News Archive: February 12, 2007 Archives

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February 12, 2007
Famed Quapaw composer Louis Ballard dies at 75
Louis W. Ballard, an internationally renowned music composer who was a member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, died on Friday. He was 75. Ballard blended Native traditions with Western orchestral music. He was famous in Europe, where his...

9th Circuit rejects Native Hawaiian funding challenge
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed course on Friday and ruled that non-Native taxpayers in Hawaii can't sue to stop the state from funding Native Hawaiian programs. In August 2005, the 9th Circuit allowed the suit against the Office...

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe battles high homicide rate
With its extremely high homicide rate, the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation is being called the murder capital of Colorado. Last year, five and possibly six people were murdered. With only about 2,000 people on the reservation, that puts the murder...

Navajo soldier receives Purple Heart for Iraq service
Alroy Billiman, a 27-year-old member of the Navajo Nation, was awarded the Purple Heart on Friday for his service in Iraq. Billiman, an Army specialist, was helping his unit move supplies when an explosive device detonated on the road....

California tribe loses major sovereignty court case
In a major blow to tribal sovereignty, an appeals court overturned 30 years of precedent on Friday and subjected tribes to federal labor law. Tribes aren't mentioned anywhere in the National Labor Relations Act. But a three-judge panel of the...

Utah Supreme Court to hear jurisdiction case
The Utah Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on February 28 in a case affecting jurisdiction on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. The state prosecuted Ricky L. Reber, a "mixed-blood" Ute, for hunting on the reservation without a permit. But...

Oneida Nation brings technology to tradition
The Oneida Nation of New York has turned to technology to preserve its storytelling tradition. The tribe's Four Directions Media Inc. is putting together an animated feature based on "The Raccoon and the Crayfish," a story about the consequences of...

Indians in Bolivia hang onto drinking, fighting rite
The New York Times reports on a drinking and fighting ritual still practiced by Indian communities in isolated parts of Bolivia. Known as Tinku, which means "encounter" in the Aymara and Quechua languages, the event begins with music, dancing...

Jodi Rave: Meet your next Native American Idols
"The world is full of divas, and aspiring divas. Arigon Starr confidently calls herself the Native American Diva, a stage goddess of country Americana music, living in Los Angeles and singing across the United States. Maria McGrady, on the...

Pomo teen charged as adult for reservation murder
A 14-year-old member of the Manchester Band of Pomo Indians was charged as an adult for the murder of a 21-year-old man on the reservation. Marcos C. Escareno allegedly shot Enoc Cruz, 21, in the head and back last Tuesday....

Tim Giago: Greed is the new God in Indian Country
A ruling last Friday by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected arguments by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians that they should not be subject to federal labor laws. Judge Janice Rogers Brown...

USET in Washington for annual Impact Week meeting
Tribal leaders from Maine to Florida are in Washington, D.C., for the United South and Eastern Tribe's annual Impact Week meeting. Federal officials and members of Congress are expected to address attendees on gaming, health, education, housing and other issues...

Joe Garcia: Tribal justice systems not a 'quirk'
"On Feb. 1, the Wall Street Journal published a front page article, 'Native Americans on Trial Often Go Without Counsel,' highlighting one effect of the dramatic underfunding of tribal criminal justice systems. While we applaud the Wall Street Journal for...

Harjo: GOP calls Indian health care 'race-based'
"Senate Republican policy-makers say the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is 'race-based' and they'll oppose its reauthorization. In so doing, they not only deny the health law's Republican parentage, but they pick a fight that is mean-spirited and cruel to...

Indian Affairs Committee hearing on budget
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a hearing this Thursday on President Bush's fiscal year 2008 budget. The hearing takes place at 9:30am in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building. A witness list hasn't been released. Bush's...

Mark Trahant: Doom and gloom on global warming
"Ready for some gloom and doom? All I have to do is type the words 'global warming' and critics will dismiss the rest of the column because of expected gloom and doom. The gloom part I get. The Intergovernmental Panel...

Jodi Rave: Tex Hall leaves tribe with $100M-plus debt
"When a tribal government is run well, you can typically give credit to the person in charge. The same can be said when things go badly. You can trace disorder to poor leadership and a lack of accountability. Such...

House Resources Committee hearing on DOI issues
FROM THE INDIANZ.COM ARCHIVE: Internal reports uncover troubled scene at Interior (August 1, 2006) Update: Due to inclement weather, the hearing has been rescheduled for Friday, February 16, at 10am. The House Resources Committee is vowing to take an...

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