California's gaming tribes to meet after rocky year (January 21, 2005)

The year 2004 was a rough one for California's gaming tribes. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) accused them of "ripping" off the state, pressured them to share more casino revenues and threatened to take a couple of them to court for...

Lawyers who took part in tribal coup face suspension (January 21, 2005)

Two attorneys who tried to help a dissident group claim control of the Round Valley Indian Tribes should be suspended, the California State Bar Court ruled last week. Attorneys Patrick J. Maloney Jr. and Thomas S. Virsik “wove a tapestry...

Historic headdress stolen from tribal college (January 21, 2005)

The FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are investigating the theft of an historic headdress from the Sitting Bull College in North Dakota. The headdress, which dates to the late 1800s, was stolen from the library sometime between Saturday...

BIA agency on South Dakota reservation closed (January 21, 2005)

The Bureau of Indian Affairs agency on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota has been closed since Monday for safety reasons. Employees at the office, in Fort Yates, have been relocated. A BIA spokesperson wasn't sure what the...

Dangerous reservation road set for reconstruction (January 21, 2005)

A dangerous road on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming will be reconstructed by the state. The 35-mile stretch known as 17 Mile Road has the highest crash rate for roads of its type. Alcohol-related accidents are nearly triple the...

Montana governor announces Indian affairs liaison (January 21, 2005)

A member of the Crow Tribe was named Montana's Indian affairs coordinator on Thursday by Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D). Reno Charette. 47, was picked from a field of 17 candidates. A former education administrator at Montana State University-Billings, she plans...

Cheyenne River Sioux chairman to give tribal address (January 21, 2005)

Harold Frazier, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, will deliver the first State of the Tribe address next Wednesday. When he came into office in December 2002, Frazier said he wanted to improve communication with the...

Citizen Potawatomi members want election reopened (January 21, 2005)

Four members of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation want the tribe to allow more candidates to register for an upcoming election. The protesters say the election committee didn't allow enough time for people to file three open seats on the grievance...

Columbus Day protesters acquitted in Denver (January 21, 2005)

A jury in Denver, Colorado, acquitted the eight leaders of a protest against the city's controversial Columbus Day parade. The eight were charged with failing to obey a lawful police order after they tried to block the parade last October....

Navajo Nation jail catches fire, escape at another (January 21, 2005)

A jail on the Navajo Nation caught fire last week while another on the reservation saw an inmate escape, The Gallup Independent reports. The Tuba City Detention Center suffered an electrical fire last Friday. The facility is in the process...

Native housing authority firings called retaliation (January 21, 2005)

Two women say their firings from a troubled Native housing authority in Manitoba are suspicious. Sandra Moar and Sherry Cowan say they are victims of a retaliation campaign at the Aiyawin Housing Corporation. Moar said she was fired and told...

North Dakota tribal hunting law clears committee (January 21, 2005)

A bill to recognize tribal authority over hunting by Indians and non-Indians passed the North Dakota Senate Natural Resources Committee on Thursday. If the bill becomes law, tribes will have the authority to regulate all hunting on their lands. Some...

Rosebud Sioux Tribe finishes first wind turbine (January 21, 2005)

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota installed the first wind turbine in Indian Country. Tribal officials decided to tap into the natural resource after learning that wind on the reservation could theoretically provide power to one-twelfth of the U.S....

Senate confirms Agriculture, Education nominees (January 21, 2005)

The Senate confirmed two new members of President Bush's second-term Cabinet on Thursday. Former Nebraska governor Mike Johanns (R) was confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture. Margaret Spellings, a former White House aide, was confirmed as Secretary of Education. Republicans were...

New Mexico lawmakers propose voter ID law (January 21, 2005)

Republican legislators and some Democrats in New Mexico are supporting a bill that would require voters to show identification at the polls. In addition to driver's license, the bill accepts identification issued by tribes. Other alternatives include a utility bill,...

Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe prepares for election (January 21, 2005)

The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada will hold an election February 12 because the previous one was nullified. Incumbent Chairman Alvin Moyle, former tribal police chief Bryan Hicks, former tribal employee Cathy Williams Tuni and Jack Allen are running for...

Hearing set on Lumbee Tribe housing dispute (January 21, 2005)

A judge will hold a hearing on Monday in a dispute between the Lumbee Tribe and the North Carolina Indian Housing Authority. The tribe has been barred temporarily from entering the housing authority's property. The tribe wants to assume management...

Harjo: Eliminate fry bread and other 'Indian' foods (January 21, 2005)

"I promise to give up fat ''Indian'' food this year and to urge others to do the same. Target number one: the ubiquitous frybread - the junk food that's supposed to be traditional, but isn't, and makes for fat, fatter...

Inaugural is Rehnquist's first public appearance (January 21, 2005)

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist administered the oath of office to President Bush on Thursday, his first public appearance since being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Rehnquist has been absent from the U.S. Supreme Court for the past three months due...

Judge dismisses lawsuit over Klamath fishkill (January 21, 2005)

A federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit over the unprecedented fishkill in the Klamath Basin. The Yurok Tribe sued the Bush administration, saying it violated its trust responsibilities. Upwards of 68,000 salmon died in 2002, a year after water...