Rural Alaska villages hit with $5 a gallon gas (May 19, 2004)

Alaska Natives in rural villages are paying up to $5 a gallon for gas, more than twice as much in Anchorage and other parts of the nation. $p "Might as well raise a dog team," a business owner told The...

Foster care commission seeks tribal inclusion (May 19, 2004)

Tribal governments should be given direct access to millions in federal funds to ensure American Indian and Alaska Native children receive the best foster care, a report released on Tuesday recommends. The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care, a...

Resolution offers apology for 'ill-conceived policies' (May 19, 2004)

Tex Hall was in North Dakota last fall when he received a call on his cell phone. He was surprised to hear who was on the other end. It was Sen. Sam Brownback, the Republican from Kansas whose name rarely...

Text of S.J.RES.37: Apology to Native peoples (May 19, 2004)

The following is the text of S.J.RES.37, a bill to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of...

Brownback: 'A first step toward healing the wounds' (May 19, 2004)

The following is the text of a statement by Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) to accompany S.J.RES.37, a resolution to apologize "to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States." April 6, 2004. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce...

Republican official visits Santa Fe Indian School (May 19, 2004)

The chairman of the Republican National Committee toured Santa Fe Indian School in New Mexico on Tuesday. $p Ed Gillespie credited the Bush administration with $38 million the school received for a construction project. The school, which is owned by...

BIA muzzles principal in Navajo school dispute (May 19, 2004)

The principal of a Bureau of Indian Affairs school on the Navajo Nation has been muzzled by the agency, The Farmington Daily Times reports. $p Lake Valley Navajo Principal Craig Brandow is currently feuding with the school board for reasons...

Crow Tribe approves bill to increase housing (May 19, 2004)

Leaders of the Crow Tribe of Montana signed a bill on Tuesday aimed at increasing homeownership rates. $p The bill allows tribal members to obtain private financing for homes. The tribe will provide security for the loans by issuing leases...

Woman on mission to preserve Yowlumni language (May 19, 2004)

Only a dozen elders can still speak the Yowlumni language, Christina Jaquez says. $p Jaquez, a member of the Tule River Tribe of California, is hoping to change that. She teaches pre-school children the language at the tribe's day care...

Few Oklahoma tribes have same-sex marriage rule (May 19, 2004)

Few Oklahoma tribes have a policy affecting same-sex marriages, The Daily Oklahoman reports. $p Of several tribes the paper contacted, only the Creek Nation and the Iowa Tribe define marriage as between a man and a woman. The rest say...

Alaska villages may get delay for emission rules (May 19, 2004)

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue separate rules affecting diesel emission in rural Alaska villages later this year. $p The EPA has regulations to reduce emissions from on-highway vehicles by 2007. But rural villages, where low-sulfur -diesel fuel...

Bald eagle being removed from threatened species list (May 19, 2004)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to have the bald eagle removed from the threatened species list by the end of the year, The New York Times reports. $p The bald eagle was at the edge of extinction in...

Jesuits settle sexual abuse suit with Alaska Native men (May 19, 2004)

A settlement has been reached in an abuse case that stirred controversy when a retired Jesuit superior claimed that Alaska Natives were "loose" on sexual matters. $p The Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus and the Society of Jesus...

Senate panel to consider health self-governance bill (May 19, 2004)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a hearing today on S.1696, the Department of Health and Human Services Tribal Self-Governance Amendments Act. $p The bill creates a pilot project to expand the number of HHS programs available for self-governance...

Arapaho language in danger of disappearing (May 19, 2004)

The Arapaho language will disappear in 15 years without a major revitalization effort, a tribal college professor said. $p Eugene Ridgely Jr., director of the bilingual education program at the Wind River Tribal College in Wyoming, said only 1,000 out...

Mohegan Tribe asks BIA to take land into trust (May 19, 2004)

The Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut is asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take 75 acres into trust. $P The land, divided into 15 parcels, is located in the town of Montville. Two-thirds, or about 50 acres, is assessed at...

Opinion: Supreme Court sets 'open season' on tribes (May 19, 2004)

"Throughout the country, state and local authorities are taking a cue from recent Supreme Court decisions as license to trample on tribal sovereignty. In a 2001 decision involving Nevada game wardens serving a search warrant on tribal land, Justice Anthony...

Judge affirms Miwok tribe's federal recognition (May 19, 2004)

A federal judge in California has affirmed the federal status of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. $p U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. on Friday rejected a challenge the tribe's federal recognition. He said El Dorado County brought...

Democrats continue to object to Myers nomination (May 19, 2004)

Senate Democrats said they would continue objecting to the nomination of Bill Myers, the former Interior Department solicitor, to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. $p Tribes around the country are opposing Myers, citing his record of failing to protect...