Corine Fairbanks: Apathy and egotism infect Indian Country (January 12, 2012)

"American Indians suffer the highest suicide rate of any ethnic minority in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. The suicide rate among Native youth in the Great Plains is ten times the national average. With...

Tsawwassen First Nation plans mega-mall in British Columbia (January 12, 2012)

The Tsawwassen First Nation announced plans for a large mall near the BC Ferries terminal. The project includes an indoor mall with 17 retailers and 1.2 million square-feet. Plans also call for another retail area with 600,000 square-feet. The mall...

Kevin Abourezk: Native youth listen to Wounded Knee judge (January 12, 2012)

"As the old judge spoke, the 17-year-old girl's eyes watered. Bianca White thought of her great-great-grandmother lying on that frozen ground, a victim of a massacre of more than 300 of her tribe's men, women and children. She remembered visiting...

Woman offers information in Little River disappearance case (January 12, 2012)

There's a new development in the case of a member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians of Michigan who went missing over 15 years ago. Vincent Adamczak was 41 when he was last seen in August 1995....

Former St. Regis Mohawk leader sentenced for drug charges (January 12, 2012)

Philip H. Tarbell, a former chief of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York, was sentenced on a drug charge. Tarbell pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. He admitted he was caught in...

At least 5,100 claims filed for share of Keepseagle settlement (January 12, 2012)

At least 5,100 claims have been filed as part of the the $760 million Keepseagle settlement for discrimination at the Department of Agriculture, The Weekly Alibi reports. A significant number of claims came from the Southwest. The law firm handling...

KPBS: Housing development approved over tribal objections (January 12, 2012)

"The Meadowood development at the junction of Interstate 15 and State Route 76 will build 800 new homes in the rural San Luis Rey river valley. Several Indian bands protested that the land is part of a wide area that’s...

NPR: Tom Perrelli to step down from Justice Department post (January 12, 2012)

"Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli will leave the third highest-ranking post at the Justice Department in March after nearly three years managing a bustling portfolio that has run the gamut from mortgage abuses and the oil spill in the Gulf...

Native Sun News: The tribal connection to Igloo military site (January 12, 2012)

The following story was written and reported by Jesse Abernathy. All content © Native Sun News. The mostly still-standing prisoner-of-war holding barracks at the U.S. Army’s former Black Hills Ordnance Depot near Edgemont. Constructed during World War II, the two-story...

Editorial: Prairie Island Tribe lives in shadow of nuclear threat (January 12, 2012)

"At 3:53 a.m., a worker discovers bleach is leaking from a 500-gallon bleach tank. (The bleach is important because it cleans the water used in the reactor’s vital cooling system.) At 4:01 a.m., Xcel Energy sends out an alert to...

Robert Chanate: Native escape from confusing sweat lodge (January 12, 2012)

"When we accepted an invitation to the sweat lodge we had no idea that white people were going to be going in with us. The directions given to me and a relative were supposed to lead us to the secluded...

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe charges former officials for theft (January 12, 2012)

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is charging three former leaders for theft. Former chairman Glenn Marshall, former vice chairman Shawn Hendricks and former secretary Desiree Hendricks-Moreno served on the council at the same time. They are accused of embezzling...

Tribes benefiting from another provision in health reform law (January 12, 2012)

Tribal employees will be able to join the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program thanks to a provision in the Affordable Care Act. The Office of Personnel Management is educating tribes about their options. Advocates say the program will cover gaps...

Another Crow Creek Sioux official indicted for bribery scheme (January 12, 2012)

Another official from the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe of South Dakota has been indicted in connection with a bribery scheme that ensnared the former chairman. Loren “Rocky” Fallis, a tribal council and school board member, has been charged with misprision...

Ruth Hopkins: Lakota science connected to spiritual beliefs (January 12, 2012)

"Before Galileo Galilei and Sir Isaac Newton, the Lakota studied astronomy. Many indigenous peoples did. They were natural scientists. What sets indigenous “ethnoastronomy” apart from mainstream western astronomy is native peoples didn’t feel the need to separate their spiritual beliefs...

Fred LeRoy, former chairman of Ponca Tribe, passes on at 63 (January 12, 2012)

Fred LeRoy, a former chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, died on Wednesday. He was 63. LeRoy served in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps. After returning home, he enlisted in a new war -- restoring the tribe to...

Supreme Court allows religious exception in employment law (January 12, 2012)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday for the first time recognized a “ministerial exception” to federal laws that bar discrimination in the workplace. In a unanimous decision, the court said the First Amendment prevents the government from interfering in the...

Turtle Talk: Updates on Indian law cases and Supreme Court (January 12, 2012)

"No real surprises here, with the Court granting two cases — Salazar v. Patchak and Salazar v. Ramah Navajo Chapter. If past history is any indicator, there is a likelihood of a split in decisions here, given that tribal (and...

Late chair's memorial removed from Nottawaseppi cemetery (January 12, 2012)

Leaders of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi voted to remove a memorial to the chairwoman Laura Spurr from the tribal cemetery, Indian Country Today reports. Spurr, who died in February 2010 at the age of 64, led the...