NIGC seeks rehearing of Class III authority case (December 5, 2006)

The National Indian Gaming Commission said on Monday it will challenge a court decision that limited the agency's role in the $23 billion tribal casino industry. On October 20, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the NIGC lacks...

'Blood and Thunder' author stops at Navajo Nation (December 5, 2006)

Hampton Sides, the author of "Blood and Thunder," a book about the expansion of the American West and its impact on the Navajo Nation, is making a stop on the Navajo Nation today. Sides will speak to high school...

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe wins $17.6M federal contract (December 5, 2006)

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Colorado has been awarded a $17.6 million contract by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Weeminuche Construction Authority will build a 2.1-mile pipeline for the Animas-La Plata Project, which settled the water rights of...

After troubles, Tulalip Tribes finally out of HUD 'jail' (December 5, 2006)

The Tulalip Tribes of Washington can move forward with housing programs after being cleared by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. "We're out of HUD jail," a tribal attorney told The Everett Herald. "We're not even on probation." HUD...

Dartmouth responds to UND over 'Fighting Sioux' (December 5, 2006)

The president of Dartmouth College says the University of North Dakota hockey team will be treated with respect even through their "Fighting Sioux" nickname is considered offensive. Dartmouth president James Wright called North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven and wrote...

9th Circuit allows tribe to assert fishing rights (December 5, 2006)

The Confederated Colville Tribes can assert fishing rights against the wishes of the Yakama Nation, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday. In a unanimous decision, the court overturned an injunction that barred the Colville Tribes from asserting...

Oglala Sioux Tribe swearing-in ceremony, or not (December 5, 2006)

Newly elected leaders of the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota hope they will be sworn into office today but the current president says that won't be happening. President Alex White Plume says the results of the November 7 election...

Judge dismisses charge against Navajo electee (December 5, 2006)

A Navajo Nation judge dismissed a domestic violence charge against New Mexico State Sen. Leonard Tsosie, saying there wasn't any evidence of a crime. Tsosie was hit with a temporary domestic abuse protection order last month. LaVern Wagner, an outgoing...

Radio: Economic development at Pine Ridge (December 5, 2006)

"Much of the economy of South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation just doesn't make sense. One particular statistic irritates chamber of commerce head Ivan Sorbel. Sorbel: "It's estimated that $80 million come onto the reservation in any given year and...

Opinion: Indigenous ownership of their languages (December 5, 2006)

"Mapuwho?" That's probably what Bill Gates thought last year when he received a letter from the Mapuche, a South American tribe whose territory covers parts of southern Chile and Argentina. The tribe only boasts 600,000 members, but this small band...

Northern Cheyenne player back on basketball court (December 5, 2006)

Dane Fisher, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, is back on the basketball court after a year-long absence from Bismarck State College in North Dakota. Fisher took the year off to be with his dying grandfather,...

Liaison to Northern Arapaho Tribe resigns post (December 5, 2006)

The state of Wyoming's liaison to the Northern Arapaho Tribe has resigned his post after about a year on the job. Allison Sage, a Northern Arapaho, was appointed by Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) to serve as one of two tribal...

Historian claims Shinnecock Nation gave up land (December 5, 2006)

The Shinnecock Nation of New York sold a key parcel of land nearly 350 years ago, a Connecticut historian testified in federal court on Monday. James Patrick Lynch, a former air conditioner salesman, said the land was sold as part...

San Manuel Band hopes to save Serrano language (December 5, 2006)

With only one speaker left, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has launched a project to preserve the Serrano language. The last completely fluent speaker died in 2002. Dorothy Ramon's nephew, Ernest Siva, is the only one who left...

Inquest ordered into police shooting of Native man (December 5, 2006)

An inquest has been ordered into the shooting death of a man on the Muskowekwan First Nation in Saskatchewan. RCMP officers shot and killed Delbert Kenneth Pelletier, 44, on November 13. They said he fired shots at them after...

Editorial: Banishment an option in fight against drugs (December 5, 2006)

"A proposal on the ballot for the Dec. 16 election of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe poses an interesting question - should drug offenders be banished from a community? Question 1, a proposed addition to the tribe's constitution, asks voters to...

Violet Ruth Super, Karuk elder, dies in house fire (December 5, 2006)

Violet Ruth Super, a member of the Karuk Tribe of California, died in house fire on November 29. The fire occurred just five days before Super's 89th birthday. She was born on her family's allotment on December 3, 1917. <>...

Editorial: Shootings on San Carlos Reservation (December 5, 2006)

"When a crime is committed, it is probably natural for the family of the accused to feel a little defensive about any stories that are written about it. In the case of the sniper on the San Carlos Indian Reservation,...