Website provides detailed look at language use (June 28, 2004)

There are nine speakers of Navajo in Maine. Alaska and Arizona have the most speakers of Native languages than any other state. And more people speak Native languages than Hebrew. These are some of the interesting bits of information found...

Group files suit over problems Indian voters faced (June 28, 2004)

The Four Directions Committee filed a lawsuit to challenge an election held in a city near the Yankton Sioux Reservation. $p In a state court complaint, the group says some Indian voters weren't allowed to cast their ballots in Lake...

Editorial: Apology a sign of 'modern tribal power' (June 28, 2004)

"Severe health, education and economic troubles still bedevil the reservations, despite the casino riches of a minority. Accordingly, the tribes must aim for more than an apology as they pursue ambitious voter-enrollment programs. An official apology is indeed words on...

Jeff Benedict: How to fight a tribe's recognition (June 28, 2004)

"The surest way for Southampton to escape the threat of a casino is for its residents and elected officials to insure that the Bureau of Indian Affairs conducts a transparent review of the Shinnecock petition. They should form a nonprofit...

Teen convicted of murder on Leech Lake Reservation (June 28, 2004)

An 18-year-old was found guilty of two counts of second-degree murder and one count of manslaughter for the beating death of a blind man on the Leech Lake Ojibwe Reservation in Minnesota. $p George Allen Raphael Boswell was 16 at...

Navajo Boys and Girls protest president's plan (June 28, 2004)

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Navajo Nation held a protest against President Joe Shirley's plan to turn the organization into a tribal entity. $p The clubs are currently run by a non-profit organization. But Shirley wants them to...

Site of sacred ceremony returned to Wiyot Tribe (June 28, 2004)

The Wiyot Tribe of California reclaimed the site of its most sacred ceremony on Friday. $P The tribe was given title to 40 acres on Indian Island, considered the center of the universe. The land was returned by the Eureka...

Book Reviews: 'Four Souls' by Louise Erdrich (June 28, 2004)

"Four Souls," the latest novel by Ojibwe author Louise Erdrich, is getting positive reviews in the mainstream press. $p The Minneapolis Star Tribune says the book's stories about early 20th-century Ojibwes in North Dakota are "captivating and suspenseful, told with...

Wisconsin tribe awaits answer on federal status (June 28, 2004)

The Brothertown Indian Nation of Wisconsin hopes an answer on its federal recognition petition comes soon. $p The tribe descends from Pequot and Mohegan communities in southern New England. After moving to New York to live on Oneida territory, the...

IHS dentist may have sold Native patients' teeth (June 28, 2004)

An Indian Health Service dentist in Arizona is under investigation for possibly selling the teeth of Native patients. $P Sanders Steinman, an oral surgeon at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center since 1995, was found shipping teeth to an unidentified European...

Cherokee couple fights tribe's same-sex marriage ban (June 28, 2004)

A Cherokee Nation couple denied the right to marry plans to challenge the tribe's law banning same-sex marriages. $p The lesbian couple obtained a marriage license from a tribal court clerk but the tribe won't accept it. The women will...

Crow Tribe dedicates park in honor of veterans (June 28, 2004)

The Crow Tribe of Montana dedicated its Veterans Commemorative Park on Friday. $p The park will list the names of 3,000 tribal members who fought in wars dating back to the 1800s. Some of them, like World War II veteran...

Mashantucket Tribe accused of hindering vote effort (June 28, 2004)

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is being accused of hindering the fund-raising efforts of a group seeking to increase voter turnout among South Dakota Indians. $P Pequot representatives allegedly told a gaming manufacturer not to contribute to the Four Directions...

Lawsuit seeks to halt Blackfeet Nation election (June 28, 2004)

Two candidates who were disqualified from tomorrow's Blackfeet Nation general election have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to stop the election. $p Four seats are up for grabs in the election. But Long Standing Bear Chief, also known...

Column: City apologizes to Dakota descendants (June 28, 2004)

"On Saturday, the mayor of Winona, the Roman Catholic bishop and several other representatives of government and church groups apologized during an outdoor "truth and reconciliation" ceremony to members of the Dakota (Sioux) tribe, including direct descendants of the hereditary...

Alaska Natives combat tobacco use among young, old (June 28, 2004)

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, a health corporation run by 58 tribes, is working to reduce tobacco use among young and old Alaska Natives. $P Studies show that Alaska Natives smoke and use tobacco products at rates far higher than any...

Mark Trahant: How far does 'terrorist' definition go? (June 28, 2004)

"What is a terrorist, these days? We have no shared definition in this global war -- we know terrorism when it strikes us. But that definition opens the door to any nation -- especially a nation that says it's on...

Yellow Bird: Tribes should be models of government (June 28, 2004)

"North Dakota's hunting laws differ from Minnesota. In other words, city by city and state by state, laws govern different units of government differently. In many ways, that is not unlike a tribal government, although tribal governments are more like...

Longtime governor of New Mexico tribe passes on (June 28, 2004)

Jacob Viarrial, the longtime governor of Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico, has died. $p The cause of death was not reported. Viarrial had served as governor for more than 20 years. $p Viarrial's tribe was the sole holdout to new...