Judge: Micmac Band free from state jurisdiction (December 6, 2005)

The Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians is not subject to state employment or civil rights laws in Maine, a federal judge ruled on Monday. In a 28-page opinion, U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret J. Kravchuk said the tribe doesn't have to...

Idaho schools may add Indian history to curriculum (December 6, 2005)

The Idaho Department of Education is proposing to teach the history, culture and art of the state's five tribes to all public school students. Some schools located within reservations already include Indian history in the curriculum. The rest of the...

Cabazon Band first tribe to license Starbucks (December 6, 2005)

The Cabazon Band of Mission Indians is holding a grand opening today for its Starbucks coffee shop. The tribe is the first in Indian Country to license Starbucks directly. There are two other Starbucks on reservations but they are held...

Supreme Court won't take Goshute nuclear case (December 6, 2005)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the state of Utah's attempt to prevent the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes from opening a nuclear waste dump on tribal land. The state passed laws in an attempt to legalize...

Man convicted of murdering officer wants life spared (December 6, 2005)

Closing arguments were delivered in the sentencing hearing of a Fort Belknap tribal member who has been convicted of murdering a police officer, another tribal member. Laurence D. Jackson Jr., 28, made a personal plea for leniency. He asked the...

Appeals court to consider Narragansett sovereignty (December 6, 2005)

STATE RAID: Troopers pin tribal members on the ground during raid of the Narragansett Reservation on July 14, 2003. The Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island is back in court today to defend its sovereignty from encroachment by state officials....

Pine Ridge golf course certified by national group (December 6, 2005)

A golf course on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is the first in the state to join a national youth organization. The First Tee group certified the golf course as a chapter. The status will enable the Lakota...

Police won't call second probe into death of Metis man (December 6, 2005)

Police in Winnipeg, Manitoba, won't launch an independent investigation into the shooting death of a Metis man at the hands of police. Howard Fleury, 34, was shot after he allegedly confronted officers with a knife. The incident occurred at his...

Disabled Native man died on Vancouver street (December 6, 2005)

The British Columbia Ambulance Service has launched an investigation into the death of a disabled Native man on a Vancouver street. The unidentified man, known as Francis, was found Sunday morning. Paramedics had checked on him the night before but...

Tribal officials named to national EPA panel (December 6, 2005)

Two tribal officials have been named to a national Environmental Protection Agency panel to develop and carry out plans to clean up underground storage tanks, a problem faced throughout Indian Country. Syed Huq, the director of Rosebud Sioux Tribe's water...

Oglala Lakota man takes hemp case to appeals court (December 6, 2005)

Alex White Plume, the vice president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, is headed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to defend his right to grow hemp. Plume says the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and tribal...

Nevada tribe hit by fire still waiting on BIA (December 6, 2005)

Members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada who were hit by a fire three months ago are still waiting for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide assistance, The Reno Gazette Journal reports. Twelve people sent applications...

Judge won't dismiss all charges against DeLay (December 6, 2005)

A judge in Texas dismissed one charge against Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) but let stand two more serious charges of money laundering and conspiracy to money launder. The decision means DeLay will go to trial next year for allegedly...

Yellow Bird: Hope in woodpecker's survival (December 6, 2005)

"The whole idea that humans would cause a species to disappear from this earth is reprehensible. So when I learned that one of these creatures survived in spite of it all, I was thrilled. The ivory-billed woodpecker did not go...

Morongo Band donated skybox for Van Halen concert (December 6, 2005)

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians donated the use of a leased luxury suite so an Illinois Republican could hold a fundraiser during a Van Halen concert, the Associated Press reports. Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Illinois) failed to report the use...

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe donated $32K to Pombo (December 6, 2005)

Members, leaders and lobbyists for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts have donated $32,000 to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California) ever since he became chairman of the House Resources Committee in January 2003. The first Mashpee donation of $12,000 came from...

Tim Giago: Fire Thunder shakes up establishment (December 6, 2005)

"She was the first woman ever elected to serve as the President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. For Cecilia Fire Thunder the going hasn’t been easy. Fire Thunder came on board with...