Kiowa factions dispute nature of apparent takeover (January 9, 2004)

A group of Kiowa tribal members occupying the tribal headquarters say they are rightfully elected officials. They also dispute allegations of a violent takeover. The group seized financial records in relation to the tribe's failure to comply with Bureau of...

Bush education official pays visit to N.M. school (January 9, 2004)

Vicky Vasques, director of the Department of Education's Office of Indian Education, visited the Santa Fe Indian School in New Mexico on Thursday. According to The Santa Fe New Mexican, Vasques wasn't able to answer questions posed by the school's...

Schwarzenegger to seek $500M in gaming revenues (January 9, 2004)

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) will propose to take $500 million in revenues from tribal casinos, The Los Angeles Times reports. In his first State of the State address on Tuesday, Schwarzenegger said he respects tribal sovereignty but that tribes...

Changes to casino rules on Bush agenda for 2004 (January 9, 2004)

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) on Thursday announced it will revise casino regulations that tribal leaders say are too intrusive. In a statement, NIGC chairman Phil Hogen, a Bush administration appointee, said he is forming a tribal advisory committee...

Debate rages over renaming of park at Piestewa Peak (January 9, 2004)

A special advisory panel in Phoenix, Arizona, failed to come to a decision on whether to rename the park at the base of Piestewa Peak. Representatives of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community said the Squaw Peak Recreation Area should...

Energy lobbyists paid $5K to 'sponsor' Griles speech (January 9, 2004)

Energy lobbyists paid $5,000 to sponsor a keynote speech given by Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday. A protester tried to interrupt the speech to give Griles a fake $1.1 million check. According to The...

Indian lawmaker in Wash. provides hope to students (January 9, 2004)

Indian students at an alternative high school in Washington got a chance to meet a man who has inspired them. John McCoy, a member of the Tulalip Tribes, is the only Native American in the state Legislature. He was elected...

Calif. agency asserts right to regulate tribe's business (January 9, 2004)

The California Insurance Commission filed court papers in state court on Wednesday asserting the right to regulate a business owned by the Blue Lake Rancheria. State regulators say the tribe's company must comply with state workers' compensation laws. The company,...

State to intervene in Wampanoag sovereignty case (January 9, 2004)

Massachusetts attorney general Thomas Reilly is intervening in a case that affirmed the sovereign immunity of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. The tribe's settlement act subjects tribal lands to state and local laws. But a superior court judge said the law...

Business regulations frustrate Navajo business owners (January 9, 2004)

Business owners on the Navajo Nation aren't entirely happy with business regulations approved this week. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will no longer be require to approve business site leases under rules adopted by the Economic Development Committee. But the...

Navajos accuse N.M. school district of discrimination (January 9, 2004)

A federal lawsuit accuses a public school district in New Mexico of violating the freedom of speech rights of three Navajos. An white employee also has joined the case. The plaintiffs say Central School District superiors stopped them from speaking...

Indian woman to go to trial for alleged voter fraud (January 9, 2004)

A member of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is going to trial in state court on February 9 for alleged voter fraud in the 2002 U.S. Senate election. Rebecca Red Earth-Villeda is accused of submitting fraudulent absentee...

Column: Farmed salmon study a bombshell for Natives (January 9, 2004)

"Salmon is king, a glistening, totemic symbol of the Pacific Northwest. The magnificent fish embodies our spirit and history. Native people fished for salmon along the Columbia 10,000 years ago. Tribal elders swear there was a time you could walk...

Investigation into teen's death called cover-up (January 9, 2004)

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer accused police in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of shoddy work in investigating the death of a Native teenager in 1990. Darren McFadyen led a task force that considered whether Saskatoon police played a role in the...

BLM orders study for project impacting Crow sites (January 9, 2004)

Representatives the Crow Tribe of Montana welcomed the Bureau of Land Mangement's decision to order a a full environmental impact statement for a road project impacting sacred Crow sites. The BLM is being asked to approve a road widening through...

S.D. Supreme Court limits refunds for illegal gas tax (January 9, 2004)

The South Dakota Supreme Court on Thursday limited the refunds owed to tribal members who were illegally subjected to the state's gasoline tax. In a 4-1 decision, the court reiterated that the state has no authority to impose its tax...

CNN host accuses Indians of stealing Senate election (January 9, 2004)

Indian leaders, Democrats and Republicans are criticizing the host of a CNN show who accused Indian voters of stealing the 2002 U.S. Senate election, The Rapid City Journal reports. On Tuesday's broadcast of "Crossfire," Robert Novak, a political commentator, said...

Natives have genes adapted to cold, scientists say (January 9, 2004)

American Indians are genetically adapted to the cold because their ancestors lived in Siberia, according to research being published in Science today. Scientists in California found that many American Indians, Northern Europeans and East Asians possessed a genetic change that...

Study finds higher level of toxins in farmed salmon (January 9, 2004)

A new study recommends people limit their consumption of farmed salmon, which have higher levels of PCBs, dioxin and other cancer-causing contaminants than wild salmon. Researchers said the amount of toxins in farmed salmon was below the levels set by...