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July 14, 2008
Judge sides against Native acivists in 'Redskins' suit
Correction/Clarification: Suzan Shown Harjo, the lead plaintiff, pointed out that the appeals court has retained jurisdiction over the case. She said the lawsuit is still alive before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, with briefs due August 11. For the...

Senate hearing and House markup this week
The House Natural Resources Committee is holding a markup on Wednesday, with two Indian bills on the agenda. The bills are H.R. 2535, the Tule River Tribe Water Development Act, and H.R. 5293, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley...

Letter: Freedmen were residents, not citizens
"First of all, the government benefits you speak of aren’t benefits to us, they are a government-to-government trust responsibility to the Native people in general, bought and paid for with our blood and land. The Freedmen were made “residents,” (Article...

Congress approves $300M for diabetes program
Congress has approved a two-year reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program for Indians as part of the H.R.6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act. The SDPI will be funded at $300 million for two years, Senate Majority Leader...

First Alaska Native public safety official fired
Walt Monegan, the state of Alaska's commissioner of public safety, was fired by Gov. Sarah Palin (R). Monegan was the first Alaska Native to hold the job. He was appointed shortly after Palin was elected in 2006 and doesn't...

Spirit Lake Nation slowly buys back reservation
The Spirit Lake Nation is slowly buying back land within its 245,000-acre reservation in North Dakota. The reservation was established by treaty in 1867 and was immediately subject to allotment. After 100 years, the tribe was down to about...

BIA spends $1M on Standing Rock Sioux 'surge'
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is spending about $1 million to beef up law enforcement on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, an official said. Pat Ragsdale, the director of the BIA's Office of Justice Services, has been on the reservation...

Martha Berryhill, Creek enrollee, turns 108
Martha Berryhill, a member of Muscogee (Creek) Nation, celebrated her 108th birthday on Saturday. Berryhill was born in Oklahoma in 1900. She is the last living tribal member who received land under the General Allotment Act and the last...

Annual Tribal Journeys to monitor water quality
Some of the canoes in the annual Tribal Journeys are helping the U.S. Geological Survey monitor water quality in Washington. Eric Day, a member of the Swinomish Tribe, has his “Spirit of the Salmon” canoe equipped with equipment to test...

New Mexico seeks to delay Navajo power plant
The state of New Mexico is asking a federal judge to delay action on the Navajo Nation's power plant. A federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize a decision on an air permit for the Desert Rock Energy...

Saint of the day: Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk
"Kateri Tekakwitha, the "Lily of the Mohawks," is the first Native American to be beatified. She was born in Auriesville, New York, in 1656 to a Christian Algonquin woman and a pagan Mohawk chief. When she was a child a...

Editorial: Yakama Nation dairy ban goes too far
"The increasingly common cry of "not in my backyard" became even more complicated when the Yakama Nation last week barred new dairies, feedlots or the expansion of either within the reservation. This case centers on a Sunnyside family who wants...

Rosebud Sioux Tribe to build Code Talkers park
The Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is planning a sports park in honor of Code Talkers who served in World War II. The Code Talkers Memorial Park will feature a baseball field, playgrounds and picnic areas. The tribe is...

Saginaw Chippewa Tribe moves to four-day work week
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan has approved a four-day work week for governmental employees. The move is designed to improved productivity and reduce commuting time. The tribe is already offering employees a break on gas. The four-day work week...

Indian youth debate presidential candidates
Not all of them are old enough to vote, but attendees of the annual United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) conference debated this year's presidential candidates. Layha Spoonhunter, an 18-year-old member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming, intends to...

Outdoors: Quality fishing on Red Lake Reservation
"The fish twisting and turning some 20 feet below the boat clearly was a lake trout, and it wasn’t the least bit interested in our company on this sunny Tuesday morning in late June. “I hope they’re biting,” Al...

Jodi Rave: Tribes grab $10M in transportation grants
"This summer marks the first time I’ve caught a bus to work since I’ve lived in Missoula. I’ve used public transportation for pure convenience in metro areas, but catching a bus these days is catching on far beyond congested urban...

Jodi Rave: Iroquois Nationals take bronze in lacrosse
"The Iroquois Nationals beat England to capture the bronze medal Saturday at the 2008 Under-19 World Lacrosse Championship tournament in Canada. “Our boys were really hustling and moving the ball,” said Cameron Bomberry, assistant coach for the Iroquois. “That's how...

Yellow Bird: Watching the sky for hints of danger
"Early Friday, as dark and threatening clouds rolled in over Grand Forks, I scanned the sky for hints of danger. What I saw last week in the tornado’s wake in the Belcourt and Rolla, N.D., areas changed my thinking...

Tim Giago: Wounded Knee from an FBI agent's view
When Joe Trimbach and his son John set about writing the book they would call “American Indian Mafia,” a book as seen through the eyes of the FBI Agent in Charge during the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, I was...

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