Paladino talks tough about Seneca issue
(NEW YORK) -- Gubernatorial candidate Carl P. Paladino said Wednesday that if he is elected, he would take a hard line against the Seneca Nation of Indians.
Judge blocks part of NY tax on tribal cigarettes
(NEW YORK) -- A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked New York state's plans to tax cigarette sales by two American Indian nations to non-Indian customers while the tribes challenge the policy shift as a threat to sovereignty and their financial well-being.
Navajo report cites need for discrimination’s demise
(ARIZONA) -- Citing an impetus for change in the wind, the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission called for an “end to an oppressive and subservient relationship that existed and exists between the Navajo and its non-indigenous neighbor.”
Indian commission violated Tennessee Open Meetings Act
(TENNESSEE) -- In a settlement expected today, the state attorney general will admit that the now-defunct Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs violated the state Open Meetings Act in failing to give public notice for its June 19 meeting.
OP/ED: Cigarette customers, not tribe, taxed
(NEW YORK) -- To The Editor: In announcing the movement of the Oneida Indian Nation’s cigarette plant to its bingo hall on Route 46, the OIN has finally acknowledged the fact that treaties and quasi-sovereign status of the tribe do not prevent the state from the valid collection of sales tax on purchases made by non-member customers of tribally owned businesses whether those businesses are located on or off a reservation.
Houma Nation leaders set meetings
(LOUISIANA) -- Leaders of one of southeast Louisiana’s American Indian tribes is holding meetings this month and next. The 11-member United Houma Nation Tribal Council will meet at 10 a.m. Sept. 11 at Dularge Baptist Church, 2567 Bayou Dularge Road, in Theriot.
On the reservation, resentment
(NEW YORK) -- Seneca Nation leaders have renounced violence, urged calm and tried to dampen the emotion in the buildup to the state's attempt to collect taxes on cigarettes.
NY appeals court halts Indian tax
(NEW YORK) -- The latest in a tangled series of state and federal court decisions has halted New York state's plan to collect taxes on cigarettes sold by Native American retailers to non-Indian customers.
Senecas rally on Cattaraugus Reservation
(NEW YORK) -- Members of the Seneca Nation of Indians are rallying this morning on the Cattaraugus Reservation. The News' Aaron Besecker is on the reservation and posting updates on his Twitter account.
Tribal recall election slated
(ARIZONA) -- A special election for the Colorado River Indian Tribes has been set for Sept. 25. CRIT Treasurer Dennis Welsh Jr. and Councilman Merving Scott Jr. are being recalled.
OP/ED: Tea party cry ironic given history of ancestors
(SOUTH DAKOTA) -- The national crusade of "Take Back America" by tea party activists and the Arizona Legislature is as bigoted as it is absurd. It will catch on in states like Missouri, South Carolina, and the Dakotas.
MARTIN: An Oglala Sioux veteran's trip down 'memory lane'
(SOUTH DAKOTA) -- In the first two weeks following the horrific earthquake disaster in Haiti last January, I volunteered at a church (that I do not attend at all nor am I a member of) sorting and packing donated clothing items for the Haitian relief effort.
Five Tribes Story conference set at Muskogee
(OKLAHOMA) -- Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma, will host a Five Tribes Story Conference, Sept. 24-25, bringing together some of Indian Country’s most renowned authors, storytellers, and professors. Evening concerts, free and open to t
Nebraska tribes planning two detention centers
(NEBRASKA) -- Keely Bassette understands the need for an adult jail on the Winnebago Reservation. With her brother locked in a Council Bluffs, Iowa, jail nearly 100 miles from her South Sioux City home, traveling to see him can take up much of a day.
Mi'kmaq get consultation deal
(NOVA SCOTIA) -- Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq have a new deal that may help in future talks with government officials. The agreement between the Mi'kmaq, federal and Nova Scotia governments was announced Tuesday in Truro.
Tribal Claim at Center of Fishing Rights Dispute
(MASSACHUSETTS) -- A battle may be brewing between federal fisheries regulators and members of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, who contend that they are not subject to federal fisheries management laws.
OC man wins federal post
(CALIFORNIA) -- An Oregon City-born leader has catapulted to one of the highest positions in his field, as a top advisor in the federal agency that focuses on health for American Indians.
Cigarette tax: Lawyers skirmish as 'war' looms
(NEW YORK) -- The man was in the parking lot at Totem Pole Smoke & Gas shoving two cardboard boxes into the bed of his pickup truck. He covered the boxes with a tarp and closed the window on the cap.
UCE: Cigarette customers, not tribe, taxed
(NEW YORK) -- To The Editor: In announcing the movement of the Oneida Indian Nation’s cigarette plant to its bingo hall on Route 46, the OIN has finally acknowledged the fact that treaties and quasi-sovereign status of the tribe do not prevent the state from the valid collection of sales tax on purchases made by non-member customers of tribally owned businesses whether those businesses are located on or off a reservation.
Indians Protest Smoke Tax Ruling
(NEW YORK) -- A local Indian tribe took a public stance Monday against Gov. David A. Paterson’s plan to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold on Indian reservations to non-Native American customers.
New York Is Trying Again to Tax Indians’ Cigarette Sales
(NEW YORK) -- The last time New York State tried to collect cigarette taxes on Indian lands, 13 years ago, protesters blocked highways upstate and clashed with State Police troopers, who had surrounded reservations to keep cigarettes and other taxable goods from flowing in.
Scallopers claim tribal fishing rights
(MASSACHUSETTS) -- The recent boarding of a scallop vessel off Nantucket may be the first shot fired across the bow of the federal government in a dispute over a Maine tribe's right to fish in federal waters.
Fast sell for tax-free cigarettes
(NEW YORK) -- Smokers have been coming here in droves in recent days as they prepare for the possibility of the end of untaxed cigarettes.
Government lacks in compliance to act
(NEW MEXICO) -- Key federal agencies are not complying with a major American Indian law enacted to facilitate the return of human remains and cultural objects, a federal Government Accountability Office report found.
Facing cigarette tax, NY tribes adjust
(NEW YORK) -- Facing cigarette tax, NY tribes adjustA growing number of cigarette dealers on New York's Indian reservations say they will try to avoid new state taxes by halting sales of most major brands.
Seneca leaders seek to dial down tension
(NEW YORK) -- The Seneca Indian Nation hopes to dial down tensions as the deadline to collect cigarettes purchased by non-tribal people on reservations approaches.
TRAHANT: What will the Indian health system look like? Answers are up to us
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- That’s an impossible question to answer. There is the potential of a court ruling striking down at least part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. And, there is always the possibility of Congress will rewrite the law (I view this as remote because there would have to be a Super Majority to enact something else.)
Tuscaroras send a message on cigarette tax
(NEW YORK) -- A local Indian tribe took a public stance Monday against Gov. David A. Paterson’s plan to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Native Americans on Indian reservations.
FCC establishes tribal office
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- The Federal Communications Commission, after much prodding from tribal officials, has moved to establish an Office of Native Affairs and Policy as part of its national broadband plan.
BLOG: Glenn Beck: racist or ignoramus?
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- Glenn Beck held a rally at the Lincoln Memorial Saturday to restore America's honor and take back the Civil Rights movement. You know, the movement created and led by progressives who would've denounced Beck's right-wing hate agenda.
Paterson cigarette proposal expected to start Wednesday
(NEW YORK) -- The time is near: On Wednesday, the collection of taxes on Indian cigarette sales is expected to begin in New York state. Like the two governors before him, Gov. David Paterson has said he will begin collecting the tax, but can he succeed where his predecessors failed?
Broadband cut worries tribes
(WASHINGTON, DC) -- There are no places in America less connected to the Internet than many portions of Indian country. Yet, tribal advocates fear recent cuts to federal broadband funding could prevent telecommunications growth in their communities before it has a chance to start.
Rodriquez: We are spirit
(ARIZONA) -- In Arizona, we fight because we are spirit. Yet, in recent travels, I’ve gotten the distinct impression that many people think human beings are made simply of flesh and blood and that only things material have consequence.
O'odham to National Guard: 'We do not want you on our lands'
(ARIZONA) -- To the United States National Guard arriving in O'odham Lands, We are not compliant people, we are people with great dignity and confidence. We are a people of endurance and have a long survival history. We are people that have lived here for thousands of years. We have our own language, we have our own culture and traditions.
Navajo election board supervisors table ballot language
(ARIZONA) -- The Navajo Board of Election Supervisors voted to table a resolution approving the ballot language for a referendum on the election of judges and justices and other amendments to the Navajo Nation Code concerning the Judicial Branch until there is funding for public education.
Copyright © 2010
All Rights Reserved
Victor Rocha Communications, LLC.
P.O. Box 892559
Temecula, CA 92589