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McCaleb changed, yes, but little else did
When President George Bush nominated him as assistant secretary for Indian Affairs back in April 2001, Neal McCaleb did what any bureaucrat who has come within 10 feet of the trust fund debacle would do....
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In The Hoop: Winners, Losers
Is it Friday already? That means it's time for the weekly list of the movers and shakers in Indian Country and beyond....
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McCaleb to leave BIA amid trust fund upheaval
Citing an increasingly "contentious and litigious environment," Neal McCaleb on Thursday announced he was resigning from his post as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs....
Funds tight in Haskell highway plan
Funding for an $8.5 million wetlands mitigation program could be cut as the state of Kansas seeks to expand a highway near Haskell Indian Nations University, The Lawrence Journal-World reports....
Bush allows drilling in Tex. park
The Bush administration has approved drilling in the Padre Island National Seashore Park in Texas, The New York Times reports....
Maine casino panel finalizes work
A task force in Maine is finalizing work on a proposal tribal casino....
Wis. anti-smoking program expands
A state program in Wisconsin that tries to help low income pregnant women quit smoking is expanding....
Conn. tribes sponsoring U.N. conference
Three Connecticut tribes are helping sponsor the 2004 International Children's Conference on the Environment....
Boarding school gets new track
Indian students at the Sequoyah High School, a Cherokee Nation boarding school Oklahoma, now have a new track....
Calif. tribes challenging Las Vegas
California tribes pose a "significant challenge" to Nevada's casino business, The Los Angeles Times reports....
Okla. tribes welcome settlement
Three Oklahoma tribes praised passage of a bill to settle their ownership rights in the Arkansas river bed....
Ariz. pow-wow on the horizon
The Native-American Month Social Powwow and Indian Craft Market will be held next weekend in Tucson, Arizona....
Indian dogs were wiped out too
Research being published in today's issue of Science look at the origins of man's best friend....
Natives receive volunteer awards
Three Native Americans in Minnesota have been recognized for their volunteer service....
Accept Indians, if only fictionally
American Indians are "gaining wider acceptance in Hollywood," The Christian Science Monitor reports, citing recent film developments....
Water talks call on non-Indians to change
The Santa Fe New Mexican has obtained documents that it says are proposals to settle a long-running water right suit affecting tribes and non-Indians in northern New Mexico....
Tribal college fund gets $15,000
The Target Corporation has donated $15,000 to the American Indian College Fund to provide scholarships for Native American students attending tribal colleges across the country....
Seminole shooting still unsolved
Police in Florida are seeking the public's help in solving the near fatal shooting of Jim Shore, the general counsel for the Seminole Tribe....
Passage of omnibus bill unlikely
The House meets this morning to wrap up final business but passage of the Native American Omnibus Act may not be one of them....
Statement by Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb on Retirement
Interior Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A....
NASA won't allow tobacco in space
NASA has vetoed Chickasaw Nation astronaut John Herrington's use of ceremonial Indian tobacco aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, The Times of London reports....
Navajo voters turnover council
Navajo Nation voters apparently weren't happy with their council delegates this past election....
Norton not even mentioned in chess game
A game of Cabinet chess has begun, The Washington Post reports, as Beltway insiders try to find out whether President Bush's White House team will see any changes soon....
End of road for Neal McCaleb
Neal McCaleb will still be a target of the Cobell Indian trust fund lawsuit even after he resigns as assistant secretary, an attorney representing 500,000 beneficiaries said....
Opinion: IIM lawsuit is about dignity
"When we opened the first box of Individual Indian Money (IIM) account records down in Fort Worth, Texas in the fall of 1998, my mother and aunt cried....
Hansen Reacts to Retirement of Interior’s McCaleb
Representative Jim Hansen (R-Utah), chairman of the House Resources Committee, which presides over Indian and Insular Affairs, issued the following statement regarding the retirement of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb....
Skinwalkers airs on PBS this weekend
"Skinwalkers," the PBS movie based on author Tony Hillerman's Navajo cop series, premieres on PBS this weekend....
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Senate approves omnibus Indian package
Approval of key Indian legislation appeared uncertain on Wednesday as both chambers of Congress wrapped up remaining business for the year....
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Sioux land compensation bill ready for Bush
Legislation to compensate two Sioux tribes for more than 4,000 acres of lost land cleared its final hurdle on Wednesday after being stripped of provisions that threatened passage....
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Congress approves $750M for Indian diabetes
Congressional leaders on Wednesday praised the approval of what they said was a record $750 million in funding to fight the growing epidemic of diabetes in Indian Country....
Wall to be built on highway facing Haskell
The US Army Corps of Engineers is getting ready to sign off on a proposed highway expansion near Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas....
Mont. water bill headed to Bush
The Senate approved a $200 million water project to benefit the Rocky Boy's Reservation in Montana and other communities....
Ridge to be new Homeland secretary
President Bush will nominate former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as Secretary of Homeland Security, according to news accounts....
Senate adjourns for the year
The Senate wrapped up its work for the year on Wednesday as the 107th Congress heads to an end when the House closes tomorrow....
Scientists want to create new life
The Department of Energy awarded a $3 million grant to scientists whose goal is to create a new living organism....
Conn. lawmakers hope to stop new casinos
Republican leaders in the Connecticut Legislature might convene hearings next year in an attempt to limit new tribal casinos, The Norwich Bulletin reports....
Tribe's new day care center welcomed
The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut held tours of its new child care center on Wednesday....
Suit filed over Ariz. tribal gaming
The racetrack industry in Arizona launched another suit aimed at stopping tribes from continued gaming....
UND students holding mascot forum
A student group at the University of North Dakota is holding a forum on mascots next week....
Mont. tribal college awarded grant
The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year grant to the Chief Dull Knife College on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation of Montana....
Editorial: College taking positive steps
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader praises the Sisseton-Wahpeton College on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota for taking steps to rebuild its nursing program....
Native community being relocated
The Innu community in Davis Inlet, Labrador, is being relocated to a new community but not all the homes are ready to be occupied....
Reservation water project extended
A bill to extend the life of a South Dakota reservation water project was cleared for President Bush's signature on Wednesday....
S.D. AG disputes Wall Street Journal
South Dakota attorney general Mark Barnett (R) dismissed allegations of widespread voter fraud on Indian reservations as unfounded rumor....
Shawnee tribe delays housing project
The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma has delayed plans to build an assisted living center as it moves forward with a casino....
Senate passes Alaska Native land swap
The Senate on Wednesday approved a land exchange benefiting two Alaska Native corporations....
Okla. river bed settlement approved
A bill to resolving three Oklahoma tribe's ownership of the Arkansas River bed was approved by the Senate on Thursday, clearing it for President Bush's signature....
Washoe Tribe to receive land at lake
The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California would receive 24 acres of land at Lake Tahoe under a bill near final Congressional approval....
Okla. tribe reclaims homeland
The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma has purchased 240 acres in New York for $738,544, The Syracuse Post-Standard reported....
Court to move on Pueblo water issue
A federal magistrate plans to hold a near next week to address claims by the state of New Mexico that Pojoaque Pueblo is using too much water....
Canada limits Native abuse suits
The Canadian government has limited liability of the Anglican Church in abuse suits brought by Aboriginals....
Defeated, Means might run again
Voters on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota have a new set of leaders....
New Crow chairman fires two judges
A federal judge on Wednesday denied to issue a preliminary injunction against the Crow Tribe of Montana for the recent ouster of two tribal court judges....
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Attack on trust fund investigator renewed
Attorneys for Secretary of Interior Gale Norton on Tuesday demanded records of an inter-tribal trust fund organization in an apparent attempt to bolster their ongoing challenge to a federal court investigator....
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Norton fights trust fund contempt citation
Making good on an earlier threat, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton this week launched a challenge to a federal judge's decision that declared her and Indian affairs aide Neal McCaleb "unfit" to manage money belonging to 500,000 American Indians....
Candidate opposed by tribes won't concede
A Washington Supreme Court candidate who was opposed by tribes won't concede defeat in one of the closest races in the state....
Editorial: School can't fight 'Sioux'
North Dakota State University shouldn't take an "official" stance on the "Fighting Sioux" nickname of rivals University of North Dakota, The Grand Forks Herald says in an editorial today....
State wants tribal DWI records
In an effort to combat drunk driving, New Mexico's secretary of state wants tribal governments to share their records voluntarily, KRQE reported on Tuesday....
Editorial: Sovereignty? Bleah
Native Americans need to take personal responsibility for their health, The Farmington Daily-Times says in an editorial today....
Comanche Tribe to honor Code Talkers
The Comanche Nation of Oklahoma has commissioned a $40,000 bronze statue to honor 17 tribal members who served as Code Talkers during World War II....
School taking on 'Fighting Sioux' name
Students at North Dakota State University aren't the only ones challenging the "Fighting Sioux" nickname of rivals University of North Dakota....
'Skinwalkers' premieres on PBS
"Skinwalkers," the PBS movie based on author Tony Hillerman's Navajo cop series, premieres on PBS this weekend....
Crow Reservation man sentenced for shooting
A federal judge in Montana sentenced a Crow Reservation man to three years and five months in prison for shooting at a Bureau of Indian Affairs police car....
Shawnee tribe moving forward with casino
The Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma is moving forward with plans to open a new casino....
Tribe pulls out of park service shop
The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota no longer operates a concession shop at Badlands National Park....
Senate passes homeland security bill
The Senate voted 90-9 on Tuesday to create the Department of Homeland Security....
Navajo college football player inspires
Ira Vandever is one of the top-ranked college football players in Iowa but the Navajo tribal member doesn't plan on a career in the NFL....
Utah grave disturbance case settled
A judge in Utah agreed to lower charges against a woman accused of digging up an Indian grave site, The Salt Lake Tribune reported....
Two dams in Ore. to be removed
Portland General Electric, a power company, last week announced it will remove two dams in Oregon to help save dwindling runs of fish....
U.S. funded project could hurt Natives
Two companies with close ties to the White House are seeking $900 million in American loans to help fund a drilling development in Peru that could hurt Native tribes, The Washington Post reports....
Senate passes Pueblo land claim bill
The Senate late Tuesday passed a bill to settle Sandia Pueblo's land claim to the Sandia Mountains of New Mexico, the Associated Press reports....
Idaho tribe reclaiming police powers
The Shoshone-Bannock Nation of Idaho is renewing an effort to repeal state criminal and civil jurisdiction on tribal land....
Norton and McCaleb try to beat the rap
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb are seeking to appeal their contempt citation for their handling of the Indian trust....
Norton memo on Trust Fund Special Master-Monitor
The following is a November 18, 2002, memo signed by Secretary of Interior Gale Norton to all department employees regarding communication with Joseph S....
At Pine Ridge, Steele defeats Means
Voters on the Pine Ridge Reservation of South Dakota went to the polls on Tuesday to choose a new set of leaders....
DOI gets an 'F' on computer security
The Department of Interior received the lowest grade possible in a Congressional review of information technology security....
Obituary: Darden, oldest Chitimatcha member
Lester Darden, the oldest member of the Chitimatcha Tribe of Louisiana died on Monday....
O'odham chairman arrested in sex sting
Edward Manuel, the chairman of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona, was arrested last month after allegedly agreeing to pay an undercover police officer for sex....
State argues right to impose gas tax
The South Dakota Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a case affecting taxation of an Indian-owned business....
Letters: The Indians fought back
Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota): "Your attack on the Oglala Sioux voters in South Dakota offers a sterling example of what minorities in this country can expect from hard-right editorial politics....
Editorial: The Indian Vote in S.D.
"Happy simply to have regained Senate control, Republicans are letting Mr....
U.S. soldier, tribal member, killed
An American soldier stationed overseas was killed over the weekend in Germany, apparently by fellow soldiers....
Okla. tribe gives money to IHS hospital
The Comanche Nation of Oklahoma has given more than $400,000 to an Indian Health Service hospital in Lawton....
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Indian inmate denied right to procreate
An Indian inmate seeking to father a child while behind bars was turned away by the Supreme Court on Monday....
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Hog farm battle reaches Supreme Court
A Nebraska company has asked the Supreme Court to validate a lease for the largest hog farm in Indian Country....
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Norton appeals trust fund contempt decision
The Bush administration is appealing a federal judge's decision that found Secretary of Interior Gale Norton in contempt for her handling of the Indian trust fund....
Maine panel won't endorse casino
A task force in Maine assigned to study proposed tribal casino won't take a position on proposed development, The Portland Press Herald reports....
Conn. tribe hosts child abuse forum
The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut and a national group hosted a conference on child abuse....
N.D. tribe makes military equipment
The Spirit Lake Nation of North Dakota owns a plant that manufactures components for military vehicles, weapons and headgear....
Bush affirmed on civil rights pick
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an attempt to unseat a Bush appointee to the U.S....
Burial site suggests Aztec-Mayan ties
Archaeologists believe they have uncovered evidence that links the Aztec culture in central Mexico with Mayans in southern Mexico and Guatemala....
Ojibwe man claims strip club is sovereign
An Ojibwe man in Minnesota has declared a strip club he owns sovereign territory, immune from state and federal authority....
Limits on wiretap powers overturned
A secretive federal appeals court on Monday overturned limits on the federal government's ability to investigate and prosecute suspected terrorists and spies....
Okla. tribe discussing planned casino
Absentee Shawnee Governor Lee Edwards is meeting with a local mayor today to discuss the tribe's proposed casino....
Mohegan Tribe starts IT venture
The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut has started an information technology company with a local partner, The New London Day reports....
Seminole mascot under debate at school
The student senate at Florida State University held a debate last week about the school's Seminole Indian mascot....
Native corp eyes new development
An Alaska Native regional corporation is looking to develop a sand and gravel deposit....
Indian couple named Parents of the Year
An Indian couple from Arizona has been named one of three National Parents of the Year....
Pine Ridge voters go to polls again
Voters on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota go to the polls today to choose a new president....
Ute Tribe agrees to motorcycle rally
The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado has agreed to allow a motorcycle rally at its arena....
Cahuilla chairwoman to step down
Mary Belardo is leaving her post as chairwoman of California's Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Tribe....
Judge rejects Narragansett burial suit
The Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island plans to appeal a federal judge's decision that allows a dig to move forward without tribal involvement....
Wash. tribe shuts down pharmacy
The Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington has closed its discount pharmacy because it was selling drugs to non-tribal members....
Mont. boy shot and killed by friend
A 12-year-old boy was found dead Sunday on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, apparently shot by a friend in an accident, The Great Falls Tribune reported....
Canada appeals tax-free status of Natives
The Canadian government is challenging a ruling that exempts thousands of Aboriginals from taxes....
Norton misunderstood court order
Attorneys for Secretary of Interior Gale Norton were in federal court last week trying to convince a judge why she should not be held in contempt....
Navajo woman cites generational abuse
Overcoming years of physical, alcohol and sexual abuse took understanding "multi-generational trauma" that affects Native people....
Students oppose 'Fighting Sioux' name
Student leaders at North Dakota State University have drafted a resolution opposing the "Fighting Sioux" nickname of rivals University of North Dakota....
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Much to blame, except lack of plan, for trust fund
The ongoing Indian trust fund litigation continues to hamper work at the Department of Interior, according to the Bush administration's latest court report....
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Indian bills faces uncertain future in Congress
Two controversial Indian bills failed to clear Congress this year but their supporters vowed to reintroduce them during the next session....
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The Week in Review
National Congress of American Indians meets for another annual session, tribal leaders discuss failure of trust reform talks and future of litigation, and Congress meets for a lame duck session....
Alaska Native elder saves boy
A 78-year-old Alaska Native elder recently rescued a 7-year-old boy from a river, The Anchorage Daily News reports....
Yellow Bird: An Indian Martha Stewart
"It's hard to imagine Martha Stewart, in a black-and-white-striped jumpsuit, decorating a jail cell with holly berries and greenery that her maid smuggled in or trying to bribe the prison cooks to let her in the kitchen to marinate escargot and prepare mint juleps for the new inmates.
Then again, it's hard to believe that anybody with that much money would go to jail.
I know, too, there are many people out there (including me) who would miss her television shows if she is found guilty and jailed for insider trading....
New England states take on gaming
Gaming is the new something in New England states, several of which are either expanding gaming or considering it....
ANWR exploration seeing renewed interest
Opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development will gain an added push under Republican control of the Senate....
Native on list to replace Murkowski
The chairman of a billion-dollar Alaska Native regional corporation is being considered as a replacement for Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska)....
Factions of tribe divided on land use
There may be as many as 175 burial sites on a 29-acre plot of land in southern California that is the subject of dispute among members of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians....
Okla. group promotes Indian languages
The goal of the Intertribal Wordpath Society in Oklahoma is to "advocate the teaching and elevate the status of Oklahoma-Indian languages in the state through classes in schools and universities, cable television, community groups and individual efforts," The New York Times writes....
John Potter: No more snowmobiles
"But the worst noise I'm hearing now is that Yellowstone National Park will soon be a lot noisier....
Statue of Shoshone chief headed to library
A rare statue of Shoshone Chief Washakie was donated to a library in Wyoming....
Cherokee tribe a top campaign giver
The Eastern Band of Cherokees is one of the top campaign contributors in Indian Country....
Dispute closes Navajo youth facility
A Boys and Girls Club on the Navajo Nation closed on Thursday, The Farmington Daily-Times reported....
Native youth take on leadership roles
Native youth took part of the 59th annual National Congress of American Indians last week....
Wash. tribe restores tidelands
The Nisqually Tribe of Washington celebrated the restoration of 31 acres of wetlands on Friday....
Distance learning targets Indian Country
The Classroom Without Walls Distance Learning Program is helping rural and Indian populations address their health needs....
Cheyenne warrior's bones reburied in Mont.
The final remains of a Northern Cheyenne warrior who fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn were reburied in Montana over the weekend....
Mich. man wants to give peyote to son
A court in Michigan this week is expected to hear a case involving a father who wants to give his four-year-old son peyote....
Tribal college revamping nursing program
The Sisseton-Wahpeton College on the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota is reforming its nursing program in order to meet state standards....
Minn. women fight domestic violence
The Minnesota Indian Women's Sexual Assault Coalition was created this past fall to combat high rates of domestic violence against Native women....
Means wants Daschle out of office
If elected president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, activist and actor Russell Means says he will work to unseat Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota)....
Bush's Indian appointees confirmed
The Senate on Thursday confirmed two of President Bush's Indian affairs nominees....
Editorial: The power of the Indian vote
It won't be long before Native Americans, not Soccer Moms or Angry White Men, will be deciding elections in certain states, The Santa Fe New Mexican says in an editorial today....
Letter: Casinos are not reparations
The following are responses to a November 14 Los Angeles Times opinion column by journalist who said tribes are not sovereign and that Indian gaming is compensation for past wrongs....
Opinion: 'Astonishing' trust fund mess
"The astonishing mess made by the federal government of Indian trust funds illustrates one more of the historical plights unique to American Indians.
The federal government began putting tribal lands in trust early in the 19th century....
Editorials: Gale Norton's snowmobiles
The Bush administration could have banned snowmobiles at two national parks, The Washington Post argues in an editorial, but bowed to industry interests instead....
Pueblo land claim bill stalled
A bill to settle Sandia Pueblo of New Mexico's land claim has still not been passed by Congress....
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