Past News Items

Thanks to a newly developed process that streamlines the planning, design, and construction of Indian schools, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will be able to complete new schools in half the time or less. This means that the current seven to eight years that it has taken to build or renovate a school 'will now require only three years or less.

Calling it "a tremendous step forward in addressing the needs of technologically needy students on remote Indian reservations," Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced today that Microsoft Corporation has contributed over $350,000 in software, computers and cash to Four Directions, a project of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that will electronically link Indian schools using the Internet and provide new technology opportunities to Native American students in eight states.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs will represent the Department of the Interior at the signing ceremony of Truckee River Water Quality Settlement Agreement, in Reno, Nevada. The execution of this agreement ends a long standing emotionally charged lawsuit initiated by The Pyramid Lake Tribe against the Cities of Reno, Sparks, the State of Nevada, and the EPA This agreement establishes a joint program to improve water quality in the Truckee River through purchase and dedication of water rights and to use treatment plant effluent in place of fresh water for certain uses.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced today that the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the United States Geological Survey have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement to provide support for science and environmental education at the elementary and secondary levels in the BIA school system.

The MOA was signed last week by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Ada E. Deer mid Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, Patricia Beneke and was officially announced at the 27th., Annual National Indian Education Association convention held in Rapid City this week.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced that 177 federally-recognized tribes representing 18 tribal grantees are currently participating in a demonstration project that allows for the integration of the employment, training and related services provided by formula-funded programs from three federal agencies.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced that the United States Supreme Court granted the federal government's petition for writ of certiorari on October 15, 1996 (95-1956) to review a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The Eighth Circuit's decision entered on November 7, 1995 (69 F. 3d 878) concluded that Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power.

President Clinton has signed an executive order that expands opportunities for federal assistance to tribal colleges and universities that serve approximately 25,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students. At the request of the White House, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt made the announcement in Phoenix, AZ, today before the opening session of the National Congress of American Indians.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, invites everyone to participate in a POW WOW sponsored by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Equal Employment Office and the Bureau's Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) in celebration of National American Indian Heritage Month. The POW WOW will be held outside (weather permitting) and open to the public. This event will feature music, traditional dance, storytelling, cultural displays, and Native American lore. The activity will also feature representatives from various Native American organizations.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (the Service) within the Department of the Interior, carried out Federal search and arrest warrants in the four corners area (New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah) today. This federal action is a culmination of a two-year undercover investigation which has been conducted by the Service, into the killing and selling of eagles and other protected migratory birds.

Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announces the dedication of a new Jr/Sr High School at Fort Hall, Idaho for the Shoshone-Bannock. Federal, state and tribal agencies worked cooperatively to provide funding for the construction of this new school. The school is designed in traditional motif and is considered one of the most beautiful educational facilities in the State of Idaho. The facility will offer state-of-the-art equipment, resources, and instruction for the Fort Hall Indian Community.