Jicarilla Apache woman identified as girl in photo from 1987 (May 9, 2012)

A member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation reclaimed a photo that was taken in 1987 after it was published on the front page of The Farmington Daily Times on Monday. Shawna Benally had just won the title of Jicarilla...

Town offers apology for spraying herbicide on historic mound (May 9, 2012)

A leader in Franklin, North Carolina, says the town should apologize to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians for spraying weed killer on the Nikwasi Indian Mound. The herbicide killed the grass on the historic mound and turned it brown....

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe distributes trust fund to its members (May 9, 2012)

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Colorado will distribute trust fund payments to its members. Each adult will receive $2,000 and each minor will receive $1,000. The money is coming out of the tribe's per capita fund. Once the...

10th Circuit hears arguments in Northern Arapaho Tribe case (May 9, 2012)

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals held oral arguments on Monday in a taxation lawsuit filed by the Northern Arapaho Tribe. The tribe says the state of Wyoming and Fremont County are illegally taxing people who live in a certain...

MSU News: Project touts healthy water on Crow Reservation (May 9, 2012)

"Although local, state and federal officials visited Wyola and Lodge Grass schools in April to emphasize the importance of clean drinking water and to offer free well testing, members of the Crow Water Project want area residents to know that...

Editorial: Cabazon Band must meet state standards at plant (May 9, 2012)

"If the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians continues to allow Western Environmental Inc. to treat tainted soil in Mecca, it should insist the plant meets the high standards set by the state of California. Tribal Chairman David Roosevelt made that...

Charlie Galbraith: Four Bands CDFI to join White House summit (May 9, 2012)

"On May 10, 2012, Tanya Fiddler will join leaders from states, cities, organizations, businesses and other communities to highlight their work and focus on the financial empowerment of all Americans. Tanya serves as the Executive Director of the Four Bands...

Duane Champagne: Common ground on Indian Country justice (May 9, 2012)

"In this country, all citizens are equal under the law—in theory. In Indian country, however, the courts, police and incarceration facilities are multicultural, multiinstitutional and multijurisdictional. That cuts both ways. The arrangement itself is complex. Tribal governments work within either...

Editorial: Moapa Band deserves protection from power plant (May 9, 2012)

"The stated mission of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is “to protect human health and the environment.” Unfortunately, it’s failing miserably as its mission relates to the tiny Moapa Band of Paiutes. It’s way past time for the agency...

MPR: Red Lake Nation receives $750K grant for youth projects (May 9, 2012)

"Young people on the Red Lake Indian Reservation will soon have new places to exercise and hangout with friends. The Red Lake Nation this week received a $750,000 community development grant from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community south of the...

Nature: War of words in research on Native language in Brazil (May 9, 2012)

"It wasn’t long after his translation of the Gospel of St Mark failed to interest the Pirahã tribe members he was trying to convert to Christianity that Daniel Everett, then a missionary and linguistic anthropologist, began to doubt what...

Native Sun News: Boys and Girls Club at Pine Ridge celebrates (May 9, 2012)

The following story appears in the current issue of the Native Sun News. All content © Native Sun News. SuAnne Big Crow PINE RIDGE, SOUTH DAKOTA –– A 20th anniversary event will be hosted by the SuAnne Big Crow Boys...

DOI rule claims authority to regulate fracking on reservations (May 9, 2012)

Oil and gas companies that drill on public and Indian lands will be required to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing, a controversial energy-processing technique that's commonly known as fracking. The Interior Department last week released a draft...

America's Wire: Native Americans push for their voting rights (May 9, 2012)

"While New Mexico’s minority populations are no strangers to attempts to limit their voting rights, its Native American residents continue to add registered voters to the rolls. These voters may well become the swing vote in a swing state, and,...

Letter: Anheuser-Busch responds to controversy at Whiteclay (May 9, 2012)

"We care about the tragic problems of tribal members on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and are greatly concerned about alcohol abuse there and anywhere. When our products become associated with a problem, it is damaging to all of us...

NYT History: The end of the standoff at Wounded Knee in 1973 (May 9, 2012)

"On May 8, 1973, members of the militant American Indian Movement who had occupied the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee surrendered to federal agents after a 10-week standoff. The episode began after members of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tried...

10th Circuit affirms conviction in former Pueblo leader's case (May 9, 2012)

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed the criminal conviction of Linda Diaz, the former lieutenant governor of Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico. Diaz was convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal accident. She struck Philip Espinoza,...

ICT interview with James Anaya, Special Rapporteur from UN (May 9, 2012)

"Indian Country Today Media Network spoke with Anaya about his recent tour and the importance of advancing UNDRIP—the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples—in the United States. How was the tour? Fabulous. It was a great opportunity…...

Peter d'Errico: Indigenous rights declaration deserves a name (May 9, 2012)

"One of the most significant declarations ever to emanate from the United Nations, the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, is belittled—mocked, almost—by the acronym so often used to refer to it. UNDRIP: it sounds like a health problem....

Editorial: Tribes in Oklahoma are doing pretty well, thank you (May 9, 2012)

"James Anaya, who investigates the rights of indigenous people on behalf of the United Nations, recently visited Oklahoma to take testimony from American Indian tribal officials. The event supposedly focused on how the United States aligns with the U.N. Declaration...

Dry Creek Rancheria agrees to provide $2M for road projects (May 9, 2012)

The Dry Creek Rancheria of California plans to share up to $2 million in Indian Reservation Roads funds with Sonoma County, The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports. The money will be used for several road and bridge projects. Some of the...

Robinson Rancheria evicts families from housing development (May 9, 2012)

The Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians of California evicted five families from a tribal housing development, according to news reports. The families were evicted for failing to pay housing fees, attorney Les Marston told The Sanra Rosa Press-Democrat. But Tonia Ramos,...