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Appeal weighed in Schaghticoke recognition case (08/28)
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is considering an appeal of its federal recognition case, Chief Richard Velky said on Wednesday. Velky said politicians in Connecticut pressured the Bureau of Indian Affairs to reject the tribe's petition for recognition. But a federal...
Judge rejects Schaghticoke bid for recognition (08/27)
A federal judge in Connecticut says the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation doesn't qualify for federal recognition. Judge Peter C. Dorsey rejected the tribe's claims that politics influenced the Bush administration's reversal of the tribe's status. He said the Bureau of Indian...
Obama and McCain differ on Native Hawaiians (08/25)
Native Hawaiians will be treated very differently by the person who wins this year's presidential election. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), who was born in Hawaii, said he will push for passage of a bill to extend the policy of self-determination...
Indigenous people of Guam seek federal recognition (08/25)
A group representing the indigenous people of Guam is seeking federal recognition as an Indian tribe. Frank J. Schacher, the president of the newly named Chamorro Tribe, said recognition is the only way for the Chamorro people to become true...
Editorial: Politics of Winnemem Wintu recognition (08/20)
"If you read a measure that the state Legislature passed last week supporting the Winnemem Wintus' push for federal recognition, it was about Indian rights. If you read between the lines, it's about a lot more -- including whether the...
Opinion: It's time to recognize the Chinook Nation (08/20)
"Praise the patience of the Chinook. More than 200 years after helping Lewis and Clark at Dismal Nitch and at Cathlapotle, the tribe is on the road to federal recognition. Finally! Only this time, it’s called Tribal Restoration. The Chinook...
Winnemem Wintu Tribe waits on recognition (08/18)
The California Legislature passed a bill that calls for federal recognition of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. The small tribe was promised land by an act of Congress but a reservation never materialized. The tribe was never placed on the list...
Opinion: MOWA Choctaws are no longer Indian (08/12)
"Woe is me. It has been hard adjusting to the fact that we are no longer Indians as of a few weeks ago. A United States District Court in Alabama recently ruled that the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians' lawsuit...
Editorial: It's time to recognize Chinook Nation (08/08)
"Years of behind-the-scenes work came to partial fruition last week with U.S. Rep. Brian Baird's announcement that he has lined up congressional support for formally recognizing the Chinook Indian Tribe. It defies belief that this profoundly significant tribe has long...
Vote not expected on Chinook recognition bill (08/06)
Rep. Brian Baird (D-Washington) doesn't expect Congress to vote on his bill to extend federal recognition to the Chinook Nation but he hopes to generate support in the coming months. The tribe's petition for recognition was rejected by the Bush...
Delaware Tribe hopes bill leads to federal status (08/06)
The Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma hopes a bill introduced in Congress last week will lead to a restoration of its federal status. The tribe lost its recognition through litigation filed by the Cherokee Nation. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals...
Aurelius Piper, Paugussett chief, dies at 92 (08/05)
Aurelius H. Piper Sr., the longtime chief of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe of Connecticut, died on Sunday. He was 92. Piper led the tribe's fight to gain federal recognition. After several appeals during the Clinton and Bush administrations, the...
Bill introduced to recognize Chinook Nation (08/01)
Rep. Brian Baird (D-Washington) announced a bill to extend federal recognition to the Chinook Nation of Washington. The tribe's ancestors welcomed Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Northwest 200 years ago. Attempts to gain federal status since 1851 resulted in...
BIA delays decision on Little Shell recognition (07/31)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has delayed a decision on the federal recognition petition of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana. The BIA issued a proposed finding in favor of the tribe in May 2000. But extensions of the...
Editorial: Virginia tribes deserve recognition (07/28)
"For years, the argument against recognition centered around one major bugaboo: gaming. In other parts of the United States, federal status has opened the door to casinos on reservations, which bring with them many unintended consequences, like attracting organized crime,...
Opinion: McCain and Obama on Native Hawaiians (07/28)
"Senator Obama delivered an inspirational speech in Berlin a few days ago, in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. It included comments on unity and race that imply he should oppose the Akaka bill. Yet Obama gave a speech on...
Travel spending by Lumbee leaders questioned (07/25)
Federal authorities have been looking into the use of housing funds by leaders of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Tribal leaders have gone to Hawaii, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Alaska in the past year, WRAL reported. They spent...
Sen. McCain backed Lumbee recognition in 2003 (07/04)
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois), the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said he supports federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. Where does Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the presumptive Republican nominee, stand? During the 108th Congress, from 2003-2004,...
MOWA Choctaw recognition lawsuit dismissed (07/04)
The MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians of Alabama waited too long to file a lawsuit over its rejected federal recognition petition, a judge ruled on Thursday. The tribe was denied recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in November 1999....
Senate urged to act on Virginia recognition bill (07/02)
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is being pushed to act on a bill to extend federal recognition to six Virginia tribes. The House passed the bill last May. The Senate committee has yet to take action more than a year...
Campbell to lobby GOP for Native Hawaiians (06/30)
Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) will lobby Senate Republicans on S.310, a bill to extend the policy of self-determination to Native Hawaiians. Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, was hired by the Office of Hawaiian...
Mashpee Wampanoags to appeal over shunning (06/30)
Four shunned members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts plan to appeal the dismissal of their lawsuit. The four members aren't allowed to participate in tribal activities for seven years. They say they are being punished for criticizing...
Suit over Mashpee Wampanoag shunning dismissed (06/27)
A judge in Massachusetts dismissed a second lawsuit filed by members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe who were shunned for questioning tribal leaders. Four tribal members who wanted a closer look at the tribe's finances were barred from tribal...
Winnemem Wintu Tribe wins backing for recognition (06/26)
A bill making its way through the California Legislature supports federal recognition for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe. Assembly Joint Resolution 39 passed the Assembly in April. A Senate committee approved the bill on Tuesday and it should reach the floor...
John Barnett, longtime Cowlitz chairman, dies at 73 (06/17)
John Barnett, the longtime chairman of the Cowlitz Tribe of Washington, died over the weekend. He was 73. Barnett was elected chair in 1982. He led the tribe's federal recognition effort, which succeeded in 2000. Barnett soon began the...
Paiute Tribe of Utah celebrates federal recognition (06/16)
The Paiute Tribe of Utah held its annual Restoration Gathering and Powwow on Saturday. The event started in 1980. That's when the tribe was restored to recognition after being terminated in 1954. “It was hard on us,” Chairwoman Lora...
BIA publishes federal recognition decisions (05/30)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs published two federal recognition decisions in the Federal Register today. Both cases affect tribes from Louisiana. One is the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe and the other is the Biloxi, Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees. In both cases,...
Artman takes stab at streamlining recognition process (05/27)
In one of his final actions as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, former assistant secretary Carl Artman approved changes to the controversial federal recognition process. But rather than consult tribes or put the issue up for public comment,...
BIA to publish federal recognition guidance (05/22)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is adopting new internal procedures regarding the federal acknowledgment process. Assistant secretary Carl Artman sent the guidelines to the Federal Register today. They will be published tomorrow and are not considered regulatory changes that are...
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