Past News Items

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

WASHINGTON - The House and Senate appropriations committees with funding authority over Department of the Interior (DOl) programs have approved a DOl plan to realign the management organization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST). Input for the reorganization plan was received through the Joint Tribal/DOl Task Force on Trust Reform and a series of consultation meetings the Interior Department held over the past year with tribal leaders.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney is proud to announce that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) awarded business development grants totaling $727,229 to 21 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. Over half of the awards are for proposed or existing projects located in Opportunity Zones.

WASHINGTON – Interior Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced his strategic plan for bringing transparency, responsiveness and resources to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Federal acknowledgment process under 25 CFR Part 83.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney announced today that she has approved two long-standing land-into-trust applications from The Osage Nation in Oklahoma for its casino projects in the cities of Bartlesville and Pawhuska. The applications were first submitted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

WASHINGTON – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb announced his appointment of Brian Burns as the Chief Information Officer for Indian Affairs. Mr. Burns was formerly the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information Resources Management and the Deputy Information Officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

(Washington, D.C.) – Bilateral talks between agencies from the United States and Canada that administer programs to help their Indigenous populations yielded a commitment to continue sharing information and working on common issues of concern. A one-day meeting took place on May 2, 2002, in Ottawa, Canada with delegations headed by the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb and Marc Lafreniere, Deputy Minister of the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

Speaking on Monday, December 18, 2000, at the opening of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) new offices in Reston, Virginia, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin Gover pondered on what Ely S. Parker, the first American Indian to be appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, would think of being honored 130 years after his tenure by the naming of a Department of the Interior building for him. Mr.

Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hilda Manuel, has announced her resignation from government service effective April 7, 2000. Ms. Manuel, a member of the Tohono O'odham Nation, has worked at the BIA for ten years, including more than five years as Deputy Commissioner. She served two Assistant Secretary -Indian Affairs appointees. Ms. Manuel has provided strong leadership during some tumultuous times for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Acting Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that she has confirmed Terry Virden, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, as Deputy Commissioner for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). "Terry Virden has been a strong advocate for the BIA," said Martin. "I am confident that he will continue to guide the Bureau with a steady hand now and into the future." The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the nearly 180-year-old federal agency.