(Washington)-- Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb will participate in a ground breaking ceremony held by the Muskogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma for a six million dollar office building that will house a Bureau of Indian Affairs regional office. "This project is an example of federal and tribal governments working to ensure needed services continue in a cooperative effort." said Perry Beaver, Principle Chief of the Creek Nation. The ground breaking ceremony will take place in Muskogee, Oklahoma on Friday, December 14, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. at the site located at Highway 69 and Peak Boulevard.
The 4500 square foot building is slated to be completed in September 2002, and will house the Bureau of Indian Affairs Eastern Oklahoma Regional office, which administers programs for the 21 federally acknowledged tribes located in eastern Oklahoma. "I'm glad the tribe took a proactive approach to providing economic development for the region and for helping the Bureau of lndian Affairs with a space problem at it's present facility," said Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs McCaleb. "It's a win-win situation for both parties."
The ground bre4king ceremony will include addresses by Will Freeman, Executive Director of the Muskogee Creek Nation. R. Perry Beaver, Principal Chief of the Muskogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma. U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb.
The Muskogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma has 51,000 tribal members. They are located on land in the north-central portion of Oklahoma including the city of Tulsa. The tribe has 6,000 acres of land under federal trust and over 1.9 million acres allotted to it's members. It's capital is located at Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
The Bureau of lndian Affairs, a 176-year-old federal agency has 12 regional offices with approximately 10,000 employees nationwide that provides services to, carries out its federal trust responsibilities for, and promotes the self-determination of the 558 federally recognized tribal governments and approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives.
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