OPA

WASHINGTON – According to the Federal Communications Commission, only 46.6 percent of rural, Tribal locations currently have broadband access in comparison to 73.3 percent of the other rural parts of the country. The Department of the Interior, in collaboration with the Department of Education, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services are working together to change that narrative, announcing that online registration is open for the two-day National Tribal Broadband Summit (Summit) on September 23 and 24, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

The Summit is a landmark event that will equip participants with the tools needed to bridge the connectivity gap in Indian Country and unlock the opportunities that broadband access can provide.

“There are communities across the United States that are still waiting to catch up with 21st century technology,” said Tara Katuk MacLean Sweeney, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior. “The Department of the Interior is committed to improving economic opportunity and quality of life for American Indians and Alaska Natives. This Summit is a key opportunity to engage the private sector and make the business case for investing in Indian Country.”

“All students need affordable broadband, at school and at home, if we are going to seriously address the achievement gaps in America. The issue is especially important in rural and Tribal communities where the growing digital divide could exacerbate persistent achievement gaps,” said Jim Blew, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Department of Education. “The Department remains committed to working with our Federal, State, Tribal, and local colleagues to ensure that all students, including American Indian and Alaska Native students, have access to the tools that will enable them to find their pathway to success.”

“Tribal libraries and museums continue to serve as essential community anchors and resources for community cohesion,” said Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. “These institutions are essential hubs for connectivity, digital literacy, and digital inclusion that help support lifelong learning and accessing vital information, such as health and job resources.”

The Summit is another demonstration of the Trump Administration’s commitment to advance shared priorities with Tribal governments and Tribal leaders. Registration is open to Tribal leaders, representatives of Tribal organizations, representatives of schools and school districts serving under-connected Native students, Tribal libraries, museums, and cultural centers, private sector, and federal program managers and policymakers. One of its primary goals is to lay a foundation for building capacity among Tribal communities to support broadband deployment and adoption, and identify new opportunities for private sector investment in broadband.

Last July, the Department of the Interior submitted a report on rural broadband to the White House, in response to the EO 13821, Streamlining and Expediting Requests to Locate Broadband Facilities in Rural America, and a Presidential Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior issued on January 8, 2018, Supporting Broadband Tower Facilities in Rural America on Federal Properties Managed by the Department of Interior. The Summit is a continuation of these overall broadband efforts with a specific focus on Indian Country.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Officials from the White House and the U.S. Department of the Interior held a Reclaiming our Native Communities Roundtable in Nome, Alaska and a Public Safety Listening Session in Bethel, Alaska this week to discuss ways to address public safety challenges in the region. These listening sessions are a part of a series of meetings taking place with American Indian and Alaska Native community and tribal leaders across the country with the goal of implementing strategies that will end the violence and illicit activity disproportionately affecting these populations.

In Nome, the Reclaiming our Native Communities Roundtable focused on the social ills that challenge Native communities including the use of illegal narcotics, prevalence of domestic violence, and cold cases involving missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. According to the DOJ Bureau of Justice Statistics, American Indians and Alaska Natives are two and a half times more likely to experience violent crimes and at least two times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes in comparison to all other ethnicities.

“President Trump has been a tireless proponent of ending crime, ensuring justice is served, and promoting safe and economically strong rural communities, including Alaska Native communities,” said Kate MacGregor, DOI Deputy Chief of Staff exercising the authority of Deputy Secretary. “I appreciate Kawerak and the Association of Village Council Presidents for bringing so many strong voices together to listen, learn, and discuss solutions that will make a difference not only in rural Alaskan communities but throughout our country.”

“Alaska Native people face some of the highest levels of violence. These roundtables and listening sessions are critical to tailoring solutions to address this wave of violent crime and victimization in these communities,” said Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney. “I look forward to working hand in hand with local, state and national leaders on crafting solutions to create a healthier environment for our families and communities.”

“All men, women, and children in our region deserve to be safe in our communities. Unfortunately, in our region and in other rural Alaska communities, the statistics show that women and children in our rural communities are victimized at much higher rates than the rest of our state and nation,” said Kawerak President Melanie Bahnke. “Our communities deserve adequate public safety; today’s dialogue is a step in the right direction, and Kawerak, Inc. is especially grateful for Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney’s leadership in pursuing justice for Alaska Native and American Indian communities.”

Of the 56 federally recognized tribes that are a part of the Association of Village Council Presidents, more than 40 participated in the public safety listening session in Bethel, Alaska. The tribal representatives who spoke highlighted the unique geographical and jurisdictional challenges that face their Native communities.

In June, Kate MacGregor, the Deputy Chief of Staff at DOI who is currently exercising the authority of the Deputy Secretary, and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney held the first meeting in a series of roundtable discussions on the Gila River Indian Reservation to hear from Alaska Natives, Indian Country, tribal leadership and other advocates on ways to effectively end the escalating cycle of violence in these communities.

“Crime doesn’t know boundaries, which is why we are working to engage and develop law enforcement strategies to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable populations,” said Charles Addington, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Office of Justice Services. “The Trump Administration is focused on hearing from local, state and national leaders to find a holistic approach to tackle the devastating challenges that have plagued our rural, and Native communities.”

“The Trump Administration is committed to making American communities safer, including Native communities across the nation,” said Douglas Hoelscher, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of White House Intergovernmental Affairs. “These sessions allow us to listen and learn about the best use of resources, policies, and best practices to deliver measurable results that will improve communities across the nation while respecting local traditions and culture.”

“Since 2016 public safety has been the top priority for AVCP, but public safety has been lacking or missing in our villages for decades,” said Chief Executive Officer for the Association of Village Council Presidents. “This listening session brought to the forefront an opportunity to work together as tribes and tribal organizations with the federal government to find solutions to the public safety crisis our tribes are facing. Thank you Assistant Secretary Sweeney, Alaska Congressional Delegation, and the White House, for prioritizing public safety. I look forward to the changes I know will come by working together.”

“Tackling the issue of public safety, including the epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, has long-been among my top priorities in the Senate. However, to truly address this issue, it will take coordination at the federal, state, and local level. It must be an all-hands-on-deck effort,” said U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). “These roundtable discussions led by the Department of Interior are an example of words being turned into action. I am committed to continuing my efforts, alongside the administration, to combat the unacceptably high rates of domestic violence and public safety challenges we’re seeing across our state. Together, we can and will ensure safer, more secure communities in Alaska.”

“I want to thank the Department of the Interior and the White House for focusing on these issues, especially on the heels of the Attorney General’s visit and announcements of law enforcement resources to our state and tribal entities,” said U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK). “As Alaskans, we know too well the affliction of violent crimes, substance abuse, and missing and murdered Alaska Natives. Just last week, Assistant Secretary Sweeney and I saw firsthand the challenges of public safety in rural Alaska; we traveled for four days in northwest and western Alaska to hear from people on the ground about their priorities – overcrowding and lack of housing, and public safety were the top two. I look forward to continuing to work with DOI, DOJ, and the White House to raise the standards of law enforcement and public safety in rural Alaska, so they too can have the basic protections that most Americans take for granted.”

“Alaskans know that our state’s vast geography presents unique challenges, especially for law enforcement in our rural Native villages,” said Congressman Don Young (R-AK). “Horrifying stories of homicide, sexual assault, and other violent crimes have recently made headlines, and we must be doing all that we can to bring perpetrators to justice. I’m particularly concerned about the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and I’m glad that Assistant Secretary Sweeney has made this a priority for the Department. I will continue working with our Delegation and the Administration to ensure that our rural areas have the tools and resources they need to keep Alaskans safe.”

Representatives from the White House and DOI, who met with these community leaders, included:

• Douglas Hoelscher, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of White House Intergovernmental Affairs
• Jennie Lichter, the Deputy Director, WH Domestic Policy Council
• Gary Lawkowski, Senior Policy Advisor, Domestic Policy Council
• Kate MacGregor, Deputy Chief of Staff exercising the authority of Deputy Secretary for DOI
• Tara Sweeney, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs;
• Mirtha Beadle, Director of the Office of Tribal Affairs and Policy; and
• Charles Addington, Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services

Background

In June, DOI held its first roundtable on the Gila River Indian Community Reservation to develop a comprehensive approach to concentrate on cold cases, violent crimes, and missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. Deputy Chief of Staff Kate MacGregor and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney heard from Alaska Natives, Indian Country, tribal leadership, and advocates.

On June 28, Attorney General William Barr announced $10 million emergency funding to address the public safety crisis in rural Alaska, following a visit to the state. The $6 million in emergency funding from the Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance will go toward hiring, equipping, and training Village Public Safety Officers, Village Police Officers, and Tribal Police Officers working in rural Alaska, as well as for mobile detention facilities.

President Trump designated May 5 as Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives Awareness Day to draw attention to the horrible acts of violence committed against American Indian and Alaska Native people, particularly women and children.

President Trump’s proclamation states: “Ending the violence that disproportionately affects American Indian and Alaska Native communities is imperative. Under my Administration, Federal agencies are working more comprehensively and more collaboratively to address violent crime in Indian country, to recover the American Indian and Alaska Native women and children who have gone missing, and to find justice for those who have been murdered.”

American Indian and Alaska Native people face alarming levels of violence. Data from the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence, including sexual violence, in their lifetimes. American Indian and Alaska Native children attempt and commit suicide at rates far higher than those in any other demographic in our Nation, and often endure disproportionately high rates of endemic drug abuse, violence, and crime.

In 2018, DOI launched the first-ever Joint Law Enforcement Task Force on Opioids, focusing on Indian Country. Led by Bureau of Indian Affairs-Office of Justice Services, the task force partners with federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement to conduct multi-month undercover operations and stings to get drugs and dealers off the streets. In FY 2018, the Opioid Reduction Task Force seized more than 3,200 pounds of illegal narcotics with an estimated street value of $9.8 million. BIA-OJS also successfully led 15 Opioid Reduction Task Force operations in seven states that resulted in 372 arrests.

For more images, go to Interior's Flickr page.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara Mac Lean Sweeney today announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) has awarded $5,382,606 in energy and mineral development grants to 24 federally recognized tribes in 11 states across the U.S. The grants will fund tribal efforts to identify, study, design, and/or develop projects using energy, mineral or natural resources on the tribes’ lands to achieve their economic development goals.

“I congratulate the FY 2019 EMDP grant recipients on being selected,” said Assistant Secretary Sweeney. “This year’s awards fund a remarkable variety of tribal ideas and interests which, hopefully, will lead to even more remarkable outcomes that build tribal self-sufficiency. I am proud of IEED’s work to aid tribes in discovering ways to use their assets so that they can achieve their economic and self-determination goals.”

The grants were made through IEED’s Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP). The program is administered by the Division of Energy and Mineral Development (DEMD), which assists tribal governments and American Indian allottees with evaluating energy and mineral resource potential on their lands. Recipients use this information to determine whether or not they wish to develop energy projects, or extract and market commercially, or strategically, valuable minerals.

The DEMD solicits proposals on an annual basis from tribes and, through a competitive review process, selects qualified projects for funding. The program’s grant amounts are dependent upon appropriations. The projects announced today were selected from among 75 proposals submitted during the FY 2019 funding cycle.

The 2019 EMDP grant awardees by tribe name, state, award amount and purpose are:

• Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Montana ($1,158,000) – To identify high-confidence, low-risk oil and gas prospects on the Fort Peck Reservation that can be profitably developed.
• Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, California ($295,868) – To analyze and follow up on findings from the tribe’s mineral assessment project to determine potential mineral deposits on the Chemehuevi Reservation.
• Chippewa Cree Tribe, Montana ($121,635) – To qualify, quantify and determine suitability for customer use aggregate sand and gravel deposits on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation.
• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, Oregon ($294,000) – To prepare for geothermal drilling operations on land parcels selected to host temperature gradient holes.
• Coushatta Tribe, Louisiana ($141,226) – To study existing energy resources and associated projects available to them, specifically natural gas technologies and processes such as Combined Heat and Power (CHP) distributed generation.
• Fond du Lac Band, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota ($98,000) – To design, evaluate and develop specifications for a micro-grid on the Band’s reservation to produce a more reliable power supply, reduce brownouts and blackouts, and lower energy use costs.
• Hoopa Valley Tribe, California ($152,575) – To complete an investment grade feasibility analysis for a CHP biomass/biogas 15 megawatt power plant to be located on its reservation.
• Kashia Band of Pomo Indians, California ($50,500) – To assess 1) the potential of biomass energy resources available in a tribally owned forest, 2) go-to-market opportunities for this resource, and 3) the potential for using these resources in a biomass/biogas power plant to serve tribal members and facilities on the tribe’s Stewarts Point Rancheria.
• Kewa Pueblo [formerly known as Pueblo of Santo Domingo], New Mexico ($219,608) – To study and determine the feasibility and profitability of the sale of tribally owned sand, gravel and concrete resources to markets within the greater Albuquerque-Santa Fe region.
• Mescalero Apache Tribe, New Mexico ($295,557) – To delineate, map, sample and test multiple aggregate resource sites on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
• Northern Cheyenne Tribe, Montana ($198,135) – For two projects: 1) to evaluate the potential for a network of residential and community rooftop and commercial site photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal installations, and 2) to conduct a feasibility analysis on developing wind power generation on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
• Oglala Sioux Tribe, South Dakota ($145,750) – To identify and assess as suitable sand and gravel mining sites on the Pine Ridge Reservation that can serve job sites within the three-county region where the Tribe is located.
• Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico ($100,000) – To complete an assessment/preliminary engineering report determining the current capability for solar PV power at several locations on its reservation that can also be used by the tribe to seek funds to deploy such technology.
• Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico ($81,625) – To explore a solar energy project to serve local distribution utility solar power needs while, potentially, reducing the tribe’s dependence on grid connectivity with its associated high costs and reliance on fossil fuels.
• Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico ($370,952) – To expand on work done in earlier studies funded by the EMDP that will identify, test and analyze clay deposits on the tribe’s reservation to determine their suitability for the production of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs).
• Sac & Fox Nation, Oklahoma ($89,000) – To explore a micro-grid solution that would alleviate power outages, reduce electricity costs, and serve multiple tribal facilities.
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation, South Dakota ($65,940) – To determine, through a marketing and feasibility study, the potential for the profitable sale of tribally owned sand, gravel and concrete ready-mix resources.
• Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Colorado ($140,000) – To identify options for using solar resources in renewable energy project initiatives and to determine the financial feasibility and viability of projects utilizing such technology.
• The Osage Nation, Oklahoma ($193,620) – To estimate recoverable oil with enhanced oil recovery.
• Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, Louisiana ($306,460) – To study the Tribe’s oil and gas resources to determine their use and development on the Tunica-Biloxi Reservation.
• Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, Oklahoma ($69,000) – To develop a comprehensive solar development plan.
• White Mountain Apache Tribe, Arizona ($45,155) – To identify and develop sand and gravel sources on the Fort Apache Reservation to meet the Tribe’s future needs.
• Wind River Reservation (Arapaho Tribe and Eastern Shoshone Tribe), Wyoming ($750,000) – To: 1) conduct a technical evaluation of challenges, opportunities and upside potentials in mature oil fields on tribal lands in the Wind River Basin, 2) to improve and/or enhance oil recovery, and 3) conduct an economic evaluation of oil fields having the highest priority to the tribes.

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 (AI/AN) communities by helping federally recognized tribes develop their renewable and nonrenewable energy and mineral resources; increasing access to capital for tribal and individual American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses; assisting tribes in building the legal infrastructure necessary for their economic progress; and enabling tribally and individual AI/AN-owned businesses to take advantage of government and private sector procurement opportunities. Visit the IEED website for more information about its programs and services.

-DOI-

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Hans Walker, a Mandan Indian, was named today by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton to head the new Indian Water Rights Office.

Secretary Morton had previously announced, in a press conference, October 4, that he intended to create the Indian Water Rights Office to direct all aspects of Interior's trusteeship responsibility for protecting-the water rights of American Indians.

He also stated: "The Indian Water Rights Office will report directly to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the Commissioner will in turn report directly to me in Indian water matters."

Walker, a graduate of the University of North Dakota's Law School, has had broad experience in the highly specialized area of Federal Indian law as well as in tribal government operations. Since 1967, he has been an attorney adviser in Interior's Office of the Solicitor, where he has been in charge of the Jurisdiction and Indian Taxation Unit. Prior to joining the Solicitor's Office, he served as Tribal Operations officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Aberdeen (S.D.) and Minneapolis area offices.

Previously, Walker had practiced law as a private attorney, and had several public service assignments in juvenile work and civil rights. He was born on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota.

"Mr. Walker is not only my first choice to head this key new Indian Water Rights Office, but is the first choice of Indian Commissioner Louis Bruce and Assistant Secretary Harrison Loesch," Secretary Morton said.

"Moreover," the Secretary added, "Walker was recommended as top choice by the Indian leaders of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association, the National Congress of American Indians, and the National Council on Indian Opportunity."

For the present the Water Rights Office will be composed of five members. Walker, as new Director, is in the process of selecting his Deputy and the three additional staff. Announcement of these appointments will be made in the near future.

Walker stated: "I will select members of my staff to provide representation from engineering and scientific, as well as legal and administrative fields, so that we will be able to develop a comprehensive program toward the protection of Indian water rights."

Functions and responsibilities of the Indian Water Rights Office are as follows:

•••• To direct appropriate action administratively and through the courts to assert and protect those water rights

• ••••To establish and maintain priorities and plans of action

• •••• To supervise development of necessary technical data

• •••• To identify the Indian water rights problems throughout the Nation

• •••• To act as control center, status center, management center for water rights activities

• •••• To assign responsibilities to and monitor performance of all elements of the Interior organization for their part in Indian water rights efforts.

The Indian Water Rights Office will be located in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Building, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20242.

The Minerals Management Service, created today by Interior Secretary James Watt to ensure the proper and full collection of royalties from Federal and Indian leases, will place renewed emphasis upon efforts to stem royalty fraud and theft in a system producing $5 billion in annual collections.

The basis of the new Service is the Conservation Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, which is being reassigned to report directly to the Under Secretary and an executive group within the Office of the Secretary.

"This elevated status," Watt said, "indicates the high level of involvement" intended for the Service as it further tightens inspections, site security and auditing and accounting procedures governing more than 44,000 oil and gas wells on nearly 17,000 leases spread across 27 States.

Enforcement of the 60 recommendations of the Commission on Fiscal Accountability of the Nation's Energy Resources and approved by Watt will be a major responsibility of the new agency. The Commission, appointed by Watt in July 1981 and headed by David F. Linowes, suggested major changes in royalty accounting to cope with increasing demands for oil and an expanded domestic drilling program.

Current Interior Department projections indicate that royalty collections could rise from their present $5 billion a year level to $14 billion a year by 1990. A significant portion of that money is returned to the States of origin and to the Indian tribes where leases are located.

"Moving the Conservation Division out of the USGS will preserve and enhance the Survey's international reputation and scientific excellence as well as its role as the Federal Government's prime earth science agency,” Secretary Watt said. "With the reassignment of the Survey's regulatory activities, it can focus on broad objectives including scientific research on geology, topography, land, water and power studies, and dissemination of scientific data," Watt said. Cooperative agreements with jurisdictions which benefit from the royalty money are high on the list of changes called for by Secretary Watt as he adopted the Linowes Commission recommendations. States now receive half of the royalties from Federal leases within their borders (except for the State of Alaska which receives nine-tenths of the Federal royalties), and Indian tribes receive all of the royalties on tribal leases.

Watt's creation of a legislative Task Force to develop an omnibus royalty management bill indicates his intention of expanding the sanctions available to the Minerals Management Service for cracking down on royalty offenders, as well as other legislative improvements': Watt will seek as well authority to create a self-sustaining fund from royalties for royalty management. Watt has asked that the legislative proposal includes a bounty system, or reward incentive plan, by which individuals could be paid for furnishing information about fraudulent or wasteful practices in the royalty collection system.

Watt's creation of a legislative Task Force to develop an omnibus royalty management bill indicates his intention of expanding the sanctions available to the Minerals Management Service for cracking down on royalty offenders, as well as other legislative improvements. Watt will seek as well authority to create a self-sustaining fund from royalties for royalty management. Watt has asked that the legislative proposal include a bounty system, or reward incentive plan, by which individuals could be paid for furnishing information about fraudulent or wasteful practices in the royalty collection system.

Creation of the new agency culminated a series of actions which Watt began shortly after taking office a year ago. Last February the Secretary met with the governors of western oil-producing States and asked for their help in curbing potential losses of royalty. He noted that investigations by the General Accounting Office, the Congress, the States and Indian tribes back to 1959 had little effect on the problem, which has worsened during recent years as the prices for oil shot up.

When Watt appointed the Commission on Fiscal Accountability last July, he offered it all the resources of his own office, as well as opening the way for coordination with President Reagan's Council on Integrity and Efficiency and the Office of Management and Budget, to seek solutions for fraud and theft in the royalty system. He said the commission report would have first priority in seeking to avert a financial scandal among the onshore Federal and Indian leases.

"The American people deserve full payment for the sale of the public resources, and I intend to see that they get it," Watt said in appointing the Commission.

Reconstituting the Conservation Division into the Minerals Management Service will permit the remainder of the USGS to concentrate on other problems of national magnitude, Watt said. These include finding new resources of strategic minerals and energy, understanding acid rain, dealing with radioactive waste, and better preparing for geologic hazards, from mudslides to earthquakes.

"We also expect the Survey to accelerate the Department's National Mapping Program and to build the new National Digital Cartographic Data Base that will support the activities of nearly every governmental agency in the country," he said, adding:

"The Survey will be able to place more emphasis on developing better assessments of the mineral and energy resources potential on the public lands, both onshore and offshore. A good leasing program is still dependent on good earth science, and we will continue to expect the Survey to provide that base."

Secretary Watt noted that during the past century the Geological Survey has been known as the mother of bureaus spinning off numerous functions to form new bureaus within the Department of the Interior including the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Mines, and elements of the Bureau of Land Management.

"I am excited by today's action to create the Minerals Management Service because it will allow the Geological Survey to concentrate more fully on its scientific mission, and I and the Department will be able to rely more upon the organization and its director, Dr. Dallas Peck, as our principal advisor on scientific matters," Watt added.