News Archive: May 24, 2007 Archives

May 24, 2007
Variety: 'Wounded Knee' a limply told story
"The horrors inflicted upon Native Americans have traditionally made for wrenching drama, but this loose adaptation of Dee Alexander Brown's seminal 1971 book is a powerful story limply told, steeped in tired Western cliches and an overbearing score. A...

Heffelfinger targeted by DOJ for focus on Indian issues
Department of Justice officials in Washington, D.C., were concerned that former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger was spending too much time on Indian issues, a former Bush administration aide said on Wednesday. Heffelfinger wasn't one of the prosecutors who was purged...

Rolo: Tribal colleges turn out entrepreneurs
"At the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, a group of college entrepreneurs are preparing to enter the global market by launching an American Indian news service — and without ever having to step foot off the reservation. “You...

Court won't reconsider $2.5B Exxon Valdez award
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday refused to reconsider its $2.5 billion judgment award to Alaska Natives and others for the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The court denied Exxon's petition for a rehearing in the long-running battle...

Saginaw Chippewa gas station swamped amid hikes
Soaring fuel prices have drivers flocking to the gas station owned by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan. The tribe sent an email to all employees to notify them of a gas price increase. That brought a steady stream of...

Ousted Hopi chairman tries to get back to work
Benjamin Nuvamsa is back to work as chairman of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona but controversy refuses to die down. Nuvamsa won a tribal court order restoring him to his position until May 30. When he tried to preside over...

Fort Berthold woman can't return to tribal job
The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota won't allow a woman accused of murdering her son to return to work in the tribe's early childhood program. Chairman Marcus Wells Jr. said Dana Deegan can't work for the...

U.S. Attorney to consider Yakama alcohol ban
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Eastern Washington has agreed to review the Yakama Nation's alcohol ban. The tribe banned the sale of alcohol in 2000. The U.S. Attorney's Office said it applied to rural parts of the reservation but not...

Jodi Rave: Women of color need to work together
"Two women recently sat on a stage at Spelman College, reminiscing about the extraordinary friendship between former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights advocate Mary McLeod Bethune. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, granddaughter of the first lady, and the Rev. Mazie...

Kalyn Free says union pressuring Democrats
Kalyn Free, the organizer of the Prez on the Rez forum, says the Unite Here union is pressuring Democratic candidates to skip the upcoming debate. Only two candidates -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel...

Opinion: Who controls Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe?
"Many of your subscribers have read in your paper the interviews by your reporters quoting statements by Scott Ferson, identifying him as the Mashpee Wampanoag spokesman. According to the tribal tax returns, he is not paid by the tribe. It...

Cayuga deal locks Oklahoma tribe out of New York
The Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma will be blocked from returning to New York under a proposed land claim settlement. The tribe is co-plaintiff in the 64,000-acre Cayuga land claim. But the other plaintiff, the Cayuga Nation, has reached a deal...

Catawba Nation moves ahead with new leader
The Catawba Nation of South Carolina will hold its first meeting on Saturday under new leadership. Buck George is serving as interim chief. He is the tribe's first new leader in more than 30 years, having replaced longtime chief Gilbert...

Losing candidates challenge Seminole election
Three losing candidates are contesting the recent election held by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Moses Osceola lost to incumbent chairman Mitchell Cypress by 100 votes. Osceola is questioning how the votes were counted. A candidate for president of the...

Opinion: Half-hearted apology from Pope Benedict
"POPE BENEDICT XVI has apparently, sort of, admitted the truth about the forced religious conversions of the native peoples of the New World. On Wednesday, he acknowledged that "unjustifiable crimes" were committed during colonial-era evangelization in the New World. But...

Pope won't apologize for remarks on indigenous
Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged "injustices" against indigenous people in the name of Christianity but refused to apologize for remarks that have outraged Indian leaders from North, Central and South America. In remarks in Vatican City, the Pope said the Catholic...

Abramoff's former firm seeks Coushatta records
Former leaders of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana are being subpoenaed for records dealing with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The tribe paid Abramoff at least $32 million. Former chairman Lovelin Poncho and former vice chairman William G. Worfel were Abramoff's...

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