OPA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, October 28, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will deliver keynote remarks at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Annual Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

As chair of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, Secretary Jewell will discuss the Obama Administration’s commitment to promote stronger, safer and more prosperous communities through tribal self-determination and sovereignty, as well as through strengthening the federal government’s trust relationship with American Indian tribes and Alaska Natives.

Jewell will also discuss ongoing educational reform efforts to ensure students attending schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) receive a high quality, academically rigorous, culturally appropriate education.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior has extended the public comment period to Nov. 28, 2014, on proposed regulations to reform the process by which rights-of-way on Indian land are approved and managed. This third extension is in response to a request by Senators John Barrasso and John Hoeven to allow further comments following the most recent tribal consultation held during this week’s National Congress of American Indians Annual Convention. Tribal comments received during the consultation were largely supportive of BIA’s efforts to update right-of-way regulations that have not been revised in more than 30 years.

The proposed rule was published on June 17, 2014. The Department has hosted four tribal consultation sessions and one public hearing on the proposed rule. The initial comment period deadline of August 18 was extended to October 2, 2014. The Department again extended the comment deadline to November 3, 2014. As a result of this latest extension, comments are now due November 28, 2014.

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, 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.

For additional information on the proposed rule, visit

http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/ORM/RightsofWay/index.htm.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that he has approved the Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s probate code and that the Department of the Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) will now apply the code when probating trust or restricted lands within the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana. Codes such as the Northern Cheyenne’s allow tribes to determine how trust or restricted land within the reservation passes to heirs upon an individual’s death.

This is one of the many steps the Obama Administration is taking within a larger effort to empower tribes in restoring tribal homelands while addressing the historical problems of land fractionation. Additional elements of this strategy include the implementation of the Land BuyBack Program, which implements the land consolidation provisions of the Cobell Settlement, HEARTH Act approvals, which allow tribes to negotiate and enter into leases without further Secretarial approvals where the tribes’ leasing regulations have been approved, and prioritizing the land-into-trust process. The combination of these actions, including tribal probate codes, has the potential to unlock millions of acres of fractionated lands for the benefit of tribal communities.

Application of tribal probate codes helps to shorten the lengthy process of probating Indian trust estates. Other crucial elements for streamlining the probating of Indian estates include proactive estate planning and increased participation in the probate process. Having a will in place may help ensure that an individual’s trust property is distributed according to the person’s wishes, and can vitally assist in the administration of the deceased’s estate. Also important is the cooperation of family members with Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agency offices in the preparation of probate files, which helps the Department’s Office of Hearing and Appeals make progress in reducing its substantial probate caseload.

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Page 2 – Northern Cheyenne Probate Code

“I applaud the Northern Cheyenne Tribe for working with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to develop a probate code that addresses its unique needs,” Washburn said. “The implementation of tribal probate codes is an important step in giving tribes greater input on the preservation of trust lands within their reservations and enhancing tribal sovereignty by reducing land fractionation and encouraging land consolidation.”

Under the American Indian Probate Reform Act federally recognized tribes have the ability to present the Department with their own tribally enacted probate codes that govern the descent and distribution of trust properties within their jurisdictions. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is only the second federally recognized tribe to gain approval of its own probate code.

Lands allotted to individual American Indians in the 19th and early 20th centuries now have hundreds and sometimes even thousands of individual owners, making it difficult to lease or develop the parcels. As a result, highly fractionated allotments lie idle, unable to be used for any economically beneficial purpose. Because fractionation often increases when an allotted landowner dies without a will, individual landowners and tribes can address the fractionation problem in part through careful attention to wills and probate issues.

Interior holds about 56 million acres of land in trust for American Indians, with more than 10 million acres held for individuals and nearly 46 million acres for federally recognized tribes. The Department holds this land in more than 200,000 tracts, of which about 92,000 (on approximately 150 reservations) contain fractional ownership interests subject to purchase by Interior’s Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. This program implements the land consolidation component of the historic Cobell Settlement, which provided $1.9 billion to purchase fractionated interests in trust or restricted land from willing sellers, at fair market value, within a 10-year period.

For more information on the probate and estate planning process, please visit www.bia.gov/yourland/. For more information on the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations, please visit http://www.doi.gov/buybackprogram/index.cfm.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, November 20, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor will host a news media teleconference to discuss the year-to-date accomplishments and next schedule for the continued implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program).

The Buy-Back Program implements the land consolidation component of the Cobell Settlement, which provided $1.9 billion to purchase fractional interests in trust or restricted land from willing sellers at fair market value within a 10-year period.

Land fractionation is a serious problem across Indian Country. As lands are passed down through generations, they gain more owners. Many tracts now have hundreds and even thousands of individual owners. Because it is difficult to gain landowner consensus, the lands often lie idle and cannot be used for any beneficial purpose.

In its first year of sending offers, the Program has already successfully concluded transactions worth nearly $225 million to American Indian landowners and has restored the equivalent of more than 375,000 acres of land to tribal governments.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, December 3, 2014, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Deputy Secretary Mike Connor and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn will join President Obama, other cabinet Secretaries and leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes at the 2014 Annual White House Tribal Nations Conference.

Secretary Jewell will deliver remarks during the opening ceremony of the 6th annual conference and will join panel discussions on Indian education reform and climate change, along with other stakeholder meetings and briefings. Deputy Secretary Mike Connor will participate in discussions on protecting natural and cultural resources and Assistant Secretary Washburn will join sessions on government-to-government relations, economic development and upholding federal trust and treaty responsibilities.

The annual White House Tribal Nations Conference provides tribal leaders the opportunity to interact directly with President Obama, Secretary Jewell and members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs. The Council, which is chaired by Secretary Jewell and includes the heads of more than 20 federal departments and agencies, has convened four times since its inception in June 2013 and works to improve interagency coordination, efficiency and expand efforts to leverage federal programs and resources available to tribal communities.

Since assuming her role at Interior, Secretary Jewell has visited more than 20 tribal communities and half dozen Bureau of Indian Education schools. Jewell also joined President Obama and the First lady on their historic visit to Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Nation earlier this year.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the White House will hold an on-the-record conference call to preview the White House Tribal Nations Conference that the President will host on Wednesday, December 3rd. 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. For the first time in these conferences, the voice of Native youth will also be represented by 36 White House Youth Ambassadors. This year’s conference builds on the President’s visit in June of this year to the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, where he reaffirmed his commitment to education and economic development, and announced a call to action to support Native youth. This will be the sixth White House Tribal Nations Conference for the Obama Administration.

This call will be on-the-record, embargoed for 6:00AM EST, tomorrow, Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014.

WHO: Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell White House Domestic Policy Council Director Cecilia Muñoz

WHAT: On-the-record press call, embargoed for Wednesday, December 3rd 6:00AM EST.

WHEN: Tuesday, December 2, 2014 12:00PM EST RSVP: Members of the media who wish to join this call should dial (800) 230-1092 and ask for the “White House Tribal Nations Call.” No passcode is necessary.

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WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of the Interior today launched a new data portal that raises the bar on transparency of natural resource revenue by offering the public a one-stop shop to access revenues paid for developing energy and mineral resources on public lands and waters at the company and commodity level for the first time.

The interactive pilot data portal is part of the U.S. implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (USEITI) – a global, voluntary partnership to strengthen the accountability of natural resource revenue reporting and build public trust for the governance of these vital activities. In March 2014, the United States was the first G7 country to achieve Candidate Country status and become an EITI implementing country.

“This interactive data portal offers a wealth of information to the public in a comprehensive and accessible fashion and is another step in our efforts to reform and modernize royalty revenue management by the Department,” said Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. “This new tool provides clarity and transparency on the revenues generated by energy development on public lands and waters – a significant source of financial support for local communities, states, tribes and the nation – and the Department’s implementation of USEITI upholds President Obama’s commitment to the principles of open government.”

The pilot data portal went live today during a meeting of the USEITI Multi-Stakeholder Group, a body comprised of representatives from government, industry and civil society that oversees the design and implementation of USEITI efforts. The pilot data portal was developed jointly by Interior and the General Services Administration 18F program. When fully developed, the data portal will include information on more than 550 companies that meet the minimum payment threshold determined by the USEITI Multi-Stakeholder Group, which is currently set at $100,000 per year. The data portal can be accessed at: http://useiti.doi.gov/

Information currently available on the pilot data portal was provided by the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), which collects and disburses revenues from energy production on Federal onshore and offshore lands, and on American Indian lands. ONRR makes disbursements on a monthly basis to appropriate federal, state and American Indian accounts from the royalties, rents and bonuses it collects from energy and mineral companies. Royalty revenue is often reported by the fiscal year, but the new interactive data portal will include revenue data based on a calendar year, which will help provide consistency with international and industry reporting.

As the work on USEITI progresses in the coming years, the pilot data portal will be expanded and enhanced to provide even greater levels of data and information from other Department bureaus and offices involved in energy production on Federal lands.

In September 2010, President Obama challenged the members of the United Nations General Assembly to make all governments more open. Spearheaded by the United States and Brazil, groups of governments and civil society organizations around the world formed the Open Government Partnership. In September 2011, President Obama announced the U.S. commitment to domestic implementation of EITI, a key element of the U.S. Open Government Partnership commitments, and soon after appointed the Secretary of the Interior to lead U.S. implementation.

Across the globe, 48 countries are now working actively to implement this initiative and improve the governance of their oil, gas and mining resources.

Under EITI, participating governments work hand-in-hand with company and civil society representatives to produce reports that help citizens understand how the government manages its extractive sectors. The reports include parallel public disclosures by both the government and industry of the payments that companies make to the government for oil, gas and mining resource development. An Independent Administrator will reconcile the two data sets to produce annual reports beginning in December 2015. ####

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the Department of the Interior disbursed more than $13.4 billion in revenue generated by energy production on Federal and American Indian lands and offshore areas in Fiscal Year 2014, with increases in state and Indian Country revenues over the prior year.

The disbursements include more than $1 billion to American Indian Tribes and individual Indian mineral owners, marking the first time disbursements from energy production on American Indian lands topped the billion-dollar mark.

The Interior Department distributes energy revenues to state, local, and federal accounts to support critical reclamation, conservation, recreation, and historic preservation projects. Local governments apply the revenues to meet a variety of needs, ranging from school funding to infrastructure improvements and water conservation projects.

“Revenue generated from developing public energy resources that belong to all Americans helps fund critical investments in communities across the United States and creates American jobs, fosters land and water conservation efforts, improves critical infrastructure, and supports education,” said Jewell. “This year’s disbursements continue to reflect significant energy production from public and tribal lands in the United States.”

The $1.1 billion disbursed to 34 American Indian Tribes and more than 34,000 individual Indian mineral owners for resources held for them in trust or restricted status represents an increase of more than $200 million over FY 2013 disbursements that totaled $932.9 million. This increase to Indian Country is attributed primarily to increasing oil production from the Ft. Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

The Interior Department disburses 100 percent of the revenues received for energy and mineral production activities on Indian lands directly to the Tribes and individual Indian mineral owners through Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians. Tribes then use the revenues to develop infrastructure, provide healthcare and education, and support other critical community development programs, such as senior centers, public safety projects, and youth initiatives.

Secretary Jewell in June announced a package of regulatory initiatives intended to help tribal leaders to spur investment opportunities and economic development in Indian Country, including efforts to remove regulatory barriers to infrastructure and energy development in Indian Country; increase tribal community access to expanded, high-speed Internet resources via broadband; eliminate leasing impediments to land development; and support the growth of new markets for Native American and Alaska Native businesses.

“While some tribes continue to experience recent economic progress from energy development, these tribes and many other tribal communities continue to face formidable economic hardship,” said Jewell. “In our efforts to foster tribal self-determination and improve our federal regulations to meet the needs of the 21st century, we will continue to look for opportunities to provide greater deference to tribes to help remove barriers to economic development on tribal lands. Working hand in hand with tribal communities and with my colleagues across the Administration, we hope to help lay a solid foundation for economic development and improve the quality of life for American Indians and Alaska Natives in their homelands.”

More than $2.2 billion of the FY 2014 energy revenues were disbursed to 36 states as their cumulative share of revenues collected from oil, gas and mineral production on federal lands within their borders and from U.S. offshore oil and gas tracts adjacent to their shores. In FY 2013 disbursements to the states totaled about $2 billion. Among the top states receiving FY 2014 revenue are Wyoming ($1 billion); New Mexico ($579 million); Utah ($171 million); Colorado ($169 million); California ($100 million); North Dakota ($68 million); Montana ($38 million); Louisiana ($24 million); Alaska ($20 million); and Texas ($12 million).

Included in the state disbursements is $4.1 million sent directly to 37 individual counties in eight states from geothermal energy production. State disbursements also include $4.3 million to four coastal states and 42 eligible political subdivisions (counties and parishes) under provisions of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. A complete list of states receiving revenues through Fiscal Year 2014 is available on Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue’s website at: http://www.onrr.gov/

A total of $7.2 billion was disbursed to the U.S. Treasury to fund programs for the entire nation, making the Department’s mineral revenue disbursements one of the nation’s largest sources of non-tax revenue. The disbursements also fund several special use accounts in the U.S. Treasury, including FY 2014 transfers to the Land & Water Conservation Fund, the Reclamation Fund, and the Historic Preservation Fund.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, established by Congress in 1964, receives revenue from energy development to provide grants to state, federal and local governments to acquire land, water and easements for recreation use and to protect natural treasures. Receipts deposited in the Reclamation Fund are made available by Congress through annual appropriation acts for authorized water management and efficiency programs that directly benefit 17 Western States. The Historic Preservation Fund provides matching grants to help state and tribal historic preservation offices preserve cultural and other historic resources.

All federal energy revenues are collected and disbursed by Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR), which is under the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. ONRR makes disbursements on a monthly basis from the royalties, rents and bonuses it collects from energy and mineral companies.

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STATEMENT
OF
TARA MAC LEAN SWEENEY
ASSISTANT SECRETARY – INDIAN AFFAIRS
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
ON
THE BRACKEEN V. ZINKE DECISION

October 08, 2018

For nearly forty years, child advocacy organizations across the United States have considered the Indian Child Welfare Act to be the gold standard of child welfare policy. The Department of the Interior strongly opposes any diminishment of ICWA’s protections for Indian children, families, and tribes.

The Department will continue to work with tribes and states to implement ICWA moving forward. We reiterate our support for ICWA’s goals of ensuring the safety of Indian children, maintaining Indian families, and promoting tribal sovereignty.

GLOUCESTER, Va. - U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke hosted an event today with Tribal leaders celebrating Virginia’s seven federally recognized tribes at Werowocomoco on the York River in Gloucester County. This site is believed to have been a place of leadership and spiritual importance to American Indians as early as circa AD 1200 and the 1607 meeting place of Powhatan and Captain John Smith, the leader of many Algonquian tribes.

At the center of the celebration were leaders of the seven tribes who recently received federal recognition: Chief Stephen Adkins of the Chickahominy; Chief Gerald Stewart of the Chickahominy, Eastern Division; Chief Dean Branham of the Monacan; Chief Lee Lockamy of the Nansemond ; Chief Robert Gray of the Pamunkey; Chief G. Anne Richardson of the Rappahannock; and Chief W. Frank Adams of the Upper Mattaponi.

“The perseverance of these Tribes to gain what they and their creator have always known is incredible,” said Secretary Zinke. “As the champion of the sovereign nations, it was an honor to share this historic day with everyone. I welcome these tribes into the Federal family with open arms.”

Also participating were Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs John Tahsuda, Acting National Park Service Director P. Daniel Smith, representatives of the Virginia Governor’s and U.S. Senate offices, and many other dignitaries.

Six of the seven tribes received federal recognition in 2017 legislation signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 29, 2018, while the Pamunkey - the tribe of Pocahontas - received recognition in 2016.

In 2016, The Conservation Fund, a not-for profit 501(c)3 national conservation organization, purchased 264 acres of land in Gloucester County, Virginia, encompassing the historic site known as Werowocomoco. The Conservation Fund then sold the property to the National Park Service to ensure its permanent protection.

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