WASHINGTON – Former Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan, Jr., will join Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason and Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 27, 2006, at a ceremony to officially dedicate the Bureau of Indian Affairs Manuel Lujan, Jr. Indian Affairs Building and to open DOI’s National Indian Programs Training Center (NIPTC). They will be joined by All Indian Pueblo Council Chairman Amadeo Shije and Governor Roland Johnson of the Pueblo of Laguna.
Lujan, a former congressional representative from the State of New Mexico who served as Interior Secretary under President George H.W. Bush, has been a supporter of the Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico for many years. The building is being named in his honor.
The Bureau’s newest facility sits on land formerly occupied by the Albuquerque Indian School, a BIA boarding school that was razed in the 1980s. Groundbreaking for the Lujan building took place on October 27, 2004. The 44-acre site is owned by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and was developed by the Indian Pueblo Federal Development Corporation. The Lujan building is connected to the BIA’s Pete V. Domenici Indian Affairs Building, which was dedicated to the United States senator from New Mexico in 2004.
In addition to NIPTC, both buildings house Indian program offices and personnel including the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office, Office of Indian Education Programs, Office of Management Support Services, Law Enforcement, Information Technology, and from the DOI Office of Hearing and Appeals.
The afternoon portion of the program is dedicated to the opening of a permanent exhibit in the Lujan building of historic photos of the Albuquerque Indian School. The photos are from the collection of University of New Mexico Professor Theodore Jojola, a Regents’ Professor and past Director of UNM’s Graduate Program in Community and Regional Planning. He will give a presentation on the exhibit in conjunction with its opening.
Invitees to the day-long event include state, local and tribal representatives, as well as former students and faculty.
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WHAT: |
Official dedication of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Manuel Lujan, Jr. Indian Affairs Building and opening of the Department of the Interior National Indian Programs Training Center. The event includes the opening of a permanent historic photo exhibit of the Albuquerque Indian School, which formerly occupied the site of the new BIA building. |
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WHO: |
Former Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan, Jr., Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason, Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer, All Indian Pueblo Council Chairman Amadeo Shije, Governor Roland Johnson of the Pueblo of Laguna and Professor Theodore Jojola of the University of New Mexico. |
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WHEN: |
Thursday, April 27, 2006, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (local time) 9:45 a.m. – Press and guest seating begins. 10:00 a.m. – Program begins. 12:30 p.m. – Luncheon (press invited) 1:30 p.m. – Open House including opening of permanent historic photo exhibit on the Albuquerque Indian School. 3:00 p.m. – Event concludes. |
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WHERE: |
Manuel Lujan, Jr. Indian Affairs Building, 1011 Indian School Road, Albuquerque, N.M. |
CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to this event.
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