Latest Stories
Judge removes owner of troubled trailer park (12/19)
A federal judge removed the owner of a troubled trailer park on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Reservation in California, saying little progress has been made in improving the facility. “The court is at the end of the line,” Judge...
Pechanga Band announces tentative water deal (12/18)
The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians announced a tentative settlement to its water rights in the Santa Margarita River Basin of California. The tribe and the Rancho California Water District reached the agreement with the help of the Interior Department,...
Coeur d'Alene Tribe reaches deal over use of lands (12/17)
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Idaho reached a deal with a utility company for use of its lands in Lake Coeur d'Alene. The tribe will be receive as much as $168 from Avista Corp. The amount will compensate the tribe...
Cherokee Nation weighs move in poultry lawsuit (12/16)
The Cherokee Nation is weighing its options in a lawsuit involving the state of Oklahoma and the poultry industry, Chef Chad Smith said. The tribe could intervene in the case, which was filed by state attorney general Drew Edmondson in...
Skokomish Tribe nears settlement over dams (12/16)
The Skokomish Tribe of Washington is near a settlement over two dams that were built on its traditional territory, The Tacoma News Tribune reports. The tribe would receive $12.6 million and 1,140 acres from Tacoma Power in exchange for dropping...
Report finds political influence by Interior official (12/16)
A political appointee at the Interior Department interfered with more than a dozen Endangered Species Act decisions, according to an investigation made public on Monday. Julie MacDonald "jeopardized" nearly every ESA decisions during her time in the Bush administration, Inspector...
Interior finalizes endangered species regulation (12/12)
The Bush administration finalized what Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne called a "narrow" change to Endangered Species Act regulations but environmental groups and Democrats vowed a challenge. The change allows federal agencies to determine, on their own, whether to eliminate an...
Liquor licenses approved near sacred Bear Butte (12/11)
Commissioners in Meade County, South Dakota, approved liquor licenses for four venues near sacred Bear Butte. The most controversial approval was for the Broken Spoke Campground, whose owner originally planned a Native theme for his venue but ran into opposition....
Group sues over tribal management of bison range (12/09)
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed suit against the Interior Department on Monday to nullify a self-governance agreement with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana. PEER says the tribe should not manage certain functions at the National Bison...
Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe seek Peabody mine delay (12/09)
Representatives of the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe asked the Interior Department to delay a decision on a mine application by Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the world. Tribal leaders and activists want the Office of...
Editorial: Southern Ute Tribe takes on air quality (12/04)
"The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado wants to take control of pollution on its land away from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. So far so good. As the tribe's air quality program manager, James Temte, pointed out, the EPA has...
Interior expected to approve Peabody mine merger (12/04)
With the clock winding down on the Bush administration, the Interior Department is expected to approve a merger of two mines in Arizona that are operated by Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the world. The Office of Surface...
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe looks into wind power (12/04)
The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts is interesting in tapping into wind power on its reservation in Martha's Vineyard. The tribe has conducted two studies to determine the feasibility of a wind turbine facility. A third study, using a 164-foot...
Oil company weighs appeal in Alaska drilling case (12/03)
Shell Oil is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court of a decision that blocked drilling in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska. The company said it invested $2.5 billion to explore for oil. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals...
BIA bridge project delayed by archaeological dig (12/03)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs might finally begin construction on a bridge replacement in Oklahoma next year, more than five years after the project started. The BIA and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation have spent $200,000 on an archaeological...
9th Circuit blocks drilling in Inupiat hunting grounds (12/02)
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Shell Oil from drilling in the Beaufort Sea because the Minerals Management Service failed to analyze the impact on Inupiat whaling grounds. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands...
Wisconsin university won't allow smudging in dorm (12/02)
Indian students at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point are upset they can't smudge in their dorm rooms. The school says state fire laws prevent burning inside dormitories. So students can only smudge outside, though they can bring eagle...
Judge hears Western Shoshone suit against mine (12/02)
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order against a mine located on Western Shoshone treaty land in Nevada. Judge Larry Hicks instead urged the plaintiffs and Barrick Gold Corporation of Canada to work together and address what...
Tribes sue to stop construction of major oil pipeline (11/26)
A group of tribes filed suit in federal court to stop the construction of a major oil pipeline that will run from Canada to the U.S. The tribes say the State Department violated 1851 and 1867 treaties and failed to...
Southern Ute Tribe seeks to regulate air quality (11/26)
The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado is awaiting Environmental Protection Agency approval to regulate air quality on the reservation. The tribe developed a Reservation Air Code to administer point-source pollution under the Clean Air Act. The tribe plans to regulate...
No Navajo water settlement in lame-duck session (11/25)
Efforts to settle the water rights of the Navajo Nation will resume in January during the 111th Congress. The tribe's settlement was included in a major water and public lands bill that never came up during the lame-duck session. The...
Western Shoshones sue Interior over gold mine (11/24)
Members and leaders of the Western Shoshone Nation of Nevada filed suit against the Interior Department for approving one of the largest open-pit gold mines in the country. The plaintiffs say the Cortez Hills project will prevent them from using...
Yankton Sioux Tribe continues hog farm fight (11/21)
The Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota continues to fight a controversial hog farm near the reservation. The tribe asserted jurisdiction over the Longview Farm hog facility but a federal judge said the site wasn't part of the reservation. The...
EPA plans to weaken clean air rules near parks (11/19)
The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to weaken Clean Air Act protections for areas near national parks and wilderness areas, The Washington Post reports. The rule would make it easier for to build coal-fired power plants, oil refineries and other...
Navajo water settlement included in lands bill (11/17)
A bill to settle the water rights of the Navajo Nation is included in a major water and public lands bill that could be considered by the lame-duck Congress. The bill resolves the tribe's claims on the San Juan River...
Deal could lead to removal of Klamath River dams (11/14)
A non-binding agreement could see the removal of four dams on the Klamath River in northern California and southern Oregon. The Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Yurok Tribe and the Klamath Tribes depend on fish and water from the river. They...
Court allows limit on Chehalis man's fishing rights (11/14)
The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday limited the fishing rights of a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation. Gerald Cayenne was convicted in state court for fishing illegally with a net. The incident occurred off the reservation....
Army to move training center away from sacred site (11/14)
The U.S. Army says it is dropping plans for a training center near a sacred site at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The Comanche Nation won an injunction to block construction of the facility. The tribe says the warehouse will...
Billy Frank: Act now to protect water resources (11/14)
"Rockfish are part of the bounty that the Pacific Ocean has always provided for the Indian tribes along the Washington coast. Fish, shellfish, marine mammals and other marine life have been staples of our diets and economies for as long...
Southern Ute Tribe invests in biofuels company (11/12)
The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado is a first-round investor in a alternative energy company in Colorado. The tribe is leasing land on the reservation to Solix Biofuels for a pilot plant. The facility will convert algae into oil for...
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe pushes recycling (11/10)
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan is cutting down on waste among its employees. Employees of the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort were using more than a million disposable cups a year. But now they are using reusable cups and...
Bush to recommend expansion of Yucca Mountain (11/07)
MAP: Tribes located near Yucca Mountain site. PDF: Sites where waste is currently stored. The Bush administration will recommend the expansion of the controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, The New York Times reports. The facility in Nevada is...
Poultry industry cites Cherokee Nation in lawsuit (11/03)
The poultry industry is making an interesting legal claim in hopes of getting a lawsuit thrown out of federal court. Tyson Foods Inc. and other companies claim the Cherokee Nation owns the Illinois River in Oklahoma. They say the lawsuit...
Navajo activists keep up fight against power plant (11/03)
Navajo activists will hold their second-annual prayer ceremony to oppose a major power plant on the reservation. Dooda Desert Rock plans to meet November 8-11 near the site of the $3 billion Desert Rock Energy Project in Shiprock, New...
Southern Ute Tribe asserts rights under 1874 deal (11/03)
Members of the Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado will hunt off the reservation for the first time in decades. The tribe ceded millions of acres under the 1874 Brunot Agreement but retained the right to hunt on public lands "so...
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