WASHINGTON – Interior Assistant Deputy Secretary Abraham E. Haspel, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs David W. Anderson and Special Trustee for American Indians Ross O. Swimmer will join Thomas E. Mills of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on May 14 in a dedication ceremony to officially open the new American Indian Records Repository in Lenexa, Kan. The repository is part of NARA’s underground regional records service facility in Lenexa. It will house the consolidated trust records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of the Special Trustee as part of the Interior Department’s effort to improve federal and tribal trust records management. Mills is the assistant archivist at NARA for regional records services. As such, he is responsible for managing the agency’s 19 regional facilities and collections totaling over 22 million cubic feet of records.
On September 12, 2003, Secretary Gale Norton and Archivist of the United States John W. Carlin signed a joint agreement creating a national repository for American Indian records at the Lenexa facility. The Memorandum of Understanding between DOI and NARA will ensure that the highest standards will be observed in the preservation and protection of American Indian records, including fiduciary trust records. The MOU also created an archival records management studies program at Haskell Indian Nations University to train and certify Indian students in archival and records management.
WHO: Abraham E. Haspel, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior David W. Anderson, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior Ross O. Swimmer, Special Trustee for American Indians, Department of the Interior Thomas E. Mills, Assistant Archivist for Regional Records Services, National Archives and Records Administration
WHAT: Haspel, Anderson, Swimmer and Mills will participate in a dedication ceremony to officially open the new American Indian Records Repository.
WHEN: Friday, May 14, 2004 starting at 3:00 p.m. (CDT)
WHERE: American Indian Records Repository, Meritex Enterprises, 17501 West 98th Street, Lenexa, Kan.
Directions from northbound I-435:
- From northbound I-435, take exit at 95th Street (exit #2).
- Take a right from the exit ramp onto 95th Street. Proceed on 95th Street through the traffic light at Renner Road (after crossing Renner, 95th Street becomes Prairie Star Parkway).
- Take first left after traffic light and follow road into the underground facility (there will be signs indicating “Meritex”).
- Once underground, take a left at stop sign, then a right at next stop sign.
- Follow this road until arriving at the NARA dock (pillar 31-55). There is a sign indicating the NARA dock.
Directions from southbound I-435:
- From southbound I-435, take exit at 95th Street (exit #2).
- Take a left at stop sign onto Renner Road.
- Take a right at first stoplight (95th Street/Prairie Star Parkway).
- Take first left after this and follow road into the underground facility (there will be signs indicating “Meritex”).
- Once underground, take a left at stop sign, then a right at next stop sign.
- Follow this road until arriving at the NARA dock (pillar 31-55). There is a sign indicating the NARA dock.
Note to Editors: Credentialed media covering the event should be in place by 2:45 p.m. Press seating will be provided. The program will begin at 3:00 p.m.
