News Archive: February 14, 2007 Archives

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February 14, 2007
Urban Indians in Phoenix protest Bush budget cut
Urban Indians in the Phoenix, Arizona, area are worried about the loss of their health care if President Bush goes through with a $33 million cut to the Indian Health Service. The agency's fiscal year 2008 budget eliminates the entire...

Tribes, Alaska Natives pursue class action IHS suit
More than 300 tribes and Alaska Natives continue to pursue a $1 billion class action lawsuit against the Indian Health Service. The plaintiffs say the IHS has shortchanged their health care contracts. "We shouldn't be treated as second-class citizens when...

Little Shell Chippewa Tribe could get state land
The Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana could get its first piece of land if a deal with the state goes through. The tribe would manage the Morony Dam townsite and perform routine maintenance for the next decade. At the...

City changes election for Indian voting rights case
The city of Martin, South Dakota, has changed its election system after Indian voters won a ruling in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Karen Schreier said Martin's ward district diluted Indian voting power. She issued her final order on...

Group seeks to ban tobacco use on Navajo Nation
The Black Hills Center for American Indian Health is pushing to make the Navajo Nation tobacco free. The center wants the Navajo Nation Council to pass a bill banning the use of tobacco in public places. The ban, to include...

Bill to create Bear Butte alcohol buffer zone killed
The South Dakota House Local Government Committee voted 11-2 to kill a bill to create a four-mile buffer zone around sacred Bear Butte. Sponsors of the measure said it would ensure tribal members who go to Bear Butte to pray...

Yellow Bird: Tribes should snuff out smoking too
"Cigarettes are insidious, bringing death in small rolls of pleasure. Yet today, many people understand how the chemicals in cigarettes can damage your body. Furthermore, when 64 percent of the population want a complete smoking ban, and even 19.37...

Democrats promise action on tribal measures
Key Democratic lawmakers promised tribal leaders on Tuesday they would take action on bills critical to Indian Country, starting with the long-delayed Indian health care reauthorization. Reps. George Miller of California, Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Patrick Kennedy of...

NewStandard: Virginia tribes fight for recognition
"The Virginia state government plans to spend millions of dollars on educational and cultural events marking this year's 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The state will host Queen Elizabeth II and a replica...

House committee hearing on DOI rescheduled
The House Resources Committee hearing on the Interior Department has been rescheduled due to inclement weather in the Washington, D.C., area. The new hearing date is Friday, February 16, at 10am in Room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building....

Oklahoma tribes see boost in tobacco sales on border
Oklahoma tribes with tobacco shops near the Texas border saw a big boost in sales after the Lone Star State raised the tax on cigarettes. Texas imposes a $1.41 tax per pack, an increase of $1. The hike sent smokers...

Indian inmates in Maine sue corrections officials
Indian inmates in the Maine State Prison are suing state corrections officials in federal court over religious freedom. The inmates say officials have failed to abide by a settlement agreement reached as part of a similar lawsuit that was filed...

Mary Youngblood excited about second Grammy win
Mary Younblood, an Aleut/Seminole flute player, took home her second Grammy award at the 49th annual award ceremony on Sunday night. Youngblood's "Dance With The Wind" won the Best Native American Music Album category. The release is her fifth...

Wampanoag recognition decision comes early
Ahead of schedule, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will announce its final decision on federal recognition for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts on Thursday. As part of a court case, the tribe and the BIA had agreed to a...

Opinion: Native Hawaiian a quirk in federal law?
"'Native Americans on Trial Often Go Without Legal Counsel' The headline quoted above is from a page one article in the February 1 Wall Street Journal. It will be of interest to those trying to establish a sovereign native Hawaiian...

Study links DNA of Native and Siberian populations
Native people from North and South America share the same DNA sequence as two indigenous populations in eastern Siberia, according to a new study published in Biology Letters. Researchers at the University of California in Davis found a series of...

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