Cole says Chickasaw Nation made promises on land (September 16, 2004)

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) said the Chickasaw Nation has promised not to start a gaming center on land proposed for a cultural center. Cole, a tribal member, introduced a land swap bill to benefit the tribe. The tribe would get...

Bush administration challenges trust fund ruling (September 16, 2004)

A panel of federal judges pressed a Bush administration lawyer on Wednesday to explain why they should allow the Interior Department to carry out trust reform absent court oversight. Mark Stern, a Department of Justice lawyer representing Secretary Gale Norton,...

Natives get ready to descend on DC for NMAI fest (September 16, 2004)

About 20,000 people representing hundreds of tribes have registered for the opening ceremony of the new National Museum of the American Indian. Thousands more Native people are expected to descend on Washington, D.C., for the opening week festivities. "I've been...

Moving ceremony pays tribute to fallen Navajo warrior (September 16, 2004)

Scores of mourners turned out for the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Quinn A. Keith, a member of the Navajo Nation, on Wednesday. Keith, 21, was killed last week in Iraq in a suicide bomber attack. He was one of...

NMAI staff show off 'truly Native place' to first visitors (September 16, 2004)

NMAI Click to enlarge WELCOME PLAZA Click to enlarge POTOMAC Click to enlarge MITSITAM CAFE Click to enlarge "OUR LIVES" Click to enlarge "OUR UNIVERSES" Click to enlarge RESOURCE CENTER Click to enlarge The new National Museum of the...

County faults Nevada tribe over inmate procedures (September 16, 2004)

An agreement between the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada and the Churchill County Sheriff has been terminated over concerns that tribal police officers were not following procedures at the county jail. Sheriff Richard Ingram said tribal officers failed to ensure...

Man wants Lewis and Clark group to skip Pine Ridge (September 16, 2004)

A man from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota doesn't want a Lewis and Clark group to come to his home. Alex White Plume said he is opposed to a visit to the reservation scheduled by the Discovery Expedition....

Handling of South Dakota IHS hospital criticized (September 16, 2004)

The Indian Health Service came under fire on Wednesday for its handling of a hospital in Rapid City, South Dakota. Tribal members who live in the area criticized budget shortfalls and other problems at the Sioux San Hospital. The facility...

Judge: South Dakota violated Indian voting rights (September 16, 2004)

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the state of South Dakota violated the voting rights of Indians on the Pine Ridge Reservation and the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. The state packed voters on the reservations into one district. The American...

Norton's intervention won't help Native corporation (September 16, 2004)

Interior Secretary Gale Norton's intervention in a land dispute won't help an Alaska Native corporation with friends in high places. The National Park Service was moving to dismantle a disputed fish camp in Lake Clark National Park that is claimed...

Shoshone-Bannock officials explain school firings (September 16, 2004)

Officials with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho said they uncovered financial mismanagement, inappropriate use of e-mail and other problems at the Sho-Ban School. Their investigation led to the firing of a superintendent and a coordinator. The principal and two teachers...

Oregon tribe to retrace route of forced removal (September 16, 2004)

The Confederated Siletz Tribes in Oregon will make an annual run to the ancestral lands they were removed from in 1856. The 10th annual 224-mile Run to the Rogue traces the path of removal from the Rogue River Valley. Tribal...

Group opposing Poarch Creeks tied to tribal lobbyists (September 16, 2004)

The Christian Coalition of Alabama may have received money from Washington, D.C., lobbyists under a Senate investigation, The Atmore Advance reports. The coalition has been fighting the Poarch Creek Band of Alabama over gaming. The group claims the tribe has...

Samish Nation regains trust land after a century (September 16, 2004)

The Samish Nation of Washington is regaining lands it lost nearly a century ago. The tribe purchased 80 acres for a housing development. The land is near Campbell Lake. Three years ago, the tribe asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs...

Blackfeet Nation signs law enforcement pact (September 16, 2004)

The Blackfeet Nation and the Montana Highway Patrol signed a new law enforcement agreement covering traffic laws on the reservation. The tribe met with state officials last Friday to discuss the agreement. One person objected because public hearings had not...

Montana tribe takes questions on role at bison range (September 16, 2004)

An official with the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes of Montana says there will be "no surprises" when the tribe takes on some duties at the National Bison Range. The tribe and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have come to...

Senate panel approves $5.5M for Meskwaki school (September 16, 2004)

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $5.5 million for construction of a new high school on the Meskwaki Reservation in Iowa, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said on Wednesday. Grassley says a school is needed to combat the 50 percent drop-out...

Non-recognized Virginia tribes welcome NMAI opening (September 16, 2004)

One of the tribes featured in an opening exhibition at the new National Museum of the American Indian is the non-federally recognized Pamunkey Tribe from Virginia. The tribe lives on one of the first-ever reservations established in the United States....