Past News Items

The Department of the Interior today announced the election of five incorporators of the thirteenth region established for the benefit of Alaska Natives who are not permanent residents of Alaska and who elected to be enrolled in such a region under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

The incorporators were elected in a mail ballot of adult thirteenth region enrollees. The enrollees voted on a list of 24 nominees submitted to the Department by organizations representing non-resident Alaska Natives.

The Interior Department today released a legal opinion that two California Indian tribes are entitled to enough Klamath-Trinity basin salmon to support a moderate living standard, or 50 percent of the harvest, whichever is less.

The opinion, signed by Interior Solicitor John D. Leshy, notes that when the Hoopa Valley and Yurek Reservations were created, the U.S. government reserved a federally protected fishing right for the two tribes.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that the Douglas Construction Company of Topeka, Kansas, has been awarded a $3.5 million contract to build new facilities at the Haskell Indian Junior College, Lawrence, Kansas.

The contract calls for the construction of a new learning resource center and a kitchen-dining building.

The learning resource center, with approximately 34,800 square feet of floor area, will house a library and provide facilities for media production and distribution, photography processing, TV studio, offices and classrooms.

Sidney L. Mills, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' office of trust responsibilities, has been appointed director of the BIA's area office at Albuquerque, New Mexico, Ross Swimmer, Interior assistant secretary for Indian affairs announced today.

Mills, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, served as the Albuquerque area director from 1978 to 1982, before coming to Washington for the position in trust responsibilities. Both positions are at the senior executive service level.

The lead agency coordinating the federal response to COVID-19 is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Emergency Management (OEM) are supporting this by planning and implementing DOI’s response.

Secretary of the Interior Don Hodel and Health and Human Services Secretary Otis Bowen, M.D., have signed a memorandum of agreement to coordinate implementation of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. A portion of the law is devoted to the prevention and treatment of alcohol and substance abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives.

A plan for the distribution and use of more than $16 million awarded to the Chiricahua Apache Indians by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today. The plan, approved by Congress, has an effective date of March 16.

The award represents payment for more than 15 million acres of land in New Mexico and Arizona taken without compensation on September 4, 1886, when Apache Chief Geronimo and his followers surrendered to the United States forces.

Forty-three Indian tribal leaders and officials of the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will meet September 4-6 in Bismarck, N.D. to discuss the reorganization of the BIA.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today the appointment of Juanita Cata as Assistant Area Director (Education) for the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Albuquerque Area. She has held this position in an acting capacity since the retirement of Henry Wall.

Cata, a member of the San Juan Pueblo, has completed Ph. D. course requirements at the University of Albuquerque. She graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1961 and earned a Master's in elementary education from the same university in 1967.

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