BIA schedules consultation meetings on education (July 21, 2004)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a series of consultation meetings next month to take tribal input on various education topics. The 10 meetings run from August 16 through August 20. They will take place in every region of...

Tim Giago: Indians have cause to fear Republicans (July 21, 2004)

"The Republican Party is viewed by most Indians as 'anti-Indian.' They have had good reason to believe this. When many tribes were trying to establish casinos on their reservations it was usually the Republicans who stood in their way. When...

Democrats scuttle another Bush court nominee (July 21, 2004)

Senate Democrats successfully blocked another of President Bush's judicial nominees on Tuesday in what Republicans criticized as a partisan campaign. Tribal leaders who opposed the placement of William G. Myers III on a court that handles key Indian law cases...

Indian Eddie: Native kids growing up gangsta (July 21, 2004)

"I've noticed an alarming trend of American Indian kids forgetting their heritage, traditions and history and instead focusing on worn-out rap music, watching MTV and Hollywood trash, learning how to roll blunts, and spending hundreds of dollars on basketball shoes...

Jicarilla Apache Nation elects new president (July 21, 2004)

Members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation of New Mexico elected Levi Pesata as president on Saturday. According to the Associated Press, Pesata received 71 percent of the vote. Ty Vicenti was elected vice-president. Pesata replaces Claudia Vigil-Muniz, who was removed...

Connecticut tribe to appeal recognition ruling (July 21, 2004)

The Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe of Connecticut plans to appeal the Bureau of Indian Affairs' decision against federal recognition. The tribe was denied status last month. The BIA said the tribe failed to meet four out of seven mandatory criteria....

HHS Secretary winds up visit to Navajo Nation (July 21, 2004)

Outgoing Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson wound up his two-day visit to the Navajo Nation on Tuesday with a visit to a hospital and a home. According to The Farmington Daily Times, tribal leaders made repeated references to statistics...

Group doesn't want tribe to manage bison refuge (July 21, 2004)

A group in Montana doesn't want the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to manage portions of the National Bison Refuge. The tribe reached an agreement to handle some services at the refuge. The activities include biological, fire and maintenance programs...

Washington tribes renew accord with Seattle (July 21, 2004)

The city of Seattle signed a formal agreement with four area tribes on Wednesday, renewing a tradition that began with Chief Sealth 150 years ago. Leaders of the Suquamish, Tulalip, Snoqualmie and Swinomish tribes met with Mayor Greg Nickels to...

Column: Kennewick Man belongs to everyone (July 21, 2004)

"An epic struggle between science and religion ended quietly this week. I'm happy to report that science won. But it's troubling that it took an eight-year, multimillion-dollar legal fight with a government that was bent on siding with religion. On...

Army Corps urges people to leave sites alone (July 21, 2004)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is urging people who come across burial sites or artifacts along the Missouri River not to disturb them. The falling water levels of Lake Oahe in South Dakota have exposed a burial site. The...

Obituary: Idjarruri Karaja, Brazilian Indian activist (July 21, 2004)

Idjarruri Karaja, a Brazilian Indian activist who helped establish a reservation for his tribe died on Sunday of complications from kidney surgery. He was 40. Karaja convinced the government to set aside 3.4 million acres of a 5 million acre...

USDA blames court for rejecting Black farmers (July 21, 2004)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it is not responsible for denying 90 percent of the claims in a discrimination settlement for African-American farmers. The department says the court handling the $2.3 billion settlement rejected the farmers. So far, only...

Flathead parents still grieving for two lost boys (July 21, 2004)

The parents of two 11-year-old boys who died of alcohol-related causes on the Flathead Reservation in Montana are still struggling with the loss. Norma Fox lost Justin in February, just three months after losing Tyler, 14. She is has become...

Anderson, Thompson scheduled to testify (July 21, 2004)

Two Bush administration officials are scheduled to testify at hearings before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee today. Bureau of Indian Affairs head Dave Anderson is on the witness list for S.519, the Native American Capital Formation and Economic Development Act...

Senate committee takes up Nez Perce water deal (July 21, 2004)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on Tuesday for a bill to settle the water claims of the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho. The $193 million agreement would end one of the longest running water rights disputes in...

First Nation drops out of girls' adoption case (July 21, 2004)

The Squamish Nation of British Columbia has dropped out of an adoption case involving two young girls. The girls have been in foster care in Ontario since 2000. When the foster parents asked to adopt them, the band objected and...

Some Tohono O'odham say no to border barriers (July 21, 2004)

Some members of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona don't want the tribe to erect barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The O'odham Voice Against the Wall says barriers will divide tribal members who live on opposite sites of the border....

Michigan tribe awarded $1.4M grant from EPA (July 21, 2004)

The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians has been awarded a $1.4 million grant for a watershed restoration project. The grant was awarded under the Environmental Protection Agency's Targeted Watersheds Grant Program. The tribe will use the money to reduce agricultural...

Passamaquoddy members oppose gas terminal (July 21, 2004)

Members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine are opposed to plans to build a $300 million liquefied natural gas terminal on the reservation. The group, We Take Care of Our Homeland, says the tribe and the company that wants to...