Past News Items

Award of a $758,802 contract for construction of school facilities at Kaibeto, Arizona, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, was reported today by the Department of the Interior.

Facilities to be built under the contract include a two-classroom and multipurpose room addition to the existing school, a 128-pupil dormitory, five one-bedroom apartments, and a multistory building containing two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.

A long-range plan to give Indian schools and communities better library services is being developed by the Department of the Interior through its Office of Library and Information Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Indian Education Programs.

Interior's professional librarians, together with BIA educators, are working on the project. They are being assisted by five resource persons with special experience and knowledge.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk has begun his administration by moving quickly to begin discussions with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, tribal leaders and tribal organizations on economic, energy, education, public safety and other issues that need to be addressed in Indian Country.

Robert G. Hart has been promoted from Assistant General Manager to General Manager of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the Department of the Interior announced today. He succeeds J. Edward Davis, who retires after 12 years of service with the Board and 10 years as General Manager.

A draft environmental impact statement on a proposal to surface mine Crow Indian and State-owned coal from more than 2,000 acres in south central Montana has been prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, and released for public comment.

The statement, filed with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), discusses the environmental effects of a proposed expansion of Westmoreland Resources existing Absaloka Coal Mine to 2,151 acres (870 hectares) in Crow Indian Ceded Lands in northern Big Horn County just north of the Crow Indian Reservation.

WASHINGTON – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced the names of three individuals who have received career appointments to Senior Executive Service (SES) positions within the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). They are Stephanie E. Birdwell as the Deputy Director for Policy, Evaluation and Post Secondary Education, Bartholomew “Bart” Stevens as the Deputy Director for School Operations and David Talayumptewa as the Assistant Deputy Director for Administration. The appointments became effective on January 4, 2009.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart Lo Udall and Vernon Smith, Council President for the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona, discussed the industrial development potential of the 46,000-acre reservation on November 20.

Mr. Udall promised his support for a proposal to construct a million dollar electronic plant on the reservation. Area Redevelopment Administration financial support for the Dickson Electronic Corporation project is also being sought, Mr. Smith said. Employment for more than 200 Indians is forecast.

Approximately 20 percent of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) agricultural water supply available under Arizona's basic entitlement to water from the Colorado River has been allocated to five Indian tribes by Secretary of the Interior Thomas S. Kleppe.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, at the Bureau of Indian Education’s first National Partnership Conference on improving Indian education. The event “Partnerships for Student Success” will take place on July 24-26 at the Renaissance Denver Hotel in Denver, Colo.

The Department of the Interior announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation will undertake the planning and construction of the $135 million Navajo Indian Irrigation Project in New Mexico, which will then be operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Congressional legislation authorizing the project was signed by President Kennedy on June 13, 1962.