News Archive: August 22, 2007 Archives

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August 22, 2007
Appeals court revives Native Hawaiian trust lawsuit
Native Hawaiians can sue for alleged mismanagement of their state-administered trust funds, a federal appeals court ruled earlier this month. In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that a group of Native Hawaiians should be allowed...

Rosebud Sioux Tribe to hold primary election
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is holding a primary election tomorrow. Eight people are running for president. Nine candidates are vying for vice president. Thirteen tribal council representatives are also up for grabs. The general election will be...

Man sentenced for beating death on Navajo Nation
A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for beating his grandmother's brother on the Navajo Reservation in Utah. Remus Begay and Danny Lansing were drinking when they got into a fight in March 2006. Begay was charged...

Montana reservations a 'hot spot' for meth
Drug traffickers are setting up shop on Montana's reservations due to lack of law enforcement, a top Drug Enforcement Administration said. "We see every Native American reservation as a hot spot," Special agent Jeffrey D. Sweetin told The Billings Gazette....

Final Pine Ridge drug ring defendant pleads guilty
The last defendant of the 27 people who were charged with drug trafficking on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota has pleaded guilty. Maritza Perez, 25, admitted to distributing cocaine that was sold on the reservation. She also admitted selling...

Oglala Sioux Tribe receives fire recovery grant
The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota will use a $250,000 federal grant to recover from a fire. The Stampede Fire burned 23,000 acres of grassland and timber. Included were 13,000 acres of the tribe's 17,000-acre buffalo pasture. The grant...

Kiowa Tribe to hold memorial service for flood victims
The Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma is holding a memorial service tonight for three victims of a flash flood. Dorita Horse, her daughter Helen Horse, and niece Rose Saddleblanket died after their vehicle was swept away by flood waters early...

Rep. Watson, Chief Smith face off over Freedmen
Rep. Diane Watson (D-California) and Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith held dueling news conferences on Tuesday to talk about the status of the Freedmen. Watson is sponsoring legislation to strip the tribe of federal funding until the Freedmen are restored...

EPA hosts tribal children's health summit
The Environmental Protection Agency is holding a summit today and tomorrow on environmental health problems facing Indian children. The 2007 Tribal Nations Children's Environmental Health Summit takes place in Denver, Colorado. Attendees will present information on environmental health hazards and...

Seminole Tribe reflects on 50 years of success
The Seminole Tribe of Florida marked the 50th anniversary of the tribal constitution on Tuesday. Tribal members gathered under an oak tree on August 21, 1957, to create a modern government. The effort prevented them from being terminated by the...

Indian candidates find support at INDN's List camp
Indian candidates are learning how to run campaigns for public office at INDN's List's annual camp on the Morongo Reservation in California this week. With seminars like "Delivering an Effective Message," "Creating Your Stump Speech," and "Opposition Research Basics," attendees...

Pojoaque Pueblo's museum showcases talent
The museum owned by Pojoaque Pueblo is marking its third year of existence. The Poeh Cultural Center and Museum is northern New Mexico’s largest Pueblo arts facility. It opened in August 2005 and features art exhibits and art classes....

Editorial: Navajo Code Talkers deserve recognition
"American Indians have served in the United States military for more than 200 years. But where did we learn that? For many of us, it certainly wasn't from our school history books. So when National Code Talker Day took place...

Satire: Tribe found living inside Wyoming mountain
"A mountainous area with a top resembling the top of an hour glass has been found to be the home of an ancient Indian tribe. Our western affairs reporter is apparently the first modern day person to be allowed out...

Texas sues fake tribe for selling 'membership'
The state of Texas sued three people who are selling fake tribal memberships immigrants with promises of U.S. citizenship. The Kaweah Indian Nation, based in Kansas, is not recognized by any state or the federal government. But it has been...

Facebook game asks to count Natives on bridge
A game posted on the social networking site Facebook asks users to count how many Native people are on the Trans-Canada Highway bridge in British Columbia. First Nations in the Cowichan Valley walk the bridge to cross into Victoria. They...

Yakama Nation mum about cement plant talks
The Yakama Nation of Washington met with a cement plant on Tuesday but neither side would say how talks went. The tribe says Central Pre-Mix is mining gravel without a permit. But the company says the tribe doesn't have jurisdiction....

State orders water cut to Hopland Reservation
The California Department of Public Health has placed a moratorium on new water hookups in Mendocino County, a cut that affects the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians. The tribe buys water from the Hopland Public Utility District. But the state...

Editorial: Losing patience with Dirk Kempthorne
"Dirk Kempthorne’s arrival in Washington as secretary of the interior raised hope among conservationists that he would moderate the Bush administration’s aggressive search for oil and gas in some of the country’s most environmentally sensitive lands. This has not happened....

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