News Archive: July 27, 2007 Archives

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July 27, 2007
White House blocked testimony on trust responsibility
INDIANZ.COM LISTENING LOUNGE • Opening Statements • Panel 1 • Q&A | Q&A • Webcast The White House changed the Senate testimony of Bush administration nominee Charles Grim to eliminate references to two federal laws that provide the basis...

House boosts funding for safety of Native women
The House passed H.R.3093, the 2008 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill, which increases funding for the safety of Native women. The funding includes the following: * $1 million for the National Tribal Order of Protection and Sex Offender Registry; * $1 million...

NPR: Criminals target a 'lawless' Indian Country
"Chickasaw Tribal Police Chief Jason O'Neal has heard these stories, too. One day recently at the Chickasaw police headquarters, a call came in from a Native American woman who said she had been raped and didn't know where she was....

Teacher upset after Onondaga student told parents
A former music teacher at the Onondaga Nation School in New York became upset after a student told her parents she sat in his lap, the girl testified on Thursday. The girl, who is now 12, said she sat in...

Former postal worked accused of burning artifacts
A former U.S. Postal Service worker was charged with theft of mail after he allegedly burned two sacred Haudenosaunee masks from the 1830s. Donald G. Ring III, 36, allegedly burned a package to cover up damage to it. He apparently...

Editorial: Oglala Sioux Tribe restores buffalo
"No one appreciates the bison’s history on the Great Plains more than Birgil Kills Straight, executive director of the Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority. Kills Straight manages the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s herd of 860 bison, including calves. It’s part...

Editorial: Democrats court Indian Country
"If the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates were as one-dimensional as the popular media portray, American Indians might be hard-pressed to decide which candidate best reflects the values of Indian country. Is it Hillary Clinton, an experienced woman leader? Or maybe...

Letters: For and against Navajo Nation power plant
Letters for and against the Navajo Nation's proposed power plant near Shiprock, New Mexico. Rodney Zubrod: "I wish to thank our community for their support of the Desert Rock Project during the BIA EIS Public Hearings lately. Overwhelmingly, few negative...

Editorial: Art camp keeps Native culture alive
"They may have been in the early stages of weaving a rug, but the students in the Native Youth Art Camp were weaving more than yarn. It is likely they will discover they have weaved a memory of a...

Whale caught in Muckleshoot Tribe's fishing net
A gray whale freed itself on Thursday after getting caught in a fishing net owned by the Muckleshoot Tribe of Washington. Tribal fisherman saw the whale and thought it was dead. As they were going to cut the net to...

More than a dozen lawmakers under investigation
More than a dozen current or former members of Congress are under federal investigation, The New York Times reports. Several lawmakers have ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. They include: Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Florida), Rep. John Doolittle (R-California), former Sen....

Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation heads to polls
The Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut holds elections on Saturday amid efforts to gain federal recognition. The tribe won a favorable decision from former assistant secretary Neal McCaleb. But after a challenge from the state, associate deputy secretary Jim...

Parole board votes to commute Lakota man's sentence
The South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously on Thursday to commute the prison sentence of Timothy Caffrey, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Caffrey was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He has served...

House panel votes to cut funds to Cherokee Nation
The House Financial Services Committee voted on Thursday to cut federal funds to the Cherokee Nation under H.R. 3002. The bill creates an economic and community development fund under the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Rep. Mel Watt (D-North...

Navajo Nation defends power plant amid criticism
Don't pick on the "little" Navajo Nation, President Joe Shirley Jr says. Shirley says the tribe is just trying to help itself by building a $3 billion, 1,500-megawatt, coal-fired power plant in New Mexico. The Desert Rock Energy Project...

Former Cheyenne River Sioux chairman loses case
Wayne Ducheneaux, a former chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, lost his challenge to the state's drunken driving law on Thursday. Ducheneaux, 70, was arrested in 2006 for driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or more. It...

Power finally restored to Duck Valley Reservation
Electricity was restored to the Duck Valley Reservation on Thursday, eight days after wildfires knocked out power lines. The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes declared an emergency after losing electricity last week. Two generators had to be trucked in so the 1,300 residents...

Judge dismisses Eastern Shawnee land claim
A federal judge in Ohio dismissed the Eastern Shawnee Tribe's land claim on Thursday at the Oklahoma tribe's request. The tribe sued Ohio in 2005, claiming 93,000 acres in western Ohio. After reaching an agreement with the city of Lima,...

Narragansett Tribe plans to use land for housing
The Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island reiterated plans to build housing on land that has been the subject of a lengthy court battle. The tribe bought 31 acres in the town of Charlestown and asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs...

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