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San Juan County seeks decision on fire service for tribe

San Juan County seeks decision on fire service for tribe

NEW MEXICO – San Juan County officials say they can no longer support fire services on the Navajo Nation without contributions from the tribe.

The Daily Times in Farmington reported Saturday that the San Juan County Fire Department will have to stop operating three fire districts on or near the Navajo Nation because of declining funds.

According to the county, Navajo officials have not yet…

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Pokagon Tribal Chair claims Indiana casino law illegal

Pokagon Tribal Chair claims Indiana casino law illegal

INDIANA – Last week the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians chairman said that a new casino law, which has been approved by the General Assembly, prevents Governor Mike Pence from good faith negotiations with the tribe on a compact and that voids the need to have such an agreement. The Tribe is looking to build a casino in South Bend.

John Warren, the Tribal Chairman said that the law, which…

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Blackfeet Tribe rebuilding under new tribal council

Blackfeet Tribe rebuilding under new tribal council

MONTANA – Two years ago, the doors of the Blackfeet tribal headquarters were often locked.

Police would stand guard by the entrance and protesters frequently loitered outside. Tribal members who wanted to access their government were turned away. And sometimes, when the splintered tribal council could not agree on who would sign paychecks, the government simply shut down.

But today, the doors are…

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Vermonters lead lawsuit against tribal-based online lender

Vermonters lead lawsuit against tribal-based online lender

VERMONT – Two Vermont women are leading an effort to open a federal class-action lawsuit against an Internet lending company that allegedly uses tribal immunity to skirt state laws on high-interest loans.

Jessica Gingras and Angela Given claim that Plain Green, based on an American Indian reservation in Montana, uses illegal lending practices to prey on financially disadvantaged people. They…

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Hopi Ask For Help To Stop Paris Auction Of Sacred Items

Hopi Ask For Help To Stop Paris Auction Of Sacred Items

ARIZONA – A Paris auction house is planning another sale of Hopi sacred items on June 1. The Arizona tribe is demanding their return.

The Hopi call them “katsina friends” and treat them as living beings or spirits. Seven katsina friends, or headdresses, currently appear on the EVE auction house website. The catalogue indicates the items are worth between $3,000 and $13,000.

But the tribe said…

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Democratic American Indian group unhappy with Sanchez and Harris

Democratic American Indian group unhappy with Sanchez and Harris

CALIFORNIA – The California Democratic Party’s Native American Caucus denounced Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez’s caricature of an Indian “war cry” on Monday, calling the gesture she made over the weekend insensitive and insulting.

The American Indian group also aired a grievance it has with Attorney General Kamala Harris, the other Democrat in the race, for her office’s position in a…

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Pulaski Co. judge wants Quapaw Tribe's request for land status rejected

Pulaski Co. judge wants Quapaw Tribe’s request for land status rejected

ARKANSAS – A Pulaski County judge is asking the Bureau of Indian Affairs to reject a request from the Quapaw Tribe.

The Tribe submitted an application asking that 160 acres of land they own be given Federal Trust status.

The Quapaw Tribe purchased the land adjacent to the Little Rock Port Authority’s industrial park a little more than a couple of years ago, but in December they submitted this…

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Cayugas approach $2M in unpaid taxes

Cayugas approach $2M in unpaid taxes

NEW YORK – The amount of unpaid property taxes owed by the Cayuga Indian Nation in Seneca County is approaching $2 million.

The latest figures compiled by the county Treasurer’s Office shows the Seneca Falls-based tribe has not paid $1,918,550 in county, town and school taxes since 2008.

The Cayugas own 61 parcels of land in Seneca County, purchased from willing sellers. That totals 1,144 acres…

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Navajo Nation’s chief justice stepping down

Navajo Nation’s chief justice stepping down

ARIZONA – The chief justice of the Navajo Nation has retired, ending a decadeslong legal career in which he played a key role in upholding a requirement that candidates for tribal president speak the Navajo language fluently.

Herb Yazzie was appointed as head of the tribe’s Judicial Branch in 2005 and earned a lifetime appointment in 2007. During his tenure, he defended the tribal courts’ use of…

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Chickasaw Nation breaks ground on Tishomingo facilites

Chickasaw Nation breaks ground on Tishomingo facilites

OKLAHOMA – Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby led a ceremony last week celebrating the start of construction on the Chickasaw Nation Head Start, Senior Center and Community Center buildings in Tishomingo.

More than 200 Chickasaws, employees, local leaders and residents joined Anoatubby for the groundbreaking at 812 East 6th St.

“Today, we are here to celebrate improvements in the way we offer…

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Cherokee Nation honors veterans in May

Cherokee Nation honors veterans in May

OKLAHOMA – The Cherokee Nation honored a veteran father and son, posthumously, with the Cherokee Medal of Patriotism during May’s Tribal Council meeting.

Michael Marvel accepted medals and plaques for his father, the late Gerald Marvel, and brother Larry Marvel, both born in Muskogee County, from Principal Chief Bill John Baker and Deputy Chief S. Joe Crittenden, acknowledging their service to…

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Nebraska school calls Native American girl’s religious feather ‘bling’ and bans it at graduation

Nebraska school calls Native American girl’s religious feather ‘bling’ and bans it at graduation

NEBRASKA – A Nebraska high school came under fire this week after it said that a Native American girl would not be allowed to wear religious feathers to her graduation because it broke a policy against “bling.”

The World-Herald reported that members of the Native American community showed up at Monday’s Omaha Public Schools board meeting to demand that a Sicangu Lakota teen be allowed to attend…

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Cherokee Nation Businesses records record year for revenue, income

Cherokee Nation Businesses records record year for revenue, income

OKLAHOMA – Cherokee Nation Businesses’ annual year-end audit shows the tribe’s economic development arm ended fiscal year 2014 with record revenues topping $829 million, more than $48 million ahead of fiscal year 2013. The company’s operating income of $105 million was also up 8 percent in 2014.

This financial success led to more than $47 million being paid to the Cherokee Nation, the company’s…

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Maine Bill Would Give Tribal Courts Jurisdiction in Some Domestic Violence Cases

Maine Bill Would Give Tribal Courts Jurisdiction in Some Domestic Violence Cases

MAINE – Representatives of Maine’s tribal community are joining with domestic violence victim advocates in support a proposal that would give tribal courts jurisdiction over cases involving Indian women who are physically abused by non-Indian men.

Backers of the bill say it will close a loophole in Maine law by amending the state’s Indian Claims Settlement Act to conform with new federal domestic…

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Justices consider tribal gas-tax lawsuit

Justices consider tribal gas-tax lawsuit

WASHINGTON – State Supreme Court justices had pointed questions Tuesday for both sides of a lawsuit challenging the state’s payment of more than $30 million a year in gas-tax proceeds to Indian tribes.

The Legislature authorized governors to sign agreements with Indian tribes on gas taxes. Compacts signed over the past decade provided tribes refunds equal to 75 percent of the tax on fuel bought…

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Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe steps closer to legalizing marijuana

Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe steps closer to legalizing marijuana

SOUTH DAKOTA – The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe has been looking into legalizing marijuana on the reservation since 2014.

Tribal executive committee members moved a step closer to making that a reality.

In a meeting Friday, the tribe set up an LLC with the purpose of pursuing recreational marijuana and hemp on the tribe’s reservation.

One of the tribe’s attorneys said this does not mean marijuana…

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Maine American Indian tribe says it will defy state's order restricting use of baby eel nets

Maine American Indian tribe says it will defy state’s order restricting use of baby eel nets

MAINE – Leaders of a Maine American Indian tribe say they will keep allowing members to use certain kinds of fishing gear to catch elvers despite an emergency rule issued by the state.

State Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher issued the emergency restrictions last week. He says elver fishermen are prohibited from using fyke (FIKE) nets other than those that are used in commercial…

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