

Cole Brings Plenty: 3-day MMIP commemoration kicks off

A 456-mile journey of healing, remembrance and solidarity

High school students learn engineering at ASPIRE summer camps

Youth take on coding and circuit boards at United Tribes Technical College

Gabrielle Nelson

Hollywood vs Heritage

Best Native American movies, series — the ones worth watching

A guide to the best Native American movies and series — from landmark Native-made films to major studio collaborations that got it right

Teresa Trumbly Lamsam, Ph.D.

From tradition to trend: Where to buy dentalium in today’s market

The shells hold cultural importance and are sought after by artists and crafters — but finding them can be difficult

Dentalium: History and significance in Native American cultureExplainer

Harvesting Connection: Dentalium and the two ‘Indian’ worlds

Dakota Access Pipeline

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

North Dakota’s Feather Alert to roll out in August

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

Angela Gillette

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.

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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

Rural Uncertainty

USDA upheaval brings uncertainty to farmers, rural communities

North Dakota lawmakers to review key bills impacting Native American communities

Dakota Access Pipeline

Media petition North Dakota Supreme Court for expanded access to Greenpeace trial

Free school meals bill fails in the North Dakota House

Tribal consultation

Bill seeks to strengthen tribal consultation on North Dakota legislation

Free school meals bill advances in North Dakota legislative committee

Northern Plains

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

Vaccine Decline

State reports first measles case amidst declining vaccination rates

Funding Fallout

Sudden cut of ‘politicized’ FEMA grants leaves North Dakota communities in the lurch

Community Search

MMIR: Native community unites in water and ground search for Standing Rock man, last seen on train bridge

‘Big Muddy’: North Dakota approaches deadline in high-stakes MHA oil tax lawsuit

Native Issues

Missing and Murdered

Daughter remembers Kristin Bruce as a woman ‘full of life’

Five Natives named Bush Fellows

Inside the NCAI Mid Year Conference: What we saw, heard and ran to cover

Trump wants to cut tribal college funding by nearly 90%, putting them at risk of closing

Largest tribal transit station in Minnesota under construction on White Earth Reservation

Disease Preparedness

Tribes prepare for measles outbreaks as confirmed cases in US surpass 1,000

Cultural Innovation

Inside the 13 Moons curriculum: How the Swinomish Tribe keeps traditions alive while teaching STEAM and helping to reduce chemical exposures

Native Nations

Activism continues

Leonard Peltier remains defiant in AP interview, maintaining innocence and vowing continued activism

Graham Lee BrewerAssociated Press

Leonard Peltier: ‘Today I am finally free’

Proud, cheerful and emotional, Leonard Peltier thanks supporters for welcome home

Pipeline Concerns

Public hearing set for proposed pipeline in Mountrail and Ward counties

Leonard Peltier: ‘Today I am finally free’

Arts & Culture

Indigenous Cinema

How ‘Dark Winds’ delivers

The journey of dentalium: Tracing ancient trade routes along the Upper Missouri

Dentalium journey with artist Tipiziwin Tolman: from necessity to cultural icon

Revitalizing ancestral art forms: Holly Young draws inspiration from family and community

Sundance Film Festival to relocate to Boulder in 2027

ND Native photographer featured in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art exhibition

Cultural Identity

Zig Jackson’s Vision: ‘Culture is the most powerful thing you have in art’

Opinion

Justice Delivered

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

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

Buffalo’s Fire’s news-sharing campaign: When republishing a story avoid the ‘copycat’ syndrome

Stories you might have missed

Urgent call to action against violence on Native women: Even when it seems there is no hope, keep fighting

Events and Announcements

Buffalo’s Fire, IMFA head to NCAI Mid Year Convention

Missing and Murdered

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

Federal Accountability

Native nations sue U.S. over use of tribal funds for boarding schools

Final Gathering

Bismarck Public Schools’ Indigenous Parent Advisory Committee holds final meeting of school year

Seeking Justice

Xia Brave Bull’s siblings recall generous, adventurous, ‘crazy’ person

American Indian vs Native American: Which term is right and when?

Pandleton image