Investigation finds at least 973 Native American children died in US government boarding schools
A federal investigation has found that at least 973 Native American children perished in the U.S. governmentโs abusive boarding school system over a 150-year period.
Senator wants Washington Commanders to pay tribute to an old logo that offends many Indigenous
Many Native Americans thought a bitter debate over the U.S. capitalโs football mascot was over when the team became the Washington Commanders.
US acknowledges Northwest dams have devastated the region's Native tribes
The U.S. government has acknowledged for the first time the harms that the construction and operation of dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest have caused Native American tribes.
100 years ago, US citizenship for Native Americans came without voting rights in swing states
An act of Congress a century ago guaranteed citizenship to wary Native Americans in an age of forced assimilation and marked the outset of a long journey to secure voting rights.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in the New Mexico presidential and state primaries
New Mexico voters will be among the last to cast ballots for presidential nominees when the state holds its presidential and state primaries.
California congressman urges closer consultation with tribes on offshore wind
A California congressman says tribes should be more involved in the decision-making process for the development of the first offshore wind farms along the West Coast.
Montana minor league baseball team in dispute with National Park Service over arrowhead logo
A minor league baseball team in Montana is calling out the U.S. Department of Interior for โunwarranted and relentlessโ trademark claims in a battle over the use of an arrowhead logo.
Oil and gas companies must pay more to drill on federal lands under new Biden administration rule
Oil and gas companies will have to pay more to drill on federal lands and satisfy stronger requirements to clean up old or abandoned wells under a final rule from the Biden administration.
Interior Department rule aims to crack down on methane leaks from oil, gas drilling on public lands
The Biden administration has issued a final rule aimed at limiting methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands, its latest action to crack down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming.
The United States has its first large offshore wind farm, with more to come
America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is officially open, a long-awaited moment that helps pave the way for a succession of large wind farms.
Interior Department will give tribal nations $120 million to fight climate-related threats
The Interior Department will be allocating more than $120 million to tribal governments to fight the impacts of climate change.
Proposed mine outside Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp nears approval despite environment damage concerns
A company's plan to mine near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp is nearing approval by Georgia regulators, despite conservationists' concerns that it could irreparably damage the swamp and its vast wildlife refuge.
Nevada tribe says coalitions, not lawsuits, will protect sacred sites as US advances energy agenda
A Nevada tribe is gearing up for a different kind of fight against the U.S. government as it tries to build more public support for protecting Native American sacred sites.
At tribal summit, Biden says he's working to 'heal the wrongs of the past' and 'move forward'
President Joe Biden told Native American nations gathered for a summit Wednesday that his administration was working to heal the wrongs of the past.
Survivors say trauma from abusive Native American boarding schools stretches across generations
Survivors of government-backed Native American boarding schools and their descendants have shared their experiences as U.S. officials made a final stop in Montana on their yearlong tour to confront the institutions that regularly abused students to assimilate them into white society.
Biden calls for up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, disappointing all sides
President Joe Biden's administration has proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five years but none in Alaska.
A grandmother seeks justice for Native Americans after thousands of unsolved deaths, disappearances
Kaysera Stops Pretty Placesโ death remains unsolved four years after her body was found in a Native American reservation border town.
Biden administration cancels remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic Refuge
The Biden administration has canceled the remaining seven oil and gas leases in Alaskaโs Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, overturning sales held in the Trump administrationโs waning days and angering Republicans.
Powered by wind, this $10B transmission line will carry more energy than the Hoover Dam
Executives with one of the largest wind and solar energy development companies in the world are gathering with federal officials on the dusty plains of New Mexico to mark the groundbreaking of what will be the largest renewable energy infrastructure project in the United States.
Feds approve offshore wind farm south of Rhode Island and Martha's Vineyard
A planned offshore wind farm moved a step closer to construction Tuesday with the Department of the Interior announcing it has approved the project.
Oil and gas withdrawal around US park stirs debate over economic costs for Native American tribe
Some Republican members of Congress are voicing opposition to the Biden administration's recent move to withdraw hundreds of square miles of federal land in New Mexico from oil and gas development.
US Interior Secretary Haaland reflects on tenure and tradition amid policy challenges
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has made history a few times in her political career, becoming one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress and as the first to hold the reins of the Interior Department.
Tribal activists oppose Nevada mine key to Biden's clean energy agenda as 'green colonialism'
A huge lithium mine under construction in northern Nevada is at the center of a dispute over President Joe Bidenโs clean energy agenda.
Protest derails planned celebration of 20-year ban on oil drilling near Chaco national park
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's plans to visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park on Sunday were derailed when protesters blocked the entrance to the northwestern New Mexico site.
Biden orders 20-year ban on oil, gas drilling to protect tribal sites outside New Mexico's Chaco
The Biden administration is withdrawing hundreds of square miles in New Mexico from oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park that tribal communities consider sacred.
Haaland defends Willow, says US won't end oil drilling
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland defended her departmentโs approval of the contentious Willow oil project on Friday, saying that despite President Joe Bidenโs campaign promise to end new drilling on federal lands, โWeโre not going to turn the faucet off and say weโre not drilling anymore.
Civil rights probe launched after fatal Park Police shooting
The Justice Department has opened a federal civil rights investigation after a U.S. Park Police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old who had driven away with an officer in the back seat after the teenager was found asleep in a suspected stolen car in Washington.
Haaland criticized over โdifficultโ choice on Willow project
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is facing criticism from political allies after the Biden administration approved a contentious oil drilling project in Alaska.
Navajo community wins fight to replace crumbling campus
Navajo students at a government school in New Mexico have been charged with dreaming big now that Congress has approved more than $90 million to replace the crumbling campus.
Biden considers 1st offshore wind auction in Gulf of Mexico
The Biden administration said Wednesday it is considering the first-ever lease sale for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico, a key part of a push to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 to help fight climate change.
Landowner help sought to protect endangered animals, plants
The Biden administration plans changes in federal regulations to encourage voluntary conservation projects on private land, partly by shielding owners from punishment if their actions kill or harm small numbers of imperiled species.
Interior: $580M headed to 15 tribes to fulfill water rights
The Biden administration on Thursday said 15 Native American tribes will get a total of $580 million this year to fund settlements that ensure access to water that's legally theirs.
Native Americans share trauma of Arizona boarding schools
Native American boarding school survivors of abuse and their descendants shared memories and tears in Arizona on U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's yearlong โRoad to Healingโ initiative.
Regulators move mine plan near Okefenokee a big step forward
A company's plan to mine minerals just outside the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected wildlife refuge is a big step closer to being approved by regulators in Georgia.
US renames 5 places that used racist slur for a Native woman
The U.S. Department of the Interior has renamed five places in California, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas that previously included a racist term for a Native American woman.
Interior secretary: `Unacceptable' to mine near famed swamp
A member of President Joe Biden's Cabinet is urging Georgia officials to deny permits for a proposed mine near the edge of the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge.
![Manchin says he'll vote for Haaland for interior secretary](https://www.click2houston.com/resizer/GccFDuAqcaVYuxE2o2L5rLlY5Ik=/1600x1055/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/OPKR6OHF7NCD5D7WENFVK4E4UM.jpg)
Manchin says he'll vote for Haaland for interior secretary
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing on the nomination of Rep. Debra Haaland, D-N.M., to be Secretary of the Interior on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021. Manchin, a moderate from West Virginia, had been publicly undecided through two days of hearings on Haaland's nomination by President Joe Biden. By contrast, Manchin said Haaland had earned his vote, despite disagreements over drilling on federal lands and the Keystone XL oil pipeline. AdโI believe Deb Haaland will be a secretary of the Interior for every American and will vote to confirm her,'' Manchin said in a statement. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican who is not on the energy panel, called Haaland โa neo-socialist, left-of-Lenin whack job.''
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Watchdog eyes violent routing of protesters near White House
An Interior Department watchdog office will investigate law enforcement and security forces violent clearing of protesters from a square in front of the White House earlier this month. Greenblatt agreed late last week, telling the lawmakers that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt had also asked for the review. Authorities have given at times conflicting accounts about who oversaw and ordered the forceful routing of protesters from Lafayette Square. Bernhardt, the interior secretary, has said violent attacks by the crowd warranted clearing the protesters. Reporters and other witnesses and Democratic lawmakers say they saw little sign of that scale of violence by the crowd.
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Democrats ask for investigation of force against protesters
The violent clearing of demonstrators from the nation's premier protest space in front of the White House is spotlighting a tiny federal watch force created by George Washington. Democratic lawmakers want answers about the clubbing, punching and other force deployed by some Park Police in routing protesters from the front of the White House on Monday. The First Amendment rights to free speech, peaceful assembly, and free press are the building blocks of all other rights, the three lawmakers said. The three lawmakers letter, sent Monday, asks Interiors internal watchdog whether the force used by Park Police was lawful and in line with rules, policies and training standards for the force. Lawmakers also asked the investigators to determine who was giving orders to the Interior Department in the squares clearing.