Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Eddie F. Brown today announced the appointment of L. W. (Bill) Collier as Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) Anadarko Area Office in Anadarko, Okla. "We are fortunate to have someone with the talents and field experiences of a Bill Collier to take over this important position," Brown said. "His 13 years of experience at the agency and area level of working directly with tribal governments is most important in a time when BIA is moving from a direct service provider to one of technical assistance. Collier is well-equipped to work closely with tribes as they assume more and more of the responsibilities previously administered by BIA."
Since 1985 Collier has been serving as assistant area director for Indian Programs in BIA's Aberdeen, S.D., area office. He joined the Bureau in 1974 as a field supervisor/enumerator in Flagstaff, Ariz. In 1977 Collier began a two-year assignment as a superintendent intern in the Phoenix area office and took his first superintendent's job in 1979 at the Unitah and Ouray Agency in Fort Duchesne, Utah. From 1983 to 1985 he was superintendent at the Wind River Agency in Fort Washakie, Wyo., before becoming assistant area director in Aberdeen. Collier is a native of Tahlequah, Okla., where he is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. He attended Central State University in Edmond, Okla., from 1965 to 1966 and has a B.A. in history from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967 to 1972.
Anadarko is one of 12 BIA area offices that together provide services to more than 500 Indian tribes and Alaska Native groups. As area director in Anadarko, Collier will be responsible for providing services to 18 Indian tribes in western Oklahoma, four in Kansas, and two in Texas. In his new position, Collier becomes a member of the senior Executive Service. collier is married to the former Johanna Barnebee. They have three children and will reside in the Anadarko area.
