Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary of lndian Affairs announced that Mr. M. Franklin Keel has been appointed as Area Director for the Eastern Area Office. "During this critical time for our Indian people we need dedicated, qualified, caring administrators to respond to the needs of our Indian people," Ms. Deer, said. "We welcome Mr. Keel to our senior management staff."
Mr. Keel has been acting as the Eastern Area Director since September 1996. Prior positions with BIA include serving as the Deputy Director of the Office of Trust Responsibilities, Staff Assistant to the Director of the Office of Trust Responsibilities, Superintendent of Concho Agency in Oklahoma, and Senior Legislative Specialist on the Bureau's Congressional and Legislative Affairs Staff. Additionally, he also served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Information Agency in Athens, Greece, and as an Administrative Assistant with the U. S. Naval Weapons Laboratory.
"Mr. Keel brings with him many years of experience and formal training to our upper level administrative staff," Ms. Hilda Manuel, Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs said.
Mr. Keel has earned a bachelor's degree at the Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts, and attended Oklahoma City University where he completed law school earning a Juris Doctorate degree. He also pursued graduate work at the University of Denver Graduate School of International Studies and at the George Washington University School of Public and International Affairs.
Mr. Keel a Choctaw and Chickasaw from Oklahoma has dedicated most of his career to Indian Affairs and has concentrated his efforts in the area of Indian Trust Administration within the Bureau. He is married to Ms. Kathie L. Pett - Keel. He has three sons, Christopher, Joseph and Andrew.
As Area Director for the Eastern Area he will oversee the operation and administration of the Bureau's Eastern Area Office which has responsibility for the Indian tribes in the eastern seaboard, which extends from Maine to Florida, and the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River.
