Shinnecock Nation holds rally after hate crime (December 21, 2005)

Members of the Shinnecock Nation of New York held a rally on Tuesday night in response to vandalism that is being investigated as a hate crime. The rally came a day after state police arrested Jake Hagen, 16, for spray...

Burns staffer went on Abramoff Super Bowl trip (December 21, 2005)

A staffer for Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) said he went to the 2001 Super Bowl at Jack Abramoff's invitation because he was told it was being sponsored by a tribe, The Billings Gazette reports. Ryan Thomas works on the Senate...

Bloomberg News deflates Bush claim on Abramoff (December 21, 2005)

Last week, President Bush called disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff "an equal money dispenser" who made donations to both political parties but Bloomberg News deflates the claim with an updated analysis. From 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to...

Criminal jurisdiction in South Dakota can be a mess (December 21, 2005)

Tribal, state and local officials in South Dakota all agree there are problems with criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country, The Rapid City Journal reports. The state has no authority on the reservation or on trust lands that may be outside...

Tribe's public defender charged in meth conspiracy (December 21, 2005)

Travis Whirlwind Soldier, the public defender for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. [PDF: Indictment]. Whirlwind Soldier, 28, was reportedly arrested on Monday while representing clients at the tribal courthouse, The...

National Park Service helps tribes with firewood (December 21, 2005)

The National Park Service is donating firewood to Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota to ensure people have a way to heat their homes during this especially cold winter. Mount Rushmore National Memorial superintendent Gerard Baker, a member of...

Editorial: Reed's Abramoff ties a legitimate issue (December 21, 2005)

"Ralph Reed, contender for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Georgia, has a lot going for him. His work years ago with the Christian Coalition, followed up with a national role in Republican politics, has left him with...

Cobell: Appeals court ruling a favorable one (December 21, 2005)

"Lawyers for the Indian plaintiffs in our long-running Cobell v. Norton lawsuit say the November ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia may give 500,000 Native Americans a faster route to resolve the government's mismanagement...

Abramoff still an issue for Montana politicians (December 21, 2005)

Montana is a long way from Washington, D.C., and the scandal involving Jack Abramoff but the disgraced lobbyist is still playing a role in Montana politics. Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) returned $150,000 in Abramoff-related donations after being hammered by Democrats...

Editorial: No more nasty politics on Montana? (December 21, 2005)

"It's a general rule in finance that money is fungible. In other words, one dollar bill is as good as any other dollar bill; money is money, and it doesn't matter where it came from. That is, until it matters....

Ex-Abramoff associate pleads guilty in Montana (December 21, 2005)

Shawn Vasell, a former associate of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a former staffer for Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana), pleaded guilty to poaching and trespassing in Montana, The Helena Independent Record reports. Vasell pleaded guilty to one count of...

Mashpees call for tribe to cut ties to lobbyists (December 21, 2005)

Some members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts are calling on their leaders to cut ties to two lobbyists who worked with Jack Abramoff. The tribe hired Abramoff and the Greenberg Traurig firm in 2003 to lobby on federal...

Native leaders launch get out of the vote program (December 21, 2005)

The Southern Chiefs' Organization of Manitoba has launched a get out the vote program to encourage Natives to participate in the 2006 elections. SCO will be putting up billboards and posters and running radio and newspaper ads. The campaign urges...

Province to set up complaint office for Natives (December 21, 2005)

The justice minister in Manitoba said the province will set up an office to help Native people with complaints about police misconduct. Native leaders have long complained about relations with the police. The issue came to a head this year...

Senate vote on ANWR in defense bill expected (December 21, 2005)

The Senate is expected to vote today on whether to include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the $453.3 billion military appropriations. Senate Democrats are outraged that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) put the provision in the "must pass"...

Judge quits court in protest of Bush spy program (December 21, 2005)

A federal judge who sits on the ultra-secretive national security court resigned from the court in protest of President Bush's domestic spying program, The Washington Post. U.S. District Judge James Robertson, a judge in Washington, D.C., resigned from the Foreign...

Abramoff said to negotiate plea deal with DOJ (December 21, 2005)

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff is said to be negotiating a deal with the Department of Justice to plead guilty and cooperate in a Congressional corruption probe, according to news reports. Abramoff is said to have been in talks for...