Congress sees more changes under Republican control (December 14, 2004)

There are many changes in store for Indian Country when Congress convenes for its 109th session next year. The most significant is the loss of two major champions. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe...

School hasn't taken action on prof who violated law (December 14, 2004)

A Fort Lewis College professor who has sparked an outcry among Indian students violated federal law, Indian Country Today reports. Andrew Gulliford, director of the Center of Southwest Studies, violated eight students' rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy...

U.S. Supreme Court decides cases without Rehnquist (December 14, 2004)

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, whose two-decade career on the bench has been marked by the erosion of tribal sovereignty, will not participate in every case this term, the high court announced on Monday. Rehnquist's battle...

New York municipalities pony up for court brief (December 14, 2004)

Several cities and towns in Madison County, New York, are being asked to pay for an amicus brief in Oneida Nation's U.S. Supreme Court case. The brief cost $26,896, according to The Syracuse Post-Standard. It supports the city of Sherrill...

Native students learn value of community service (December 14, 2004)

A unique program offered by the Tanana Chiefs Conference of Alaska opens Native students to the world of community service. The Tribal Civilian Community Corps recently traveled to Florida to assist in hurricane recovery efforts. They helped clean debris and...

More and more tribes turning to charter schools (December 14, 2004)

More and more tribes and Indian organizations are looking to establish charter schools that emphasize tribal culture. According to the Center for Education Reform, there are 30 Indian charter schools in the country in Arizona, California, Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, New...

Pueblo kids raise money for needy families (December 14, 2004)

First-grade students at Laguna Elementary in Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico, are raising money to buy food for needy families. The students have been busy making 800 noodle necklaces. They plan to raise $800 by selling their crafts. The sale is...

Navajo Nation council to vote on water settlement (December 14, 2004)

The Navajo Nation Council is set to vote on a costly water settlement that would settle the tribe's claims on the San Juan River. According to The Farmington Daily Times, a provision to provide $372.8 million for the Navajo Indian...

Daughter's disappearance destroys Native family (December 14, 2004)

A Native family in Manitoba says it is devastated by the disappearance of their daughter. Sunshine Wood was 16 when she went missing in February 2004. She had left the rural God's Lake First Nation to attend school in Winnipeg....

Manitoba launches First Nation midwife program (December 14, 2004)

The province of Manitoba has announced a $1.6 million (Canadian) program to train more Natives as midwives. The program is aimed at rural First Nations where expectant mothers have to travel long distances to give birth. But with more widwives,...

Navajo race car driver upset over tribe's silence (December 14, 2004)

Navajo race car driver Cory Witherill is upset that the Navajo Nation hasn't responded to his request to educate Navajo youth about diabetes. Witherill has taken his Team Diabetes project to tribes across the country. He encourages young Natives to...

State to transfer hatchery to Yakama Nation (December 14, 2004)

The state of Washington plans to transfer a fish hatchery to the Yakama Nation in the first agreement of its kind. The tribe will take over management of the Klickitat River hatchery in January. The hatchery site is located on...

Former Kickapoo business manager free on bond (December 14, 2004)

The non-Indian former business manager of the Kickapoo Tribe of Texas was freed on bond on Monday. Isidro Garza is one of six people charged with stealing more than $900,000 from the tribe. He was a close associate of Raul...

Bush picks Leavitt for Health and Human Services (December 14, 2004)

President Bush nominated Mike Leavitt, chief of the Environmental Protection Agency and former governor of Utah, as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services. If confirmed, Leavitt will oversee the Indian Health Service. Tribes have sought...

Meeting scheduled on future of Klallam tribal village (December 14, 2004)

Tribal, state and federal officials are scheduled to meet this week over the Lower Elwha Tribe's request to stop construction at a tribal village in Washington. Gov. Gary Locke (D) has indicated that work will not continue without the tribe's...

Editorial: Work at Klallam tribal village should stop (December 14, 2004)

"The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe is right to ask the state Department of Transportation to end excavation and construction work at the proposed graving dock there. The Hood Canal Bridge repair project is important and the investment lost at the...

Morongo Band's donation pays for transfer of bison (December 14, 2004)

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians donated $75,000 to transfer nearly 100 bison from Catalina Island in California to the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. The move will begin at a ceremony on Wednesday. The Morongo Band, the Rosebud...

Western Shoshones oppose gold mine exploration (December 14, 2004)

Members of the Western Shoshone Nation are opposing the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to approve an exploration project for a gold mine in northern Nevada. The Western Shoshone Defense Project, the Te-Moak Tribe and the Great Basin Mine Watch...

Chickee huts still a Seminole tradition in Florida (December 14, 2004)

The Seminole tradition of chickee huts is alive and well in South Florida. The state tried to regulate the craft but dropped the idea after running into obstacles. For one, it is cost prohibitive to conduct engineering studies on chickee...

Seminole Tribe represented in international show (December 14, 2004)

JoJo Dakota Osceola represented the Seminole Tribe of Florida at her high school's International Night. Osceola, 17, is a full-blooded Seminole who is proud of her traditions. She recently appeared in National Geographic magazine. Osceola is a senior at the...