Past News Items

WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced a substantial enhancement in existing efforts to increase capital investment for business and economic development in Indian Country. Since the advent of the Indian Financing Act of 1974, Indian Affairs’ Guaranteed Loan, Insurance, and Interest Subsidy program has provided opportunities for tribal and Indian-owned businesses to obtain adequate credit in the capital investment market

WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced the publication of a Notice of an Amended Proposed Finding declining to acknowledge that a group known as Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe in Louisiana is an Indian tribe according to federal law.

WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced the publication of a Notice of an Amended Proposed Finding declining to acknowledge that a group known as Biloxi, Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, Inc., of Louisiana is an Indian tribe according to federal law.

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today presented President's Rank Awards or Secretary's Executive Leadership Awards to 36 Senior Executive Service employees of the Department of the Interior at a ceremony at the main Interior building.

Secretary Kempthorne said the awards recognize executives who exemplify Interior's core values­ "Stewardship for America with Integrity and Excellence."

WASHINGTON – George T. Skibine, a top career official in Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, will temporarily assume the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Skibine is the Acting Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs.

Interior Deputy Secretary P. Lynn Scarlett issued the delegation of authority action on May 23, 2008, following Carl J. Artman’s departure from the post. The delegation is effective until further notice.

WASHINGTON – Internet access is being restored to the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) via the BIA’s network following a recent court order. This means that Indian Affairs, BIA and BIE employees will soon be able to communicate by email with tribes, other federal offices and the general public to provide services and conduct business.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has published in the Federal Register a notice providing guidance and direction to the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) to address recurring administrative and technical problems related to the processing of petitions under the Federal Acknowledgment Process (FAP). The notice does not amend the acknowledgment regulations at 25 CFR Part 83, Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has published final regulations in the Federal Register implementing Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA). IGRA contains a general prohibition against gaming on land acquired after October 17, 1988, the date the act was signed, which may be overcome if the land meets certain exceptions. The final rule incorporates suggestions received by the BIA through public comment and the tribal consultation process.

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Jerold L. “Jerry” Gidner today announced that he has named Dale Morris as Regional Director of the BIA’s Pacific Regional Office in Sacramento, Calif. Morris, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, had been serving as chief of the regional office’s natural resources division since 2004. His new appointment became effective on April 27, 2008. The Pacific Regional Office oversees four agencies serving the 102 federally recognized tribes located within the State of California.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman will be leaving the Department of the Interior effective May 23, 2008.

"Throughout your tenure, I have appreciated your able insight as we have worked to address important issues in Indian Country," Kempthorne said in a letter to Artman. "The Indian Modernization Initiative, developed and launched under Carl's leadership, has upgraded communications between tribal leaders and the Department on a number of priority issues."