Past News Items

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today the appointment of Alph H. Secakuku to the position of Superintendent of the Hopi Agency in Arizona.

Secakuku, a member of the Hopi Tribe, had been appointed acting Superintendent at the Hopi Agency earlier this year.

Thompson said he was extremely pleased to make the appointment and - noted that Secakuku would be the first member of the Hopi Tribe to serve as Superintendent of the Hopi Agency. The Hopi Tribal Council had asked that he be considered for the position, Thompson said.

WASHINGTON – President Bush has proposed a $2.2 billion budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) for Fiscal Year 2008. The 2008 request is $7.0 million above the President’s 2007 budget request and $1.0 million below the 2007 continuing resolution. The budget includes two initiatives to ensure that future generations of Native Americans have safe and secure communities to call home and that Indian children attending BIE schools can fulfill their potential through education.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today the appointment of Clarence Antioquia, 34, Assistant Area Director, Juneau Area Office and a Tlingit Indian of Alaska, to be Area Director at Juneau, Alaska. He has been acting in that capacity since September 1973.

“We wish to join Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith in expressing our grief and deepest sympathy to the Cherokee Nation people and to the Dawes family over the loss of Mike Dawes, a Cherokee citizen and lifetime law enforcement officer who died in service to his tribe and his country while endeavoring to bring peace in a country at war. As a Bureau of Indian Affairs-deputized law enforcement officer in the 1990s, he brought an esprit de corps and level of professionalism to the performance of his duties that set a standard for others.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson will present the Indian Leadership Award of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to Mrs. James M. (Marie) Cox, Comanche Indian of Oklahoma, and to the Cherokee Action Committee for Foster Children of North Carolina April 2 at 2 p.m. in the Department of the Interior Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

"These awards represent unique contributions in the realm of foster care by American Indians and are a part of National Action for Foster Children Week," Thompson said. National Action for Foster Children Week is March 31-Apri1 6, 1974.

WASHINGTON—Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs David W. Anderson today announced he has named W. Patrick Ragsdale to be Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs(BIA) effective Feb. 13, 2005.

Ragsdale, who is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, has been serving for the last year as Director, Trust Review and Audit in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board announced today issuance of revised Source Directories No. 1 and No. 2, which will be of particular interest to potential customers of authentic Native American arts and crafts.

Source Directory No.1 deals with Native American owned and operated arts and crafts organizations located throughout the United States, including artist and craftsman cooperatives, tribal arts and crafts enterprises, and non-profit Native American arts organizations

WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Dave Anderson today formally signed an agreement with leaders of the Zuni Tribe of New Mexico that will resolve the tribe’s water rights claims in the Little Colorado River Basin of Arizona without harming other water users.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara Mac Lean Sweeney announced today that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) has awarded business development grants totaling $400,000 to 12 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

The awards from IEED’s Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI) Feasibility Study Program will enable tribal leaders to better evaluate and identify viable economic opportunities for their communities.

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – As part of his continuing visits to Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson today regaled students, staff and faculty of Sequoyah High School, a BIA-funded facility for grades 9-12 operated by the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, with his experiences and expertise that have ultimately led to both personal and business success for the highest-ranking American Indian at the Interior Department.