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USDA officials to host tribes in Washington, DC (10/30)
Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and other top officials will host tribal leaders on Wednesday, November 4, in Washington, D.C. The event is designed to facilitate dialogue between tribes and the department. It comes a day before the...
Rep. Hastings objects to IHCIA in health reform (10/30)
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Washington), the ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources Committee, is objecting to the inclusion of the Indian Health Care Reimprovement Act in H.R.3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Hastings says Democrats went behind Republicans'...
Reform group in California seeks tribal inclusion (10/30)
A group that is seeking to rewrite the California constitution wants tribes included in the process. Repair California proposed two ballot initiatives. One would give voters the right to call a constitutional convention and the other would define how the...
Schedule: White House Tribal Nations Conference (10/30)
The White House has released details about the November 5 Tribal Nations Conference with President Barack Obama. The event takes place in the Sidney R. Yates Auditorium at the Department of the Interior from 9am to 5:20pm. The building is...
Changes in store for Native contracting program (10/29)
The Small Business Administration is proposing a number of changes to the 8(a) federal contracting program. The changes will impose some limits on tribal and Alaska Native businesses. For example, tribal and Native businesses would be forced to "graduate" from...
Navajo president calls investigation 'personal' (10/29)
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. says Navajo Nation Council refuses to explain why he's been placed on administrative leave. The council conducted an investigation into the tribe's dealings with two companies. Shirley says he hasn't been given any information...
Extension possible for 'Fighting Sioux' nickname (10/29)
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will probably get more time to consider its position on the "Fighting Sioux" nickname and logo of the University of North Dakota. The North Dakota Board of Higher Education set an October 31 deadline...
House Resources hearing on land-into-trust fix (10/29)
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 4, to consider a fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The decision bars tribes that weren't "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934 from following the...
New York tribes vow fight over tobacco taxation (10/28)
Tensions ran high at New York Senate hearing on tobacco taxation in Indian Country on Tuesday. One lawmaker walked out after being booed by tribal members, according to news reports.Sen. Martin Golden, a Republican, said the U.S. victory over the...
Lawmakers back Native corporation contracting (10/28)
The Alaska Legislature held a joint hearing on Monday to discuss the 8(a) contracting program at the Small Business Administration. Lawmakers hailed the participation of Alaska Native corporations in the program as a big success. Native representatives testified about the...
Lillian Sparks, Lakota, nominated to top HHS job (10/28)
President Barack Obama has nominated another Indian woman to a top post in his administration. Lillian Sparks, who is Oglala and Rosebud, was nominated as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans, which is part of the Department of...
Navajo president not worried about investigation (10/28)
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. is confident he will "sail through" an investigation about the tribe's involvement with two companies. Shirley believes the Navajo Nation Council placed him on administrative leave because he is pushing two government reform initiatives....
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe mum on UND nickname (10/28)
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe hasn't said whether it will hold a referendum on the "Fighting Sioux" nickname and logo of the University of North Dakota. The North Dakota Board of Higher Education set an October 31 deadline to...
Navajo Nation Council places president on leave (10/27)
The Navajo Nation Council voted 48-22 on Monday to place President Joe Shirley Jr. on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation into the tribe's dealings with two companies. At issue are contracts with OnSat Network Communications and Biochemical Decontamination...
SBA plans changes to Native contracting program (10/23)
The Small Business Administration plans to make changes to the 8(a) contracting program for American Indian and Alaska Native businesses. Draft regulations will be published in the Federal Register next week. SBA officials described the changes as "significant, The Anchorage...
HHS Secretary Sebelius to host tribal leaders in DC (10/22)
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will host tribal leaders on Tuesday, November 3 in Washington, D.C. Tribal leaders will have a chance to meet with top HHS officials during the roundtable. RSVPs are due by October 30. Labor...
Audio: House panel hearing on Indian housing bill (10/22)
The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on Wednesday on an Indian housing bill. H.R.2523, the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (HEARTH) Act, was introduced on May 20. It allows tribes to approve trust land leases for...
Witness list for Senate hearing on Indian energy (10/21)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds an oversight hearing on Indian energy and energy efficiency on Thursday. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the chairman, and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the vice chairman, released a concept paper last month in anticipation...
House panel holds hearing on Indian health care (10/21)
The Subcommittee on Health of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on H.R.2708, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2009 The subcommittee heard from Yvette Roubideaux, the director of the Indian Health Service, and...
Navajo council fails in vote to remove top officials (10/21)
The Navajo Nation Council failed to pass a resolution that would have suspended President Joe Shirley Jr. and Vice President Ben Shelly from office. The council is conducting an ongoing investigation into the tribe's dealings with two companies. "The reports...
'Threat assessment' sought in tribal tobacco fight (10/21)
New York Gov. David Paterson (D) wants know whether imposing taxes on tribal tobacco sales will spark "violence and civil unrest," according to news reports. In a letter to three U.S. Attorneys in New York, Paterson cited past incidents in...
Rep. Kennedy urged to back land-into-trust fix (10/20)
The United for Justice Campaign is urging Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) to support a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. Kennedy, the co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, hasn't stated whether he...
Witness list for House hearing on Indian housing (10/20)
The House Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on Wednesday on an Indian housing bill. H.R.2523, the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (HEARTH) Act, was introduced on May 20. It allows tribes to approve trust land leases for...
Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe chooses new leaders (10/16)
Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community of Wisconsin shook up their tribal council in an election on Saturday, October 10. Kim Vele, an attorney and sitting council member, defeated longtime president Robert Chicks for the tribe's top post. Chicks had served...
Indian Affairs Committee meeting and hearing (10/16)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will hold a business meeting and hearing on Thursday, October 15. The business meeting will focused on pending committee issues. An agenda has not been posted. The meeting will be followed by an oversight hearing...
EchoHawk heads to Oklahoma for tribal session (10/15)
Assistant Secretary Larry EchoHawk, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, will participate in a tribal listening session in Oklahoma on October 23. The event takes place at the Pawnee Nation Wellness Center in Pawnee. EchoHawk is a member...
Dorgan introduces updated version of health bill (10/15)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced a new version of the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2009 in the Senate today. The bill has 15 co-sponsors, including Senate...
Labor Secretary Solis to host tribal leaders in DC (10/15)
Labor Department Secretary Hilda L. Solis will host tribal leaders on Wednesday, November 4, prior to the White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, D.C. Solis will discuss her priorities for economic and workforce development in Indian Country. Top department...
NCAI to hold election for executive board spots (10/15)
UPDATE: Jefferson Keel elected president. Juana Majel-Dixon elected first vice president. National Congress of American Indians holds an election this morning for the top two positions on its executive board. Two candidates are running for president. They are: Jefferson Keel,...
House Resources hearing on Indian housing bil (10/14)
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, October 21, on an Indian housing bill. H.R.2523, the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act (HEARTH) Act, was introduced on May 20. It allows tribes to approve...
MyTribeTV to stream White House tribal meet (10/14)
MyTribeTV, an Indian-owned business in Seattle, Washington, will provide online coverage of the first-ever White House Tribal Nations Conference on November 5. The event will be streamed at tribalsummit.mytribetv.com. MyTribeTV is the exclusive provider for the event. The White House...
Towns in Connecticut fight land-into-trust fix (10/14)
Three towns in Connecticut that have fought tribes on a number of issues are opposing a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston asked Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) and Sen....
Dorgan readies 'streamlined' version of IHCIA (10/13)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) will introduce a new version of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act this week, a top aide said on Monday. Dorgan has developed a "streamlined" version of the bill, according to Allison Binney, the majority...
White House announces tribal nations summit (10/12)
The first Tribal Nations Conference will be held in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, November 5, the White House announced today. Invitations are being sent to all 564 federally recognized tribes. Each tribe can send one representative. "I look forward to...
Interview: Black Hills, White Justice author (10/12)
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader interviews Edward Lazarus, an attorney and author of Black Hills, White Justice about efforts to return the Black Hills to the Sioux Nation. Lazarus said the public has lost awareness of the issue. He...
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