OPA

Assistant Interior Secretary for Indian Affairs Eddie F Brown today announced the appointment of John W. Tippeconnic as Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs in Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

"I am pleased that John Tippeconnic has agreed to direct our education program. We continue to have the strong support of President Bush and Secretary Manuel Lujan for the improvement of education at all levels and we are committed to working with Indian tribes to improve education at our Bureau funded schools," Brown said. "John Tippeconnic is a dedicated public administrator with an extensive background in education -- including Indian education -- and has the experience to lead our efforts." Tippeconnic, an enrolled member of the Comanche Indian Tribe of Oklahoma, has served for the past two years as Director of the Office of Indian Education in the U.S. Department of Education. His new appointment was effective July 13.

"It is an honor for me to head up the education program in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I look forward to working with Dr. Brown, the tribes, and school boards to continue the improvements made in Indian education," Tippeconnic said. Tippeconnic, 49, has more than 26 years’ experience in the' field of education. He began his career in 1966 after obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree at Oklahoma State University as a classroom teacher in the Albuquerque, N.M. public school system. He later taught for four years in a BIA-funded school in Tuba City, Arizona, also served as vice-president and assistant to the president of Navajo Community College in Arizona, and spent one year on the staff of Pennsylvania State University·.

In 1978 he joined the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and in 1980 became Director of the Center" for Indian Education arid Assistant Professor at Arizona State University. He held various positions including Associate Professor of Education at Arizona State, until he returned to the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. as Director of the Office of Indian Education. He has remained in that position until the time of his present appointment. The new education director has a Master in Education from Pennsylvania State University and in 1975, received his Ph.D. from the same University. He is a member of the Senior Executive service. During his 26-year career, he has served on numerous state and national education related committees including President of the Arizona Native American Education Association, Program Chair for the American Indian/Alaska Native Education Special Interest Group, and the American Educational Research Association.

Tippeconnic is married to the former Debra Milone. They have one son and reside in Falls Church, Virginia.

The accomplishments of Patrick A. Hayes, Esq., former Area Director of the Albuquerque Area Office will be recognized at the graduation ceremony of the Water Resource and Engineering Surveying Technical Training Programs on August 15, 1996, Hilda Manuel, Deputy Commissioner for Indian Affairs announced today. The Water Resource Technical Training is being held at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico in August 1996 through September 1996.

"Mr. Hayes, while Director, Office of Trust Responsibilities, was instrumental in promoting, developing and instructing the BIA's innovative Water Resource and Engineering Surveying Technical Training Programs," Ms. Manuel said. "Without Pat's commitment and dedication to this initiative, it could not have been the overwhelming success that it is today. In addition, to providing much needed training for Indian tribal governments regarding a very important tribal resource, 100% of the participants complete the program." The first Water Resource program was initiated in 1993. It began with sixteen students selected from a field of 115 applicants. The participants represented fifteen different tribes from a wide cross-section of the United States.

Since 1993 the popularity of this initiative has grown. There have now been 455 applications with a total of 122 students attending and completing the course. The objectives of this training initiative are to build tribal capabilities by providing American Indian individuals with practical skills to deal with physical, environmental, economic, legal, administrative, and cultural aspects of water resource development and management, and to enable the tribes to do their own surveying tasks. What is particularly unique about this training initiative is that it requires abstinence from drugs and alcohol throughout the I-year on-the job training. Graduates have gone on to complete further educational goals and have been promoted to more demanding, more highly paid job opportunities.

Mr. Hayes was born in Webster, South Dakota, on November 26, 1944 and was an enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. He began work for the BIA after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government/Political Science in 1966. His BIA career was interrupted by military service (1967 - 1970) and to attend the University of New Mexico, Law School (1971 - 1974).

"Mr. Hayes held many significant, managerial positions for the Bureau and we are very grateful for his untiring work, dedication and contributions," Ms. Manuel said. Some of the positions Mr. Hayes held within the BIA were; Enrollment Coordinator for Alaska Native Enrollment Office, Anchorage, Alaska, Judicial Services Officer, Division Chief for Tribal Government Services, Superintendent, Colorado River Agency, Parker, e Arizona, he entered the Senior Executive Service in 1986, Realty Officer for the Phoenix Area, Phoenix, Arizona, Assistant Area Director for Indian Programs in the Phoenix Area, Deputy to the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs (Trust and Economic Development), Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Area Director, Billings, Area Director, Albuquerque.

Mr. Hayes, who dedicated his entire professional career to Indian Affairs, is being recognized for his ingenuity and support for the Water Resource and Engineering Surveying Technical Training Programs as well as his tenure and exemplary leadership as the Director, Office of Trust Responsibilities. "Mr. Hayes was truly a good Chief, Indian leader, mentor and friend to many individuals within the Bureau. Pat's loss has been deeply felt at the Bureau. I am sure that the American Indian people he served and his coworkers join me in this expression of our gratitude," Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs said.

PATRICK A. HAYES, Esq., 1944 - 1995

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.

"The educational materials made available to the Bureau-funded schools by the USGS will provide a much needed resource for our teachers and students," Ms. Deer said. "They will provide access to science activities that will engage our students in hands on, minds on activities. In addition, these resources will be augmented by scientists working with our teachers as mentors and with students to highlight careers in science. I look forward to the enrichment programs this agreement will provide to our schools located throughout the nation."

The task of supporting science education is not a new one for the employees of the USGS. The USGS has made extensive and varied efforts in educational outreach to many American Indian and Alaska Native students and teachers, such as USGS hands-on workshops in rock identification, map reading, and mining activities for Alaska Native high school students from villages throughout Alaska held this past June.

"The Memorandum of Agreement will help expand exposure of American Indian students to important science, providing valuable real life educational opportunities," Ms. Beneke said. The MOA establishes a task force of representatives from the BIA Office of Indian Education Programs and the USGS. The task force will identify a point of contact in each state in the OIEP system to help identify, coordinate, and distribute the educational resources currently offered by USGS. The task force also will assess how currently available USGS educational resources meet teachers' needs and make recommendations to improve the process.

On October 15, the Assistant Secretaries traveled to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to provide teachers, administrators, school board members, and tribal government leaders an overview of the material and resources available through the USGS.

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.

President Clinton's Executive Order recognizes, for the first time, a government-wide federal commitment to tribal colleges. This order will: promote tribal sovereignty and individual achievement; strengthen tribal colleges and universities; offer expanded learning and future career opportunities for tribal members; improve tribal higher education so more tribal members will continue on to four-year institutions. This Executive Order also will advance National Education Goals and federal policy in Indian education.

President Clinton's approval of the Executive Order for Tribal Colleges and Universities promotes the same successful strategies as two other higher-education Executive Orders that he signed for Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1993 and for Hispanic Serving Institutions in 1994.

"This Executive Order makes a solid connection between this Administration's priority to improve education and its ongoing efforts to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribes and tribal self-sufficiency," said Babbitt, who chairs the Working Group on American Indians and Alaska Natives of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

"We thank President Clinton for signing this Executive Order on behalf of American Indian tribes and their youth," said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada E. Deer, who co-chairs the Working Group's Subgroup on Education. "This action also promotes the preservation and revitalization of American Indian and Alaska Native languages and cultural traditions."

To carry out these goals, the order calls for the creation of a presidentially appointed board of advisors and a White House Initiative Office within the Department of Education. Each participating federal agency, including the Interior Department, will be required to prepare a five-year plan that details how it will assist tribal colleges in participating in federal programs, address barriers to funding opportunities, and eliminate inequalities and disadvantages. Annual progress reports also will be prepared by the agencies for review by the Secretary of Education in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The tribal colleges are:

The Quileute Tribe of LaPush, Washington, today became the first federally recognized tribal nation to contract with the Federal Telecommunications Service to receive low rates and reliable service for voice, data, and video transmission service.

"As we approach the 21st Century, it is imperative that tribes and tribal members--especially our young people--have economical access to the Information Age," said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada E. Deer during a signing ceremony today in the office of the U.S. General Services Administration Acting Administrator David J. Barram. Through a new service agreement that is available, the nation's 554 federally recognized tribes can now realize considerable savings and expand the use of new technology such as the Internet for schools, economic development, and other tribal needs.

Quileute tribal representative Sherman Black signed the FTS 2000 service agreement that he said will allow the tribe to economically use long-distance services for videoconferencing, data transmission, and phone calls. "I am honored to be the first to sign this agreement. This agreement will provide new long-distance service to our community and school in LaPush - and with substantial savings over our current commercial long-distance service rates," Black said. The Quileute Tribe can now use the FTS 2000 for such tribal programs as law enforcement, a fishery, and a school.

"This agreement supports the' Clinton Administration's objectives of strengthening intergovernmental partnerships, providing access to the information superhighway, and increasing the use of technology to streamline financial services," said GSA Acting Administrator Barram.

Tribes interested in learning more about the FTS 2000 services can contact Alvin Woods at (703) 7ffJ7568 or Julie Belindo at (703) 904-2803.

Interior Department representatives today strongly defended the rights of American Indian tribes to tribal self-determination. "Centuries of tribal rights of self-government and self-determination should under no circumstance be abridged based on mere anecdotal evidence," said Interior Department Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs Derril Jordan today during a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on Tribal Sovereign Immunity.

Jordan cautioned that hasty action should not be taken to limit long-held Tribal Sovereign Immunity based on anecdotal evidence provided by a few people. "Arguments alleging bias against non-tribal litigants in tribal courts are based on anecdotal evidence that is often inconclusive or not probative." He explained that the Office of the Solicitor, Division of Indian Affairs, is not aware of any problems surrounding the longstanding doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, but has consistently been informed of serious problems in Indian Country as have members of the Committee. "This Committee is keenly aware of the conditions that exist on most reservations. Tribal infrastructure for roads, community water and sewer services, and other amenities that most non-Indian communities take for granted are either absent or woefully inadequate." Jordan advised Committee members that abridgement of Sovereign Immunity can only make matters worse on reservations. He added that it will certainly lead to frivolous lawsuits resulting in bankruptcy and the end of tribal self-government as well as prolific overburdening of the Federal District Courts.

Tribes are faced with enormous problems, and not enough resources, Jordan said. "Health conditions are generally poor, and suicide, alcoholism, and unemployment rates on most reservations are far above those of the rest of the country. Whatever the source of tribal revenues, the needs of the overwhelming number of tribal communities far exceed the available financial resources." Jordan cautioned that the receipt and use of Federal funds could be diverted from providing for the needs of tribal peoples to supporting litigation costs run up by frivolous lawsuits. "There is no documented need for Congress to waive unilaterally Tribal Sovereign Immunity. Such a sweeping curtailment of tribal sovereignty would be reminiscent of the Termination Era."

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover said today that any problems between States and Tribes can be resolved through the government-to-government negotiation process. "The best way to resolve conflicts between governments is to sit down together and find a solution. Government-to-government negotiations are the proven and just way to resolve conflicts." More than 200 agreements between Tribes and States have been negotiated and are in effect concerning taxation and other issues.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan and Chairman Merlyn Dixon of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribes of Nevada today signed agreements settling water disputes dating back to the early years of this century.

"The agreements mark a big step forward toward final resolution of the dispute between the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribes and the U.S. Government," Lujan said. "This will allow the Tribes and the U.S. Government to put the conflicts of the past behind them, and work toward a better future." The agreements will implement provisions of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribal Settlement Act which includes a million endowment fund for the tribe. The $43 million is to be paid in installments over a six-year period. The tribes can use interest from the fund for economic development and other purposes. Up to 20 percent of the fund can be loaned to the tribes for certain purposes but must be repaid.

The agreements settle disputes that arose from construction of the first major Federal reclamation project, The Newlands Project of 1902.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today announced the appointment of Dr. Jonathan Haas as the seventh member of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee. Haas is Vice President for Collections and Research at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He joins Rachel Craig, Dan Monroe, Tessie Naranjo, Dr. Martin Sullivan, William Tallbull and Dr. Philip Walker as members of the committee. Lujan selected Haas from a list of nominees developed by members of the committee at their first meeting April 29-May 1 1992, in Washington, D.C

The committee was authorized by Congress to monitor, review and assist in the implementation of certain requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. It will advise the Secretary of the Interior on regulations needed for implementing the law and other matters, including resolution of disputes caused by the requirements of the statute.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Eddie F. Brown today told a U.S. Senate committee that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is moving to implement a plan to resolve problems in management of the $2 billion Indian trust fund. "The plan will guide BIA to high levels of service excellence for our customers, the tribal and individual Indian trust account owners," Brown said in testimony prepared for the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Brown and BIA Deputy Commissioner David Matheson said that key elements for the strategic plan include four primary goals and 50-plus action items, the implementation of which has already begun. The four strategic goals are:

1. Collect, account for, invest, distribute and provide information on trust funds in an accurate and timely manner;
2. Resolve past accounting and distribution problems as they affect tribes and individual account holders;
3. Aid tribes and Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders in achieving their self-determination, self-sufficiency and economic development goals to the extent consistent with BIA fiduciary responsibilities; and
4. Identify, correct or ameliorate to the extent possible, external deficiencies and inherent complexities that make trust fund accountability difficult.

Matheson said the so-count action plans cover the spectrum of deficiencies cited in oversight reviews of BIA's trust funds management operations. "Specific action plans cover implementation of the Chief Financial Officer's Act of 1990, BIA staffing, recruitment and training, reviews of Area/Agency operations, policy and procedures development, implementation of improved internal controls and improved systems operations, financial reporting and providing information to account holders, future systems development, and investments and management practices including self-determination initiatives for increased tribal involvement in management of the trust fund,” Matheson said.

Brown said that consultation with the Inter Tribal Monitoring Association on Indian Trust Funds has contributed considerably to the long-term plans of strategic action. -"I believe the long, deliberate consultation to discuss trust fund management with the Association, Indian tribes, Congress, the Office of Management and Budget (0MB), and the General Accounting Office (GAO) has paid off in terms of the level of mutual understanding and the fresh ideas brought to the process," Brown said. "I am also pleased and encouraged that the Advisory Task Force on the Reorganization of BIA named by Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan more than a year ago agrees with the thrust of agency efforts to date as expressed in their resolution." Brown said that the 0MB has been very supportive of our efforts and has promised strong Administration support.

Department of the Interior Solicitor Thomas L. Sansonetti today announced that an office will be opened in Palm Springs, California, and that Daniel G. Shillito has been appointed to new post as Field Solicitor

"We are exceptionally pleased to announce that the Solicitor's Office will have a very visible presence in Palm Springs to provide on-scene legal assistance for Southern California, particularly the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and its extensive real estate program in the Coachella Valley," Sansonetti said. "Dan Shillito, the new Field Solicitor, is an independent, hard-working executive. His skill and experience in both government and business will serve the needs of the BIA and the community well."

The new office, part of the Pacific Southwest Region, is scheduled to open by early September.

Shillito presently serves in Washington, D.C., as Associate Solicitor for the Division of Conservation and Wildlife. Previously, he served as the Associate Solicitor for the Division of General Law. He has extensive real estate, land use and regulatory experience in both the public and private sectors.

A graduate of the University of Dayton in 1970 and the Ohio Northern School of Law in 1973, Shillito is also a Colonel in the U.S. Marine corps Reserve. He and his wife, Maryanne, have four children and live in Falls Church, Virginia.