News Archive: March 26, 2007 Archives

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March 26, 2007
From Cobell to Abramoff, the downfall of J. Steven Griles
Few can say they didn't see it coming. Everyone from environmental groups to the Cobell plaintiffs raised alarms about J. Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary of the Interior Department. At one point, Judge Royce Lamberth said the former Bush...

Editorial: The $200 billion question for Alberto Gonzales
If U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales still has his job by the end of the week, there's a big question Congress needs to ask him. But it's not about his role in the latest scandal to grace Washington. Democrats, and...

Choctaw chief faces questions over Abramoff scandal
As he seeks re-election to an eighth term as chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Phillip Martin is again facing questions over his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Don't expect the questions to be answered. When...

Column: Controversy over statue in El Paso
"El Paso is the true gateway to the modern American West. Lewis and Clark may have been the first Anglo Americans to explore the vast area between the Mississippi and the Pacific, but two centuries earlier, Juan de Onate, born...

Colorado Senate opposes urban Indian health cut
The Colorado Senate voted 34-0 on Friday on a resolution to oppose President Bush's proposal to eliminate the $33 million urban Indian health program. Democrat Sen. Suzanne Williams, a member of the Cherokee Nation, sponsored the resolution. "Thirty thousand urban...

Former Choctaw Nation chief released from prison
Hollis Earl Roberts, a former chief of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, was released from federal prison on Friday after serving 11 years for sexual assault. Roberts was indicted in 1995 for abusing three female tribal employees. He was convicted...

Man convicted for murder of 13-year-old Native girl
A 21-year-old man was found guilty of murdering a 13-year-old Native girl in Edmonton, Alberta. Nina Courtepatte was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and murdered in April 2005. Five people, including three juveniles, were charged in connection with her death. Michael...

Southern Ute Tribe close to agreement on hunting
The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado is reasserting hunting rights on 3.7 million acres of land that was once part of its reservation. In 1874, after the discovery of gold, the Southern Ute Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute...

Navajo Nation brings technology to ranchers
The Navajo Nation is introducing radio identification technology to ranchers on the reservation. Under new tribal regulations, all sheep, horse and cattle ranchers are required to outfit their animals with radio ID tags. The GPS-enabled devices allow ranchers to...

Review: Alexie's 'Flight' a rollercoaster ride
"Few writers grab you by the emotional throat quicker than Sherman Alexie, and he doesn't let go until the end. Actually, not after that, either. "Flight," his first novel in a more than a decade, does it again, taking...

House hearing on royalty collection at Interior
The House Natural Resources Committee is holding an oversight hearing this Wednesday on royalty collection issues at the Interior Department. The witness list includes Kevin Gambrell, the former director of DOI's Farmington Indian Minerals Office who was ousted after raising...

Senate hearing on trust fund litigation on Thursday
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding an oversight hearing this Thursday on Indian trust fund litigation. The committee received a letter on March 1 from U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. The two Bush administration...

Viewpoints: 9th Circuit ruling on sacred site
Rob Smith: "Clean water and public lands for the common good were reaffirmed by the recent 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision on the San Francisco Peaks. These mountains are federal public land entrusted to the U.S. Forest Service...

Yellow Bird: UTTC begs for funding year after year
"When news came across the wire Thursday afternoon that, indeed, United Tribes Technical college in Bismarck finally was funded $3.5 million for operations, I knew there would be a great sigh of relief from Dave Gipp, longtime president of...

Mark Trahant: Spring cleaning for the government
"This is a perfect time to start spring-cleaning. The presidential election cycle is beginning early -- and more exposure on the campaign trail ought to give candidates enough time to address serious issues beyond sound bites. But the candidates need...

Jodi Rave: Lawmaker a symbol of Old West ignorance
"An Old West Montana lawmaker recently shot himself in the foot - again - after making antiquated remarks about the history of Native peoples. But this isn't the first time state Rep. Ed Butcher has drawn blood. Lately, my...

Tim Giago: Tribes continue to surrender sovereignty
The quasi-sovereign status of the Indian nations of America has slowly eroded since the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 became the law of the land. The Act made it mandatory for the Indian nations to sign gaming compacts with...

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