Native American Cigarette Industry is Being Crushed
(NEW YORK) -- Tucked away along a waterway in Mastic, Long Island is Poospatuck, the smallest Indian reservation in New York State. It means “Where the water meets” and is home to 400 enrolled members of the Unkechaug tribe of Native Americans.
Lance Morgan: PACT Act a hidden power grab for states
(NEBRASKA) -- The US Constitution has what is known as the Indian Commerce Clause. It basically states that Congress has the power to regulate commerce with Indian Tribes. Unfortunately, Congress just outsourced that power to the states.
BLOG: On Capitol Hill, Administration Defends Indian Trust Deal
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Senior administration officials today defended the proposed $1.4 billion settlement to resolve a long-running Indian trust dispute, telling skeptical members of a House committee that the resolution, which requires congressional authorization, is fair and appropriate.
Officials defend Indian trust settlement
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Obama administration officials Wednesday vigorously defended the $3.4 billion settlement of a class-action lawsuit over the long-standing federal mismanagement of Indian tribal trusts, countering criticisms of exorbitant lawyers' fees, meager payouts to victims and a lack of overall transparency.
Lawmakers OK Navajo trust fund settlement
(UTAH) -- The Utah Legislature has signed off on a court settlement that would send $33 million to the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation for alleged state mismanagement of a reservation oil royalties trust fund.
CENSUS: Why American Indians Should Indentify Their Tribes On The 2010 Cesus Form
(CALIFORNIA) -- While the Census Bureau has taken great strides to make the 2010 census questionnaire the shortest and easiest yet to fill out, those of American Indian, Alaska Native and mixed ethnic background may still be wondering how to accurately provide their race in question nine of ten. "Question nine is the race and tribal affiliation question," says Curtis Zunigha, American Indian/Alaska Native Partnership Program Manager for the 2010 Census.
CENSUS: U.S. census count critical for funding urban Indian programs
(MINNESOTA) -- In Minneapolis and St. Paul, under-counting American Indians on the U.S. Census has led to reduction in federal funding for urban American Indian communities since 2000. Census officials recently visited Minneapolis to encourage American Indians, "Be Counted!" on the 2010 census.
Bill would create up to 45,000 new status Indians
(CANADA) -- The federal government has introduced legislation to extend formal Indian status to the grandchildren of aboriginal women who married non-natives – a change that could add as many as 45,000 people to the Indian registry.
Indian Act changes tabled in House
(CANADA) -- The federal government tabled legislation Thursday that could see more than 45,000 Canadians recognized as status Indians under changes to the Indian Act.
OP/ED: Map quest: Court rejects reservation claim
(OKLAHOMA) -- Barring a successful appeal, the Osage Nation has lost the argument that the county bearing its name is in fact a reservation. A judicial decision last week confirms that although Oklahoma has a large American Indian population and a lot of Indian land, it has no Indian reservations.
Tribes Face Hurdles With Sex Offender Registration
(NEW MEXICO) -- Only two groups of Native American tribes and one state have implemented sex offender registration and notification systems that comply with a federal law passed nearly three years ago to coordinate and expand registration nationwide.
‘Hate crime’ ad prompts police, human rights investigation
(MANITOBA) -- An ad on a buy-and-sell Web site that characterized Native boys as animals and offered to ethnically cleanse them from the city has sparked a blaze of outrage and prompted a First Nations leader to initiate an investigation by city police and Canada’s Human Rights Commission on a hate crime allegation.
Fort Defiance wants hospital '638 stopped
(ARIZONA) -- Members of Fort Defiance Chapter voted Sunday to freeze privatization of the local Indian Health Service facility because of numerous concerns over its effects, but it may be a case of too little, too late.
High court to consider impact of law on court cases
(ARIZONA) -- The Navajo Nation Supreme Court has pushed back two high-profile cases by a month in the wake of a new law that the court says could enhance the Navajo Nation Council's immunity against lawsuits, and may not be valid.
Hopi Tribal Council reps asked to step down
(ARIZONA) -- Last week, Hopi Tribal Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa formally requested that the appointed Tribal Council representatives from the villages of Mishongnovi and First Mesa step down from their council seats at the request of their respective village membership. He was strongly supported by Vice Chairman Herman Honanie.
Attorney general criticized over Native adoption case
(ALASKA) -- Two Anchorage senators used the confirmation hearing for Attorney General Dan Sullivan Wednesday to rebuke him over the state's repeated intervention in a Native adoption case in the Bush, but joined with the rest of the Judiciary Committee to move Sullivan's nomination to the full Legislature.
FNUC Funding Frustration / Students Assocation will fight for money
(SASKATCHEWAN) -- The fight for funding may be far from over. In Ottawa Thursday, Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl said the government will not budge and the First Nations University will not get back the dollars it desperately needs. Diane Adams, President of the FNUC Students Association, believes the feds are making a big mistake.
Aboriginals in desperate fight to save university
(SASKATCHEWAN) -- Students and staff from Canada's only Aboriginal university are pleading with the federal government to restore funding, saying the school will run out of money by the end of the month if something doesn't change.
First Nations University won't get money
(SASKATCHEWAN) -- A delegation from First Nations University of Canada has been told Ottawa won't restore $7 million in annual funding to the struggling Saskatchewan-based institution.
Colleges face dilemma in attempting to honor Indians
(TEXAS) -- Colleges and universities across the U.S., in their attempts to honor Native Americans with mascots for their sports teams, often are challenged by a lack of knowledge, defensiveness and a tendency to not listen, Dr. C. Richard King said here Thursday night.
Pueblo High students pick a new mascot
(ARIZONA) -- If you see a wolf on the Pueblo Magnet High School campus, don’t panic, it’s just the new mascot. The student body has submitted its votes and the wolf beat out both the dragon and the puma, which were also vying for the coveted spot.
U of M Aboriginal community outraged by racist classified ad
(MANITOBA) -- Aboriginal students at the University of Manitoba are outraged over an online classified ad offering free “extraction” and “relocation” of Aboriginal youth from within city limits to reserves or areas of the city with high Aboriginal populations.
MORON ALERT: Assault on Indian nicknames must stop
(WISCONSIN) -- Class of 1979, Belmont High School, home of the Braves. At least for now, unless some legislators in Madison with too much time on their hands and too little focus and common sense get their way.
Lawmakers delay vote on tribal police power bill
(IDAHO) -- Idaho lawmakers are delaying a vote on a bill that would give Indian tribal police the authority to arrest non-tribal members on the reservation without permission from the local sheriff.
Allan: ‘These are actually bad guys getting away - this is what’s happening’
(IDAHO) -- Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was the final person to testify at this afternoon’s hearing on the tribe’s law enforcement legislation, before each side started wrapping up. “It’s just a bill for public safety,” Allan told lawmakers. “It’s a vote for putting more police officers out there on the street.
BLOG: Payne Argues Against Tribe Police Bill
(IDAHO) -- Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne is at the Statehouse this afternoon arguing against the bill that would give the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe the power to arrest non-Indians on the reservation. (Photo by Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise)
Kane: ‘There is no good guy and bad guy’
(IDAHO) -- Mike Kane, lobbyist for the Idaho Sheriff’s Association, said, “There has been some very vigorous lobbying on both sides of this bill. … At the end of the day, there is no good guy and bad guy.
Benewah prosecutor: ‘It takes away the power of local people to have a say’
(IDAHO) -- Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne is now testifying. He opened by saying he couldn’t count all the objections he has to the bill. “This bill should not pass. … It confuses the public,” he said. “They get a ticket into tribal court and they say, ‘What do I do with this, I’m not a tribal person.’
Commissioner: ‘Time and mutual respect’
(IDAHO) -- Testimony is continuing the hearing on the tribal law enforcement bill. Here’s some of it: Don Ebert, Clearwater County commissioner, told the House Judiciary Committee, “We don’t have any problems to fix. We get along good with the tribe. It used to be there were differences of opinion, animosities, maybe some strained racial relations.
Prosecutor: Tribes ‘Foreign Government’
(IDAHO) -- Clayne Tyler, Clearwater County prosecutor, testifying on behalf of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, spoke against HB 500, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s law enforcement bill, but his comments riled Rep. Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls.
Tribe: ‘Our intent is to encourage cooperation’
(IDAHO) -- Coeur d’Alene Tribe legislative director Helo Hancock told the House Judiciary Committee, “Our intent here is to encourage cooperation among the county and the tribe, and if cooperation cannot be reached, there’s still recourse … for the residents and the tribe to have the law enforcement that they deserve.”
Lawmakers give county, tribe six days to reach agreement
(IDAHO) -- In the end, there was no decision from the House Judiciary Committee today on HB 500, the tribal law enforcement bill - other than to put a decision off for six days, in hopes of the two sides reaching a cross-deputization agreement between now and then.
Pueblo takes traditional name
(NEW MEXICO) -- The Santo Domingo Pueblo is changing its name back to its traditional pueblo name of Kewa. Pueblo officials say “Kewa” is how the tribe's people refer to themselves.
DWI tragedy
(NEW MEXICO) -- It's not uncommon to see a packed gymnasium on the Navajo Nation, especially at the height of basketball season, but Tuesday evening's gathering here was for a different reason.
County, tribe eye Tolmie deal
(WASHINGTON) -- Tolmie State Park north of Lacey could be headed for joint ownership by Thurston County and the Nisqually tribe, according to county, tribal and state officials.
Special e-waste event this weekend at Morongo casino
(CALIFORNIA) -- Have you upgraded to the latest cell phone and don’t know what to do with the old one? Perhaps you should stop by Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa during its free electronic waste recycling event this weekend, March 13-14, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Pow wow marketing 101
(USA) -- In American Indian culture, the pow wow has long stood as a way to celebrate Native customs. If these events are well-attended, dancers feel a greater sense of appreciation, tribal members feel honored and vendors stand to make more profit.
Acoma Pueblo hosts native training camp
(NEW MEXICO) -- More than 70 participants from around the United States and Canada participated in a three-day National Indian Youth Leadership Project at the All Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque
CAPITOL VIEW: What to do about Whiteclay
(NEBRASKA) -- Whiteclay is a blot on the road in northwest Nebraska, within easy stumbling distance of the Oglala Sioux reservation in South Dakota. Members of the tribe go to Whiteclay to drink beer, to the tune of some four million cans each year.
Sault Tribe gets a new judge
(MICHIGAN) -- Sault Tribe member Jocelyn Fabry was sworn in as the chief judge for the Sault Tribal Court by Chairman Joe McCoy in the George K. Nolan Building in Sault Ste. Marie early in the afternoon on Friday, March 5.
Rights of tribal courts debated at hearing
(ALASKA) -- Legislators used Attorney General Dan Sullivan's confirmation hearing Wednesday to question the Parnell administration's actions on a ground-breaking child welfare case concerning tribal court rights.
Choctaw tribal police get new drug dog
(OKLAHOMA) -- Choctaw Nation Tribal Police officer Lt. Stan Briggs has a new partner on the job – a 13-month old Belgian Malinois named Taz Taz. The dog will assist the Tribal Police Force by sniffing vehicles for drugs and searching buildings and suspects as needed in locations throughout the Choctaw Nation’s 10 counties and by request from other local agencies.
Former professor pens Arapaho book
(MISSOURI) -- Ex-Missouri Southern professor Bobbie Steere, department of education, has just released his book The Trace of the Southern Arapaho.
AZ 101: Apaches had women warriors, too
(ARIZONA) -- Today's question: Were there any Native American women warriors in the Southwest? / Some. The Apaches raised boys and girls to learn more or less the same skills and let them decide how to spend their lives. If the girls wanted to be warriors, fine and dandy. If boys chose otherwise, fine and dandy.
Native American film fest on tap
(CALIFORNIA) -- Palm Springs will be faced with a choice between cowboys and Indians this weekend, and Michael Hammond, executive director of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, is hoping audiences will choose indigenous cinema over rodeo antics.
Top Indian footballer contemplates Redskins suit
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- A superstar Native American football player says he won’t pre-emptively turn down any potential draft offers from the Redskins football team. At the same time, a group of Indian litigants is pressing harder to prevent “redskins” trademarks across the nation.
Former tribal leader sentenced for gun crimes
(CONNECTICUT) -- The former vice chairman of the Eastern Pequot tribe has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for illegally giving his convicted felon cousin guns to pay off what authorities say was a drug debt.
Former tribal official gets 28 months
(CONNECTICUT) -- A New London judge told Eastern Pequot tribal member Mark R. Sebastian that he is an "enigma" as he sentenced him Wednesday to 28 months in prison for seven gun crimes.
NT action more harm than good, say Aboriginal doctors
(AUSTRALIA) -- IMPROVEMENTS to physical health will probably be outweighed by the negative impact of the Northern Territory invervention on psychological health, spirituality and cultural integrity, according to a report to be released today.
SPORTS: Best seat in the house
(SOUTH DAKOTA) -- Where Oliver “Butch” Mousseau grew up near Porcupine on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, sports like basketball and baseball ruled the roost.
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