USDA Blog: Alabama-Coushatta Tribe to restore longleaf pines (August 3, 2011)

"In years to come, members of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas won’t have to travel far to gather the treasured longleaf pine needles used to make their traditional handmade baskets. Tribal council members have enrolled upwards of 400 acres of...

WPR: Museum to repatriate ancestors to three Wisconsin tribes (August 3, 2011)

"The largest repatriation of Native American remains to date in Wisconsin is underway. The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) is working with three tribes to return several hundred individual human remains from its collection, back to the earth. For more than...

VOA News: Researchers taking a close look at Penelakut village (August 3, 2011)

"Many archaeologists believe humans first migrated to North America over the Bering Strait 15,000-to-18,000 years ago. They lived a nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering. Then, starting about 2,000 years ago, some of them settled in large, permanent villages. An...

Cherokee Nation to run a second welcome center for Oklahoma (August 3, 2011)

The Cherokee Nation is operating another welcome center for the state of Oklahoma. The 4,200-square-foot facility along I-44 in east Tulsa will be renamed Cherokee Nation Welcome Center. The gift shop will include Cherokee art, jewelry and apparel. "We are...

Members of Crow Tribe eligible for FEMA assistance after flood (August 3, 2011)

Members of the Crow Tribe of Montana are eligible for direct assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than 200 homes on the reservation were damaged by major flooding in May. FEMA can provide assistance with rebuilding efforts. “There...

Editorial: Monacan Nation moves closer to federal recognition (August 3, 2011)

"The Monacan Indian Nation — based in Amherst County — has been down this path before. But the well worn road to federal recognition by the U.S. Congress has been filled with pot holes. The Virginia tribe is hoping it...

Shakopee Tribe to host grand opening for new health food store (August 3, 2011)

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota is hosting a grand opening this Friday for Mazopiya, the tribe's new health food store. The tribe is emphasizing local products and healthy foods at Mazopiya, which means "a store, a place where...

Editorial: Open sacred Rattlesnake Mountain for public access (August 3, 2011)

"The lucky few who have been to the top of Rattlesnake Mountain understand the call for greater public access to this off-limits attraction. They also know that unrestricted use would ruin many of the things that make the imposing mountain's...

Young Navajo Nation man with dance group passes in Colorado (August 3, 2011)

A 19-year-old member of the Navajo Nation was found dead on the Southern Ute Reservation in Colorado. Janathan Yazzie was at Lake Capote with a Native dance group when he went missing on July 24. He was found three days...

NPR: Fight continues for resting place of legendary Jim Thorpe (August 3, 2011)

"More than half a century after the death of sports star Jim Thorpe, his surviving children and a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania are locked in a battle over the Native American athlete's remains. The two-time Olympic gold medalist, member...

Witness List: Senate Indian Affairs Committee probate hearing (August 3, 2011)

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold an oversight hearing tomorrowto discuss the American Indian Probate Reform Act. Congress passed the law in 2004. It created a federal probate code for Indian beneficiaries, who previously had to adhere to state...

Opinion: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe could hurt salmon recovery (August 3, 2011)

"This summer, the longawaited dam removal on the Elwha River finally gets underway, marking the culmination of a two-decade effort toward restoring salmon to one of Washington’s most pristine rivers. The Elwha, in many ways, is a chance to rewrite...

10th Circuit revives domestic violence case against Ute man (August 3, 2011)

A member of the Ute Tribe who was the first person in Utah to be charged for being a habitual domestic violence offender will once again return to federal court. Adam Ray Shavanaux was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 117....

Jeffrey Whalen: The Oglala Sioux Tribe's 'hit man' responds (August 3, 2011)

The following opinion by Jeffrey Whalen, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, appears in the current issue of the Native Sun News. All content © Native Sun News. A few days ago while surfing the web, I ran into...

Charles Trimble: I survived boarding school, unfortunately... (August 3, 2011)

Over recent years I have found myself in a position of seeming to defend Indian boarding schools against assertions that depict them as a combination of reform school, prison, gulag, and Nazi death camp. But I don’t mean to defend...

Republican amendment could bar land-into-trust applications (August 3, 2011)

A Republican lawmaker has proposed a legislative rider that could bar the approval of land-into-trust applications for at least a year. Rep. James Lankford (R-Okahoma) wants to attach the rider to H.R.2584, the Interior appropriations bill. It states: LIMITATION OF...

Young Suquamish woman wins effort for same-sex marriages (August 3, 2011)

It took a few years but Heather Purser was finally successful in getting the Suquamish Tribe of Washington to recognize same-sex marriages. Purser, 28, started lobbying tribal leaders after she finished college. She was encouraged to keep going but felt...

Court in Guatemala issues long sentences for Indian massacre (August 3, 2011)

A court in Guatemala has sentenced four soldiers to lengthy sentences for taking part in a 1982 massacre at an Indian village. More than 200 Indian men, women and children were killed in Dos Erres on December 6, 1982....