Past News Items

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer and Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that the Department of the Interior (DOI) will hold presentations beginning next week on the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) for the agencies’ regional employees. The Department is seeking to increase accountability and efficiency in its trust management functions by reorganizing the agencies that manage Indian trust funds and assets.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ross swimmer departs Sunday on a 15- day trip to Indian Country that has him visiting 26 Indian reservations and meeting with more than 125 Indian tribes.

"Since I was sworn in about six months ago, I have spent most of my time in Washington involved in putting my ·staff together and working on administrative matters. This trip will be the first opportunity I have to get out and visit with many Indian tribal governments and talk with them about the issues in Indian Country," Swimmer said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) will continue its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Navajo Region will be briefed on June 6 at the Navajo Nation Museum Auditorium in Window Rock, Ariz. The Department is seeking to increase accountability and efficiency in its trust management functions by reorganizing the agencies that manage Indian trust funds and assets.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) is continuing its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. Next week, employees of the Alaska Region will be briefed on June 10, 2003, in Juneau and June 12 in Anchorage. Midwest Region employees will be briefed on June 11 in Fort Snelling, Minn.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that James H. McDivitt, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs (Management), will retire this month after a 35-year career in the Federal government. His retirement will be effective June 13, 2003. “Jim McDivitt has been a tremendous asset to the Bureau of Indian Affairs because of his experience as a Federal manager and dedicated public servant,” Martin said. “He proved himself invaluable to the Bureau and the Department, and he will be sorely missed.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) is continuing its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Pacific and Eastern Regions will be briefed on June 18, 2003, in Sacramento, Calif., and Nashville, Tenn. Briefings for Colorado-area employees will take place on June 19 in Lakewood, Colo.

Washington, D.C. – The Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs regrets to announce that White Mountain Apache firefighter and Bureau of Indian Affairs’ employee Rick Lupe passed away on Thursday, June 19, 2003, having succumbed to injuries received on May 14, 2003, during the Sawtooth Prescribed Burn on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Mr. Lupe was 43 years old.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) is continuing its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Great Plains Regional Office in Aberdeen, S.D., will be visited on June 24 and Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office employees will be briefed on June 25 in Muskogee, Okla.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On June 27, 2003, the Department of the Interior (DOI) will conclude its month-long schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies with briefings at the Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings, Mont. and the Southern Plains Regional Office in Anadarko, Okla., the last of the BIA’s 12 regional offices to be visited.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that the No Child Left Behind Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee has set a schedule of four meetings to undertake rulemaking as required under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Committee, which was established earlier this year, is charged with making recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior for proposed regulations on six sections of the Act that seek to improve accountability and student academic achievement at BIA-funded schools.