The Week in Review ending November 17 | Shedding the burqa. Afghan woman shows face after Taliban routed from Kabul. File © Reuters. |
Missed last week's stories? Get a complete listing. Want In The Hoop's list of the week's Winners and Losers? Wait no more. Norton drops bomb on Indian Country Admitting her department cannot fix the broken trust fund unless it makes drastic changes, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton this week announced plans to strip the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the duties it has provided to tribes for more than one hundred years. Fashioned as a response to a class action lawsuit that has been an embarrassment for the Bush administration, the proposal immediately incurred the wrath of a number of tribal leaders throughout Indian Country. They immediately blasted the reorganization and vowed to do what they can to stop it by calling on Congress and possibly even the courts for help. Get the Story: Norton takes action on trust (11/15) Gover: Tribal voice now 'weaker' (11/15) Interior might need year on new agency (11/15) Objections voiced over trust fund choice (11/15) Norton stripping BIA of trust duties (11/16) Tribal leaders in uproar over proposal (11/16) Norton's 'runaway train' denounced (11/17) Bush officials to speak at NCAI (11/16) Top Democrat calls for hearings (11/16) Q&A on BIA Reorganization (11/16) Norton seeks way out of contempt Secretary of Interior's standing with Indian Country isn't her only problem. She also has to convince an already critical federal judge not to hold her in contempt for her handling of the trust fund. So this week, her lawyers told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth she shouldn't be sanctioned for failing to distribute a court order as quickly as a court investigator would have liked. Without providing specific dates or evidence to challenge much of special master Alan Balaran's findings, her defense team said 11,000 of her employees have been fully informed they won't be sent home, fired or otherwise retaliated against if they criticize her. Get the Story: Interior mum on trust fund report (11/13) EDS Report: Trust fund recommendations (11/13) Trust fund security document filed (11/14) Norton challenges contempt charges (11/15) more stories There's still more to read in the recap of the top stories. |