Lobbying Report: The Holland & Knight firm (May 23, 2005)

Thanks to Indian gaming, tribes have emerged as major players in Washington, D.C. In the past two election cycles alone, tribes poured $13.8 million into Republican and Democrat interests, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. But this figure doesn't...

Alaska Native rappers find success in community (May 23, 2005)

They don't even have a record out but two Alaska Native rappers who go by the name Blood Family have found success in the Native community. Jaye Ulak, 19, also known as "Blood," and Jimmy "G" Walker, 20, made their...

South Dakota Democrat asks White House for BIA job (May 23, 2005)

Ron Volesky, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, knows it's a long shot but he is asking the White House to nominate him as the new assistant secretary for Indian affairs. In a letter to President Bush,...

Report analyzes outcome of Native Vote 2004 (May 23, 2005)

American Indians and Alaska Natives turned out to the polls last November in record numbers, according to the final report of the Native Vote 2004 campaign. Released this month by the First Americans Education Project, the report tracked voter participation...

First Nation stands in way of natural gas pipeline (May 23, 2005)

The Deh Cho First Nation in northern Canada has successfully mounted a campaign to block an 800-mile natural gas pipeline that would run through its traditional lands. Tribal leaders say the pipeline will hurt their culture and bring little economic...

Myers seen as expendable in judicial nominee fight (May 23, 2005)

Bill Myers, the Interior Department's former top lawyer, is viewed as the most expendable in the escalating fight over President Bush's controversial judicial nominees. The Denver Post says Myers may be left out of a deal to confirm some of...

Dream of Pueblo leader in Washington realized (May 23, 2005)

An idea born 29 years ago when Pueblo leaders from New Mexico went to Washington, D.C., to take part in the bicentennial celebration is being realized this year. On their 1976 trip, the Pueblo delegation found out that New Mexico...

'Medicine man' claimed Indian heritage in his 40s (May 23, 2005)

A self-proclaimed "medicine man" who faces federal charges for distributing peyote to non-Indians didn't start claiming he was Indian until he was in his 40s, The Provo Daily Herald reports. That's when James Warren "Flaming Eagle" Mooney received a call...

Judge approves reservation hog farm settlement (May 23, 2005)

A federal judge last week approved a settlement that will allow two hog farms on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation to continue operating. The settlement gives Sun Prairie at least 20 more years to operate the farms. But the company will...

Terry Piestewa: Lori's 'wishes have come true' (May 23, 2005)

The family of Lori Piestewa, the Hopi woman killed in action in Iraq, was featured on the season finale of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" on ABC last night. The show built Piestewa's parents, Terry and Percy, and her two young...

McKosato: Greed behind ouster of tribal members (May 23, 2005)

"All my life my family has instilled in me the value of sharing, and I've always believed that sharing is a core cultural value of my Native-American people. `Be generous, not greedy,' I was taught. But apparently for some tribes...

Disenrolled tribal members hold national forum (May 23, 2005)

More than 100 people reportedly attended a forum on Saturday to discuss tribal disenrollments occuring occurring the United States. "There needs to be a healing in Indian country and we're going to start it,'' forum organizer John Gomez Jr.,...

Seattle Times: Unearthing Tse-whit-zen Village (May 23, 2005)

The Seattle Times is running a special report this week on the discovery of a major village of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe of Washington. "Unearthing Tse-whit-zen" is named for the Tse-whit-zen Village located on the Port Angeles harbor....

Report: OST appraisers sought higher grazing rates (May 23, 2005)

Two Office of Special Trustee appraisers say the trust relationship requires the federal government to "maximize" the return for Indian landowners, Agweek reports. In a report prepared as part of a lawsuit over grazing rates, Geoff Oliver of OST in...

In the Loop Contest: Winners of Name That Scandal! (May 23, 2005)

Joan Villa of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians in California is among the several winners of the Name That Scandal contest run by the In the Loop column of The Washington Post. "This was to come up with a...

Editorial: Abramoff is what's wrong in Washington (May 23, 2005)

"As a general rule, when a lobbyist becomes a household name outside Washington it is not a good thing — not for the lobbyist and, most certainly, not for the rest of us. Jack Abramoff has become the latest example...

Lawyer: Abramoff did nothing wrong in Washington (May 23, 2005)

"Former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff is the subject of more recent newspaper articles than Osama bin Laden. If charges are filed, Mr. Abramoff will answer for his specific conduct alleged to violate specific laws. However, what he should not have...

Column: Some questions Ralph Reed needs to answer (May 23, 2005)

"If he hopes to win next year's GOP primary, [Ralph] Reed may have to come clean about his lobbying. Questions raised by supporters of Reed's opponent Casey Cagle get tougher by the day, and the primary is still 14 months...

GOP Activist Grover Norquist: 'McCain hates me' (May 23, 2005)

A Republican activist who took millions from gaming tribes says he is "getting dragged into" the Jack Abramoff scandal because Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) holds a grudge against him. Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform, campaigned for...

Opinion: Feds still dragging feet on Indian trust fund (May 23, 2005)

"For over a century, the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust has snatched American Indians’ rightful profits by pinching funds from destitute Native nations. An eight-year lawsuit, Cobell v. Norton, aims to make the government pay what they rightfully owe, but,...

Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe steers clear of Abramoff (May 23, 2005)

Leaders of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts say they have nothing to do with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff even though they hired his firm to lobby for their federal recognition. The tribe paid $40,000 to the Greenberg Traurig firm...

Yellow Bird: New joys come with passage of time (May 23, 2005)

"I've always had a soft spot in my heart for elderly people. I think it comes from my relationship with my grandmother - one of my mentors and teachers. And it comes from knowing these elderly people have a long...