Editorial: Interior's endless charade on Indian trust (June 10, 2005)

What happens when Indian people want to know why they aren't getting the most for the use of their land? They are repeatedly told there is no mismanagement, that there is no retaliation, that the law doesn't work that way,...

NCAI heads to Oneida Nation for mid-year session (June 10, 2005)

The National Congress of American Indians is heading to Wisconsin for its 2005 mid-year session. The conference will be held June 12-15 in Green Bay. The Oneida Nation, whose casino is located next to the conference site, is the host...

'Patriots' to patrol reservation despite warning (June 10, 2005)

A group calling itself the Yuma Patriots plans to patrol the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona despite being warned they aren't welcome there. The all-volunteer group has been warned by the Cocopah Tribe not to come to the reservation. But founder...

Counties said to be in talks for Oneida land claim (June 10, 2005)

Two New York counties that received land stolen from the Oneida Nation are said to be talking with Gov. George Pataki (R) about settling the tribe's claim. Pataki's office wouldn't confirm details but said negotiations are underway. Madison County and...

Judge says Kiowas wrongly denied chance to vote (June 10, 2005)

A judge for the U.S. Court of Indian Offenses ruled that the Kiowa Tribe's election board wrongly denied scores of tribal members a chance to vote in an upcoming election. The judge also said the election board wrongly took two...

KKK leader on trial for slayings in Choctaw territory (June 10, 2005)

Jury selection will begin on Monday for the retrial of Edgar Ray Killen, a former Ku Klux Klan member Edgar Ray Killen accused of killing three civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Philadelphia is home to the Mississippi Band...

Fire Thunder defends record in advance of hearing (June 10, 2005)

Cecelia Fire Thunder, the first woman president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, says she has done nothing wrong to warrant a hearing on her possible suspension. Fire Thunder says she has only been trying to correct mismanagement of tribal programs....

World Peace and Prayer Day 2005 in the Black Hills (June 10, 2005)

The 10th annual World Peace and Prayer Day will be observed Tuesday, June 21, in the sacred Black Hills of South Dakota. The event is preceded by three days of ceremonies that start tomorrow. Runners from the four directions and...

March to call for end of liquor sales in Whiteclay (June 10, 2005)

Native activists will hold a march on Saturday to call for the end of liquor sales in the reservation border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska. The march will start on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It will mark the...

Forest Service rejects tribal appeals on snowmaking (June 10, 2005)

The Southwestern regional office of the U.S. Forest Service upheld a controversial decision to allow the use of reclaimed wastewater in the sacred San Francisco Peaks. Regional Forester Harv Forsgren said the use of wastewater to make snow will not...

Senate confirms more appeals court nominees (June 10, 2005)

The Senate voted this week to confirm four of President Bush's appeals court nominees, including three on Thursday. The Senate voted 53 to 45 yesterday to confirm former Alabama attorney general William H. Pryor Jr. to a seat on the...

Native woman's death blamed on substance abuse (June 10, 2005)

A Native woman from the Shamattawa First Nation in Manitoba was found frozen to death after drinking large amounts of alcohol and inhaling solvents, authorities in Thompson said. The death of Corrine Beardy, 27, has some worried that city isn't...

First Nations leaders worried about university spat (June 10, 2005)

Tribal chiefs in Saskatchewan are worried about the way the controversy over the First Nations University of Canada is being handled. The chiefs are worried that students and the university's reputation have been hurt by the firings of top...

Tribe worried that county not responding to dog bites (June 10, 2005)

The Big Pine Paiute Tribe of California is considering a government-to-government agreement with Inyo County in response to recent dog bite attacks on the reservation. The tribe called the county's Animal Control department after the first bite on April 12...

Oglala Sioux Tribe seeks law enforcement funds (June 10, 2005)

The Oglala Sioux Tribe is asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs for more law enforcement money. The tribe's annual law enforcement budget is $3.4 million, which includes benefits, administration and facilities. The tribe has not said how much more it...

Pataki land claim bill leaves out out-of-state tribes (June 10, 2005)

Only one tribe would be allowed to open an off-reservation casino in the Catskills region of New York under legislation submitted by Gov. George Pataki (R) on Thursday. Pataki called the bill an "historic settlement" that would resolve the St....

Lawmaker under scrutiny for links to Abramoff (June 10, 2005)

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Washington) says he doesn't know Jack Abramoff but his links to the disgraced lobbyist are becoming an issue. Hastings is chairman of the House ethics panel, which is due to investigate House Majority Leader Tom DeLay...

Republican leader defends letter to Gale Norton (June 10, 2005)

A House Republican leader who represents a state with no Indian tribes is defending a letter that warned Interior Secretary Gale Norton of "reservation shopping." Rep. Eric I. Cantor (R-Virginia), the House chief deputy whip, said he signed the...

New Coushatta chairman hopes to sort out scandal (June 10, 2005)

The new chairman of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana says it will time take for the tribe to recover from the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Kevin Sickey, 35, was elected chairman over a council member who supported Abramoff. The...

Review: 'Into the West' tries to be fair to both sides (June 10, 2005)

"The first Indian massacre on 'Into the West' is committed by a herd of stampeding buffalo, not by vigilantes or the United States cavalry. The first scalping of a frontiersman is the work of a grizzly bear, not of an...

Roundup: Reviews of TNT series 'Into the West' (June 10, 2005)

Should you watch "Into the West," the TNT mini-series that follows an Indian and non-Indian family amid the settling of the West? The reviews are flooding in, with most critics praising the attempt to include the Indian perspective. But while...

DOJ changes tactics again in tobacco industry case (June 10, 2005)

The Department of Justice wrapped up its eight-month trial against the tobacco industry on Thursday by dropping its demand that tobacco companies pay for programs to help people quit smoking. Instead, government attorneys asked the federal judge to force the...

Native student denied diploma after wearing bolo tie (June 10, 2005)

A Native high school graduate in Maryland is being denied his diploma because he wore a bolo tie to his commencement ceremony. Thomas Benya, who is of Cherokee descent, wore the tie as a tribute to his heritage. But...

Judge sworn in as new president of Bolivia (June 10, 2005)

The chief judge of Bolivia's top court was sworn in as the country's president on Thursday after the resignation of Carlos Mesa was accepted by the Congress. Eduardo Rodríguez, the president of Bolivia's Supreme Court, was sworn in after two...