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
Powwow
Traditional Practices
What is a memorial at a powwow?
Powwow Eats
Powwow food vendors essential to savoring the experience
Video Etiquette
Powwow dos and don’ts
In the circle
For powwow vendors, art runs deeper than business
Chemistry
Buffalo’s Fire and Prairie Public Radio link for live coverage at UTTC powwow
In the circle
Thousands gather for start of 55th annual UTTC International Powwow
Northern Plains
Sport
United Tribes Legends Softball Hall of Fame welcomes three players and two teams
Drums & Dreams
UTTC International Powwow flexes its cultural and economic muscle
Eagle Butte
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe elder accused of threatening lives of federal officers
Law Enforcement
Spirit Lake Nation responds to misconduct allegations at sheriff’s office, calls out ‘urgent need’ for responsive law enforcement
Sovereignty
MHA Nation decriminalizes medical marijuana
Opioid Aid
16 North Dakota organizations receive $8 million in opioid grants
Native Issues
Fund Control
MHA citizens seek accountability in a suit against their Tribal Business Council
Campus Culture
UTTC food sovereignty coordinator restores campus medicine wheel
Tradition Restored
Dentalium artisan Russell McCloud revitalizes Native tradition and trade
Justice Delayed
Grassroots organizations work to fill gap in MMIP data
Education
North Dakota tribes Indigenize latest school textbooks
MMIP
Amber Alert Initiative advances across Indian Country
Native Nations
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
Opinion
Youth Pride
Twin Buttes Powwow celebrates every child as a champion
Arts, Culture & Sports
Heritage Remembered
Lost in the flood: MHA Interpretive Center honors Elbowoods in new exhibit
Final Step
Look in the mirror: Powwow community reflects on ‘the Last Dance’ for Gathering of Nations
Live Coverage
Buffalo’s Fire and Prairie Public partnering at UTTC International Powwow
Explainer
Powwow etiquette: A respectful visitor’s guide
Interview
Catching up with Gary Farmer on Route 66
Creative Wealth
Bush fellow to explore culturally attuned investment strategies for fellow creatives
Opinion
Opinion
Imposed Rule
Tribal citizens stuck with an act, an IRA constitution they didn’t support
Opinion
Tribal Sovereignty
Supreme Court should uphold sovereign status for Native nations in Voting Rights Act case
Opinion
Community Uprising
Cheyenne River Sioux families walk to draw attention to allegations of mistreatment at the jail
Stories you might have missed
MMIP
Loved ones urge community to remember Renzo Bullhead as relatives flock to Bismarck for International Powwow
Education
Couple with Bismarck roots seeds endowment for UTTC students with $100,000 donation
Live Coverage
UTTC Tribal Summit: Cody Two Bears urges tribal nations to unite for sovereignty
Live Coverage
United Tribes Technical College Tribal Leaders Summit opens with unity and strength
Movement Resilience
Despite major foundation cuts, NDN Collective vows to ‘double down’
Justice Rising
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
Podcast
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