High school prom, 50 years later
By Mariano Castillo, CNN
updated 2:35 PM EDT, Sun May 19, 2013

Birmingham, Alabama (CNN) -- The class of 1963 crowded in a rectangle on the dance floor, the memories of high school fresh on their minds as the band played in a sea of pink and blue hues.
Aretha Franklin. Etta James. The Temptations. Just what you would expect to be playing at a 1960s prom. Yet the song that drew the most bodies to the dance floor was "The Wobble."
Until this hip-hop song emptied the chairs, it felt as if the auditorium had been transported back 50 years.
But it's 2013, and despite the full-court nostalgia for the 1960s, that decade was one of the most difficult times in Birmingham's history.
Societal tensions over race were so high in 1963 that the city canceled senior prom for five of the city's segregated high schools for blacks.
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Officials surprised by tribe's quest for legal relief
Some fear move marks shift in political tactics
Written by Erica Felci - The Desert Sun
May 19, 2013 

Under Richard Milanovich, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians evolved from an impoverished people into a political powerhouse.
Elected leaders from Sacramento and Washington, D.C., courted the tribal council’s friendship. And when disagreements with local governments arose, the late chairman would usually settle them behind closed doors.
But since Milanovich’s death just more than a year ago, Agua Caliente leaders have shown they’re also adept at taking public, assertive stands to protect the sovereignty and natural resources they cherish.
The change in tactics, whether temporary or indicative of a trend, was evidenced last week by the tribe’s decision to elevate a decades-long dispute over the underground water supply to federal court in a lawsuit targeting two local water agencies.
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UI mascot survey results show continued support for Chief Illiniwek
Posted: Monday, May 20, 2013 12:00 am
By Johnathan Hettinger and Stephen Bourbon | Assignment editor and staff writer 
 
It has been six years since the University has had an official mascot and as far as students are concerned, it looks to remain that way.
The results of a March student referendum that looked to gauge student opinion about a new mascot for the University show that the most popular new mascot is “no change,” which received 15 percent of the vote, followed by “other,” which received 12 percent of the vote and was another popular answer due to support for Chief Illiniwek. The most popular mascot of the 48 choices was “Eagle,” which was an eagle with its wings spread, similar to the headdress of Chief Illiniwek. The eagle logo garnered 9 percent of the vote.
The referendum results were released following a May 9 moot court decision regarding the constitutionality of an Illinois Student Senate resolution that created the survey. In the case Joshua Good v. David Pileski, Good brought into question the constitutionality of the resolution to discuss a new mascot because he felt it was in violation of the Illinois Student Senate constitution.
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Crossing the Dental Divide in Indian Country with Dental Therapists
Jacqueline Pata
May 18, 2013

The “dental divide”—the absence of services and access to dental health services in low income communities—is real, especially in Indian country.

Nooksacks facing disenrollment await judge's ruling
Published: May 16, 2013 
By JOHN STARK — THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

DEMING - More than 300 members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe must wait another week to find out if they will face loss of tribal membership and the benefits that go with it.
Tribal Chief Judge Raquel Montoya Lewis heard legal arguments for about 90 minutes Thursday, May 16, from attorneys representing tribal leaders, as well as from attorneys representing 306 Nooksacks who have been told they are subject to removal from the tribe's membership rolls because of alleged deficiencies in their tribal ancestry. Total tribal membership is about 2,000.
Seattle attorney Gabriel Galanda has filed a tribal court lawsuit on behalf of four tribal members, challenging the move to disenroll. Among other things, the suit seeks an injunction blocking the disenrollment on numerous legal grounds. The suit also seeks to block an upcoming tribal election aimed at amending the tribal constitution to make it more difficult to qualify for membership.
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