"The Washington Post reported that Sen. Conrad Burns, Republican of Montana, pressured the U.S. Department of the Interior into giving the [Saginaw Chippewa] tribe the money to build a new school despite protests from agency officials that such funding was for poor tribes, presumably those without multi-million-dollar gaming operations.

The incident was revealed by a growing federal investigation into the practices of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was hired by the tribe to represent its interests in Washington.

Mr. Abramoff now must explain exactly what it was he did for the dozen tribes that paid him and his firm $82 million from 2001 to 2003. As for Senator Burns, he will have to come up with a better story than the one he's told so far."

Get the Story:
Scandal on the reservation (The Toledo Blade 3/8)

Relevant Links:
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe - http://www.sagchip.org
Saginaw Chippewa Voices - http://www.scitmembervoices.com

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