Past News Items

Award of a $34,193 contract for improvement to the water supply system at Shiprock, New Mexico, on the Navajo Indian Reservation was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract provides for approximately 2,000 feet of water main, and for the construction of a water treatment plant with a capacity of 750,000 gallons per day. This work is the second phase of a project to provide adequate water supply at Shiprock for a recently completed Indian hospital, a 1,000-pupil Indian boarding school and a sub-agency headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior has finalized updates to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regulations on Secretarial elections for tribal governments that will, among other things, protect the rights of tribal members living away from their communities to vote in these elections. A Secretarial election is a federal election conducted by the Secretary of the Interior for federally recognized tribes under a federal statute or tribal governing document (25 C.F.R. Part 81).

The Second Annual Invitational Exhibition of American Indian Paintings will open November 30, at the Department of Interior Art Gallery.

The exhibition is composed of 91 paintings and 12 works of sculpture, assembled and organized through direct invitation to the outstanding Indian artists in the Nation. The exhibition illustrates the great diversity of fine artistic expression among contemporary Indian, Eskimo and Aleut artists living in the United States. The majority of these works were created in 1965 and will be offered for sale to gallery visitors.

ST. PAUL, MINN. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to supporting Indian families and fostering resilient, thriving tribal communities through his all-of-government approach, acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts today announced that the Departments of Interior (DOI), Justice (DOJ), and Health and Human Services (HHS) have entered into a collaborative agreement to ensure more robust compliance with and implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 (Public Law 95-608).

OKLAHOMA CHEROKEES PLAN $2 MILLION PROGRAM

The Oklahoma Cherokees have announced plans for a $2 million program of social and economic benefits for tribal members, to be financed from judgment awards by the Indian Claims Commission for Cherokee claims against the United States.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of the Interior today announced that $2.9 million has been transferred to the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund. The Scholarship Fund was authorized by the historic Cobell Settlement and provides financial assistance through annual scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native students wishing to pursue post-secondary education and training.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced he is appointing H. Edward Hyden, an Interior Department lawyer specializing in American Indian affairs for 26 years, to be Chief Justice of American Samoa.

Mr. Hyden, Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs since 1957, will succeed Judge Arthur A. Morrow, Who became Chief Justice of the territory in the South Pacific in 1937, the year before Mr. Hyden received his law degree.

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today released the following statement on the passing of Billy Frank, Jr., a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe and Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission:

The Department of the Interior acted today to exempt certain lands owned by the Agua Caliente Indians of California from the effects of a new zoning ordinance adopted by the Palm Springs, California city council.

The Indians, whose reservation lands include considerable Palm Springs real estate now leased or contracted to others, had objected to certain points in the ordinance before it was adopted on June 10. They contended that the measure was too restrictive for future development of their property.

CROW AGENCY, Montana -- As part of President Obama’s commitment to work with Indian Country leaders to promote strong, prosperous and resilient tribal economies and communities, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that $3.2 million has been awarded to 21 tribal projects to assist in developing energy and mineral resources, including $655,000 to the Crow Tribe to advance a hydroelectric project that will provide low-cost clean power to tribal members and encourage business on Crow lands.