Past News Items

Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, announced today that Sidney M. Carney, the BIA's special liaison representative to the Seneca Indians of New York State, has been appointed Director of the Bureau's Anadarko, Okla., Area Office.

Carney, 47, is of Choctaw and Creek descent and was born in Quinton, Okla. He joined the Bureau in 1957 as an administrative officer at the Fort Defiance Agency, Ariz. He also served at the Jicarilla Agency, N. M., and in the Washington office before his assignment to New York State in 1962.

Strengthening local tribal programs, Indian education, and critical infrastructure projects are among the key components of the Fiscal Year 1998 Bureau of Indian Affairs' $1.73-billion budget request.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that Indian tribal groups would be receiving this fiscal year almost $10 million for projects to provide additional job opportunities on reservations.

Commissioner Thompson said that 39 tribal projects submitted through the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Department of Commerce have been approved for funding under Title X of the Public Works and Economic Development Act. The purpose of this Title of the Act is to create job opportunities in areas of high unemployment.

Ada Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the u.s. Department of the Interior, has accepted an invitation from U.S. Rep. Sam Gejdenson to attend a public forum he is sponsoring in Ledyard Connecticut on September 18. The Assistant Secretary will appear to explain the general process involved in accepting lands into trust and how such applications are evaluated. "My administration is dedicated to building partnership and fostering understanding between Indians and non-Indians on issues that concern us all, Deer said.

Proposed regulations to implement the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) are being published September 4 in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

There will be 30 days after publication for comments from interested parties.

Interior Secretary Don Hodel today announced the appointment of LaDonna Harris, a nationally known enrolled member of the Comanche Tribe, as the U.S. representative "to the Inter-American Indian Institute (III.).

The tribal plan for the use and distribution of $4.5 million awarded to the Yankton Sioux Tribe by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register.

The plan has been approved by Congress and is effective February 7, 1975.

It calls for a per capita distribution of 80 percent of the award to tribal members as of the effective date. It is expected that the tribal roll will have been brought current within 60 days of that date.

Effort will update 40-year old regulations to comport with HEARTH Act and TERAs, supports tribal self-governance and self-determination.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ross Swimmer said today the President's fiscal year 1988 budget request of $985 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will enable the Bureau to carry out its responsibilities to the Indian people of this country and still hold the line against increased deficit spending.

The FY 1988 budget request for the main operating account, Operation of Indian Programs, totals $910.2 million, about $11 million less than the current 1987 estimate or about a one percent reduction.

Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton today issued a policy statement concerning Indian cultural and religious use of migratory bird feathers and parts. Following is the text of the statement.