Past News Items

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus said today he has approved, with some modifications, the mining and reclamation plan by Westmoreland Resources to strip mine Crow Indian and state-owned coal from nearly 2,000 acres in Crow Indian Ceded Lands in south-central Montana.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge was given to the KinLani Bordertown Dormitory in Flagstaff, Ariz., a Bureau of Indian Education-funded facility. BIE Director Keith Moore, NFL player Levi Horn of the Chicago Bears, who is the ambassador for Nike N7, Nike, Inc.’s program to bring access to sports to Native American and Aboriginal communities in the United States and Canada, were in attendance to present the award.

Notice is being published in the Federal Register that about 35,000 acres of land within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has been declared excess by the Air Force, and administrative jurisdiction has been transferred to the Secretary of the Interior.

The land had been part of the Badlands Air Force Gunnery Range. It was formerly part of the reservation trust lands.

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael S. Black today announced that he has named Eugene R. Virden as Regional Director of the BIA’s Alaska Regional Office in Juneau. Virden, an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, had been serving as the acting regional director since December 21, 2009. The Alaska Regional Office oversees two agencies serving 229 federally recognized Alaska Native tribes and villages. His appointment will become effective on January 30, 2011.

Regulations governing BIA responsibilities in the former Navajo-Hopi Joint Use Area were published in the Federal Register April 26, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs Raymond V. Butler announced today.

Washington, D.C. – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced the launch of a new effort by the Indian Affairs Indian Highway Safety Program and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services to help tribes keep drunk drivers off of their roads and highways. The IHSP and BIA-OJS have acquired four BAT (Breath Alcohol Testing) Mobiles for tribal use to effectively enforce traffic laws and ordinances and to reduce injuries and fatalities due to driving under the influence. Purchase of the vehicles was made possible by funding from the U.S.

James L. McCabe, a Navajo Indian, has been appointed Supervisory General Engineer for the San Carlos Irrigation Project at Coolidge, Arizona, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs Raymond V. Butler announced today.

McCabe, 42, has been working this past year in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Phoenix Area Office.

A graduate of Utah State University, McCabe has his degree in civil and irrigation engineering. He has also attended Iowa State University and George Washington University and has participated in the Department of the Interior Management Training Program.

On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will visit the Navajo Nation, meet with tribal officials and hold a news media availability with Nation President Joe Shirley at Window Rock, Arizona. Secretary Salazar will be accompanied by Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins and Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk.

Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Solicitor of the Interior Hilary Tompkins Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk

Secretary of the Interior Thomas S. Kleppe today announced approval of a major uranium exploration and development agreement between the Navajo Nation and the EXXON Corporation.

The agreement gives EXXON the fight to explore or prospect for uranium in a 400,000 acre tract on the Navajo Reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico. If ore in sufficient quantities to warrant development is discovered, EXXON is authorized to take a total of 51,200 acres to lease for mining purposes.

BISMARK, N.D. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Department will fund $500 million in new school and housing construction, road and bridge improvements, and workforce development projects for federally recognized tribes across the nation. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Department’s Indian Affairs office will also offer federally guaranteed loans for American Indian-owned businesses. These investments will significantly improve the quality of life in tribal communities nationwide.