For Indian tribes, economic needs collide with tradition

Jobs are scarce and poverty is pervasive on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, but rich coal deposits lie beneath the buttes where wild horses roam.

For decades, many members of the tribe have resisted coal mining. Now, increased demand for coal and the election of a new tribal president who is determined to create jobs are reigniting debate over energy development among the reservation’s 4,500 residents. It’s a conflict between tribal traditions and economic self-sufficiency that has long divided people here and on other reservations across America with coal, oil and gas and other mineral reserves.

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-03-03-reservation_N.htm