Past News Items

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Improving Indian student academic achievement through Native language and culture in Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools will be the focus of the upcoming Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP) Journeying Home: Language and Culture Preservation Conference. The event, with the theme “Creating Our Future From Our Past,” will be held March 3-6 in Minneapolis, Minn., at the Hilton Minneapolis and Towers hotel.

Award of a $96,262 contract for remodeling the Bullhead Day School on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation approximately 16 miles west of McLaughlin, South Dakota, to Sogge Construction Company, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was announced by the Department of the Interior today.

The Sogge bid was the lowest of seven received. Other bids for the work ranged from $99,790 to $129,400.

(Washington) - Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb will be the keynote speaker at the U.S. Department of the Interior's opening ceremony of American Indian Heritage Month on November 5, 2001. The celebration will officially begin a month of acknowledgment for the contributions made by American Indians to our country. With recent events in our nation, this year's theme is entitled, "Uniting All Nations Together As One." in honor of American Indians and this nation's commitment to freedom for all people.

In line with a commitment made three years ago by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons, Clinton O. Talley, superintendent of the Fort Peck Indian Agency at Poplar, Montana, will transfer March 10 to the comparable position at Mescalero, New Mexico, the Department of the Interior announced today.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Department of the Interior will hold a signing ceremony tomorrow for a $100 million contract between GovWorks, the Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) franchise fund, and Wyandotte NetTel, an American Indian telecommunications and information technology firm owned by the Wyandotte Nation in Wyandotte, Okla. Wyandotte NetTel will provide telecom and information technology products and services to the federal government.

Acting Secretary of the Interior Elmer Bennett announced today the approval of regulations governing the filing of claims by persons incurring expenses as the result of moving from lands acquired for Department projects.

Department of the Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs James H. McDivitt today announced his approval of an application to take into trust a 55-acre parcel of land located in Hudson, Wisconsin, for three Federally-recognized Indian Tribes for gaming purposes after determining it would be in the best interest of the Tribes without being detrimental to the surrounding community.

Award of a $91,195 contract for rehabilitation of Hubbart Dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover, a Lawton native and a Pawnee tribal member, is returning to his home state to speak about critical American Indian issues and his vision for Tribal America during a University of Oklahoma American Indian Law and Policy Symposium on Saturday, March 21. The symposium, sponsored by the American Indian Law Review editors and the University of Oklahoma College of Law, commemorates the 25th anniversary of the American Indian Law Review.

When the last triennial conference of the National Fellowship of Indian Workers was held here at Estes Park back in 1955, it was a matter of real regret to me that I was unable to be with you in person. Those of you who attended that conference may recall that I had to be in Alaska at that particular time and that my speech was delivered for me by Assistant Commissioner Reid. This year I have been somewhat more fortunate in the scheduling of my time and I have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to be here and to sit in--although somewhat briefly--on your sessions and deliberations.