OPA

WASHINGTON – The Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform will hold the seventh in a series of public meetings on Aug. 19, 2013, in Anchorage, Alaska, as part of the Commission’s comprehensive evaluation of the Department of the Interior’s management and administration of Indian trust assets. The meeting also will be accessible by teleconference and Webinar.

Commission members will hear from speakers knowledgeable about the Federal-Indian trust relationship, other trust models and trust reform. They also will be looking at aspects of the trust relationship that are unique to Alaska under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The meeting will include a panel session on trust land and the U.S. Government’s trust responsibility in Alaska.

In addition, the management consultant firm Grant Thornton LLP will be present to gather attendees’ perspectives on how federal Indian trust administration currently operates. In March 2013, the company was awarded a contract in partnership with Cherokee Services Group, a Cherokee Nation-owned business, to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the Department’s management of the trust administration system in support of the Commission’s efforts.

“The Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform is very interested in learning about the Alaska Native community’s views of the Interior Department’s trust management in Alaska,” said Commission Chair Fawn Sharp. “We welcome all input, perspectives and recommendations on how to improve the Department’s overall management of its trust responsibilities, and strongly encourage attendees and others to share their views and suggestions with the management consultant working with us, Grant Thornton, who also will be present to accept such information.”

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WASHINGTON, DC- On Wednesday, November 13, President Obama will host the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of the Interior. The conference will provide leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the President and members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs. Each federally recognized tribe will be invited to send one representative to the conference. This will be the fifth White House Tribal Nations Conference for the Obama Administration, and continues to build upon the President's commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country and to improve the lives of Native Americans. Additional details about the conference will be released at a later date.

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WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior – Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) will provide limited services to tribes, students and individuals during the shutdown of the federal government. Of the total 8,143 employees, a total of 2,860 will be furloughed.

Bureau of Indian Affairs services that will continue functions that are necessary to protect life and property, including law enforcement and operations of detention centers; social services to protect children and adults; irrigation and power – delivery of water and power; firefighting and response to emergency situations.

Indian Affairs provides services directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts to a service population of more than 1.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who are enrolled members of 566 federally recognized tribes in the 48 contiguous United States and Alaska.

Funding for school operations is forward funded; therefore, Bureau of Indian Education activities will continue during the lapse in operations. All BIE funded schools, including Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, will remain open; BIE will maintain staff required to provide a safe and secure environment for students; transportation and maintenance of schools will continue; tribally-contracted school operations are forward funded and will remain open. The BIE provides education services to approximately 41,000 Indian students through 183 schools and dormitories and provides funding to 31 colleges, universities and post-secondary school.

Additional information on Indian Affairs’ contingency plan for operations during the government shutdown can be found at: www.doi.gov/shutdown.

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of the 566 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to empower tribal nations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, on behalf of the United States, today signed an historic agreement at the Department of the Interior guaranteeing water rights for the White Mountain Apache Tribe of Arizona. The agreement will also provide funding for infrastructure to deliver clean drinking water to the Reservation, as well as water security for the City of Phoenix and other downstream water users.

Joining Secretary Jewell were White Mountain Apache Chairman Ronnie Lupe and officials from the Tribe and the State of Arizona, including Representative Ann Kirkpatrick and former Senator Jon Kyl. The Secretary’s signature provides final Federal approval of the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Agreement, first authorized as part of the Claims Resolution Act of 2010.

The signing ceremony comes on the heels of the first meeting of the President’s new White House Council on Native American Affairs, chaired by Secretary Jewell yesterday and attended by other Cabinet members and senior Administration officials.

“Today we are taking a key step in fulfilling the Administration’s commitment to resolving water rights in a manner that benefits Indian tribes and provides certainty to water users,” said Secretary Jewell. “Perhaps most importantly, the agreement paves the way to ensuring that the White Mountain Apache Tribe will have clean drinking water in communities across the Reservation for the next 100 years.”

“On behalf of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, we thank Secretary Jewell, the Federal Negotiation Team, Governor Brewer, Salt River Project officials, the Phoenix Valley cities and irrigation districts, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Show Low, and our water rights team and attorney – with special thanks to former Senator Jon Kyl and Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick for helping us achieve a dignified and honorable quantification of our water rights,” said Chairman Lupe, who signed the agreement on behalf of the Tribe.

The White Mountain Apache Reservation includes more than 1.6 million acres in the headwaters of the Salt River basin in Arizona. The agreement resolves the White Mountain Apache Tribe’s claims to both the Gila and the Little Colorado Rivers in Arizona. The authorizing legislation includes substantial benefits for the Tribe, including funding of more than $200 million for the planning, design, construction, and operation and maintenance of the WMAT Rural Water System and an additional authorization for $78.5 million for a Settlement Fund for fish production, rehabilitation of recreational lakes, and other projects that will benefit the Tribe.

The rural drinking water system will extend from the town of Whiteriver in the east to the town of Cibecue on the west side of the Reservation. In addition, the agreement acknowledges the Tribe’s interest in and management of other valuable water and water-dependent resources on the Reservation such as lakes, springs and water- dependent fish and wildlife. This agreement establishes a firm foundation for improved irrigation water delivery on Reservation lands.

Today’s agreement is significant to the City of Phoenix and surrounding municipalities because the Salt River Water Project is dependent on the Tribe’s senior claims to the water.

“Reaching an agreement of this historic magnitude can only be accomplished through the collective and collaborative efforts of the state, tribe and local communities,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn. “I applaud the tribe’s commitment to resolving this issue and I look forward to the tangible benefits it will deliver to the White Mountain Apache Nation, both in terms of health and the economy.”

The agreement executed today is one of six Indian water agreements authorized since 2009 in legislation signed by President Obama, and one of four authorized in the Claims Resolution Act signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010.

The other three agreements authorized in the Claims Resolutions Act have been executed:

• On April 27, 2012, former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar executed the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement in a signing ceremony at the Department of the Interior with Crow Chairman Cedric Black Eagle and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. This compact settles all of the Crow Tribe’s claims to water in the State of Montana and provides funding for design and construction of a rural water system on the Crow Reservation and for rehabilitation and improvement of the Crow Irrigation Project, while also providing for administration and current and future use of water by all Indian and non-Indian water users on the Reservation.

• On July 11, 2012, Salazar executed three water contracts as part of implementation of the Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement, which includes the Taos Pueblo, the State of New Mexico, the Town Of Taos, various non-Indian water users and the United States. Provisions relating to this settlement in the 2010 law resolve water rights disputes in the Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Hondo stream systems in New Mexico.

• On March 14, 2013, Salazar executed the Aamodt Water Rights Settlement provisions related to the Rio Pojoaque Basin north of Santa Fe, New Mexico which is the homeland of the Tesuque, Nambe, Pojoaque and San Ildefonso Pueblos. Secretary Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn joined leaders of the four tribes and New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez at the Santa Fe Indian School to execute and celebrate the agreement. It provided finality to the Pueblos’ water rights and certainty for non-Indian water rights in north central New Mexico.

Pictures from today’s signing ceremony are available here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today convened the third meeting of the White House Council on Native American Affairs to discuss ongoing progress and current priorities aimed at working more collaboratively and effectively with American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes to advance their economic and social goals.

Seven Cabinet Secretaries and senior officials participated in discussions focused on core objectives, including promoting sustainable Tribal economic development; supporting greater access to and control over healthcare; improving the effectiveness of the Tribal justice systems; expanding and improving educational opportunities for Native youth; and supporting sustainable management of Native lands, environments, and natural resources.

After the meeting, Jewell convened the American Indian Education Study Group to discuss the Group’s preliminary findings and recommendations for the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education. The draft document serves as a basis for Tribal consultations on a redesigned BIE that reflects its gradual evolution from a direct provider of education to a school improvement organization that provides customized service and resources that are tailored to meet the unique needs of each tribally controlled school.

“Your initiative is incredibly important to Indian education,” Secretary Jewell told the Study Group. “We need to make this commitment not just for the nearly 50,000 students attending these schools today, but for the many future generations of Native students who will walk through those classroom doors.”

Next week, Secretary Jewell will visit Indian Country to participate in a roundtable discussion in Arizona. The meeting with Tribal leaders will focus on spurring renewable energy development on Tribal trust lands. The initiative is part of President Obama’s ‘all of the above’ energy strategy and advances his Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions by building a clean energy economy.

In addition to Secretary Jewell, participants at today’s meeting included: Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy; Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education; Gina McCarthy, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Anthony Foxx, Secretary of Transportation; Katherine Archuleta, Director of the Office of Personnel Management; Kevin Washburn, Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs; Cecelia Munoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; Jeff Zients, Director of the White House National Economic Council; Raina Thiele, Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs; and Jodi Gillette, Domestic Policy Council Advisor on Native American Affairs.

The White House Council on Native American Affairs was established by Presidential Executive Order in June, 2013 in response to tribal leader requests that the federal family do a better job of coordinating its departments and agency programs aimed at assisting tribal communities in promoting their social and economic priorities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Navajo Nation regarding the U.S. government’s management of funds and natural resources that it holds in trust for the Navajo Nation. The settlement resolves a long-standing dispute, with some of the claims dating back more than 50 years, and brings to an end protracted litigation that has burdened both the Navajo Nation and the United States.

Secretary Jewell joined Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resource Division Sam Hirsch, and numerous tribal officials at a commemorative signing ceremony held in Window Rock, Arizona today.

“This settlement reflects our continuing commitment to upholding the federal trust responsibility to Indian Country and to building strong, prosperous and resilient tribal communities,” said Secretary Jewell. “The historic agreement strengthens the government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Navajo Nation, helps restore a positive working relationship with the Nation’s leaders and empowers Navajo communities. The landmark Cobell settlement and resolution of 80 other tribal trust management lawsuits under President Obama has opened a new chapter in federal trust relations with tribes and individual Indian beneficiaries.”

“This historic agreement resolves a longstanding dispute between the United States and the Navajo Nation, including some claims that have been sources of tension for generations,” said Attorney General Holder. “The Department of Justice has made it a top priority to honor and foster the trust relationship between the United States and American Indian tribes. This landmark resolution ends protracted and burdensome litigation. It will provide important resources to the Navajo Nation. And it fairly and honorably resolves a legal conflict over the accounting and management of tribal resources. This demonstrates the Justice Department’s firm commitment to strengthening our partnerships with tribal nations -- so we can expand cooperation, empower sovereign tribes, and keep moving forward together with mutual respect and shared purpose.”

“This historic settlement demonstrates how President Obama and his administration remain deeply committed to the federal trust relationship and improving the United States’ relationship with the tribes,” said Assistant Secretary Kevin K. Washburn. “The Bureau of Indian Affairs will work even more closely with the Navajo Nation through improved cooperation, consultation and communication to ensure proper management and protection of its trust funds and resources.”

The Navajo Nation is the largest Indian tribe in the United States, with over 300,000 members. The Nation has the largest reservation in the United States, encompassing over 27,000 square miles of land in the states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The reservation includes more than 14 million acres of trust lands, which are leased for various productive uses, including farming; grazing; oil, gas, and other mineral development; businesses; rights-of-way; timber harvesting; and housing. The Navajo Nation also owns or has ownership interests in over 100 trust accounts.

Under the agreement, the United States will pay the Navajo Nation $554 million in settlement of its claims. In return, the Navajo Nation will dismiss its current lawsuit and forego further litigation regarding the United States’ historic management or accounting of Navajo funds or resources held in the trust by the United States. The Navajo Nation and the United States will undertake prospectively information-sharing procedures that will lead to improved communication concerning the management of Navajo’s trust funds and resources, and also the parties will abide by alternative dispute resolution procedures to reduce the likelihood of future litigation.

In addition to the negotiations that led to this historic settlement with the Navajo Nation, the Departments of Justice, the Interior, and the Treasury have been diligently engaged in settlement conversations involving other litigating tribes. On April 11, 2012, the United States announced settlements with 41 tribes for about $1 billion. Since that time, the federal government has focused considerable dedicated effort on the remaining tribal trust accounting and trust mismanagement cases and has been able to resolve “breach of trust” claims, without the need for further extended litigation, of almost 40 additional tribes, for over $1.5 billion.

The United States will continue settlement discussions in numerous other cases that are still pending and is committed to resolving the litigating tribes’ trust accounting and trust mismanagement claims in a manner that is fair and reasonable to the tribes and the United States.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations and fulfill federal trust obligations, on Friday, September 26, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn and Acting Assistant Attorney General Sam Hirsch of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division will join Navajo Nation tribal leaders and members to announce a major tribal trust accounting settlement.

The announcement will be made at Window Rock Tribal Park and will include a signing ceremony. Friday’s announcement marks a significant milestone in the Obama Administration’s commitment to resolving tribal trust management lawsuits with Native American tribes.

The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American tribe in the United States, with more than 300,000 members. The Nation has the largest reservation in the United States, encompassing more than 27,000 square miles of land in the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The reservation includes more than 14 million acres of trust lands, which are leased for various productive uses, including farming; grazing; oil, gas, and other mineral development; businesses; rights-of-way; timber harvesting; and housing. The Navajo Nation also owns or has ownership interests in over 100 trust accounts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of the Interior today announced that an additional $1 million has been transferred to the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund, bringing the total transferred in 2014 to more than $4.5 million. The Scholarship Fund was authorized by the historic Cobell Settlement and is funded in part by the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program). The Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance through scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native students wishing to pursue post-secondary education and training.

“The scholarships awarded through this fund will give Native American students the opportunity to pursue their educational dreams so that they can become full-fledged participants in charting the future course of Indian Country positively impact tribal communities, as students gain valuable skills, technical abilities and professional expertise which can strengthen institutional development and spur social and economic progress across Indian Country,” said Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins, who played a key role in establishing the scholarship program. “This investment in our next generation of tribal leaders will be a lasting, living legacy for Indian nations.”

The Scholarship Fund is administered by the American Indian College Fund in Denver, Colorado, with 20 percent directed to the American Indian Graduate Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A five-member Board of Trustees oversees and supervises the activities of the fund administrator. More information about the Cobell Education Scholarship Program can be found at the American Indian College Fund website.

Interior makes quarterly transfers, up to $60 million total, from Buy-Back Program sales to the Scholarship Fund based on a formula that sets aside a certain amount of funding depending on the value of the fractionated interest sold. These contributions do not reduce the amount that an owner will receive for voluntarily consolidating their interests.

The Buy-Back Program was created to implement the land consolidation component of the Cobell Settlement, which provided $1.9 billion to purchase fractionated interests in trust or restricted land from willing landowners. Consolidated interests are transferred to tribal government ownership for uses benefiting tribal members and their community.

To date, the Buy-Back Program has successfully concluded transactions worth nearly $142 million and has restored the equivalent of more than 278,000 acres of land to tribal ownership.

Offers are currently pending at a number of locations with deadlines approaching soon. Landowners can contact the Trust Beneficiary Call Center at 888-678-6836 with questions about their purchase offers. Individuals can also visit their local Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office, or find more information at www.doi.gov/buybackprogram/landowners in order to make informed decisions about their land.

Individual participation is voluntary. The process for selling fractionated interests is separate from individual settlement payments from the Cobell Settlement, which are being handled by the Garden City Group. Inquiries regarding Settlement payments should be directed to 800-961- 6109.

WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior has extended to Nov. 3, 2014, the public comment period on proposed regulations to reform the process by which rights-of-way on Indian lands are approved and managed. He also announced the Department will hold an additional tribal consultation session on the proposed regulations during the week of Oct. 26, 2014, during the National Congress of American Indians 2014 Annual Convention in Atlanta, Ga. The draft rule proposes to update Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regulations at 25 CFR 169 that govern rights-of-way across Indian land which were promulgated more than 40 years ago and last updated more than 30 years ago. The regulations have been deemed ill-suited for the modern requirements for rights-of-way leasing, including the need for faster timelines for BIA approval. The Department is proposing to streamline the process for obtaining BIA approval and ensure seamless consistency with recently promulgated BIA leasing regulations. It also seeks to make the process more efficient and transparent, increase flexibility in compensation and valuations, and support landowner decisions on land use. The proposed rule was published on June 17, 2014, with an initial deadline for public comments of August 18. On August 13, the Department extended the comment deadline to October 2, 2014. To further obtain views and suggestions on the proposed changes from tribal leaders and the general public, the Department also held three tribal consultation sessions and one public hearing by teleconference. For additional information on the proposed rule and the upcoming consultation session, visit http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/ORM/RightsofWay/index.htm.

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WASHINGTON, DC – As part of President Obama’s commitment to working with Indian Country leaders to promote strong, prosperous and resilient tribal economies and communities, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that more than $9.4 million has been awarded to 46 tribal projects to assist in developing energy and mineral resources. The grants were awarded as part of the Energy and Mineral Development Program administered by the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), a division of the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. The projects funded include a panoply of renewable energy sources, including geothermal, biomass, hydro-electric, woody biomass, solar, wind, and plastics-to-energy that will provide clean, low-cost power to tribal members and encourage business on tribal lands. “The IEED Energy and Mineral Development Program is another example of how Indian Affairs is working to assist tribes in realizing the maximum potential of their energy and mineral resources,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “These grants will provide tribal communities who have energy and mineral resources with the opportunity and financial support to conduct projects that will evaluate, find and document their energy and mineral assets, and help bring those assets to market.” The Energy and Mineral Development Program uses a hands-on approach to assist tribes by funding the evaluation and documentation of energy and mineral resource potential on their lands. Program staff solicit proposals from tribes and select qualified projects through a competitive review process. Staff then work hand-in-hand with tribal personnel as technical advisors to advance, modify and tailor projects to a tribe’s needs and to ensure the best possible product is obtained for the funds allocated.

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Page 2 – IEED 2014 EMDP Grant Awards The grants and technical assistance help tribes and individual land owners evaluate their energy and mineral resource potential by: • funding geological, geophysical and engineering reports, maps, and other data concerning their energy and mineral resources; • offering technical assistance to use assessment information to enable them to understand their resource potential and plan for the potential development of those resources; • developing a marketing vehicle to promote their lands and resources; and, perhaps most significantly, • providing direct assistance in negotiating complex, value-added agreements with potential partners or investors. IEED has worked collaboratively within the Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Plains Regional Office’s Division of Acquisition and Grant Management and with Bureau of Indian Affairs resources during the week of September 8-12 to process the new awards. “Energy and mineral development on Indian trust lands play a critical role in creating jobs and generating income throughout Indian Country, while also contributing to the national economy,” said Washburn. All natural resources produced on Indian trust lands had an estimated economic impact of more than $19 billion, with more than 90 percent of this impact derived from energy and mineral development on tribal lands, according to the Department of the Interior’s Economic Contributions report issued on July 11, 2014. The report also noted that out of an estimated 80,868 natural resources-related jobs on tribal lands in Fiscal Year 2013, 89 percent were directly associated with energy and mineral development. According to Interior’s Office of Natural Resource Revenue, energy and mineral resources generated more than $970 million in royalty revenue paid to Indian mineral owners in 2013. Income from energy and minerals is by far the largest source of revenue generated from Indian trust lands. In 2014, the Energy and Mineral Development Program received 78 proposals with total funding requests exceeding $27.5 million. Funds were awarded to 46 of the submissions. The chart below summarizes the funds awarded by commodity, number of projects awarded, and total amount awarded in each commodity category. The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs oversees the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, which implements the Indian Energy Resource Development Program under Title V of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. IEED’s mission is to foster stronger American Indian and Alaska Native communities by helping federally recognized tribes with employment and workforce training programs; developing their renewable and non-renewable energy and mineral resources; and increasing access to capital for tribal and individual American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses.

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Page 3 – IEED 2014 EMDP Grant Awards For more information about the IEED2014 EMDP Grant Awards, programs and services, visit the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/IEED/index.htm

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