Reznet

In today's Red Round Up, the Snoqualmie Tribe hosts an art show, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Tribe gets recognition as charitable big spenders, the Senecas stop building a casino, the Cherokee Tribe meet the Boy Scouts, the ATF continues to mess with Native tobacco operations, Pendleton promotes the American Indian College Fund, a Pueblo leader mistakenly bleeives that online cigarettes are tax free, an old friend writes a letter to Barack and much more.

No federal charges in Pine Ridge police crisis

Click through for the audio section. 

from Free Speech Radio News:

For sixteen years now, Native American tribal leaders have fought for long-term federal funding for Indian healthcare programs. They celebrated a major breakthrough early this year when the Senate passed such a proposal. Since then, however, it's been stuck in the House. As Yanmei Xie reports, the monkey wrench in the machine is an abortion ban. 

Cross-posted from my New West blog, Off the Reservation:

A friend of mine texted that she was going to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation for family matters.

I told her, "Damn! You'd better watch your back, man."

"Why is that, huh?" she replied. She must have thought I was going to rag on the Sioux, but that wasn't even remotely the case.

There was some damned good news that made the front page, but naturally there was stuff that just wasn't damned good enough.  Good, but not damned good. So,

St. Regis Mohawk Tribe says State Effort On Tax Will Harm Regional Economy

from the Watertown Daily Times:

According to the journal "Cancer", Americans Indians and Alaskan Natives "living in Alaska and in the Northern Plains regions have significantly higher incidence rates of colorectal cancer compared to non-Hispanic white persons."

I've never heard of anyone pursuing Native American status because they wanted rights. It sounds counterintiutive, like binge eating for world hunger. I guess new things can be found under the sun.

In today's Red Round Up, the pros and cons of McCains' relationship with Indian Country and vice-versa, the Iowa attorney general's office gets in the Ponca Tribes' grill, finding tradition within prison and more then I'm not in the mood to summarize wittily.  

Is McCain's history with Indians a mixed blessing?

from the Associated Press:

Rarely are Natives shocked when news leaks out that a federal agency is either actively abusing or ignoring them. Ever since the days of treaties and the Great White Father in Washington, non-Natives find themselves in a position of power over Native Americans. That power manifests in organizations like the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has probably had its fair share of people who actually wanted to work at their posts.

If there's one thing that never ceases to amaze me, it's how disrespected a concept like 'Tribal Sovereignty' is. The true meaning can go on for pages, but it's essentially a self-governed somewhat dependent nation within American borders. This status exempts tribal nations from certain laws and rules while opening them up to different kinds of restrictions. Almost as soon as this concept came into being, it was under attack.

In todays' round up, not much. There wasn't much in the way of valid news today.  Word up.

Billings hosts national Indian conference 

from KTVQ:

Several national agencies are teaming up to focus on the protection and welfare of American Indian children in Montana. 

Ojibwe band members call for creation of tribal college 

There is a disease plaguing Native communities and it’s becoming more prevalent as young people begin having children. Although diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease afflict our people, it’s none of these that make it hard for some parents just to make it to the next day. The affliction is the deadbeat parent syndrome.

The gaming tribes of California and the Catholic Church have worked out a compromise in their conflict over gaming. No word yet on if the Catholic Church is going to apologize for years of boarding school abuse and cultural assimilation.

On Monday, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation filed a lawsuit against Harrah's Entertainment, alleging the casino company violated a noncompete clause with the tribe by pursuing a Sumner County casino. Harrah's is competing to build and manage a casino near Mulvane, thumbing their nose in the face of a signed noncompete agreement that began on Jan. 13, 2008, stating that Harrah's wouldn't pursue any gaming that wasn't being conducted by the Potwatomi Nation.

The behemoth Mni Wiconi water project is now prepared to bring water from the Missouri River to the inhabitants of the Pine Ridge reservation, and it only took twenty years.

If anybody was thirsty for those two decades waiting for the project to finish, it wasn't mentioned.

In todays collection of news that didn't make it to the front page, the Ponca Tribe might find opposition for their casino, the Colville Tribe irks guys who only fish for fun and the Mashpee Wampanoags' casino plan proves to be divisve.

Pottawattamie County considers casino action

from the Chicago Tribune:

IN this late round up, Arnold Schwarzenegger considers going toe to toe with the Soboba Band, Osages set the gambling record straight, Public Law 280 is debated, some missionary stuff and Natives in Space!

First Native American in space inspires

from Peninsula Daily News:

In our red round up today, enginers without borders show up on the Red Cliff Reservation, the Soboba Rez will get occasionally heavier because of parole officers, potential hurdles for the Ponca Tribe, the Senecas show solid third quarter earnings and another bill on Native Cigarettes comes out.

New bill on Native American cigarette sales

From the Times Union: