WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk will give the luncheon keynote address at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Symposium on Child Protection in Indian Country being held March 9-11, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort at the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico. He will speak on Tuesday, March 9, from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. (MST). The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which operates and funds tribally based social services, Indian child welfare, law enforcement and justice programs, and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which operates a federal school system of 183 elementary and secondary schools for American Indian and Alaska Native students from the federally recognized tribes. '
The Assistant Secretary will discuss his Safe and Secure Schools Initiative for BIE campuses to provide safe and secure learning environments for students, faculty and staff; the Indian Affairs fiscal year 2011 funding request for additional BIA social workers; and the creation of child protection teams by the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (OJS).
The DOJ Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is convening the Symposium, which is being organized and sponsored by OJP’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Santa Ana Pueblo. Teams from over 60 tribes comprised of individuals representing law enforcement, child protection and tribal leadership will gather to discuss approaches and efforts to prevent, interdict and respond to child abuse, neglect and exploitation.
WHO: Larry Echo Hawk, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior
WHAT: Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk will give the luncheon keynote address at the DOJ National Symposium on Child Protection in Indian Country.
WHEN: Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 12:30-1:45 p.m. (MST)
WHERE: Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, Room: Tamaya EFGH, 1300 Tuyuna Trail, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
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NOTE: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) and valid media credentials. Media inquiries regarding logistics should be directed to Sarah Matz of the DOJ at 202-598-3571.
