Native Americans

With a major push by the federal government to achieve 80% clean energy by 2035, the California Energy Commission is moving quickly to approve permits. Sensitive Native cultural sites are threatened by the speedy process, say many involved.

The Oglala Lakota community hopes plans to boost development will come to fruition after the Housing and Urban Development approves a grant.

Regulators have approved the construction of 9 large solar power plants in California, but many are facing opposition from local Native American tribes who say that the environmental and cultural impacts were not fully considered.

The word "squaw" is considered a racial slur by Native Americans. In 2001, women from the Warm Springs Tribe convinced Oregon lawmakers to take the word out of state place names, but little has happened so far.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today approved the first offshore wind farm in the United States, a project that faced vocal opposition from local tribes and others.

After lobbying from two Native American tribes, the Nantucket Sound has been made eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, creating a possible further delay of a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod.

Irrigation canals dating back to the year 1200 B.C. were discovered in Arizona this year, answering a long-asked question about how natives were able to farm the arid land.

The U.S. Government has agreed to a settlement of $3.4 billion for failing to pay royalties on mineral and grazing leases to Native Americans.

Officials in the city of Oxford, Alabama have approved the construction of a Sam's Club retail store that will use the dirt of a 1,500 year old Native American ceremonial mound as fill, arguing against reports of its historical significance.

Legislators in Utah have approved a bill that would allow the Utah Department of Natural Resources to swap a 3,000 year old Native American village to a group of developers intent on building a new transit station.

Enterprising Native American communities are using their sovereignty to approve large projects that would be difficult to clear on neighboring lands, like landfills and casinos. Industry is happy to oblige, and directly targets the Native market.