Young man dead in fire near Muckleshoot Casino
Auburn, Washington (AP)
A young man is dead following a fire at a house near the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn. The blaze was reported shortly after 3 a.m. Oct. 29 by someone in the parking lot of the casino. It took about 20 minutes to put out the fire, after which a 20-year-old man was found unconscious and could not be revived, officials said. Damage was limited to one room of the small rambler, and the man who died was believed to be the only person who was home. Friends and neighbors told KING Television of Seattle the man was a Muckleshoot member. They said the home belongs to his aunt.
Director of Indian Museum stepping down
Washington, D.C. (AP)
The founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian announced during October that he will resign next year. W. Richard West Jr., who has been the public face of the museum during its planning and first two years of operation, said he felt it was the right time to leave and that he is stepping down in November 2007 by his own choice. “I wished to walk through that door, rather than be ushered through the door or carried through the door,” said West, 63. After 17 years of planning, West’s vision for the first Mall museum dedicated to minority culture was realized on opening day in September 2004.
Native dyes studied
as alternative crops
Alcalde, New Mexico (AP)
New Mexico State University agricultural researchers, mindful of a growing market for natural textiles, are studying methods used for centuries by American Indian and Spanish weavers to dye wool using parts of native plants. Researchers said interest and consumer demand in natural textiles and fiber art has increased recently, partly from customers who have expressed concerns about sensitivity to harsh chemicals and dyes used in commercial textiles.
Tribal police chief, officer face federal charges
Phoenix, Arizona (AP)
White Mountain Apache police chief and another officer have been charged with manipulating records in a federal investigation after the FBI began looking into the use of departmental funds at casinos. Police Chief Lincoln Perry and Officer Tim Goode pleaded not guilty during late October in U.S. District Court, said Wyn Hornbuckle, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They were each arraigned on one count of conspiracy to falsify records and 17 counts of falsifying records. Perry and Goode are scheduled to stand trial Dec. 5. Federal officials alleged the two men embezzled between $10,000 and $20,000 over a five-year period. According to authorities, Perry and Goode were the only ones allowed to sign on a bank account maintained by the tribal police investigations unit. The account is used for undercover purchases and payment to informants. Perry was already on suspension when the charges were filed.
Former Wind River
chief pleads in tribal court
Riverton, Wyoming (AP)
A former chief of the Wind River Police Department pleaded guilty in Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Court to five counts related to an altercation with tribal police last summer. Larry Makeshine, on leave from his position as head of the tribes’ fish and game program, pleaded guilty in a deal that calls for him to serve two years on probation, according to court documents. Makeshine still faces a federal charge of assaulting a federal officer. He is scheduled for a hearing before U.S. District Judge William F. Downes in Casper on Dec. 18.
Council votes to proceed with Pine Ridge election
Rapid City, South Dakota (AP)
The Oglala Sioux Tribe proceeded with their general election on Nov 7 as planned. An Election Board of Appeals had said earlier that the tribe should hold a new primary election, in part because of misprinted ballots. It declared results of the October primary null and void, but the tribal council decided on Oct. 30 to proceed with the general election. Voters will elect a tribal chairman, vice chairman and tribal council members.
Navajo president vetoes bill to reduce office funds
Window Rock, Arizona (AP)
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has vetoed a bill that would have reduced the percentage of money the executive branch receives from the tribe’s general fund. “I am extremely concerned that the percentages set forth in the proposed legislation will impair the ability of the executive branch to provide essential and direct services to the Navajo people,” Shirley said. The Fairness in Appropriations Act, approved by the Tribal Council on Oct. 18, would have taken 3 percent from the executive branch and distributed it between the legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch would have received 77 percent of the $127 million general fund, 10 percent would have gone to the legislative branch and 13 percent to the judicial branch.
Vandals engrave names and dates ruin ancient art
Vernal, Utah (AP)
Vandals engraved names and dates across an ancient art panel. “It’s not unlike walking into an art gallery and painting your name across a Van Gogh,” said state archaeologist Kevin Jones. “It defaces a piece of our cultural heritage that is irreplacabale.” Experts believe the rock art, ghostly figures with no legs, was created by American Indians several thousand years ago. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is trying to determine if the art, 175 miles east of Salt Lake City, is on federal or state property. A BLM employee discovered it. “They pretty well destroyed it,” BLM archaeologist Blaine Phillips said of the vandals. Anyone with information can call 435-781-4400.
Montana governor supports recogniation
of Little Shell Chippewa
Great Falls, Montana (AP)
The Montana governor has signed a document supporting the federal recognition sought by a landless American Indian tribe, the Little Shell. Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed and read a declaration supporting the tribe’s nearly 115-year-old appeal for recognition at the federal level. “When seeking recognition from the federal government, it’s important to have the support of your state,” said Little Shell Vice Chairman James Parker Shield. “So this is an important day for us.”
Bill would forgive 1990 loan to Yavapai Nation
Phoenix, Arizona (AP)
An Arizona tribe and the federal government both stand to save millions if President Bush signs a bill that would forgive a 1990 government loan the tribe received to build a farming irrigation system. The bill passed by Congress would forgive that loan to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and the U.S. Department of the Interior would be off the hook for preparing the last piece of farmland it promised the tribe. That would save the tribe $4 million and the U.S. government $5.6 million. “This is something we’ve worked on for a long time,” Fort McDowell President Raphael Bear said. “It’s been a long, arduous process. To finally come to this fruition really makes all of us happy today, all of the current and former (tribal) council members.”
Opponents ask for early vote on Choctaw casino
Ocean Springs, Mississippi (AP)
Opponents of a casino backed by the Mississippi Choctaw have asked local officials to schedule an election on the issue for next spring, more than one year earlier than the tribe has requested. The vote would determine whether there is enough support for a $375 million casino resort the tribe wants to build on Mississippi 57 near Interstate 10. The Choctaw have asked Jackson County supervisors for an election in November 2008. Coast Businesses for Fair Play, a group made up of casino executives from Hancock and Harrison counties, wants a vote as early as March. The vote would be nonbinding, which means the Choctaws could build their resort even if the public does not support it.
Agency orders investigation into Bison Range complaints
Missoula, Montana (AP)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ordered an outside investigation into criticism that work conditions at the National Bison Range have deteriorated under a joint management plan with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Staff members at the federal facility filed a joint grievance alleging a hostile work environment created by members of the tribe. James Slack said staff members either asked to be reassigned to a different station or for a retraction of the funding agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the tribe to jointly operate the bison range.
