Past News Items

Kent Frizzell, Acting Secretary of the Interior, today ordered acceleration of the Central Utah Project and Department action on specific related requests submitted August 13 in a resolution by the Ute Indian Tribe

Frizzell directed:

--award by the Bureau of Reclamation of a $26.9 million contract for construction of Vat Tunnel--the largest contract awarded to date for the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah Project;

Ownership of the 170-acre campus of the former Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City, Utah will be formally returned to the city in a ceremony to be held in the City Hall January 28.

John W. Fritz, the Interior Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, will give Mayor Peter C. Knudson a quit claim deed to the Congressman James V. Hansen CR. Utah) and the Brigham City council will be present.

Wyman J. McDonald, a member of the Flathead Indian Tribe, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Mescalero Agency in New Mexico. His appointment will be effective March 30.

He has been since 1971 executive director of Tri-State Tribes, Inc., in Billings Montana. This organization has been involved in training and other work with Indian Community Action Programs in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

The Assistant Secretary— Indian Affairs has made a final determination to acquire 10.36 acres, more or less, into trust for the Indians of the Tejon Indian Tribe. The Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs made the final determination on September 1, 2020.

The White House Conference on Indian Education's National Advisory Committee announces the appointment of Lionel Bordeaux (Rosebud Sioux), President of Sinte Gleska College in Rosebud, South Dakota, and Nora Garcia (Fort Mojave), Chairperson of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe which is headquartered in Needles, California, as Co-Chairs of their conference.

The selection of Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson as one of America's ten outstanding young men was described today as "symbolic of the achievements and progress of all American Indians," by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton.

"One of the reasons Morrie was given this honor was because he overcame the odds against a poor Athabascan Indian from the fish camps of the Yukon River. Today there are thousands of Indians overcoming similar odds and moving towards greatness in various fields," Morton said.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced that the Department's Fiscal Year 1992 $8.7 billion budget continues the Bush Administration's commitment to improving our Nation's human, cultural and natural resources. Underscoring Lujan's goal of responsible stewardship, the budget increases funding for the America the Beautiful and Legacy '99 initiatives and establishes a new Tribal Horizons program.

A 1975 calendar of Indian celebrations, ceremonials and other special events open to the public has been published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Included in the 60 page booklet is information on a variety of Indian arts and crafts fairs, native dances, rodeos, pow-wows, religious observances, historical commemorations, Indian athletic events and other tourist attractions.

In Alaska, for example, one is informed of events such as the World Eskimo Olympics, Native Foods Day -- offering fare such as Muktuk and caribou, shee fish, and snow shoe and dog sled races.

WASHINGTON - Today, just two weeks after U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the Department was forming a new Joint Task Force (JTF) to combat the opioid crisis in Indian Country, the Secretary announced the JTF's first raid seized 49 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of $2.5 million and more than $20,000 worth of marijuana, plus smaller amounts of heroin, and other narcotics. The raid was led by Interior's JTF with partnership from the Pueblo Tribes and New Mexico law enforcement officials.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced that President Bush intends to nominate Eddie Frank Brown to be Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Brown will assume his post at Interior following hearings before the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs and confirmation by the full Senate. He will be responsible for Interior programs serving more than 1.4 million Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States.