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Study on Native Addiction Brings Elders to Tears
Toronto Globe and Mail
05/16/2008
A new public health study that looked at more than 500 young aboriginal drug users in two British Columbia cities produced such shocking data that people wept openly when it was first presented to a panel of elders.
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Makah Judge Fails to Empanel Jury to Prosecute Whalers
Seattle Times
05/15/2008
They promised tough prosecution, but in the end the Makah Nation couldn't put together a jury to try five whalers who were charged with illegally killing a gray whale off Neah Bay last fall.
Tribal Judge Stanley Myers on Wednesday instead granted the men one-year deferred prosecution and promised to dismiss the charges if they committed no offenses during that time. The whalers also were each ordered to pay a $20 fine.
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Osoyoos Band Signs Mining Agreement
Toronto Globe and Mail
05/14/2008
The entrepreneurial Osoyoos Indian Band in the Okanagan has signed its first formal mining agreement supporting a new gold and copper venture.
The agreement is intended to provide business and employment opportunities for band members, along with training assistance and revenue sharing.
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Nisqually Tribe Adds to Landholdings
Olympia Olympian
05/14/2008
The Nisqually tribe expanded its landholdings in Hawks Prairie to 40 acres, which could be used for a convention center, a family entertainment business or more retail stores.
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Squaxin Tribe Wants Better Water Management
Bellingham Herald
05/14/2008
It’s time to push for better water management, and to ensure that water levels in our rivers are adequate to sustain our natural heritage. Whether it’s by resolution, legislation, public pressure, litigation or negotiated agreement, we have to make substantial changes in the way water is managed.
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Native School in California an Escape from Poverty
NPR
05/13/2008
Remnants still exist of the boarding school system the federal government set up for American Indian children in the late 1800s.
Some people, such as U.S. officials at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, question whether the government should continue to be in the boarding school business. Many students at these schools say they are a necessary escape from the poverty and addiction that plague many reservations.
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Salmon Crisis Threatens Ecology and Culture
Vancouver Sun
05/12/2008
Salmon don't hit the headlines as often out here on the West Coast as they did in the 1980s and '90s, when they were being overfished.
They ought to again, though, given what's now happening out in the Pacific Ocean and this region's rivers.
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Residential Schools Haunt Many
NPR
05/12/2008
For the government, it was a possible solution to the so-called Indian problem. For the tens of thousands of Indians who went to boarding schools, it's largely remembered as a time of abuse and desecration of culture.
The government still operates a handful of off-reservation boarding schools, but funding is in decline. Now many Native Americans are fighting to keep the schools open.
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Public is asked to weigh in on Makah whaling
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
05/10/2008
The federal government is asking for feedback on a proposal to allow the Makah Indian Nation to hunt Pacific gray whales off the Washington coast.
The National Marine Fisheries Service released an analysis Friday of the environmental and social effects of five different hunting scenarios, plus an option of not allowing a hunt. The agency is considering permitting the killing of up 20 whales over five years.
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Grounding of log barge off Metlakatla angers village
canada.com
05/09/2008
A loaded log barge under tow from Masset was deliberately run aground in Pillsbury Cove Monday night at the order of the harbour master, allegedly spilling diesel fuel and creating a non-recoverable sheen in the Prince Rupert harbour.
The barge developed a severe list while crossing Hecate Strait as a result of the logs shifting, putting the barge off balance and creating a severe tilt and a serious safety issue. The local Coast Guard vessel Point Henry was sent out and escorted the tug and barge into Prince Rupert harbour, where it was intentionally grounded.
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Duwamish: We Are Not Extinct!
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
05/08/2008
The Duwamish -- the tribe of Chief Seattle -- is suing the federal government to reverse its determination that they are extinct as a people.
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BC Natives Held Back from Growth
BC Local News
05/08/2008
First Nations on Vancouver Island -- and throughout British Columbia -- are getting restless. Everywhere there is prosperity, development, construction, high employment, except on their reserves. They want in, but are held back, they say, by the Indian Act and the slowness of land claims and treaty settlement, which combine to prevent access to the natural resources they believe are theirs.
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Cascadians: Shared Cultural Traits, Values
Vancouver Sun
05/07/2008
Residents of the region have a subtle separatist streak, and a passion for outdoor activity.
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Bus Service for Northern Idaho's Nez Perce
Twin Falls Time-News
05/07/2008
The Nez Perce Tribe in northern Idaho has started a bus service connecting Lewiston to Kooskia and other areas to help workers get to the Clearwater River Casino, the tribe's headquarters in Lapwai and jobs in Lewiston.
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Improved Census for Montana Natives in 2010
Great Falls Tribune
05/07/2008
Members of the Native American Local Government Commission — pointing out that a few thousand Cascade County Indians were not recorded in the 2000 census — told U.S. Census Bureau officials Tuesday they could reduce the undercounting by hiring better counters in 2010, including more Native Americans.
An accurate population estimate is important to Native Americans and non-Native Americans alike because federal funding for state and tribal services often is linked to population size.
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Dream of Cohesive Cascadia Never Dies
Vancouver Sun
05/06/2008
Most advocates for Cascadia don't seriously think about creating a separate, free-standing nation. But they do talk a lot about what could come of closer political, cultural and economic ties.
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Yakama Tribe Considers Dairy Feedlot Ban
Yakima Herald-Republic
05/06/2008
Worried about possible health risks from feedlot and dairy operations, Yakama tribal members want to limit such operations on the reservation.
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Tribes, U.S. Sign Deal on NW dams
Portland Oregonian
05/05/2008
Four Northwest tribes finalized a new $900 million agreement with the federal government that they hope will begin to reverse the damage done by Columbia River system dams.
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Wild Salmon Rationing in BC
CBC BC
04/30/2008
First Nations leaders along the Fraser River are being asked to do something they've never been asked to do -- ration their salmon catch and share among themselves. Sto:lo Nation fisheries adviser Ernie Crey said 2008 is the worst year he's seen in five decades for returning sockeye on the Fraser.
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Stillaguamish Tribe Celebrates Buffalo Herd
Everett Herald
05/01/2008
A small herd of bison grazed in a drizzle-soaked pasture, barely within sight of more than 100 guests gathered Wednesday to welcome them.
Under a giant white tent set in the pasture's muddy grass, members of local American Indian tribes, Arlington residents who live near the pasture, state and city officials, and others celebrated the herd's arrival with traditional Indian drumming and songs.
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Yakama Tribe Agrees on Funding for Fish
Yakima Herald-Republic
05/01/2008
Yakama tribal members Wednesday night reversed a previous decision and agreed to move forward on a plan to pour about $900 million into fish restoration on the Columbia River.
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Poverty Causing Malnutrition at Reservations
Indian Country Today
04/30/2008
The current state of American Indian health continues to lag behind all other U.S. population groups and poverty clusters in the nation, according to a new study that indicates malnutrition on some reservations is comparable to levels seen in vastly underdeveloped countries.
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B.C. Natives Asked to Ration Sockeye Catch
Toronto Globe and Mail
04/30/2008
Sockeye returns to the Fraser River this summer will be so poor that the federal government has asked 94 native bands in the watershed to come up with a catch-sharing plan that, for the first time, may involve "salmon rationing."
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Low-Income Tulalip Homes Come Down for Townhomes
Everett Herald
04/30/2008
Duplexes will be built where currently 10 Tulalip low-income houses stand, using $3.5 million received through the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. The program, which is not specific to tribal housing, allows companies to invest in low-income housing in exchange for tax credits.
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Alaska Natives Suffering from Unhealthy Water
Indian Country Today
04/30/2008
Lack of in-home running water is still an issue facing approximately one-third of Alaska Natives, and it's literally making them sick, according to new study findings.
Health advocates in the region are calling on policymakers to become better aware of the problem and fund initiatives to enhance the lacking water infrastructure in rural areas of Alaska.
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