News Archive: July 9, 2007 Archives

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July 9, 2007
Cherokee Nation chief addresses citizenship
Cherokee Nation citizenship is not based on blood quantum, Chief Chad Smith said on Saturday. The leader of the second-largest tribe in the country said membership depends on having Cherokee ancestry. Citizenship is traced to the Dawes Roll, a federal...

Teacher passes on Athabascan language to villages
Susan Paskvan is trying to make sure the Koyukon Athabascan language doesn't fade away. Paskvan says only 300 people still speak the language, also known as Denaakk'e. But most of those are adults. In hopes of changing the situation,...

Osage Nation asserts sovereignty over county
The Osage Nation of Oklahoma says its reservation includes all of Osage County. Chief Jim Gray says the state lacks jurisdiction to enter tribal properties. A dispute arose over the state's consumer protection laws and a tribal-owned grocery store. The...

Editorial: Shellfish settlement long overdue
"Twelve years ago, it was obvious that protracted litigation would be no solution to a bitter dispute over Indian treaty rights to shellfish harvesting in Puget Sound. “Sooner or later, “ an editorial in this space noted, “even the...

Maryland appeals court issues first ICWA ruling
A Maryland appeals court issued its first Indian Child Welfare Act ruling on Friday. The Court of Special Appeals said the custody case of two Indian children must be reconsidered in order to determine whether the state met the "active...

Another Cobell historical accounting hearing
The federal judge handling the Cobell trust fund case will hold another hearing this afternoon. Judge James Robertson plans to start a trial into the Interior Department's historical accounting in October. With the plaintiffs and the government in disagreement on...

Maine sovereignty case headed to Supreme Court
Two Maine tribes who lost a critical sovereignty case are filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices are the last hope for the Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. The 1st...

Oneida Nation wraps up celebration with powwow
The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin held its 35th annual powwow over the weekend, drawing more than 8,000 spectators to the reservation. More than 600 dancers and drum groups competed for prize money in the three-day event. "It's like a...

Tribes forced to cut law enforcement services
Without adequate funding, tribes in South Dakota have been forced to reduce their law enforcement services in the past few years. Since the 1990s, the Oglala Sioux Tribe has lost 75 percent of its police force. The Cheyenne River Sioux...

Editorial: Rock is rightfully in hands of Mohegan Tribe
"Cochegan Rock, nearly 70-feet high and weighing about 6,000 tons, may be the largest free-standing rock in New England. It has a special place in Mohegan tribal history, the place where Chief Uncas would meet with his tribal council. Now...

Navajo baseball player leaves big impression
After just six games with the Boston Red Sox, some fans are ready to put Jacoby Ellsbury, the first Navajo major league baseball player, in the hall of fame. Ellsbury hit .375 in 16 at-bats and stole a base....

House Resources hearing on four Indian bills
The House Natural Resources Committee is holding a hearing this Wednesday to consider three Indian bills. The bills on the agenda are: * S. 375: To waive application of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to a specific parcel...

Senate Indian Affairs hearing on transportation
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding an oversight hearing this Thursday on transportation issues in Indian Country. The hearing is the committee's first on the topic for the 110th Congress. A witness list has not been posted online. The...

Review: Books on Shawnee wars and Trail of Tears
"The experience of the American Indian is an itch in the national conscience difficult to scratch. We can say we abolished slavery, ignoring, of course, its social and psychological legacy for African Americans. We can say immigrants chose to...

Tim Giago: Media errors in 'State of Native Nations'
Founded by Professor Stephen Cornell and Professor Joseph P. Kalt at Harvard University in 1987, The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development has taken a wide range of its research, with comments from prominent members of the Indian community,...

Yellow Bird: Be careful shopping in the wild
"Does a bowl full of wild lamb's quarter leaves and milkweed blooms with a dribbling of dressing sound good? How about pancakes made from cattail pollen? Do the mental pictures make your mouth water? Probably not, but here are some...

Editorial: It's time to pass lobbying reform bill
"Today's lesson in how a bill doesn't become law involves lobbying reform. Given the Jack Abramoff scandal and the November election results, you might have thought that this would be one of the few things Congress could actually get done....

Jodi Rave wins awards for columns and reporting
Jodi Rave, the Native reporter for The Missoulian, won two awards at the Montana Newspaper Association's recent banquet. Rave won first place for best column writing and second place for best in-depth coverage for her series about domestic violence....

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