Past News Items

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced the reappointment of Floyd E. Maytubby, Oklahoma City, as Governor of the Chickasaw Indian Tribe and the appointment of Waldo E McIntosh of Tulsa as Principal Chief of the Oklahoma Creek Indian Tribe.

Under a 1906 law the President was empowered to appoint a Principal Chief periodically for each of the so-called "Five Civilized Tribes" of Oklahoma-- Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole and Creek. In 1951 this appointing authority was delegated to the Secretary of the Interior.

The Department of the Interior favors proposed legislation to provide that judgment funds on claims against the United States awarded to any of the constituent Indian tribes on the Colville Reservation in Washington shall be deposited in the United States Treasury to the credit of the confederated tribal group on the reservation, Assistant Secretary John A. Carver, Jr., announced today.

Thomas H. St. Clair, industrial development specialist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Portland, Oregon, has been appointed superintendent of the Papago Indian Agency, Sells, Ariz., the Department of the Interior announced today.

The new superintendent will take office July 23. He succeeds Harry W. Gilmore who has been in charge at Papago since 1955 and now moves into a position as program officer in the Indian Bureau's area office at Phoenix.

The Department of the Interior today announced award of a $693,122 contract for 16 miles of road construction on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona.

Upon completion, the project will provide an all-weather route from State primary road systems to Round Rock and Lukachukai which will serve the needs of the communities in the Chinle Valley area of the reservation.

The successful bidder was Daniels Construction Company of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Six other bids were submitted, ranging to a high of $1,057,960.20.

WASHINGTON – Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs John Tahsuda spoke today of the courage and sacrifices of Indian Country’s fallen police officers during the 27th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service, which was held on the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers campus in Artesia, N.M.

A legal brief strongly supporting Navajo Indian voting rights was filed March 10 by Secretary Stewart L. Udall in the New Mexico election contest between Joseph A. Montoya and seated Lt. Governor Tom Bolack, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Secretary Udall’s brief relied heavily upon the words of his late father, Chief Justice Levi S. Udall of the Arizona Supreme Court, whose 1948 decision confirmed the Indians' right to vote in that State.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn, after more than three years of leadership, will conclude his service to the Department and will return to the faculty of the University of New Mexico School of Law in January. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Lawrence “Larry” Roberts will lead Indian Affairs for the remainder of the Obama Administration.

Upon notice that an order had been entered granting leave to appear in a New Mexico court action involving Navajo Indian voting rights, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today designated Max N. Edwards, Assistant to the Secretary and Legislative Counsel, to represent him at a hearing in the Bernalillo County District Court at Albuquerque, N. Mex., on March 14 in a suit brought there last December 23 by Joseph A. Montoya, defeated Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in last November1s general election.

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ popular publication, the Tribal Leaders Directory, is now available as an electronic searchable map. The map provides up-to-date contact information for the nation’s 567 federally recognized tribes and all BIA regional offices and agencies. The map can be accessed via the bia.gov and indianaffairs.gov websites using the Tribal Leaders Directory link.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced the appointment of John O. Crow, Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Land Management for lands and minerals.