Court ruling adds to debate over tribal-labor relations (June 14, 2004)

Tribes are exempt from a federal labor law that requires the payment of overtime to governmental employees, an appeals court ruled last week. A group of tribal police officers sued the Navajo Nation for failing to make timely and competitive...

Construction on Oklahoma Indian museum to begin (June 14, 2004)

Construction of the $110 million American Indian Cultural Center in Oklahoma City will begin this last now that the funding is in place. The Chickasaw Nation led an effort to raise $5 million need to start a $33 million state...

Recognition decisions expected for three tribes (June 14, 2004)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected to issue decisions on three tribal groups seeking federal recognition. $P Today an answer is due on the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe of Connecticut. The tribe received a negative final determination during the...

Village store busted for selling tax-free cigarettes (June 14, 2004)

A store in the Yup'ik Eskimo village of Marshall, Alaska, was busted for selling tax-free cigarettes. $P State law requires anyone who brings cigarettes into Alaska to obtain a license and purchase a $1 tax stamp for every pack. The...

Students visit site of 1863 Chippewa treaty (June 14, 2004)

Students participating in the INMED Summer Institute at the University of North Dakota got a lesson in history on Sunday. $p UND professor Virgil Benoit took the students to Old Crossing Treaty Park. In 1863, the Red Lake and Pembina...

Artifact amnesty program draws some interest (June 14, 2004)

An artifact amnesty program offered by federal prosecutors in four states has seen the return of some Indian remains. $p No other items have been returned but the authorities have received inquiring about returning other artifacts not on the amnesty...

South Dakota to resume suit against trust land (June 14, 2004)

South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds (R) says he will continue the state's fight against the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe's land-into-trust request. $P The case has been in the courts since 1990. The state sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs for...

Fort Peck tribal members oust most of council (June 14, 2004)

Members of the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana voted on Sunday to remove most of the tribal council. $P Nearly 500 showed up to a general council meeting called by suspended chairman John Morales. They voted out the 11 council...

Remains of Indian woman and grandson reburied (June 14, 2004)

The remains of an Indian woman and her grandson believed to have died in the late 1800s were reburied in Wyoming on Friday. $p The remains were uncovered accidentally during a construction project. The woman is believed to have been...

Decision near on returning park to Suquamish Tribe (June 14, 2004)

The last public meeting for a proposal to return Old Man House State Park in Washington to the Suquamish Tribe is being held this week. $p The park sits on land that was taken from the tribe by the federal...

Report calls for recognition of First Nations fisheries (June 14, 2004)

A new report calls on the British Columbia to recognize the fishing rights of First Nations. $p A panel appointed by the First Nations Summit and the B.C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission issued several recommendations, including turning over 50 percent of...

Tigua Tribe celebrates heritage and patron saint (June 14, 2004)

Members of the Tigua Tribe of Texas honored their heritage and the tribe's patron saint on Sunday. $p The annual St. Anthony's feast drew tribal members near and far for a Catholic mass, a large lunch and some traditional dancing....

Drilling project threatens tribal rock art in Utah (June 14, 2004)

A Bureau of Land Management archaeologist who recommended stringent protections for tribal rock art dating back 1,700 years has been barred from reviewing drilling projects in the Nine Mile Canyon of Utah. $p Blaine Miller was removed for an alleged...

Column: Tribal labor ruling faces fight in courts (June 14, 2004)

"Jobs on American Indian reservations have always come with their own set of work rules and regulations. The tribes are considered separate governments, entitled to establish their own labor standards unless specifically restricted by Congress. They are subject to no...

Pascua Yaqui Tribe chooses first woman as chair (June 14, 2004)

For the first time in its history, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe has a woman leader. $p Herminia Frias was selected chairwoman at the tribal council's first meeting last Thursday. At age 31, she is the youngest person to lead the...

Tim Giago: Boarding schools cause of many ills (June 14, 2004)

"Many of the problems now prevalent in Indian country, problems that are slowly starting to mend with the return of so many to their traditional forms of education and spirituality, can be traced directly to the BIA and missionary boarding...

Mark Trahant: Ordinary Reagan was extraordinary (June 14, 2004)

"Last week's all-news TV channels (the cable stations that formerly carried news) missed the Reagan story I'm most interested in: I had quite enough of Ronald Reagan, the extraordinary; what about Ronald Reagan, the ordinary? Reagan the ordinary is the...

Anderson says gaming has helped few Indians (June 14, 2004)

Assistant secretary Dave Anderson says gaming has helped relatively few Indians, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune. $p Anderson spoke with the paper about the recent controversy over his decision to remove himself from gaming matters. He says the Bureau...

Yellow Bird: A world away at tribal pow-wow (June 14, 2004)

"After a potluck meal, the evening dancing began. As I sat there with my sisters, mother and aunt, I was struck by the cultural difference at the powwow and what I see daily in Grand Forks. Women in their 50s,...

Tribal foes question need for U.S. apology resolution (June 14, 2004)

Tribal opponents say the United States should not apologize for its policies against American Indians and Alaska Natives. $p Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) is sponsoring a bipartisan resolution to apologize for "official depredations and ill-conceived policies" towards Native Americans. It...

regon tribe recalls Reagan for restoring recognition (June 14, 2004)

Members of the Confederated Grand Ronde Tribes of Oregon say they will never forget former president Ronald Reagan. $p The tribe was terminated by the federal government in the 1950s. In 1983, Reagan signed the tribe's restoration act into law,...