News Archive: June 21, 2007 Archives

June 21, 2007
Cobell calls attention to Griles' lack of candor
Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the Indian trust fund lawsuit, has submitted a letter to the judge who will sentence J. Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary at the Interior Department. Griles pleaded guilty to lying to Senate Indian...

Sen. Murkowski acting as vice chair of SCIA
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is acting vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the chairman, announced today. Murkowski takes over from the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyomiing), who died on June 4 after a...

Court dismisses California membership lawsuit
A California tribe that was terminated did not lose the right to define its membership after regaining recognition, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday. In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said it would be wrong...

Case involving handcuffed Ojibwe boy dismissed
A judge in Minnesota dismissed an assault case after the 11-year-old Ojibwe victim and other witnesses failed to show up for the trial. The case drew national attention because Mille Lacs County arrested, handcuffed and detained the 11-year-old victim. The...

Wisconsin tribe opposes Oneida Nation trust land
The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians from Wisconsin is opposing the Oneida Nation's land-into-trust application in New York. The Stockbridge-Munsee Band claims 4,000 acres that are within the Oneida Nation's 17,000-acre application. The Wisconsin tribe filed lis pendens in New...

Federal regulations hinder Navajo food sales
Navajo and Hispanic families in New Mexico are finding it hard to buy some of their traditional foods due to federal regulations. A store in Wateflow is one of the few places that sell a'chii, which is made from...

Gila River Indian Community rejects waste facility
The Gila River Indian Community of Arizona has rejected a permanent permit for a waste recycling facility. Romic Environmental Technologies Corp was operating on the reservation with an interim permit since 1988. Tribal members opposed the facility, citing pollution and...

Arizona tribes unite to oppose proposed copper mine
Several Arizona tribes vowed to fight a proposed copper mine on sacred land in the Tonto National Forest. The San Carlos Apache Tribe, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Yavapai Apache Nation, the Tonto Apache Tribe, the Hopi Tribe...

Lakota seek return of Wounded Knee massacre artifacts
Lakota tribal members from South Dakota will travel to Massachusetts later this month to seek the return of nearly 100 artifacts from the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre. The Henry Woods Memorial Library in Barre obtained a collection of items...

Rep. Watson to introduce Cherokee Freedmen bill
Rep. Diane Watson (D-California) plans to introduce a bill today to cut federal funding for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma until the tribe restores citizenship to the Freedmen. The bill affects funding from all federal agencies and withdraws federal approval...

Community remembers Lillian 'Sunshine' Wright
A diverse group turned out to honor Lillian "Sunshine" Wright, a Lakota woman who was murdered in Tucson, Arizona. Wright was a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. She was found murdered on June 12 but...

FEMA won't provide assistance to Montana tribes
The Federal Emergency Management Agency won't provide assistance to two Montana tribes whose reservations were hit by heavy rain and floods. FEMA tallied just $421,545 in damages on the Crow Reservation and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. That's far lower than...

Choctaw chief strikes out at leading opponent
Phillip Martin, the chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, is stepping up his re-election campaign after nearly losing the vote to Beasley Denson. Martin is running for his eighth term in office. But last month, he lost to...

Australia to ban alcohol and porn for Aboriginals
Australia plans to ban alcohol and pornography for Aboriginals in the Northern Territory, citing a report that documented high rates of child abuse. Prime Minister John Howard announced a ban on the sale, possession and transportation of alcohol and...

Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe shares rescue boat
The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts recently acquired a rescue boat that it will share with the town of Chilmark. The tribe and the town agreed to keep the boat at a town dock. The town will use it...

Ousted Redding Rancheria families protest
Ousted members of the Redding Rancheria of California held a protest on Wednesday. The 75 members of the Foreman family was disenrolled three years ago. But they still own land in trust within the rancheria boundaries, and are worried the...

First Nations leader calls off blockade plan
The Roseau River First Nation of Manitoba has called off plans for a rail blockade next week. Chief Terry Nelson threatened to block a Canadian National rail line on June 29. That's the National Day of Action, organized by the...

Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held an oversight hearing today on law enforcement in Indian Country. The hearing started at 9:30am and lasted about two hours. You can download MP3 clips below: Opening Statements Panel 1 - Testimony | Q&A...

Column: White House politicking at DOI
"In January 2002, at a retreat in West Virginia, Karl Rove gave a PowerPoint presentation to at least 50 managers at the Department of the Interior to discuss polling data, and emphasized the importance of getting Oregon Senator Gordon Smith,...

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