Past News Items

Anthony Whirlwind Horse, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs agency
on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

Whirlwind Horse has been the Education Program Administrator at the agency. He succeeds Albert Trimble who is now Tribal Chairman of
the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman will visit Southern California tomorrow to inspect extensive damage caused by the Poomacha Fire on the La Jolla Indian Reservation and the Rincon Indian Reservation, two Luiseno tribal communities headquartered in San Diego County. He also will join other Federal and State officials in meetings with leaders from these and other affected tribes to discuss relief efforts for their communities.

A "bill of rights" for students attending Bureau of Indian Affairs schools has become a part of the Code of Federal Regulations, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

"This new part of the Code," Commissioner Thompson said, "is like our Constitutional Bill of Rights in that it is simple, brief and to the point. It provides a sound base for local school communities --parents, students and staff -- to develop regulations and programs which accord with the law, are respectful of individual rights and promote a spirit of responsibility."

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director W. Patrick Ragsdale today announced that he has confirmed Edward F. Parisian as regional director of the BIA Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings, Mont. Parisian, an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana, had been serving as the acting regional director since May 8, 2006. His new appointment was effective April 1. The Rocky Mountain Regional Office serves federally recognized tribes in Montana and Wyoming.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson today named superintendents to three Alaska Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies - those at Fairbanks, Nome, and Bethel. The appointments are effective August 1, September 1, and August 4, respectively.

WASHINGTON – President Bush has proposed a $2.2 billion budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) for Fiscal Year 2008. The 2008 request is $7.0 million above the President’s 2007 budget request and $1.0 million below the 2007 continuing resolution. The budget includes two initiatives to ensure that future generations of Native Americans have safe and secure communities to call home and that Indian children attending BIE schools can fulfill their potential through education.

American Indian, Eskimo, and Aleut year 'round events that help non-Native Americans appreciate the unusual contributions of those whose home this was before the arrival of the Europeans are now listed in "American Indian Calendar 1974" available from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. 20402 for 65 cents.

WASHINGTON – Acting Office of Indian Education Programs Director Edward Parisian today announced that the OIEP will hold its 2005 Tribal Consultation Meetings on August 29 and 30 to obtain oral and written comments on potential issues concerning Bureau of Indian Affairs-funded schools under authority provided by Public Law 95-561, the Education Amendments Act of 1978. The BIA published a notice on the 2005 Tribal Consultation Meetings in the Federal Register on August 8.

The Navajo Indian Tribe will receive more than $7.3 million, under a contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to be used in public schools
serving Navajo students, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The contract, awarded August 11, gives the tribe administrative responsibility for the Johnson-O'Malley (JOM) programs serving the reservation.

WASHINGTON – President Bush has proposed a $2.2 billion budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for Fiscal Year 2006. The budget continues the Department’s commitment to reform trust management and provides increases for law enforcement and detention centers, an economic development commission, and a leadership academy pilot program.