Editorial: Pombo's RIGHT Act fails to live up to its name (September 14, 2006)

Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California) couldn't have picked a worse title for his bill to restrict off-reservation gaming. It just made his loss on the House floor yesterday even more embarrassing. Pombo, the chairman of the House Resources Committee, was already...

SEC brings charges against firm owned by Native man (September 14, 2006)

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a securities fraud lawsuit against a firm owned by a member of the Warm Springs Tribes of Oregon. The SEC says Deni Leonard and his firm Global Development Corp. duped investors of $2...

Killers may have targeted Indians in Phoenix (September 14, 2006)

Two roommates who have been arrested for a series of shootings in Phoenix may have targeted American Indians and other minorities. Samuel John Dieteman, 30, and Dale Hausner, 33, are charged with murder and attempted murder in 16 shootings, two...

Underground fire on Torres Martinez Reservation (September 14, 2006)

A fire is burning underground at a dump on the Torres Martinez Cahuilla Reservation in California. The dump has been closed by a federal judge for violating federal environmental guidelines. The fire, however, still poses a threat to an...

Yellow Bird: Canning brings back good memories (September 14, 2006)

"At this time of year, my nose tickles at the smell of cooking jellies or roasting pork; they bring back memories of my life on the reservation. It's the time of the year when my mother and grandma, Little Sioux,...

Governor's Interstate Indian Council elects leaders (September 14, 2006)

The Governor's Interstate Indian Council elected a new slate of leaders at its annual meeting in Hawaii. Judi M. Gaiashkibos, a member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, was elected chairwoman. She serves as executive director of the Nebraska Commission...

Great Plains tribes to discuss breach of trust claims (September 14, 2006)

The Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance will meet in South Dakota next week to discuss tribal breach of trust claims. The September 20-22 conference in Rapid City was called to address a statute of limitations on tribal claims. Congress has...

Lakota candidate for U.S. House to open office (September 14, 2006)

Bruce Whalen, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is opening an office in Rapid City as part of his campaign against Rep. Stephanie Herseth (R-South Dakota). Whalen lives on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He has served as chairman of...

Cherokee Nation council backs minimum-wage hike (September 14, 2006)

Employees of the largest tribe in Oklahoma will be seeing a rise in the minimum wage. The Cherokee Nation council voted 11-6 to boost the minimum wage to $8 an hour. The measure now goes to Principal Chief Chad Smith...

Female students stage minor riot at BIA boarding school (September 14, 2006)

Female students at a Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding school on the Navajo Nation staged a minor riot when they refused to go to bed, The Gallup Independent reports. The girls at Ch'ooshgai Boarding School in Tohatchi, New Mexico were...

Navajo Nation makes biggest drug seizure in it history (September 14, 2006)

Navajo Nation authorities confiscated more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana worth $2 million, making it the largest seizure of drugs in the tribe's history. The drugs were discovered following a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in Arizona. A Navajo...

Interior called Goshute chairman on cell phone (September 14, 2006)

The Interior Department called Skull Valley Goshute Chairman Leon Bear on his cell phone to tell him that his tribe's lease for a nuclear waste dump had been rejected, a spokesperson said. But Interior apparently didn't talk to Bear...

Tribes press sacred site case before 9th Circuit (September 14, 2006)

The Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe and the Hualapai Tribe will go before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today to seek protection of the sacred San Francisco Peaks in Arizona. The Navajo Nation will share oral argument time with...

Sauk-Suiattle Tribe loses oldest member, fluent speaker (September 14, 2006)

Katherine Brown Joseph, the oldest member of the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe of Washington and the tribe's last fluent speaker of Lushootseed, died Wednesday. She was 91. The entire reservation was in mourning after learning of Joseph's death. "It's an incalculable loss,"...

First Nations to fall under Manitoba smoking ban (September 14, 2006)

First Nations in Manitoba will be subject to the province's ban on smoking in public places Minister Dave Chomiak said businesses on reserves must comply with the ban. All new and future video lottery terminal sites and liquor establishments will...

Delaware members oppose deal with Cherokee Nation (September 14, 2006)

Members of the Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma say their federal recognition isn't worth a deal with the Cherokee Nation. Annette Ketchum, the secretary of the tribe's elder committee, said the Delawares will be devastated if they accept a recognition bill...

Cason to meet land-into-trust foes from New York (September 14, 2006)

Jim Cason, the associate deputy secretary at the Interior Department, is scheduled to meet with land-into-trust opponents from New York today. The officials from Madison, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca counties are fighting land-into-trust applications filed by the Oneida Nation and...

BIA nominee Carl Artman to go before Senate panel (September 14, 2006)

Update: 10:30am. The committee, by a voice vote, unanimously approved Carl Artman's nomination. The entire proceeding lasted less than 30 minutes. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a confirmation hearing for Carl Artman as the next assistant secretary for...

Winnebago Tribe's company wins federal contract (September 14, 2006)

The Winnebago Tribe's information technology company has won a contract to supply the U.S. Census Bureau with equipment. All Native Systems (http://www.allnativesystems.com) is a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk Inc., the tribe's economic development corporation. It won the contract, with AllNative Office...

Norton protected Griles after $1M investigation (September 14, 2006)

Former Interior secretary Gale Norton refused to rebuke her top deputy, J. Steven Griles, despite his questionable behaviors, a top official said on Wednesday. In striking testimony to a House subcommittee, Interior Inspector General Earl E. Devaney described an ethical...