Assistant Secretary Washburn to Speak at National Congress of American Indians' 2013 Mid-Year Conference in Reno

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn will speak on Tuesday, June 25 at the opening of the National Congress of American Indians’ 2013 Mid-Year Conference in Reno, Nev. The National Congress of American Indians is the oldest and largest association of tribal governments in the United States. The Assistant Secretary will update tribal leaders on a number of Interior Department activities in Indian Country including:

• Steps taken to-date to implement the Department’s Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations that will purchase from willing sellers their fractional interests in American Indian trust lands to benefit federally recognized tribes;

• Proposed changes to Bureau of Indian Affairs land-into-trust regulations in response to last year’s United States Supreme Court decision in Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians v. Patchak;

• The Department’s new regulations implementing the Buy Indian Act; and • Development of a discussion draft on changes to Interior’s federal acknowledgement regulations.

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to credentialed media representatives, who must display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.

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