Joe Garica, the President of the National Congress of American Indians gave his annual State of Indian Nations speech in February. He “declared the state of Indian nations to be more hopeful than they have ever been.” He focused on four main areas. – Establishing a place at the table in the country’s economic recovery. [...]

The Associated Press reports that two New Guinea tribesmen filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond. They claim that Diamond’s article in the New Yorker “falsely accused them of murder and other crimes. Henep Isum Mandingo and Hup Daniel Wemp say in a single-page filing in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court [...]

The New York Times reported yesterday: “Even as arts groups around the country are cutting back because of declining endowments and donations, a new foundation to support the work of American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native artists is being established with an initial $10 million from the Ford Foundation. Called the Native Arts and [...]

Native Hawaiian groups have long fought to restore their sovereign authority. Senator Akaka has offered several bills over the past decade to grant a Native Hawaiian government the same kind of federal recognition that 562 tribal governments in the United States possess. I am by no means an expert on Native Hawaiian sovereignty issues. But [...]

The Anchorage Daily News reported on an April 17 federal appeals court ruling that the Bush administration did not adequately study the environmental impact of expanding oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast. Many of Alaska’s leaders reacted with dismay. “Halting leasing in the Beaufort, Bering and Chukchi seas will “cause a further delay [...]

I received this report by email: Pope Benedict XVI is expected to acknowledge abuse of aboriginals at Christian-run schools when he meets with survivors later this month at the Vatican, a spokesman for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said Wednesday. From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indian children were made [...]

Three professors who work in Indian law and affairs have written a Wall Street Journal editorial to respond to an earlier editorial by Terry Anderson that called for the “rule of law” in Indian Country. “Terry Anderson argues in “Native Americans Need the Rule of Law” (op-ed, March 16) that the keys to ending the [...]

Diabetes is quickly becoming a major health problem for Indians. A new study shows that obesity is a problem for Indian pre-schoolers. Nearly a third of American Indian preschool children are obese, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine on Monday. Researchers looked at height and weight data on [...]

The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma has purchased a tire dealership for an undisclosed sum, Modern Tire Dealer reports. [I am a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe.] The tribe bought Burggraf Corp last month from previous owner Joe Karnes. The enterprise includes two distribution centers and five retail stores. “We were looking for a [...]

The Anchorage Daily News is running a series on the education of Alaska Native students in public schools. The first story explores low test scores and high drop out rates among Native students. Last year, Native students fell 17 points behind on reading and writing tests and 17 points on math tests. Only 32 percent [...]