Menominee Nation welcomes return of sturgeon (April 18, 2006)

Members of the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin welcomed the return of the sturgeon to the Wolf River on Monday. The tribe has depended on the fish for hundreds of years. Every spring, the sturgeon came home to spawn just as...

Public schools withhold Indian student test scores (April 18, 2006)

Public schools across the nation are withholding the test scores of American Indian and Alaska Native students under the No Child Left Behind Act. The law doesn't require schools to issue reports for any group of fewer than 10 students....

IHS to force urban Indians to travel for prescriptions (April 18, 2006)

Starting May 1, urban Indians in Billings, Montana, will have to travel 60 miles to the Crow Reservation to get their prescriptions filled. Urban Indians have been able to obtain their prescriptions through a free courier service that goes between...

Rep. Doolittle hires criminal attorney on Abramoff (April 18, 2006)

Rep. John Doolittle (R-California) has hired an attorney who specializes in criminal law to provide legal advice about Jack Abramoff, The Sacramento Bee reports. Doolittle says David G. Barger, of the Williams Mullen firm, is helping him field media...

Alleged leader of Nevada tribe cleared of charges (April 18, 2006)

William Bills, a 46-year-old man claiming to be the chief of the Winnemucca Indian Colony in Nevada, was cleared of fraud and forgery charges by county prosecutors. Bills had been charged after inquiring about the tribe's bank account. But since...

WaPo reporters win Pulitzer for Abramoff investigation (April 18, 2006)

Three Washington Post reporters who covered the Jack Abramoff scandal won the Pulitzer Prize (http://www.pulitzer.org) for investigative reporting on Monday. Susan Schmidt, one of the reporters, wrote the initial February 22, 2004, page-one story (A Jackpot From Indian Gaming Tribes)...

Question: Were tribes duped by Abramoff stupid? (April 18, 2006)

The author of a new book on lobbying says tribes fell victim to Jack Abramoff not because they were "politically naive" but because tribal governments and their enterprises are "whims of the United States government." "Gambling in America, remember,...

Navajo council considers sharing driving records (April 18, 2006)

The Navajo Nation Council is considering a bill that would allow the tribe to share driving records with the states of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. The bill would set up an agreement to allow tribal records to be recognized...

Jim Gray seeks re-election as Osage Nation chief (April 18, 2006)

Jim Gray, the first-time chief of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, has filed for re-election. Gray, a former newspaper publisher, was elected in June 2003. At the time, he was a newcomer to tribal politics. Since then, the tribe has...

Oneida Nation faces hearing on county smoking law (April 18, 2006)

The Oneida Nation faces an April 27 hearing for allegedly violating the no-smoking law in Oneida County, New York. The tribe was cited for allowing smoking in public places, namely the Turning Stone Resort and Casino. The resort is located...

Ex-cop sentenced for murder of Alaska Native woman (April 18, 2006)

A former police officer in Nome was sentenced to 101 years in prison for murdering Sonya Ivanoff, a 19-year-old Alaska Native woman. Matthew Owens, 30, was convicted of Ivanoff's murder after two trials. But he continued to maintain his...

Tribal member eyes creation of Native university (April 18, 2006)

Ron Volesky, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, is leading a group that hopes to create a Native university at the site of the former Si Tanka/Huron University in Huron, South Dakota. But with the site going to...

Ranch provides group home for Indian teenage girls (April 18, 2006)

The New Day Ranch in Montana dedicated a new group home on Monday to help Indian teenage girls. Since 1993, the ranch has served Indian boys ages 13-17. But with the help of a $744,000 grant from the Administration...

Reserve in Saskatchewan evacuated due to flood (April 18, 2006)

Flooding has forced about 1,000 people to evacuate the Red Earth Reserve in east central Saskatchewan. An ice jam caused the Carrot River to flood, destroyed at least 27 homes. Another 80 are in danger. Tribal members were sent...

Navajo Nation to lobby against Bush budget cuts (April 18, 2006)

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. is forming a task force to lobby against budget cuts affecting the tribe. The task force will be composed of personnel from the tribal divisions expected to see cuts if President Bush's fiscal year...

Sen. Burns named one of worst senators by Time (April 18, 2006)

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) has been named one of the worst senators by Time Magazine. Burns was cited for his repeated social faux pas. Among those reported in the media: He once referred to Arabs as "ragheads," told a...

Tim Giago: Brainwashing on Pine Ridge Reservation (April 18, 2006)

"The first time I heard the word “brainwashing,” was during the Korean Conflict. Back then several GI’s underwent this procedure while prisoners of war. Afterwards, they shifted their allegiance to the North Koreans and Chinese. The analogy would be like...