Past News Items

This is a proud and happy day for the Nez Perce Indians and for their many non-Indian neighbors and friends as well. This new community at Lapwai which we are dedicating today and the one dedicated at Kamiah yesterday could not have been built without the dual effort of the Tribe and the Federal Government. Tribal funds and Federal funds through the Accelerated Public Works program--have been pooled to erect two structures that symbolize the growing spirit of community action among the Nez Perce Tribe.

Ten young men from Alaska--five Indians and five Eskimos--will soon move into technical jobs in the space exploration program as a result of training received under auspices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of the Interior reported today.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson, in California for meetings with Bureau of Indian Affairs education line officers in San Diego, brought his message about the benefits of positive thinking and healthy choices in life to an assembly of students, parents, faculty and staff here at Sherman Indian High School, a BIA-operated off-reservation boarding school for grades 9-12. Today’s visit illustrated the new assistant secretary’s desire to visit BIA field offices and education facilities during his administration.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today steps are being taken to implement a new law which provides for payment to the Delaware Indians for lands ceded under an 1818 treaty. He announced the amendment of regulations which will permit preparation of p tribal roll.

The Act of September 21, 1968, authorized the distribution of funds derived from a judgment by the Indian Claims Commission, and directed the Secretary to prepare a roll to serve as a basis for paying the money.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt highlighted the efforts made by the Department of the Interior (DOI) Opioid Reduction Task Force over the past year, resulting in the seizure of more than 3,200 pounds of illegal narcotics with an estimated value of $9.8 million dollars.

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior will celebrate this year’s National American Indian Heritage Month on Thursday, November 21, with an observance of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the nation’s only Congressionally chartered school for American Indian and Alaska Native arts. IAIA President Della Warrior, a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe in Oklahoma, will be the keynote speaker at the Department’s event, which will start at 10:00 a.m. (EST) in the Sydney R.

A series of three prize-winning travel posters designed by American Indian art students are now available for sale to Indian tribes and Indian-interest organizations and through them to the general public, it was announced today.

Priced at $1.75 each, subjects include a classic Katchina figure; a black and white Indian on a horse against a brilliant yellow and range background; and a psychedelic design.

All three posters carry the theme, "Discover America with the First Americans," an invitation to visit Indian reservations at vacation time.

WASHINGTON - Monday, April 13, 2020, the Department of the Treasury launched the web portal for state, local, and tribal governments to provide their information for the disbursement of the Coronavirus Relief Fund payments. Eligible tribal governments will receive payments to help offset the costs of their response to the coronavirus pandemic. Payments will be paid no later than April 24, 2020, once registered through the web portal entitled Eligible Units: Submission Required for Receipt of Coronavirus Relief Fund Payments.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced he has issued a Notice of Final Determination whereby he declined to acknowledge that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe (petitioner #111, formerly known as Ohlone/Costanoan Muwekma Tribe) located in San Jose, Calif., exists as an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law. The decision is based on a determination that the petitioner does not satisfy three of seven mandatory criteria set forth under 25 CFR Part 83, specifically 83.7(a), 83.7(b) and 83.7(c).

Although many eastern Indian tribes are now decimated or dispersed, they left a rich legacy for the people who followed. So says an illustrated 28-page booklet, "Indians of the Eastern Seaboard,” just issued by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The booklet is the latest in a popular series of publications about the first inhabitants of what is now the United States. It describes relationships between the Indians and the Pilgrims, the Jamestown colonists, and the Florida missionaries, and the influence this interplay had on the Nation.