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House Resources hearing on land-into-trust fix (10/29)
The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday, November 4, to consider a fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The decision bars tribes that weren't "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934 from following the...
Schwarzenegger opposes Lytton land-into-trust (10/26)
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) says the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar bars the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians from following the land-into-trust process. The tribe was terminated by an act of Congress in 1958. Congress restored...
Byron Dorgan: Urgent fix to land-into-trust ruling (10/22)
The following is the opinion of Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota). The Supreme Court's decision in the recent Carcieri v Salazar case urgently needs to be corrected. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which I chair, heard ample evidence of...
Rep. Kennedy urged to back land-into-trust fix (10/20)
The United for Justice Campaign is urging Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island) to support a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. Kennedy, the co-chairman of the Congressional Native American Caucus, hasn't stated whether he...
Towns in Connecticut fight land-into-trust fix (10/14)
Three towns in Connecticut that have fought tribes on a number of issues are opposing a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston asked Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Connecticut) and Sen....
Cole introduces fix to land-into-trust decision (10/02)
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a member of the Chickasaw Nation, introduced a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. H.R.3697 ensures that all tribes, regardless of the date of federal recognition, can follow the land-into-trust...
Judge supports Oneida Nation land-into-trust (09/30)
A federal judge in New York rejected a slew of challenges to the Oneida Nation's land-into-trust application. Judge Lawrence E. Kahn said the land-into-trust provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act do not violate the U.S. Constitution. He upheld the legality...
Land-into-trust bill lacks Republican sponsors (09/29)
A bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar lacks Republican co-sponsors. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced S.1703 on September 24. All seven co-sponsors are Democrats who...
Pojoaque Pueblo disputes county property tax (09/28)
Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico says it shouldn't have to pay property taxes on a ranch valued at $6 million. The tribe bought La Mesita Ranch last year. The property includes six houses, a swimming pool, a tennis court...
Dorgan introduces fix to land-into-trust ruling (09/24)
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced a fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The decision restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in...
Bill puts control of Navajo trust in Navajo hands (09/23)
Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) introduced a bill to put the control of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund in the hands of the Navajo people. In 1933, Congress created a trust for members of the Navajo Nation who live in San...
Eastern Shawnee Tribe to pursue trust lawsuits (09/22)
The Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma can pursue its trust mismanagement cases in two different courts, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on September 17. The tribe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. to...
Klamath Tribes land-into-trust stirs controversy (09/22)
The Klamath Tribes of Oregon are negotiating the purchase of 385 acres near Portland that could be placed in trust. Details are still being worked out but the prospect of a land-into-trust application is already generating controversy. "This is...
Interior to phase out troubled royalty program (09/17)
The Interior Department will phase out a controversial oil and gas royalty program that has come under fire in recent years. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the royalty-in-kind program at the Minerals Management Service was not benefiting taxpayers. Reports from...
City supports Shakopee Tribe's land-into-trust (09/11)
The city council in Prior Lake, Minnesota, voted to support the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community's land-into-trust application. The tribe wants 78 acres placed in trust. Some of the land will be used for a new tribal government center and a...
Storage facility opens on Gila River Reservation (09/11)
A new storage facility on the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona was the result of five years of negotiations with individual Indian landowners, tribal government and local government. Rande Leonard opened Pecos Storage earlier this month. The facility spans...
BIA doesn't want to acquire tribal refinery site (09/10)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs doesn't want to acquire 469 acres in trust for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota because the tribe plans to use the land for an oil refinery. The tribe owns the land...
Group wants city to seize Muscogee Nation land (09/04)
A group called the South Tulsa Citizens Coalition wants the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, to condemn land owned by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in order to stop the tribe from developing the property. The group previously fought plans to build...
City leader to release Creek Nation business plan (09/03)
A city council member in Tulsa, Oklahoma, plans to release details of what he says is a Muscogee (Creek) Nation development plan. Councilor Bill Christiansen told The Tulsa World that he obtained the document from an unidentified source. He said...
Muscogee Nation prepares land-into-trust bid (08/21)
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation began preparing a land-into-trust application to submit to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a controversial project in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The tribe wants 40 acres placed in trust. Pans call for a new bridge and an...
Judge dismisses Gun Lake land-into-trust case (08/20)
A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the ability of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, to follow the land-into-trust process. David Patchak, a former official from the town of Wayland,...
BIA seeks another extension for surplus land (08/19)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is seeking another extension to acquire surplus U.S. Navy property for the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island and the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts. Director Jerry Gidner said the BIA needs more time to...
New York county opposes land-into-trust fix (08/19)
Officials in Cayuga County, New York, will ask the state's Congressional delegation to oppose a fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar. The decision restricted the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" when the...
BIA declares reservation for Michigan tribe (08/17)
The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, finally has a reservation in Michigan. The tribe's 147 acres were officially proclaimed a reservation by assistant secretary Larry EchoHawk. "The land is for the exclusive use...
DOI to report regularly on Indian trust fund (08/10)
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the Obama administration will provide regular updates on the status of the Indian trust fund. The Interior Department holds about $3.5 billion in trust for tribes and individual Indians. The money comes from land-based activities...
Editorial: Talk about Muscogee land-into-trust (08/07)
"Talk about unintended consequences. In response to city and county leaders' efforts to block the conversion of more local land to tribal trust status, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is asking for help from more than 500 other Indian tribes across...
OST financial skills training set for North Dakota (08/06)
The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, in partnership with the First Nations Development Institute, will offer financial skills training to employees and members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota. Multiple sessions at the...
Muscogee Nation seeks help on land-into-trust (08/05)
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma is asking tribes across the U.S. to support its land-into-trust application. The tribe is sending letters to all tribes and to the National Congress of American Indians. Chief A.D. Ellis said opposition from...
Native Hawaiian homelands lawsuit goes to trial (08/04)
A class action lawsuit that accuses the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of breach of trust finally goes to trial today. The lawsuit, which was filed nearly 10 years ago, represents more than 2,700 Native Hawaiians who say the department...
OST co-hosts seminar on wind energy resources (08/03)
The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma are co-hosting a seminar on wind energy development this Thursday. The seminar will provide information to Indian landowners who are interested in wind energy projects....
City opposes Muscogee Nation land-into-trust (07/31)
The city council in Tulsa, Oklahoma, voted unanimously on a resolution that opposes the land-into-trust application of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The tribe wants a total of 43 acres placed in trust. The properties are located on opposite sides...
OST adds Alaska to list of consultation sessions (07/27)
The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians will be holding two consultation sessions in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 13. The sessions will focus on the real estate appraisal services program. OST hopes to develop new tribal share allocation...
BIA granted extension to acquire surplus land (07/24)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been granted an extension to acquire surplus U.S. Navy property for the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island and the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts. The BIA has until August 10 to submit paperwork on...
EchoHawk to discuss Oneida Nation land transfer (07/22)
Larry EchoHawk, the new leader of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is scheduled to meet today with Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) and Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-New York) to discuss a recent a recent land transfer for the Oneida Nation...
City council to vote on land-into-trust resolution (07/22)
The city council in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will vote July 30 on a resolution that opposes the land-into-trust application of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Councilor Bill Christiansen says approval of the application threatens the city's tax base. He hopes to deliver...
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