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Chinook: ‘Extinct' U.S. tribe gets another shot at recognition - The Chinook tribes greeted Lewis and Clark when the explorers arrived at the Lower Columbia River in 1805. The tribes helped members of the expedition through the winter, bringing them food and assisting with navigation. More than 200 years after that first contact, the five tribes that now make up the Chinook Indian Nation have a constitution, a tribal council and annual meetings. They are not, however, recognized by the U.S. government. "They say we are extinct, but my family still lives on our indigenous land," Coun. Kate Elliott said. The Chinook tribes' lack of recognition could change under proposed revisions to the 35-year process the U.S. Interior Department uses to officially recognize Indian tribes. Announced May 22, they are part of an effort to make tribal recognition more efficient and transparent.
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Chinook: Camas to rise again in Ridgefield - Visitors to the Cathlapotle Plankhouse on Sunday didn't just learn how native tribes incorporated roots of the camas plant into their diets. They had a chance to get their hands dirty as they planted dozens of the purple-flowering bulbs in a field overlooking the plankhouse, centuries-old oak trees and the Columbia River.
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Clatsop-Nehalem: Proposed center offers lessons - A group of city officials, parks committee members and tribal representatives have met several times, an application for a state grant to buy the property from the school district is being prepared, a path around the property is being planned, and even the fence that surrounded the school has been removed to prepare for development.
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Clatsop-Nehalem: Elementary school site to be a public park for now - The dream of turning the vacant Cannon Beach Elementary School site into a Native American cultural, educational and recreational center honoring the Clatsop-Nehalem Tribe is very much alive. But the city and the Seaside school district have been unable to agree on a price for the southern half of the property that the school district owns.
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Coeur d'Alene: Idaho's Circling Raven Golf Club earns honors from TripAdvisor - Circling Raven Golf Club - the highly acclaimed amenity course of Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort - has garnered the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for a second straight year.
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Coeur d'Alene: Chief Andrew Seltice led tribe into the modern age - The Coeur d'Alene Indians say that Chief Circling Raven lived to be 150 years old, ruling his people from 1660 to 1760. With the gift of prophecy, he warned of grave dangers ahead. He also said one day the Black Robes will come. Andrew Seltice was born about 1810, not long after his Schitsu'umsh people saw their first white men when Lewis and Clark passed through. He was not like the more famous warrior chiefs Geronimo, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. He preferred diplomacy to battle.
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Coeur d'Alene: Tribe's plan to offer poker at casino at odds with Idaho - The casino is advertising a May 2 opening date for its new poker room, with executives saying that Idaho's constitutional ban on poker games doesn't apply to the tribal-owned casino.
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Colville: 3 Wellpinit students receive full ride college scholarships - Only 1,000 students received Gates Millennium Scholarships nationwide and three of them came from Wellpinit High School. The three Wellpinit High School standouts were members of the Colville Tribe and attended school on the Spokane Indian Reservation.
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Colville: Woman killed in single-vehicle crash near Long Lake identified - A woman is dead following a single-vehicle collision with a tree southwest of Long Lake on Thursday night, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies received a call of the collision shortly after 8 p.m. Jolene Picard, 27, was heading northwest on West Long Lake Road near West South Bank Road, drove off the south shoulder, overcorrected and went off the north shoulder.
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Colville: Ron Flavin Helps Tribes Secure $500K Telemedicine Grant - The Colville Indian Reservation land base covers 1.4 million acres in North Central Washington, occupied by more than 5,000 residents living in small communities or in rural settings. The grant proposal was written by Ron Flavin, a business organization strategist, who has had a 100 percent success rate with the USDA's Community Connect program and has previously obtained a $1.4 million award for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
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Colville: Tribes Plan First Hotel With Casino - "This will be our first hotel," Mike Finley, chairman of the Colville Business Council, said. The Confederated Colville Tribes own three small casinos but no hotels. Surface preparation and some excavation for the site of the new Omak Casino Resort will begin about April 15, so cars can reach the location and people can attend the ground breaking projected for early May. The anticipated opening is about 12 months later.
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Coos, Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw: A Small Tribe Thinks Big About Their Ocean Space - Margaret Corvi, a tribal member and Environmental Specialist, is one of three tribal natural resource staff, and the only one actively working on ocean and coastal projects. Despite the limited capacity, she has been participating in meetings of the West Coast Marine Planning Tribal Partnership -- a group of 10 tribes working to draft marine plans for their individual tribal territories.
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Coquille: Proposed Medford casino: the letters - It's been just over a year and a half since the Coquille Indian Tribe announced plans to build and open a casino in Medford. The idea has received backlash from the neighboring Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
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Coquille:
Chief Kenneth Tanner - The Coquille Indian Tribe lost its long-time tribal chief this weekend. According to the tribe, Kenneth Tanner died Saturday morning after a long battle with an unspecified illness.
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Coquille: iModules Software Announces New CTO - iModules Software, the leading provider of online collaboration and engagement tools primarily for higher education, today announced the hiring of a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Troy Anderson. Anderson is responsible for the company's technology strategy, software development, architecture, QA, and infrastructure activities. He is also is a published author - The Way of Go - and a champion of indigenous language revival for his Tribe, the Coquille Indian Tribe.
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Cowlitz: Crafts of the past on view through summer at Tacoma's Fort Nisqually - Every weekend from May 3 through September 28 a different artist will be in residence demonstrating a craft or art from the 1800s, the period when the Hudson's Bay Company had an outpost at the now-restored historical site. Crafts include Native American basketry, metal engraving, millinery, botanical illustration, broom making, and blacksmithing. On May 18, Cowlitz tribal member Judy Bridges demonstrates basketry techniques like plaiting, twining and coiling.
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Cowlitz: Ceremony carries on healing - I'm so glad The Columbian captured the spirit of Chief Redheart's band of the Nez Perce during their annual visit to Fort Vancouver on April 19. The ceremony to commemorate the incarceration of their ancestors in the winter of 1877-78 was moving. The camera lens captured not only the beautiful horses, but the Cowlitz Tribe children who danced an Eagle Dance in very wet grass, then sat quietly under umbrellas through the cold and driving rain -- weather that gave us an example of what the Nez Perce endured during their imprisonment.
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Cowlitz: Legislative committee gives casino idea a hearing - Cowlitz Chairman Bill Iyall appeared Friday before the state Senate Commerce and Labor Committee in Olympia for the first of three public hearings on a proposed tribal-state compact. Iyall said regardless of whether a federal court challenge kills the tribe's plans to take land west of La Center into trust and build a casino, a compact with the state gambling commission will let the tribe lease its allotted 975 terminals to tribes that do have casinos.
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Cowlitz: Tribe pushes for tribal-state compact - Cowlitz Chairman William Iyall testified before a House committee Monday in Olympia in support of a tentative tribal-state compact being considered by the state gambling commission.
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Cowlitz: Casino Lacks Justification - As The Columbian long has argued editorially, the question for local residents isn't about expanding entertainment opportunities in the region or appeasing a tribe that professes to have ties to Clark County. Instead, the crux of the issue revolves around the quality of life in the region and what is best for local residents and their communities.
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Cowlitz: Cowlitz Gymnast of Sacramento State Is First to Compete in NCAA Championship - Kalliah McCartney, of the Cowlitz Tribe in Washington State, is the first gymnast from Sacramento State University to qualify for the 2014 NCAA Women's Gymnastic Championships after placing sixth in the Seattle Regional on April 5 at the University of Washington. She will compete against the best college gymnasts across the country in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 18-20. "I was almost speechless when I found out I made it to nationals," McCartney told CBS13. "I was kind of in shock."
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Cowlitz: State gambling with county's well-being in casino plan - The tribe could build two casinos, one with as many as 75 gaming tables and one with as many as 50. There could be a total of 3,000 "tribal lottery player stations," which are slot machines in all but name. And there would be a certain percentage of the gross revenues going toward community mitigation (law enforcement, emergency services, etc.) and addiction services. None of this is set in stone. The proposal remains, for now, locked up in federal court.
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Cowlitz: Sacramento State Gymnast First From School To Compete In Nationals - A Sacramento State gymnast is vaulting her way into the history books as she's the first from the school to compete in the NCAA gymnastics nationals. For Junior Kalliah McCartney, 21, her tough training is paying off. "I was almost speechless when I found out I made it to nationals," she said.
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Cowlitz: Tribe Seeks Change of Name for State Park - The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is proposing a more historically accurate name for Lewis and Clark State Park in South Lewis County. As it turns out, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark never set foot in the area during their well-recorded expedition. Philip Harju, vice chairman of the Cowlitz Tribe, said the tribe is petitioning the state to change the park's name to "Cowlitz Trail State Park."
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Culture: Huckleberries - The most important berry crop for most of the Plateau people of Washington, Idaho, and Montana was the huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum), a type of blueberry. These berries were collected in August and September for winter consumption. Huckleberries plants are small to medium sized shrubs which are found in the moister mountain areas, particularly in areas with acidic soils and areas which have been burned by forest fires.
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Culture: Defending the Religious Rights of Native Prisoners - On April 18, 2014, National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby wrote U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. President Cladoosby wrote the Secretary of State about human rights violations occurring in our own backyards, specifically the "increasing number of state-level regulations that restrict the religious freedoms of Native American prisoners, including their participation in religious ceremonies and possession of religious items."
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Duwamish: Even Superpowers Can't Separate Seattle From Its Dark Past - How is Seattle's real-life tribe doing? Not well. The Duwamish tribe has been declared "extinct" by the federal government. This is despite the fact that there are still almost 600 Duwamish alive.
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Duwamish: Unrecognized tribes: It's due time for recognition - As a retired Bureau of Indian Affairs employee, I am aware of the long, hard fight Cecile Hansen has had in trying to receive federal recognition.
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Economic Development: Tribal business a big niche in the South Sound - One South Sound business niche that not only survived but managed to thrive during the recession has been tribal project expansion. And, with five Tribes scattered throughout this region alone, that fact has businesses here looking to partner with them on projects across major industries.
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Education: Northwest Indian College Space Center Rocket Goes Supersonic - Nine Northwest Indian College students and their advisor arrived at the First Nations Launch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 2, 2014. This year three teams were entered into the competition: Tribal Climate Change, AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), and the Supersonic Challenge. The competition was held on Saturday, April 5 on a relatively sunny day.
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Education: Native spirit, Walla Walla legends, Vietnam War - Keith Egawa and sister Chenoa Egawa pooled their talents to produce "Tani's Search for the Heart," an advanced children's book for readers ages 6-12. Tapping into the culture of their Lummi and S'Klallam Indian heritage, they tell the story of Coast Salish girl Tani, whose beloved grandmother advised the girl to search for "the heart of all things."
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Education: Hundreds attend totem pole rededication at Peninsula College's Port Angeles campus - More than 300 tribal, city, county and educational dignitaries took part in a rededication of a totem pole at Peninsula College on Tuesday afternoon.
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Fisheries: Tribal leaders say efforts often hampered by bureaucracy - Tribes are sovereign, or self-governing, nations. But federal and state bureaucracies often slow or inhibit their ability to respond to needs on their lands, Tribal leaders told federal officials at a Tribal Summit at the Suquamish Tribe's House of Awakened Culture, April 24. Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, said the commission has not received a response from the White House three years after the commission presented a white paper offering solutions to salmon habitat degradation. And that's putting treaty rights at risk.
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Fisheries: Research develops genetic tools to aid In recovery of pacific lamprey in Columbia river basin - A set of 96 genetic markers, or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), winnowed by Columbia River basin researchers from a list of 4,439 previously identified in Pacific lamprey could help give researchers insights into the lives and life influences faced by the diminished, but highly valued, fish species, according to a research paper made available last week online.
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Fisheries: Keep big oil trains out of our way - If coal export terminals proposed for Cherry Point near Bellingham, and Longview on the Columbia River are approved, hundreds of trains and barges would run from Montana and Wyoming every day, spreading coal dust along the way. That same coal will continue to pollute our world when it is burned in China and other countries thousands of miles away.
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Fisheries: Lower Klamath tribes speak against new Klamath legislation - Upper Klamath Basin tribes have come out in recent weeks touting new legislation authorizing federal involvement in three Klamath agreements, but the enthusiasm has not been shared by all of the tribes downriver.
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Government: Proposed changes may help tribes get federal recognition - Proposed changes to the 35-year process the U.S. Interior Department uses to officially recognize Indian tribes could affect Washington tribes that have sought federal recognition for years.
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Government: Declaration seeks inclusion of tribes in updated Columbia River Treaty - Wrongs done to indigenous people during the dam-building era should be addressed during negotiations for a new Columbia River Treaty, according to a declaration signed last week in Spokane.
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Government: DOI Asks Senate To Upend Supreme Court's Tribal Rulings - Kevin K. Washburn, assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, asked the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to pass S. 2188, which would amend the Indian Reorganization Act to reaffirm the secretary of the Interior's authority to take land into trust for tribes -- a power that was cinched by the Supreme Court's 2009 Carcieri v. Salazar decision.
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Government: Tribes irked by slow start to U.S. land buyback program - Many of the nation's tribal leaders say the Obama administration is moving far too slowly with a massive plan to spend $1.9 billion to buy back thousands of parcels of land that have been sold over the years on U.S. Indian reservations.
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Government: U.S. Interior Secretary: Western Washington tribes 'on point end of spear' in climate change - The federal government has a "moral obligation" to act to offset rising sea levels and protect wildlife habitat threatened by a changing climate, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told leaders of Western Washington tribes Thursday. "We see it everywhere we go," Jewell said of climate change impacts. "You're really, in many ways, on the point end of the spear when it comes to climate change."
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Government: Washington state tribes ask for action on climate change - The tribes, with low-lying reservations on Washington's ocean coast and along Puget Sound, said rising sea levels caused by global warming, ocean acidification and more severe weather patterns are endangering the natural resources on which their cultures are based. Fawn Sharp, president of the Quinault Indian Nation, said the magnitude of the problem has led to a kind of paralysis. "It's so big, we're left wondering, 'Where do we even begin?'" Sharp said.
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Government: Interior Department proposes rule changes for federal recognition of tribes - The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday announced proposed changes to the rules for granting federal recognition to American Indian tribes, revisions that could make it easier for some groups to achieve status that brings increased benefits as well as opportunities for commercial development. The Bureau of Indian Affairs says it overhauled the rules to make tribal acknowledgment more transparent and efficient.
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Government: Affordable Care Act Outreach & Enrollment: Lessons Learned and Next Steps for Urban Indian Populations - This webinar will provide a brief overview of how outreach staff and health professionals can help AI/ANs get coverage outside of open enrollment and next steps for assistance following enrollment. We will also hear from several Urban Indian Health Organization (UIHO) Navigators and Assisters about their outreach and enrollment work and lessons learned in order to support ongoing outreach and enrollment efforts.
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Government: Interior secretary calls for more land to be placed in tribal trust status - Earlier this year, the Suquamish tribe added 283 acres to its Port Madison Indian Reservation, expanding the reservation for the first time in 150 years. That's a tiny fraction of the 242,703 acres that tribes nationwide have brought into trust status since 2009. Before the Obama administration leaves office in 2017, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell wants to see that number double.
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Government: 5 Washington tribes to benefit from federal land-buying program - Five Washington Indian reservations are among 21 nationwide that will be the focus of the next phase of a $1.9 billion program to buy fractionated land parcels owned by multiple individuals and turn them over to tribal governments, Interior Department officials said Thursday. Comment: Unfortunately at least one tribe is lying to individual Indian land owners, telling them that they must sell.
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Grand Ronde: For Native Americans, Losing Tribal Membership Tests Identity - In western Oregon, members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde are engaged in a debate over what it means to belong. The tribe's enrollment committee is considering kicking out an entire family that traces its lineage back to the founding of the modern tribe more than a century and a half ago. The family is related to Chief Tumulth, leader of the Watlala, a tribe that controlled river traffic along a key section of the Columbia River.
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Grand Ronde: Woman raises $3,400 for police dog - A tribal member from Grand Ronde has raised $3,400 to purchase a bulletproof vest for tribal police dog Nixwa. Veronica Gaston, embarked on the fundraising mission after a recent shooting killed a police dog in Portland.
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Grand Ronde: Tilikum Crossing or Tilix?m Crossing? Why Portland's new bridge name doesn't have traditional native spelling (video) - Initially, the spelling of Portland's bridge name was proposed as "Tillicum." In the end, however, the committee charged with choosing a moniker for the car-free 1,720-foot transit bridge over the Willamette River selected Tilikum Crossing.
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Grand Ronde-Nooksack: Dismembering Natives: The Violence Done by Citizenship Fights - In the Pacific Northwest, the Grand Ronde and the Nooksack are in the process of striking hundreds from their rolls. Some tribal governments are appropriately working to decipher their membership records and clarify their identities. Whatever the motivation, those cast out are culturally adrift and politically uncertain as to their remaining rights as either tribal, state, or federal citizens.
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Government: Federal Acknowledgment of American Indian Tribes - This proposed rule would revise regulations governing the process and criteria by which the Secretary acknowledges an Indian tribe. The revisions seek to make the process and criteria more transparent, promote consistent implementation, and increase timeliness and efficiency, while maintaining the integrity of the process. Note: Thanks to Deborah Sosa for this and other links.
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Find more News in the Archives!
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History: Tale of Pioneering Native American Woman Inspires Writing of Tribal Histories - The waterfront cottage LLyn De Danaan calls home in Oyster Bay, Washington State, overlooks a cultural crossroads that is rich in history. She's a cultural anthropologist whose eyes and ears are attuned to the signs and stories of place. From the earliest times, Oyster Bay drew waves of settlers looking to reap shellfish. De Danaan, who moved to the area in the early 1970s, heard so many tales about pioneer Katie Gale ? independent businesswoman who owned property and tidelands in her own name in the late 1800s ? that she started a file on her.
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Jamestown S'Klallam: China lifts geoduck ban, to Peninsula suppliers' relief - China has lifted a five-month ban on live shellfish from U.S. West Coast waters, a move greeted with relief by North Olympic Peninsula producers. The Chinese government announced the ban's end in a letter Friday, officials said.
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Jamestown S'Klallam: Tribe erects three more totem poles at Blyn center - Three more totem poles by Dale Faulstich were added to the roster of carvings around the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Center.
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Jamestown S'Klallam: New Blyn totem poles share welcome, stories - Three of Dale Faulstich's totem poles were placed on May 7-8 at the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's Tribal Center Administration building and Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Youth Center up Zaccardo Road. Faulstich said the 12-foot tall "Welcome" at the administration's campus is a totem pole that traditionally stood in front of the village to welcome guests.
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Jamestown S'Klallam: Hundreds attend totem pole rededication at Peninsula College's Port Angeles campus - More than 300 tribal, city, county and educational dignitaries took part in a rededication of a totem pole at Peninsula College on Tuesday afternoon. The totem pole created by the late Brick Johnson of the Jamestown S'Klallam and given to the college was erected and dedicated in 1971 in front of the old Maier Hall on the Port Angeles campus at 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
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Kalispel-Spokane: Play fair on casino issue - The Spokane Tribe has more right to have a casino in Spokane than the Kalispel Tribe does. If people are going to go to a casino, it's better that Spokane benefits from it than Worley or some other casino around. Let's be fair people and allow this business to have the same right that the other businesses have.
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Kalispel: Pend Oreille River fish surveyed at night - The Kalispel Tribe has completed a state-authorized pike suppression effort after removing 3,965 of the non-native species from the 55 miles of the reservoir March 6-May 2.
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Kalispel: Special education students pack Spring Fling dance floor - The Spokane Public School District hosted a Spring Fling dance Friday for special education students from across the Inland Northwest. The event was funded by a grant from the Kalispel Tribe.
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Karuk: Tribal Members Thwart Pot Growers' Attempts to Desecrate Sacred Site - Members of the Karuk Tribe on the Klamath River recently thwarted an attempt by pot growers to desecrate a sacred site, Tishawnik. In a press release, Karuk Tribe leaders said they are concerned that "new age religions or the false claims of associations with established religions could be used to desecrate Karuk sacred sites."
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Law: Federal Rule and Ninth Circuit opinion create huge opportunities on Indian land - Lessees of Indian land can pursue refunds of property taxes paid on their permanent improvements and should appeal future assessments.
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Lower Elwha Klallam: Tribe applies to National Register of Historic Places for Tse-whit-zen - A state panel will decide later this month whether they will ask the National Park Service to list Tse-whit-zen on the National Register of Historic Places. "It's something we're really ecstatic about," Lower Elwha Klallam Chairwoman Frances Charles said.
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Lower Elwha Klallam: Tse-whit-zen artifacts to be displayed on Peninsula (with photo gallery) - After centuries underground and a decade at the University of Washington, some of the artifacts from the Tse-whit-zen village are coming home. "It's been a long journey and a long task for us," Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles said.
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Lummi: Reservation among Indian lands up for consolidation - Twenty-one American Indian reservations, including Lummi Reservation, will be the focus of the next phase of a $1.9 billion program to buy fractionated land parcels owned by multiple individuals and turn them over to tribal governments, Interior Department officials said. Note: It's important to remember that the law states land purchases are from willing sellers.
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Lummi: Nation challenges Bellingham plans for work related to new Costco - Lummi Nation and Fred Meyer Stores have appealed the city's preliminary approval of wetlands, stormwater and street modifications along West Bakerview Road to accommodate a new Costco store.
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Makah: Whalers commemorate 15th anniversary of last legal whale kill - Fifteen years after returning from their tribe's last legal whale kill, some members of the crew of Makah whale hunters who led that hunt set out again into the bay aboard the Hummingbird whaling canoe Saturday.
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Makah: Japanese Retrace Path Of History-Making Castaways 180 Years Later - After 180 years, it's not too late to say thank you. That's what a Japanese delegation did on a visit to the Makah Indian Reservation on the Washington coast.
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Muckleshoot: Poor communication, tribal damage plague Bertha's restart - Hundreds of emails, schematics, and documents obtained by a public records request detail confusion and finger pointing between the Washington Department of Transportation and Seattle Tunnel Partners in the aftermath of the blockage that stopped the boring machine. A lengthy chain of emails revealed that in early November, barges used in the project had damaged netting for Muckleshoot tribal fishermen in the Duwamish because there was not enough time for STP to follow the rules to tell the tribe.
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Muckleshoot: Tribe Urges Rejection of Genetically Engineered Salmon Application - The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe has joined with the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) in calling on the United States Food and Drug Administration to deny any application for the introduction of genetically engineered salmon into the United States until a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and further scientific review is completed and formal consultation with Northwest Treaty Tribes undertaken.
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Muckleshoot: Tribe helping state discover why deer population isn't rebounding - Nestled along the edges of the Columbia River on the southern fringes of Benton County are several islands where state wildlife biologists occasionally hike to survey the nests of migratory geese. The islands also often have small populations of deer, some that swim out only during the fawning season and others that stay to enjoy the safe haven from predators. About 15 years ago, those biologists doing nest counts found something else instead. "All the deer were dead on the islands. Every last one of them," recalled Jeff Bernatowicz, a Yakima-based wildlife biologist with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. "You couldn't find a live deer."
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Nez Perce: Ceremony honors those held captive in Nez Perce War - On a rainy Saturday, members of the Nez Perce tribe, many with small children of their own, gathered at the Fort Vancouver National Site to remember what happened to Chief Redheart's band during the Nez Perce War.
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Nez Perce: Tribe Challenges Open-Pit Gold Mine - A federally approved open pit gold mine project in Idaho's Payette and Boise National Forests will wreak havoc on native species, the Idaho Conservation League and Nez Perce Tribe claim in court.
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Nez Perce: Tribe grant $200K for Bighorn sheep restoration - The Nez Perce Tribe will receive $200,000 for the continued restoration of Bighorn sheep populations and their habitat along the Salmon River. The US Fish and Wildlife Service today announced more than $4.6 million in Tribal Wildlife Grants that will fund a wide range of conservation projects by Native American Tribes in 17 states.
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Nez Perce: Authors to speak about 'Lewis and Clark Among the Nez Perce' - The story of Nez Perce friendship and assistance to the Corps of Discovery is old, but this account gathers oral tradition and traditional scholarship to give what historian David Stratton says might just be the "long-sought authoritative account on Lewis and Clark's encounter with the Nez Perce."
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Nez Perce: Gambling revenue up in 2013, but total earnings for business division dipped - The Nez Perce Tribe reports that gambling revenue increased slightly in 2013, while total earnings for its business division took a small dip. Jamie Olson, of Nez Perce Tribal Enterprises, shared financial information with the tribe's General Council this past week. The Lewiston Tribune reports that in a year that saw completion of an expanded Clearwater River Casino and Lodge, total earnings for Nez Perce Tribal Enterprises came in at about $8.1 million. That is a decrease of less than 1 percent from fiscal year 2012.
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Nez Perce: EPA grant money given to N.P. Tribal Unit-45 for Brownfields - The Environmental Protection Agency recently gave out almost $400,000, half of which is going to the Nez Perce Tribe. The money is for what are called Brownfields. Tribal Unit-45 is one of them, just over a mile past Orofino on Highway 12. Brownfields are sites where re-development is complicated by the presence of a hazardous substance. This area used to be a saw mill, a wood treatment facility and an asphalt batch plant. Grant funds will help the Nez Perce Tribal government clean and re-develop the property. ... possibly into a waste to energy plant.
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Nez Perce: Tribal police join 'Click it or Ticket' movement - Nez Perce Tribal Police Chief David Rogers said that an April crash on U.S. Highway 95 that resulted in the death of a 5-year-old from Lapwai who was ejected from a car prompted him to make traffic enforcement a priority.
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Nez Perce: Newly formed Lapwai Explorer program teaches the basics of police work - For two years Mike Stegner did the leg work, piecing together a program that almost turns teenagers into police officers. About six months ago, the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department gave the program a green light, and early this month several student participants of the after-school Explorer program were on their knees gathering evidence as a mannequin lay nearby in a pool of fake blood.
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Nez Perce: Lamprey's local recovery continues - The Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resources Management has been working hard on the recovery of the lamprey eel for the past eight years. For the last three years, the fisheries people have been coming to Wallowa County and trans-locating the eel into the Minam River. The Tribe collects the eels in traps in the Lower Columbia River, nurtures them in Lenore, and relocates them to rivers in the Northwest.
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Nez Perce: Frustration with NPTEC aired at tribe's General Council - The responsiveness of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee was questioned during the first day of the tribe's General Council Thursday. Resolutions committee Vice Chairwoman Julia Davis-Wheeler presented her committee's report, including a page-long list of resolutions she said had been sent to the executive committee but not responded to.
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Nez Perce: Council honors Horace Axtell for his work on longhouse project - Elder Horace Axtell was honored during the Nez Perce Tribe's General Council meeting Saturday for his efforts in bringing about a longhouse project announced earlier in the week. The longhouse, a project many years in the planning, will be built at Spalding Park. A blessing ceremony at the site is scheduled for 10 a.m. on May 16.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr.: Appreciating a Northwest civil rights legend - Billy Frank Jr., was once considered an outlaw, poacher and scofflaw, arrested some 50 times -- starting at the age of 14 -- for "illegally" fishing in waters where he had his home on the Nisqually River. When his life ended Monday, at the age of 83, Frank had become a preeminent Washington civil rights leader, a Native American who replaced confrontation with cooperation in restoring the salmon runs that help define the Pacific Northwest.
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Nisqually: Northwest tribal fishing leader Billy Frank Jr. dies - Billy Frank Jr., a key figure in advocating Native American fishing rights for decades, has died, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, of which he chaired, announced this morning. He was 83. Frank died in his Olympia-area home early Monday. Associates and close friends of the charismatic environmental leader said Frank had been actively working and attending meetings all last week, and that his death came as a total surprise. "We are all stunned and not prepared for this," said W. Ron Allen, Jamestown S'Klallam tribal chairman who worked with Frank on treaty rights and tribal political issues since the early 1980s. "He was bigger than life. It's a very sad day for all of us."
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr. devoted his life to defense of fishing rights, salmon habitat - A Nisqually Tribe member, Frank was known specifically for his grassroots campaign in defense of fishing rights on the Tribe's Nisqually River north of Olympia in the 1960s and 1970s. Frank was arrested more than 50 times in the "Fish Wars" of that time.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr. spoke for salmon, tribes and the natural environment - The measure of Billy Frank Jr.'s legacy and greatness might be the crush of public officials eager to praise his life, extend condolences and celebrate his achievements on behalf of Northwest tribes and their treaty rights.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank's leadership will outlive him - Northwest tribes were systematically defrauded of treaty-protected assets and interests for more than a century. Frank and his allies found a sympathetic and objective judge in federal Judge George Hugo Boldt, setting the stage for a new era of tribal empowerment. No longer would the U.S. turn a blind eye to its pathetic record of broken promises made to tribes that had believed them in good faith.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr., Tribal Activist, Dies - From the time he was first arrested, at the age of 14, for fishing near his home, Billy Frank Jr. had been a fierce and tireless champion for salmon, tribal sovereignty and the right of Northwest tribes to fish in their traditional waters. Nearly 70 years of advocacy ended on Monday when the Nisqually tribal elder died at his home. He was 83.
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Nisqually: The Fire That Was Billy Frank Jr.; Indian Country's Greatest Defender - He was called a living legend, a visionary leader, a hero, warrior, revolutionary, peacemaker, and a seminal figure in the northwest coastal tribes' struggle to protect their sovereignty and assert their treaty fishing rights. And as word spread on Monday that Billy Frank Jr. had walked on, expressions of condolence to his family and praise for his life and legacy poured forth.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr: He was everyone's uncle - "Every time we carry an eagle feather, that's sovereignty. Every time we pick berries, that's sovereignty. Every time we dig roots, that's sovereignty," said Nisqually Tribal elder Billy Frank Jr. who passed away earlier this week at the age of 83. This call for tribal sovereignty made Billy Frank Jr. a legendary figure in Indian Country. He achieved national and international recognition as a towering figure protecting treaty rights, natural resources and the environment. He was a warrior, diplomat, optimist, strategist, father and grandfather. He was and forever will be Nisqually.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr., 83, Defiant Fighter for Native Fishing Rights - The crime was fishing. The year was 1945. The boy was 14. It was his first offense, but it would not be his last. Billy Frank Jr. continued to fish, and he continued to get arrested -- more than 50 times over the next decades. He was not out to cause trouble. The goal was to preserve the traditions he had been taught as a member of the Nisqually tribe, people who had fished for millenniums in the waters that flow from the foot of Mount Rainier into Puget Sound in Washington.
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Nisqually: Statement from Cynthia Iyall, Chair of Nisqually Indian Tribe regarding the passing of Billy Frank Jr. - The Nisqually people are mourning the sudden passing of Billy Frank Jr. this morning. Billy dedicated his life to protecting our traditional way of life and our salmon. For more than 60 years, Billy was in the center of action on behalf of the Nisqually people and of Native Americans throughout our country. Along the way, Billy achieved national and international recognition as a towering figure protecting treaty rights, natural resources and the environment. Billy will be sorely missed and long remembered. On behalf of the Nisqually people, the tribal council expresses our sincerest condolences to Billy's family.
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Nisqually: Billy Frank Jr., Nisqually elder who fought for treaty rights, dies - "We are all stunned and not prepared for this," said W. Ron Allen, Jamestown S'Klallam tribal chairman, who has worked with Mr. Frank since the early 1980s. "He was bigger than life. It's a very sad day for all of us."
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Nisqually: Large Crowd at Memorial for Billy Frank Jr. - Thousands of people attended a funeral service for Billy Frank Jr., the Nisqually tribal elder who fought for Indian fishing rights in Washington state and was an advocate for salmon habitat. Frank died May 5. He was 83.
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Nisqually: 6,000 honor tribal leader, fishing rights activist Billy Frank Jr. - There were stories, prayers and songs. And there were a few cuss words sprinkled in -- largely for effect -- because it's hard to talk about the legacy and life of Billy Frank Jr. without mentioning his famous "Jesus Christ!" greeting, or "Who the hell is in charge here?"
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Nisqually: In Memory of a Nisqually Fisherman - The world changed forever with the passing of Billy Frank, Jr. Billy was a human rights activist, fearless defender of tribal sovereignty and fishing rights, and environmental champion who spoke not only for his beloved salmon but for all natural life that exists within the beautiful Salish Sea region that he called home. Billy was a national treasure.
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Nisqually: Washington tribal rights leader dies at 83 - "He was my mentor for 30 years, and it was from him that I learned to be respectful of all people. Those warm embraces of his were genuine, and they could make all the difference in the world," said David Troutt, the Nisqually Tribe Natural Resources director.
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Nisqually: Frank and Bledsoe Forged the Future of Forests and Fish - Billy Frank Jr. and Stu Bledsoe came from very different backgrounds, yet their friendship and determination laid the groundwork for what today is known as Washington's historic Forests and Fish agreement. Those accords paved the way to revitalized wild salmon habitats, cleaner water and better forest management.
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Nisqually: A tribute to Billy Frank, Jr. - The best rebels are those who are happy. They know they are right and convince others with their light, rather than just being an obstacle. They smile as they fight. Urging you to join along. They win you over. In my journalism career I have only met a few people like that. Billy Frank Jr. has to be at the top of the list.
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Nisqually: Tribal administration building - This 26,000-square-foot facility provides offices for several of the Nisqually Tribe's agencies. Korsmo helped to provide constructability solutions for many features, including a custom roofing system, interior water feature and cable-supported glass wall system that placed high tension on the structure.
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Nisqually: Senate Passes Murray-Cantwell Resolution Honoring Billy Frank, Jr. - On Wednesday, June 4th, 2014, a resolution honoring Billy Frank, Jr., one of the nation's foremost advocates for tribal rights, salmon recovery, and conservation efforts, passed the Senate by unanimous consent. "I was proud to pass a resolution honoring a man who dedicated his life to making Washington state a better place," Senator Murray said. "Billy Frank, Jr. will be greatly missed by generations of Washingtonians and everyone who was lucky enough to call him a friend."
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Nooksack: WTA adds service for tribe - Whatcom Transportation Authority's Board of Directors voted Thursday, May 15, to start a new route from Nooksack tribal housing to places of employment later this year.
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Nooksack-Suquamish: Nooksack member embezzled $146,000 from Suquamish Tribe - A Nooksack Indian Tribe member will serve 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release for embezzling more than $146,000 from the Suquamish Tribe in Kitsap County. Renee Pearl Peleti, 46, from Bainbridge Island, was an administrative assistant in the tribe's Indian Child Welfare Department for more than five years. During that time, she used fraudulent checks, food vouchers and gift cards to pay for her groceries and bills, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
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Puyallup: Herman Dillon Sr., longtime Puyallup tribal leader, dies at 82 - Herman Dillon Sr., a longtime Puyallup tribal council chairman, died today after a lengthy illness, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians announced this afternoon. He was 82. "Our whole family is grieving the loss of the head of our family," his daughter Sheila Beckett said. "We appreciate everyone's condolences during this rough time. He was so important to all of us. He will be greatly missed."
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Puyallup: Memorial set for Puyallup tribal leader Herman Dillon Sr. - A memorial service for Herman Dillon Sr., the late chairman of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians' tribal council, will be Sunday at the Tacoma Dome. The service, scheduled for 10 a.m., will be followed at 1 p.m. by a graveside service and then a dinner at Chief Leschi Schools. A public viewing will be from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at Hill Funeral Home, 217 E. Pioneer Ave., Puyallup. Dillon, a member of the tribe's governing body for 30 years, died May 23 of congestive heart failure. He was 82.
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Puyallup: IRS Cannot Levy Tribal Payments - I find it is more fun to read tax cases if I root for one side or the other. My principles of rooting are that I root for the taxpayer unless he or she is being really lame-brained. I will always root for widows, disabled veterans and Indian tribes. So when it came to the United States of America v Puyallup Tribe of Indians, which was recently decided by the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, I was with the Puyallup, even though I can't pronounce their name.
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Puyallup: Washington and Washington, D.C., pay tribute to Tribe Chairman Herman Dillon - The soft smell of cedar echoed through a dimly lit Tacoma Dome on Sunday morning as a thousand people gathered to honor Herman Dillon Sr., chairman of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, who died late last month at 82.
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Quinault: Indian Nation urges opposition to oil transport and shipment through Grays Harbor - The Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) is adamantly opposed to increased oil train traffic in Grays Harbor County, the construction of new oil terminals, increased oil shipping from the port of Grays Harbor and dredging of the Chehalis River estuary. "We oppose all of these for both economic and environmental reasons," said Fawn Sharp, QIN President.
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Quinault: Family wants 376,852 packs of cigarettes taken in Puyallup raid returned - Nearly six years after state Liquor Control Board agents raided an Indian smoke shop in Puyallup, relatives of the shop's owner are still fighting to get 376,852 packs of cigarettes back. The owner of the store, a Quinault Indian named Edward Comenout, has died, but his family says that taxes never were owed and that the cigarettes were seized illegally. Indian Country Store on River Road sits on land that's in federal trust status and not part of any reservation, and therefore it's not subject to state jurisdiction, the family asserts. "It's a little postage stamp that's controlled by federal law," Robert Kovacevich, the Comenouts' lawyer, said Thursday. "It's a half-acre that's essentially a tax-free zone."
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Quinault: Tribe explores "moving" town of Taholah - Taholah sits in a tsunami zone, and parts of the main community flood three-to-four times a year. In search of something long-term, the tribe is pushing for a new tactic, one that has been talked about for decades but may finally happen. Moving the town to higher ground. "I think it's a foregone conclusion," explained tribal secretary Larry Ralston, "Taholah's moving up the hill."
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Quinault: Grain Car Derailment Could Have Been Oil: Quinault Raise Alarm Again - It has happened again, this time not with oil but with grain. However, the Quinault Nation pointed out on May 16, the derailment of a grain train in Grays Harbor County is all the affirmation needed to show that transporting something more hazardous, namely oil, in this manner has too much chance of ending badly.
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Quinault: Where Do You Move a Town of 1700 People? - The Quinault Tribe in Washington State explores moving nearly everyone and everything from the coastal town of Taholah to higher ground, due to threatening water. KING's John Langeler reports. - Video
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Quinault: Corps, tribe plan more seawall repair at Taholah - The Corps of Engineers and Quinault Indian Nation are planning more repairs to the aging seawall at Taholah, where the lower part of the village perches perilously on the edge of the continent between the mouth of the Quinault River and the pounding Pacific Ocean.
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Siletz: Tribe asks membership to advise its council on marriage laws - The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians is seeking an advisory vote of tribal members on same-sex marriage on the reservation. It has not approved a new ordinance, as was reported previously based on an information contained in an erroneous news release. The issue came up during a Friday tribal council meeting, in which the tribe marriage and divorce ordinances were being discussed, according to a letter from Brenda Bremmer, the tribe's general manager. Comment: Until and unless the federal government suspends the Defense of Marriage Act, tribes should stay out of this mainstream fight over government licenses. This is not about tradition: tribes have no tradition of issuing licenses for marriage. Lesbian and gay activists have abused a few tribes to flout federal law, which poses no risk to the activists but great legal risk to tribal sovereignty in the event of a conservative backlash.
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Siletz: Tribe announces contributions - The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund distributed $85,209.20 to 38 organizations on May 2 as it continued its quarterly donations to nonprofit groups. The Siletz Tribe has made contributions through employment, monetary donations and cooperative measures to the Siletz community, Lincoln County and the state of Oregon. The seven-member charitable fund advisory board has distributed more than $8.5 million since its inception in 2001.
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Snoqualmie: Tribe Sues to Recover $1.5M Investment in Fiji Casino - On May 27, 2014, the Snoqualmie Tribe filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court in Washington State seeking to recover its $1.5 million, plus interest and other fees. The lawsuit names Larry Claunch and three of his business entities associated with the Fiji project as defendants. "We have been trying for months to recover the $1.5 million without having to file suit," said Carolyn Lubenau, the chairwoman of the Snoqualmie Tribal Council. "But no one responded to the Tribe's demand. The Note is past due and must be repaid in full."
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Spokane: Tribal College creates community for students - Spokane Tribal College has been operating for 17 years at the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, and in 2007 opened a campus in Spokane. The school is accredited through Salish Kootenai College in Montana and offers Associates Degrees as well as certifications. Some of the current areas of study include business management, liberal arts, Native American students and media design. But for the students who attend it's less about the course work and more about the sense of community that helps them thrive.
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Spokane: Airway Heights mayor, others protest county's fight against casino - A group supporting a proposed Spokane tribal casino and resort rallied in front of the Spokane County Courthouse on Tuesday decrying the spending by county commissioners to fight the project. Ed Clark, part of the consulting team working to advance the casino project, said the Spokane Tribe Economic Project would bring 5,000 jobs and $450 million in investment to the region.
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Squaxin: With golf out of the way, habitat can be restored - An impressive array of partners will assemble at the old Bayshore Golf Course on Oakland Bay northeast of Shelton on Tuesday to celebrate the purchase of some highly touted Puget Sound nearshore habitat. The nine-hole golf course, which opened in 1948, closed for good last December, paving the way for a future void of golf, but filled with opportunities to restore 74 acres at the mouth of Johns Creek for the benefit of salmon and other fish and wildlife. The $2.3 million acquisition had been in the works for 13 years, ever since the Capitol Land Trust and Squaxin Island Tribe started talking about it, said former Capitol Land Trust executive director Eric Erler.
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Stillaguamish: Tribe donates to Arlington schools - The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians has partnered with the Arlington School District, by supporting programs and contributing finances to meet the needs of the district's schools.
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Stillaguamish: State, tribal officials keep watch on mudslide's effect on fish - Some effects from the mudslide were immediate -- changes to the color and depth of the river, for example. But it may take an entire spawning cycle of one to four years, depending on the species, for the full impact on fish to become apparent, according to Jason Griffith, a fish biologist with the Stillaguamish Tribe.
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Stillaguamish: Angel of the Winds making more room for people to play - The Angel of the Winds Casino opened its doors 10 years ago this October. It was due for an expansion. The casino at 3438 Stoluckquamish Lane, Arlington, is adding a five-story, 125-room hotel that will boast 54 king rooms and 71 double queen rooms.
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Stillaguamish: A place to ‘stay and play' - The Angel of the Winds Casino opened its doors 10 years ago this October. It was due for an expansion. The casino at 3438 Stoluckquamish Lane, Arlington, is adding a five-story, 125-room hotel that will boast 54 king rooms and 71 double queen rooms.
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Suquamish: Human remains discovered at Point No Point - Human remains were discovered at Point No Point County Park while a contractor was getting a parking lot resurfacing project under way May 5. Dennis Lewarch, historic preservation officer for the Suquamish Tribe, said elders from the Tribes will get together "and determine what is best for the ancestor."
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Suquamish: Woman embezzled $146,000 from Tribe - Renee Pearl Peleti, 46, of Bainbridge Island was sentenced in a U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 15 months in prison on May 9. She pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $146,000 from the Suquamish Tribe on Feb. 14, and said at the time that she took the money to pay for her family's living expenses.
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Suquamish: UM student wins Indian business leader award - University of Montana student Whitney Snow, of Olympia, Washington, was awarded the American Indian Business Leader 2013-14 Student of the Year award. She was recognized at the 20th annual American Indian Business Leaders conference, which was held last month in Scottsdale, Arizona. Snow is a junior majoring in political science with a minor in Native American studies. She is from the Suquamish Nation in Washington state and has been a member of the AIBL UM student chapter for the past three years, and currently serves as its president.
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Swinomish: Honoring the legacy of Billy Frank Jr. - So much has been written and said about the passing of Billy Frank Jr., our great leader and good friend. Many people are asking how to honor Billy's memory. Who will take his place? One way we can honor Billy's legacy is to carry on his work.
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Swinomish: Photographer Matika Wilbur is on the road trip of a lifetime - Matika Wilbur has logged 100,000 miles on her Honda Accord as she's crisscrossed the country in an attempt to photograph all 566 federally-recognized Indian tribes. She's been photographing for the past 17 months. She's close to reaching her 200th tribe. And when she's asked about what she's learned, what she didn't anticipate encountering out on the road or what's surprised her, she replies: "So much humanity."
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Tulalip: Progress Has Been Undeniable - Recently, my time serving the Tulalip Tribal Council has come to a close. Change is inevitable and change is good, and the Tulalip Tribes will embrace new leadership. At the same time, so many important things happened during my 15 years of time on the board that I want to take a moment to reflect and recognize the tribes' progress.
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Umatilla: First wind turbine on tribal land dedicated - The new turbine -- the first of its kind in Oregon and the only wind turbine on a reservation in the Pacific Northwest -- is expected to produce more than 94,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or about 20 percent of the green building's already diminished electricity demand. Tamastslikt estimates that this will add up to approximately $480,000 in energy savings over 30 years.
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Umatilla: Renewable Energy Takes Root In Northwest Indian Country - You can spot one of the Eastern Oregon's newest renewable energy projects from Interstate 84. It doesn't look like other wind projects east of the Cascades. A single wind turbine rises over the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
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Umatilla: Feds, Umatilla tribes reach agreement for land buyback - The federal government and the Umatilla tribes have reached an agreement to use money from a class-action settlement to buy back trust lands with many owners and consolidate ownership with the tribes. As land is passed down through generations, it gains more owners, in some cases hundreds of individual owners, according to the U.S. Department of Interior. Gaining consensus among owners of the land can become difficult and the land might be left idle, according to the department.
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Umatilla: City council votes to continue effort to protect old town site - The Umatilla City Council approved moving forward with plans to protect the city's Old Town site as a cultural and archaeologically significant area at a meeting Tuesday. The site is home to remnants of the city before it was moved to its present location in 1950. The site is also sacred to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The proposal accepted by the council Tuesday is part of a cooperative effort between the City of Umatilla and the CTUIR to preserve the location as a cultural resource, as it is home to many Native American artifacts and has been subject to periodic looting through the years.
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Warm Springs: Lamprey Fishing Blessing Ceremony Has Tribal Sovereignty Undertone - For centuries, Native Americans from Boise to Wenatchee to the southern Oregon coast have harvested Pacific lamprey, colloquially called eels. The ugly-looking critter resembles an eel, but it is actually a primitive fish with a distinctive, toothy suction cup mouth. Willamette Falls, just outside Portland, is one of the few remaining places in the Northwest where it is possible -- and legal -- to catch Pacific lamprey for personal and ceremonial use. Tribal members are about the only ones who go for it.
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Warm Springs: Tribes witness salmon kill, ponder how to save small fry - It was the first time the tribal leaders had seen it: a cloud of birds rising over Oregon's East Sand Island, a slight hump of land at the mouth of the Columbia River easily visible from the Port of Chinook. "It's kind of like a picture is worth a thousand words," said Blaine Parker, fisheries biologist with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC). "Being here in person is priceless." And frustrating, because now Bruce Jim, vice chairman of CRITFC and a member of the Warm Springs Fish and Wildlife Committee, has spent the morning watching young salmon he and other tribal groups have poured millions of dollars and years worth of time into building up disappear down the throats of the largest Caspian tern colony in the world.
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Yakama: Tribal Court to hear case over state's elk management - The Yakama Nation Tribal Court ruled it has jurisdiction in an unprecedented lawsuit that maintains that the state has responsibility to manage an elk herd to prevent damage to a sacred burial site. Chief Judge Ted Strong found in favor of the tribal member who brought the civil suit against the state Department of Fish and Wildlife when he ruled Friday that the Tribal Court has the authority to hear the case. He ordered the parties to discuss settlement options before continuing with hearings.
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Yakama: More forestry funding needed on Indian lands - Federal funding cuts pose dire consequence for the ability of tribes to manage their land and reduce wildfire risks, a Yakama Nation leader told a U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Phil Rigdon, the director of the Yakamas' natural resources program and president of the Intertribal Timber Council, told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs that programs that once kept tribal forests healthy are now "running on fumes."
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Yakama: Murals mark quarter-century of improvement in Toppenish - In a town that 25 years ago had seen so much go wrong, the Toppenish Mural Society did things right. The murals -- now totaling 75 -- stayed true to the town's history as a farm and livestock center on the Yakama Indian reservation. The mural society hired professional artists with strong reputations, ensuring a high quality of art that's intricate in detail.
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Yakama: Legends Casino distributes $850K to local organizations - Yakama Nation Legends Casino has awarded more than $850,000 this year to community organizations and local law enforcement, fire departments and hospitals.
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Yakama: State wants fed court to stop Tribal Court from hearing elk case - The state is asking a federal court to block the Yakama Nation Tribal Court from hearing a lawsuit pitting a tribal member against the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Earlier this month, the Tribal Court ruled it had jurisdiction to hear a civil lawsuit brought by a tribal member who maintains the Wildlife Department is responsible for preventing an elk herd from damaging a sacred burial site.
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Yakama: Tribe testing suction tubes to transport salmon (video) - As spring chinook make their way up the Yakima River this year, a select few are taking an unusual route: through new vacuum tube technology being tested at Roza Dam. The Yakama Nation Fisheries is working with Bellevue-based Whooshh Innovations to study a system that uses a flexible sleeve and gentle suction to send live salmon 40 feet across the dam's fish collection facility and into a tanker truck in just seconds.
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Yakama: Tribe dedicates World Fish Migration Day to lamprey - The Yakama Nation Fisheries decided to dedicate the day to lamprey -- an ancient, eel-like fish that feeds on the other fish through a sucker-like mouth. They invited the public to help them release the last lamprey of the season into Ahtanum Creek.
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Yakama: Dolores Jean "Beans" Mills - Dolores Jean "Beans" Mills passed away on May 7, 2014, surrounded by her family and friends. Her bright smile and warm laughter will be dearly missed. Dolores, a citizen of the Yakama Nation, was a lifetime member of the Native American Church and a passionate supporter of tribal rights. She participated in the Trail of Self-Determination, and fought for the rights of the Yakamas, Northwest tribes and the Nicaraguan people.
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Yakama: Leia Colorow George - Surrounded by guardian angels, Leia Colorow George was wrapped in the arm of God on Thursday, May 14, 2014, and taken from the pain she endured during a long and courageous battle with cancer and brought to the Heavenly Home. Leia was born to Theresa George Thompson and Coulson Colorow. A member of the Yakama Nation, she was raised by her grandmother Sophie George in Harrah on the Yakama Reservation.
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Yakama: Healing the dark legacy of native American families - As a child, 78-year-old Yakama Nation elder Russell Jim was forced to go to a boarding school in Washington State and was beaten for speaking his language. After returning home at the close of the school year, his aunt vowed to protect him, even if that meant "taking me to the hills," he tells IPS. His father brought him to their local, all-white school and threatened to sue if they did not enroll him. While he retains his language today, he's well aware that the ways Native American communities have been torn apart by displacement from government efforts to force integration into mainstream society.
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Yakama: Nation Protests Coal Export Terminal - Yakama Nation tribal members took to the Columbia River Tuesday to protest a proposed coal export facility in eastern Oregon. The tribe says the export facility would cut fishers off from treaty-protected fishing sites along the river.
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Yakama: Nation Fights for Nuclear Waste Cleanup at Hanford Site - At 78, Russell Jim is at the age when most people are slowing down. But this elder of the Yakama Nation in Washington State remains full of righteous anger about the way his people have been treated over the last 150 years. "The real history of Native Americans has not been told yet," says the silver-braided Jim. "When the US government put our people on reservations, they put us on the worst lands where there are few resources." Especially galling to Jim, who is the project director for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program for the Yakama Nation, is the government's mishandling of the nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Site, which lies just 20 miles from the Yakama Reservation.
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Yakama: Tribe Fights to Protect Fishing Sites From Coal Train Terminals - The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation have joined the chorus of opposition to coal-rail terminals in the Northwest, adding their voice to those of the Lummi, Quinault and other tribes.
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Yakama: Nation protests coal export terminal in Oregon - Yakama Nation tribal members took to the Columbia River Tuesday to protest a proposed coal export facility in eastern Oregon. The tribe said that the export facility would cut fishers off from treaty-protected fishing sites along the river.
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Yurok: Biologist Gets 10 Months for Grift - A judge today sentenced a local biologist to serve 10 months in prison for his role in conspiring to embezzle nearly $1 million in federal funds from the Yurok Tribe over a three-year period beginning in 2007, according to Yurok Tribal Chairman Thomas O'Rourke.
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Yurok: Tribe to release condors in California - Yurok tribal tradition holds California condors as sacred, with ancient stories saying the giant birds fly closest to the sun and are the best messengers to carry prayers. Now, after five years of research, the far northern California-based tribe has received permission to release captive-bred condors into the Redwood Coast, where they haven't soared for more than a century.
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