OPA

WASHINGTON – Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced she has issued a Notice of Final Determination to decline to acknowledge as an Indian tribe a group known as the Snohomish Tribe of Indians located in and around Edmonds, Wash. The Snohomish petitioning group did not demonstrate that it met all seven mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe under 25 CFR Part 83, Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe.

Federal acknowledgment of a group as an Indian tribe establishes a government-to-government relationship between the United States and the tribe, and makes it eligible to receive services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The decision to decline is final and effective 90 days after the publication of the Notice of Final Determination in the Federal Register unless the petitioner, or any interested party, requests reconsideration with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA).

The purpose of 25 CFR Part 83 is to provide a means to acknowledge Indian tribes that have continuous social and political existence and to determine whether the group descends from a historical Indian tribe or tribes. However, the Snohomish petitioner did not meet criteria 83.7(a), (b), (c) and (e) of the regulations. The petitioner did not demonstrate that it was identified as an Indian entity on a “substantially continuous” basis for fifty years, 1900 to 1950; that “a predominant portion of the petitioning group comprised a distinct community” on a substantially continuous basis from first sustained contact with non-Indians to the present; that it had maintained “political influence or authority” over its members as an autonomous entity from first sustained contact with non-Indians to the present; and that its membership consisted of individuals who descended from a historical Indian tribe or tribes that combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity.

The Snohomish petitioner met criteria 83.7(d), (f) and (g) of the acknowledgment regulations by demonstrating that it has a governing document; that its membership is not principally composed of members of an acknowledged North American Indian tribe and that neither the petitioner nor its members are the subject of congressional legislation that has expressly terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship. The evidence in the record revealed that the petitioner formed its organization in the 1950s, and currently maintains an office in Edmonds. The record further revealed that the petitioner is not the same as the historical Snohomish tribe that was involved in the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855 and that settled on the Tulalip Reservation. The historical Snohomish tribe organized a tribal government with other tribes under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. These historical tribes became known collectively as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation located near Marysville, Wash. The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of the 562 Federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an agency with 10,500 employees nationwide, which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the Federally recognized tribes, and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), which is responsible for administering the Federal Acknowledgment Process.

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Washington – James E. Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary announced a series of consultation meetings to be held January 9-19, 2005 throughout Indian country. In accordance with Title V, Section 504 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and Executive Order 13175, the DOI, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development seeks to consult on the development of proposed regulations to govern Tribal Energy Resource Agreements. The purpose of these agreements is to promote tribal oversight and management of energy and mineral resource development on tribal lands and further the goal of Indian self-determination. A letter of invitation was sent to Tribal Leaders with specific information on the meetings. We invite the public to comment at one or more of these meetings. The public comment period will be held from 8 am to 12 pm at each meeting.

For more information on the meetings contact Darryl Francois, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, 1849 C St., NW, MS-2749-MIB, Washington, DC 20240. Or call: 202- 219-0740 or by email at darryl.francois@mms.gov. CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives, who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to these events.

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WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today paid tribute to the courageous men and women from the Department of the Interior who participated in the Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief effort last year. One hundred and twenty men and women representing thirteen departments and bureaus were chosen to represent the more than six thousand DOI employees who worked tirelessly to bring relief to the devastated citizens of the Gulf Coast Region. The Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) had five employees, representing more than five hundred BIA employees, who received certificates of appreciation by Secretary Norton at a ceremony held at 1:00 pm in the Sydney Yates Auditorium at the Department's headquarters.

"I'm extremely proud of the way our BIA employees pulled together and made things happen in a positive way," said W. Patrick Ragsdale, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "Today we honor their initiative, courage and commitment to the task of helping others in their times of need."

The Gulf Coast Hurricane Recognition Recipients from the BIA that attended the ceremony were: John Philben, Phoenix, Ariz.; Stuart Ott, Herndon, Va.; Bruce Maytubby, Anadarko, Okla.; David Johnson, Anadarko, Okla.; and David Nicholas, Nashville, Tenn. Those unable to attend were: Erik LaRose, Phoenix. Ariz.; Jimmy Beb, Choctaw, Miss.; Tony Recker, Nashville, Tenn.; David Bodoni, Gallup, N.M.; and Steve Lafriniere, Mahnomen, Minn.

The BIA's Eastern Region, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and Choctaw Agency in Philadelphia, Miss., coordinated recovery efforts with tribal governments in the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The Mississippi Choctaw, who saw the eye of Hurricane Katrina pass over them, were the hardest hit. BIA employees mobilized to arrange for fresh water to be trucked in from Arkansas, utilized agency road equipment to help clear debris from roadways, explored ways to bring in supplies of ice, fuel and food, and assigned law enforcement personnel to protect lives and property. The BIA Office of Law Enforcement

Services (OLES) provided a Mobile Command Vehicle and Emergency Response Task Force (ERT) to assist Choctaw police with their recovery efforts. BIA Law Enforcement officers patrolled some of the most devastated areas including Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish.

BIA forestry and firefighters were some of the first responders. They provided chainsaws and heavy equipment to clear fallen trees and other debris from the roads in order for trucks to bring in much-needed supplies to the region.

The Director of the BIA directly oversees the day-to-day activities of the agency that provides services to individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the federally recognized tribes. The Director administers all laws governing non-education portions of Indian Affairs, provides leadership and direction for BIA employees, and oversees and monitors the work of the BIA regional offices, agencies and field offices. The Director also shares authority and responsibility for the management of tribal and individual Indian trust funds with the Special Trustee for American Indians, and oversees the Bureau's Land Consolidation Center, the agency's nationwide program to consolidate fractionated interests in Indian lands.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced today the completion of a historic interagency memorandum of agreement (MOA) between 12 federal agencies for expanded participation by federal agencies in the 477-Demonstration Project (“477-initiative”). The MOA is a key requirement identified in amendments provided under the Indian Employment, Training, and Related Services Consolidation Act of 2017, Public Law 115-93, as signed by President Donald Trump on December 18, 2017. The 477-initiative was initially created by Public Law 102-477, the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Demonstration Act of 1992, 25 U.S.C. section 3401 et seq., which allows federally recognized Tribes to integrate employment and training-related, formula-funded federal grants into a single plan with a single budget and single reporting system to improve effectiveness of those services, reduce joblessness in Indian communities, while reducing administrative, reporting, and accounting costs.

“Tribal prosperity starts with a skilled workforce,” said Secretary Zinke. “Bringing federal agencies together to create job-training programs in Indian Country seems like a no-brainer, but it took the leadership of President Donald J. Trump to make this happen. This new agreement will streamline key processes across our government, allowing for the flexibility needed to best fit tribal industries and economies. Every American Indian should have a path to success through the dignity of work - that is the American Dream.”

“I thank Secretary Zinke for his leadership in expanding federal participation in the 477-initiative,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Mac Lean Sweeney. “The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Workforce Development is proudly committed to streamlining the administration of the 477-initiative because job training is an essential component in how Native families gain access to economic security. We look forward to closely working with the other 11 federal agencies to make tribal economies robust.”

Since the inception of the 477 Demonstration Project, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has served as the lead agency for implementation. The Division of Workforce Development within the BIA Office of Indian Services will continue to spearhead the implementation of the 2017 amendments and the responsibilities outlined in the MOA. More than 220 Tribes utilize the 477-initiative to streamline the administration of tribal job training programs.

List of participating federal agencies since 1992:

• Department of Education
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of the Interior
• Department of Labor

List of additional participating federal agencies since 2017:

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Energy
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Department of Justice
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Veteran Affairs

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WASHINGTON – Former Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan, Jr., will join Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason and Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 27, 2006, at a ceremony to officially dedicate the Bureau of Indian Affairs Manuel Lujan, Jr. Indian Affairs Building and to open DOI’s National Indian Programs Training Center (NIPTC). They will be joined by All Indian Pueblo Council Chairman Amadeo Shije and Governor Roland Johnson of the Pueblo of Laguna.

Lujan, a former congressional representative from the State of New Mexico who served as Interior Secretary under President George H.W. Bush, has been a supporter of the Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico for many years. The building is being named in his honor.

The Bureau’s newest facility sits on land formerly occupied by the Albuquerque Indian School, a BIA boarding school that was razed in the 1980s. Groundbreaking for the Lujan building took place on October 27, 2004. The 44-acre site is owned by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and was developed by the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation. The Lujan building is connected to the BIA’s Pete V. Domenici Indian Affairs Building, which was dedicated to the United States senator from New Mexico in 2004.

In addition to NIPTC, both buildings house Indian program offices and personnel including the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office, Office of Indian Education Programs, Office of Management Support Services, Law Enforcement, Information Technology, and from the DOI Office of Hearing and Appeals.

The afternoon portion of the program is dedicated to the opening of a permanent exhibit in the Lujan building of historic photos of the Albuquerque Indian School. The photos are from the collection of University of New Mexico Professor Theodore Jojola, a Regents’ Professor and past Director of UNM’s Graduate Program in Community and Regional Planning. He will give a presentation on the exhibit in conjunction with its opening.

Invitees to the day-long event include state, local and tribal representatives, as well as former students and faculty.

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

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(Washington, D.C.) – James E. Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary announced today that the BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES), in conjunction with the Indian Country Section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police will hold its 15 th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Service on May 4, 2006. The service is to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice made by American Indian law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty while serving on Indian lands. The Memorial Service will begin at 10:00 A.M. (local time) at the BIA Indian Police Academy in Artesia, New Mexico.

“Each year we add another name of a fallen officer to pay tribute to the sacrifice they made in the line of duty,” Associate Deputy Secretary James W. Cason said. “It honors them and reminds us that freedom from crime is not free.”

This year, Senior Patrol Agent (SPA) Nicholas D. Greenig from the U.S. Border Patrol will have his name added to the granite memorial. On March 14, 2006, Agent Greenig was involved in a fatal, one car accident while serving in an undercover operation on the Tohono O’Odham Nation in Arizona. Born in 1978 in Sheridan, WY, Special Agent Greenig grew up near Billings, MT. In December 2002 he joined the U.S. Border Patrol with the 535th Academy session. He graduated second in the class and was assigned to the Ajo Station Disrupt Unit in Arizona. He is credited with apprehending 20-30 alien smuggling loads and 3-5 narcotics loads per month. SPA Greenig is the first Border Patrol Agent to have their name engraved on the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial bringing the total number of names to eighty seven.

The keynote address will be delivered by W. Patrick Ragsdale, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs who has had a long history of involvement with Indian Country law enforcement. David Aguliar, Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol will be a special guest speaker. John Chavers, Ph.D., Chief of the Indian Police Academy will serve as the Master of Ceremony. Dewayne and Darla Greenig, parents of Special Agent Greenig will attend the service and will be presented with a plaque and traditional Indian Star Quilt by the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial Committee.

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial site is constructed with Native American symbolism and traditional plants incorporated into the design. The three granite stones are surrounded by a cement/aggregate surface forming a circle around the vertical slabs with an opening to allow for access. Sage, a plant with spiritual significance, is planted in the four directions to consecrate the hallow ground. Four planter areas are filled foliage surrounded by white, red, yellow, and black stones to signify the four colors of mankind on the Earth.

The original Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial was dedicated on May 7, 1992 at the BIA’s Indian Police Academy (IPA), in Marana, Arizona. The Memorial was later moved to Artesia, New Mexico and re-dedicated on May 6, 1993 when the BIA Indian Police Academy was relocated to New Mexico.

A 750 person department, the BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services provides uniformed police services, detention operations, and criminal investigation of alleged or suspected violations of major federal criminal laws in Indian Country.

For specific information or directions to the event call 505/748-8151 ext. 5751.

Note to Editors: Credentialed media covering the event should be in place by 9:45 a.m. Press seating will be provided. The program will begin at 10:00 a.m.

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WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior, as part of the implementation of its Fiduciary Trust Model (FTM) to improve and reform the management of Indian trust for the benefit of all Indian beneficiaries, will hold the first of three tribal consultation meetings on revising DOI Indian trust management regulations on February 14-15, 2006, in Albuquerque, N.M. The meeting will take place both days at the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town starting at 8:00 a.m. (local time).

The Department has submitted the following draft proposals of new and revised trust management regulations to tribal leaders for discussion at the upcoming meeting and to gather their input and comments:

• Probate of Indian Estates (25 CFR 15; 43 CFR 4)
• Tribal Probate Codes (25 CFR 18) [New]
• Life Estates and Future Interests (25 CFR 179)
• Title (25 CFR 150)
• Conveyances of Trust and Restricted Land, Removal of Trust or Restricted Status (25 CFR 152)
• Fees for Service [New]
• Trust Fund Accounting and Appeals [New]
• Whereabouts Unknown and Unclaimed Moneys [New]

The intent of this initiative is to clarify existing regulations and to create new regulations to improve services to Indian trust beneficiaries, facilitate productive use of Indian lands, promote consolidation and reduce fractionation of Indian trust asset interests, and incorporate changes to the probate process under the American Indian Probate Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-374).

Information on the locations and dates of the remaining consultation meetings will be announced in coming weeks.

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WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior’s Office of Indian Gaming Management (OIGM) will hold a series of tribal consultation meetings on the development of proposed regulations to establish standards for implementing Section 20 of IGRA, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (25 USC 2701-2721). The meetings will take place in Uncasville, Conn., Albuquerque, N.M., Sacramento, Calif., and Minneapolis, Minn., starting on March 30, 2006.

Section 20 provides that federally recognized Indian tribes cannot conduct class II or class III gaming on lands acquired in trust after October 17, 1988, unless one of several exceptions applies. The proposed rule will establish the criteria that will be considered by the Department to determine whether a parcel of land acquired in trust after that date qualifies under any of the exceptions listed in 25 USC 2719.

The Department will conduct tribal consultation sessions to receive input on the proposed draft regulations on the following dates (all times are local time):

Thursday, March 30: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville, Conn.

Wednesday, April 5: 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Albuquerque Convention Center, San Miguel Rm. 330 Tijeras N.W., Albuquerque, N.M.

Tuesday, April 18: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Radisson Hotel Sacramento, 500 Leisure Lane, Sacramento, Calif.

Thursday, April 20: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Crown Plaza, 2200 Freeway Blvd., Minneapolis, Minn.

Comments on the proposed draft regulations also may be mailed or hand-delivered to the Office of Indian Gaming Management at 1849 C Street, N.W., MS-3657-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240 by April 20, 2006.

The Office of Indian Gaming Management oversees the Secretary’s responsibilities under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (P.L. 100-497). The OIGM develops policy guidelines on land acquisition requests for gaming, tribal/state compacts, per capita distribution plans, Secretarial approval of trust asset and gaming-related contracts, and Secretarial procedures for class III gaming. The OIGM also reviews and approves fee-to-trust applications and leases, coordinates with other federal agencies on gaming taxation, provides compliance to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), conducts training and technical assistance for tribes and federal personnel and reviews financing/accounting issues related to agreements.

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WASHINGTON – Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason today announced that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) will sponsor the conference “Accessing Capital: Lending Opportunities in Indian Country” to be held May 1-3, 2006, on the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians reservation in Minnesota. The conference will take place at the tribe’s Shooting Star Casino Hotel and Event Center in Mahnomen, Minn.

“This conference is the first of its kind in the Midwest,” said Cason. “It will educate regional lenders about how IEED’s Capital Investment Program can help them finance Native American businesses and create new jobs in Indian country.”

Hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the American Indian Economic Development Fund of St. Paul, Minn., the conference will feature nationally renowned financial experts and tribal entrepreneurs who will explore the opportunities that IEED’s Capital Investment Program, also known as the Loan Guaranty and Insurance Program, provides to tribal businesses and entrepreneurs in obtaining credit and investment capital. The conference will be attended by tribal business leaders, lending institutions and investment brokers in the region.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Gerald P. Carmen, former ambassador to the U.N. Mission in Geneva and vice chairman of the Trade and Development Board. Ambassador Carmen was formerly the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Asset Disposition Association (the predecessor to the Resolution Trust Corporation) and has been a board member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston. From 1981 through 1984, he served as head of the General Services Administration.

Other conference speakers include Pam Nesius, Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending, Native American Bank of Denver; Lance Morgan, President and CEO, Ho-Chunk Corporation, Winnebago, Neb.; Jim Ladner, President, Laducer & Associates, Mandan, N.D.; Patty Pourier, CEO, Muddy Creek Oil & Gas, Inc., Pine Ridge, S.D.; Dick Levine, Executive Vice President, Palm Desert National Bank, Palm Springs, Calif.; Sue Woodrow, Managing Project Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Helena, Mont., branch; Stephanie Caputo, Community Development Expert, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; and Bill Largent, National Director, Office Native American Programs, Small Business Administration (SBA).

The conference also will feature presentations by the American Indian Economic Development Fund; Department of Agriculture; Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, Department of the Treasury; SBA; and Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development was established to provide high-level support for the Department’s goal of serving communities by providing access to energy resources and by stimulating job creation and economic development. The Office assists economic development on Indian lands by identifying economic opportunities, assisting development of workforce capacity, providing low cost loans for business development and facilitating partnerships between tribes and the Federal or private sector. The Office also supports the President’s National Energy Policy by fostering development of domestic energy resources to reduce this country’s dependence on foreign energy sources.

For additional conference information, contact Mike Luger, Economic Development Specialist, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, U.S. Department of the Interior, at (202) 219-0005.

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