Past News Items

For Halloween, beyond increasing their presence on the streets during that holiday, law enforcement officers from the Crow Agency, Northern Cheyenne Agency, Wind River Agency and Spokane Agency went into schools to talk with children from kindergarten to sixth grade about safety when trick-or-treating. They distributed Halloween bags filled with candy, pencils, pens, rulers and crayons to each student. The officers at the Crow Agency and Northern Cheyenne Reservation sponsored a Spook House for the children of the community.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today submission to Congress of a proposed bill to authorize disposition of close to $4 million to pay off an Indian Claims Commission judgment to the Creek Nation of Indians.

In September 1962, the Commission awarded $3,913,000 to the Oklahoma Creeks and to the Eastern Creeks, a group scattered throughout areas east of the Mississippi River.

Education for American Indian children, safety for Indian reservation residents, the restoration of the environment and a continuation of the remarkable comeback of an American icon lead the way in President Clinton's Fiscal Year 2000 budget request for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The FY 2000 budget request for the BIA is 1.9 billion dollars; an increase of $155.6 million above the 1999 enacted level.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior announced today renewal of a number of contracts for job-training for Indians. Contract value totals nearly $3 million.

Affected are contracts for the year beginning July 1 for programs in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Mississippi and New York. Only programs, funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are involved.

These programs include training for whole families, on-the-job work in electronics, garment and textile industries, and a nationwide program of adoptive placement for Indian children.

I was briefed this morning for the first time by Special Trustee Paul Homan on his final Strategic Plan to reform trust fund management for Tribal and individual trust funds and resources.

The plan represents his views, independent from the Department of the Interior or the Office of Management and Budget. Before I make final recommendations, I intend to give the Strategic Plan close and thorough study.

A plan for the use and distribution of $3.9 million awarded by the Indian Claims Commission to the Cherokee Nation is being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The award is additional payment for land in Northern Oklahoma acquired by the United States from the Cherokees from 1872 to 1893.

Thanks to a newly established Bureau of Indian Affairs service, Indian tribes and schools can now better protect their children by using a fingerprint service that will detect the past criminal history of prospective and newly hired employees.

"We are very pleased to announce this important and, needed new service, which will help to ensure the safety and well-being of our Indian children," says Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada E. Deer.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that a plan for the use and distribution of more than $600,000 awarded by the Indian Claims Commission to the Northern Tonto Apache Indians is being published in the Federal Register.

The award represents payment for lands taken by the United States in 1873 and 1875.

"I appreciated the opportunity to hear from tribal leaders from across the country. Their input provided an important picture of the economic benefits reservations have gained from Indian Gaming."

"I want to continue to gather information from parties interested in this issue, and I continue to believe these issues are best resolved by bilateral negotiations between states and tribes as intended under the Indian Gaming Regulation Act, and that the Act provides room for compromise."

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that two contracts totaling more than $6.2 million for the construction of roads serving members of the Navajo Indian Tribe were awarded July 22.

A contract with Nielsons, Inc., of Dolores, Colo., calls for the construction of 16.24 miles of hot bituminous concrete surfacing on a previously constructed roadbed between Rough Rock, Ariz., and the Arizona State Highway 63 at Many Farms, Ariz.

The Rough Rock Community has now only a dirt road connection with the highway.