Police incident with Cheyenne woman under review (February 7, 2006)

The Montana Division of Criminal Investigations has been called in to conduct a separate investigation of a police officer accused of using excessive force against a Northern Cheyenne Reservation woman. Billings Officer Randy Minkoff is already the subject of an...

Motive unknown in shooting deaths at Rincon (February 7, 2006)

No one knows exactly why three men were shot and killed on the Rincon Reservation in California last Friday. Some say racial/ethnic tensions may have played a role. One of the men who was killed was a tribal member while...

Bush seeks $4 billion for Indian Health Service (February 7, 2006)

The Indian Health Service emerged nearly unscathed with the release of President Bush's fiscal year 2007 budget on Monday. Since the start of the Bush administration, the IHS has seen steady increases. The trend continued with a request of $4.0...

BIA takes a hit as Bush releases latest budget (February 7, 2006)

The Bush administration announced a major cut to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Monday, the second year in a row that the agency's budget has been reduced by the White House. The fiscal year 2007 budget request for the...

Zuni man pleads guilty to murder of stepfather (February 7, 2006)

A 24-year-old Zuni Pueblo man pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his stepfather in Oregon. Jesse Shawn Wewa admitted to stabbing his stepfather Charles Lesarlley, 46. He reportedly told investigators that he did not like the way Lesarlley was...

Abramoff departed lobbying firm on bad terms (February 7, 2006)

Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff left his first lobbying job on bad terms, after acting like a "star" and refusing to be a "team player," The Seattle Times reports. In 1994, Abramoff was hired by Preston Gates, a Democratic-leaning law and...

Inquest begins into Native toddler's death (February 7, 2006)

The inquest into the death of Sherry Charlie, a 19-month-old Native toddler who was beaten death by her uncle, began on Monday. Charlie and her older brother had been placed in their uncle's home by a First Nations child...

First Nations to help preserve Great Bear Rain Forest (February 7, 2006)

Several First Nations will be part of a landmark agreement, being announced today, to protect the Great Bear Rain Forest in British Columbia. First Nations use the Great Bear, a 15 million-acre area that is the world's largest remaining...

Oregon tribe interested in acquiring old lighthouse (February 7, 2006)

The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians are interested in acquiring a lighthouse that has just been decommissioned by the U.S. Coast Guard. The tribe has ancestral ties to the land where the Cape Arago...

Racism against Indians called rampant in Wyoming (February 7, 2006)

The Wyoming Select Committee on Tribal Relations [Web Site] listened to stories of discrimination against Indians at a hearing on Monday. Michelle Hoffman, the superintendent of the school district on the Wind River Reservation, told lawmakers that Indian students are...

Editorial: Jeb Bush's distasteful lobbying of Miccosukees (February 7, 2006)

"Let's see. Florida weakens Everglades cleanup rules and postpones the deadline for meeting them, at the urging of Gov. Bush and the sugar industry. The sugar industry complains and gets a tough federal judge removed from overseeing the cleanup. But...

Tribal members killed 11 bison in Montana bison hunt (February 7, 2006)

Tribal members killed a total of 11 bison during the Montana's first bison hunt in 15 years, the Associated Press reports. Six were killed under licenses issued to members of Montana tribes. Five more were killed by young members of...

Sundance features Native works, filmmakers (February 7, 2006)

A handful of indigenous films were screened at the recent Sundance Institute while four Native filmmakers were selected for a special workshop. ''Smudge,'' a short by Metis filmmaker and actress Gail Maurice [Web Site] made its U.S. premiere. The film...

Oregon tribes start diabetes prevention program (February 7, 2006)

With the help of a $2.2 million federal grant, the Southern Oregon Tribal Diabetes Prevention Consortium has started a program to stem the rise of type 2 diabetes. The Coquille Tribe, the Klamath Tribes and the Cow Creek Band of...

Exhibit: Pacific Northwest art shines at the NMAI (February 7, 2006)

"If you didn't know better you'd think you were in an art museum. Even though it's in the National Museum of the American Indian, "Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast" sure...

Tim Giago: Gas-guzzlers, Indian cars and the Big Three (February 7, 2006)

"On vast reservations like the Pine Ridge, 100 miles long, 50 miles wide, or the Navajo Nation, 25,000 square miles, it is almost a matter of life and death to have a car or truck. Grocery stores of any size...

Ex-White House official fights SCIA on Abramoff (February 7, 2006)

A former White House official who has been indicted in connection with the Jack Abramoff scandal is challenging the authority of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. David Safavian, a former White House procurement official and former General Services Administration...

John Fund: Ted Stevens Airport and Don Young Way (February 7, 2006)

"Everyone seems to agree that Congress needs to clean up earmarks, the special pork projects members of Congress secure often without hearings, notice or even disclosure of the direct recipient. Rep. John Boehner, the new House majority leader, laments...

Column: I never had relations with that lobbyist (February 7, 2006)

"DISCLAIMER. Before proceeding with this week's column, please be advised of the following: I have not received any money from Jack Abramoff, and I am giving it back. Further, to the best of my knowledge, and based upon an intensive...

Abramoff scandal leads to more scrutiny of tribes (February 7, 2006)

The Jack Abramoff scandal is leading to more scrutiny of tribes, from Indian gaming to sovereignty, The Christian Science Monitor reports. Abramoff's clients were wealthy gaming tribes who donated generously to politicians. Of the top 10 tribal donors in 2004,...