The Associated Press reported very disturbing news on March 12, 2009 about Washington state Indians and Indians across the country. After centuries of suffering the ill health effects of colonization, oppression, and starvation, American Indian health rates improved significantly in the 1990s. However, recent statistics show that Indian health issues have now reversed and are [...]

A newly-elected council member for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon was removed after she made “racist comments” about a former employee. http://siletz.net/ Lisa Brown was elected to the council on February 7 but shortly before she was sworn into office she posted a comment on Siletz.Net, an independent web site run by [...]

Indian small businesses were represented at a White House event when President Barack Obama announced plans to help entrepreneurs through the recession. Caddo Solutions, Liz Hill PR, Native American Natural Foods, Red Hand Media, Seventh Generation Concepts, and the Inter-Tribal Economic Alliance took part in the meeting. One Indian entrepreneur said Obama wants small businesses [...]

A state judge in California dropped one charge against a California man who posted a YouTube video of him digging at an ancestral village of the Yurok Tribe. The judge said there was not enough evidence to show James Edward Truhls took an item he knew to be an artifact from a grave. That would [...]

An important milestone in cooperative salmon co-management is being marked in 2009. It’s the 25th anniversary of the North of Falcon process for setting treaty tribal and non-Indian fishing seasons in western Washington. The 1974 Boldt Decision made clear that treaty Indian tribes in western Washington had reserved rights to half of the harvestable salmon [...]

Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes were the first in the U.S. to adopt “self-exclusion” lists that help problem gamblers stay away from their casinos. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation was the first in 1994, followed by the Mohegan Tribe in 1996. The Pequots do not disclose how many have signed up but the Mohegans say [...]

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma has purchased land for its first tribal college campus. The tribe will buy 145 acres from the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. Construction on the campus is expected to begin in six months, college president James King said. “We want students to have a place to call their [...]

The Miami Herald visited the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida last week to learn about the tribal court system. The tribe’s modern-day court began hearing cases in 1981. It handles criminal, civil, juvenile and traffic cases. Proceedings can take place in Miccosukee or English but only parties and family members are allowed to attend hearings. In [...]

Tribal citizens who live in or near Bemidji, Minnesota, say they have experienced discrimination. But most non-Indians hold the opposite view and say everything is alright. According to the Shared Visions study, 75 percent of Indians who live in Bemidji say the city is not welcoming to people of all races. For those who live [...]

The Oneida Nation and village of Hobart, Wisconsin, are closer to resolving a dispute over taxes and assessments at a golf course the tribe purchased. The tribe bought the Thornberry Creek Golf Course, which was in bankruptcy proceedings. The village says it is owed more than $120,000 in taxes and assessments. A draft agreement requires [...]