ending March 23
President Bushand
Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo.
Photo © Reuters.
Mandated by federal law, the Department of Interior's efforts to tell tribes and individual Indians how much money they are owed have failed to resolve the simmering dispute. On the tribal side, a new law is aimed at encouraging settlement of the trust accounts. It may have little effect as tribes use litigation as leverage against the government. Such a strategy has so far worked on the individual side, but the Bush administration thinks it has the Cobell class action beat. While the Clinton administration believed it could win on appeal, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and her top aides are banking on the historical accounting for vindication. Get the Story:
Bush administration bets on accounting (3/18)
Trust fund check figures doubted (3/18)
BIA, MMS remain offline (3/19)
Trust accounting looms for tribes (3/20)
Elouise Cobell's millions (3/20) Tribes meet to discuss sacred lands
Tribal leaders and activists met in Washington, D.C., this week to tackle one of the most pressing issues facing Indian Country. They walked away with encouragement from noted author and historian Vine Deloria Jr., who said the fight to protect sacred sites seems to never end. At least one tribe has prevailed in the court system while the Bush administration has reconvened a federal workgroup to find ways to protect sites administratively. Get the Story:
Supreme Court declines tribal challenge (3/19)
McCaleb to start sacred site task force (3/20)
Tribes push action on sacred sites (3/21)
Sacred site panel revived (3/21) more stories
There's still more to read in the recap of the top stories.