Third Ute man sentenced in difficult murder case (December 1, 2004)

A third member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Colorado was sentenced for the 1998 murder of a fellow tribal member. Nathaniel "Bubbs" Taylor, 23, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for the murder of Richard Bearshead....

Peabody takes coal lease dispute to high court (December 1, 2004)

The long-running battle between the world's largest coal company and the country's largest tribe is once again headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. For almost two decades, Peabody Coal and the Navajo Nation have been at odds over a controversial...

Cancer study to focus on South Dakota Natives (December 1, 2004)

Three hospitals are collaborating on a five-year, $5.4 million clinical study of cancer among Indians in South Dakota. The goals of the study are to discover the causes for health-care disparities between Indians and non-Indians, determine whether shorter radiation treatments...

Top Navajo Nation spokesperson resigns (December 1, 2004)

Deana Jackson, spokesperson for Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., has resigned after two years on the job. Jackson said she enjoyed her time working in the office but called it a difficult job. She said she was disappointed the...

Tribal member survives grenade attack in Iraq (December 1, 2004)

A member of the Fort Belknap Tribes of Montana is recovering in a military hospital after surviving a suicide grenade attack in Iraq. U.S. Marine Corporal Catcher Cuts The Rope, 32, was clearing a building in Fallujah that had come...

Diplomats discuss tribal spat with Canadian company (December 1, 2004)

A delegation of State Department officials is in Washington state this week to discuss tribal and state concerns over a Canadian company accused of polluting the Columbia River The officials will meet with the Colville Confederated Tribes and the Spokane...

Funds approved for Sioux Nation reconciliation center (December 1, 2004)

The Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Center in South Dakota will use $1.4 million in federal funds to continue construction of a cultural center. Congress provided the money in the 2005 omnibus appropriations act. It is part of the $22 million needed...

Homes headed to Rosebud Reservation delayed (December 1, 2004)

Four excess military homes destined for the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota have been delayed by harsh weather and other problems. The Walking Shield American Indian Society organized the transfer of four units from the Ellsworth Air Force Base...

Diedrich says he is in the running for USDA post (December 1, 2004)

Defeated Republican House candidate Larry Diedrich said he is in the running for Secretary of Agriculture. Diedrich said he is on the "shorter list" of possible candidates to replace Ann Veneman, who resigned. He said Sen-elect John Thune (R) is...

Group fights Maine tribe's natural gas terminal (December 1, 2004)

A group called Save Passamaquoddy Bay is asking Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) to stop the Passamaquoddy Tribe from hosting a liquefied natural gas terminal. The group is made of tribal members and residents of two towns in Maine and...

Three charged in Indian gang-related shootings (December 1, 2004)

Authorities in Minnesota filed murder charges on Tuesday for the deaths of two men in a gang-related shooting at an Indian housing complex in Minneapolis. Edison J. Mahkuk, 19; Michael J. McFarlane, 24, and Vincent L. Williams, 21, are said...

Bridge accident on reservation kills one, injures others (December 1, 2004)

Part of a bridge under construction on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota collapsed on Tuesday, killing one worker and injuring three others. Workers were assembling a support structure on the 4,200-foot Four Bears Bridge when it fell over,...

Editorial: Lewis and Clark not kind to Natives (December 1, 2004)

"In September 1804, Lewis and Clark encountered a Sioux war party that wanted the explorers to pay a toll for passing upstream on the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark refused, and weapons were drawn. After a tense stand-off, the Sioux...

Editorial: Nothing to fear with state recognition (December 1, 2004)

"Since a new law allowing the state to recognize Indian tribes took effect last year, six S.C. Indian tribes have applied for state recognition. Some readers understandably smell a rat - seeing the law as a back-door passage to S.C....

Bush administration to reduce protections for salmon (December 1, 2004)

The Bush administration on Tuesday proposed to reduce the critical habitat for salmon in the Pacific Northwest by 80 percent and ruled out removal of dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers to protect endangered and threatened fish. The National...

Health clinic associated with tribe to reopen (December 1, 2004)

A health clinic in Michigan associated with a Utah tribe has been allowed to reopen and offer a limited set of services. The state Department of Community Health ordered the Clinton Diagnostic center to stop seeing patients, saying it lacked...

Jicarilla Apache Nation opens new health center (December 1, 2004)

The Indian Health Service and the Jicarilla Apache Nation of New Mexico dedicated a new $10.5 million replacement health care facility on Monday. The facility, located in Dulce, will serve approximately 4,000 Indians in the Jicarilla service area. Health...

Ridge resigns as Homeland Security Secretary (December 1, 2004)

Former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, the first person to hold the post of Homeland Security Secretary, announced his resignation on Tuesday. Ridge joined the Bush administration as the director of Homeland Security at the White House. He was promoted after...