Vine Deloria Jr., giant in Indian Country, dies at 72 (November 15, 2005)

Vine Deloria Jr., a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who was one the nation's most influential scholars, died on Sunday. He was 72. As best-selling author, Deloria spoke authoritatively on tribal sovereignty and self-determination. As a historian, he...

Abenaki Nation seeks aid for recognition effort (November 15, 2005)

The Abenaki Nation of Vermont will ask the state for money to continue its federal recognition bid. Chief April St. Francis Merrill says the tribe deserves the same amount of money that state attorney general William Sorrell to oppose the...

Navajo Nation seeks more control over education (November 15, 2005)

Citing lack of results from the state and federal governments, the Navajo Nation is taking more control of the education of Navajo children. The Navajo Nation Council passed the Sovereignty in Education Act this year and it was signed into...

Ron Allen to receive Buffett Award for leadership (November 15, 2005)

Ron Allen, the longtime chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, is being awarded the 2005 Buffett Award for Indigenous Leadership. Allen is being recognized for work to promote sovereignty, treaty rights and government accountability. He will receive $25,000 at...

Fourth suspect in Navajo homicides still at large (November 15, 2005)

The FBI is confident Michael Johnson, the fourth suspect in a triple homicide on the Navajo Nation, will be captured and brought to justice. Johnson, 26, pictured at right, is accused in connection with the drug-related murders of three...

Deputy accused of abusing Muckleshoot girls (November 15, 2005)

Denny Gulla, a sheriff's deputy in King County, Washington, is being accused of abusing young girls, including at least three cases on the Muckleshoot Reservation. Wadena George was 14 when she says Gulla repeatedly took her into custody when he...

Joe Garcia, Pueblo leader, ready to take on NCAI (November 15, 2005)

When he won the National Congress of American Indians election this month, Joe Garcia became the second Pueblo leader to serve as president of the nation's largest inter-tribal organization. Garcia, the governor of Ohkay Owingeh, formerly known as San...

Morongo Band to make largest turkey donation (November 15, 2005)

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians continues its Thanksgiving tradition this year by donating 6,000 turkeys to nonprofits in southern California. The tribe began donating the turkeys yesterday and will make deliveries all week in order to provide food for...

Bill would add 991 acres to Pechanga Reservation (November 15, 2005)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) is sponsoring a bill that would add nearly 1,000 acres to the Pechanga Reservation. The bill would transfer a total of 991 acres from the Bureau of Land Management to the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians....

Study: Reservation counties rank lowest in health (November 15, 2005)

The two least healthy counties in Wisconsin are home to three reservations, according to a new study from the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Among the 72 counties, Menominee County was the worst in terms of health....

Ralph Reed cites cooperation with McCain's probe (November 15, 2005)

Conservative Republican activist Ralph Reed says he is cooperating with Sen. John McCain's probe into disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Reed's name has surfaced several times at McCain and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee have probed the activities of Abramoff....

Supreme Court pick Alito proud of conservative views (November 15, 2005)

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. called himself a strong conservative in a newly released document from his days in the Reagan administration in the 1980s. In seeking a promotion at the Department of Justice, Alito wrote of...

Norton lobbied on Shinnecock Nation recognition (November 15, 2005)

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) asked Interior Secretary Gale Norton to ignore a federal judge's decision to declare the Shinnecock Nation an Indian tribe. In a letter, Schumer said the tribe should be forced to complete the federal recognition...

Ex-White House official claims 'set-up' over Abramoff (November 15, 2005)

The lawyer for a former White House official claims he is the victim of a "set-up" in the probe over disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. David Safavian, a former White House Office of Management and Budget official, has been indicted for...

Opinion: Pombo a Republican in the DeLay mold (November 15, 2005)

"Arctic natives and caribou got a reprieve last week when some House Republicans refused to go along with adding Arctic Refuge oil drilling to the budget reconciliation bill. Conservationists are jubilant, though the feeling is tempered somewhat by knowing...

Opinion: Tom DeLay should step aside to help GOP (November 15, 2005)

"If Tom DeLay survives his legal battles and returns as House majority leader, it will in large measure be because the conservative base was not willing to throw him over the side. Conservatives want a fighter in Congress, someone...

Tim Giago: Indians never forced religion on others (November 15, 2005)

"News commentator Bill O’Reilly says that 85 percent of Americans are Christians and therefore majority rules. There was a time not so long ago when the American Indian was in the majority. The difference was that the Indian people did...

Yellow Bird: Laughing is a gift from the Creator (November 15, 2005)

"As I was thinking about Indian humor, I realized it is different than the humor of our non-Native peers. At times when I've been in a non-Native group, something a little risqué or "slapstick" would be funny to me and...

Editorial: Some access needed for Red Lake trial (November 15, 2005)

"Compromise is a principle that can applied to court procedures as well as politics. It ought to be applied in the matter of public information about the trial of Louis Jourdain. Although Judge Donovan Frank "finds the need for public...