BIA to lose 30 percent of police force in new budget (March 16, 2004)

Indian Country law enforcement will be reduced by 30 percent under the Bush administration's latest budget. According to BIA law enforcement director Robert Ecoffey, 759 police positions will be lost by 2006. That's when money from the Community Oriented Policing...

Western Shoshone payout bill stalled in House (March 16, 2004)

A bill to distribute a $143 million trust fund to members of the Western Shoshone Nation has been stalled in the House by Democratic leaders, Republican Jim Gibbons (R) said. Gibbons, of Nevada, said opponents to the bill have "stirred...

Okla. doctor to study diabetes among Indian youth (March 16, 2004)

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $1.4 million grant to an Oklahoma City doctor to study type 2 diabetes among youth, particularly Indian youth. Dr. Kenneth Copeland of the Oklahoma University Children's Physicians will monitor Indian youth ages...

Agua Caliente Tribe holding election for council slots (March 16, 2004)

Members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of California are voting today for the chairman and two council seats. According to The Palm Springs Desert Sun, chairman Richard Milanovich is running for re-election. The paper said it didn't...

Alaska village woman files suit alleging priest abuse (March 16, 2004)

A woman from an Alaska Native village filed suit against a Jesuit priest whom she accuses of sexually molesting her at a young age. The woman, identified only as a "Jane Doe" who was raised in a village on the...

Havasupai Tribe files $50M suit over misuse of blood (March 16, 2004)

The Havasupai Tribe of Arizona has filed a $50 million suit in state court alleging misuse of tribal members' blood samples. The suit is in addition to a $25 million claim filed by individual tribal members. Both suits say researchers...

Lamberth defends special master against attack (March 16, 2004)

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on Monday rejected the Department of Interior's attempt to kick special master Alan Balaran off the trust fund case. Balaran has written a series of reports critical of the department. He issued one in April...

Computer shutdown applies to all DOI systems (March 16, 2004)

A federal court's order shutting down the Department of Interior's Internet connection applies to all computer systems, not just those that house or have access to Indian trust data. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth issued a preliminary injunction on Monday....

HUD says Lumbee Tribe fixing housing program (March 16, 2004)

The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is making changes to its housing program after getting rid of its former administrator. A Department of Housing and Urban Development audit this past January led to the removal of Darlene Jacobs. HUD officials...

Editorial: Court must exonerate Nisqually Chief Leschi (March 16, 2004)

The Olympian calls on the Washington Supreme Court to exonerate Nisqually Chief Leschi, who was wrongly convicted and put to death in February 1858 for the murder of an Army soldier. State lawmakers passed a bill to set aside Leschi's...

Tribe objects to plan to help homeless farm workers (March 16, 2004)

The Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Tribe of California has objected to a proposed tent city to house thousands of homeless farm workers on the reservation. Tribal leaders said they weren't part of the discussions for the tent city. They plan to...

Wash. tribe to sign agreement for reburial of ancestors (March 16, 2004)

The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe of Washington will sign an agreement with state and local officials for the excavation of remains and artifacts at a state construction site. Work on the Hood Canal Bridge was halted after tribal ancestors were...

Chumash Tribe to turn land into housing community (March 16, 2004)

The Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians has asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take 745 acres in southern California. The tribe is partnering with former actor Fess Parker, who starred as Davy Crockett in "Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter,"...

Report on racism against Calif. tribe delayed (March 16, 2004)

A report detailing alleged instances of racism against the Coast Miwok Tribe of California was delayed on Monday. The Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights was set to vote on approving the report, which is based on the tribe's complaints...

Yellow Bird: Saying goodbye, the Native way (March 16, 2004)

"In Native American culture, our way is a little different - not better, but different. For example, I am accustomed to death ceremonies where we stay with the person for four days or until they are buried. During those days...

Lawmaker weighs ban on off-reservation acquisitions (March 16, 2004)

A Republican Congressman says he is considering a bill to ban from tribes from seeking off-reservation land. Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.) said it is "wrongheaded public policy" to allow tribes to take land-into-trust. He fought the Jena Band of Choctaw...

Osages testify in support of tribal membership bill (March 16, 2004)

The House Resources Committee held a field hearing on Monday on a bill to to reaffirm the sovereign powers of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma. According to The Native American Times, more than 100 people attended the hearing. Many spoke...

DOI's Internet connection shut down for third time (March 16, 2004)

The federal judge handling the Indian trust fund lawsuit ordered the Department of Interior to shut down its Internet connection on Monday, a move that plunged many of the agency's computer systems back into the dark ages. For the third...

Officer can't recall night Native teen went missing (March 16, 2004)

A Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, police officer testified on Monday that he never saw a Native teenager who later turned up dead in 1990. Const. Larry Hartwig said he didn't even recall who Neil Stonechild was until the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...