Native Americans

MOAPA, Nev. (AP) — Members of the Moapa Paiute tribe in Nevada are blaming a nearby a power plant for health woes on their reservation and say they want it shut down. NV Energy maintains its Reid Gardner Generating Station near the Moapa Paiute River Indian Reservation is safe and has been upgraded with the newest clean emissions technologies...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A national tribal advocacy group is praising the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that essentially upholds President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The National Congress of American Indians says Thursday's ruling affirms the permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act that passed with Obama's Affordable Care Act...

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council has voted to remove councilman Jay St. Goddard from office. Tribal council chairman T.J. Show told the Great Falls Tribune Monday that St. Goddard (SANK'-uh-dor) was removed "because the integrity of the tribe has been compromised...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The government is entering settlement talks Monday with the director of a Custer-themed Montana museum, trying to resolve who owns American Indian artifacts seized in raids by federal agents. The 22 Indian war bonnets, medicine bundles and other items were confiscated in 2005 and 2008 from the Custer Battlefield Museum in Garryowen...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Justice Department is launching a new effort to curb high rates of sexual assault on American Indian reservations by setting up specialized "response teams" for rapes and other abuse. A pilot program announced Wednesday will establish the joint federal-tribal teams on six Montana reservations over the next six months...

WASHINGTON (AP) — American Indian tribes in a handful of states are getting federal assistance to prosecute cases of violence against women. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it will fund the salary and travel of four tribal prosecutors who will be trained to pursue the cases in federal courts...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has named the members of a council created in a 2010 settlement to ensure Native American farmers and ranchers have access to Department of Agriculture programs. The Council for Native American Farming and Ranching is part of the $680 million Keepseagle lawsuit settlement...