Past News Items

SEATTLE, WA. – On Thursday, April 24, 2014, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will provide keynote remarks at a tribal summit organized by U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-6) and hosted by the Suquamish Tribe at the Port Madison Indian Reservation on Bainbridge Island. The Secretary will also meet with individual tribal leaders and tour the Suquamish hatchery and seafood plant with Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman.

A Northeast Region Advisory Committie appointed by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton on April 24, is the first of the public advisory bodies to be named for each of the six regions of the National Park Service.

"This group of interested private citizens, and those to be appointed for five other National Park System regions, will provide for a free exchange of ideas between the National Park Service and the public on current problems and programs," Secretary Morton said.

Seeking to encourage broader private financing of economic development on Indian reservations, the Department of the Interior has asked Congress for authority to establish an Indians' Loan Guaranty and Insurance Fund of $15 million under administration of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It would be used to guarantee or insure loans made by private lenders either to Indian organizations or to individuals of one-quarter or more Indian blood.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the College of the Muscogee Nation in Okmulgee, Okla., is eligible for operations funding from the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) under Title I of Public Law 95- 471, the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978, as amended. Funding to the College would commence in July 2014.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce today announced the appointment of William L. Benjamin, 54, an enrolled member of the Wisconsin Band of Chippewa Indians, to the post of Superintendent of the Fort Peck, Montana, and Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He assumed his duties October 31.

Benjamin replaces Anson A. Baker who has been transferred to the position of Superintendent of the Crow, Montana, and Agency of the Bureau. He comes to the Fort Peck Agency from the Wind River, Wyoming, and Agency of the Bureau where he was supervisory civil engineer.

The U. S. Department of the Interior today announced the appointment of Doyce L. Waldrip to the post of Superintendent of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon. He will replace Allan W. Galbraith who transfers to the Portland Area Office to become Assistant Area Director for economic development.

LAGUNA, NM – On Wednesday, December 11, as part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to strengthen education for Native youth, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn will visit New Mexico to tour a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) tribally controlled grant school located on the Pueblo of Laguna reservation.

Duane C. Moxon, 51, has named Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Seminole Agency, Hollywood, Florida, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce announced today. He moves to that post from & similar one at Turtle Mountain Agency, Belcourt, North Dakota, when he served for nearly two and a half years. Moxon re-places Eugene Barrett, who retired at the end of May.

Responsibilities of the Bureau of Indian Affairs could be carried out with greater benefits to the Indian people if there were greater rapport between Federal and State governments and between the Indians and non-Indians of each community, Philleo Nash, Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said today in Tucson, Ariz.

Commissioner Nash's comments were directed to representatives of labor, church groups, and government agencies attending a National Conference on Poverty in the Southwest which opened January 25.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today issued a decision approving a request by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to acquire 170 acres of land into trust in the town of Mashpee, Mass., for tribal governmental, cultural and conservation purposes, and 151 acres in trust in the City of Taunton, Mass., for the purpose of constructing and operating a gaming facility and resort. The lands in both Mashpee and Taunton will become the tribe’s first lands held in trust.