Eight tribes sign agreement with Marine base (September 1, 2005)

Eight tribes have signed an agreement with Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort to ensure the tribes are consulted if remains or artifacts are found at the base in South Carolina. The base is located on the homelands of tribes like...

NIGC takes narrow reading of Class III court decision (September 1, 2005)

The National Indian Gaming Commission plans to continue enforcing its Class III regulations despite a court decision stating that the agency "overstepped" its boundaries. On August 28, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates held that NIGC has no authority to...

Colorado tribe's detention officer accused of rape (September 1, 2005)

A detention officer for the Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado is charged with raping a woman in her home. Jerone Joseph Olguin, 31, reportedly entered the home of the woman, identified himself as a police officer and told teens at...

Editorial: Both sides must work on trust reform bill (September 1, 2005)

"The federal government has botched royalty payments to Native Americans for more than a century. It has spent tens of millions of dollars in a futile attempt to unravel the accounts. And it's pouring money into fighting a 9-year-old class-action...

Cherokee chief renounces enrollment in UKB (September 1, 2005)

Chad Smith, the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, has renounced his membership in the United Keetoowah Band. Smith was enrolled in the UKB by his grandmother. He was facing banishment from the UKB over the Cherokee Nation's opposition to...

Pine Ridge extradition case stirs controversy (September 1, 2005)

The possible extradition of two men from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is stirring up controversy and racial tensions. Brothers Dakota and Dirk Garnier face felony charges in Fall River County for a June 2 fight. The Garniers...

School districts accept students from Red Lake (September 1, 2005)

At least 50 students from the Red Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota transferred to other schools in the wake of the March 21, 2005, shootings at the high school. Other school districts were wary of accepting the Red Lake students,...

Schaghticoke recognition ruling expected in October (September 1, 2005)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected to issue a revised final determination on the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation of Connecticut in mid-October, The Waterbury Republican-American reports. In January 2004, the BIA issued a decision in favor of the tribe. But...

Opinion: 'Fighting Sioux' hurts Native students (September 1, 2005)

"I'm glad to see that the Star Tribune recognizes in its recent editorial that North Dakota's use of Indian nickname and iconography is 'more complex' than some other cases. It is indeed, as I know from 34 years on...

Eastern Cherokee Band holds council election (September 1, 2005)

Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are going to the polls today to elect the tribal council. All 12 seats are up for grabs. All but one incumbent, Bob Blankenship, is seeking re-election. The tribe has a budget...

Blackfeet senior citizens director wins top award (September 1, 2005)

Connie Bremner, the director of the Blackfeet Nation's senior citizens program, has been awarded the 2005 John Feather Diversity Award. Bremner has run the program since 1994. She won the award for her efforts to improve programs and services for...

Linda Chavez: GOP panders on Native Hawaiian bill (September 1, 2005)

Ed. Note: Linda Chavez was nominated for secretary of labor by President George W. Bush but had to withdraw when news reports disclosed that she hired a non-documented worker. "Do Republicans actually stand for anything? I wonder sometimes, especially when...

AIM leader meets with school over boys' long hair (September 1, 2005)

Dennis Banks, the co-founder of the American Indian Movement, met with school administrators in Los Fresnos, Texas, to protest the suspension of two Indian boys who won't cut their long hair. Rodney Burns, 14, and Skyler Burns, 12, formerly of...

Missing Indian woman identified after 32 years (September 1, 2005)

The body of an Indian woman who disappeared 32 years ago has been positively identified as Louella Janice "Ludy" Monroe, a Potawatomi/Kickapoo woman from Kansas. Monroe's body was found five years ago near the Kickapoo Reservation. Police identified her using...

Arrests made in murder of Oglala Sioux woman (September 1, 2005)

Police in Salt Lake City arrested two men in connection with the murder of a pregnant woman who was a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Darla Marie Woundedhead, 30, was shot in the chest on August 18. She died...

University of Utah latest to appeal NCAA policy (September 1, 2005)

The University of Utah "Utes" asked the NCAA on Wednesday for an exemption to the policy on Indian mascots. The school said it has a long relationship with the Northern Ute Tribe. The tribe supports the use of the nickname....

Indian student enrollment drops at UC Berkeley (September 1, 2005)

The number of Native American students at UC Berkeley has dropped significantly over the past decade even as more and more Native Americans attend college. In 1995, there were 207 Native undergraduates at Berkeley. It is down to 123 as...

Osage Nation chief makes bid for NCAI presidency (September 1, 2005)

Jim Gray, the chief of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, announced his campaign to become the next president of the National Congress of American Indians. Gray cited his advocacy for tribes and Indian people, including efforts to settle the...

Oklahoma Indian woman an armwrestling champion (September 1, 2005)

Cynthia Yerby, a Seminole/Creek woman from Oklahoma, is headed to the World Armwrestling Federation (WAF) world championship after winning a series of national titles. Yerby will be competing on Team USA. She qualified this year by garnering three national...

Former HUD official Liu drops lobbying effort (September 1, 2005)

Michael Liu, the former assistant secretary for public and Indian housing, left the Bush administration in May 2005 and quickly joined a lobbying firm to work on housing issues. But Liu and his partner, another former Bush official, have...

Mississippi Choctaws hit by Hurricane Katrina (September 1, 2005)

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians were hit by Hurricane Katrina this week. The hurricane knocked down trees and caused power outages on the reservation. Some remote homes are without telephone service. The tribe is waiting to hear what happened...