Pawnee Nation College wins $10K grant from NEA (December 18, 2006)

The Pawnee Nation will use a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create an artist-in-residence program at the Pawnee Nation College. The program will start in the spring semester. The tribe hopes to create educational and...

Oneida Nation fights to keep land claim alive (December 18, 2006)

The Oneida Nation of New York is asking a federal judge to keep its 250,000-acre land claim alive. The tribe sued the state and two counties for the stolen land. The case has gone to the U.S. Supreme Court twice....

Indian students get real-life housing experience (December 18, 2006)

Students at St. Labre Indian School on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana are getting hands-on experience in the housing industry. The juniors and seniors learn everything about housing, from planning to building to budgeting. Their project this semester...

Editorial: The fight to preserve the Navajo language (December 18, 2006)

"The United States is a primarily English-speaking country, and also much of the world uses English as a unifying form of communication. Learning to speak English, and to speak it well, is a must for anyone looking to succeed in...

Navajo soldier loses arm in explosion in Iraq (December 18, 2006)

Army Spc. Alroy Billiman, a member of the Navajo Nation, lost his right arm after nearly losing his life in a roadside explosion in Iraq. Billiman, 27, was transporting goods from Jordan to Iraq when the bomb exploded. His right...

Column: Tribal issues face new New York governor (December 18, 2006)

"Here's one thing that won't change on Day One of the new Spitzer administration: New York will still be wrestling with the thorny and complicated issues of Native American casinos, land-claim lawsuits and tax-free cigarette sales. And with what to...

Judges in Canada approve residential school deal (December 18, 2006)

Judges in seven courts across Canada have approved the $1.9 billion residential school abuse settlement. The deal calls for all former students to receive $10,000, plus $3,000 for each additional year they attended a school. Natives with documentable claims of...

Editorial: Mohegan Tribe builds partnership with city (December 18, 2006)

"The $2 million Sachem Fund partnership between the Norwich City Council and the Mohegan Tribal Council is as innovative as it should be beneficial. The city and tribe have forged a trusting and respectful relationship, most recently seen by the...

Fort Belknap Tribes seek rehearing of mine case (December 18, 2006)

The Fort Belknap Indian Community will ask the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal to hear its case against the federal government. The Gros Ventre Tribe and the Assiniboine Tribe challenged the Bureau of Land Management's cleanup plan for two abandoned...

Tim Giago: Sen. Johnson never wanted the spotlight (December 18, 2006)

You can take the entire population of South Dakota and put it into Albuquerque and just about break-even. In fact, South Dakota’s population might come up a little short. While most of the rural counties in this state continue to...

DOJ joins Indian voting rights case in Wyoming (December 18, 2006)

The Department of Justice is intervening in an Indian voting rights lawsuit in Wyoming. Five members of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe sued Fremont County last year. They said the county's at-large system diluted their voting...

Mankiller rejected calls to run for Congress (December 18, 2006)

William Mankiller, the first woman to lead the Cherokee Nation, said she has rejected calls for her to run for U.S. Congress. Mankiller has been asked to represent Oklahoma's 2nd Congressional District, which has the highest percentage of Indian...

Jodi Rave: Wellness wave sweeps Indian Country (December 18, 2006)

"Marcus Red Thunder is part of a wave of wellness that's sweeping across Indian Country. “I believe I've been put in a position to continue that wave, keep it strong and build it so it can wash over our people,”...

White Face: Indigenous rights and the United Nations (December 18, 2006)

"An open letter to the ambassadors of the United Nations. Thank you for not approving the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that was sent to you from the U.N. Human Rights Council. That declaration would have hurt indigenous...

Bush signs $40M Isleta Pueblo settlement bill (December 18, 2006)

A bill to compensate Isleta Pueblo for the federal government's mismanagement was signed into law by President Bush. The tribe sued over contamination of wetlands on the reservation, for flooding from a diversion dam and for mismanagement of forestlands. The...

Washington teen's death called a failure of ICWA (December 18, 2006)

Robley "Bobby" Carr Jr., spent most of his young life in foster care, as tribal, state and federal officials tried to figure out what to do with him. Bobby was claimed by the Nooksack Tribe of Washington and the Hoonah...

Tonto Apache Tribe considers mine in Colorado (December 18, 2006)

The Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona is considering opening a mica mine in south-central Colorado. The tribe owns a mining claim on 45 acres. Tribal leaders recently visited the site to consider development there. The tribe could build a...