Opinion: Wisconsin politicians should pay attention to tribes (March 20, 2013)

Tensions appear to be growing between tribes and officials and politicians in Wisconsin: Keep poking a stick into a beehive, and you shouldn't be surprised if a couple of bees come out with their stingers at the ready. In this...

Casey Ross-Petherick: VAWA helps tribes protect all victims (March 20, 2013)

Law professor Casey Ross-Petherick, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, discusses the importance of S.47, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act: On March 7, President Obama signed legislation that will change the landscape of protecting American Indian victims...

Hayley Hutt: Tribal water rights bring benefit to communities (March 20, 2013)

Hayley Hutt, a council member for the Hoopa Valley Tribe of California, discusses water issues: We urge all of those who care about salmon to look at tribal rights, not as a bargaining tool, but as a way to restore...

Law Article: Quechan Nation loses decision against wind farm (March 20, 2013)

Attorneys provide update on Quechan Nation lawsuit against a wind farm at a sacred site in California: On February 27, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California rejected the Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian...

Chairman of Chippewa Cree Tribe arrested in ongoing dispute (March 20, 2013)

Chippewa Cree Tribal Chairman Ken Blatt St. Marks is escorted to a tribal police vehicle this morning at the tribal council chambers. Photo Havre Daily News/Lindsay Brown Chairman Ken Blatt St. Marks of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana...

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in positive talks with school pick (March 20, 2013)

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe reported positive talks with a candidate for superintendent at a local school. Tribal leaders met with Brian Hyde, a longtime teacher and school administrator in the town where the tribe is based, on Monday night. Chairman...

Schools on reservations are first to feel cuts under sequester (March 20, 2013)

Public schools on reservations are feeling the effects of the federal budget sequester long before other schools, a state education official in Arizona said. Schools on and near reservations depend heavily on Impact Aid. The program immediately lost $60 million...

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes push water compact (March 20, 2013)

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes called on the Montana Legislature to approve a water rights compact. The tribe has been working on the proposed settlement for decades. But the agreement has run into opposition amid complaints from some water...

County opposes San Pasqual Band land-into-trust application (March 20, 2013)

The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians in California is facing opposition to its land-into-trust application. Officials in San Diego County are opposing the tribe's application for 29 acres. It wasn't reported whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs has made...

Lawmaker avoids speaking name of tribe seeking recognition (March 20, 2013)

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-California) took pains to avoid mentioning the Mishewal Wappo Tribe by name during a hearing on federal recognition on Tuesday. Thompson used the term "particular tribe" twice when asking Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn, the head of the...

Survey finds rise in negative perceptions of Natives in Canada (March 20, 2013)

A growing number of English-speaking Canadians harbor negative perceptions of Native people, according to a new survey. Through a telephone survey, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation found that 59 percent of English Canadians have a positive perception of Native people,...

Energy company suspends operation within Blackfeet Nation (March 20, 2013)

The Anschutz Exploration Corporation has suspended exploratory drilling activities on the Blackfeet Nation in Montana. The company recently drilled 14 exploratory oil and gas wells near Glacier National Park. But the work will cease due to a lack of viability....

Lawsuit blames county for arrest by Pojoaque Pueblo officers (March 20, 2013)

A lawsuit blames Santa Fe County, New Mexico, for the actions of police officers from Pojoaque Pueblo. Under an agreement with the county, the tribe can enforce state laws against non-Indians. But the county has failed to ensure tribal officers...

Nooksack Tribe aims to remove more than 300 from the rolls (March 20, 2013)

The Nooksack Tribe of Washington is planning to remove 306 people from the rolls. Chairman Bob Kelly notified the 306 on March 6 of the pending disenrollments. A letter offered a 30-day appeal period. "Those who do not respond will...

Washburn says Native Hawaiians can't follow BIA regulations (March 20, 2013)

Native Hawaiians can't seek federal recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Assistant Secretary Kevin Washburn said on Tuesday. In 1978, the BIA established a process to determine which tribes deserve federal recognition. The regulations in 25 CFR Part 83,...

Rep. Young won't support Alaska tribes for land-into-trust fix (March 20, 2013)

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, supports a fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar as long as it doesn't include Alaska tribes. Alaska is home...

Native Sun News: Young tribal members joining National Guard (March 20, 2013)

The following story was written and reported by Christina Rose, Native Sun News Staff Writer. All content © Native Sun News. Young National Guards officers posed for a photo at the Lakota Nation Invitational in January. Left to right, Megan...

Cole DeLaune: Even more outrage over cultural appropriation (March 20, 2013)

Actress Michelle Williams on the cover of AnOther Magazine. Cole DeLaune explains fashion to everyone: Last week, the Internet news cycle erupted in a predictable maelstrom of gasps and pearl-clutching over the spring/summer issue of AnOther Magazine, an esoteric...

Survivor of attack on Mayan village testifies at genocide trial (March 20, 2013)

A survivor of a massacre at a Mayan village in Guatemala testified at the genocide trial of former president and dictator Efrain Rios Montt. Nicolas Brito watched as his village was attacked in 1982. He said soldiers attacked and killed...

White House adviser reaffirms opposition to drilling in ANWR (March 20, 2013)

The Obama administration won't support development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, a White House adviser said on Tuesday. President Barack Obama has called his energy policy an "all of the above" strategy. But Heather Zichal, his adviser...

House Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Indian health (March 20, 2013)

The House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held an oversight hearing on Indian health on Tuesday. The committee heard from Yvette Roubideaux, the director of the Indian Health Service; Rex Lee Jim, the vice president of...

Mark Trahant: More money improves health in Indian Country (March 20, 2013)

WASHINGTON -- Idaho’s Rep. Mike Simpson, a Republican, asked a critical question Tuesday. It’s one rarely asked, let alone, answered. The question: Does more government money work? Specifically, Simpson, the chairman of the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment,...

Three Native Mob gang defendants found guilty in Minnesota (March 20, 2013)

Three members of the Native Mob were found guilty after a lengthy trial in federal court aimed at taking down the gang's operation. Gang leader Wakinyon Wakan McArthur, 34, was found guilty on six counts, including racketeering. William Earl Morris,...

House Ethics Committee opens investigation into Rep. Young (March 20, 2013)

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs, is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Young was investigated by the Department of Justice for alleged corruption. No charges were filed but...