Tom Daschle: Leave no Indian child behind (February 25, 2004)

The following is an opinion from Senator Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota). The main goal of the No Child Left Behind Act, the education reform bill enacted in January 2002, was to identify schools that needed to improve their programs in...

Column: New Aztec mascot a 'waste of money' (February 25, 2004)

" It's a dead bird. It's a skirt. It's a kilt. Whatever "it" is, the latest incarnation of the San Diego State Aztecs mascot provided a Rorschach test for media wags Monday at its introduction. After years of debate over...

Campbell's office center of possible criminal probe (February 25, 2004)

The Department of Justice is considering a criminal probe into the office of Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), The Denver Post reports. Campbell's former chief of staff is accused of inflating an aide's salary in order to take a kickback....

Anderson touts benefits of Cobell trust fund case (February 25, 2004)

Bureau of Indian Affairs head Dave Anderson (r) leads National Congress of American Indians in cheer. NCAI vice president Joe Garcia and regional representative Leslie Lohse take part. February 24, 2004. Photo © NSM. The new head of the...

Tribal leader who asked for help locked out of office (February 25, 2004)

The president of the Jicarilla Apache Nation in northern New Mexico has been locked out of her office, The Albuquerque Journal reports. resident Claudia Vigil-Muniz said she is being punished for seeking federal assistance to battle alleged tribal corruption She...

Study: Alaska Natives spend more time in jail (February 25, 2004)

Alaska Natives spend more time in state jails than any other racial or ethnic group, and they represent a disproportionate number of felony defendants, according to a new study. The Alaska Judicial Council concluded there is no systematic racial bias...

Man sentenced for stealing Navajo Nation artifacts (February 25, 2004)

An Arizona man was given three years probation and ordered to give up his all terrain vehicle for pleading guilty to stealing artifacts from the Navajo Nation. Nickolas Greer, 62, must spend 180 days at home and pay $8,592 in...

Arguments set for appeal of Cayuga land claim (February 25, 2004)

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments March 31 in the Cayuga land claim. A federal judge in New York awarded the tribe $247.9 million for 64,000 acres of stolen land. The payment has been stayed pending the...

Students launch canoe they built for Haida Tribe (February 25, 2004)

Students at an alternative high school in Washington saw a canoe they carved for the Haida Tribe take its first paddle on Tuesday. The students spent three years on a 750-year-old, 14,000-pound cedar to make the canoe. They worked with...

Heart, cancer death rates falling for Mich. Natives (February 25, 2004)

Heart disease and cancer death rates among Native Americans in Michigan have dropped in the past several years, the Minority Health Partnership reported on Tuesday. Heart disease death rates dropped 15 percent from 1993 to 1997 vs. 1997 to 2001....

Court won't halt Skull Valley nuclear waste dump (February 25, 2004)

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected attempts to stop the licensing of a nuclear waste dump on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation in Utah. The state and some tribal members challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's authority to...

Northern Cheyenne healer explains philosophy (February 25, 2004)

A Northern Cheyenne traditional healer gave a lecture about tribal philosophies to nurses, doctors, religious ministers and other caregivers in Montana. Linwood Tall Bull is head of the tribe's Dog Soldier Society. He said caregivers need to show respect for...

Hawaii senators consider deal on recognition bill (February 25, 2004)

Hawaii's two Democratic senators are considering ways to move a bill to recognize a Native Hawaiian government. The Republican leadership is seeking Hawaii's votes on the energy bill. Sen. Daniel Inouye said he and Sen. Daniel Akaka could trade their...

Bush calls for amendment to ban same-sex marriage (February 25, 2004)

President Bush on Tuesday called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would ban same-sex marriages by defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The White House had been analyzing the issue ever since the U.S. Supreme...

Appeals court to rehear Wash. tribe's treaty case (February 25, 2004)

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to rehear the Skokomish Tribe's treaty case. In June 2003, a three-judge panel of the court dismissed the tribe's $6 billion claim against the city of Tacoma. The tribe claims its treaty rights...

Tribe donates $4M to UCLA to support Indian center (February 25, 2004)

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is donating $4 million to the University of California-Los Angeles law school. The money will be used to support the Tribal Learning Community and Educational Exchange, whose goal is to education tribal members...

Kerry picks up more primary wins in Idaho and Utah (February 25, 2004)

Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts won the Democratic presidential primaries in Idaho, Utah and Hawaii on Tuesday. Kerry won all three states with more than 50 percent of the vote. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina ran second in Idaho...

Slate Explainer: How do you get tribal enrollment? (February 25, 2004)

News reports about a California tribe's growing enrollment prompted Slate, an online magazine, to explain how tribal membership works. Slate explains blood quantum and lineal descendant rules used by different tribes. The Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho requires one-fourth Nez...

BIA loan finances purchase of convenience store (February 25, 2004)

The Santee Sioux Tribe used a Bureau of Indian Affairs loan guarantee to purchase a convenience store for about $500,000. The tribe sees the store as a way to bring in revenues. Chairman Roger Trudell said funds are needed to...

Seminole Tribe pledges to reign in lavish spending (February 25, 2004)

Leaders of the Seminole Tribe of Florida say they will reign in lavish spending and stop using certain casino machines. The National Indian Gaming Commission has threatened to shut down the tribe's casinos unless the tribe complies. Tribal leaders are...

Controversy swells over BIA actions on Calif. tribes (February 25, 2004)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is under increased scrutiny amid allegations of conflict-of-interest over its handling a California tribe. The Department of Interior's inspector general and the General Accounting Office are investigating the BIA after news reports said officials in...