Past News Items

STANDING ROCK, N.D. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (OJS) officers, working with tribal and county law enforcement, were instrumental in apprehending an “armed and dangerous” adult male approximately 12 miles from Fort Yates community on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota. The individual was wanted on a federal warrant for Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamines.

Persons claiming Menominee Indian blood have until September 17 for filing applications to have their names added to the present tribal roll, Acting Secretary Fred G. Aandahl said today. Applications should be filed with the Menominee Tribe, in care of the Superintendent, Neopit, Wisconsin.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that a contract to construct additional school facilities for the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Gray Hill High School at Tuba City, Ariz., has been awarded to the Hunt Building Corporation, El Faso, Texas.

The $2.9 million contract requires the construction of' three dormitory wings, two annexes to the present gymnasium, a practical arts shop addition and a new student union.

The dormitory additions, when completed, will provide accommodations for 400 students.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012—Four cabinet-level departments joined the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation today in signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve the protection of Indian sacred sites. The MOU also calls for improving tribal access to the sites. It was signed by cabinet secretaries from the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy and Interior. It was also signed by the chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

I have been informed that demonstrations are planned sometime this weekend in Washington, D.C., and in other parts of the country protesting the resettlement of those Navajo families residing on land partitioned to the Hopi Indian Tribe as a result of the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act (P.L. 93-531) passed by the U.S. Congress in 1974.

Regulations have been published in the Federal Register to govern distribution of $13.2 million awarded the Osage Indian Tribe of Oklahoma by the Indian Claims Commission, largely for fair payment for triba11ands taken many years ago, the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The new regulations specify procedures to be followed by eligible persons in order for them to share in the distribution of judgment funds.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that Indian Affairs will be holding informational and consultation sessions in the coming weeks seeking input from tribal leaders in preparation for the Interior Department’s 2013 American Indian Population and Labor Force Report. The sessions will provide an opportunity for tribal leaders to provide their views on what should comprise the report’s scope, data, and methodology.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay announced the appointment of Guy C. Williams as Superintendent of the United Pueblos Indian Agency, Albuquerque, N. Mex., effective April 1.

The appointment results from the recently announced reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Mr. Williams since 1950 has been assistant director of the Albuquerque Area Office which is being discontinued. He will head the agency headquarters at Albuquerque which serves the 19 Indian Pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley.

The award of a $985,056 contract to construct municipal facilities at Red Lake, Minn., was announced today by Marvin L. Franklin, Assistant to the Secretary for Indian Affairs.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald E. “Del” Laverdure today announced that, in addition to ongoing efforts by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to address reported child safety and protection deficiencies at the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, he is sending in a strike team of senior BIA officials from its Central Office to assess and evaluate efforts to improve the Tribe’s social services program. The decision to deploy senior officials to the region came at the urging of U.S. Senator Kent Conrad.