Past News Items

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson has appointed William Lynn Engles as Public Information Officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C.

Engles, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, has been the Public Affairs Officer for ACTION in Seattle, Wash. since May, 1972. His experience before that included almost seven years with United Press as a state broadcast editor, news bureau manager and political reporter in Oregon and Montana.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan announced today he has instructed the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to publish a notice of opportunity to comment on the procedures proposed for Class III (casino-type) gaming to be conducted by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut.

Answers to 101 commonly asked questions about American Indians are provided in a newly published booklet prepared by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

In 60 attractively illustrated pages, the booklet deals with questions about the legal status of Indians, reservations, religious ceremonials, languages, tribal governments, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and a variety of other topics.

The booklet also contains information about sources for additional information about Indians, brief bibliographies for both adults and children and a listing of museums with Indian collections.

I regret that there has been a loss of life on the Navajo reservation. This loss of life has come about as the Navajo police defended themselves against an attack by demonstrators at the Navajo Tribal Government Headquarters.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that 112 tribes have qualified for participation in the BIA's Tribal Government Development Program for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975. These tribes may receive up to $50,000 under contracts for programs to strengthen and make more effective their tribal governments.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced the selection of Bryan Rice, a veteran federal administrator and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, as the new Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the federal agency that coordinates government-to-government relations with 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

Ken Smith, Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, today announced a "major initiative to bring a high level of fiscal accountability to both Indian tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs."

In a letter to tribal leaders across the nation Smith noted that he has received more than 150 audit reports from the Interior Inspector General in the past two years which have identified weaknesses or abuses in tribal or local BIA financial management procedures.

Assistant Secretary -- Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard announced today the detail of James Canan, Billings Area Director to the Bureau's Management Improvement Program, where he will manage the field operation portion of the program. Gerard said he selected Canan for this assignment because of his many years of experience as an area director, his knowledge of the BIA's field operations at both the area and agency level.

WASHINGTON – Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts today announced final, updated Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) guidelines for implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) that will better protect the rights of Indian children, their parents and their tribes in state child welfare proceedings.

The guidelines explain the ICWA statute and regulations while also providing examples of best practices for its implementation, the goal of which is to encourage greater uniformity in the application of ICWA measures.

A top Interior Department official from Washington, D. C. will be in Northern California December 1-3 to meet with state officials, Indian leaders and others about the management of the Klamath River fishery on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Roy Sampsel said the meetings would "provide opportunities for identifying problems and seeking coordinated approaches to improved management of this important resource.