Past News Items

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk will deliver a keynote address at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Mid-Year Conference on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, in Milwaukee, Wis. Echo Hawk will be speaking on the accomplishments and progress made by Indian Affairs over the last 24 months. He will address such topics as: federal Indian policy, economic development, restoration of homelands, Indian energy development, safe communities, education, Indian gaming, and Indian Affairs leadership.

Approximately 20 percent of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) agricultural water supply available under Arizona's basic entitlement to water from the Colorado River has been allocated to five Indian tribes by Secretary of the Interior Thomas S. Kleppe.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard said today (December 4) that the challenge of educating Indian children is in the hands of tribal governments.

Gerard, speaking to the eleventh annual convention of the National Indian Education Association in Denver, said the tribes face a challenge "to raise a whole child, to instruct the intellect in the laws of nature, to educate a nation." "Children of the 1980's will determine the future of the Indian people," he said.

SPOKANE, WASH. — The third government-to-government tribal consultation regarding the Indian Affairs Administrative Organizational Assessment Draft Report and Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education streamlining plans starts Thursday, April 26, 2012 at the Northern Quest Resort and Casino, Wash. The two-day consultation is the third of seven that will take place around the country in Arizona, Florida, South Dakota, Oklahoma, California and Alaska. The first was held in Miami on April 12 and 13, 2012.

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.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today announced the awarding of a $73,948 contract to the Ruud Construction Company, Spokane, Washington, for the construction of seven bridges on the Colville Indian reservation in central Washington.

The bridges are part of a construction program for the summer of 1957 which will provide better farm-to-market and school bus and mail route roads on the reservation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of the Interior today announced that there is a 15-day extension to the public comment period on the Cobell Land Consolidation Draft Plan. The public comment period will now end on April 3, 2012.

The Cobell Land Consolidation Program will not be implemented until all court approvals are final; however, Interior has prepared the draft plan to continue the tribal consultation on the development of the program.

Morris Thompson, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, announced today that four American Indian tribal councils in the Great Lakes Area have been awarded contracts totaling over $90,000 under the Tribal Government Development Program of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in order that their governments can be made more effective.

The four tribal councils are Red Cliff Tribal Council, Bayfield, Wisc., $22, 000; Bad River Tribal Council, Ashland, Wisc., $24,850; Bay Mills Executive Council, Brimley, Mich., $25,000; and St. Croix Chippewa Council, Webster, Wisc., $18,850.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today urged enactment of four Congressional bills which would in combination bring an end to Federal trusteeship over the property and affairs of 38 small Indian reservations or “rancherias” in California in line with recommendations made by the Indian owners.

Washington, April 27, 2011—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack welcomed St. Louis Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford to the Agriculture Department today and joined him in urging Native American youth to spend the summer pursuing healthy outdoor activities. Bradford, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, participated with over 30 Native American students at USDA's People's Garden in planting a Native American garden, called The Roots of American Agriculture.