North Dakota helping BIA with No Child Left Behind (June 10, 2004)

The state of North Dakota is helping the Bureau of Indian Affairs meet the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act. $p The state is working with the BIA to develop a way to measure student performance. A proposed...

Kucinich campaigned on Montana reservations (June 10, 2004)

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) campaigned on six reservation this week in hopes of attracting more Indian voters, The Helena Independent Record reports. $p Kucinich visited the Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Northern Cheyenne, Rocky Boy, Blackfeet and Flathead reservations. During the...

Mine said to contaminate subsistence foods (June 10, 2004)

The world's largest zinc mine is contaminating the subsistence foods of Alaska Native villages, according to a report the Alaska Community Action on Toxics released on Wednesday. $P University of Massachusetts chemist analyzed the results from two studies of certain...

Editorial: Unions should be allowed at casinos (June 10, 2004)

"Indian casinos, long beyond the reach of federal labor laws, have been told by the National Labor Relations Board that no longer applies. The ruling, likely to be challenged in federal appeals courts across the country by tribes, could have...

Tribe asserts jurisdiction over wildlife park animals (June 10, 2004)

The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation of Arizona is asserting jurisdiction over animals in a wildlife park being evicted from the reservation. $p The Out of Africa Wildlife Park is supposed to leave by June 30. But just in case it...

Tom Daschle: Indian Country Shows Its Clout Again (June 10, 2004)

The following is an op-ed by Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota). Just as they did in Senator Tim Johnson’s re-election in 2002, Native Americans played a critical role in the special election that sent Democrat Stephanie Herseth to Congress. Voters...

Lawsuits weighed for problems Indian voters faced (June 10, 2004)

The Four Directions group of South Dakota is planning to file lawsuits on behalf of Indian voters who say they were turned away from the polls last Tuesday. $P The group opposes a state law that requires voters to show...

FBI agents interviewing 75 Cheyenne-Arapahos (June 10, 2004)

FBI agents began interviewing dozens of members and employees of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes on Wednesday, The Daily Oklahoman reports. $p Tribal sources said the investigation focuses on misuse of casino profits and other tribal funds. Agents showed up...

Nebraska tribes awarded rural development grants (June 10, 2004)

Three Nebraska tribes have been awarded rural development grants from the Department of Agriculture. $p The Omaha Tribe will use a $200,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant to help start four small businesses. The Ho-Chunk Community Development Corp. was also awarded...

Newcomer ousts longtime Bois Forte Band chairman (June 10, 2004)

Newcomer Kevin Leecy defeated longtime Bois Forte Band chairman Gary Donald in Tuesday's election for the Minnesota tribe. $P Leecy won 341 votes compared to 246 for Donald. Leecy says his top priority is economic development. $p Donald has served...

Inquest called in death of Native woman at jail (June 10, 2004)

An inquest has been called into the death of a Native woman on the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation in Manitoba. $P Tribal police arrested Rachel Lori Wood, 22, last October for disturbing the peace. Less than an hour after her arrest,...

Fire and flood hits Rosebud Sioux Reservation (June 10, 2004)

A fire and flood hit the community of Okreek on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota as a result of a major rainstorm Tuesday night. $p A bolt of lightning struck the Okreek Community Building at 9:30 p.m. that...

New Pine Ridge jail scheduled to open next year (June 10, 2004)

A new $13 million detention facility on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is scheduled to open next year. $p The 65,000-square-foot structure have a capacity 144 adult inmates and will employ 51 staffers. Construction is funded by a...

Tribes, Lakota activists oppose mine expansion (June 10, 2004)

The North Dakota Public Service Commission held a hearing on Wednesday night to address tribal opposition to the expansion of the state's largest coal mine. $p The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Defenders of the...

No charges recommended in tribal bison controversy (June 10, 2004)

A North Dakota county prosecutor says he doesn't have enough evidence to lay charges in the controversy over the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's bison herd. $p The tribe has been accused of mismanaging the herd. Some veterinarians say the...

Skokomish artist wins National Heritage Fellowship (June 10, 2004)

Gerald Bruce Miller, a member of the Skokomish Tribe of Washington, has named a National Heritage Fellowship recipient by the National Endowment for the Arts. $p Miller, known as Subiyay in the Skokomish language, has served as the tribe's cultural...

Blackfeet Nation helps remove abandoned buildings (June 10, 2004)

The Blackfeet Nation of Montana and the town of Browning are working together to clean up abandoned buildings in the town. $p The Blackfeet Utilities Corporation demolishes the buildings while the town's volunteer firefighters reduces the size of the refuse...

Reagan was given Indian name 'Chief Buffalo Boy' (June 10, 2004)

Former president Ronald Reagan, who died last Saturday, was once given the Indian name "Chief Buffalo Boy" by leaders of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, The Cut Bank Pioneer Press reports. $p Reagan made a visit to Cut Bank, Montana,...