Past News Items

For those who equate reservations 'with tar-paper shacks and abject poverty, the first sight of the Seneca Indian Nation's Allegany Reservation in southwestern New York State is an impressive surprise. The story behind these new homes and the hopes that go with them is equally impressive.

It is a story of men who turned adversity into triumph. Most of these men are Senecas led by their forceful and articulate President, Martin Seneca. But one, a prime mover, is a Choctaw from Oklahoma -- Sidney Carney.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to supporting Indian families and building resilient, thriving tribal communities, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced action the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has taken to help prevent the further dissolution of American Indian and Alaska Native families through the misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 (Public Law 95-608).

A $125,049 contract for grading and surfacing roads on the Uintah and Ouray I Reservation in Utah was announced today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Improvements will include a five-mile stretch of Route 7 which provides access to picturesque Uintah Canyon and a seven-mile section of Route 17, from Neola toward Big Springs.

Better roads will open an exceptionally scenic area for which the Uintah and Ouray Tribe has recreational development plans.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The joint Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service (IHS) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) listening sessions for tribes on suicide prevention that began this month will continue through December and into early February of 2011. The sessions seek input from tribal leaders on how the agencies can effectively work within their communities to prevent suicide, and will lead up to a national conference on the topic early next year.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs today announced the award of a $161,960 contract for road improvement on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon. The reservation was among those hard-hit by floods in 1965 which washed away several accesses to Indian communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced today that a listening session will take place at Haskell Indian Nations University on Monday, September 20, 2010. This youth listening session is a part of America’s Great Outdoors Initiative and will be hosted by the Department of the Interior Office of Youth in the Great Outdoors and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

John C. Dibbern, a career BIA employee and former university professor, is slated to head Bureau activities in connection with Missouri River Basin development, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash has announced.

With headquarters in Billings, Mont., Dibbern will head a staff of economist, soil scientists, and engineers engaged in continuing studies to protect the interests of Indian landowners in the multi-State Missouri Basin area.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Division of Transportation has obligated to-date $29.9 million of $38.7 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5) to perform maintenance on transportation infrastructure on the Navajo Nation reservation in northeastern Arizona. These ARRA-funded maintenance projects will enhance or repair approximately 760 miles of roads and repair 41 bridges used by residents and visitors travelling through the Navajo Nation.

Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, today hailed the agreement to provide electric power for the Quinault Indian village of Queets, Wash., as "the final step in bringing the basic comforts of adequate homes to this community."

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development has awarded $3.7 million to tribes that are developing renewable energy resources for their communities. Access to these resources will allow these communities to develop jobs and additional economic opportunities on their reservations, while decreasing their reliance on fossil fuels.