Featured Story
White House offers open door to Indian Country
President Bush is committed to maintaining a
government-to-government relationship with tribal nations although his
administration still hasn't developed an Indian policy, a senior White
House official said this week....
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Ashcroft urged to charge BIA officials
The Department of Justice is being asked to bring criminal charges
against former and current Bureau of Indian Affairs officials in response
to an internal report which documents problems with their handling of
federal recognition petitions....
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Extension on BITAM comment period planned
Tribes, individual Indians and other interested parties can continue to
submit comments on the proposed reorganization of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, a spokesperson said on Thursday....
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Latest trust reform contract draws complaints
The Department of Interior has signed another trust reform contract with
a computer consulting company, drawing criticism from tribal leaders
who feel they are being shut out....
EPA official quits in protest
The Environmental Protection Agency's senior regulator has quit his post
in protest of the Bush administration's effort to "streamline" policies
affecting aging power plants....
Cheney's mouse just cardboard
Vice President Dick Cheney on Wednesday "officially" launched the
government's new version of its Internet portal, FirstGov....
Bill seeks to ban future casinos
A Connecticut state legislative committee on Monday will hold a bill that
aims to ban future tribal casinos....
Traditional gambling among the Lenape
"The Lenape believed that gambling among their ancestors played a
significant role in their everyday lives, in the success and failure of their
crops, in their ultimate survival....
Card clubs square off against tribes
A hearing was held on Thursday to discuss whether publicly traded
corporations should own card clubs in California....
Judges on energy cases get itchy
Federal judge overseeing lawsuits that seek to force the White House
into releasing information about Vice President Dick Cheney's energy
task force are getting impatient....
N.M. share of water 'missing'
A water commission in northwestern New Mexico has signed a contract
with the Department of Interior that has some people wondering where
the beef is....
Test better at finding brucellosis
Federal and Montana state officials are using a new test to detect
brucellosis in bison that live in, and often wander out of, Yellowstone
National Park....
Tribal firm certified contractor
A company owned by the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming has
qualified as a contractor for the federal government....
Pequot trust land approved
The Department of the Interior has decided to take 8.78 acres of land
into trust for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut,
reports The Norwich Bulletin....
Towns really opposed to Pequot tribes
In case the message wasn't clear the first 500 times, three Connecticut
towns on Thursday held a press conference to say they oppose the
federal recognition of two Pequot tribes....
Mont. skinheads sentenced
A federal judge in Montana on Thursday sentenced six members of a
skinhead group for their roles in attacks on minorities....
Treatment center up for Harvard award
A drug and alcohol treatment center owned and operated by several
Pacific Northwest tribes has been chosen as a finalist for a prestigious
government award....
Alaska village school shut down
The state of Alaska has closed the McQueen School in the village of
Kivalina, citing the safety of staff members....
Student riots lead to canceled classes
Classes have been canceled today at Española Valley High school due to
riots that broke about among students on Thursday....
Fair pairs students with elders
The Alaska Native Science and Engineering Society's state science fair
was held recently, bringing together students and Alaska Native elders....
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....
Haskellmania this weekend
Second-tier wrestling is coming to Haskell Indian Nations University!
The World League Wrestling will hold a wrestling about at the school on
Saturday....
Omaha Tribe to build racetrack
The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska is planning to build a dirt racetrack on trust
land it owns in Iowa....
Groups request drilling documents
Three environmental groups are asking the Department of Interior to
turn over documents on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge....
Editorial: Norton's fraud
In an editorial opinion, Paul Krugman of The New York Times accuses
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton of being deceptive over the impact of
drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge....
Blackwell cites fear at BIA
Retiring Bureau of Indian Affairs official Sharon Blackwell was afraid
someone would get hurt in the final weeks of the Clinton administration,
according to an internal investigation made public this week....
NIGA conference gets visitor
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports today of spirited discussion at the
National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) conference in Washington,
D.C., on Thursday....
Hopi House has long history
Built on the edge of the Grand Canyon, Hopi House was opened in 1905
to give tourists a glimpse into tribal culture....
Featured Story
IHS pressed to include tribes in reform efforts
A proposed reorganization of the Indian Health Service has drawn
growing concern from tribal leaders, who asked this week to be included
in reforming a system they agree has numerous problems....
Featured Story
McCaleb hedges on the C-word
Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb sometimes gets into trouble with the
words he uses....
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Key trust reform player leaving BIA
A senior Bureau of Indian Affairs official
who has played a central role in the
dispute over fixing the Indian trust fund
is leaving her post, Assistant Secretary
Neal McCaleb announced on Wednesday.
McCaleb told tribal leaders in
Washington, D.C., that Deputy
Commissioner for Indian Affairs Sharon
Blackwell will retire this summer....
Featured Story
Mohawk deal could leave parties out
In what could be a repeat of the Oneida land settlement that has fallen
apart, the state of New York has approached one of the parties in the St.
Regis Mohawk land claim....
Masses oppose landfill on burial ground
A large crowd turned out to a meeting on Wednesday to discuss a
proposed landfill opponents fear would damage Indian burial grounds....
Benedict says not one issue
Congressional candidate Jeff Benedict on Wednesday denied criticism
that he is a one issue candidate despite all his media coverage focusing
on his push to terminate the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of
Connecticut....
Original Pequot map still lost
The state of Connecticut has again asked its Congressional delegation for
help in locating the map used to settle the land claims of the
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation....
Tribes might have to waive immunity
Three Arizona tribes competing for the right to host a new Arizona
Cardinals football stadium might have to waive their sovereign immunity
as part of the deal....
Maine tribal casino pushed
Following a nationwide trend, two Maine tribes are pushing a casino as a
way of meeting the state's budget woes....
Norton lobbied on Choctaw casino
Like the state's governor, Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub
seemed to have found an easy entry into Secretary of Interior Gale
Norton's date book....
Energy documents ordered released
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Energy to release over
7,500 pages of documents used in the formation of the President's
national energy policy....
Resigned Ojibwe official faces recall
The treasurer of the Red Lake Ojibwe Tribe of Minnesota has resigned
from his post but tribal members have decided to try and recall him
anyway....
Opinion: Subsistence and equal rights
"Have you read the governor's newly proposed subsistence amendment
for our Alaska Constitution (House Joint Resolution 41)?
If not, did you know that most Alaskans are subsistence "have-nots"?
We "have-not" any subsistence tradition....
Ore. schools hosting pow-wow
Two Oregon school districts are holding a pow-wow on Saturday to brings
students and their families together....
Mont. Indian director resigns
Bruce Meyers resigned last week as coordinator for Montana's Office of
Indian Affairs, citing his diabetes and health and family issues....
Navajo captain wants state help
The newly promoted captain of the Shiprock Department of Criminal
Investigation said he wants to have New Mexico police officers to have
police powers on his part of the Navajo Nation....
Non-Indian farmers due water
The Department of Interior said on Wednesday it anticipates non-Indian
farmers in the Klamath Basin will receive the water they were denied last
year....
Kitty litter mine has more lives
They say cats have nine lives and if so, a proposed kitty litter mine in
Nevada has eight more chances to go before it is out for the count....
Oneida school grants could end
The Oneida Nation of New York hasn't made a decision on a grant
program that has given $3.1 million to local schools....
Opinion: Ending Indian mascots
"The brouhaha at West Seattle High School can be summed up with a
phrase educators love: a teaching moment.
The lesson centers on issues of race, cultural sensitivity and our painful
history with Native Americans....
Tribes to hold Indian trust forum
Tribal leaders in Oklahoma are holding a public forum next week to
update Indian beneficiaries about the Cobell litigation and efforts to
reorganize the Bureau of Indian Affairs....
Indian museum director quits
Citing unresolved issues, the director of the Institute of American Indian
Arts Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, left her post on Wednesday....
AP looks at Indian Health Service
An Associated Press analysis of the Indian Health Service has found
numerous shortcomings that have long been known in Indian Country....
Primeaux & Mike win Grammy
"Bless The People — Harmonized Peyote Songs" by Verdell Primeaux and
Johnny Mike won the Grammy on Wednesday night for the Best Native
American Recording....
Bush concerned about tribal 'loophole'
President Bush on Wednesday expressed concern tribes would be able to
exploit a "loophole" in the campaign finance reform bill currently stalled
in the Senate, the Associated Press reports....
Pot chairman supports Swimmer
Always controversial, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John A.
"Rocky" Barrett Jr....
Inupiats want anti-ANWR funding stopped
Kaktovik Inupiat Corp., a village corporation representing the Inupiat
Eskimo community that supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge, wants funding to an anti-development group stopped....
Featured Story
Senior BIA official leaving post
The deputy commissioner of Bureau of Indian Affairs leaving her post,
Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb announced this morning....
Featured Story
Tribes seek to overturn Supreme Court
Tribal leaders and their advocates have drafted an ambitious and
far-reaching legislative proposal aimed at restoring full criminal and civil
jurisdiction over Indian lands in response to Supreme Court decisions
that have slowly chipped away at treaties and sovereignty....
Featured Story
Interior still without trust reform plan
A senior Department of Interior official on Tuesday acknowledged
Secretary Gale Norton's proposal to create a new Indian trust agency
lacks the details tribal leaders say are necessary for meaningful
consultation....
Featured Story
In The Hoop: The Old and the Trustless
In The Hoop has heard that a certain government agency is looking for a
new official....
Haskell wetlands seeing protection
Haskell Indian Nations University and adjacent wetlands where graves of
former students have been located could be placed on the National
Register of Historic Places....
Senate ready to pass campaign finance
Republican foes of the campaign finance reform bill on Tuesday said they
wouldn't try to block its immediate passage in the Senate....
Senate panel grills judicial nominee
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday to consider
the nomination of Brooks Smith to the federal bench....
Civil rights pick says misunderstood
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a
hearing on Tuesday to consider the nomination of a conservative
African-American lawyer for a civil rights post....
Details of Cheney oil meeting sought
The General Accounting Office last week filed a lawsuit seeking to force
the White House to disclose information about the energy task force Vice
President Dick Cheney chaired....
Pequot Tribe highest taxpayer
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut is once again the
biggest taxpayer in the town of North Stonington....
Shopping port could host casino
The Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine are
discussing opening casino in the state....
Foster, Choctaw for casino
Tribes seem to have trouble getting a meeting with Secretary of Interior
Gale Norton but Louisiana Gov....
Ariz. tribe opposes helipad
The Hualapai Tribe of Arizona is opposing plans to build two helicopter
pads next to its reservation....
Towns to discuss Pequot recognitions
Three Connecticut towns haven't finished discussing the federal
recognition bids of two Pequot tribes and will hold a press conference
tomorrow to release more documents and information....
Editorial: Welcome justice study
In an editorial today, The Sioux Falls Argus Leader says it is looking
forward to a study addressing racial inequities in the South Dakota
justice system....
Abourezk: Exploiting Indians
"To prove that there's nothing new under the sun, the story of White
Clay, Neb., whiskey peddlers selling alcoholic beverages to the Indians
from South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation is just a continuation of a
story that began back in the 1800s....
Pequot Tribe seeks peace
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation withdrew its land-into-trust
application to try and smooth over relations with three Connecticut
towns, a tribal council member said....
Senate holds trust fund hearing
About 200 people piled into a large Senate hearing room on Tuesday to
hear the latest drama in the ongoing trust fund debacle....
Rahall wants sacred site protection
Representative Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) discussed energy legislation and other Indian
issues before the National Congress of American Indians in Washington,
D.C., on Tuesday....
Company ingrained in Nunavut
With 178 stores in Alaska and Canada, including the Inuit province of
Nunavut, the North West Company has long held a presence in Native
communities....
ANWR compromise opposed
Members of Alaska's Congressional delegation want the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge opened to oil and gas development but they want it all,
not just parts....
Navajo group seeks reform
A large group of Navajo tribal members has issued a set of demands to
the Navajo Nation council but wants to get many delegates out of office
anyway....
N.Y. paying for land claim lawyers
Private landowners being sued by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin have
hired the law firm of White & Case to defend themselves, an expense
being picked up by the state of New York....
Grammy ceremony airs tonight
The Grammy awards ceremony will air tonight at on your local CBS
affiliate....
Kitty litter denied final permit
A county commission in Nevada narrowly voted to refuse a permit to a
company that wants to operate a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week kitty litter
mine and plant....
Tribes seek help from Congress
Supreme Court Justice Steven Breyer gave a well-received speech at the
National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday....
Indian museum stalled in Senate
Funding for an Indian museum in Oklahoma is being held up in the
Senate....
Crow student makes national team
A member of the Crow Tribe of Montana has been picked to the All-USA
College Academic Team by USA Today....
Quapaw Tribe seeks trust accounting
The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, seeking an accounting of tribal trust assets....
Cree way of life faces changes
Cree leaders in Canada recently signed a $3.4 billion economic
development and self-determination agreement in exchange for
dropping land claims of similar value....
Featured Story
Daschle: Indian Trust Solutions
The following column is being distributed to tribal leaders and Indian
Country by Sen....
Featured Story
Indian Gaming Briefing
Gaming Subcommittee formed in Kansas
The AP reports that a five-member subcommittee has been formed in the House of
the Kansas Legislature to review and revise two gaming bills....
Featured Story
Norton retreats on BITAM proposal
Three months after she first announced a proposal to create a new
Indian trust agency, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton is slowly
withdrawing her controversial overhaul, department officials said on
Monday....
Featured Story
Inouye challenges tribes on sovereignty
Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) on Monday challenged Indian Country to
question President Bush's new federal budget, identifying several
proposals he said threaten the trust responsibility and critical Indian
programs....
Ponca Tribe casino told to close
The National Indian Gaming Commission has ordered the Ponca Tribe of
Oklahoma to told its casino by Friday....
Gaming negotiations continue on appeal
Negotiations on a gaming compact between the state of Wyoming and
the Northern Arapaho Tribe are continuing even though the state is
challenging the talks....
S.D. racial profiling bill killed
A measure to require law enforcement to collect data on racial profiling
was one of 10 major bills that didn't pass the South Dakota Legislature,
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports today....
Interior may limit Arctic drilling
The Department of Interior is considering ways to limit drilling in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a means of convincing Senate members
to allow development....
Funding sought for federal recognition
The leaders of more than 30 towns in Connecticut have asked Gov....
Tribal stadium plan seeing support
Three tribes in the metro-Phoenix area are vying for a chance to host a
new Arizona Cardinals football stadium....
Conn. claims victory on land-into-trust
In what just might be famous last words, Connecticut Attorney General
Richard Blumenthal and the leaders of three towns are claiming victory in
a long-running dispute over trust lands....
Navajo mentors for Navajo students
Navajo students at Kirtland Central High School in Kirtland, New Mexico,
are getting guidance from Navajo professionals....
Solution to Whiteclay liquor pushed
The Nebraska Legislature's General Affairs Committee on Monday held a
hearing on a bill that creates a buffer zone to limit sales of liquor near the
Pine Ridge Reservation....
Two BIA employee review land-into-trust
The Middletown Times Herald-Record wonders when the Bureau of Indian
Affairs will approve any one of seven land-into-trust applications for
casinos in New York, given that only two officials -- one a temp -- review
the petitions....
County questions Ojibwe reservation
Mille Lacs County in Minnesota filed a lawsuit last week claiming the Mille
Lacs Ojibwe Reservation has been disestablished....
Man convicted of abusing Native boys
A jury in Montana on Monday night convicted a man of two counts of
kidnap and assault in a case involving three Native boys....
Cher wants Indian murals uncovered
Cher, who claims Indian ancestry, is upset that Environmental Protection
Agency Administrator Christie Whitman has covered up murals in a
government office depicting Indian men raping and pillaging white
women....
Code Talker to get his medal
Winona LaDuke spoke at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks on
Monday....
Tribe ordered to disclose financials
The Atomic Safety and Licensing Board has ordered officials of the Skull
Valley Goshute Tribe to release details about funds they have received
from the nuclear industry....
Code Talker to get his medal
Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) will personally give Navajo Code Talker
David Tsosie his Congressional silver medal, The Farmington Daily-Times
reports today....
NCAI's Hall still doubts Norton
Despite Secretary of Interior Gale Norton's slow withdrawal of her
proposal to create a new Indian trust agency, some tribal leaders remain
skeptical....
Interior blames security on consultants
The Department of Interior was led to believe its computer systems were
secure by third-party consultants, a spokesperson has told The New York
Times....
Drilling halted near national park
The Department of Interior's Office of Hearings and Appeals has
temporarily halted drilling outside the Arches National Park in Utah....
Neb. gaming bill advances
A bill that would lead the way to expanded gaming on reservation in
Nebraska moved ahead in the Legislature on Monday....
Featured Story
Indian Gaming Briefing
The Jena Band of Choctaws received major play in the Louisiana press this past
week, and the weekend was not an exception....
Featured Story
The Week in Review
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton's contempt trial
concludes, computer shutdown affects Indian
beneficiaries, Supreme Court looks at Indian law cases,
and Oneida land deal unravels....
Featured Story
BITAM not needed, Norton's attorneys say
A new agency aimed at handling the $3.1 billion in assets belonging to
hundreds of tribes and thousands of American Indians is not absolutely
necessary, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton's legal team has admitted....
Native designers generate HEAT
Four Native clothing and jewelry designers recently opened up a unique
fashion boutique in Santa Fe, New Mexico....
Okla. tribe removes tires
About 130,000 old tires have been removed from the golf course owned
by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma....
Memorial held for IAIA founder
A memorial service was held on Saturday for Lloyd Kiva New, the
influential artist, educator and founder of the Institute of American
Indian Arts....
Alaska veterans may get aid
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony Principi is extending benefits to
military personnel who developed radiation-related cancers after
working on Amchitka Island in Alaska....
Program focuses on elder addictions
The Fairbanks Native Association has a special program to help elders
combat addictions....
Whiteclay protester gets hearing
A Nebraska county judge on Friday held a hearing for a Native activist
arrested June 1999 for protesting liquor sales near the Pine Ridge
Reservation....
Funds to fight recognition sought
Connecticut Governor John Rowland (R) still opposes using state funds to help
fight the federal recognition of Indian tribes but Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal is finding allies in the Legislature....
Study clears way for water project
The New York State Historic Preservation Office has finalized an
archaeological study that clears the way for a water project....
Senate leader sides against Cheney
Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a top ranking member of the Senate, is filing a
legal brief in federal court to urge a federal judge to make public the
records of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force....
Mont. governor won't meet with greens
Montana Governor Judy Martz (R) has been stepping on a few toes during her
reign, environmentalists included....
Drilling dispute splits Natives
The rhetoric is sometimes heated and the history often troublesome but
according to an Inupiat Eskimo lobbying for opening the Arctic National
Wildlife refuge to oil and gas drilling, the relationship with the Gwich'in
Nation is friendly....
Corps apologizes to Pueblo
The Army Corps of Engineers has formally apologized to Cochiti Pueblo of
New Mexico for destroying sacred sites and harming the tribe's culture....
Kan. tribe opposing expanded gaming
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas is objecting to proposals
that would expand gaming in the state....
Tribe, village reach service agreement
The Oneida Nation of New York and the village of Canastota have
reached an agreement over public services....
Ute Tribe goes high tech
The Ute Tribe of Utah has started a company that puts tribal members in
a rural part of the state to work on high-tech projects....
Editorial: Navajo spending
In an editorial today, The Farmington Daily-Times questions how the
Navajo Nation could have spent $2.2 million for an Olympic pavilion but
not approve $2.4 million to start work to repair a crumbling student
dormitory....
Blackfeet team state champs again
The boys basketball team from Browning High School on the Blackfeet
Reservation in Montana has won the state A championship tournament
for the second year in a row....
DOI: We're writing checks
The Department of Interior on Friday said it was sending our $1.8 million
in oil and gas royalty checks to thousands of American Indians
throughout the country....
Judge mulls contempt finding
A federal judge will decide in the coming weeks whether to sanction
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb
for their handling of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust fund....
DOI issues call for accounting
The Department of Interior is seeking contractors to help conduct an
historical accounting of the funds for 300,000 American Indians....
ICT: Norton axes 'superior' comment
In an editorial posted in the online edition of Indian Country Today,
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton has removed comments she made
regarding her belief that the Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management
(BITAM) is the "superior" solution to trust reform....
Yellow Bird: Keeping culture alive
"For the several years now, I have been researching material for a book
about the history of the Sahnish people....
Navajo candidate seeks changes
Larry Curley is running for President of the Navajo Nation and says he is
ready to kick the tribe into high-gear....
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