News Archive: May 22, 2007 Archives

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May 22, 2007
Group puts spin on Indian rights-of-way study
A group called Fair Access to Energy Coalition is trying to tie high oil and gas prices to the recent Indian rights-of-way report. The group says the report from the Energy Department and the Interior Department raises concerns about energy...

Meskwaki Tribe graduates first high school class
The Meskwaki Tribe of Iowa graduated its first senior class on Saturday. The four students -- three girls and one boy -- are the first to finish the Meskwaki Settlement School, which was built in 2001. Superintendent Jerry Stephens said...

Review: 'Wounded Knee' a bold historic drama
"History is told by the winners, at least for the first several drafts. Eventually, as demonstrated here, it's possible for passions to cool down sufficiently so that even the winners can confront a shameful chapter in their history, in...

International Whaling Commission to meet
The International Whaling Commission meets next week in Anchorage, Alaska, to focus on Native subsistence. The IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. Exceptions are allowed for Inupiat Eskimos who depend on whales for cultural and economic purposes....

Hepatitis tests urged for some Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives who were born before 1992 and received neonatal intensive care in Anchorage are being urged to get tested for hepatitis C. The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium says as many as 8 percent of Alaska Native babies may...

Study: Diabetes drug increases risk of heart attack
A commonly used diabetes maintenance drug increases the risk of heart attack, according to a study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine.... The study found that Avandia increases the risk of heart attack by 43 percent...

New York plans to appeal Oneida land claim ruling
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) plans to appeal a judge's decision to keep the Oneida land claim alive. A spokesperson said Monday's ruling runs counter to federal law. The state believes the U.S. Supreme Court and the 2nd Circuit...

Yellow Bird: Blogger lacks facts about Indian life
"In my travels around the country, the one place I always return to is White Shield, N.D., my homeland. It is a placed reserved for the Sahnish (Arikara) people after millions of acres around us were usurped by the...

Connecticut tribes to host economic summit
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe are co-sponsoring an economic summit on June 14 The Native American Economic Impact Summit is the first of its kind. “Native American gaming has become an important engine of economic growth...

Haskell University starts summer session
Graduation was last week but it's back to school for some students at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas. For the first time in four years, Haskell is holding a summer session. About 200 students have signed up for...

Judge keeps Oneida land claim in New York alive
A federal judge on Monday refused to shut the door on the long-running Oneida land claim in New York. In 1974, the Oneidas of New York, Wisconsin and Canada sued the state and two counties over 250,000 acres of stolen...

BIA issues draft EIS on Navajo Nation power plant
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has released a draft environmental impact statement on the Navajo Nation's proposed power plant. The draft EIS recommends approval of the Desert Rock Power Plant in New Mexico. The BIA, however, acknowledged environmental, health...

Fort Belknap Tribes seek water rights settlement
The Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana is asking Congress to settle their water rights. In 2001, the Gros Ventre Tribe, the Assiniboine Tribe, and the state agreed to resolve a dispute over water from the Milk River. Now the...

Yakama smokeshop owner hails court decision
The owner of a smokeshop who was indicted for allegedly smuggling cigarettes hailed the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding the Yakama Nation treaty. Harry Smiskin said the unanimous decision backs the tribe's sovereignty. "What it does is reaffirms...

BIA rejects 2003 Cherokee Nation constitution
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has rejected the Cherokee Nation's 2003 amendment to its constitution, citing the impact on the citizenship of the Freedmen. In 2003, Cherokee voters removed a provision that required the BIA to review their constitution. In...

Assembly of First Nations meets to discuss 'crisis'
The Assembly of First Nations meets today and tomorrow in Quebec for a policy forum to discuss the "crisis" facing Native people in Canada. Leaders will discuss inadequate funding, land claims, poverty, health care and a national day of action...

Fired U.S. Attorney of New Mexico has Native roots
David Iglesias, the former U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, has Native roots. Iglesias was born in Panama, where his parents were missionaries. His father was Kuna, a semi-autonomos tribe with three reservations. Iglesias moved to the United States at...

Editorial: Stand up to Seneca Nation's claims
"As local officials debate whether to enter into land claim settlement agreements with Indian tribes as part of gambling facility development packages, perhaps they should take note of what's going on in western New York with the Seneca Indian Nation....

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