Tribes take chances with far-away land acquisitions (April 1, 2004)

When it comes to real estate, it's all about location, location, location. The same holds true in Indian Country, as dozens of tribes look for land hundreds of miles away from their current locations, sometimes in other states. Critics deride...

Navajos see boxing club as way out for youth (April 1, 2004)

A small boxing club on the Navajo Nation is providing a healthy alternative to drugs and gang violence. $p The Damon-Bahe Boxing Club in Chinle, Arizona, was founded by Cal Bahe, who turned to boxing as a youth to get...

Alaska to open ANWR shores to oil and gas drilling (April 1, 2004)

Alaska Natives in the North Slope say they are opposed to opening the shores of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. $P Inupiat Eskimos use the waters off ANWR to hunt for whales. The mayor of...

Group organizes to oppose tribal water settlement (April 1, 2004)

Several hundred northern New Mexico residents are organizing to oppose a proposed settlement to a tribal water rights lawsuit. $p The Pojoaque Basin Water Alliance says water users were kept out of the dark about the deal. The group is...

Native shareholders locked out of own building (April 1, 2004)

Shareholders of an Alaska Native corporation were locked out of their new office building as they demanded to know why their chairman was ousted. Chugach Alaska Corp. chair Sheri Buretta was removed by a secret ballot. According to The Anchorage...

House panel sympathetic to tribes on recognition (April 1, 2004)

Members of a Congressional committee promised on Wednesday to take a more active role in reforming the controversial federal recognition process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Resources Committee, led a lengthy...

Opinion: Calif. tribes disenrolling more people (April 1, 2004)

"As Indian casinos prosper, tribal members are becoming greedier. Laura Wass, a spokeswoman for the American Indian Movement, said that hundreds of California Indians have been ejected from their tribes in recent years, many from tribes that run casinos, and...

Mille Lacs Band takes on more public persona (April 1, 2004)

The Mille Lacs Ojibwe Tribe of Minnesota held an open house on Wednesday as part of a strategy to promote its image to the community. $P The tribe has encountered opposition locally in disputes over treaty and fishing rights. The...

Police chief takes over after violence at First Nation (April 1, 2004)

A new police chief for Kanesatake Mohawk First Nation in Quebec says he is concerned about possible violence on the reserve. $P David Thompson replaces the old police chief, who was seen as soft on crime. He is a tribal...

Tribes ask court for $1.7B and title to lost land (April 1, 2004)

The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the Cayuga land claim on Wednesday. $p The lawyer for the Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma asked for $1.7 billion for 63,000 acres of...

Agua Caliente Tribe announces results of election (April 1, 2004)

Richard Milanovich was re-elected to a record 11th term as chairman of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the California tribe announced. $p The tribe also announced the re-election of Jeannette Prieto-Dodd for a fourth term on the tribal...

House committee debating status of Lumbee Tribe (April 1, 2004)

The House Resources Committee will hold a hearing today on a bill to recognize the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. $p Tribal members have asked for federal status since the late 1800s. They thought they gained recognition through Congress in...

Hearing used to air complaints about tribal recognition (April 1, 2004)

The House Resources Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to examine the way the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes tribes. $p Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) accused the BIA of bowing to "big" casino money. She called for a moratorium on...

GOP lawmakers still fuming over meeting with Norton (April 1, 2004)

Republican lawmakers from Connecticut are still upset over a meeting they held with Interior Secretary Gale Norton on the federal recognition process. $P Participants said Norton was dismissive of their concerns that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is being influenced...

Pow-wows a family affair for young Montana couple (April 1, 2004)

A young Montana couple who met at a pow-wow as high school students are continuing the tradition as college students and parents. $p Richard and Amber Walks Over Ice are the head man and head woman dancers at Rocky Mountain...

Citizen Pot Tribe plans housing on land in Kansas (April 1, 2004)

The Citizen Potawatomi Nation announced on Wednesday the purchase of 6 acres of land in Kansas that will be used for housing and a community center. $p The land, in the northeast Kansas town of Rossville, is part of a...

Sac and Fox woman comes home to run tribe (April 1, 2004)

It took some convincing for Kay Wallace Rhoads to run for chief of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. A lifelong educator, she was the dean of students at a community college in Texas at the time when tribal...

Domenici seeks $6.5M to expand diabetes program (April 1, 2004)

Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) is asking colleagues to provide $6.5 million to expand a Department of Defense diabetes project that benefits a number eight tribal and Native communities. $P The $6.5 million request is being made by a bipartisan group...

Judge rejects Okla. tribe's claim to land in Kansas (April 1, 2004)

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma does not have a claim to a former reservation in Kansas. $p The judge said an 1854 treaty terminated the tribe's rights in Kansas. He refused to order...

Native prisoner claims punishment for long hair (April 1, 2004)

A Native prisoner in California filed a federal lawsuit claiming he lost privileges for refusing to cut his hair. $P Billy Soza Warsoldier, 55, won't follow a grooming policy that restricts hair length in male inmates to 3 inches. He...