House faills to pass off-reservation gaming bill (September 13, 2006)

At around 12:05pm today, the House began debate on H.R.4893, a bill to restrict off-reservation gaming. Just a couple hours later, the bill failed to gain enough votes for passage. The House voted 247 to 171 on the Restricting Indian...

North Dakota man sheds 65 pounds for health (September 13, 2006)

Mark Fox, a member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, used to weigh 270 pounds. He drank three sodas for breakfast, ate a burger and fries for lunch and had bacon-and-egg sandwiches for snacks. Fox, 43,...

Goshute chairman blasts Interior on waste deal (September 13, 2006)

The chairman of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes said the Interior Department's rejection of a lease for a nuclear waste dump is another in a long line of broken promises. Leon Bear said Interior should have respected the tribe's...

Seneca-Cayuga Tribe wants New York farm in trust (September 13, 2006)

The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma has filed an application to have a 229-acre farm in New York placed in trust. The tribe bought the farm in late 2002. It is located within the original 64,000-acre Cayuga reservation. The tribe asserted...

Lumbee Tribe cites progress after HUD audit (September 13, 2006)

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina says it has improved its handling of federal housing funds. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently concluded an audit of the tribe's funds. While two policy violations were found, that was down...

Crow chairman testifies at Senate hearing on meth (September 13, 2006)

Carl Venne, the chairman of the Crow Tribe of Montana, testified at hearing on methampheatmine before the Senate Finance Committee. Venne called for more cooperation among law enforcement agencies. He said the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the FBI and the...

9th Circuit to hear sacred site case on Thursday (September 13, 2006)

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is holding a hearing tomorrow in a sacred site case. Tribes are asking the court to stop the expansion of a ski resort in the sacred San Francisco Peaks. They say the use of...

San Ildefonso Pueblo land claim bill headed to Bush (September 13, 2006)

A bill to settle the land claim of San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico is headed to President Bush for his signature. The House passed S.1773 yesterday. It won approval in the Senate on May 24. The bill resolves a...

Navajo presidential candidates start slinging mud (September 13, 2006)

The candidates for president of the Navajo Nation are trading attacks as the November 7 election approaches. Lynda Lovejoy accused incumbent president Joe Shirley Jr. of using tribal funds to run his campaign. That prompted Shirley to question Lovejoy's experience...

Voice of America: Comanches keep traditions alive (September 13, 2006)

"Comanches are believed to have been the first native people on the plains to utilize the horse extensively, and their horseriding skills are the standard by which other tribes are judged. In the past, their exceptional horsemanship helped to drive...

Editorial: Valid concerns over tribal tobacco compact (September 13, 2006)

"The Oklahoma Grocers Association reportedly is concerned about compact negotiations between the governor's office and an Indian tribe regarding what sort of tax the tribe will pay on tobacco products. The group is right to be a bit uneasy. Mike...

House passes Pascua Yaqui Tribe land-into-trust bill (September 13, 2006)

By a voice vote, the House on Tuesday approved a bill to place more than 430 acres in trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona. The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the tribe's land-into-trust application. But due to a...

Prosecutor denies using race to keep Natives off jury (September 13, 2006)

The deputy district attorney in Humboldt County, California, is still denying he was motivated by race when he moved to remove Native Americans from a murder trial in 1992. Worth Dikeman said he kept at least four Natives off...

Editorial: Rejection of waste dump a big win for Utah (September 13, 2006)

"Utah appears to have won its fight against nuclear waste storage on the Goshute reservation in Skull Valley. The U.S. Department of the Interior rejected Private Fuel Storage's plans to operate there. The consortium had sought the department's approval for...

Chairman of Fond du Lac Band abruptly resigns (September 13, 2006)

Peter Defoe, the chairman of the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota, abruptly resigned his post after two years on the job. Defoe was elected July 2004. He was the first new chairman for the tribe in 16...

Kaw Nation re-elects chairman and fills council seats (September 13, 2006)

Members of the Kaw Nation of Oklahoma re-elected chairman Guy G. Munroe for a second four-year term. Monroe is the first Kansan to hold the chairman's post in more than a century. The tribe was originally based in Kansas before...

Judge won't throw out ex-Bush official's conviction (September 13, 2006)

A federal judge refused to overturn the conviction of a former Bush administration official who had ties to Jack Abramoff. David Safavian, a former chief of staff for the General Services Administration and a former White House official, was convicted...