SHAWNEE, Okla. – On Monday, November 25, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn will visit Oklahoma to participate in a signing ceremony with Chairman John Barrett of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, approving the tribe’s leasing regulations in accordance with the HEARTH Act. The law restores the authority of federally recognized American Indian tribes to control the leasing of their trust lands, thereby promoting self-determination and economic development.
Secretary Jewell will also be joined by U.S. Representative Tom Cole, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Vice-Chairman Linda Capps, and other tribal community members. This will be Jewell’s first trip to Oklahoma as Secretary of the Interior.
The ceremony marks another historic step toward furthering tribal self-governance for Citizen Potawatomi Nation and underscores President Obama’s continued commitment to empower all tribal nations, signaled by his signing of the HEARTH Act last year. The law, which allows federally recognized tribes to assume greater control of leasing on tribal lands, is complemented by Interior’s new regulations which streamline the leasing approval process, spurring increased homeownership and expediting business and commercial development, including renewable energy projects. The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is among the first tribes to benefit from the new law.
WHO: Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs John Barrett, Chairman, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Linda Capps, Vice-Chairman, Citizen Potawatomi Nation Tom Cole, U.S. Representative (OK-04)
WHAT: HEARTH Act Regulations Signing Ceremony with Citizen Potawatomi Nation
WHEN: Monday, November 25 9:45 a.m. CST – Media check-in 10:00 a.m. – Ceremony begins NOTE: Q&A with event participants to immediately follow ceremony
WHERE: Potawatomi National Cultural Heritage Center 1899 S Gordon Cooper Drive Shawnee, OK 74801
MEDIA: Media interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP here by 5:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, November 24
