News Archive: March 20, 2007 Archives

ph: 202 630 8439 fax: 202 318 2182

March 20, 2007
US Attorney earned tribal praise despite Bush ouster
The ousted U.S. Attorney for Arizona sought to record FBI interviews with people suspected of committing crimes in Indian Country, documents released on Monday show. Officials at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., did not outright oppose the proposal,...

Court allows UKB suit over Arkansas River
The United Keetoowah Band of Oklahoma can proceed with a lawsuit over the Arkansas River without the participation of the Cherokee Nation, an appeals court ruled on Monday. In a unanimous decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said the...

National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Wednesday is the first annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The National Native American AIDS Prevention Center, the Indian Health Service and tribal and health agencies across the country are using the event to draw attention to rising rates of...

Two appointments to NAGPRA review committee
Rosita Worl, a member of the Tlingit Tribe of Alaska, has geen reappointed to serve on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee. Worl was reappointed to a two-year term. She is the director of the Sealaska Heritage...

Abramoff associate still free and cooperating
Michael Scanlon pleaded guilty to defrauding tribes out of $19 million but remains free while cooperating with federal prosecutors. Scanlon, a former aide to former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), has not been sentenced for his role in the Jack Abramoff...

Reception to benefit Vine Deloria endowment
The American Indian College Fund will hold a reception in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 26 to benefit the Vine Deloria Jr. Memorial Endowment. The reception takes place at the Prairie Edge Native American Gallery. For more information, visit...

Urban Indians hurt by IHS policy in Montana
Urban Indians in Montana are finding it difficult or even impossible to obtain prescription drugs under a new Indian Health Service policy. Tribal members who lived in Billings were able to pick up their prescriptions at the Indian Health Board....

Alaska Native corporation posts record profit
Doyon Ltd., an Alaska Native regional corporation posted a record profit in fiscal year 2006. The corporation earned $18.9 million on $96.7 million in revenue. It was the 22nd year of profitability, Doyon chief executive Orie Williams said. Revenues were...

Bush renominates tribal foe to Michigan judgeship
President Bush renominated Robert Jonker to a federal judgeship in Michigan despite opposition from several tribes. Jonker, an attorney, has represented anti-gaming groups whose legal challenges to the land-into-trust process have been rejected by the courts. He is also a...

Website Review: The revolt of the Black Seminoles
"John Horse's story feels like an answer to every Hollywood studio's wish list: a mix of Spartacus, Braveheart, Amistad, and Glory, with just a pinch of Dances With Wolves. A sweeping tale of a decades-long struggle against oppression, the movie...

Former top aide to Sen. Campbell to plead guilty
Ginnie Kontnik, the former chief of staff for retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), will plead guilty to taking kickbacks. Kontnik arranged for a staffer to receive a bonus but took the money for herself. She said Campbell approved...

Editorial: Navajo Nation slow to reopen Boys & Girls
" We can't seem to get too excited about the proposed April reopening of the Shiprock Boys and Girls Club. Why? Well, there was a time when we were enthusiastic. We were happy for the children of the Navajo Nation...

Driver charged for deaths of teens in Washington
A 19-year-old member of the Quinault Nation of Washington was charged in federal court on Monday with involuntary manslaughter for a car accident that claimed the lives of two teens. Sela Kalama, a former Miss Quinault Nation, was driving...

Pascua Yaqui Tribe buys next to reservation
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona recently purchased 90 acres from the state but officials are still deciding what to do with the land. The tribe could ask the Bureau of Indian Affairs to place the land in trust. No...

Chumash Tribe re-elects chairman, incumbents
Members of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians of California re-elected their chairman and four council members last week. Chairman Vincent Armenta and the four incumbents all ran unopposed. “I am honored that our tribe demonstrated confidence in my...

Catawba Nation chief steps down after 34 years
Gilbert Blue, the longtime chief of the Catawba Nation of South Carolina, resigned unexpectedly on Saturday. Blue, 73, led the tribe for 34 years. His biggest achievement was securing a land claim settlement and federal recognition in 1993. But...

South Dakota water project gets extra funds
The office of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) announced additional funding for the Mni Wiconi Rural Water System that will serve three reservations and nine counties in South Dakota. In 2007, Mni Wiconi will get $37.86 million, up from $32...

Two killed in accident at Cheyenne River
Two people were killed in an alcohol-related accident on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Four men were traveling in a truck on Sunday morning when it rolled over several times. Tribal authorities are trying to figure out...

Ho-Chunk Nation closer to reclaiming Army land
The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin signed an agreement on Monday to reclaim some of its ancestral land. The tribe, the state, the federal government and two historical societies will work together to clean up and preserve the former Badger...

Local Links:

Federal Register | Indian Gaming | Jobs & Notices | In The Hoop | Message Board