Past News Items

Forty-three Indian tribal leaders and officials of the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will meet October 15-17 in Anchorage, Alaska, to discuss the reorganization of the BIA.

Regulations for the implementation of the Indian Business Development Program were published in the Federal Register and made effective on December 27, 1974, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson made the effective date simultaneous with publication to avoid any loss of opportunity caused by delay.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today appointed 36 Indian tribal representatives and seven departmental employees to an Advisory Task Force to develop goals and plans for the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

"I look forward to working with this important group to define ways that we can strengthen the organization of the BIA to better serve the Indian people," Lujan said. "These are the people that know the Bureau and know how it can best be of benefit to Indian tribes. I value their judgment."

Final regulations governing the revision of the membership roll of the Menominee Indian Tribe were published in the Federal Register, April 2, 1975, it was announced today. The regulations will become effective on May 1.

Updating of the roll is required by the Menominee Restoration Act which re-established the tribe's Federal status and eligibility for special Federal services and programs. The tribal roll was closed as of June 17, 1954, when legislation terminated the tribe's special relationship with the Federal Government.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump today proposed a $2.4 billion Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 budget for Indian Affairs, which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) led by the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan, Jr. announced today that Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos will join him on a two-day, three-state tour of Indian schools this week. The unprecedented visit by two Cabinet members to schools administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in California, Arizona and New Mexico "reflects the commitment to improved education for Native Americans that President Bush, Secretary Cavazos, and I share," said Lujan.

Final regulations governing the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Housing Improvement Program (HIP) published in the Federal Register May 2 become effective June 1, the Bureau said today.

The program is primarily aimed at helping Indians make needed repairs, renovations and enlargements of their hares.

WASHINGTON –President Donald Trump today proposed a $2.5 billion Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) budget for Indian Affairs, which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The President’s budget reaffirms his support of tribal sovereignty and self-determination across Indian Country by focusing on core funding and services to support ongoing tribal government operations, including an emphasis on infrastructure repair and improvements.

Interior Assistant Secretary Ken Smith today approved a joint venture agreement for the development of oil and gas on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.

The contract between the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the reservation and the U.S. Energy corporation was the first contract approved under the new Indian Minerals Development Act of 1982, signed by President Reagan last December.

Donald A. McCabe, former president of the Navajo Community College, has been appointed President of the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute at Albuquerque, New Mexico, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.