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Norton ordered to testify next week
Over the objections of government lawyers, a federal judge on Thursday
ordered Secretary of Interior Gale Norton to testify in her own contempt
trial....
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GAO: Full reconciliation impossible
A full reconciliation of the billions of dollars in assets held by tribes is
"impossible," a General Accounting Office official told a Senate panel
yesterday....
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Highlights: Trust fund hearing
The House Resources Committee hearing on trust fund management and
reform was certainly an affair to remember....
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In The Hoop: Winners, Losers
Is it Friday already? That means it's time for the weekly list of the
movers and shakers in Indian Country and beyond....
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GAO: Billions at risk, including Indian trust
A Congressional audit has found serious information technology
weaknesses at another government agency in charge of Indian trust
funds, raising new doubts about the same types of security problems
that have crippled the Department of Interior....
O'Neill tears up at budget hearing
Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill got
choked up and was moved to tears as he
and Sen....
Prairie Island elder turns 100
A ceremony was held Wednesday on the Prairie Island Dakota
Reservation in Minnesota to celebrate 100 years of life for Hazel Wells....
$3.4B deal with Cree finalized
The Grand Council of the Cree First Nation in Quebec finalized a $3.4
billion deal with the the province on Thursday....
Gaming expansion bill killed in Wash.
A bill to allow video gaming machines at non-tribal casinos were killed by
a legislative committee in Washington state on Thursday....
Mont. skinhead indicted on drug charges
A Montana skinhead convicted of harassing Native Americans and other
minorities has again landed into trouble....
Drilling allowed near national parks
The Department of Interior has increased the speed and pressure at
which oil and gas drilling on public lands is approved....
Agreement reached on timber sale
After a court ordered mediation process, the Agriculture Department and
environmental groups on Thursday reached an agreement about the sale
of timber in the Bitterroot National Forest....
Inuit film takes top honors
Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner, a film by Inuit director, Zacharias Kunuk,
took home several honors Thursday night at the 22nd annual Genie
Awards in Canada....
Tribe gets extension on parking lot
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut will be allowed to
continue using a temporary parking lot for its museum....
Tribe getting closer to urban casino
A federal judge on Thursday ruled that the city of Detroit improperly
prevented a Michigan tribe from bidding for an off-reservation casino....
Bush nominee debated second time
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday held a second hearing in
the nomination of Charles W....
Tigua Tribe denied stay for casino
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals today denied the Tigua Tribe of Texas the
ability to keep its casino open while it pursues appeals....
Native corp reorganizes
Kake Tribal Corporation, an Alaska Native corporation, is emerging from
bankruptcy....
Author combines song, healing
Why did Howard Bad Hand write his first book? Because someone asked
him to....
GAO: Full reconciliation impossible
Under fire from tribal and government officials, a spokesperson for Arthur
Andersen is defending the work it did for the Department of Interior to
reconcile billions of dollars in tribal funds during the mid-1990s....
Olympic problems cited with Navajos
The Winter 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City will kick off tonight, with
representatives from a number of tribes sharing the stage for 10 minutes
during the opening ceremony....
Editorial: Support tribal-state casino
n an editorial, The Minneapolis Star Tribune says an urban casino would
help two Minnesota tribes who haven't seen the same benefits from
gaming as other tribes in the state....
Corps consulting on Haskell highway
The US Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday to every federally
recognized tribe, seeking input on a proposed bypass highway that could
run through sacred wetlands near Haskell Indian Nations University in
Kansas....
Bush signs Pueblo mineral law
President Bush on Thursday signed into a law a measure returning
67,710 acres of mineral rights to Acoma Pueblo of New Mexico....
Report: BIA helped employee
The Bureau of Indian Affairs helped an employee with eight drunk driving
citations or arrests get a special drivers license, The Albuquerque Journal
reports....
Hearing focuses on recognition
A House panel held a hearing on Thursday to focus on the federal
recognition process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs....
Norton names minerals director
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton has named an oil and gas expert to
direct the Minerals Management Service....
Dispute grows over tribal donations
A California state lawmaker is denying claims made in a report that he
helped organize tribal opposition to a Los Angeles mayoral candidate last
year....
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Norton pushes 'superior' BITAM before Congress
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton went before skeptical members of
Congressional on Wednesday to defend her controversial plan to strip
the Bureau of Indian Affairs of its core responsibilities, once again
angering tribal leaders in the process....
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Norton dodges questions on Internet shutdown
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton had little progress to report to
lawmakers on Wednesday, saying her department still remained crippled
two months into a court-ordered Internet shutdown....
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In The Hoop: Talk to the Hand
In case you weren't there, or didn't listen to the five-hour ordeal on the
Internet, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton gave Indian Country the big
middle finger yesterday at her testimony before the House Resources
Committee....
Jena Choctaw plan large casino
The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians of Louisiana are planning to build a
large casino and 500-room hotel complex, according to a tribal
spokesperson....
U.S. wants abortion case reversed
The Bush administration on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to
reinstate a state law which prohibits partial birth abortions....
Bush anti-union push opposed
A bipartisan but mostly Democratic group of House members told
President Bush in a letter on Wednesday that his executive order
banning forced unionism deprived government employees of their rights.
In one of his first actions in office, Bush banned forced unionism for
federal contractors....
Redskins get 'new' old look
The Washington Redskins debuted new uniforms on Wednesday that
replace the Indian head logo with a spear and feathers....
Search resumes for Pequot map
The leaders of three Connecticut towns are again asking Congress to
help find the original copy of a map outlining the boundaries of the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation....
Editorial: Nuclear push a joke
In an editorial today, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer criticizes the Bush
administration for moving forward a plan to store highly radioactive
waste in Nevada without completing critical studies....
Editorial: Don't cut cleanup funds
The Bush administration should live up to the government's promises to
clean up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington, The Seattle
Times writes in an editorial today....
Report says lynx study not hurt
An internal government report concludes that state and federal
scientists did not intend to undermine a lynx study when they submitted
fake samples to a testing lab....
Bush to hear Yucca Mountain pleas
Nevada Governor Kelly Guinn (R) will get his chance today to tell President
Bush in person that that putting a national nuclear waste dump in his
state "stinks."
Guinn plans to tell Bush he will vote the Yucca Mountain project.
Congress would have to then resolve the dispute....
Narragansett teams with old partner
The Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island and Boyd Gaming are again
partnering up to open a casino in West Warwick, The Pawtucket Times
reports....
Conn. towns get casino fund boost
The fiscal year 2003 budget for the state of Connecticut doubles the
money five communities get from a casino impact fund....
City wants Pueblo casino funds
A New Mexico state lawmaker has introduced a bill to give 33 percent of
slot machine revenue from Santa Clara Pueblo's casino to the city of
Española....
Tribal spending targeted in probe
An investigation into the campaign of Los Angeles Mayor James K....
Permit revoked for sacred site
An inter-tribal and environmental dispute over a well-known California
landmark has cost one Native man his life-long prayer ceremony....
Navajo man recognized as Code Talker
After being uninvited by his own tribe for a ceremony honoring the men
who helped win World War II, David W....
Innocent plea over dragging death
A Bureau of Indian Affairs criminal investigator whose vehicle dragged to
death a deaf, 21-year-old Pueblo woman has pleaded innocent to a
traffic citation....
Interim Klamath report online
The National Academy of Sciences' interim report on the Klamath Basin is
available online....
Norton testifies before House panel
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton testified today for nearly two hours
before a packed hearing of the House Resources Committee....
Editorial: Take trust from Interior
The Department of Interior has "no credibility" in Indian Country or
anywhere else, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader writes in an editorial today....
Wyo. tribe seeking gaming expansion
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the state of Wyoming to
negotiate a gaming compact with the Northern Arapaho Tribe within 60
days....
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Tribes ready next assault on Norton plan
Tribal leaders upset with Secretary of Interior Gale Norton's proposed
reorganization of Indian trust are launching the second prong of their
assault on the controversial overhaul today, testifying before what is
expected to be a contentious oversight hearing....
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Judge rejects 'improper' request by Norton
A federal judge on Tuesday scolded Secretary of Interior Gale Norton for
violating her trust obligations to Indian beneficiaries by seeking to
release confidential financial data to Congress and the American public....
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In The Hoop: Beam Me Up
When pressed by Narragansett council member Randy Noka (a serious
up-and-comer in case you don't know) last week about the Bush
administration's reversal of so many pro-tribal policies, Assistant
Secretary Neal McCaleb said that hasn't always been the case....
Redskins uniforms changed, for now
The Washington Redskins will be sporting new outfits this year but team
officials were quick to point out the removal of the Indian head has no
bearing on the controversy over the name....
U.S. wants pipeline protected
The Bush administration is proposing to spend $98 million on aid to
Colombia, part of which will be used to train soldiers to guard an oil
pipeline operated by an American company whose efforts have been
opposed by indigenous activists....
Judicial pick raising questions
The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a second confirmation hearing
on Charles W....
Bush developing global warming plan
The Bush administration is preparing a new global warming proposal
nearly a year after President Bush scrapped the Kyoto protocol and said
an alternative plan needed to be developed....
Calif. group elects official
The Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations of California has elected
Patrick Murphy Jr....
EPA memo questioned energy policy
A senior Environmental Protection Agency official told President Bush's
energy task force last year that the report it was preparing was based on
faulty information, according to a document made public on Tuesday....
Yucca Mountain suitability questioned
A former Department of Energy official who was in charge of the Yucca
Mountain project has questioned whether the site is suitable for storing
the nation's nuclear waste....
Bering Sea focus of panel
The Alaska Forum on the Environment held a panel focusing on Bering
Sea issues in Anchorage on Tuesday....
Choctaw seeking Louisiana casino
The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians of Louisiana have asked the Bureau of
Indian Affairs to take land into trust for gaming purposes....
Navajo bootlegger sentenced
A federal judge has sentenced a bootlegger from the Navajo Nation to
one year in prison for violating his parole, the U.S....
Seminole Head Start funds OKed
The Department of Interior has agreed to a limited recognition of the
government of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma....
Pojoaque Pueblo challenging gaming suit
Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico plans to ask a federal appeals court to
reconsider its ruling that allows the tribe to sued for not sharing casino
revenues with the state....
Search on again for Pequot map
The off-again, on-again search for an elusive map of the Mashantucket
Pequot Reservation in Connecticut is on again....
Wash. tribe drops dam challenge
The general council of the Yakama Nation of Washington has voted to
stop trying to compete for federal licenses to operate two dams....
Anti-Indian group files Klamath suit
An anti-sovereignty and anti-treaty rights group has filed a lawsuit
seeking to lift protections for fish considered sacred to tribes in the
Klamath Basin....
Judge unhappy with Norton request
Who knew that just filing a motion could violate one's trust responsibility
to Indian Country?
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton found out yesterday when a federal
judge chastised her for asking permission to release confidential trust
data to Congress....
Navajo Nation distributing checks
The Navajo Nation has begun distributing $537,000 in grants to tribal
members who haven't received their royalty checks from the
Department of Interior since November....
McCaleb: From a donkey to Star Trek
The latest issue of Federal Computer Week includes a major spread on
the Department of Interior's computer shutdown....
Cree agree to historic deal
The James Bay Cree First Nation is moving towards finalizing an historic
resource management and economic development agreement with the
government of Quebec....
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Interior still finalizing security plan
The Department of Interior plans to spend roughly $65 million over the
next three years to improve its information technology systems,
Secretary Gale Norton said on Monday....
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Norton slammed for 'improper' request
A federal judge today criticized Secretary of Interior Gale Norton for
making an "improper" request to circumvent a court order and disclose
private trust data to Congress and the American public....
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Security update notes little progress
The court investigator in the Individual Indian Money (IIM) class action
today released his second status report on the information technology
shutdown at the Department of Interior....
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BIA schools targeted in Bush budget
The Bureau of Indian Affairs could be stripped of its historic role in the
education of Native American children under a major initiative of
President Bush's new budget....
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Trust drives small increase in BIA budget
Reflecting what officials called an historic commitment to trust
management and reform, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton released her
department's fiscal year 2003 budget on Monday....
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Norton criticized on private trust report
The ranking member of the panel about to hold a hearing over the
Department of Interior's trust management criticized Secretary Gale
Norton on Monday for seeking to make public a report containing
confidential Indian trust data....
Bush budget focuses on defense
President Bush unveiled his $2.13 trillion budget on Monday, admitting
he will run a deficit but pushing tax cuts and major increases in defense
and military spending anyway....
Klamath report being evaluated
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton said on Monday that decisions affecting
the use of water in the Klamath Basin will take into account a critical
scientific review being released this week....
Smokin' Joe sues Oneida casino
Legendary boxer Smokin' Joe Frazier filed a lawsuit last week against the
casino owned by the Oneida Nation of New York....
Ariz. gaming initiative proposed
Arizona State Senate President Randall Gnant on Monday introduced a
bill that would put the fate of expanded gaming in the hands of voters....
IIM accountant making changes
The accounting firm whose report on the assets of four American Indian
beneficiaries is the subject of a legal and political dispute announced on
Monday it was making changes to its business practices....
Five charged in attack on Alaska teen
Five young adults have been charged with kidnapping and second- and
third-degree assault of a 16-year-old teen in Anchorage, Alaska....
Judge won't seat Bush civil rights pick
A federal judge refused to seat President Bush's pick to the U.S....
Ex-Enron chair facing subpoenas
Angered at his refusal to appear before their panel, lawmakers on the
Senate Commerce Committee are planning to vote to subpoena former
Enron chairman Ken Lay....
Red light, green light 1, 2, 3
President Bush's $2.13 trillion fiscal year 2003 budget includes a
"management" initiative designed to rate the performance of federal
departments and agencies....
Olympic torch enters final stretch
The Olympic torch entered Utah on Monday and received a traditional
welcome from a Ute tribal member Frank Arrowchis....
Fla. tribe happy with court ruling
The Miccosukee Tribe of Florida is pleased with last week's federal
appeals court ruling on the Everglades, a tribal spokesperson told The
South Florida Sun-Sentinel....
N.M. Indian director fired
The New Mexico Commission on Indian Affairs has fired executive
director Terry Aguilar....
AP: Choctaw compact approved
The state of Louisiana has approved a gaming compact with the Jena
Band of Choctaw Indians, the Associated Press reports today....
Yellow Bird: Diversity in media
"In our region, some in the media say getting into reservation
communities is difficult, and the problem is exacerbated by an invisible
perimeter called the reservation border....
Indian credit program being expanded
The Department of Agriculture has approved a national expansion of an
Indian loan and credit program that got its start at a tribal college in
Montana....
Budget pledges Yucca Mountain funds
President Bush's fiscal year 2003 budget requests $527 million to
develop the Yucca Mountain national nuclear waste dump in Nevada....
Nuclear cleanup funds criticized
The Department of Energy's is proposing to cut funds to cleanup the the
Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington, one of the biggest projects
facing the department....
ANWR funds included again by Bush
The Department of Interior's fiscal year 2003 budget again includes a line
item anticipating receipt of $1.2 billion in lease funds from drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge....
NMAI funds preserved in budget
The National Museum of American Indian survived President Bush's
budget ax on Monday, seeing preservation of $10 million in construction
funds....
Budget includes Pueblo monument funds
The Department of Interior's proposed fiscal year 2003 budget includes
$1.5 million to acquire land for the Tent Rocks National Monument near
Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico, a request Sen....
NCAI: Bush setting BIA schools up for failure
President Bush's proposal to outsource tribal schools to private entities
sets them up for failure, a National Congress of American Indians official
told Jodi Rave of The Lincoln Journal Star....
Anti-Indian cited in saint debate
Pope John Paul II is ready to make Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian man
renowned for his vision of the Virgin Mary, a saint but some aren't ready
to accept someone whose story they call a fantasy....
Santee casino decision appealed
The US Attorney's office in Nebraska has appealed a federal judge's
decision that favored the Santee Sioux Tribe's tiny casino operation....
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Monitor's 'only hope' seen as termination
The court official appointed to watch over the Department of Interior
unleashed some of his boldest and far-reaching criticism on Friday,
questioning whether true trust reform can occur under existing
conditions....
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The Week in Review
Consultation continues on Indian trust plan tribes oppose,
contempt trial over individual trust resumes, White House
gets notice of lawsuit, and President Bush delivers State of
the Union....
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Memo sounded early warning on TAAMS
Long before his infamous "imploding" memo became the subject of
media coverage, Congressional testimony and a court monitor, the first
project manager of a $40 million trust accounting system warned that
the government was spreading "misinformation" about the now-failing
effort....
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Final EDS report available online
An electronic copy of the final EDS report on trust reform is available for
downloading....
Navajo drug court here to stay
The Navajo Nation's drug court is not shutting down, the tribe says....
Mexican treaty commemorated
The 154th anniversary of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was
marked this past Saturday in Santa Fe, New Mexico....
No light at end of Interior tunnel
The Department of Interior's computer shutdown enters its third month
this week....
Tribe facing another treaty battle
The treaty rights of Minnesota's Ojibwe tribes have always been a source
of contention in the state....
Under fire, Andersen makes changes
Still reeling from its past involvement with bankrupt company Enron,
auditing firm Arthur Andersen on Sunday announced changes in the way
it does business....
Case proceeding against N.M. tribes
A federal appeals court has cleared the way for New Mexico Attorney
General Patricia Madrid to continue suing two tribes who refuse to share
casino revenues with the state....
Opinion: Wretched Alaska Native verse
"If something more rollicking than the "Alaska's Flag" hymn is desired,
consider John Pingayak's "Kaaka-gguq Cauyalriitqaa" ("Listen to the
Drumming")....
Reservation study criticized
Tribal leaders and lawmakers in Montana are expressing disappointment
over the results of an economic study of the state's seven reservations
and the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe....
Storytellers spread their message
The Northwest Reno in Reno, Nevada, held its first Native American
Storytelling event on Saturday, drawing a crowd to listen to Native
storytellers....
Salmon species debate continues
In response to a federal judge's ruling, the Bush administration will be
reviewing the endangered and threatened status of two dozen species of
salmon and steelhead....
Report questions Klamath decision
An interim report by the National Academy of Sciences has found that
federal wildlife officials based their decision to shut off water to
non-Indian farmers in the Klamath Basin on faulty science....
Ute man welcoming torch to Utah
Frank Arrowchis, a member of the White River band of the Northern Ute
Indian Tribe, is welcoming the Olympic torch into the state of Utah with
an Indian ceremony....
BIA said unaware of employee record
Bureau of Indian Affairs officials never knew one of their employees had
eight drunk driving citations or arrests, let alone his four convictions,
according to The Albuquerque Journal....
Budget rollout is today
President Bush rolls out his $2.13 trillion fiscal year 2003 budget today,
delivering it to Congress wrapped in the American flag....
Fla. tribe wins Everglades suit
A federal appeals court on Friday sided with the Miccosukee Tribe of
Florida, ruling that state officials have to comply with federal law before
pumping polluted water into the Everglades....
Harjo: Seeking 'honor' in R-word
"The owner of the Washington football club is working his legal team and
press flacks overtime, scouting Indian country for anyone who is Indian
or "part-Indian" and likes the team's name....
On the Indian trust bandwagon
The media was out in force this past Friday at a Washington, D.C.-area
hotel for the seventh Indian trust meeting....
Indian Country lacks confidence in Norton
The latest Indian Country Today poll finds an overwhelming majority of
Native Americans have little confidence in Secretary of Interior Gale
Norton's handling of the trust fund....
Ex-Enron chair bows out of hearing
Citing an adverse environment, the ex-chairman of failed energy
company Enron has canceled his appearance before a Senate committee
today....
Shot Seminole lawyer said in hiding
Jim Shore, the general counsel for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, has
been in hiding since he was released from the hospital after being shot in
what authorities have called a mob-style hit....
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