News Archive: January 17, 2007 Archives

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January 17, 2007
Rural Cherokee community without heat and water
A rural Cherokee/Keetoowah community in western Oklahoma has been without electricity and water since Friday. Residents of Bullhollow, a small town near the Arkansas border, were hit by recent ice storms that crippled the state. President Bush declared a federal...

Yakama Nation works on Boys and Girls Club
The Yakama Nation of Washington is working with the city of Wapato to bring a Boys and Girls Club to the reservation. The tribal council approved the creation of the club and appointed a tribal member to get it started....

Choctaw chief speaks to tribal members in Texas
About 200 to 300 members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma attended a tribal meeting in Amarillo, Texas. Chief Greg Pyle told attendees about the tribe's recent successes. The tribe has become more self-sufficient and employs 7,600 people, he said....

Yakama woman sues to enforce alcohol ban
A member of the Yakama Nation of Washington sued the federal government in hopes of enforcing a ban on liquor on the reservation. In 2001, the tribe passed an ordinance banning liquor. The 1855 treaty also bars alcohol on...

HBO documentary on meth use features Montana tribes
A documentary that will be aired on HBO includes segments about methamphetamine use on two reservations in Montana. One segment features Carl Venne, the chairman of the Crow Tribe and one of the advisors to the Montana Meth Project. Venne's...

Few Natives seek public office in border town
Native Americans make up a third of the population in Gallup, New Mexico, a town near the Navajo Nation, but few have ever run for public office. The Gallup Independent said only two Navajos have sought seats in City Hall....

Indian education challenges in South Dakota
Improving education for Indian students in South Dakota is a major challenge, the state's education secretary said. Only 66 percent of Indian students finish high school, compared with nearly 90 percent of other students. Indian students are less like to...

Tribal officers in Montana receive meth training
Tribal law enforcement officers in Montana are undergoing three days of training to deal with the methamphetamine crisis on their reservations. Lamar Associates, a law enforcement consulting firm, is showing the officers how to conduct meth investigations. They will...

Hate crimes suspect expected to reach plea deal
One of the suspects in the beating of a Navajo man is expected to reach a plea deal with prosecutors in New Mexico, his attorney said. C.L. Carnie, 21, has been charged with beating William Blackie in the border town...

Yellow Bird: Climate change impossible to ignore
"Frost-laden windows and moving cars followed by icy exhaust fog might lull us into thinking global warming is a myth - that is, until we remember the warmer-than-usual November and December in North Dakota. The question of global warming,...

Kara Briggs: Losing my hair but not my identity
"Indian hair - speaking generally - is the quintessential type that is smooth with just-the-right-amount-of body that populates commercials for high-priced shampoos and dyes. I respect those tribal peoples for whom their hair is sacred. For me, my hair was...

OST officials rewarded despite questionable record
Top officials at the Office of Special Trustee have received nearly $250,000 in awards and bonuses, according to the Government Accountability Office, despite the agency's questionable reform record. Donna Erwin, the number two in command at OST, has received at...

Supreme Court won't hear tribal immunity case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a case that challenged tribal sovereign immunity. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico could not be sued by a non-Indian couple who leased tribal land....

Opinion: Voting rights for Native Americans
""Gerrymandering eats at our right to vote" is the title of a Tribune editorial (Dec. 16) concerning two congressional redistricting plans being talked about prior to the 2007 legislative session. The Tribune's premise for the editorial attacking the redistricting plans...

Native students threatened over 'Chief Illiniwek'
Native American students at the University of Illinois have been threatened for opposing the school's controversial "Chief Illiniwek" mascot. Two students made derogatory statements on on Facebook.Com, a popular networking site. One student threatened to "throw a tomohawk" at...

George Benge: Open season on Native students
"On the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, open season has been declared on Native Americans and other people of color at settings where intolerance and hate might least be expected - at some of our foremost American...

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