Past News Items

Enactment of legislation that would add about 845 acres of public land to two Indian reservations in southern California and 80 acres to a reservation in Nevada has been recommended to Congress by the Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst announced today.

The U. S. Supreme Court rendered its decision on the Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida et al., case on March 27, 1996. The 5 to 4 decision held that the "Eleventh Amendment prevents Congress from authorizing suits in federal court by Indian tribes against States to enforce" the provision in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) requiring States to "negotiate in good faith."

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons announced today that he has accepted “with regrets’ the resignation of William R. Olsen, effective May 12, as Area Director of the Interior Department’s Indian Bureau at Juneau, Alaska.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan met today with South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell, Senator Strom Thurmond and representatives from the offices of Senator Ernest Hollings and Congressman John Spratt to discuss the terms of the Catawba \ Indian land settlement.

"This appears to be an excellent settlement proposal, and I will do whatever I can to gain the support of the Administration for it," Lujan said. "All parties to this historic agreement are to be congratulated for their hard work."

Legislation that would make it a Federal criminal offense to trespass for hunting, fishing or trapping purposes on Indian reservations and other Indian lands held in trust by the United States is needed to protect the property rights of Indian tribal groups, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst said today.

The Interior Department, Mr. Ernst pointed out, has reported favorably to Congress on H.R. 7240, a bill which would provide such protection by amending appropriate sections of the United States Code.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced that the Department's Fiscal Year 1993 $8.6 billion budget continues the President's commitment to enhancing our Nation's human, natural, historical and cultural resources while generating employment and economic opportunities.

The Department of the Interior announced today the award of a $813,533 contract for the expansion of school facilities that will provide for 150 additional Indian children at Kinlichee School on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.

The contract covers the construction of a 256-pupil dormitory, a five-classroom school building, twenty employees' quarters, a kitchen and dining hall, and a generator building. The existing school is also to be remodeled under this contract.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today approved a proposed settlement of Indian water rights for the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho "This agreement is significant in that it is the first Indian water rights settlement for the State and the Bush Administration," Lujan said "It also can serve as a model for other Indian water rights negotiations in progress across the country. The 1990 Fort Hall Water Rights Agreement, achieved after five years of negotiations, is a victory for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, local non-Indian water users and the State of Idaho.

The Department of the Interior today recommended the enactment of legislation that would transfer about 10,500 acres of federally owned land to the Rosebud Sioux Indian Tribe of South Dakota.

The lands to be transferred are located on the Rosebud Reservation and were acquired by the Federal Government between 1933 and 1950 for use in farming and ranching operations of the Rosebud Indian Boarding School. They are no longer needed for this purpose.

Ross Swimmer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, has reassigned Wilson Barber, Jr., currently Navajo area director in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office at Window Rock, Arizona, and James H. Stevens, currently BIA area office director in Phoenix. Barber will be moving to Phoenix and Stevens will take over the area director's job in Window Rock.