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NIGC cites 'broken promises' in ruling against casino (May 22, 2008)

The National Indian Gaming Commission is again expressing concerns about tribes who promise not to use newly acquired lands for casinos, only to change their minds about it at a later date. In a 30-page opinion issued on Monday, the...

Jodi Rave: Sen. Obama eyes Democratic nomination (May 22, 2008)

"While Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama bulks up his campaign for Montana's pivotal June 3 primary, he's also looking ahead to the general election and being competitive here against Republican John McCain, Obama's campaign manager said Wednesday. “We're pretty much...

Sen. Clinton to campaign on reservations (May 22, 2008)

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-New York) will take her presidential campaign to four reservations in South Dakota next week. Former president Bill Clinton will visit the Crow Creek Sioux Reservation, the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and the Yankton Sioux Reservation on...

North Dakota tribe hopes to tackle $100M debt (May 22, 2008)

The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota remains more than $100 million in debt, Chairman Marcus Wells Jr. said. Wells said royalties from oil development on the reservation reduce the debt and prevent future deficits. Then the...

BIA to publish federal recognition guidance (May 22, 2008)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is adopting new internal procedures regarding the federal acknowledgment process. Assistant secretary Carl Artman sent the guidelines to the Federal Register today. They will be published tomorrow and are not considered regulatory changes that are...

Artman to testify one final time before leaving office (May 22, 2008)

Carl Artman is leaving his job as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs tomorrow but not before one final appearance before the Senate committee that supported his nomination as assistant secretary. Artman was strongly backed by the Senate...

Indian Congressional candidate stirs controversy (May 22, 2008)

Benny Shendo Jr., a candidate for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, is stirring controversy among his Democratic opponents for raising questions about one of his rivals' "lifestyle." At a candidate forum in Farmington, Shendo implied that Ben Ray Lujan,...

Pojoaque Pueblo sponsors Santa Fe Indian Market (May 22, 2008)

Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement for the world renowned Santa Fe Indian Market. As an artist, Gov. George Rivera said the tribe wanted to help the market and the Indian artists it promotes. The...

Film explores Kootenai Tribe's 'war' of 1974 (May 22, 2008)

The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho went to "war" against the federal government in 1974, a story that is the subject of a new documentary. "Idaho's Forgotten War" explores how the 67 remaining members of the tribe protested their treatment...

School district delays death of 'Redskins' mascot (May 22, 2008)

The board of the Colusa Unified School District in California voted 3-2 on Wednesday to delay the elimination of the "Redskins" mascot. The board previously voted 3-2 to eliminate the Colusa High School's mascot. But the decision was delayed...

Man sentenced to 200 months for sexual assault (May 22, 2008)

A man from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota was sentenced to 200 months, nearly 17 years, in federal prison for aggravated sexual abuse. Jason Pumpkin Seed, 20, was found guilty by a jury in March. Witnesses said he...

Pine Ridge couple to open Subway restaurant (May 22, 2008)

It took a lot of work but construction is underway on the first Subway restaurant on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Darlene Nichols-Ecoffey and her husband, Bob Ecoffey, the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent for the Pine Ridge...

Lawsuits awaited over Oneida land-into-trust (May 22, 2008)

Local officials in New York are urging the state to sue the Interior Department for agreeing to take 13,000 acres in trust for the Oneida Nation The state so far hasn't said what it will do. Recently installed Gov....

House passes Soboba Band water settlement (May 22, 2008)

The House passed H.R.4841, the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Settlement Act, by a voice vote on Wednesday. The bill resolves a long-running dispute between the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians and water users in California. The courts recognized the...

Residential school payments tied to deaths (May 22, 2008)

A Native leader in the Yukon says more than a dozen former residential school students have died after receiving their share of a $2 billion settlement. Diane Strand, the chief of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, says the payments have...

Native teen, 16, wanted on murder charge (May 22, 2008)

A 16-year-old from the Pasqua First Nation in Saskatchewan has been charged with murder and assault with a weapon. Steven Tyler Gordon allegedly stabbed and killed Darcy Joseph Fayant, 28, at a house party on the reserve last Saturday,...

Man appears in court over daughters' deaths (May 22, 2008)

The Yellow Quill First Nation man who is charged in connection with the deaths of his two young daughters appeared in court on Wednesday. Christopher Pauchay, 24, is charged with criminal negligence causing death. He allegedly left his daughters,...

George F. Will: The new wards of the government (May 22, 2008)

"A preventive war worked out so well in Iraq that Washington last week launched another. The new preventive war -- the government responding forcefully against a postulated future threat -- has been declared on behalf of polar bears, the...

BIA helps Navajo Nation with overdue autopsy bill (May 22, 2008)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has released federal funds to help the Navajo Nation pay an overdue medical bill. The tribe owes about $200,000 to the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. In April 2006, the state stopped performing...