Check out this Richmond Times-Dispatch article about the increasing political clout of American Indian tribes and Indian people. http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-05-29-0126.html

“The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut has withdrawn a proposal to open a commercial casino in Kansas. The tribe, owners of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, and its partners wanted to build a $425 million casino in Sumner County. But the group, known as Unity Gaming, said the potential return did not justify the investment. [...]

“The Osage Nation of Oklahoma is seeing major growth in its economy, according to a tribal-commissioned study. The tribe has gone from 200 employees in 2002 to 1,500 this year. Business revenues are up and mineral production is increasing. “The message I think this report sends is that the perception people had about the Osage [...]

“Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) started his outreach to Indian Country early in his campaign, The Politico reports. Obama met with representatives of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians last June. Since then, he’s met privately and publicly with tribal leaders in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Montana and South Dakota, his campaign said. Obama also [...]

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development has cut $50 million in Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act funds in order to settle a court case. The $50 million is being paid to tribes that were part of a class action lawsuit. As a result, other tribes will see a reduction in their NAHASDA [...]

“The Cowlitz Tribe of Washington is one step closer to opening a casino with the publication of a environmental impact statement for the project. The tribe plans to build a $510 million Cowlitz Casino Resort on 152 acres in Clark County. The EIS recommends the land be taken into trust and declared an initial reservation [...]

“The Brazilian government photographed members of an isolated tribe in the Amazon jungle near the border with Peru. The Brazilian National Indian Foundation, a government agency known as Funai, took photos of the tribe’s village and some men and women. The government did not attempt to make any sort of contact though some photos show [...]

Occasionally, tribal governments have been accused of censorship. The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, 25 U.S.C. section 1302, bans such actions. Currently, the Fort Hall Reservation Shoshone – Bannock tribal government is accused of censoship. “Two members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Idaho are upset because their letters to the tribal newspaper weren’t published. [...]

Steve Russell writes in Indian Country Today about the fact that Native people understood climate change before it hit the modern day news. “the Internet sounded the alarm for those of us who talk to Inuit or Athabascan Indians. Animals, they said, were turning up in the wrong places or at the wrong times, or [...]

Montana has seven reservations and a sizable population of “landless” Native Americans. Senators Obama and Clinton have both talked about the need for the federal government to live up to its obligations to the nation’s first people, whether the handling of its trust responsibilities or the provision of adequate health care. The Great Falls Tribune [...]