Past News Items

Proposed regulations to better protect the per capita shares of minors, legal incompetents and deceased beneficiaries of Indian judgment funds were published in the Federal Register on November 1975, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The Department of the Interior today released a revised list of Alaska Native tribes that are eligible to receive services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and which have the immunities and privileges available to other federally recognized Indian tribes in the contiguous 48 States. The list will be published in the Federal Register next week.

Proposed regulations for removing persons erroneously included on the roll of Native Alaskans eligible for benefits under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act are being published in the Federal Register, Acting Secretary of the Interior Kent Frizzell announced today.

Department of the Interior Solicitor Thomas L. Sansonetti today issued a long-awaited legal opinion that explores the extent of Alaska Native village jurisdiction over land and non-village members.

The opinion concludes that Native village jurisdiction was significantly limited by Congress in 1971. The opinion, however, also reaffirms longstanding Departmental and Congressional actions which include Native villages as tribes for purposes of many programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other federal agencies.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson said today that many of the recommendations made in a recently released report on the troubled conditions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation were being implemented.

The report was prepared by a special commission appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. It dealt with problems in law enforcement and judicial services, tribal government, trust management functions, and provision of services to outlying areas of the reservation.

Action restores former lands to the Tribe with projected jobs and revenue benefitting it as well as local and regional economies.

Ross Swimmer, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, has sent Indian tribes, organizations and Congressional leaders a nine-page paper that provides answers to 48 of the most commonly asked questions concerning a contract with Mellon Bank of Pittsburgh for trust fund services.

In an attached letter, Swimmer said he or his representative will be visiting each of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) 12 area offices to meet with tribes and employees about trust fund changes.

Carl J. Cornelius, a 40-year veteran with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has been named Field Administrator for the Bureau, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today. In his new position in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Cornelius will be responsible for administrative and management services for Bureau field units.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan announced today the appointment of David J. Matheson a former chairman of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, as Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs effective May 20

"Dave Matheson has an outstanding record of leadership in Indian affairs in the federal government, as a tribal official and in the private sector," Lujan said. "He is especially well equipped to stimulate much needed economic development on tribal lands across America."

William J. Lawrence has been named Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Colorado River Agency at Parker, Arizona.

Lawrence, a Red Lake Chippewa, graduated from the University Of North Dakota School Of Law in 1972 and had been working for the Terry C. Holter Law Firm in Bemidji, Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1962 from the Bemidji State College.