Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus said today he was "pleased by the White House announcement that President Carter had nominated William Hallett, a Red Lake Chippewa, to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs."
Andrus said that the "filling of the Commissioner's post with a competent, knowledgeable man like Bill Hallett will be good for both the Indian community and the Department of the Interior."
Hallett's nomination was sent to the Senate September 28. A tentative date of November 13 has been set for the confirmation hearings.
Hallett is the HUD Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Indian Programs, in the Denver region.
As Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hallett would be responsible for directing the programs and day-to-day operations of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard, a Blackfeet Indian, said Hallett would be filling a "key role in the administration of Indian programs." He said that Hallett's nomination was preceded by an exhaustive search for the highly qualified individual needed
for the position." Gerard said that he looked forward to working with Hallett to "improve services to the Indian community."
Hallett was born May 18, 1942 in Red Lake, Minnesota. He graduated in 1960 from the Red Lake Indian High School. After two years at Brigham Young University, Hallett completed studies for a Bachelor's degree in business administration at Bemidji State College, Minnesota in 1965. He did post-graduate work in public administration at the University of New Mexico under the HUD Career Education Program.
From 1965 to 1967 Hallett was a personnel technician for the Chicago Police Department. He then became director of housing and manpower programs on the Red Lake Chippewa Reservation, where he set up and directed the Tribal Home Construction Company. From 1968 to 1970 he was director of industrial development for the National Congress of American Indians.
In 1970 Hallett served as a consultant to the National Council on Indian Opportunity and the President's National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise.
Hallett went to the Denver HUD office in 19 70 as a special assistant to the regional administrator for Indian affairs. He was named assistant regional adn1inistrator in 1975.
