Past News Items

ISLETA PUEBLO, N.M. – As part of President Obama’s goal of placing half a million acres of tribal homelands into trust for the benefit of tribal nations, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has placed 89,978 acres of land into trust status for the Pueblo of Isleta. The Administration’s single largest trust acquisition to date brings to nearly 400,000 the total acreage placed in trust on behalf of federally recognized tribes since 2009.

Regulations governing the preparation of rolls for the payment to Creek Indians of two Indian Claims Commission judgments, totaling
more than $4 million, have been approved and published in the Federal Register, Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, has announced.

Washington, D.C. — Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced publication of proposed regulations that would reform the 35-year old process by which the Department of the Interior officially recognizes Indian tribes. Federal acknowledgment establishes the U.S. Government as the trustee for Tribal lands and resources and makes Tribal members and governments eligible for federal budget assistance and program services.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash today announced the award of a $1,319,409 contract for construction of the final 17-mile section of Route 12, one of the most scenic highways on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

Completion of this stretch will provide an all-weather link between the communities of Round Rock and Lukachukai in northeastern Arizona with Navajo, New Mexico, the Reservation town where the tribal sawmill enterprise is located.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today approved leasing regulations submitted by four federally recognized tribes, restoring their authority to control the leasing of their trust lands and promoting their self-determination and economic development. This streamlined process for restoring tribal leasing authority is consistent with the objectives of the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act, or HEARTH Act.

JICARILLAS TAKE THE LEAD IN CATTLE MARKETING

The Jicarilla Apache Cattle Growers' Association, instrumental in establishing the cattle market in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, reports that the market not only is commanding prices equal to or better than other nearby markets, but also is stimulating other businesses on the reservation.

WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn today issued a final determination not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Tolowa Nation (Petitioner #85) located in Fort Dick, California, as an Indian tribe under the regulations governing the Federal acknowledgment process (at 25 Code of Federal Regulations Part 83).

The sound of drums and the chant of Indian song will introduce the American Indian Performing Arts Festival April 22-27 in the Department of the Interior Auditorium, 18th and “C” Streets, NW., in Washington, D. C.

SHAWNEE, Okla. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to self-determination of tribal nations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today joined Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John Barrett to formally approve tribal leasing regulations that will help spur investment and commercial development on the nation’s trust lands in central Oklahoma.

Commissioner Philleo Nash summarized the past year's accomplishments of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in a publication released today entitled "Indian Affairs 1964".

Emphasis is upon education and economic development," Nash said in announcing the new publication. "We are striving toward greater Indian participation in their own affairs--activity rather than passivity--with the end goal of maximum self-sufficiency for the Indian population.