ending June 30
Vice President Dick Cheney.
Before heart procedure.
June 30, 2001.
Photo © Reuters.
Missed our stories? All the headlines for the week can be found here. Want In The Hoop's list of the week's Winners and Losers? Wait no more. Supreme Court rules on tribal court authority
In yet another negative decision for Indian Country, the Supreme Court this week ruled that tribal courts do not have authority over state officials doing state business on tribal land. The ruling caps a ten-year battle between the state of Nevada and a member of the the Fallon-Paiute Shoshone Tribe of Nevada. But even though nine Justices unanimously overturned a lower court ruling which favored the tribe, there was considerable dissent in the ranks about how much power tribal courts have over non-Indians. Three Justices appeared to want to push the envelope further and extend their ruling further than state officials. But three others said the rest went too far in limiting the authority of tribes. Get the Story:
Supreme Court bars state officials from tribal suit (6/26)
O'Connor defends tribes amidst squabbling (6/26) McCaleb to inherit trust fund mess
Neal McCaleb had yet to be confirmed to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs this week but judging from the troubles in the trust fund case, the delay might have been appreciated. Not only is Congress threatening to cut off funds from the Department of Interior, some members are asking for a special oversight hearing into the case. After spending $614 million to fix the system, they are pushing the government to settle the five-year-old case. Meanwhile, the Interior is having troubles of its own, although it is keeping some of them private. In addition to firing a contractor for some costly mistakes, the Interior is holding back reports which detail security issues affecting the $3.1 billion held in trust for tribes and American Indians. Get the Story:
Action threatened against Interior on trust funds (6/25)
Canceled contract leads to trust fund delays (6/28)
McCaleb nomination hangs in limbo (6/28)
Special trust fund hearing requested (6/29)
Interior holding back trust fund security reports (6/29) more stories
There's still more to read in the recap of the top stories.