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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2001

Unless Secretary of Interior Gale Norton acts otherwise, the Chinook Nation of Washington will be the closest it has ever got to federal recognition this week.

In January, former Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover finalized the tribe's federal status. But the Quinault Nation, a federally recognized Washington tribe, has challenged the decision.

So by tomorrow, Norton will decide whether to have Assistant Secretary reconsider the tribe's status. The Bureau of Acknowledgment and Research, the staff which handles recognition petitions, has argued that Gover made mistakes, ignored precedent and didn't consider all of the evidence on the record when he made his decision.

Get the Story:
Storied Chinook pin future on 'tribe' (The Boston Globe 11/5)

Relevant Links:
Branch of Acknowledgment and Research - http://www.doi.gov/bia/ack_res.html

Related Stories:
Gover: Recognition study 'cooked' (11/1)
Reforming federal recognition (10/26)
Gover takes on recognition (10/25)
Conn. town encouraged by BIA dispute (10/17)
Norton urged to uphold recognition (10/11)
Chinook Nation faces reversal (10/3)
McCaleb reverses Clinton recognitions (9/28)