Opinion: Cherokee Freedmen controversy goes back a century (February 18, 2013)

"Following on the heels of the Emancipation Proclamation, in February 1863 the Cherokee Nation declared that all slaves within its limits were “forever free.” In 1983, the descendants of these slaves, known as the Cherokee Freedmen, were removed from tribal...

Rep. Tom Cole defends tribal jurisdiction provisions in VAWA (February 18, 2013)

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) is trying to convince fellow Republicans to support tribal jurisdiction provisions in the Violence Against Women Act. The Senate passed S.47, which recognizes tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit domestic violence offenses on reservations. Some Republicans...

Column: 1862 Dakota War took a big toll on Minnesota soldiers (February 18, 2013)

"When the Civil War began in the spring of 1861, young men in Minnesota responded enthusiastically to Abraham Lincoln's call for volunteers. By August 1862, all or parts of the First through Tenth Minnesota Regiments had been organized. Some of...

Column: Eliminating 'Redskins' not about political correctness (February 18, 2013)

"The only morally defensible argument for keeping the name of Washington’s professional football team is that people (like me) who wish to replace “Redskins” are supposedly exaggerating the problem because of political correctness run wild. In this view, the name’s...

Kevin Abourezk: Interest still strong in Edward Curtis photos (February 18, 2013)

"This begins with a young boy with a big imagination and a thirst for the past. The young boy digs in his yard, spurred by knowledge that a tribal hunting encampment once occupied this same land. He finds an arrowhead,...

SMU News: 'Becoming White Clay' documents Jicarilla history (February 18, 2013)

"North America’s Jicarilla Apache tribe cloaked themselves in trade, diplomacy, and intermarriage and nearly escaped incarceration on an American Indian reservation. How they did it has been a mystery of the historical American Southwest – until now. “In some...

USDA Blog: Yankton Sioux Tribe encourages entrepreneurship (February 18, 2013)

"Thirty-five participants, consisting of native entrepreneurs and organizations that provide services to entrepreneurs attended the first ever Entrepreneur Fair (E-Fair) held in Pickstown, South Dakota earlier this month. The E-Fair was co-hosted by the South Dakota Indian Business Alliance (SDIBA)...

Review: 'Noble Savages' views tribe in Amazon as 'primitives' (February 18, 2013)

"As I read “Noble Savages,” Napoleon A. Chagnon’s memoir of his years among the Yanomamö, an isolated Amazonian tribe, I started hearing Linda Ronstadt’s cover of “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” first as a low background hum that grew louder...

NPR: NCAI identifies goals with State of Indian Nations speech (February 18, 2013)

"PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger. MARTIN: But if you were in Washington, D.C. yesterday, you could have heard another...

Editorial: Congress must renew Violence Against Women Act (February 18, 2013)

"This week’s 78-to-22 vote in the Senate to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act provided a refreshing demonstration of bipartisanship that the House would do well to emulate. Last year, the Republican-led House blocked the act’s renewal over objections to...

Winona LaDuke: VAWA must protect all -- Native women too (February 18, 2013)

"This week’s debate on the Violence Against Women Act marks, what may be a very important stage in improving relations between tribal governments, state and federal governments and the protection of women. The law has been up for re-authorization for...

Native Sun News: Credit union opens new doors at Pine Ridge (February 18, 2013)

In only nine weeks since it opened, the Lakota Federal Credit Union has attracted 317 members, and $1.2 million in deposits.

Charles Kader: Diving into the State of Indian Nations address (February 18, 2013)

"In reading over the 2013 State of Indian Nations address by outgoing President Jefferson Keel of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), a number of talking points of emphasis stood out as compelling subjects for further examination. Mr. Keel...

Ruth Hopkins: NCAI speech omits some more pressing issues (February 18, 2013)

"This past Thursday, Jefferson Keel, President of the National Congress of American Indians, delivered the 11th Annual State of the Indian Nations Address. Mr. Keel gave a standard political speech. I’m sure it appeased wealthy tribes and mainstreamed Natives. However,...