Supreme Court won't hear Pechanga membership case (May 23, 2006)

An attempt to put enrollment matters before the U.S. Supreme Court failed on Monday when the justices rejected a lawsuit filed by former members of a prominent California tribe. Without comment, the court refused to hear the pleas of more...

Sherman Indian School educator honored (May 23, 2006)

An educator and curator at Sherman Indian School is being recognized for her efforts to preserve tribal culture and heritage. Lorene Sisquoc is a member of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe and is part Cahuilla. She is a culture...

Fish and Wildlife Service awards $8M to tribes (May 23, 2006)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced $8 million in wildlife conservation grants to tribes and Alaska Natives. The grants are awarded under two programs: the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program. The programs help tribes conserve...

National Park Service liaison creates tribal guide (May 23, 2006)

Darrell Martin, a former president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana, is creating a tribal resource guide for the National Park Service. Martin serves as an Indian liaison for NPS. He is working with tribes on a guide...

Native high school grads want to wear eagle feathers (May 23, 2006)

Members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Phoenix are seeking permission to wear eagle feathers when they graduate from Westwood High School on Thursday. Molly Sanchez, 18, and about a dozen other seniors say wearing the feathers...

Fighting fake Indian arts called an uphill battle (May 23, 2006)

Indian artisans and dealers say it is difficult to enforce the Indian Arts and Crafts Act due to cheap imitations on the market. Federal law makes it a crime to market goods as Native if they are not produced by...

House Speaker Hastert backs Indian mascot bill (May 23, 2006)

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) is co-sponsoring a bill that purports to block the National Collegiate Athletics Association from carrying out its Indian mascot policy. Hastert supports the "Chief Illiniwek" mascot of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The school is...

Native women oppose district attorney candidate (May 23, 2006)

Two Native American women in Humboldt County are protesting a candidate for district attorney, accusing him of racism. Ellie Bowman and Madison have been carrying signs and passing out flyers in front of the county courthouse. The say candidate Worth...

Leech Lake Band debates banishment policy (May 23, 2006)

Members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe are debating a banishment policy to prevent violent crimes on the reservation. Chairman George Goggleye Jr. supports banishment. But when he asked leaders on the reservation what they think, the Indian Councils...

Editorial: Northern Cheyenne Tribe fights meth (May 23, 2006)

"A moving example of community anti-meth action occurred on May 12 in Lame Deer. Several hundred people -- including students, adults and tots in strollers -- marched through the streets of that small reservation community to take a stand against...

Northern Arapaho Tribe argues for religious rights (May 23, 2006)

The Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming has entered a court case in hopes of clarifying the religious rights of Native Americans. The tribe filed a friend of the court brief in favor of Winslow Friday, an Arapaho man accused of...

Story on church vandalism draws most comments (May 23, 2006)

Another Billings Gazette story involving the Crow Tribe of Montana has drawn the most comments on the newspaper's web site. On Sunday, the paper published a story about the vandalism of a Catholic church on the reservation. There is...

Editorial: Native protesters don't get brownie points (May 23, 2006)

"When will politicians get it through their heads that their ad hoc methods of dealing with native land protests don't work? Yesterday, one native leader praised the restraint he said native occupiers have shown, adding, "our people are responding...

Native protesters clash with non-Native residents (May 23, 2006)

Native protesters in Caledonia, Ontario, clashed with non-Native residents on Monday, putting negotiations to resolve the long-running dispute on hold. The protesters from the Six Nations Reserve removed their blockade yesterday but re-erected it when non-Native residents put up...

Oklahoma tribes support new tobacco compact (May 23, 2006)

Nearly two dozen Oklahoma tribes are asking the state to negotiate new tobacco compacts. The tribes want to pay a tax of 26 cents per pack and give the revenues to the state. The state tax is $1.03 per pack....

Native protest sees support from First Nations (May 23, 2006)

Tribal members in Saskatchewan set up a blockade on Monday in support of an ongoing Native protest in Ontario. The blockade only lasted a few hours but the protesters, from the Poundmaker First Nation and other First Nations, said they...

Witness list for hearing on tribal economies (May 23, 2006)

• View Hearing | Testimony The Senate Finance Committee's Subcommittee on Long-Term Growth and Debt Reduction is holding a hearing this afternoon on "Encouraging Economic Self-Determination in Indian Country." The witness list is as follows: Mr. Raymond C. Etcitty, Esq.,...

Yellow Bird: Tribes mark return of Lewis and Clark (May 23, 2006)

"The 2006 celebration of the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition is just a whisper of what it was in 2004. There were celebrations from St. Louis and all along the Corps of Discovery's Missouri River route north and west. But...

Tim Giago: Deny gaming to newly recognized tribes (May 23, 2006)

"I’ve said it many times in the past, but I will say it again; one of the criteria for federal recognition should be that a new tribe should be denied the opportunity to open a casino until 10 years from...