Opinion: GOP set up lobbying scandal against tribes (January 9, 2006)

"The Jack Abramoff lobbying issue has put the republican party's head on the chopping block. This one issue has shown Americans just how much hate the republican party has toward the American Indian community. Jack Abramoff and republicans set up...

Shinnecock Nation must wait for recognition (January 9, 2006)

Leaders of the Shinnecock Nation of New York are prepared to wait for federal recognition even after a judge declared them to be a bonafide tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said it won't abide by the decision because it...

Appeals court sides with tribe in trust land dispute (January 9, 2006)

A federal appeals court cleared the way for Michigan's newest tribal casino on Friday, rejecting a lawsuit that sought to invalidate a land-into-trust application. Less than a month after hearing the case, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered victory...

Griles denies doing favors for Abramoff, tribes (January 9, 2006)

Lawyers for J. Steven Griles are accusing the Senate Indian Affairs Committee of misleading the public about the former Interior deputy secretary's role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Griles testified before the committee on November 2, 2005, and came...

GOP leader promises action on lobbying reforms (January 9, 2006)

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois), who received money from admitted felon Jack Abramoff, promised to draft new lobbying rules for members of the House. Rep. David Dreier (R-California), the chairman of the House Rules Committee, will draft the new rules....

NCAI Embassy gets $50K boost from Famous Dave (January 9, 2006)

Dave Anderson, the founder of the "Famous Dave's" barbecue restaurant chain and the former head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, donated $50,000 in stock to the Embassy of Tribal Nations. Anderson said he was happy to support the...

Two inmates killed in fire at First Nation jailhouse (January 9, 2006)

Two men were killed and a police officer was badly injured when a fire broke out at the dilapidated community jail on the Kashechewan First Nation in Ontario. The jail was described as being in extremely bad condition. "It...

Coushatta Tribe hopes to recover money from firm (January 9, 2006)

The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana hopes the guilty pleas by Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon will lead to the recovery of the millions in fees paid to the men and the Greenberg Traurig firm. The tribe has sued Greenberg Traurig,...

Tigua Tribe shattered by Abramoff and Scanlon (January 9, 2006)

The Tigua Tribe of Texas will be paid restitution by Jack Abramoff and Michael Scanlon but tribal leaders say they may never recover from their involvement with the admitted felons. The tribe hired Abramoff and Scanlon in hopes of getting...

Jodi Rave: Tribes face fallout from Abramoff scandal (January 9, 2006)

"Joey Strickland still considers a former Louisiana tribal chairman a friend. But he's beside himself knowing the leader put money into a lobbyist's pocket instead of a private medical school for Natives. In 2004, Strickland, a former director of Indian...

Firm linked to Choctaws said to be under scrutiny (January 9, 2006)

Fresh off the guilty plea from Jack Abramoff, federal investigators are focusing on a second lobbying firm that worked for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, The New York Times reports. Alexander Strategy Group [Web Site] is of interest because...

Tribe sues to reclaim New Jersey reservation (January 9, 2006)

The Unalachtigo Band of the Nanticoke-Lenni Lenape Nation filed a lawsuit in federal court last month, seeking the return of a 3,000-acre reservation. The tribe claims the Brotherton Reservation was wrongfully stolen in 1801. The tribe says it will settle...

Alito slated for Supreme Court confirmation hearing (January 9, 2006)

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the start of his confirmation hearing today. Alito, a judge on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, has a thin record on Indian law...

Mark Trahant: Cultural changes come, some slowly (January 9, 2006)

"Of course much has changed in our work culture because our work force is more balanced between men and women. I remember an editor whose daily ideas were fueled with a liquid protein -- something acceptable back then. Or, what...

Yellow Bird: Graduate's long path to success (January 9, 2006)

"In an unprecedented move during winter graduation this year, Dr. Bob Boyd, vice president for student and outreach services at UND, broke into a line of graduates receiving their doctoral degrees to congratulate Eric Longie, the first person ever from...

Fire Thunder reinstated as Oglala Sioux president (January 9, 2006)

Cecilia Fire Thunder was reinstated as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota after tribal council members dismissed a complaint against her, Indian Country Today reports. The council voted 12-5 on December 30 to dismiss the charges....