Past News Items

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover today announced that $16.5 million will be distributed this month to 310 small and needy American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes to provide adequate funding for tribal governments and operations. Small and needy tribes are those that have less than $160,000 in annual funding and have 1,500 or fewer members enrolled. Tribes in Alaska must have less than $200,000 in annual funding to qualify.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada E. Deer today signed a preliminary decision that proposes extending Federal acknowledgment to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe of Longview, WA. Assistant Secretary Deer said the petitioners meet the required criteria in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 25, Section 83.7 as modified by Section 83.8, which applies to petitioners who had prior unambiguous Federal acknowledgment.

The Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service today announced that it will reimburse the Shoshone and Arapaho Indian Tribes a total of $130,000 during Fiscal Year 1994, for auditing costs for participating in the MMS Cooperative Audit Program.

The addition of the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes, which are located on the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming, brings the number of participating tribes to six, including the Navajo Nation, the Ute, the Southern Ute and the Ute Mountain Ute.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today signed an agreement implementing legislation to resolve a long-standing dispute over the water rights of the Fort McDowell Indian Community in Arizona.

"This settlement averts lengthy, costly litigation and uncertainty for the tribe and the Federal Government," Lujan noted. "Even more important is the fact that this settlement provides the opportunity for increased economic self-sufficiency and meaningful self-determination for the Community."

Dear Tribal Leader: On July 30, 2020 I marked the second anniversary of my swearing in as the Department of the Interior's (Department) Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs. As I hit the ground running, my goal has been to develop strong relationships with tribes to work on innovative solutions for lifting up tribal communities.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announced today that it would reopen competition by conducting a new full-scale procurement for financial trust services to strengthen internal management and administration of more than $1.7 billion of Indian trust funds.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced that he would authorize the call for elections in the Native Villages of Circle, Seldovia and Port Graham to approve constitutions proposed under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA).

Once the elections are held, the Secretary will have 45 days under the IRA to approve the constitutions.

Secretary of the Interior, Manuel Lujan, today announced that Indian schooling will be the top educational priority of the Department. Lujan, who earlier this year toured Indian schools with the Secretary of Education, said that we must place renewed emphasis on ensuring that our Native American students receive a quality education.

Interior Secretary James Watt cited the Cherokee Historical Association of North Carolina for service to the community at the Interior Department's 49th Awards Convocation in Washington D.C., today.

The Public Service Award of the Department was given to Frank H. Brown, chairman of the Cherokee Historical Association and John A. Crowe, principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs published in the Federal Register, December 28, 1981, a rule to establish procedures for the preparation of a roll of Mohave Indian descendants enrolled as members of the Colorado River Indian Tribes. The Mohave Indians placed on this roll would share with the members of the Fort Mohave Indian Tribe an award of $468,358 from the Indian Claims Commission.