OPA

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs David W. Anderson today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has awarded $196,735 to the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon for a due diligence study for the Warm Springs Biomass Demonstration Project, an effort by the tribes to enhance an existing biomass electrical generating plant located on the reservation. The project is expected to lessen potential wildfires on the tribes’ lands by reducing wood waste and other fuels, as well as create new jobs and economic development opportunities for the tribes as a biomass power provider.

“I am very pleased to announce our support for the Warm Springs Tribes’ effort to develop a reservation-based biomass electrical generating plant,” Anderson said. “Not only will such a power plant create new jobs for the Warm Springs people, but their project will be a beacon for other forest resource tribes who are seeking solutions to their forestry fuels management and economic development needs.”

According to a U.S. Department of Energy 1999 National Renewable Energy Laboratory report, an average of 4.9 jobs are created for every megawatt of biomass energy produced. The enhanced Warm Springs plant is expected to produce 15 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy that will create 75 living wage jobs while preserving another 135 existing jobs at the tribes’ mill. In addition, the plant will use wood waste that could potentially fuel catastrophic wildfires, provide electricity to local utilities and state and federal governments and serve as a demonstration project for other forest resource tribes.

The Warm Springs Biomass Demonstration Project Due Diligence Study is needed to assure potential lenders and guarantors that the project will have an adequate forest resource base to rely on, a secured market for electricity produced and that appropriate financial pieces are in place. The study is scheduled to be completed next April.

In addition to helping the Warm Springs Tribes reach their economic and job development goals, the Warm Springs Demonstration Project also exemplifies several Interior Department and BIA initiatives, such as:

• IMPROVING FOREST HEALTH AND REDUCING FOREST FUELS by removing wood waste and other fuels and thinning dense stands of trees and undergrowth to significantly reduce the risk that national and tribal forests face from catastrophic wildfire, and to create healthier, more fire-resilient landscapes.
• SUPPORTING RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT by utilizing biomass created from fuels reduction activities in tribal forests for the production of renewable power.
• CREATING JOBS by enhancing the tribes’ existing plant to generate 15 MW of power that will create 75 living wage jobs while preserving 135 existing jobs at the tribal mill.
• IMPROVING AIR QUALITY by reducing the need for land management agencies and landowners to use the practice of openly burning forest fuels, which adds smoke, particulates and other pollutants to the atmosphere.
• SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGISLATION AND DEPARTMENTAL DIRECTIVES by providing a market in central Oregon for biomass material that will be created as a result of the implementation of President Bush’s Healthy Forests Initiative, Secretary Gale Norton’s Renewable Energy Plan, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, the Tribal Forest Protection Act, and Interior interagency agreements dealing with biomass utilization and fuel treatments.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department's trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination through economic self-sufficiency to the 562 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the BIA, which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.8 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the federally recognized tribes.

Washington - Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will address attendees at the 618t Annual National Congress of the American Indians Convention on Tuesday, October 12, 2004, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The theme for this year's convention is "Renewing the Vision: Setting a New Course for Indian Country."

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs will speak during the third general assembly held in the Grand Floridian at the Ft. Lauderdale / Broward Country Convention Center. He will provide the tribes with an update on the progress made by Indian Affairs in the areas of economic development, BIA Law Enforcement, education of Indian children, and other issues of interest to American Indians.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs is responsible for fulfilling the department's trust responsibilities to individual and tribal trust beneficiaries, as well as promotes tribal self determination, self-governance and economic development for the nation's 562 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and their 1.8 million members. The Assistant Secretary also manages the BIA, the 180-year old agency that provides services to individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the federally recognized tribes, and the BIA school system. The school system serves nearly 48,000 American Indian children in 184 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools found on or near 63 reservations in 23 states. The BIA runs one-third of these schools and the remaining two-thirds tribes run under BIA contracts or grants.

WHO: Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs David W. Anderson

WHAT: Speech to Attendees

WHERE: National Congress of the American Indian 618t Annual Conference in Orlando, FL Grand Floridian, Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center

WHEN: 8:40 -10:00 A.M. Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Washington - Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will speak at the Circle of Cultures: Time of Renewal and Exchange Opening Ceremony held at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND on October 22, 2004.

"Lewis and Clark played a significant role in shaping the history of our nation," said the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs. "But without the involvement of the American Indians they met along the way, it would have never been possible for them to achieve their goals."

"The Circle of Cultures: Time for Renewal and Exchange" is the ninth of fifteen events planned over the two and one half years of the commemoration. Beginning at President Thomas Jefferson's home of Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Commemoration retraces the steps of the expedition to the Pacific at Fort Clatsop, and back again.

Also speaking at the event will be Governor John Hoeven, North Dakota, Senator Kent Conrad, North Dakota, Senator Byron Dorgan, North Dakota, Congressman Earl Pomeroy, Tex Hall President, National Congress of the American Indian; Steve Adams, Superintendent, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, National Park Service, Gerard Baker, Superintendent, Mount Rushmore National Monument, National Park Service, Amy Mosset, Native American Involvement Coordinator, National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, Clay Jenkins, Clark Reenactor, historian, and David Borlaug, President, North Dakota Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Foundation.

What: Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs David W. Anderson

Why: Speaking at the Circle of Cultures: Time of Renewal and Exchange

Where: University of Mary, Bismarck, ND

When: Friday October 22, 2004 - 12:00 noon - 2PM

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will be in Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday, October 27, to lead a delegation in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new National Indian Programs Training Center. The delegation of the nation’s top Indian Affairs officials will also be joined by New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, who will be honored in ceremonies dedicating Bureau of Indian Affairs offices on the Albuquerque site as the Pete V. Domenici Indian Affairs Building.

“This new facility in Albuquerque is one part of the important commitment this administration is fulfilling to Indian country,” Assistant Secretary Anderson said today. “The federal employees at the Department of the Interior who serve Indian people are primarily tribal members themselves. This training center will prepare our current and future employees to provide improved service to Indian country. I am pleased to join in this special tribute to Senator Pete Domenici. This gathering will be in recognition of his distinguished service to all of the people of the United States and New Mexico.”

In addition to Senator Domenici, Assistant Secretary Anderson will be joined by Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer and Amadeo Shije, chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council, to honor Senator Domenici in dedicating the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices on the Old Indian School grounds across from the All Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.

After the ceremony there will be an open house and entertainment throughout the afternoon. The ceremony is sponsored by the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation.

WHAT: Groundbreaking Ceremony for the National Indian Programs Training Center and dedication of the Pete V. Domenici Building.

WHO: Senator Pete V. Domenici, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs David W. Anderson and Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer.

WHEN: Wednesday, October 27, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. (local time).

WHERE: 12th Street and Menaul N.W., Albuquerque, N.M. (across from the All Indian Pueblo Cultural Center).

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives, who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.

ALBUQUERQUE – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson says the planned construction of the new National Indian Programs Training Center here is part of an ongoing effort to improve the delivery of federal services to Indian country. Assistant Secretary Anderson joined New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility and a separate dedication of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices on the Albuquerque site as the Pete V. Domenici Indian Affairs Building.

Assistant Secretary Anderson presided over the events that included a delegation of the nation’s top Indian Affairs officials, including Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer. The chairman of the All Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC), Amadeo Shije, also participated in today’s ceremony.

“Establishing the National Indian Programs Training Center in Albuquerque places a key facility in the effort to improve the quality of service for Indian people within ready access of the nation’s most populous American Indian community,” Assistant Secretary Anderson said today. “Construction will begin in about 30 days, and when it is complete, the center will be available for training Interior employees, as well as tribal employees engaged in trust services. This will be the center for a unified approach to training that will develop a strong program expertise on behalf of Indian country.”

Assistant Secretary Anderson also said he was proud to recognize the achievements of New Mexico’s senior United States Senator:

“Senator Pete Domenici has been a tireless supporter of Indian programs, so it is fitting that we also take this opportunity to recognize his record of achievement by designating the new building housing many BIA offices in his honor.”

Indian dancers and drummers were featured at the ceremony, followed by a traditional Indian feast. The event was sponsored by the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation, the development arm of the All Indian Pueblo Council.

The existing 150,000 square foot building – on the 12th Street site of the old Albuquerque Indian School – opened in February 2004. It houses the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office, Southern Pueblos Agency and the Office of Law Enforcement Services, as well as the Department of the Interior’s Environmental Policy Regional Office. Located just west of the Pete V. Domenici Indian Affairs Building, the National Indian Programs Training Center will take up approximately one-third of the new 150,000 square-foot building, which will be connected to the Domenici Building by an interior hallway. It is expected that other BIA agencies located throughout Albuquerque will move into the new building when the design-build construction is completed.

The National Indian Programs Training Center will be a hub for training all BIA employees associated with delivering fiduciary and trust services, employees of the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) and tribal employees involved in trust reform and self-determination programs. The facility will be equipped with modern classrooms and employ state-of-the-art computer hardware for consistent training. In fiscal year 2005, BIA and OST will spend a minimum of $11.7 million for employee training.

The 44-acre Albuquerque Indian School site, located at 12th Street and Menaul, is Indian trust land held for the AIPC. It is being developed by the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation.

The new building will be similar in design to the Domenici Building, which features large open office areas with energy efficient and cost savings office automation technical centers for up to 403 employees. The architect for both buildings is Design Collaborative Southwest of Albuquerque. The Domenici Building was the first government facility to be located on Indian trust land within Albuquerque’s central business district. The firm of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini served as the interior design architect for the Domenici Building

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President George W. Bush has signed into law a measure championed by U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado and supported by Interior Secretary Gale Norton that will reform American Indian probate rules and will help facilitate the consolidation of Indian land ownership across the nation. The legislation introduced by Sen. Campbell, chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, was passed by both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate under 'unanimous consent' rules - meaning no member of Congress expressed opposition to the measure.

The American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004 (S. 1721) provides valuable tools to the Department of the Interior, Tribal governments, and individual Indians to facilitate the consolidation of Indian land ownership in order to restore economic viability to Indian assets.

"The swift consideration and enactment of this important legislation reflects this administration's commitment to Indian Trust issues," Secretary Norton said today. "This measure is one of the pieces necessary for true Trust reform."

"This legislation provides us with tools to help improve probate and to help tackle the complicated issue of fractionation," Assistant Secretary -Indian Affairs David Anderson said. "The federal government and Indian leaders have a mutual interest in promoting economic viability on lands that are rapidly becoming converted into an unmanageable mosaic of tiny interests due to fractionated ownership. This is one more step in the right direction."

Ross Swimmer, the Special Trustee for American Indians, echoed the importance of the legislation: "The ownership of many disparate, uneconomic, small interests has limited benefit in Indian country. It has been feeding an administrative burden that continues to drain resources and attention away from other beneficial Indian programs. This new law is a meaningful step in our effort to improve the quality of Trust management services throughout Indian country."

The legislation provides a clearer method to pass individual Indian land ownership from one generation to the next - creating a uniform federal Indian probate code instead of the multiple individual state laws that now govern Indian probate activity. This new law establishes a definition of highly fractionated lands, allows small interests in land to pass exclusively to single heirs when there is no will involved, and allows greater flexibility for individuals and Tribes to consolidate and acquire interests during the probate process. The measure makes the Department of the Interior's Land Acquisition Pilot Program permanent and allows a Tribe or a co-owner to request a sale of a highly fractionated parcel of land for the purposes of making that parcel whole under one individual owner.

Secretary Norton today recognized Sen. Campbell's role in introducing the legislation and successfully seeing it enacted in his last term in office:

"Historians will have much to consider when reflecting upon the legacy of Senator Campbell's service to Indian people and this nation. This legislation will surely be considered among Senator Campbell's most significant achievements."

WASHINGTON - Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles said today the Department is gratified by a ruling issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia - a ruling which largely reverses a U.S. District Court injunction issued more than one year ago in the long-running Indian Trust case. Today's ruling is now the third consecutive time that the circuit court has broadly reversed significant rulings by Judge Royce Lamberth in the case.

Today's appellate court ruling sharply limits the lower court's oversight role in the trust management activity of the Department. Today's opinion noted: "... the court may not micromanage court-ordered reform efforts undertaken to comply with general trust duties enumerated by the court, and then subject defendants to findings of contempt for failure to implement such reforms." The circuit court has already reversed an earlier contempt citation issued by the district court.

The ruling handed down today also sharply criticizes the district court's methods in imposing numerous compliance requirements on the Department saying "rather than acting to assure that 'agency action' conforms to the law, the [district] court has sought to make the law conform to the court's views as to how the trusts may best be run."

"The Department is pleased with today's ruling," Deputy Secretary Griles said. "This important ruling is a watershed victory for individual Indian account holders, for the Interior Department and its employees, for Congress, and for American taxpayers. With this ruling, the appellate court has recognized the Department's ongoing determination to fulfill its duties to account for individual Indian Trust funds."

"The Interior Department has invested hundreds of millions 6f dollars on this issue since this lawsuit was filed back in 1996," Griles said. "In recent years, the Department has conducted more than 30,000 intricate accountings of individual Indian money accounts, found almost no discrepancies exceeding $1, and no evidence of systemic accounting irregularities. When combined, the net of the discrepancies uncovered in this multi-million-dollar effort amounts to merely hundreds of dollars. It's no wonder, then, that the appellate court has repeated the concerns of Congress, which lead many to believe that the litigation is succeeding only in enriching accountants, lawyers and consultants while producing little benefit for actual Indian account holders."

The circuit court order vacates the district court's ruling last year which subjected Interior to a court specified historic accounting plan saying the order has no basis in current law. The order also vacates virtually all of the trust reform requirements imposed by the district court.

Today's ruling points to concerns raised by a committee of the U.S. Congress that the district court rulings were out of sync with congressional intent. In its opinion, the Court of Appeals noted:

The committee "reject[ed] the notion that in passing the American Indian Trust Management Reform Act of 1994 Congress had any intention of ordering an accounting on the scale of that which has now been ordered by the Court. Such an expansive and expensive undertaking would certainly have been judged to be a poor use of Federal and trust resources." H.R. Conf. Rep. 108-330, at 118

The sharp reversal is the second such action in as many weeks from the circuit court. Last week, in vacating the district court's order disconnecting Interior's information technology [IT] systems from the Internet, the circuit court noted that "it was error to shift the burden of persuasion to the Secretary to show why disconnecting most of Interior' s IT systems was unnecessary to ensure the security of IITD [individual Indian trust data], and the error was not harmless."

The Court of Appeals has criticized the district court for attempting to "resolve the state of Interior's IT systems security without conducting a hearing on the evidence in dispute."

Deputy Secretary Griles said it was significant that today's ruling is the third consecutive occasion for the appellate court to reverse the district court in the landmark case.

"We endorse this court's clarion call for a final settlement - a settlement that would lift the cloud of uncertainty and false hope that has enveloped Indian country in the wake of this acrimonious case," Griles said.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson will attend the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BCGA) 2005 Native American Summit in Phoenix, Ariz., next month where he will sign a cooperative agreement with the organization to establish BCGA Indian Clubs at or near schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The summit will take place Feb. 1-3 at the Embassy Suites Hotel Phoenix-North.

The Assistant Secretary will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage cooperation and collaboration between BCGA and the BIA’s Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP) to address alcohol and drug abuse, gang activity, violence and other issues that adversely affect Indian students while promoting positive alternatives for at-risk children.

The Assistant Secretary oversees the BIA, the 180-year old agency that serves the 562 Federally recognized tribes and their members, and the BIA school system. BIA-funded schools serve approximately 48,000 American Indian children in 184 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools located on or near 63 reservations in 23 states. One-third of these schools are directly operated by the bureau. The rest are tribally operated under BIA contracts or grants.

WHO: Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson

WHAT: Assistant Secretary Anderson will be attending the Boys & Girls Clubs of America 2005 Native American Summit and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with BGCA to establish Indian clubs at or near BIA-funded schools.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 1, 2005 The program begins at 12:00 noon (local time). The signing will take place at approximately 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Embassy Suites Hotel Phoenix-North, Salon C, 2577 W. Greenway Rd., Phoenix, Ariz.

Note to Editors: Credentialed media covering the event should be in place by 1:15 p.m. Press seating will be provided.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is one of several major sponsors of “RES 2005,” the 19th Annual National Reservation Economic Summit & American Indian Business Trade Fair, which will be held Feb. 7-10, 2005, at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nev. The BIA also will host one of four conference tracks and Anderson will be the keynote speaker at the RES 2005 Indian Business Achievement Awards Luncheon on Feb. 10.

“We are pleased and proud to support RES 2005, which is an important venue for strengthening tribal economies and promoting Indian entrepreneurship,” Anderson said. “Indian country is a valued contributor to the national economy. We will continue to do our part to help tribes create a path to prosperity.”

The summit and trade fair is an annual event held by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED), a non-profit business management organization that seeks to develop and expand the American Indian private sector through employment, entrepreneurship and economic development.

The Bureau will conduct seminars at this year’s event on how tribes can develop their political, legal and corporate infrastructures and diversify their economies. Other seminars for tribes in the BIA track will focus on accessing capital, leveraging and maximizing federal and private sector resources, success stories, and lessons learned. The Bureau also will highlight its programs that support tribal governance and business development.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities to individual and tribal trust beneficiaries, as well as promoting tribal self-determination, self-governance and economic development for the nation’s 562 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and their 1.8 million members. Information on NCAIED and RES 2005 can be found at www.ncaied.org.

Secretary Gale Norton:
"Convinced Indian Country is Better Off Because You Served"
Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason
to Temporarily Assume Responsibilities of Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs

(WASHINGTON) - Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Dave Anderson today announced his decision to resign, effective February 12, 2005.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Assistant Secretary Anderson said that, "I have concluded that I can have the greatest impact to improve the future of Indian Country, not by managing the day-to-day operations of BIA programs, but by focusing my time on developing private sector economic opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs."

In response, Secretary Norton wrote, "It is with both understanding and regret that I received your letter today informing me of your decision to resign as Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, effective February 12, 2005."

"On behalf of President Bush, I thank you for your service, and I am convinced that Indian Country is better off because you served. You can take justifiable pride in your efforts to improve Indian education, law enforcement, and trust services. You have also been a terrific role model to young people in Indian Country. I have received many reports from people who have been encouraged by your message of hope, self-reliance, and belief in the personal worth and dignity of each Native American."

Secretary Norton also announced that she will be working with the White House and leaders in Indian Country to select a new Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. In the meantime, Jim Cason, currently Associate Deputy Secretary, will be tasked with fulfilling the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. For the past three-and-a half-years, Cason has worked extensively on a variety of Indian issues including law enforcement, land management and fractionation, trust responsibilities, historical accounting, and probate.

In his letter to Secretary Norton, Assistant Secretary Dave Anderson said, "Working with President Bush, Bureau of Indian Affairs staff, the more than 560 federally recognized Indian tribes, your staff and you, we made this a year of remarkable progress in Indian Country. Our accomplishments include:

• An additional $32.4 million in higher education funding was provided for BIA-managed schools as a result of President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act.
• Key components of the No Child Left Behind Act will be implemented in a soon to be published final rule, following extensive consultation with Indian country.
• A new Replacement School Construction List was developed to establish priority funding for Indian Country schools that have critical health and safety concerns .
• Thousands of safety and security improvements were made in Indian country detention centers .
• A new American Indian Records Repository was dedicated, in order to preserve and consolidate Indian records that are essential to carry out Interior's trust reform responsibilities.
• Ground was broken on a new National Indian Programs Training Center as part of an effort to improve the delivery of federal services to Indian country."

Assistant Secretary Anderson added, "Perhaps more important are the countless opportunities I had to meet with Indian parents, teachers and children to encourage them to reach their potential, to climb the academic ladder of achievement and prepare them to become contributing members of their families and tribes."

Anderson's letter to Secretary Norton concluded by saying "More than you can imagine, I am honored by the trust President Bush and you placed in me by asking me to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. To lead Indian Country for the past year has been a great honor and valuable experience. As I return to private life, my experiences this past year have better prepared me to encourage all those in Indian Country to achieve their God-given potential."

The letters exchanged between Secretary Norton and Assistant Secretary Anderson can be found at https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/archive/news/archive/05_News_Releases/050131a.htm