TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) – Nine-year-old Lauren Hummingbird wants a cell phone for Christmas – and not just any old phone, but an iPhone. Such a request normally would be met with skepticism by her father, Cherokee Nation employee Jamie Hummingbird.

SAN FRANCISCO – Recently, the Tribal Gaming Agency of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians delivered 3,456 decks of used playing cards from the Black Oak Casino to the United Service Organization at the San Francisco International Airport. The playing cards will be given to military service members and their family members using the USO service center at SFO.

TUCSON, Ariz. – A sunset ride on horseback this fall, through a forest of giant cacti in Saguaro National Park, fulfilled the dreams of a childhood spent devouring Zane Grey novels. But even that perfect ride has competition for my favorite moment in Arizona. Can anything really top waking up on the Grand Canyon’s rim to a swirling snowstorm that dissolves into a double-rainbow? Or chasing the sunset in Monument Valley from one mitten-shaped sandstone formation to the other?

CATOOSA, Okla. – The Cherokee Nation recently held its third annual Tribal Employment Rights Office awards ceremony to honor the success and accomplishments of Native American-owned businesses. The event was held at the tribe’s Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Catoosa.

SAN FRANCISCO – Recently, the Tribal Gaming Agency of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians delivered 3,456 decks of used playing cards from the Black Oak Casino to the United Service Organization at the San Francisco International Airport. The playing cards will be given to military service members and their family members using the USO service center at SFO.

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – You can almost hear the splash of paddles hitting the water, an eagle call overhead and the crash of whales breaching as Jamie Valadez tells her high school students about paddling through the inland waters of the Puget Sound, reliving the tribal journeys of ages past.

JEMEZ PUEBLO, N.M. – Just days after President Barack Obama announced U.S. support for the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the White House Tribal Conference Dec. 16, the Pueblo of Jemez and the Santa Fe National Forest entered into a historic agreement that gives the Jemez nation decision making powers over its aboriginal lands and provides a model implementation of the indigenous human rights document.

AKWESASNE, N.Y – On Nov. 16, 2010 St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Chief Monica Jacobs, Sub-Chief Pamela Brown and Tribal Economic Development Director Steven B. Cook were on hand at the Malone Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Dinner to receive recognition from the Chamber for their achievements.

New Mexico Business Weekly, an Albuquerque-based newspaper dedicated to covering business and industry, recently announced the best places to work in New Mexico. Three pueblo business partners of the Pueblo of Santa Ana have been named best places to work in the medium and large business categories.

PORT ANGELES, Wash. – You can almost hear the splash of paddles hitting the water, an eagle call overhead and the crash of whales breaching as Jamie Valadez tells her high school students about paddling through the inland waters of the Puget Sound, reliving the tribal journeys of ages past.

PHOENIX – Gila River Casinos recently announced the appointment of Joel Rovics as corporate director of marketing. In his role, Rovics is responsible for the successful marketing strategies of Gila River Casinos three properties, brand management, and marketing communications throughout the country.

PHOENIX – Gila River Casinos recently announced the appointment of Joel Rovics as corporate director of marketing. In his role, Rovics is responsible for the successful marketing strategies of Gila River Casinos three properties, brand management, and marketing communications throughout the country.

CRANDON, Wis. – The Forest County Potawatomi Community is installing a broadband Internet system on its Forest County, Wisconsin reservation lands that will allow tribal members living on the reservation and local residents living near the reservation access to broadband Internet.

CRANDON, Wis. – The Forest County Potawatomi Community is installing a broadband Internet system on its Forest County, Wisconsin reservation lands that will allow tribal members living on the reservation and local residents living near the reservation access to broadband Internet.

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – An accolade from Oklahoma’s Gov. Brad Henry was presented to Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith at December’s Tribal Council meeting in honor of the workforce programs sponsored by the Cherokee Nation.

ONAMIA, Minn. – Marge Anderson, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, was recently recognized for her longtime commitment to economic development. The Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce presented Anderson with its Bear Award, honoring her achievements in using gaming revenues to diversify the band’s economy, provide jobs, and expand services to members and the community.

ONAMIA, Minn. – Marge Anderson, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, was recently recognized for her longtime commitment to economic development. The Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce presented Anderson with its Bear Award, honoring her achievements in using gaming revenues to diversify the band’s economy, provide jobs, and expand services to members and the community.

LAKE VERMILION, Minn. – The Wilderness at Fortune Bay, along with Superintendent Vincent Dodge, received the 2010 MGCSA Environmental Leader Award at the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents’ Association Awards and Recognition Banquet held at Southview Country Club, West. St. Paul, on Dec. 8.

SEATTLE – The federal court in November issued a 168-page detailed decision regarding the Oenga v. United States and BP case. That decision stated the BP lease of the Oenga Native Allotment and overseen by the BIA only authorized use by BP on a limited area and did not include the Raven oil field.

TULALIP, Wash. (AP) – Coho Creek stinks.