Past News Items

Ada Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the u.s. Department of the Interior, has accepted an invitation from U.S. Rep. Sam Gejdenson to attend a public forum he is sponsoring in Ledyard Connecticut on September 18. The Assistant Secretary will appear to explain the general process involved in accepting lands into trust and how such applications are evaluated. "My administration is dedicated to building partnership and fostering understanding between Indians and non-Indians on issues that concern us all, Deer said.

The National Park Service has compiled a list of Federal, Tribal, Native Alaskan, Native American and Native Hawaiian contacts to assist other Federal agencies and museums in complying with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).

Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Daniel P. Beard today announced a new policy designed to protect Indian trust assets from adverse impacts of Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) programs and activities.

President Bill Clinton today announced his intention to nominate Ada Deer, an educator and former chair of the Menominee Nation of Wisconsin, to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. The appointment, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate, will make her the first woman to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

In an effort to resolve tribal and non-tribal allocations of Klamath River salmon, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Commerce Secretary Ron Brown today agreed to a management plan designed to improve conservation measures while providing for additional salmon harvest now and in the future for Klamath River tribes.

In addition, the agreement by the two secretaries ensures that a definitive legal ruling on future allocations of Klamath River chinook stocks will be issued before Sept. 30 of this year.

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt said today that while he is approving a lease between an Indian tribe and a solid waste disposal company that contemplates construction of a landfill on tribal land in southern California, he will take steps to prevent the wholesale targeting of tribal lands across America for waste disposal.

President Bill Clinton's fiscal year 1994 budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs proposes to spend $2.4 billion, an increase of $261.3 million over the current year, according to documents released today by the Department of the Interior. This is a significant change from budget requests of the last decade, which often proposed substantial funding reductions for the Bureau.

WASHINGTON – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) recognizes the leadership of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas (KTTT), selected by tribal members on October 28, 2002, as the tribe’s provisional governing body. The recognition accepts the Traditional Council members selected through last month’s ‘Vote of Conscience’ for the purpose of maintaining the tribe’s government-to-government relationship with the United States.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson, in California for meetings with Bureau of Indian Affairs education line officers in San Diego, brought his message about the benefits of positive thinking and healthy choices in life to an assembly of students, parents, faculty and staff here at Sherman Indian High School, a BIA-operated off-reservation boarding school for grades 9-12. Today’s visit illustrated the new assistant secretary’s desire to visit BIA field offices and education facilities during his administration.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will speak on March 18 at 10:00 a.m. (PST) at the Chemawa Indian School, a Bureau of Indian Affairs operated off-reservation boarding school for grades 9-12 in Salem, Ore., bringing his message about the benefits of healthy life choices and positive thinking to an assembly of students, parents, faculty and staff. This is the second in a series of visits the new assistant secretary will make to BIA field offices and education facilities during his administration.