Fort Belknap soldier returns home to big welcome (March 14, 2005)

A young soldier from the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana returned home on Sunday after a near deadly experience in Iraq. Sgt. Brandi King, 24, was greeted at the airport by more than 30 family members from the Fort Belknap...

FEC ruling separates tribes from their businesses (March 14, 2005)

Politically-active tribes who make contributions to federal campaigns can do so while performing contracting work for the government, a split Federal Election Commission ruled on Friday. Rejecting a recommendation of the FEC's general counsel, the FEC voted 4-2 to adopt...

Editorial: Sacred peaks don't belong to tribes alone (March 14, 2005)

"Seemingly lost in the controversy over snowmaking equipment at the Arizona Snowbowl is this dose of reality: The majestic San Francisco Peaks are public lands. They are not the private fiefdom of Native American tribes. They do not belong to...

Indian lawmakers in Oklahoma seek to organize (March 14, 2005)

Oklahoma's Indian lawmakers are seeking to organize an informal caucus to serve as a liaison between the state Legislature and tribes. Rep. Lisa Johnson-Billy (R), a member of the Chickasaw Nation, and Rep. Paul Wesselhoft (R), a member of the...

Memorial pays tribute to legacy of Fritz Scholder (March 14, 2005)

Tributes poured out for Fritz Scholder, the late Luiseno artist who defied stereotypes and challenged notions of Indian art. A memorial at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, drew numerous friends, family, colleagues and students....

Tribe gave $75K to group founded by Norton (March 14, 2005)

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan gave $75,000 to a Republican organization founded by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, bringing the known tribal contributions to the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy to $250,000. The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana gave $150,000...

Si Tanka continues effort to secure federal funds (March 14, 2005)

Leaders of Si Tanka University in South Dakota will continue efforts in Washington, D.C., to secure federal funds. The Bureau of Indian Affairs won't release "471" funds to the school because Native student enrollment has dropped below 50 percent. That...

Hearings on New York land claim deals continue (March 14, 2005)

A second round of hearings on deals to settle five tribal land claims was held by the New York Assembly on Friday. Oneida Nation representative Ray Halbritter testified against the proposal. He said it would lead to more litigation because...

Fire won't deter Indian woman from foster care (March 14, 2005)

A fire that claimed the lives of four young members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribe won't deter Marlys Robertson from providing foster care to those who need it. Robertson, a grandmother, considered giving up her role as a caregiver after the...

Indian project in the works as Daschle joins firm (March 14, 2005)

Former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) is joining the law firm of Alston & Bird, and he has an Indian-related project in the works, Daschle will be a special adviser to the firm's legislative and public policy group. The job...

Griles fought casino opposed by Abramoff's clients (March 14, 2005)

Former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles launched a last-minute campaign against a tribal casino apparently at the behest of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The Washington Post reported on Sunday. In early 2002, the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians submitted...

Tribe, gambling firm funded DeLay's overseas trip (March 14, 2005)

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and a gambling firm funded House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's overseas trip, The Washington Post reported on Saturday. Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff suggested DeLay (R-Texas) take the trip, which included a visit to a...

Onondaga Nation makes history with land claim (March 14, 2005)

A lawsuit in the works for decades finally came to fruition on Friday when the Onondaga Nation filed a claim for more than 2 million acres in upstate New York. Tribal members and elders said they were emotional when they...

Gale Norton: Drilling in ANWR won't hurt environment (March 14, 2005)

"Technological advances in oil exploration are at the heart of a debate over America's energy future. Congress will soon decide whether to open up a sliver of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - called the 1002 area - to energy...

Indian Eddie: Racist innuendo links Indians to fire (March 14, 2005)

"Any innuendo suggesting that American Indians burned down a house under construction on the West Side, in protest of development near Petroglyph National Monument shows, if not blatant racism, then narrow-mindedness. One envisions face-painted braves firing flaming arrows onto roofs,...

Funding for Indian education in Montana slashed (March 14, 2005)

A proposal fund Montana's Indian Education for All Act has been slashed from $23 million to $1.4 million over two years. The Montana Indian Education Association and Montana's Indian lawmakers supported the $23 million request. They said it was necessary...

Lakota woman lobbies U.N. for indigenous rights (March 14, 2005)

Charmaine White Face, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is in Geneva, Switzerland, to lobby the United Nations for indigenous rights. White Face is part of a delegation of the Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council that will promote the...

Sauk-Suiattle Tribe's longtime police chief fired (March 14, 2005)

The longtime police chief of the Sauk-Suiattle Tribe of Washington was fired last week, and an employee who refused an order to oust the chief also left the tribe. Ernie DeCoteau, police chief for 19 years, says new chairwoman Gloria...

Allegations by professor derail Churchill buyout talks (March 14, 2005)

A Canadian professor's allegations that controversial University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill plagiarized and threatened her have derailed buyout talks with CU. Professor Fay G. Cohen said Churchill stole an essay about fishing rights from her in 1997. When she...

Yellow Bird Series: Suicide on the reservation (March 14, 2005)

"Five young people - three teenagers and two 25-year-olds - on the Standing Rock reservation in Fort Yates, N.D., took their own lives from December through January. In addition, and in that same time period, more than 30 young people...

Northern Cheyenne Tribe sues church and school (March 14, 2005)

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana filed a lawsuit in state court on Friday accusing the Roman Catholic Church and the St. Labre Indian School Educational Association of exploitation. The tribe says the church and the school have raised millions...

Stevens 'depressed' over ANWR drilling fight (March 14, 2005)

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) told reporters on Friday that he is "depressed" over his failure to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development, and that he is seriously considering retirement if he doesn't succeed. Stevens said he was suffering...

Editorial: Facts don't look good for Senator Burns (March 14, 2005)

"At worst it was the kind of power politics that gives politicians a bad name. But whatever the final judgment of history, it is obvious that Sen. Conrad Burns didn't use much judgment of his own when he helped to...

Elouise Cobell to speak at tourism conference (March 14, 2005)

Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the Indian trust fund lawsuit, is speaking at the Indian Country Tourism in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday. Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, will present "Squandered Trust" during a noon presentation at the...

Editorial: Virginia tribes in need of recognition (March 14, 2005)

"Virginia's American Indian tribes have never had an easy time of it. Once killing Indians with bullets became socially unacceptable, the extermination of Virginia's tribes on paper was begun. Any person who claimed Indian ancestry when heads were counted during...