Census Bureau update provides look at Indian Country (August 16, 2006)

The United States is home to nearly 2.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday, with Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux and Ojibwe the most prominent tribal affiliations. Overall, Native Americans are only about 0.8 percent of...

Karuk Tribe blames toxic algae on Klamath dams (August 16, 2006)

The Karuk Tribe in northern California says highly toxic levels of algae in the Klamath River are caused by dams in the basin. The Karuks and other tribes have called for the removal of the dams. PacifiCorp is seeking...

Delaware Tribe hopes for recognition in a year (August 16, 2006)

The Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma hopes to regain its federal recognition within a year, chief Jerry Douglas said. The tribe was removed from the list of federally recognized entities last year. The Cherokee Nation brought a lawsuit against the Bureau...

New York asks court to end Onondaga land claim (August 16, 2006)

The state of New York filed court papers on Tuesday seeking to dismiss the Onondaga Nation's land claim. Citing the recent dismissal of the Cayuga land claim, the state says the Onondagas waited too long to file suit. The Cayuga...

Red Lake citizens challenge GOP on sovereignty (August 16, 2006)

About 40 members of the Red Lake Nation in Minnesota attended a fundraiser of the Beltrami County Republicans and questioned the candidates on tribal sovereignty. Tribal members showed up because U.S. House GOP candidate Michael Barrett wants the state to...

Column: Tribal governments act like businesses (August 16, 2006)

"When California Indian tribes were impoverished and virtually invisible, politicians could ignore them. When the tribes gained the exclusive right to operate gambling casinos, however, politicians were drawn to them like flies to flypaper -- a relationship sweetened with many...

Chickasaw Nation to remodel and staff fire station (August 16, 2006)

The Chickasaw Nation has agreed to remodel and staff an unused fire substation in Newcastle, city officials said. The city said it would provide fire services to the tribe's trust land in exchange for the funding. It will cost $250,000...

Oklahoma tribes discuss flu pandemic at conference (August 16, 2006)

About 200 representatives of 23 tribes attended the Pandemic Influenza Summit for Tribes in Oklahoma City. Dr. Gregory Felzien, director of the Infectious Diseases Division at the W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital, said Oklahoma Indians are susceptible to pandemic flu due...

Dame Te Ata, Maori queen, dies at age of 75 (August 16, 2006)

Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu, the seventh Maori sovereign, died on Tuesday, two weeks after celebrating her 75th birthday. Dame Te Ata was named queen after her father died 40 years ago. She was known as a promoter of...

New Mexico men arrested for theft of artifacts (August 16, 2006)

Police in New Mexico arrested an 18-year-old man and his 48-year-old uncle for stealing two Indian artifacts worth an estimated $40,000. The vase and bowl were taken from the home of Jolene Spencer. She said 18-year-old Aron Spencer, who lives...

Salt River, U.S. Attorney to announce meth probe (August 16, 2006)

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community will join the U.S. Attorney and the Drug Enforcement Agency in Arizona to announce the results of a seven-month undercover investigation into methamphetamine dealing on the reservation. The tribe is holding a press conference...

Haskell graduate killed in train collision in Kansas (August 16, 2006)

Jeannie NewMoon, a member of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma and a graduate of Haskell Indian Nations University, was killed this weekend after being struck by a train in Kansas. NewMoon lived on the streets but family said they were...

Sand Creek Massacre Trail to be designated (August 16, 2006)

The Northern Arapaho Tribe will join the state of Wyoming to designate the Sand Creek Massacre Trail today. The trail is a 600-mile link between the Wind River Reservation and the location of the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado. On...

Hopi Tribe declares emergency due to flooding (August 16, 2006)

The Hopi Tribe of Arizona declared a state of emergency on Tuesday due to heavy rains and flooding. No one has been evacuated but the tribe is prepared to move people if the rains get worse. The tribe has set...

Fry bread still a powerful food in Indian Country (August 16, 2006)

Fry bread isn't going anywhere despite links to diabetes and obesity, experts in Indian culture and food say. Joyce Begay-Foss, the director of education at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture in Santa Fe, urges cooks to fry...

Southern Ute Tribe loses a ruling on biker rally (August 16, 2006)

A judge in Colorado rejected the Southern Ute Tribe's request to appoint a receiver for an upcoming rally that was supposed to take place on the reservation. The tribe sued the Four Corners Rally in the Rockies after the organizer...

Republicans seek replacements for Ney, DeLay (August 16, 2006)

Republicans are seeking candidates to replace outgoing Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), two casualties of the Jack Abramoff scandal. Ney announced last week that he was not seeking re-election amid a federal probe into his...