Mary Pavel, Skokomish, announced as staff director for SCIA (January 11, 2013)

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), the incoming chairwoman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, named a new staff director. Mary Pavel is a member of the Skokomish Tribe of Washington. She is the founding president of the Native American Bar...

Review: Tribal society lessons in 'The World Until Yesterday' (January 11, 2013)

"The custom among the Pirahã Indians of Brazil is that women give birth alone. The linguist Steve Sheldon once saw a Pirahã woman giving birth on a beach, while members of her tribe waited nearby. It was a breech...

HCN Blog: Native women fail to find justice as VAWA expires (January 11, 2013)

"n 2005, two Native American women in Oklahoma were kidnapped, blindfolded, and raped by three non-native men. Because they were blindfolded, they didn't know if they were assaulted on state, federal, or tribal land. And, due to a tragic gap...

Turtle Mountain Band chairman seeks partnership with state (January 11, 2013)

Richard McCloud, the chairman of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, addressed the North Dakota Legislature on Thursday. The state has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation -- less than 3 percent. But reservations need job...

Charges dismissed in South Dakota Indian child abuse probe (January 11, 2013)

A judge in South Dakota dismissed all charges against two people who investigated the abuse of Indian children in foster care. Social worker Shirley Schwab, 63, and former state's attorney Brandon Taliaferro, 31, were accused of witness-tampering and perjury. The...

BIA to provide Spirit Lake Nation with fingerprinting services (January 11, 2013)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is providing mobile fingerprinting units to the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota. The units will be used to take fingerprints of foster parents on the reservation. According to the BIA, the Adam Walsh Child...

Cowlitz Tribe cuts service to men who questioned enrollment (January 11, 2013)

The Cowlitz Tribe of Washington has cut off services to two men who questioned the lineage of some top leaders. Steve Meyers and his cousin Thomas Hill were also banned from entering tribal property. And Meyers was told he is...

Dry Creek Rancheria removes two women who filed for office (January 11, 2013)

Leaders of the Dry Creek Rancheria of California voted 3-2 on Thursday to remove two women from the rolls, The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported. Carmen Cordova Soltanizadeh, 34, and Laila DeRouen, 29, received disenrollment notices after they decided to run...

8th Circuit affirms conviction of ex-Crow Creek Sioux leader (January 11, 2013)

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of Duane Big Eagle, the former chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Big Eagle was convicted of accepting bribes from contractors who were hired to build a...

Native Sun News: Idle No More movement shifts to US tribes (January 11, 2013)

The following story was written and reported by Talli Nauman Native Sun News Health & Environment Editor. All content © Native Sun News. Oglala Lakota activist Debra White Plume was among Idle No More demonstrators in Pueblo, Colorado on Jan....

Native Sun News: Oglala Sioux president remains in hospital (January 11, 2013)

The following story was written and reported by Brandon Ecoffey, Native Sun News Staff Writer. All content © Native Sun News. Brewer moved to rehab By Brandon Ecoffey Native Sun News Staff Writer RAPID CITY — Oglala Sioux Tribal President...

NCAI backs AFN as leaders meet with Canada Prime Minister (January 11, 2013)

The National Congress of American Indians issued a statement in support of the Assembly of First Nations as Native leaders in Canada head into a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper today. NCAI said First Nations in Canada should be...

Chelsea Vowel: Native study provides foundation for change (January 11, 2013)

""Canada is a test case for a grand notion — the notion that dissimilar peoples can share lands, resources, power and dreams while respecting and sustaining their differences. The story of Canada is the story of many such peoples, trying...