Past News Items

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) is continuing its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Great Plains Regional Office in Aberdeen, S.D., will be visited on June 24 and Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office employees will be briefed on June 25 in Muskogee, Okla.

Interior's Assistant Secretary Ross Swimmer today announced the appointments of C. L. Henson as Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Colorado River Agency in Parker, Arizona; and George E. Keller as Superintendent of the Truxton Canon Agency in Valentine, Arizona.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that the No Child Left Behind Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee has set a schedule of four meetings to undertake rulemaking as required under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Committee, which was established earlier this year, is charged with making recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior for proposed regulations on six sections of the Act that seek to improve accountability and student academic achievement at BIA-funded schools.

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that an employee at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was named as a finalist for the 2003 Service to America Medals, a national awards program to honor the groundbreaking achievements of federal employees. Special Agent John Oliveria, a Law Enforcement Agent at BIA, is one of 28 national finalists for the awards due to his work in developing initiatives to fight child abuse and sexual assault cases in American Indian communities while in federal service.

ROCKY BOY, MONTANA – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin traveled from the nation’s capital to the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation this afternoon at the personal invitation of Chippewa-Cree Business Committee chairman Alvin Windy Boy, Sr., for the dedication of a new $4 million campus of the Stone Child College.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced the appointment of Edward F. Parisian as Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP). Parisian, an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of Montana, has served as OIEP’s deputy director since April 15, 2002. His new appointment is effective August 3, 2003.

WASHINGTON - Secretary Gale A. Norton issued an open letter to the residents of the White Mountains of Arizona today expressing her condolences to the friends and family members of those killed while battling wildfires in the region. Secretary Norton emphasized that the recent tragedies have underscored her determination to ensure that public firefighter safety be an issue of top priority within the Department.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that August 2003 is “Back to School Month” for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funded schools. “August is the time of year when BIA school administrators and teachers are hard at work preparing for the coming school year,” Martin said. “These dedicated professionals provide our students with the foundation they need to achieve personal growth and academic success. BIA students are learning what they need today to become Indian Country’s leaders of tomorrow.”

WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin will join students, parents, and tribal officials on August 28, 2003, to celebrate the opening of Baca/Dlo’ay azhi Community School, a new Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)-operated day school located in Prewitt, N.M.

PREWITT, N. M. - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today joined students and community members celebrating the opening of Baca/Dlo'ay azhi Community School, a K-6 facility serving approximately 390 students from the Prewitt and Thoreau communities on the eastern portion of the Navajo Nation reservation in New Mexico.