An Arizona man has pleaded guilty to tax evasion in an ongoing probe of the Seminole Nation’s casinos in Oklahoma. Authorities began investigating a prostitution and drug ring in the parking lot of a Seminole travel plaza and casino. They focused on Ivy Ong, the tribe’s former gaming partner, who pleaded guilty in September to [...]

Negotiations between seven members of the Narragansett Tribe and the state of Rhode Island broke down on Thursday. The tribal members were in mediation over charges stemming from the state’s violent raid of the reservation on July 14, 2003. State troopers shut down a smoke shop and seized tribal equipment and cash. The case was [...]

as minnesota celebrates its 150 birthday; a columnist asks this question: “This isn’t an ancient story. It is the story of Minnesota’s original sin. And as we prepare for next year’s 150th anniversary of statehood, we should remember history is a living and often painful thing. Some Minnesotans already are arguing — on opinion pages [...]

A group of Lakota Indians notified the State Department in Washington this week that, in the words of activist Russell Means, “We are no longer citizens of the United States of America, and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us.” In my humble opinion, I [...]

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum sued the Bush administration today to stop review of the Seminole Tribe’s Class III gaming compact.  This seems a little odd since the Governor signed the compact just last month.  The compact has been sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for approval. McCollum wants the agency to wait until [...]

The Red Lake Nation of Minnesota has reopened its commercial fishery.  The Red Lake Fisheries is processing walleye now that the fish population has rebounded. The company hopes to process 820,000 pounds. The fishery began in 1917 but closed in 1996 after walleye runs collapsed. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota provided $2 million [...]

Nambe Pueblo in northern New Mexico is seeking to develop what would be the largest wind farm in the state and the largest in Indian Country.  The tribe has teamed up with Green Energy Wind, a new company, on the project. It would consist of 99 towers capable of producing up to 300 megawatts of [...]

The first Lakota Nation Invitational Storytelling Competition began on Wednesday.  Sixteen students are participating in the competition. They are sharing traditional Lakota and Dakota stories, contemporary stories and family knowledge. “Something like this preserves our oral traditions,” Lydia Whirlwind Soldier told The Rapid City Journal. Nellie Two Elk, a sophomore at Todd County High School, [...]

Emory Sekaquaptewa, a Hopi linguist, artist and scholar, died on December 14. He was 78.  Sekaquaptewa wrote the tribe’s first dictionary. He spent 30 years on the project and was working on a children’s language workbook when he died. Sekaquaptewa was also an artist. He and his brother are credited with developing a silversmithing technique [...]

The National Indian Gaming Commission is sending three auditors to Oklahoma next month to investigate the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes.  The agency wants to know how the tribes spent $50 million in gaming revenues, The Oklahoman reported.  The tribe’s three Lucky Star casinos bring in about $2 million to $2.5 million a month in profit, [...]