Student successes, Native investments
Native students and filmmakers gain national attention, a tribally owned lab opens in Minnesota and federal funding targets tribal roads. Plus, a questionable drilling decision in the Black Hills
Minnesota’s first Indigenous-owned lab opens for business
Aya Labs is Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate’s first scientific business venture. Profits ‘do not leave Indian Country’
Tribal and business leaders celebrated the opening of Minnesota’s first Indigenous owned and operated science laboratory on Thursday, March 19. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate’s Aya Labs LLC conducts environmental and pharmaceutical testing, with a focus on the medical and cannabis industries.
More than $21 million in federal money to support tribal highway and road projects
Two tribes in North Dakota receive grants totaling more than $2 million
By Brian Bull
The Federal Highway Administration has awarded more than $2 million in grants to tribes in North Dakota for road improvements. Announced by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on March 19, the funding is part of a $21 million package allocated through the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund.
Northern Plains Indigenous Film Festival to launch next month in Fargo
Festival attendees can participate in workshops on filmmaking and producing
By Jolan Kruse
The Northern Plains Indigenous Film Festival will be kicking off its first year in Fargo, North Dakota. The two-day festival will take place April 17 and 18 at the Fargo Theatre and feature workshop sessions, a Q&A with Indigenous filmmakers and a film screening.
AIHEC conference honors TCU students with awards for art, sports, academics
Student Awards Banquet held last day of conference
Tribal college students, faculty and staff celebrated student success at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s Student Awards Banquet on Wednesday evening, wrapping up the final day of the tribal college conference at the Bismarck Event Center in North Dakota.
Drilling project moves forward in the heart of the Black Hills
Forest Service waives environmental assessment, disregarding cultural significance of Pe’ Sla
Visiting the Black Hills is like Easter to Lisa Mni. When she sees lion’s mane mushrooms, hazelnuts or timpsila (prairie turnip) popping up out of the ground or growing on a bush, it’s like finding treasure.
Buffalo’s Fire team member Daniela Aki wins creative writing award
Her short fiction story ‘What Are Indianettes?’ was selected as a winner in the 2026 Tribal College Journal Creative Writing, Art & Film Contest
The Tribal College Journal recognized Daniela Aki, Buffalo’s Fire’s community engagement manager, and her short story “What are Indianettes?” as a top fiction entry in its 2026 Creative Writing, Art & Film Contest. Aki, Hunkpapa Lakota from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and a first-generation Mexican American, is a business administration student at Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates, North Dakota. She received her award at the AIHEC annual conference in Bismarck on March 18.
“Bringing home a winner’s plaque to my family meant more than anything,” said Aki, who is a married mother of five. “They swarmed me, cheering and hugging me, and their excitement helped me to feel proud of myself.”
Aki said she’s thankful to her parents, “who instilled in me a love of learning and storytelling,” and the Tribal College Journal team “for allowing students a place to be heard, seen, and celebrated.”
Tribal College Journals competition judges and guest editors Theodore C. Van Alst Jr. and Shane Hawk, editors of the 2023 Native horror anthology “Never Whistle at Night,” announced the creative writing contest winners on March 13. They chose three top entries in each category — fiction, nonfiction and poetry — and four honorable mentions. Students will have their work published in the 2026 edition of Tribal College Journal Student and on the journal’s website.
The Daily Spark – quick, must-read micro stories to start your day
Our Daily Spark feature delivers news summaries each day to give you a quick overview of current events in Indian Country. The format prioritizes brevity, providing key updates in short, digestible summaries. This makes it a valuable resource for quickly grasping important developments on a broad range of issues affecting Indigenous communities.
Here are some of the stories you may have missed this week: