Opinion: Indian voters still struggle for rights (June 13, 2005)

"The right to vote is among the most basic and fundamental rights of American citizens. American Indians have not always had that right. From the inception of the United States, the states dealt variously with American Indians and the right...

Trust reform costs put at $3B, thanks to Bush (June 13, 2005)

The federal government has spent nearly $3 billion over the past decade to fix the broken Indian trust, according to an appropriations bill introduced on Friday. The figure is significantly higher than the amount confirmed by Congress just three years...

Thousands turn out for San Luis Rey Band powwow (June 13, 2005)

Thousands of people reportedly attended the ninth annual Luiseno Inter-Tribal Pow Wow over the weekend. The two-day event is hosted by the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseno Mission Indians. Many veterans were present for the grand opening. The pow...

Paiute Tribe celebrates 25 years of restoration (June 13, 2005)

The Paiute Tribe of Utah held a powwow over the weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of federal restoration. The tribe is made up of five separate bands. All but one band was terminated in 1954. The results were devastating....

BIA says Oneida Nation subject to local taxes (June 13, 2005)

The Bush administration handed the Oneida Nation of New York another setback on Friday, deeming the tribe's lands taxable because they are not held in trust. Documents from the top acting officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs indicated the...

TV Week: Indians cite mistreatment on 'West' (June 13, 2005)

"Some of the Native Americans who worked on TNT's 12-hour miniseries "Into the West" allege they faced harsh working conditions and were frequently underpaid, and that the production violated child labor laws. The charges emerged from numerous interviews with Native...

Officers in fatal shooting of Indian man back on job (June 13, 2005)

Two sheriff's deputies in Clearwater County, Minnesota, are back on the job after taking leave for the fatal shooting death of a man on the White Earth Ojibwe Reservation. A report is due on the fatal shooting of Franklin Brown,...

Republicans sign onto tribal labor law exemption bill (June 13, 2005)

A bill to exempt tribal governments and their businesses from federal labor law has 11 co-sponsors -- and all but one of them is Republican. Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Arizona) introduced the bill to correct a National Labor Relations Board decision...

Sovereign immunity at issue as tribes do business (June 13, 2005)

As tribes do more and more business with outsiders, they are signing contracts that contain limited waivers of sovereign immunity. The waivers allow banks, developers, vendors and other business the right to sue tribes under certain conditions. They are common...

Ralph Reed hasn't been hurt by Abramoff scandal (June 13, 2005)

Republican activist Ralph Reed will be the subject of a Senate hearing into the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal but supporters and observers say the attention hasn't hurt his campaign for lieutenant governor of Georgia. Reed took money from Abramoff's wealthy...

Native artist completes intensive work at NMAI (June 13, 2005)

Kevin Pourier, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, recently completed an intensive three-week fellowship at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Pourier spent hours poring through the NMAI collection in search of inlaid art. He...

Group supports right of tribes to cross U.S. border (June 13, 2005)

Members of a group called Alianza Indigena say tribes whose lands straddle the U.S.-Mexico border should be allowed to freely cross it. The group supports efforts by the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona to ensure the tribal members on both...

Hundreds march to protest sale of liquor in Whiteclay (June 13, 2005)

A reported 300 people marched to Whiteclay, Nebraska, on Saturday to protest the sale of liquor in the tiny border town. Tribal activists and their supporters called on the state of Nebraska to ban liquor in the town. The nearby...

South Dakota GOP hires Lakota man for outreach (June 13, 2005)

Bruce Whalen, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been hired by the South Dakota Republican Party to conduct outreach among Indian voters. Whalen has been actively promoting the GOP in Indian Country. He attended the GOP convention and...

Tigua Tribe feels 'betrayed' by Jack Abramoff (June 13, 2005)

The Tigua Tribe of Texas dug itself out of poverty to build a casino that brought in $60 million a year. Gaming revenues paid for new housing, health care facilities and created jobs for many tribal members. But the tribe...

Shinnecock Nation to file billion-dollar land claim (June 13, 2005)

The Shinnecock Nation of New York plans to file lawsuits claiming land worth billions of dollars in the Hamptons of Long Island. The first lawsuit will claim 3,600 acres in the town of Southampton, including the golf course where the...

Opinion: Religious right now working for casinos (June 13, 2005)

"In 1999, the Christian Coalition of Alabama helped defeat a proposed state lottery. The coalition is currently fighting a plan to open Indian casinos in Alabama. Now we learn that a lobbying group called Americans for Tax Reform had given...

Campbell calls school 'uptight' in bolo-diploma flap (June 13, 2005)

Retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) is questioning why a high school in Maryland denied a diploma to a Native student who wore a bolo tie to his graduation ceremonies. Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of...

Opinion: Indians still second-class citizens in Bolivia (June 13, 2005)

"Highland and Amazon peoples compose almost two-thirds of Bolivia's population, the highest proportion of Indians in the hemisphere. (It's as if the United States had 160 million Apaches, Hopis and Iroquois.) And while native people are no longer forcibly sprayed...

Architect: NMAI suffers from flawed design, vision (June 13, 2005)

"Whenever someone asks me what I think of the National Museum of the American Indian, I always give the same answer: It is one of the few museums I was eager to leave after a relatively short visit. I find...

Mark Trahant: Junk mail invades home, office (June 13, 2005)

"I don't know what's worse: spam or junk mail? This morning, I start my workday opening my computer, so I can quickly delete 23 e-mails that have nothing to do with my job (unless, I really do want to arrange...

Yellow Bird: Diabetes epidemic in Indian Country (June 13, 2005)

"At the age of 48, Pearl Howard was told she had Type II diabetes. Over the next 34 years, my aunt battled the disease bravely. At first, her treatment was just pills; then, a shot. Today it's a tray full...