I blogged on this issue a few days ago – http://lawlib.lclark.edu/blog/native_america/?p=5679 Up to 70 Hopi maks were offered for sale at a French auction house. The Tribe and others objected but a French judge allowed the auction to proceed over the objections of the Hopi Tribe and the U.S. government. The auction was interrupted by protests, but dozens of Native [...]

The Associated Press reports that an Arizona tribe is asking a Paris auction house to cancel an upcoming sale of dozens of items that the tribe says is central to its religious practices. The tribe also demands their return to their original home. The auction house describes the collection as katsina masks of the Hopi Indians of Arizona. Read more: [...]

A seemingly frantic struggle is occuring in Montana against a miniscule return of wild bison in that state. This fight reminds me of the efforts to block the restoration of wolves and grizzlies, and also demonstrates the fear that some cultures seem to have of the natural world. It bothers me that some Montana legislators are quickly trying to [...]

The Portland Oregonian reports today on a law suit by Japanese whalers against the whale protestor group, the Sea Shepherd Society in part: "A federal appeals court panel has branded a Northwest anti-whaling group "pirates," ordering a halt to attacks on Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters. . . . The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of [...]

Many high schools and some professional sports teams continue to use offensive and even racist mascots that demean American Indians.  I believe that the NCAA and colleges have fully addressed this issue and even the University of North Dakota State has now abandoned its "Fighting Sioux" mascot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Dakota_athletics The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian on the mall in [...]

One way to protect things you care about is to own them, I guess. American Indian tribes have pushed the federal government to protect many areas in the United States that have sacred meaning to tribes. Such cases have had mixed successes in protecting the areas and allowing Indian access and use. The Devil's Tower or [...]

The news continues daily about the Idle No More movement, primarily centered in Canada to resist the Harper government's recent moves. Here's some commentary from a Huffington blog post. The post decribed Idle No More a a "surging movement of indigenous activists" that is spreading across the continent.   This author senses that Idle No MOre is "every bit as important [...]

The Canadian Broadcasting Company reported on Dec. 21 on the ongoing work of the new movement called Idle No More. The CBC called it a movement that is Idle No More.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/12/20/f-vp-rice-idle-no-more.html The CBC claims that thousands of people have rallied in small communities and big cities, and put on impromptu round dances at shopping centers. [...]

According to an article in Indian Country Today, the Idle No More movement has burst onto the political scene since beginning on December 10. The article states that a "second wave of Idle No More protests swept across Canada on Friday December 21, with support events held across the U.S. and as far away as Europe [...]

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/02/free-to-be-intolerant-christian-crees-tear-down-sweat-lodge/   In a bizarre display of intolerance, after a sweat lodge was constructed in their community, Christian members of the James Bay Cree community circulated a petition that was signed by about 130 people demanding that the lodge be torn down.   The petition also stated: “We further request that no native spirituality be allowed in our [...]