The press reports another example of an Oklahoma Indian tribe making a significant contribution toward a critical public service. In fact, the paper states that in this situation the contribution was so significant it likely is keeping the services in operation. “The Cherokee Nation recently contributed more than $305,000 to 127 rural fire departments in [...]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the Utah Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal in which the Navajo Nation sought to nullify the adoption of two Navajo siblings by a non-Indian family. The Court ruled unanimously that the Navajo Nation failed to file a properly signed appeal on time, leaving the high court with no [...]

The press reports that “Amid the broken treaties, confiscated lands and other injustices that Native Americans have endured at the hands of white people, few are as personal as the removal of their buried ancestors. For a culture that assigns special meaning to burial rites, it’s been painful, Native Americans say, knowing that the remains [...]

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe will install its first wind turbine this fall. In 2004 the tribe began a wind feasibility study with the U.S. Department of Energy. The original project was limited to powering greenhouses, but was expanded to include heating and cooling homes. The electricity will be linked into existing power lines and [...]

Indian Country Today reports that American Indian tribes have long asked for the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to remove tax code provisions that have long hampered tribal economic growth. In July, the Treasury requested comments on several questions involving tribal tax issues and the possible repeal of what’s called the “essential governmental function” [...]

The Associated Press reports that the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit to obtain information about whether pregnant women on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota are being pressured to induce labor against their wishes. The ACLU alleges there is no obstetric care available on the reservation, and that many [...]

The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center (CNMCC) is opening a new exhibition titled Fort Sill Indian School – The Boarding School Experience. It will be on display at the museum September 30, 2010 through April 30, 2011. The opening of the exhibit also kicks off the start of the 19th annual Comanche Nation Fair. [...]

The federal government will not fight a court order that reopened a proposal to store nuclear waste on an American Indian reservation in Utah. The Interior Department decision has angered Utah leaders who don’t want a repository for spent fuel rods to sit 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert is [...]

The New York Times wrote an alarming article on Monday about the ongoing 11 year drought in the American southwest and the risk to Las Vegas and other area residents from the dropping level of Lake Mead. September 28, 2010 – Water Use in Southwest Heads for a Day of Reckoning The article doesn’t mention [...]

Survival International reports that Brazilian authorities have written Shell Oil expressing concern over the activities of its new Brazilian joint-venture partner, which is producing biofuels from land taken from an impoverished Indian tribe. In August, Shell signed a $12 billion deal to produce biofuels from sugar cane with a Brazilian company – Cosan. But some [...]