On February 26, 2009, the Billings Gazette published a story that tribal museums are better at attracting tourism than casinos (get the entire article): “Gambling doesn’t draw tourists to Montana’s Indian Country, but museums do. That’s one of the conclusions that came out of a survey conducted by the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research. [...]

The South Dakota Senate killed a proposal to have voters decide if the state’s constitution should declare English the state’s official language. The senators voted 20-14 against SJR2, which proposed a constitutional amendment to make English the state’s official language. The argument was that if the provision were in the constitution, no state or local [...]

Yakama elder Virginia Beavert, 87, is teaching the Yakama Sahaptin language for the first time this year at the University of Oregon. She is a native speaker. This is not your typical foreign language class. “There are no textbooks, no study-abroad programs, no dubbed TV shows, and the instructor is one of only 200 people [...]

The extremely high percentage of cases that American Indian tribes and Indian people lose in the U.S. Supreme Court has reached ridiculous proportions. Studies show that tribes and the “Indian position” prevailed in about 58% of a wide variety of Indian law Supreme Court cases during the Burger Court in 1969-1986. The elevation of William [...]

A New York Times editorial today states that the “federal government has a long history of cheating American Indians, and not all of this dirty dealing is in the distant past.” The editorial discusses a case the Supreme Court heard today wherein the Navajo Nation argues that it lost about $600 million dollars’ worth of [...]

Judith Lavoie, of the Victoria Times Colonist, reported February 22, 2009, that Democrat MP Denise Savoie will reintroduce a private member’s bill in the House of Commons to require the Canadian federal government to “take all measures necessary” to ensure that Canadian laws are consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous [...]

Dr. Randall L. Buchman, will present “A Sorrowful Journey,” the story of the removal of the Shawnee, Seneca, and Ottawa Indians from Ohio in 1832, 7 to 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Cedar Point Center Auditorium at Bowling Green State University. “A Sorrowful Journey,” is based on the recently discovered journal of John [...]

The GREENWIRE and E&E reporter Noelle Straub, writes (get the full story) about the Department of Interior planning on its upcoming $3 billion spending spree under the economic stimulus law. “While its planning is just beginning, the department does have broad outlines of how to spend the money quickly. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said last [...]

President Barack Obama says he is willing to go to bat for the Native Hawaiian recognition bill. Obama, who was born in Hawaii, told reporters that he has not paid much attention to the bill due to the economic crisis. But he said he will sign it if it comes to the White House. “When [...]

The Suquamish Tribe purchased a construction company that is one of the biggest employers in Kitsap County, Washington. Liberty Bay Excavating employs more than 800 people. It will continue to perform construction work for the tribe as well as other businesses on and off the reservation. “When the opportunity for purchase arose, we felt it [...]