Westword: AIM fires at Rocky Mountain News (December 15, 2005)

"The Rocky Mountain News and the American Indian Movement of Colorado are a match made in hell. The Rocky's been consistently critical of Colorado AIM's position regarding Denver's annual Columbus Day Parade and has printed enough words attacking longtime AIM...

'The New World' reaches out to Native world for debut (December 15, 2005)

NATIVE STARS: Q'Orianka Kilcher as Pocahontas in "The New World," a new film from New Line Cinema. August Schellenberg as Chief Powhatan. • Official Movie Website • Internet Movie Database Entry "The New World," an epic adventure featuring an...

Raramuri Tribe of Mexican keeps on running (December 15, 2005)

Men of the Raramuri Tribe of Mexico, also known as the Tarahumara, are maintaining one of their oldest traditions: foot races of up to 100 miles across the Sierra Madre mountains. The races are held every few weeks and draw...

Lakota Nation Invitational underway in Rapid City (December 15, 2005)

The 29th annual Lakota Nation Invitational kicked off in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Wednesday. The Lakota Language Bowl was held on Wednesday, with fewer teams than usual participating. The competition finished in the evening, with 12 teams of...

Elderly couple's death being investigated (December 15, 2005)

Tribal, federal and local authorities are continuing to investigate the deaths of an elderly couple on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. Alvin Albert Feiock, 77, and his wife, Winona Fieock, 70, were found in their home on Sunday. It...

Four men guilty for reservation drug trafficking (December 15, 2005)

A federal jury found four men guilty of trafficking drugs in and around the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation in Minnesota. Pedro Zamora, Jorge Barragan, Ernesto Estrada III, and Florentino Castillo, were convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine....

Struthers, nursing doctorate, dies in Minnesota (December 15, 2005)

Roxanne Struthers, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and one of the few American Indians with a doctorate in nursing, died on Saturday, December 10. She was 53. Struthers was born and raised on the White Earth...

Quapaw council member killed in car accident (December 15, 2005)

Mason McWatters, the youngest council member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, was killed Saturday, December 10, in a car accident. McWatters, one of the drivers, was pronounced dead at the scene along with his passenger. The driver of...

Disenrolled Pechangas to take case to Supreme Court (December 15, 2005)

Former members of the Pechanga Band of Luiseńo Indians will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review their case, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. The 135 disenrolled members lost their case in the state court system. An appeal court ruled that...

Hoopa Valley Tribe denied seat on county board (December 15, 2005)

The Hoopa Valley Tribe of California has been denied membership on the Humboldt County Association of Governments board despite having state law in the tribe's favor. The board deadlocked 4-4 on giving the tribe a seat at the table. Chairman...

Michigan tribe debuts new health care facility (December 15, 2005)

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan hosted an open house at the tribe's new health care facility. The facility houses a clinic and the tribe's health department. A dental clinic will be opening soon in the...

Charities say they never got Abramoff donations (December 15, 2005)

Four charities say they never received $330,000 in donations from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The Austin American-Statesman reports. Abramoff told the IRS that his Capital Athletic Foundation gave grants to four nonprofits, including a $300,000 donation to P'TACH of New...

McCain set to introduce lobbying reforms (December 15, 2005)

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) will join Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wisconsin) in introducing legislation to reform lobbying rules as early as today, Bloomberg News reports. McCain said the tribal lobbying scandal involving Jack Abramoff prompted him into action. "It's obvious why...

Bush seeks to link Jack Abramoff to Democrats (December 15, 2005)

President Bush defended the Republican Party on Wednesday amid a series of corruption scandals in Washington, D.C., attempting to link disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to Democrats. In an interview with Fox News, Bush made his first public comments about Abramoff,...

Opinion: Dorgan comes clean but not on Clinton (December 15, 2005)

"All's well, Sen. Byron Dorgan of the great state of North Dakota has done come clean. Dorgan is the vice chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee. In that capacity he accepted $67,000 in contributions from Indian tribes represented by the...

Dorgan not affected by Abramoff donations (December 15, 2005)

Attempts to question the integrity of Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, have had no effect, with residents supporting his actions in the Jack Abramoff probe by a 2-1 margin. The Fargo...

Norton refutes alleged influence of Abramoff (December 15, 2005)

Interior Secretary Gale Norton denied suggestions that disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff exerted influence over tribal decisions at the Interior Department. "I can't think of any particular influence that his actions had on our decisions," Norton said, The Denver Post reported....

Pombo pressed to investigate Abramoff's work (December 15, 2005)

Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), the chairman of the House Resources Committee, is being pressed by Rep. George Miller (D-California), another committee member, to investigate disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Miller wants Pombo to look into Abramoff's lobbying work on behalf of...

Tom DeLay denies making phone call to Abramoff (December 15, 2005)

Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the deposed House majority leader, denies making a personal phone call to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, The New York Times reports. An e-mail from Abramoff's assistant suggests otherwise. The message claims DeLay himself called the...

Column: ANWR debate not only about environment (December 15, 2005)

"But for many opponents of drilling in the refuge, the debate is only secondarily about energy and the environment. Rather, it is a disguised debate about elemental political matters. For some people, environmentalism is collectivism in drag. Such people use...

Editorial: Burns should return Abramoff donations (December 15, 2005)

"For goodness’ sake, how self-evident can a proposition be? Sen. Conrad Burns is at the top of the list of those in Congress who took donations from Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist who is under indictment for wire fraud and...