Past News Items

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, announced today approval of a change in the Code of Federal Regulations regarding Indian college scholarships to conform to a new law recently signed by President Johnson.

Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, said the new law eliminated a prohibition against Federal scholarships for Indian students at sectarian schools and the Code change carries out the intent of the law.

"On June 23, the parties to the case, Schaghticoke Tribal Nation vs. Bruce Babbit, Secretary of the United States Department of lnterior, and Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, United States Department of lnterior, filed a joint stipulation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia."

"The stipulation states the Department of Interior will decide by August 8, 2000, on the Schaghticoke tribe's request for concurrent consideration of its petition with the petition of the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe."

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today that the Department's Distinguished Service Award will be presented June 4 to 42 outstanding employees and former employees and Valor Awards to 9 others for acts of bravery in which they risked their own lives in successful rescues. Award ceremonies will be in the Interior Building Auditorium, Washington, D.C., at 2 p.m.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to fulfilling this nation’s trust responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska Natives, the Office of the Secretary of the Interior will convene the Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform’s third public meeting on June 11-12, 2012.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is learning that one of the best ways to get work done on reservations and for Indian tribes is to have the Indians do it themselves, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall said today.

Increasingly Indian contractors are getting a growing variety of contracts. These result in more employment for Indians, savings for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and newly developed skills for tribal members, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Robert L. Bennett reported to the Secretary.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover will hold a media briefing on Thursday, September 9. Their briefing will focus on a new report documenting the management of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other issues affecting the BIA budget.

The briefing will be held in Room 7000 of the Main Interior Building, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC, it begins at 4:00 p.m. EST.

Arizona Indians have formed the first organization in the country designed to involve all of the Indian reservations in a State in a program for mutual planning and economic development help, Secretary Udall said today.

Called the Indian Development District of Arizona, the group initially is made up of nine of the 17 reservations in Arizona, combined into a statewide corporation that will enable Indian tribes to qualify for Economic Development Administration districting funds.

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today announced the appointment of Robert T. Anderson as Counselor to the Secretary. Anderson will be based in Seattle and advise the Secretary on a wide variety of policy matters, including Native American, environmental and Northwest issues.

The Department of the Interior today announced issuance of new regulations dealing with off-reservation fishing by Indians under rights secured to them by Federal treaties. The regulations are intended to help assure that the Indians' rights will be protected and will be exercised in a manner consistent with conservation needs.

The new standards provide a framework to assist States and Indian tribes in regulating Indian treaty fishing to assure proper protection both to the Indians' treaty rights and to fish runs.

Public comment is sought on a proposal by the Secretary of the Interior to allow the statutory approval of Alaska Native allotment applications in cases where protests against such actions have been withdrawn. A notice requesting comment is published in today's Federal Register (62 Fed Reg 7033).