Sauk-Suiattle Tribe fires 11 of its 64 governmental employees (June 17, 2011)

The Sauk-Suiattle Tribe of Washington has fired 11 of its 64 employees, Chairwoman Janice Mabee confirmed to The Everett Herald. Mabee did not support the terminations. She tried to get the Northwest Intertribal Court System to stop the tribe from...

Runners trek 800 miles to Pipestone Monument in Minnesota (June 17, 2011)

A group of tribal members from South Dakota are wrapping up an 800-mile run to the Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota. The group started on the Yankton Sioux Reservation on June 5. They've made their way through blistering heat and...

Editorial: Welcomes tribes to Dancers of the Plains powwow (June 17, 2011)

"Last year as they labored on the earth lodge at the Great Platte River Road Archway, Indians from North Dakota and Oklahoma re-established a kinship between their clans and spiritually reconnected with ancestors who once lived in Nebraska. The thirst...

Debora Iyall, Cowlitz, making return to stage as a solo artist (June 17, 2011)

Debora Iyall, a member of the Cowlitz Tribe of Washington, made a name for herself as the lead singer of Romeo Void, a popular 1980s New Wave band. The band broke up after a string of hits and Iyall started...

Yurok Tribe calling for protest to exercise gathering rights (June 17, 2011)

The Yurok Tribe is calling on its members and other California Indians to exercise their traditional gathering rights at beaches across the northern coast. Gathering has been limited as the state places more beaches and coastal areas under the Marine...

Picayune Rancheria to vote on DNA tests for new members (June 17, 2011)

The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians in California is stirring controversy for a proposal to use DNA tests to help determine who does and who doesn't belong to the tribe. In the 1980s, only about 30 people were enrolled...

Non-Indians accuse tribes of ignoring their property rights (June 17, 2011)

A group of non-Indians held a protest at the courthouse in RIverside County, California, to draw attention to their gripes with tribes. Lloyd Fields wants to develop 41 acres he owns for housing. The only way to get to his...

Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds hearing on NAGPRA (June 17, 2011)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on Thursday to discuss federal agency compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. NAGPRA became law in 1990. More than 20 years later, some agencies have not complied fully...

Judge to hold fairness hearing for Cobell trust fund settlement (June 17, 2011)

The fairness hearing for the $3.4 billion settlement to the Indian trust fund lawsuit begins on Monday. Judge Thomas F. Hogan will determine whether the settlement is fair. It provides $1.5 billion in direct payments to Indian beneficiaries and creates...

Delaware Tribe to close child care center due to budget cuts (June 17, 2011)

The Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma will close one of its early childhood centers due to budget cuts. The Caney Early Care and Education Center serves children up to age four. It's the smallest of the tribe's four facilities so it...

Kay Olan: School keeping Mohawk language alive in New York (June 17, 2011)

"Kanatsiohareke, a Mohawk community located in central New York State, is working hard to help revitalize Kanienkeha, the Mohawk language. The community has been offering Mohawk language immersion classes for the last fourteen years. This is important because Kanienkeha is...

Editorial: Osage Nation shouldn't oppose wind farm proposals (June 17, 2011)

"The Osage Nation has come out against a plan to build wind farms in Osage County. The main concerns are possible harm to the ecosystem — particularly the Nature Conservancy’s Tallgrass Prairie Preserve — and the effects on future oil...

Native Sun News: Bear Butte stirs passions at county meeting (June 17, 2011)

James Swan, United Urban Warrior Society. Mark Norstegaard, a landowner. STURGIS, SOUTH DAKOTA – After citizens bid for keeping calm, Meade County commissioners abandoned the notion of suing over the state’s recent decision to limit oil drilling at the...