Senate panel approves 14 bills at business meeting (June 30, 2005)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee advanced a broad agenda on Wednesday, approving a number of bills affecting Indian gaming, lobbying and other high-profile issues. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the chairman of the committee, and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the...

Editorial: Abramoff scandal can't compare to trust (June 30, 2005)

"The alleged bilking of Native American tribes by a slick Washington lobbyist hired to promote their gaming interests can't compare to the Indian monies lost by the federal government. The dubious dealings of lobbyist Jack Abramoff cost several tribes a...

Morongo Band awards $330K grant to help hospital (June 30, 2005)

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians awarded a $330,000 grant to help a local hospital build a helicopter landing pad. The tribe gave the money to the San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital. The hospital needs a permanent landing pad so it...

Coeur d'Alene Tribe installs wireless on reservation (June 30, 2005)

Wireless Internet access will be available across the entire 345,000-acre Coeur d' Alene Reservation in Idaho by the end of the summer. The Coeur d' Alene Tribe is installing the network in order to bring high speed access to tribal...

Court rules Fort Peck man cannot be banished (June 30, 2005)

A member of the Fort Peck Tribes who was convicted of murder cannot be banished by a Montana county, the state Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday. In a unanimous decision, the court said Arrow Weinberger, 66, cannot be barred from...

Tim Giago: Air Force base not a blessing to Lakotas (June 30, 2005)

"At the outset of World War II the officials at the base, then known as Rapid City Air Force Base, searched for a location where they could practice bombing and strafing. The nearest land available just happened to be on...

Pechanga Band expects a big crowd for powwow (June 30, 2005)

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians is holding its 10th annual Pechanga PowWow this weekend. The powwow is said to be the largest in California. The tribe expects 20,000 visitors from July 1 to July 3. All events take...

Blackfeet opera being staged for first time in 95 years (June 30, 2005)

"Poia," an opera that tells how the Blackfeet people learned the Sun Dance, will be performed for the first time in 95 years. The opera is part of the "Explore the Big Sky" Lewis and Clark event in Great Falls,...

Montana tribes share culture at Lewis and Clark event (June 30, 2005)

Representatives of Montana's tribes shared their culture and history with hundreds of people on the opening day of the "Explore the Big Sky" event in Great Falls. An estimated 300 people attended the Plains Indian Encampment, which features villages representing...

Trail of Tears Documentation Act introduced in House (June 30, 2005)

A Tennessee lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday to seek better documentation of the Trail of Tears. Congress created the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail in 1987. But the trail is not complete and contains some mistakes. The Trail...

Ojibwe educator Jerry Staples dies of cancer at 57 (June 30, 2005)

Educator Jerry Staples, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, died of cancer at his home in Minnesota on June. He was 57. Staples served as director of the Indian Education Program for the Anoka-Hennepin School District. He...

South Dakota tribe breaks ground on nursing home (June 30, 2005)

The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe broke ground on Wednesday on a nursing home. The 60-bed facility is the first nursing home to be located on a reservation in the state. Although there is a surplus of nursing-home beds in the...

Sho-Bans pledge to tie up Nez Perce water settlement (June 30, 2005)

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes could tie up the Nez Perce Tribe's $193 million water settlement for years, a lawyer for the Sho-Bans said. The Sho-Bans have raised 56 objections to the deal. They say it gives the Nez Perce control over...

Australian tribe granted native title to 46M acres (June 30, 2005)

A federal court in Australia recognized the Ngaanyatjarra tribe's native title to 73,000 square miles, or about 46 million acres, in the western desert. Native title means the tribe will have hunting rights and natural resource rights on the...

Opinion: Shinnecock Nation recognition a long shot (June 30, 2005)

"Just in time for summer in the Hamptons, a small, poor Indian tribe of uncertain legal status has this fabled beach resort in a tizzy. The 500-member Shinnecock tribe recently claimed 3,600 acres of Southampton, including the local college and...

Chehalis Tribe reaches deal with Great Wolf Resorts (June 30, 2005)

The Chehalis Tribe announced a deal with Great Wolf Resort to build an $80 million resort and conference center in Washington. The tribe will host a 39-acre resort on land it hopes to have placed in trust. It will feature...

House ethics panel said to have reached a deal (June 30, 2005)

The Republican chairman and ranking Democrat on the House ethics panel reached a deal on Wednesday, The Hill newspaper reports. Other news sources only reported that a deal was near. The panel has been at a standstill over how...

Editorial: Maybe Abramoff should be sent to jail (June 30, 2005)

"Here's how to prosper in Washington, as revealed in documents obtained by Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman John McCain. Use your position as a lobbyist to milk your clients for millions of dollars, spread a little of it around in...

Rabbi says e-mail response to Abramoff was a joke (June 30, 2005)

An Orthodox rabbi with ties to Jack Abramoff says an e-mail that suggested the disgraced lobbyist receive a "Scholar of Talmudic Studies" award was a joke. Rabbi Daniel Lapin, the head of Toward Tradition [Web Site], told The Forward...