Past News Items

Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel, on behalf of President Nixon, today announced the nomination of Louis R. Bruce, 6,3, of Richfield Springs, New York, as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Bruce, a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe of South Dakota, was praised by the Secretary as "a man of unparalleled qualifications, with the leadership skills and the desire necessary to carry out the Administration's pledge to bring dignity, education and economic progress to all of our American Indian, Eskimo and Aleut citizens.

The Hopi Tribe will receive $191,699 to plan for an abandoned mine reclamation program under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus announced today.

The Tribe became eligible for the funding on signing a cooperative agreement with Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM).

Award of four contracts totaling $269,949.50 for surfacing work on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Indian Reservation roads in South Dakota was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

FARGO, ND - Today, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recognized Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) - Turtle Mountain Agency Law Enforcement Officers Stacey Larocque and Michael Slater and BIA-Standing Rock Agency Law Enforcement Officers Wayland Bad Hand and Gary Sandland with the Secretary’s Commendation Award for their quick and heroic actions to save the lives of individuals who overdosed on deadly, synthetic opioid drugs.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs William E. Hallett announced today that a new Bureau of Indian Affairs agency is being established to serve the Laguna Pueblo

The Department of the Interior today announced the establishment of a fishing tackle assembly plant that will provide immediate employment for about 120 Indian workers on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

The new plant, located in the town of Fine Ridge, represents an expansion of the assembly operations of the Wright and McGill Company, Denver, Colorado, one of the largest manufacturers of fishing tackle in the United States.

WASHINGTON - Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts, who leads the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, joined Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy to announce the transfer of 24,959 acres previously acquired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of the Garrison Dam project to the Department of the Interior, which will hold the land in trust for the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

Forty miles northwest of Fairbanks, in the interior of Alaska, the town of New Minto is under construction, to be occupied by 160 Minto Indians. New Minto is a replacement for old Minto Village, 25 miles away, which has suffered severe damage from spring thaws.

High bonus bids totaling nearly one and a third million dollars for oil and gas leases on Indian-owned lands of the Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana were announced today by the Department of the Interior.

"The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services respects the rights of tribes and citizens to express their views in a peaceful and lawful manner. The presence of additional BIA law enforcements officers at Standing Rock was provided at the request of tribal leadership. The responsibility of BIA law enforcement officers is to protect the peace and provide for the safety and well-being of the citizens of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and individuals within the territory of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation."

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