Past News Items

Under Secretary Frank A. Bracken said today the Department of the Interior already has begun correcting problems identified in a just released Senate report on Indian Affairs, and will continue cooperative efforts with the Congress and the Tribes to improve programs

Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Eddie F. Brown is enlisting Indian tribal leaders and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees as part of an intensive program to combat the sexual abuse of Indian children.

The Department of the Interior's Assistant Secretary .for Indian Affairs, Eddie F. Brown, today announced the appointment of Patrick A. Hayes as Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for Trust and Economic Development. The 44-year-old enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe has been acting in the position for the past several months. The appointment is effective immediately.

Secretary of the Interior, Manuel Lujan, today announced that Indian schooling will be the top educational priority of the Department. Lujan, who earlier this year toured Indian schools with the Secretary of Education, said that we must place renewed emphasis on ensuring that our Native American students receive a quality education.

The Department of Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Eddie F. Brown, today announced the appointment of Walter R. Mills as Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for Operations. Mills, a 17-year employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Pine Ridge, S.D., has been acting in the position since last month. His new appointment is effective September 24.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan will visit Scottsdale, Arizona, September 15, 1989, to sign the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Water Rights Settlement Act. The ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m., at the Tribal Headquarters, 10005 East Osborne, in Scottsdale.

The agreement provides for the settlement of longstanding water right claims with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Under the pact, 122,400 acre feet of water will be delivered annually to the Indian community for the irrigation of 27,200 acres of agricultural land.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan announced today the formation of a Working Group on Indian Water Settlements, which will report to Interior's Water Policy Council.

The Group's primary tasks will be to establish a set of principles to guide Indian water settlements; assist in the work of negotiating teams dealing with such settlements; and. keep the Council apprised of upcoming actions and report to the Council on the progress of ongoing negotiations, particularly when key decision points are approached.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Thomas W. Fredericks announced today that proposed regulations governing business practices on Indian reservations were published January 6 in the Federal Register.

Ken Smith, a Wasco Indian from Oregon nominated by President Reagan to be the Department of Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, told members of the Senate Select Indian Affairs Committee his ''beliefs and philosophy" on Indian matters at a confirmation hearing April 28.

With tribal council members from Smith's Warm Springs Reservation in full regalia in the hearing room, Smith expressed his belief "in the strengths of Indian people which have enabled them to endure and survive as a people through adversities and oppressions unparalleled in history."

Kenneth Payton, Bureau of Indian Affairs deputy area director in Albuquerque, New Mexico has been detailed to Washington, D.C. for not more than 120 days to serve as the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Payton will begin his assignment as operational head of the BIA on April 20, Interior Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, James Canan said today.