NCAI meets in Washington for winter session (February 27, 2006)

Correction/Clarification: NCAI is proposing a partnership with the White House to fight methamphetamine use and drug trafficking. NCAI President Joe Garcia said the administration is receptive to the idea. The nation's largest inter-tribal organization is meeting in Washington, D.C., this...

Meskwaki Tribe ordered to reconsider critic's case (February 27, 2006)

The Meskwaki Tribe of Iowa violated the due process rights of a former council member, the tribe's appellate court judge ruled earlier this month. Chief Justice Henry M. Buffalo said the tribe violated Calvin Johnson Sr.'s rights by revoking his...

Non-Indians urged to respect Tulalip Tribes police (February 27, 2006)

The sheriff in Snohomish County, Washington, is urging non-Indians not to challenge the authority of the Tulalip Tribes police. Non-Indians, backed by a Republican state senator, plan to protest tribal authority by carrying cards that say they won't talk to...

Program to help urban Indians become homeowners (February 27, 2006)

Urban Indians in Great Falls, Montana, who want to become homeowners should be able to get help through a new program. The Urban Indian Homeownership Initiative in Great Falls is a partnership between Wells Fargo, the Neighborhood Housing Service of...

Lac Courte Oreilles drug sting hits close to home (February 27, 2006)

A federal investigation of drug trafficking on the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Reservation in Wisconsin netted the arrests and convictions of non-Indian gang members but also brought tribal members and relatives of tribal officials to justice. The tribe declared a...

BIA audit found problems with Red Lake police force (February 27, 2006)

A Bureau of Indian Affairs audit in 2004 found significant problems with the Red Lake Nation's police department, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The BIA conducted the audit at the request of new chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. Auditors said they...

Red Lake secretary Judy Roy seeks chairman's post (February 27, 2006)

Judy Roy, the secretary of the Red Lake Nation of Minnesota, announced she is running for chairman of the tribe. Roy has served as secretary since 1994. She said she wants to lead the tribe to show young women...

Key witness in death of Native man killed in accident (February 27, 2006)

A former police officer who was convicted for shooting Ojibwe protester Dudley George to death was killed in a car accident on Saturday, just two weeks before he was to testify about his involvement in the controversy. Kenneth Deane,...

Winnebago woman leads new Indian business group (February 27, 2006)

Dee St. Cyr, a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, has been elected as president of the new American Indian National Chamber of Commerce. St. Cyr helped organize the group last year. Its membership consists of Indian chambers of...

Texas group critical of DeLay cleared in IRS probe (February 27, 2006)

Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit group that has been critical of indicted Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), has been cleared in an Internal Revenue Service probe that was requested by one of DeLay's allies, The Washington Post reports. The...

Alabama-Coushatta Tribe still waiting on big payout (February 27, 2006)

In October 2002, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims recommended to Congress that the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe be compensated $270.6 million for the loss of about 5.5 million acres in east Texas. The tribe is still waiting for action nearly four...

Narragansett Tribe removes 100 people from rolls (February 27, 2006)

The Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island has removed at least 100 people from the rolls, saying they fail to meet membership criteria. The group, including former tribal council member Yvette Champlain, says the decision is unfair and its based on...

Editorial: Supreme Court opens peyote to non-Indians (February 27, 2006)

"House Bill 60, which would allow members of federally recognized Indian tribes to use peyote for religious services, is on his desk awaiting his signature. The bill was drafted to target one man: James Warren "Flaming Eagle" Mooney, leader...

Yellow Bird: Non-Indian gaming makes headlines (February 27, 2006)

"Eight Nebraska meat-processing plant workers shared in a $365 million Powerball jackpot last weekend; they'll each get about $15.5 million after taxes. And North Dakota players shared in some big prizes, too, including A $200,000 Powerball win. There was joy...

Harjo: NY Times story on drugs accurate but untrue (February 27, 2006)

"If The New York Times' articles about Indian country harboring drug runners were wildly inaccurate, it would be easier to explain how they create a false impression. As it is, the two-part series, ''Tribal Underworld,'' is a good example of...

Opinion: Indian trust a bigger swindle than Abramoff (February 27, 2006)

"The prodigious tentacles of Abramoff's operation are more convoluted than the leftover entrails from a botched pig autopsy performed by an inebriated first-year vet student. Some pundits are saying that if all is uncovered it will be the biggest congressional...

Mark Trahant: Health care spending on the rise (February 27, 2006)

"A new report last week makes the case (yet again) that this country is going to have to reform its health care system. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said health care spending is now about 16 percent...