News Archive: March 27, 2007 Archives

March 27, 2007
Supreme Court won't hear two Cobell appeals
The plaintiffs in the billion-dollar Indian trust fund lawsuit said they will continue to press the case after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected two of their appeals on Monday. Without comment, the justices declined to review two recent decisions in...

Letter: Nominate Indian to South Dakota court
"I understand from reading Dave Kranz's column in recent months that Ron Volesky of Huron is being considered for an appointment to the circuit court judgeship in the 1st Judicial Court. I have known Volesky for many years, and I...

Man acquitted for sexual assault of Native teen
A 26-year-old man was found not guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old Native girl in 2001. Jeffrey Kindrat was one of three men accused of raping the girl, who is now 17. The girl testified that she was given beer...

Editorial: Respect tribal sovereignty in state
"Majority Democrats in the House recently beat back a bill amendment by Republicans that would ban campaign contributions to the governor from group with which she negotiates. The ill-conceived amendment offered by Republican floor leader Rep. David Buri of Colfax...

Column: Schaghticokes revive recognition case
"In 2005, Bush's Interior Department reversed its own 2004 finding granting federal recognition to the Schaghticokes, making it illegal for them to open a casino. This development came after intense public pressure organized by influential Kent residents, Gov. M. Jodi...

Mayor faces removal for comments about tribe
The mayor of Toppenish, Washington, is facing removal from office after blaming the city's budget shortfalls on the Yakama Nation. Bill Rogers told a television station that the city didn't have funds to fight crime because the tribe and...

Tribes watch as BIA budget slowly dwindles
The Bureau of Indian Affairs budget has been slowly dropping since the start of the Bush administration and some tribal leaders are tired of it. In the past two years alone, the BIA has lost $74 million. But some program...

White House asked about medal for Chief Martin
An aide to top White House official Karl Rove asked one of Jack Abramoff's associates about a Medal of Freedom for Mississippi Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin, The Washington Post reports. Barry Jackson, a deputy to Rove, used an e-mail account...

Navajo Head Start in Shiprock ready to reopen
The Navajo Nation is preparing to reopen its Head Start program in Shiprock, New Mexico. The tribe lost $27 million federal funds for the program after a review by the Administration for Children and Families found employees with criminal...

Letter: Navajo Nation's hasn't cleared the air
"In July 2006, the Sierra Club sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to force implementation of the Clean Air Act standards on the two plants in the Four Corners. However, according to an article in the Albuquerque...

Battle over Hoopa-Yurok trust fund continues
In 1988, Congress created a trust fund to settle a land dispute between the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the Yurok Tribe of California. The Hoopas took their share, about $34.5 million, while the Yuroks went to court. The Yuroks eventually...

Muscogee woman runs for mayor in Spokane
Mary Verner, a Muscogee (Creek) woman, is running for mayor of Spokane, Washington. Verner, 50, currently sits on the city council. She also serves as executive director for the Upper Columbia United Tribes Verner's father was a member of...

Editorial: Eastern Band kept in dark about Job Corps
"The U.S. Department of Labor has yet to provide a satisfactory reason for abruptly closing a work center for troubled youths in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Shutting down the Job Corps center means 70 workers will lose their...

Editorial: Yakama Nation must address dog problem
"It's a news story we don't want to report: Another child being mauled by dogs. The latest case involved a 4-year-old Wapato girl who was hospitalized after being attacked by at least three dogs. Before that it was a similar...

Fort Peck Tribes hope to tap Missouri River
The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana are proposing a major project to tap into the Missouri River. The tribes have a right to take more than a million acre-feet from the river every year....

Chippewa Cree Tribe to open new health clinic
The Chippewa Cree Tribe of Montana is opening a new health clinic today. The 56,000 square-foot Na-Toose Healing Center is more than double the size of the tribe's old facility. The two-story clinic will have more exam rooms, optometry...

Editorial: Judge Choctaw chief by accomplishments
"Just as incumbent Republican Gov. Haley Barbour has his detractors in an election year, so does incumbent Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin. Despite unprecedented economic growth and development, Martin faces political challengers and policy critics as he seeks re-election to an...

Editorial: Abramoff scandal just won't go away
"Former Deputy Interior Secretary Steven Griles' guilty plea to obstruction of justice last week marked another disgraceful chapter in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal. It also served as a reminder of how poorly the Interior Department and thus the West...

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