News Archive: June 26, 2007 Archives

June 26, 2007
Senate committee takes first stab at gaming
After a welcome respite, tribes will once again have to defend their $26 billion casino industry before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. As chairman of the committee during the 109th Congress, Sen. John McCain of Arizona held a large number...

Hearing on California trespassing bill delayed
A hearing on a bill to punish non-tribal members for trespassing on reservations has been postponed, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Senate Bill 331 cleared the Senate without objections. But disenrolled Indians say it could be used by tribes to...

'Money talks' when it comes to federal recognition
The Abenaki Nation of Vermont didn't have the financial support needed to win federal recognition, a tribal advocate says. Jeff Benay, the former chair of the state's Native American commission, says the tribe put together a strong petition. But unlike...

Cayuga Nation continues ancestral land buys
The Cayuga Nation of New York has purchased more acreage within its ancestral territory. The tribe just bought 8.5 acres in Cayuga County. The purchase comes less than a week after an 181-acre acquisition in Seneca County. The tribe plans...

Teen pleads not guilty to toddler's murder
A teen from the Fort Totten Reservation in North Dakota pleaded not guilty to the death of his girlfriend's 21-month-old daughter. James Alberts Jr. is 17 but is being tried as an adult in Ramsey County District Court. He...

Mohawks plan blockade on First Nations Day of Action
Mohawk activists in Ontario plan to erect a road or rail blockade on Friday, the First Nations National Day of Action. The protesters from the Tyendinaga Mohawk Reserve previously blocked a Canadian National rail line for 30 hours in...

Editorial: Still no action on border town racism
"The greatest natural resource to be found in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest is not oil, not gas, not coal nor silver, but rather its cultural diversity. There is no greater pot of gold at the end...

Column: Indian education sacrificed for 'culture'
"Among the interesting people encountered by my wife and me, during some recent vacation travel, were a small group of adolescent boys from a Navajo reservation. They were being led on a bicycle tour by a couple of white...

Pit River leaders refuse to sign oath of office
Two leaders of the Pit River Tribe of California are refusing to sign an oath of office that bars them from participating in "any disloyal, subversive or insubordinate conduct or acts," The Redding Record-Searchlight reports. Chairwoman Jessica Jim and council...

Variety: Zia Pueblo a 'hot spot' for Hollywood
Zia Pueblo in New Mexico is one of the state's "top locations" for Hollywood movies, Variety reports. "Rather than opening a casino, the Zia tribe decided to allow film production on their lands," Variety says. "'The Missing' and 'All...

Tribes mark anniversary of Little Bighorn battle
Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho leaders gathered on Monday to mark the 131st anniversary of the June 26, 1876, Battle at Little Bighorn in Montana. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, the Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, the Rosebud...

Yakama Nation mourns loss of Louis Cloud, WWII vet
The Yakama Nation of Washington is mourning the loss of former council member and World War II veteran Lous Cloud, who died early Saturday morning at the age of 87. "It's a sad day today," Debbie Brown, a tribal...

Ancestry.Com adds BIA records to database
Ancestry.Com has added Bureau of Indian Affairs census records to its database, the company announced. The censuses were taken on reservations between 1885 and the 1940s. According to Ancestry.Com, they contain 7.5 million names of American Indians and Alaska Natives....

Omaha Tribe seeks dismissal of liquor tax lawsuit
The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against its liquor tax. Several non-Indian establishments in the town of Pender have challenged the tax. They say the tribe has no jurisdiction over them. But...

Ex-aide to Rep. Doolittle cooperating with DOJ
A former chief of staff to Rep. John Doolittle (R-California), who has faced scrutiny over his ties to Jack Abramoff, is cooperating with the Department of Justice. David Lopez has turned over campaign finance records to the FBI and...

Griles to be sentenced for lying about Abramoff
Update: The judge sentenced Griles to ten months in prison and three years of supervised release. She also imposed a $30,000 fine [Washington Post | Reuters | AP | The Hill] J. Steven Griles, the former deputy secretary at the...

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