Cherokee Nation court halts $750K ad campaign (May 25, 2006)

The Cherokee Nation's highest court issued a temporary restraining order that bars the tribe's economic development enterprise spending money on an advertising campaign. Tribal leaders approved the $750,000 ad campaign but tribal member Phillip Carey said the expenditure by Cherokee...

Editorial: Oklahoma tribes should pay state tax (May 25, 2006)

"A resolution approved by several Oklahoma Indian tribes proposes doing away with current tobacco compacts and instead taxing tribal retailers at a rate one-fourth that of nontribal retailers. It's a plan that should be snuffed out. The resolution was signed...

Arctic Slope corporation delivers record profits (May 25, 2006)

Arctic Slope Regional Corp., an Alaska Native regional corporation, reported a record $127 million profit in 2005. The profits were seen on $1.6 billion in revenue. The figures represent a turnaround from 2004, when ASRC lost $17 million. ASRC's numerous...

Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe debates wind project (May 25, 2006)

The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts will make a final decision next month on a wind power project. The tribe is debating whether to build a 150-foot meteorological tower that will collect wind data. The goal is to find out...

Great Plains tribes, schools sue BIA over reorganization (May 25, 2006)

Nearly a dozen tribes and reservation schools in North and South Dakota sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Wednesday to halt the reorganization of Indian education programs. The tribes said the BIA is restructuring the Office of Indian Education...

Court subjects Narragansett Tribe to all state laws (May 25, 2006)

The state of Rhode Island can enforce its laws against members of the Narragansett Tribe for activities that occur on the reservation, a divided federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. By a 4-2 vote, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals...

New Mexico hit Pueblo leaders with $4.7M tax bill (May 25, 2006)

The state of New Mexico tried an end-run around tribal sovereignty by hitting individual leaders of Nambe Pueblo with $4.7 million in tax assessments, according to a new lawsuit filed in state court. The state alleged two former governors and...

Boys released on murder charge, teen pleads (May 25, 2006)

Two 12-year-old boys from the Frog Lake First Nation in Alberta have been released on bail after being charged with first-degree murder. The teens are among seven Native youth accused in the beating death of Rocky Moyah, 38. Tribal leaders...

Editorial: Come clean about Geronimo's remains (May 25, 2006)

"This is a matter of no small concern to Geronimo's descendants and to the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona. If the remains of their forefather and tribal hero are indeed ensconced in the halls of a college mens'...

Native students can wear feathers for graduation (May 25, 2006)

Native students at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, will be allowed to wear eagle feathers during graduation ceremonies. The school had told about a dozen students from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community that they couldn't wear the...

Ex-Bush official on trial for Abramoff connections (May 25, 2006)

Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys made their opening statements in the trial of David H. Safavian, a former Bush administration official accused lying about his relationship with Jack Abramoff. Prosecutors said Safavian covered up Abramoff's lobbying efforts. But the...

Native village battles big oil company over drilling (May 25, 2006)

The Inupiat Eskimo village of Kaktovik is turning up the heat against Shell oil company's plans to drill in the Beaufort Sea. Local leaders are worried about the effect of offshore drilling on whales and marine life. But they say...

Alaska Native corporation dealing in hotels (May 25, 2006)

Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation, is seeing mixed success with its hotel ventures. A Westin Kierland resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, that CIRI invested in is being sold for $393 million. The corporation will see a double-digit...

Oglala Sioux Tribe keeps track of sex offenders (May 25, 2006)

The Oglala Sioux Tribe is keeping track of more than 40 sex offenders who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The large size and remote nature of the reservation makes it harder to track offenders, who are required to check...

Mississippi Choctaw company to build IAIA facilities (May 25, 2006)

A company owned by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has landed a contract to design and build facilities at the Institute of American Indian Arts. IKBI will design and build an education center and a dormitory at the school's...

Leech Lake leaders don't want to banish convict (May 25, 2006)

Leaders on the Leech Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Minnesota have voted against banishing a tribal member who was convicted of second-degree murder. Leech Lake Chairman George Goggleye Jr. has proposed banishment as a way to reduce violent crime on the...

Jourdain seeks recount of Red Lake election results (May 25, 2006)

Red Lake Nation Chairman Floyd "Buck" Jourdain Jr. has requested a recount of the tribe's recent primary, citing questions over absentee ballots. Jourdain won the most votes in the election. But since he failed to get a majority, the...

Rep. Hastert denies link to Abramoff scandal (May 25, 2006)

Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois), the Speaker of the House, denied involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal after ABC News published a report on Wednesday that said he was one of several lawmakers under investigation. Abramoff is providing information about Hastert's...

Witness List: Oversight hearing on Indian education (May 25, 2006)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held an oversight hearing this morning on Indian education. The hearing came after the release of Indian Country's report card. It showed that Native American students in grades 4 and 8 are behind left behind...