Haskell University to lose four longtime employees (December 9, 2005)

Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas will be losing four longtime employees in January 2006. Bill Curtis, Ruby Hernandez, Georgia Keene and Bill McCoy are all stepping down next month. Between them, they have 115 years of experience at the...

Grammy announces nominees for Best Native album (December 9, 2005)

The nominees for the 48th annual Grammy awards were announced on Thursday. Under the "Folk" category, the nominees for Best Native American Music Album are: "More Kids' Pow-Wow Songs" by Black Lodge [Canyon Records] "Intonation: Harmonized Songs From The Southern...

Hearing brings little resolve to Cobell lawsuit (December 9, 2005)

Indianz.Com Listening Lounge, House Resources Committee hearing on Cobell v. Norton, December 8, 2005. Chairman Pombo, Ranking Member Rahall:Introduction - 6:34 - 1.50MB Panel I:James Cason Associate Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the InteriorTestimony - 5:03 - 1.15MB |...

Federal Register: DOI meetings on Indian energy (December 9, 2005)

The Interior Department will hold a series of public hearings on Indian energy in January 2006. A total of ten meetings have been scheduled across the country, according to a notice published today in the Federal Register. They start on...

Hogan at Navajo Prep catches fire but one hurt (December 9, 2005)

A hogan at Navajo Preparatory School in New Mexico caught fire on Thursday but no one was injured, The Farmington Daily Times reports. The fire started at around 11am yesterday when a staff member was preparing for a Navajo...

Tribes not worried about Supreme Court ruling (December 9, 2005)

Some tribal officials say the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in the Prairie Band Potawatomi tax case won't affect how they do business. Mark Graham, the executive director of the Navajo Nation Tax Commission, said the tribe has a tax...

Eagle feather repository has just five employees (December 9, 2005)

The National Eagle Repository, a federal center in Denver that doles out eagle feathers and eagle parts to thousands of Native Americans, only has five employees, The Washington Post reports. The repository receives more than 3,000 requests but only...

Ex-Crow Tribe employees still waiting for pay (December 9, 2005)

Former employees of the Crow Tribe are still waiting to be paid more than four years after being terminated from their jobs. Under a settlement negotiated with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the tribe agreed to pay $250,000...

Family sues BIA over teen's death at Chemawa (December 9, 2005)

The family of a Yakama Nation teen who died in a holding cell at the Chemawa Indian School in Oregon has filed suit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The lawsuit seeks $24 million for the death of Cindy Gilbert...

Family steps in to help Nevada tribe hit by fire (December 9, 2005)

A family in Reno, Nevada, has stepped in to help members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe who were recently hit by fire. Robin Kazel donated wood and fencing after hearing that tribal members affected by the fire had no...

Extradition of men from Pine Ridge still sought (December 9, 2005)

A county prosecutor in South Dakota is still seeking the extradition of two men from the Pine Ridge Reservation even after one of their co-defendants was acquitted in the beating of a non-Indian. Brothers Dakota and Dirk Garnier fled to...

Non-Indian challenges reservation hunting law (December 9, 2005)

A non-Indian man has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the state of Montana's reservation hunting law. The law restricts hunting within reservation boundaries to tribal members. Non-tribal members cannot hunt on reservation land, whether it is held in...

Tribal member gets life for murdering officer (December 9, 2005)

A member of the Fort Belknap Tribes was spared the death penalty on Thursday when he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a deputy sheriff, also a tribal member. Laurence D. Jackson Jr. will have no chance...

Movie Review: 'Christmas in the Clouds' a nice gift (December 9, 2005)

A movie with a large cast of Native actors is getting some favorable reviews. "Christmas in the Clouds" [IMDB Entry] opens in theatres today and stars Graham Greene (Oneida), Timothy Vahle (Choctaw), Sheila Tousey (Menominee/Stockbridge-Munsee), Wes Studi (Cherokee) and...

U.S. forced Aleuts into internment camps (December 9, 2005)

A new documentary being aired on public television stations tells the story of how the United States forced 881 Aleuts in western Alaska into internment camps during World War II. "Aleut Story" features interviews with Aleuts who were taken...

Harjo: Indian people have no word for 'mascot' (December 9, 2005)

"But, here is something I offer at the risk of creating a new culture myth and sending non-Indian linguists scrambling. It seems that we really have no word for ''mascot.'' That is, in the few Native American languages I've surveyed,...

Burns wishes Abramoff had 'never been born' (December 9, 2005)

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) blasted Jack Abramoff in a television interview on Wednesday, saying he wished the disgraced lobbyist had "never been born." "This Abramoff guy is a bad guy," Burns told KAJ television in Kalispel. "And he's indicted,...

Opinion: Burns worried about public opinion (December 9, 2005)

"Poor Conrad Burns. It can’t be much fun having negative press reports piling up around his re-election effort like snowflakes in a Montana winter: more mindless off-the-cuff remarks interspersed with more revelations about his connections with lobbyist Jack Abramoff...

Abramoff said to be in talks with prosecutors (December 9, 2005)

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff is said to be in talks with federal prosecutors about a possible plea deal. Abramoff has already been charged with bank fraud in Florida. He faces charges in Washington for his lobbying activities on behalf...

Ex-partner to testify against Abramoff and Ney (December 9, 2005)

Adam Kidan is prepared to testify against disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. The deal is all but finalized, according to news reports. A hearing has been scheduled...