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May 23, 2008
Senate approves NAHASDA reauthorization
The Senate unanimously approved the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act on Thursday without addressing the Cherokee Freedmen controversy. The bill, S.2062, reauthorizes a critical program for Indian Country. Tribes will be able to exert more control over federal housing...

Yakama Nation judge shuts down appeals court
The Yakama Nation of Washington doesn't appear to have an appeals court any more. Chief Appellate Court Judge Ne'Sha Jackson shut down the court on Thursday. She cited a lack of money to keep the court running. Other judges questioned...

Opinion: Candidates refuse Indian contributions
"Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican nominee, has by far the longest and most involved history with tribes, representing one of the more Indian-populated states in the country. As a two-term chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian...

New York governor criticizes Oneida decision
Recently installed Gov. David Paterson (D) criticized the Interior Department on Thursday for agreeing to acquire 13,000 acres in trust for the Oneida Nation. Paterson said the acquisition will hurt local governments, who benefited from illegal sales of the tribe's...

Mark Anthony Rolo: Recalling the Trail of Tears
"The Trail of Tears began 170 years ago this week. We should recall it not as an aberration but as a logical outgrowth of an inhumane policy. And we should insist, in its memory, that Indian treaties and Indian sovereignty...

Mashantucket Tribe plans to lay off employees
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut plans to lay off employees today, The New London Day reports. Hundreds of employees could lose their jobs, the paper said. It's part of the tribe's effort to reduce spending. The tribe wants...

Listening Lounge: Senate hearing on DOI backlogs
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on backlogs at the Interior Department on Thursday. The hearing lasted about 90 minutes .Audio clips can be downloaded below: • Opening Statements Panel 1 - Testimony | Q&A THE HONORABLE CARL...

Jemez Pueblo eyes return of ancestral territory
Jemez Pueblo wants the state of New Mexico to return 70 acres of ancestral territory. The land in Pecos Canyon is owned by the state Department of Game and Fish. The tribe still uses it for religious purposes. The land...

Soboba Band meets with county sheriff again
The Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians met with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for a second time on Thursday. Related between the tribe and the county have been strained since the fatal shootings of three tribal members by sheriff's deputies....

ICT interview with IHS director Robert McSwain
Indian Country Today interviews Robert McSwain, the new director of the Indian Health Service. McSwain is a member of the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California. He was sworn into office on May 7, after being confirmed by...

Mescalero Apache custody case over son's haircut
A New Mexico man says the Mescalero Apache Nation has no jurisdiction over a child custody dispute. Gerardo Valenzuela was married to Anna Kanseah, a tribal member. They have three children, including a 6-year-old son whose hair was cut after...

Oregon tribes working to preserve languages
Tribes in Oregon are trying to preserve their languages before they are lost forever. Only two people can speak Kiksht, the language of the Wasco Tribe, one of the Warm Springs Tribes. Radine "Deanie" Johnson is working with her...

South Dakota study finds benefits of Indian tea
Research conducted at South Dakota State University has uncovered the health benefits of Indian tea. Professor Fathi Halaweish of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry studied tea used by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. Halaweish said it can be used to...

Indian student can't wear eagle feather to graduation
An Indian student in North Carolina has been told he can't wear an eagle feather during graduation. Corey Bird, a senior at Purnell Swett High School, was initially told he could wear the feather on his gown. But during a...

Editorial: Lobbyists run McCain and Obama campaigns
"Shakespeare's famous line about lawyers could easily be adapted for this year's campaign: "The first thing we do, let's purge all the lobbyists." The presidential contest in recent days has degenerated into a competition between Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and...

Ducklings dying in pools at NMAI in Washington
Ducklings have died in the pools outside the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., four or five times, a spokesperson said. The most recent incident occurred last Saturday. Children cried as five ducklings were sucked into...

Appeals court won't reopen Western Shoshone case
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday refused to reopen the federal government's taking of 80 million acres of Western Shoshone land. In 1972, the Indian Claims Commission awarded $26 million to the Western Shoshone people for the loss...

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