IGRA amendments up for critical committee vote (March 29, 2006)

Update: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, by a voice vote adopted S.2078, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments. The committee debated three amendments. Two were approved and one was denied. The first imposes a cut-off date of April 15...

Quinault Nation names Fawn Sharp as new president (March 29, 2006)

The Quinault Nation of Washington has named Fawn Sharp as its new president. Sharp is the tribe's longtime attorney. She succeeds Pearl Capoeman-Baller, who led the tribe for 12 years and was the first woman to serve as president....

Sports Column: Lumbee coach overcomes prejudice (March 29, 2006)

"The acorn never falls far from the tree and so it is best to first view Kelvin Sampson in Pembroke, the North Carolina town where the next Indiana coach was raised. It has but four stoplights and a population...

Indian students sue school district for racism (March 29, 2006)

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of current and former Indian students in Winner, South Dakota, accusing the school district of discrimination. The lawsuit says the school's disciplinary policies single out American Indians. The...

Non-Indians challenge Omaha Tribe's state tax deal (March 29, 2006)

Non-Indians in Thurston County have filed a lawsuit against the Omaha Tribe's gasoline tax agreement with the state of Nebraska. The non-Indians, including the owners of two gas stations, claim the agreement gives the tribe jurisdiction over gas stations in...

Soboba Band expands police services agreement (March 29, 2006)

The Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians expanded its law enforcement services agreement with Riverside County, California. The agreement was the first of its kind in the county. It authorizes sheriff's deputies to patrol the reservation and enforce the law for...

First Nation asks billionaires to help with housing (March 29, 2006)

The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in Manitoba has sent letters to Microsoft founder Bill Gates and a wealthy Canadian family, asking them to help with the housing crisis on the reserve. Chief Pascal Bighetty said his tribe of 1,400...

Air Force cadets help build home for Navajo family (March 29, 2006)

Cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, joined with the Southwest Indian Foundation in Gallup, New Mexico, to build a home for a Navajo family. The cadets build two homes a year under a project...

Muckleshoot Tribe reaches land, hunting rights deal (March 29, 2006)

The Muckleshoot Tribe has reached a land and hunting rights deal with the city of Seattle. The city will limit its use of water on the Cedar River, transfer 1,200 acres to the tribe and recognize the hunting rights of...

Lower Brule Sioux Tribe plans Missouri River project (March 29, 2006)

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe in South Dakota is planning a project to protect and restore important sites and habitat along the Missouri River. With the creation of Lake Sharpe, the tribe lost 7,000 acres of its best land, 90...

Opinion: Oglala Sioux to massacre their children (March 29, 2006)

"The Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota plans to blow smoke at the abortion ban signed into law earlier this month that would outlaw all abortions in South Dakota except to save a mother's life. Should the ban survive court...

GAO report warns of billions in lost oil, gas royalties (March 29, 2006)

A forthcoming Government Accountability Office (GAO) report warns of $20 billion in lost oil and gas royalties, and up to $80 billion if oil and gas companies win their lawsuits, according to a draft obtained by The New York Times....

Norton denies fraud or major problem with trust (March 29, 2006)

Outgoing Interior Secretary Gale Norton says a review of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust has turned up few errors. "We have found no fraud or major systemic problems. Yes, there are accounting errors here and there," Norton said in...

Editorial: Abramoff should return tribe's money (March 29, 2006)

"An Associated Press story Tuesday detailed the attempts of friends and associates of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff to persuade a federal judge to go easy on the once high-flying Washington power broker. Abramoff, who showered elected officials and their aides...

Perspective: NAGPRA impacts art and science (March 29, 2006)

"In April 1998, the Army Corps of Engineers dumped 600 tons of boulders and dirt over an area near the Columbia River in Washington where, two years earlier, the oldest known skeleton in North America — dubbed Kennewick Man —...

Senate Indian Affairs Committee meeting (March 29, 2006)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is holding a business meeting this morning to vote on four pieces of legislation. Of the three bills on the agenda, S 2078, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments is the most controversial. It would...

Senate panel to consider Pechanga land transfer (March 29, 2006)

A subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is holding a hearing on H.R.3507, a bill to transfer 991 acres to the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in California. The land contains sacred rock carvings and is important...

Listening Lounge: House hearing on tribal corp (March 29, 2006)

The House Resources Committee held a hearing this afternoon on H.R.3350, the Tribal Development Corporation Feasibility Study Act of 2005. The bill authorizes a study of the creation of a national tribal development corporation that would help tribes, Alaska Natives...

Ross Swimmer: Indian trust not about mismanagement (March 29, 2006)

"The Register-Guard's editorial said that the past two administrations have frustrated efforts to resolve this case. If the editors look at public court records, they will understand that this lawsuit is not about mismanagement, or even reparations. It was filed...