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Archived Emerging IssuesSupreme Court move settles tribal authority cases (October 11, 2006) Tribal jurisdiction over all Indians appears to be safe after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected two cases, including a long-running challenge from activist Russell Means. Means, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is accused of committing a crime on the Navajo Nation in 1997. He has repeatedly claimed that the can't be held responsible because he isn't a Navajo citizen. But after a string of appeals in tribal and federal court, the author and actor can now be prosecuted for allegedly beating up his former father-in-law during a domestic violence incident. The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear his case clears the way for tribal jurisdiction. More Information >>>
Native Americans still poorest in United States
(August 30, 2006) Income levels have risen and poverty
rates have stabilized but Native Americans remain the
poorest in the nation, according to figures released by
the U.S. Census Bureau. From 2004 to 2005, the average
American household earned $46,326, an increase of 1.1
percent. It was the first time since 1999 that the
median household income rose, the Census said. But
incomes for American Indian and Alaska Native homes
remained well below the rest of the nation. Based on a
three-year average from 2003 to 2005, the median income
was $33,627, lower than incomes for white, Asian and
Hispanic households.
Download the
Report
Report cites impact, growth of tribal gaming in California (June 1, 2006) California's tribal casino industry has exploded in the past eight years, helping the state become a $13 billion gaming giant, attorney general Bill Lockyer announced on Wednesday. About half of the state's 100-plus tribes are engaged in gaming. Their facilities brought in an estimated $5.78 billion in 2004, a 36.5 percent increase from $3.67 billion in 2002, Lockyer said in presenting the results of a new state report. Indian gaming has generated tens of thousands of jobs, improved the quality of life for tribal members and helped rural communities, the report determined. But the rapid growth of the industry, and its impact on urban areas, require careful consideration, Lockyer said. More Information >>> U.S. Supreme Court refuses to clarify tribal claims (May 16, 2006) Tribal claims across the nation face an uncertain future after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a critical case, Cayuga Indian Nation of New York v. Pataki. Without comment, the justices declined a petition filed by the Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma. Backed by the federal government, the tribes sought to revive their claim to 64,000 acres in New York. A federal judge had ordered the state to pay $248 million for taking the land without the approval of the United States. But the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, in a split decision that now stands, barred the tribes from seeking money damages for the stolen land. More Information >>> U.S. Supreme Court won't hear Indian child welfare case (May 2, 2006) An Indian child welfare case that was being watched by tribes and Indian organizations across the nation was turned down by the U.S. Supreme on Monday. Without comment, the justices declined to review Doe v. Mann, a case from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The move affirms a precedent that tribal advocates say runs counter to federal law by giving states more control over Indian child welfare proceedings. Under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, tribes normally have exclusive jurisdiction over adoptions and custody disputes involving tribal children. Congress passed the law in response to extremely high rates of Indian children being placed in non-Indian homes by states. More Information >>> Meth money sought for tribes, pueblos (April 26, 2006) Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced legislation to allow American Indian tribes to qualify directly for federal grants to combat methamphetamine trafficking. The Silver City Democrat said Tuesday that tribes and pueblos were unintentionally left out as eligible applicants under a methamphetamine law passed in 2005. The bill makes them eligible for grants from a $99 million law enforcement fund and a $20 million fund to assist children taken from homes where meth had been used or produced. "Last month, I was disheartened to read about a Navajo grandmother, her daughter and granddaughter, who were all arrested for selling meth. We must correct the law to ensure that Indian country has access to all the tools needed to fight this terrible problem," Bingaman said in a statement. National Congress of Indians President Joe Garcia, the governor of Ohkay Owingeh, formerly San Juan Pueblo, specifically complained about the lack of access to anti-methamphetamine funding at the Congress's legislative summit in February. Sen. Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican, is co-sponsoring the bill with Bingaman.
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
report calls on U.S. to honor health care commitment -
"Broken
Promises: Evaluating the Native American Health Care
System"
Government Accountability Office releases report on
state of telecommunication in Indian Country - The Federal Communications
Commission has made efforts to improve the historically low subscribership rates
of Native Americans on tribal lands. In addition, Congress is considering
legislation to establish a grant program to help tribes improve
telecommunications services on their lands.
Telecommunications: Challenges
to Assessing and Improving Telecommunications for Native Americans on Tribal
Lands Indian Jails Likened to Iraq (September 22, 2004) Indian jails are "a national disgrace" in which 11 people have died and hundreds have tried to kill themselves or escaped over the past three years, federal officials say. Senators said they were deeply troubled by the report of the situation from the Interior Department's top watchdog, and they likened the jails to the U.S. military's mistreatment of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. Earl Devaney, the department's inspector general, painted a grim picture for the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday. His report, capping a year of investigation, found at least 11 fatalities, 236 suicide attempts and 632 escapes since the Bush administration took office in January 2001. More Information >>> Get the Reports: "Neither Safe nor Secure: An Assessment of Indian Detention Facilities" (TEXT PDF) and "Indian Jails: A Clarion Call for Reform." (Testimony of the Inspector General Before the Senate Finance Committee) (TEXT PDF) BIA Recognition Decision Database now Online (July 16, 2004) For months, Bureau of Indian Affairs officials have been touting a CD-ROM containing documents related to the federal recognition process. Thanks to Indianz.Com, you can now Access Them Online! The Acknowledgment Decision Compilation (ADC) is a record of documents the BIA has on file for dozens of groups that have made it through the federal recognition process. It contains over 600 MB of documents that were scanned in by the agency's Office of Federal Acknowledgment. The ADC is actually a Microsoft Access database that contains links to TIFF images of the documents. To make it more accessible, Indianz.Com converted the database to a Web Page. The database only contains information on petitioners that have received an answer -- preliminary or final -- on their status. Groups that are still in the process are not included. GAO Releases ICWA ReportThe General Accountability Office released its long-awaited study on the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), calling for greater oversight to ensure states are complying with the landmark law. More than two years in the making, the study was requested by House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-Texas) and two Republicans, including one with jurisdiction over child welfare programs. The lawmakers wanted to know whether the law works as intended -- to give tribes a greater role in decisions affecting the placement of Indian children. The newest Department of Justice American Indians and Crime Report has been issued. This report, American Indians and Crime, 1992-2002, summarizes data on American Indians in the criminal justice system and reports the rates and characteristics of violent crimes experienced by American Indians. This report is an update of the 1999 Bureau of Justice Statistics with increased coverage of crimes which occur in Indian country.
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