ending December 15
Chase that dog, President Bush!
Photo © Reuters.
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton wasn't there Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb was only there briefly. But the two went on trial anyway to face five charges of contempt for their handling of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. Testimony opened in federal court this week as attorneys for 300,000 American Indian beneficiaries sought to prove their case against the two officials by going over several critical court reports and opinions that have detailed numerous failings under the Bush and Clinton administrations. At the same time, the Department of Interior's Internet shutdown continued when an agreement that would have allowed the government to send crucial payments to tribes and individual Indians fell through. Government attorneys tried to use the funds as a bargaining chip to have U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth strike one of Norton's contempt charges. Get the Story:
Norton contempt trial opens (12/10)
Norton attacks court monitor (12/10)
Norton set for contempt trial (12/10)
Editorial: Appoint IIM receiver (12/10)
Floods more important than Indians (12/10)
Contempt trial continues (12/11)
Contested reports focus of contempt trial (12/11)
The Trial: Witnesses to Contempt (12/11)
Coverage of Contempt Trial, Day 1 (12/11)
Griles in charge of IT reform (12/11)
Editorial: Take criminal steps on trust fund (12/11)
Confusion, conflict detailed at Interior (12/12)
Lamberth pokes fun at government (12/12)
Coverage of Contempt Trial, Day 2 (12/12)
Editorial: Still ripping off Indians (12/12)
Judge eager for Norton testimony (12/13)
Editorial: Bad faith, wasted dollars (12/13)
Interior computer agreement dropped (12/14)
Interior works the old fashioned way (12/14) Norton begins consultation on BIA overhaul
Secretary Gale Norton wasn't in court but she was definitely in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this week. She probably regretted the decision. Dozens of tribal leaders and representatives assailed her decision to strip the Bureau of Indian Affairs of its trust duties and hand them to another agency. They asked her to drop the proposal immediately and work with them on a new solution but she only agreed to the formation of a task force to identify alternatives. Get the Story:
Indian panel urging BITAM slow down (12/10)
NPR covers BIA overhaul, trust fund (12/11)
Attorneys barred from BITAM consultation (12/12)
Exclusive: Trust reform assessment (12/12)
EDS trust reform report online (12/12)
Indianz.Com Editorial: Norton must end the Indian Trust sham (12/13)
Tribal consultation begins on BITAM (12/13)
Norton set for first consultation (12/13)
Tribes continue assault on Norton plan (12/14)
Norton won't scrap BIA overhaul (12/14) more stories
There's still more to read in the recap of the top stories.