Indianz.Com News Archive: March 31, 2006 Archives

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March 31, 2006
Ex-DeLay aide, Abramoff associate, pleads guilty
Tony C. Rudy, a former aide to Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and former associate of Jack Abramoff, was charged today with a conspiracy to defraud tribal and non-tribal clients and to bribe at least one member of Congress.He pleaded...

Winona LaDuke: North Dakota tribe at crossroads
"Tex Hall is eager to bring a synfuels refinery and other tribal energy resources into the market. ''The tribe is concerned about delays ... We really want to work with our senators and kick-start the regulatory and funding process to...

Turtle Mountain Band targets drug, sex offenders
Drug and sex offenders face a loss of services and banishment under a new ordinance approved unanimously by leaders of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota. The ordinance creates a process to bar tribal members who have...

Robert Rosebear, Red Lake artist, dies at 58
Robert Rosebear, a member of Red Lake Band of Ojibwe whose pipestone work is known worldwide, died on Tuesday due to complications of diabetes. He was 58. Rosebear was a self-taught artist. He mined sacred pipestone from the Pipestone...

Massachusetts tribe eager for recognition decision
A copy of the proposed finding can be read at http://www.doi.gov/bia/federal_acknowledgment_decisions.pdf. Update: The Bureau of Indian Affairs has recognized the tribe. The decision came via a phone call, followed by a fax around 4:15pm. Chairman Glen Marshall responded: "We...

Large turnout for meeting on 'Highway of Tears'
A reported 500 people attended a meeting in Prince George, British Columbia, to discuss the disappearances and deaths of young Native women along the "Highway of Tears." Highway 16 runs between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Since 1990, nine young...

Audit questions New Mexico Indian education act
A legislative audit released on Tuesday questions New Mexico's Indian Education Act. The act was passed in 2003 to include tribal culture and language in public school curriculum. But the law is "vague, overly ambitious and extremely difficult to implement,"...

This is the Congress that Jack Abramoff built
"These are the menThat fleeced the tribesThat paid the moneyThat made the bribesThat purchased the Congress thatJack built. This is DeLay, Who built the machine That redrew the districts And raised the green, That decided the races That claimed the...

Navajo chapter signs joint powers deal with state
The Newcomb Chapter of the Navajo Nation signed a joint powers agreement with the state of New Mexico on Wednesday. The agreement is the first of its kind in New Mexico. It allows the chapter to obtain funding directly...

First Northwest Indian film festival lands in Seattle
The first Northwest Indigenous Film Festival kicks off today in Seattle, Washington. Several films will be screened during the event, which runs through Sunday. They include Tattoo on My Heart," a documentary about the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee and...

Federal agent goes undercover at powwow in Texas
An agent from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently went undercover at a powwow in Texas to investigate alleged violations of federal eagle protection laws. The agent confiscated eagle feathers from powwow attendees who are members of unrecognized tribes,...

BIA holds consultation on Section 20 regulations
The Bureau of Indian Affairs held the first session on its new Section 20 regulations on the Mohegan Reservation in Connecticut on Thursday. The BIA heard from tribal representatives from as far away as Washington. Local town leaders, who are...

Former tribal judge pleads guilty to drug charges
Lynda Noah, a former tribal judge on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and prescription drugs and to threatening a federal officer. Noah was one of 19 people arrested on the...

Methamphetamine crisis in Indian Country
Although national statistics are hard to come by, tribes across the nation are reporting that methamphetamine has become a major problem on their reservations. On the San Carlos Apache Reservation, Chairwoman Kathy Kitcheyan said 63 babies born last year...

Failed deal prompted Abramoff to defraud tribes
A failed casino boat deal prompted Jack Abramoff to bilk his tribal clients, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a front-page article, the Journal said Abramoff expected his purchase of the SunCruz fleet of casino boats to generate enough...

Sen. Johnson concerned about IGRA amendments
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), a leading member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said he supports some amendments to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act but expressed concerns about the bill's effect on tribes. The committee passed a substitute to...

Fire Thunder plans women's clinic on reservation
Cecilia Fire Thunder, the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is holding a news conference today to discuss her plans for a women's clinic on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The issue came up after the Gov. Mike Rounds (R) signed...

Protest calls for removal of 'Pioneers' statue
Indian activists are planning a protest on Monday against a statue in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that they says depicts Native Americans unfairly. The "Fountain of the Pioneers" in Bronson Park features a Native figure in headdress and a white settler....

Editorial: Lobbying reform doesn't go far enough
"Here's a simple way to judge the lobbying reform bill just approved by the Senate: The leading advocates of reform, including the parties' two designated point men on the issue, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), all voted...

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