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Celebrating a Decade: Indian Education Summit hosts 36 workshops to empower Native educators
Key sessions highlight stability for at-risk students, culturally responsive practices and leveraging AI in the classroom. Marking a decade of educational innovation, the 10th annual Indian Education Summit will bring more than 200 educators to the North Dakota State Capitol from July 18-19. When Lucy Fredericks joined the Department of...
Jules Edwards advocated for her autistic kids — then learned she’s autistic, too
She became committed to making the world a better place for generations to come. In celebration of Disability Pride Month, throughout July MPR News is featuring stories about Minnesotans with disabilities who are making an impact. See more at mprnews.org/changemakers. Jules Edwards is a Twin Cities-based Anishinaabe autistic author and...
Regulators order Marathon Oil to pay $64.5M for ‘illegal pollution’ on Fort Berthold Reservation
'This fine just proves what the people of the Fort Berthold Indian reservation have known for a long time'. Marathon Oil Co.’s air quality violations on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation have drawn the largest civil penalty in United States history for flaring activity and emissions from “stationary sources,” federal agencies announced on July 11. The $64.5 million assessment comes as a complaint settlement for creating “thousands of tons of illegal pollution,” according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Tribe goes back to its roots with a massive greenhouse operation
Eventually totaling about 14.5 acres, officials say would make it one of the world's largest facilities of its type. A tribe in North Dakota will soon grow lettuce in a giant greenhouse complex that when fully completed will be among the country’s largest, enabling the tribe to grow much of its own food decades after a federal dam flooded the land where they had cultivated corn, beans and other crops for millennia.
Lakota Two-Spirit activist attends White House celebration
Candi Brings Plenty, Oglala Lakota, was invited to attend the White House's LGBTQ and Two-Spirit event on June 25. Candi Brings Plenty’s dedication to supporting and advocating for their Two-Spirit community has taken them across the United States, most recently to Washington D.C. Brings Plenty, an Oglala Lakota Two-Spirit...
Ojibwe instructor awarded $150,000 Bush Fellowship for Ojibwe language revitalization
Michelle Goose to develop advanced language courses, create new curriculum, and draft a textbook during her sabbatical. Michelle Goose never intended to make a career out of language revitalization. In college, she double-majored in psychology and American Indian studies. She added on the second degree because she wanted to continue learning Ojibwe, her heritage language; early on, she realized this would be key to really deeply understanding her culture. But seeing how the language was rapidly disappearing from her community, she realized that she would have to begin language revitalization efforts if she wanted to continue working with Ojibwe.
North Dakota Growth Fund a ‘capital multiplier’ for local entrepreneurs
$89 million of $600 million in local Legacy Fund investment rolled out so far. There has been some concern among people watching the Legacy Fund about whether these investments will all go to companies in the state. Furst said that the Growth Fund’s investment policy statement makes clear that all...
‘Sacred Return’: Tribal ceremony honors white buffalo calf
Calf’s prophesied arrival means people need to come together and help Mother Nature, leaders say. The birth of a sacred white buffalo calf earlier this month in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley fulfills a tribal prophecy, according to Native American spiritual leaders. The prophecy means people need to...
Red Ribbon Skirt Society uplifts families facing MMIP crisis
Founder Lily Mendoza earns Bush Fellowship to ‘find healing in Lakota lifeways’. Day after day, Lily Mendoza works to heal family and community through the Red Ribbon Skirt Society. She dedicates her life to saving the lives of others. Mendoza, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, founded...
Black Hills events embrace Two-Spirit community
A three-day celebration by Uniting Resilience in Rapid City, S.D., celebrated Two-Spirit identity during the last weekend of Pride. A powwow with no gendered categories is an uncommon sight for most people traveling the powwow trail this summer. But the second annual He Sapa Nagi Nunpa Wacipi, or Black Hills Two-Spirit Powwow, in Rapid City made it work.
Buffalo’s Fire team shares in 2024 Indigenous Media Awards
Solutions journalism probe of Turtle Mountain pedestrian deaths wins Best News Story. Buffalo’s Fire and its team scored a number of honors in the 2024 Indigenous Media Awards competition. Its Solutions Journalism piece about pedestrian deaths on the Turtle Mountain Reservation garnered Best News Story. Buffalo’s Fire also earned...
Buffalo’s Fire receives $100K grant from Luce Foundation for a community journalism project in Bismarck
Bismarck Documenters program taking the lead for local civc engagement. The Henry Luce Foundation recently awarded Buffalo’s Fire a grant of $100,000 to fund the Indigenous-led Bismarck Documenters program. The Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance serves as the fiscal sponsor for Buffalo’s Fire to support programming of the Documenters chapter here in North Dakota for the next year.
Parole denied for Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier
Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier has been denied parole after spending most of his life in prison since his conviction in the 1975 killing of two FBI agents in South Dakota. Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who has spent most of his life in prison since his conviction in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in South Dakota, has been denied parole.
2024 Twin Buttes Celebration contest winners
Iris McKay- Sioux Valley, Man. Donny McKay Sioux Valley, Man. Junior Girls Jingle (7-12) Junior Girls Fancy (7-12) Junior Girls Traditional (7-12) Junior Boys Traditional (7-12) (Name & Tribe/City) Jasper Little Head Lawrence, KS. Notaa White Horse Standing Buffalo, SK. Bildwe King Bird Red Lake, MN. Aidan Hugs Crow, MT.
Superintendent placed on leave following offensive comments
Rapid City Area School Board reprimanded the superintendent for comments made in the Office of Civil Rights Resolution Letter. Nicole Swigart, Rapid City Area Schools superintendent, has been placed on leave following offensive comments she made during a U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights investigation, school officials announced Monday.
Bill would return herds to ancestral Native lands
A bipartisan bill pending in Congress would pay to relocate some of the 20,500 buffalo from public lands across the West and Midwest to reservation lands. Buffalo are so iconic, Congress designated them as the national mammal in 2016. Native American oral histories estimate that 30 to 60 million once roamed the plains.
Chippewa Ojibwe artist creates safe space for empowerment, exploration of stories
‘Waiting for Beds’ exhibit now on display in Duluth. When Moira Villiard creates art, she aims high. For one recent project, the epic Chief Buffalo murals in downtown Duluth, she involved more than 500 artists and community members in its creation. They came from all over to wield a brush in tribute to the leader who, 170 years ago, organized a historic meeting in Washington, D.C. while in his 90s. Chief Buffalo helped preserve the Ojibwe homelands.
Minnesota horse racing regulatory board adds Native leaders
Two newly named members of the Minnesota Racing Commission that oversee the state’s horse tracks have deep ties to tribes that have large casino operations. Two newly named members of the Minnesota Racing Commission that oversee the state’s horse tracks have deep ties to Native American tribes that have large casino operations. It’s the latest volley in a long-running dispute over the extent of legal gambling in Minnesota.
Educational support goes a long way with Native students
Programs that engage with Indigenous students and recognize their abilities can help them succeed in school. Josie Green returned home to South Dakota 10 years ago with a mission — to engage students in her community through teaching. Teaching wasn’t something the Oglala Lakota woman had anticipated pursuing. She...
Civil rights investigation finds Rapid City Area Schools ‘discriminated’ against Native students
School district signs agreement to close the gap with Native students with more staff and advisory committee. A federal civil rights investigation of Rapid City Area Schools found significant differences in the way Native and non-Native students are treated, citing discrepancies in the way they are disciplined and in their access to advanced placement courses.
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