The Portland Oregonian, commenting on a Friday article in the Washington Post about Vice President Dick Cheney, opined that Cheney might have violated the Endangered Species Act when he interfered with Department of Interior decisions about salmon in the Klamath Basin in Oregon and Washington.  Apparently, after Cheney’s interventions, Interior changed its earlier decision about [...]

Tribal leaders are focusing on global warming and climate change and speaking out at many different venues.  For example, in May, representatives from tribes in Alaska and Canada traveled to Washington D.C. to point out the vanishing polar ice pack and the impact on their communities.  Also, tribes in many U.S. states are funding alternative and [...]

Taos Pueblo has agreed to take less than its share of water set aside for it by the federal government under the San Juan-Chama Project.  The Pueblo will allow some of this extra water to go to Pojoaque, Tesuque, Nambe and San Ildefonso Pueblos to fulfill a settlement agreement in another dispute, the Aamodt water [...]

The Northwest Indian College on the Lummi Reservation in Washington state now offers a four year Bachelor of Science degree in Native Environmental Science.  This is the first four year degree to be offered at the College and is a big step towards the institution becoming a full four-year university. The College was founded in 1973 [...]

Indian Country Today, June 27, reports that the Lonko Puran community of Mapuche people in Argentina are protesting and fighting the use of their lands by U.S. oil and gas companies.  Four leaders were recently acquited of charges that they organized the takeover of 12 oil wells.  Other Mapuches have blocked egress to a gas [...]

Federal District Court Judge James Robertson has indicated that the October trial in the 11 year old Cobell case will focus on accounting for funds in the Individual Indian money accounts.  The BIA claims that representative sampling shows very few problems.  The plaintiffs point out that these samplings only covered transactions since 1985 and give [...]

The Circle of Tribal Advisors to the National Council of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial established a grant program to preserve and support Native languages out of funding left over from the Bicentennial 2003-06.  The Native Voices program is operated through the Endangered Language Fund associated with Yale University.  ELF will accept grant proposals from citizens of eligible [...]

The National Endowment for the Arts is encouraging community reading projects by granting funds to organizations to promote and carry out month long reading programs.  Small communities, for example, could receive grants of $2,500-$7,500.  Visit www.neabigread.org  

Bolivian President Evo Morales is leading the way to return the coca leaf to its place as a medicine and in spiritual ceremonies; a role it has held for thousands of years.  Morales had reversed the U.S. backed “zero coca” policy and started a program that will eliminate cocaine production but will focus on using coca [...]

At the recent U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues one of the most universal and persistent calls was for the protection of water rights for indigenous people.  Tia Oros Peters, the executive director of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development made a particularly compelling statement about the basic human right of access to clean, [...]