WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael S. Black today announced that he has named Bryan L. Bowker as Regional Director of the BIA’s Western Regional Office in Phoenix, Ariz. Bowker, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, had been serving as Project Manager of the Bureau’s San Carlos Irrigation Project in Coolidge, Ariz. The Western Regional Office oversees 13 agencies and one federal irrigation project serving 44 federally recognized tribes located within the states of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. His appointment became effective on July 4, 2010.
“Bryan Bowker is an extremely capable federal manager who brings to his new position extensive knowledge and experience of BIA programs and Indian Country,” Black said. “I am glad that he has agreed to become a part of my regional management team.”
“Improving the BIA’s ability to deliver services to Indian Country has been an important goal in my career,” Bowker said. “I am very grateful to BIA Director Black and Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk for giving me this leadership opportunity to move Indian Affairs forward in meeting the needs of the tribes in the Western Region.”
Bowker began his federal career with the BIA’s Portland Area Office (now Northwest Regional Office) in February 1988 as a Computer Specialist, a position he held until February 1990 when he became a Computer Assistant and then, in September 1991, a Computer Specialist. While the latter, he was involved with designing, installing and implementing federal information technology and network security systems and conducting employee IT training, as well as helping to develop the BIA’s first internet site.
In June 1995 he became a Supervisory Computer Specialist in the BIA’s Phoenix Area Office (now Western Regional Office) where he served until September 1997 as manager of the Bureau’s Southwest Information Management Center. While there he led the planning and installation of the area office’s local area network that culminated in the installation of LANs at 12 BIA field locations throughout Arizona.
From September 1997 to May 1998, Bowker served as the Acting Superintendent of the BIA’s San Carlos Agency in San Carlos, Ariz., where he was responsible for the day-to-day administration of BIA programs and services for the San Carlos Apache Tribe.
In May 1998, Bowker moved to the position of Regional Administrative Officer for the Western Region, a post he held until May 2002, where he oversaw nine BIA agencies, three field stations and two Irrigation and Power projects while also serving periodically as the Acting Western Regional Director. [During that time, from May to August 2001, Bowker also served as the Acting Deputy Director for the Bureau’s Office of Information Resources Management in Reston, Va., where he was responsible for managing federal and contract employees, negotiating and administering federal IT contracts and addressing computer network security issues.]
In May 2002, Bowker was promoted to Deputy Director-Administration for the Western Region, where he remained until October 2004 when he moved to the position of Deputy Director-Indian Services, a position he held until February 2005. As the head of Indian Services for the Western Region, he oversaw the BIA’s housing, roads, tribal governance, credit, social services and 638 contracting programs. Periodically, he also would serve as the Acting Regional Director.
From February 2005 to August 2007, Bowker was named the Deputy Director-Trust Services for the Western Region, where he was responsible for the BIA’s land, water, environmental and economic development programs in the region, and served as the Regional Director’s principal advisor on trust matters. His responsibilities also included addressing high priority issues such as border security, probate reform, environmental liabilities reporting and remediation, and wildland fire emergencies.
Bowker served again as the Acting Western Regional Director from April to December 2006. In April 2006, he also was named the project manager for the San Carlos Irrigation Project. The project provides irrigation water to the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, Ariz., and the non-tribal San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District. It also provides electrical service to approximately 17,000 on- and off-reservation customers.
Bowker is a graduate of the DOI’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Class No. 14 (May 2006). He has professional certifications in the fields of federal administration, contracting and information technology.
