Reznet

Michael Jackson's death stirred many thoughts Thursday, including questions about whether his outrageous behavior - including trying to erase his African American features - has forever tainted his music. At least for this listener, the answer is no.

Kimberly Teehee, the newly appointed Native policy advisor to President Barack Obama, said in a statement released this week that she is elated and humbled by her appointment.

Kimberly Teehee, the newly appointed Native policy advisor to President Barack Obama, said in a statement released this week that she is elated and humbled by her appointment.

A McDonald's figurine depicting Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer, the notorious leader of the doomed 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, has forced some Indian parents to explain the reckless general's "true" history.

A recent editorial by the publisher of the Madison (S.D.) Daily Leader attacked the Rosebud Sioux Tribe for using federal stimulus money to build an airport, an assault that bordered on racism in its language.

A recent episode of a PBS mini-series that focused on the 1973 siege of Wounded Knee is taking flack for ignoring activists' destructive actions. But that criticism shouldn't be allowed to erase the series' worth or the good that the activists accomplished.

Recently, as I've watched colleagues at mainstream newspapers lose their jobs to lay-offs, an interesting idea has come to mind: using the tribal-owned newspaper model to save mainstream newspapers. But would it work? Maybe not, some say.

Two weeks ago, I created a Facebook page devoted to finding finding Native leaders who are worthy of the presidency. While the page attracted 92 members, it led to only a handful of suggestions. More importantly, it became a place to talk about Native leadership.

A Web site devoted to finding an Asian Indian who embodies Barack Obama's qualities recently prompted a question for me: Who in Indian Country could one day be president, now that Obama has paved the way for minorities to enter that office?

During a month that has seen 57 dead in mass shootings, national leaders are focusing their attention on lawlessness in Indian Country.

A South Dakota lawyer who spent much of his career fighting for Indian rights says President Obama should consider creating a Native policy review commission to prioritize Indian social, economic and political problems before setting to work helping Indian Country.

A former Indian Health Service deputy and chief financial officer said plans to build two new IHS hospitals using federal economic stimulus money could tie up Indian health care funding for years.

A tribal health advocate and former president of the National Congress of American Indians said he was troubled to learn recently that more than half of the $450 million in economic stimulus funds meant for Indian health care will be spent to build just two new hospitals.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said he was 'troubled' by the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that tribes recognized after 1934 couldn't participate in the land-into-trust process. He said he plans to continue the program while reviewing options to address the issue.

Dear President Obama, please give those tribes unable to afford armies of grant writers the chance to compete against wealthy casino tribes and local and state governments for your stimulus funds. Without a level playing field, your good intentions will remain just that: intentions.

To secure a share of the $3 billion targeted for tribes in the economic stimulus plan, tribes will have to compete against one another for grants. The stimulus plan also gives tribes a much better chance of gaining passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

Leah Long Visitor lost her newborn son in an Indian Health Service Hospital in Pine Ridge, S.D., in December. Her story highlights the need for comprehensive Indian health care reform.

It's been a week of ups and downs for Indian people, who saw a longtime champion for Native health care withdraw his nomination for U.S. health secretary but also saw progress on efforts to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

With the inclusion of tribes in the Senate's $825 billion stimulus package, tribal leaders and advocates are witnessing the first waves of a political tsunami crashing on America's shores. They must be ready to take advantage of this political upheaval while their voices are still being heard.

A Los Angeles filmmaker is undertaking a staggering project: Telling the story in film of three Wyandot Nation sisters who fought for more than 60 years to protect their ancestral burial grounds from developers. But Luis Moro recently got a high-profile friend to complete his film: Sir Ben Kingsley.

The inauguration of Barack Obama will undoubtedly be an inspiring moment for Native people as they watch the first black president take office. It also should serve as a reminder to hold our leaders accountable for their words.

In what some will undoubtedly see as a shameless attempt to secure the health and welfare of the 2.4 million Indians living in the U.S., the National Congress of American Indians is asking president-elect Barack Obama for a fraction of the $775 billion economic stimulus package he is proposing.

It's been a year in purgatory for Indian Country, which saw vital health legislation stall in Congress and perennial fights like the Cobell lawsuit and Freedmen controversy march on seemingly without end. But is a new day dawning for Native people?

With Washington debating a rescue of the auto industry, it's about time lawmakers take a serious look at bailing out the most endangered segment of the country: Native Americans.

You can't blame Rachel Joseph for being unwilling to give up hope that Congress will yet pass the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. She's been working on reauthorizing the act for nine years and knows how vital it is to Indian Country.

In less than two months, Frank LaMere, chairman of the Democratic Party's Native American Caucus, will watch Barack Obama take the oath of presidency. Three days later, he'll watch his daughter graduate as one of the few Native graduates of the Senate Page Program.

Former Senator Tom Daschle's nomination this week to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services is being hailed across Indian Country. But will the man now charged with revamping our country's shattered health care system really have time to address the titanic problem of Indian health care?

Children in classrooms across the country are taking part in an age-old tradition: the Native American and Pilgrim feast. But isn't there a better way to celebrate the shared history of Native Americans and Europeans?

Maybe it's too soon to pronounce this election's Native voter registration efforts a success. But I can't help but feel proud to have watched so many work so hard to get Indians out to vote and enlist Native candidates.

Longtime Indian activist Russell Means said this week he plans to declare South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation an international disaster area if elected tribal president Tuesday and is backing off an earlier plan to form an independent Republic of Lakotah.