Montana urban Indian clinics oppose Bush cut (February 23, 2006)

Montana's urban Indian health clinic say they will be forced to cut back services or even shut down if President Bush succeeds in eliminating the $33 million urban Indian health care program. Montana has five urban Indian clinics in Billings,...

Mohegan Tribe acquires 75 acres for reservation (February 23, 2006)

The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut acquired 75 more acres in trust for its reservation. Under its land claim settlement, the tribe can acquire up to 720 acres for its reservation. Tribal officials weren't able to say how close they are...

Judge advances Chippewa trust mismanagement case (February 23, 2006)

Four Chippewa tribes who were awarded $52 million for the loss of their lands can challenge the United States for allegedly mismanaging those funds, a federal judge ruled last month. In a 55-page opinion that the Native American Rights Fund...

Appeals court to rehear Native Hawaiian school case (February 23, 2006)

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced on Wednesday that it will rehear the Native Hawaiian admissions school policy case. A three-judge panel of the court ruled last August that the Kamehameha Schools cannot restrict enrollment to Native Hawaiians. The...

San Manuel Band to pay for new stadium at school (February 23, 2006)

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is donating $3 million to San Gorgonio High School to build a new athletic stadium. Tribal members attend the school, located in San Bernardino. Chairman Deron Marque said the donation was a way...

Fake tribe allegedly behind arbitration scam (February 23, 2006)

A group calling itself the Wampanoag Nation, Tribe of Grayhead, Wolf Band, is being accused in Utah of filing false claims against government officials, large corporations and other entities in an effort to collect millions of dollars. The group, which...

Non-Indians reject authority of Tulalip Tribes police (February 23, 2006)

Non-Indian residents of the Tulalip Reservation in Washington are planning to protest the authority of the tribal police to stop them for traffic violations. Non-Indians have consistently challenged the authority of the tribe. Now they say they have a legal...

Editorial: Homeland Security for Yellowstone bison (February 23, 2006)

"Here's another [Department of Homeland Security] news item closer to home: Homeland Security agents helping with Yellowstone National Park bison management. Estimated cost: $42,000. It's a bureaucratic story. Two Montana departments and three federal agencies are "partners" in the bison...

Editorial: Oglala Sioux Tribe loses police grant (February 23, 2006)

"The Oglala Sioux Tribe is about to lose two-thirds of its police force when its federal grant for community policing runs out next month. The tribe's Department of Public Safety will have to let go 59 of its 88 patrol...

Tribal member leaves South Dakota governor's race (February 23, 2006)

Ron Volesky, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, has dropped out of the South Dakota governor's race, citing a lack of money. Volesky, 51, was seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. But with only $3,000 in funds...

Oneida Nation seeks waiver from local smoking law (February 23, 2006)

The Oneida Nation is seeking a "smoking compact" with Oneida County so the tribe can allow smoking on tribal property, The Utica Observer-Dispatch reports. The tribe agrees it must comply with the county's law that bans smoking in public places....

Classes resume after threat at Leech Lake school (February 23, 2006)

A girl accused of making a threat to carry out a shooting at the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School on the Leech Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Minnesota faces charges as early as today. Classes resumed yesterday after student were sent home due to...

Blackfeet council member suspended indefinitely (February 23, 2006)

The Blackfeet Nation council voted 7-1 to suspend Pat "Sam" Schildt indefinitely after a vote to oust him failed. The council spent four hours debating Schildt's fate on Tuesday. He walked out after he was not allowed to respond to...

Editorial: Canada to blame for reservation drugs (February 23, 2006)

"Canada’s relaxed attitude toward street drugs might be no one’s concern but its own – if the consequences weren’t always spilling over the country’s border. As it happens, Canada’s relatively tolerant approach to drugs – including heroin and cocaine –...

Utah to lobby BIA on Goshute nuclear waste facility (February 23, 2006)

Politicians in Utah are planning to lobby the Bureau of Indian Affairs to oppose the nuclear waste facility on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation. The BIA has to approve the lease between the Skull Valley Band and Private Fuel...

Wisconsin opposed to tribe's treatment as state (February 23, 2006)

On behalf of Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D), the state Department of Natural Resources is opposing the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa Band's request to regulate water quality standards on the reservation. The state has no authority on tribal lands but...

U.S. Attorney drops peyote charges against couple (February 23, 2006)

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in a religious freedom case, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah has dropped federal charges filed against a couple accused of possession and distribution of peyote. James "Flaming Eagle" Mooney...

Opinion: Abramoff, Native Americans and Jewish people (February 23, 2006)

"Like many Jewish kids, I always identified with the Indian. When I was in the fourth grade I proudly ran around the backyard wearing a Cherokee headdress that my parents had purchased on a trip to the Appalachian Mountains. I...