Abramoff lobbied White House on behalf of tribes (October 2, 2006)

Jack Abramoff and his colleagues lobbied the White House more than 400 times on behalf of tribal clients, with the overwhelming majority of the contacts billed to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, according to a Congressional report released on...

Penobscot Nation sends delegation to Venezuela (October 2, 2006)

The Penobscot Nation of Maine sent five tribal members to Venezuela to attend the Caracas International Tourism and Trade Fair. The Penobscots will share basket and canoe making skills, dances and other aspects of tribal culture at the fair, which...

Fort Peck Tribes bring swift fox back to reservation (October 2, 2006)

The Fort Peck Tribes of Montana released 10 swift foxes on the reservation in an effort to restore an animal that was declared extinct in the state. The swift fox plays an important role in tribal culture. The animal...

ICT: Response to former reporter's claims (October 2, 2006)

"A former Indian Country Today reporter has made public claims about the operation of this newspaper that misstate how our editorial process is conducted. As the recrimination is now blasted throughout the world wide web, we are obliged to say...

Homeland security bill frees FEMA trailers for tribes (October 2, 2006)

The homeland security bill passed by Congress on Friday includes a provision that frees unused Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers for tribes. FEMA was sitting on nearly 10,000 trailers meant for victims of recent hurricanes. But when asked by Sen....

Navajo president signs Hopi land agreement (October 2, 2006)

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. signed legislation to ratify an agreement that seeks to end a long-running land dispute with the Hopi Tribe. The agreement seeks to ensure Navajo and Hopi tribal members can exercise their religious and traditional...

Town backs Mashpee Tribe's recognition bid (October 2, 2006)

The town of Mashpee has endorsed the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's bid for federal recognition. The town was in talks with tribe on land claim, sovereignty, gaming and other issues. The discussions appeared to be on hold when the two parties...

Paper examines race relations on sports field (October 2, 2006)

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader is running a series on race relations on the sports field. Tribal members say they are treated differently and subject to discrimination when they play games off the reservation. In one highly publicized incident, the...

First Nations discuss matrimonial property (October 2, 2006)

Several Native groups met with the Canadian government on Friday to discuss matrimonial property issues. Provincial marriage laws do not apply on reserves and federal law is silent on divorces on reserves. The Native Women's Association of Canada says the...

Column: Readers don't want to get rid of 'Utes' nick (October 2, 2006)

"One thing is clear after last week's commentary about the University of Utah's "Ute" nickname: After all these years, people still really care. I know, e-mail responses aren't necessarily representative of society at large. Many are written by the same...

Judge orders IHS to keep emergency room open (October 2, 2006)

A federal judge ordered the Indian Health Service to keep open the emergency room on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Citing budget cuts, IHS planned to close the emergency room in Wagner on Saturday night. U.S. District Judge...

NCAI meets in Sacramento for 63rd annual conference (October 2, 2006)

The National Congress of American Indians kicks off its 63rd annual conference in Sacramento, California, today. Thousands of tribal leaders and tribal members are expected for the meeting. This year's theme is "Building Self Sufficient Nations: Connecting Community & Culture."...

Simmons: Indian agent invented Navajo crisis (October 2, 2006)

"Recently, on a visit to the New Mexico State Library and State Archives, I viewed an interesting exhibit in the lobby. It was a display of documents and books dealing with a little-known Navajo disturbance in November of 1913....

Cheyenne River Sioux man receives top SBA award (October 2, 2006)

Robert Laurenz, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, has been named the 2006 Minority Small Business Person of the Year for South Dakota. Laurenz is president of Dakota 2000. The firm provides commercial, federal, state, local and...

Cobell: Interior mishandles Indian money too (October 2, 2006)

"I am a member of the Blackfeet Nation, the lead plaintiff in Cobell vs. Kempthorne, a 10-year-old class action lawsuit that seeks an accounting for 500,000 Indian trust accounts held by the Interior Department. I read with interest the Sept....

Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation bill headed to Bush (October 2, 2006)

A bill to resolve an outstanding issue of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation's water rights settlement is ready for President Bush's signature. The tribe received a $13 million loan as part of a settlement passed in 1990. The Interior Department...

Jodi Rave: Series on violence against Native women (October 2, 2006)

"The report, when it was released in 1999, could have been a call to action: Native women are raped, abused, stalked and murdered more than any other group in the country. It wasn't. “When those statistics came out, there...

Yellow Bird: North Dakota fights Indian people (October 2, 2006)

"I'm uncomfortable that the attorney general of North Dakota is taking on a case against the American Indians in North Dakota. I say taking on a case against Indians because the lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Administration over...

Mark Trahant: Washington ignores huge debt (October 2, 2006)

"Here is the essence of a press release template that should prove useful in the near future. "The (write the name of your group here) is worried that federal budget cuts in the (say, science, health, welfare, education or a...