Past News Items

I regret that there has been a loss of life on the Navajo reservation. This loss of life has come about as the Navajo police defended themselves against an attack by demonstrators at the Navajo Tribal Government Headquarters.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that 112 tribes have qualified for participation in the BIA's Tribal Government Development Program for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1975. These tribes may receive up to $50,000 under contracts for programs to strengthen and make more effective their tribal governments.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced the selection of Bryan Rice, a veteran federal administrator and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, as the new Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the federal agency that coordinates government-to-government relations with 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

Ken Smith, Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, today announced a "major initiative to bring a high level of fiscal accountability to both Indian tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs."

In a letter to tribal leaders across the nation Smith noted that he has received more than 150 audit reports from the Interior Inspector General in the past two years which have identified weaknesses or abuses in tribal or local BIA financial management procedures.

Assistant Secretary -- Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard announced today the detail of James Canan, Billings Area Director to the Bureau's Management Improvement Program, where he will manage the field operation portion of the program. Gerard said he selected Canan for this assignment because of his many years of experience as an area director, his knowledge of the BIA's field operations at both the area and agency level.

WASHINGTON – Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts today announced final, updated Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) guidelines for implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) that will better protect the rights of Indian children, their parents and their tribes in state child welfare proceedings.

The guidelines explain the ICWA statute and regulations while also providing examples of best practices for its implementation, the goal of which is to encourage greater uniformity in the application of ICWA measures.

A top Interior Department official from Washington, D. C. will be in Northern California December 1-3 to meet with state officials, Indian leaders and others about the management of the Klamath River fishery on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Roy Sampsel said the meetings would "provide opportunities for identifying problems and seeking coordinated approaches to improved management of this important resource.

Senator Milton Young of North Dakota and Robert Richmond, a Brunswick Corporation executive, will be honored for "outstanding contributions to economic development on American Indian reservations," Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

Bureau of Indian Affairs' Economic Development Award plaques will be presented to the honorees October 19 in a ceremony on the Fort Totten Reservation in North Dakota.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A major law enforcement operation targeting drug trafficking in and around Indian Country in North Carolina has resulted in the arrest of more than 75 individuals on federal, state and tribal charges, announced U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke and Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Additionally, the months-long operation yielded more than 248 pounds of illegal substances including heroin, methamphetamine, and hundreds of opioid pills with an estimated street value of $2 million.

Interior Secretary James Watt announced today he has made available $180,000 to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa-Chippewa Indians of Suttons Bay, Michigan for new impoundment gear in their commercial fishing operation.

The funds will be used for a demonstration project in which the tribe will upgrade its fishing methods by switching from gill nets to trap nets. The trap net method of fishing allows more selective fishing -- taking only those fish that are easily marketable such as whitefish and chub -- and protects the Lake Michigan lake trout fishery.