Calling it an exercise in "frivolity," the federal judge overseeing the Indian trust fund rejected a motion to remove information about a senior trust official from court documents and the Internet. U.S....

A deeply divided Supreme Court today issued its rulings on two breach of trust cases. In a 6-3 ruling, the court struck down the Navajo Nation's landmark $600 million claim....

A senior Bush administration official warned tribal and Indian leaders on Monday that Indian housing funds are being watched "extremely closely" and could face cuts. Michael Liu, the assistant secretary for public and Indian housing, noted a government-wide push to become more "results oriented." The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and members of Congress want the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to prove its programs are working, he said. "To justify the levels of funding and hopefully to justify even more funding in the future, they have to have a better handle of what is being done and what has been done with the moneys that have gone out to the tribes and the nations and the villages," Liu said at the National American Indian Housing Council's annual Washington, D.C., summit. Citing figures that are in dispute, Liu told conference attendees that about 45 percent of funds under a key Indian housing program have not been spent....

The federal judge overseeing the trust fund lawsuit rejected on Monday the Bush administration's second attempt to extinguish the rights of Indian beneficiaries. Last December, U.S....

Over the objections of the Bush administration, the federal judge overseeing the Cobell trust fund lawsuit on Monday accepted an amicus brief filed by the nation's largest inter-tribal organization. Tribes are not parties to the litigation but U.S....

Critics of a proposal for a giant kitty litter plant say Secretary of Interior Gale Norton caved into industry pressure. The Reno Gazette-Journal obtained a series of letters and correspondence that urged Norton to get involved....

Republicans in Wisconsin were unable to muster enough votes to override Governor Jim Doyle's veto of their gaming oversight bill. Doyle has negotiated new compacts with two tribes that authorize expanded gaming in exchange for a higher share of revenues....

Nebraska lawmakers struck a deal that would combine two competing proposals to expand gaming in the state. The compromise would still allow tribes to establish Class III casinos....

The Yaqui Easter Ceremonies begin this week in Guadalupe, Arizona, near Phoenix. The ceremonies run from Ash Wednesday through Easter....

About 100 bison from Yellowstone National Park are set to be slaughtered without first being tested for a deadly cattle disease, the Associated Press reports. Under a management plan adopted by the Clinton administration, officials must first try to haze the bison back into the park....

Senator Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut), a critic of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said on Monday he would not seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. Dodd is a primary sponsor of a bill to reform federal recognition....

The Nebraska Legislature will hold three hearings over the next two weeks addressing the sale of liquor in the town of Whiteclay. According to The Omaha World-Herald, one would use liquor-tax proceeds for law enforcement at Whiteclay....

The New Mexico House passed a bill on Monday to allow state lottery scholarships to be used at two tribal colleges. The bill would benefit 68 students at Dine College on the Navajo Nation and 19 students at the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, said a supporter....

It was state sovereignty, not tribal sovereignty, that was under attack in a recent campaign donation case, The Sacramento Bee says in an editorial today. A state court said tribes are required to comply with state election law....

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is returning law enforcement duties to the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada. The BIA had taken over the tribe's police department in June 2001....

Two witnesses in the trial of a man accused of raping and murdering an Alaska Native woman tied the accused to the crime. Jonathan Walker had to read from a statement because he was shot in the face and his memory has been damaged....

Common Cause of Wisconsin released figures on Monday that showed the amount of campaign contributions tribes in that state made to the national parties. According to the group, tribes donated more than $770,000 to the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee....

A New Jersey art dealer wants to post paintings that depict images sacred to a New Mexico tribe on an art web site. Fred Ross, chairman of The Art Renewal Center, said he bought the paintings with the hopes of making them public....

"The club’s use of Crazy Horse’s name was yet another reminder of mainstream society’s romanticized image of Native people....

The Grand Forks Herald in an editorial today says the state of South Dakota shouldn't "hurt relations" with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation by renaming a bridge on the reservation. A lawmaker known for her support of Indian issues has introduced a bill to change the Four Bears Bridge to the Medal of Honor Bridge....

Four tribes are asking a federal judge to stop the Bush administration from using federal funds to build a shooting range in South Dakota. The Northern Cheyenne, Rosebud Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux and Yankton Sioux tribes, along with an Indian group called Defenders of the Black Hills, say the range will disturb ceremonies that take place near Bear Butte....

For generations, residents of Indian Country have been victimized by persistent mismanagement of trust assets by the federal government....

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will reconsider the nomination of Ross Swimmer as Special Trustee tomorrow, an aide said. Panel members voted 10-3 last week to advance Swimmer to the Senate floor but procedural objections delayed the nomination....

"A smart-ass shtick for journalists these days is interviewing inarticulate placard-carrying protesters at big demonstrations....

"I have little doubt that the United States will soon go to war against Iraq....

The Navajo Nation's new leaders are in Washington, D.C., this week for meetings with the White House, members of Congress and top government officials. It's part of the tribe's annual impact week....