Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Eddie F. Brown today announced a national line officers meeting of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to discuss the future role of the Bureau in working with Indian tribal governments. The meeting of BIA line officers, the first since 1988, will be held July 23-25 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
"I believe the 1990s will be a decade of substantial change in the relationship of the BIA and tribal governments as those governments continue to assume greater control over their own affairs and programs currently managed by the Bureau," Brown said. "Our meeting theme: 'New Directions; Challenges and Opportunities,' is appropriate as we plan for the future role of the Bureau in assisting the tribal governments to take full authority and responsibility for governing their reservations."
The two and one-half day meeting will focus on the major policy directions for the 1990s to develop a new partnership with tribal governments; the legal challenges and legislative opportunities; development and protection of natural resources; and a joint presentation with the Indian Health Service on child protection.
These issues will be presented in a series of panel discussions, addresses and workshops. Nora Garcia, chairperson of the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona and chairperson of the Fort Mojave Tribe, will open the session at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 23. Brown's keynote address will follow. Others addressing the conference include Vernon Masayesva, chairman of the Hopi Tribe; Levi Pesata, president of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe; Wendell Chino, president of the Mescalero Apache Tribe; and Bill Anoatubby, chief of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.
In attendance at the meeting will be the 84 BIA superintendents and field office heads, 43 education program administrators and agency superintendents, 12 area directors, and Brown's top professional staff in Washington, D.C. Brown will hold a ·press conference at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 24 at the Embassy Suites, 5001 North Scottsdale Rd., site of the conference, to discuss the new measures taken by the Bureau to prevent child abuse in Bureau-funded schools.
