News by Year

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn announced today that he has signed a reservation proclamation for approximately 292 acres of trust land located in the city of Payson, Gila County, Ariz., belonging to the Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona. The parcel will be added to the Tribe’s existing reservation under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984; 25 U.S.C. 467).

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs has extended the effective date of its rights-of-way final rule by 90 days. The extension provides grantees, potential grantees, landowners and BIA personnel with more time to review the final rule and to adequately prepare for its implementation.

WHAT: In October of this year, President Obama announced a series of public and private sector efforts to address the prescription drug abuse and heroin epidemic. As part of those commitments, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service; and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs will host a press conference to announce an agreement to equip BIA officers with naloxone for responding to incidents of opioid overdose.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that $1 million in funding is being made available to federally recognized tribes through the Bureau of Indian Education’s Sovereignty in Indian Education (SIE) Enhancement Program. The SIE Enhancement Program supports tribes in their efforts to assume control of the BIE-funded schools serving their communities.

PARIS, France – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell met today with French Minister of Justice Christiane Taubira to express the United States' concern about tribal sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony that are sold at French auction houses, and to seek cooperation in working to repatriate objects to Indian tribes in the United States.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the 7th Annual Tribal Nation’s Conference, the White House announced yesterday an Interagency Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for setting a Path to End Homelessness in Native American communities. In support of that interagency effort, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has finalized updates to regulations on the Housing Improvement Program (HIP), as an important part of the Obama Administration’s Tiwahe initiative, which is designed to promote the stability and security of American Indian families.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s Generation Indigenous (“Gen-I”) initiative to remove barriers standing between Native youth and their opportunity to succeed, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced two Indian Affairs initiatives offering learning and training opportunities to Native youth: the Native American Water Corps internships and the Energy Challenge for Native Youth.

WASHINGTON, DC – As part of President Obama’s 7th annual White House Tribal Nations Conference, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior has expanded leasing provisions to give Indian landowners greater control over the use and development of their land. They also announced the launch of Native One Stop, a website where tribal members can locate important federal resources they may be eligible to receive.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Eight federally recognized tribes will collectively receive nearly $2.5 million in grant awards from the U.S. Departments of Education and Interior to bolster their educational programs and advance self-determination goals through the development of academically rigorous and culturally relevant programs.

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today released the 2015 Status Report for the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Program), which summarizes its implementation to date and significant economic impact in Indian Country. Since 2013, the Buy-Back Program has paid nearly $715 million to landowners and restored the equivalent of approximately 1.5 million acres of land to tribal governments.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the White House will hold an on-the-record conference call to preview the White House Tribal Nations Conference that the President will host on Thursday, November 5th. The conference will provide leaders from federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with high-level federal government officials and members of the White House Council on Native American Affairs.

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, November 4, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor and Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn will hold a press conference call to discuss this year’s accomplishments and important new opportunities for engagement for the continued implementation of the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior has finalized updates to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regulations on Secretarial elections for tribal governments that will, among other things, protect the rights of tribal members living away from their communities to vote in these elections. A Secretarial election is a federal election conducted by the Secretary of the Interior for federally recognized tribes under a federal statute or tribal governing document (25 C.F.R. Part 81).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Department of the Interior has accepted from the State of Washington the partial civil and criminal jurisdiction it held over the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. The state has held this authority over the Yakama Nation, a federally recognized tribe located in the southwestern portion of Washington, for more than half a century.

DURANT, Okla. – As part of the Obama Administration's commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations and fulfill federal trust obligations, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will join Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby and Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton on Tuesday, October 6, to announce a historic settlement regarding the U.S. government's management of funds and resources it holds in trust for these tribal nations.

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior today announced that an additional $10 million has been transferred to the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund (the Fund), bringing the total amount contributed so far to nearly $30 million.

SHINNECOCK NATION, N.Y. – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will visit the Shinnecock Nation in New York today, Thursday, October 1 to kick off the Tribal Solarthon as part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to helping build clean energy and strong economies in Indian Country. GRID Alternatives, the nation’s largest nonprofit solar installer, is partnering with the Shinnecock Nation to bring solar power to this northeastern coastal community, which suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy three years ago.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior announced today a proposal to create an administrative procedure and criteria that the Secretary of the Interior would apply if the Native Hawaiian community forms a unified government that then seeks a formal government-to-government relationship with the United States.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education today, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced the award of more than $5 million in grants to help Native American youth become college- and career-ready.

WASHINGTON – Today, Thursday, September 24, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will join U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in a press conference call to discuss more than $5 million in funding to help Native American and Alaska Native youth become college- and career ready. Under a new Native Youth Community Projects (NYCP) program, the Department of Education is making grants to a dozen recipients in nine states that will impact more than 30 tribes and involve more than 48 schools, some of which are schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today issued a decision approving a request by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe to acquire 170 acres of land into trust in the town of Mashpee, Mass., for tribal governmental, cultural and conservation purposes, and 151 acres in trust in the City of Taunton, Mass., for the purpose of constructing and operating a gaming facility and resort. The lands in both Mashpee and Taunton will become the tribe’s first lands held in trust.

WASHINGTON – Today, Thursday, September 17, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will lead a press conference call to discuss a landmark settlement with a nationwide class of tribes and tribal entities. Jewell will be joined by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn and U.S. Department of Justice Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer.

WHO: Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Interior (Interior) today announced a $940 million proposed settlement with a nationwide class of Native American Tribes and tribal entities that, if approved by the federal district court, would resolve a 25-year-old legal dispute related to contract support costs for tribal agencies. The proposed settlement would address claims that the United States contracted with tribes to run programs but did not pay the full amounts required by law.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of President Obama’s Generation Indigenous (“Gen-I”) and Tiwahe initiatives, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced he is calling for September 10 to be known as Hope for Life Day to raise awareness in Indian Country about suicide prevention during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Suicide strikes Native youth especially hard. The suicide rate among American Indians ages 15 to 34 is more than two times higher than the national average.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) awarded more than $1.5 million to 10 federally recognized tribes for projects expanding their capacity to develop and regulate energy projects on tribal lands.

“Tribal self-governance goes hand-in-hand with economic development,” Washburn said. “These capacity grants help tribes develop rules and regulatory regimes for energy development and for protection of their own energy assets.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) awarded over $5 million to 34 tribal projects that will assist in the development of energy and mineral resources on tribal lands. The awards include funding for renewable hydroelectric projects that will provide low-cost clean power to tribal members and other customers, and help to expand tribal economies by opening new business opportunities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s Generation Indigenous (“GenI”) initiative to remove barriers standing between Native youth and their opportunity to succeed, Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Kevin K.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – As part of the Obama Administration’s Climate Data Initiative, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced a new set of online climate data resources to help Arctic communities with climate change planning, adaptation and management. The new data sets, introduced today as part of an online Climate Resilience Toolkit, comprised more than 250 Arctic-related datasets and more than 40 maps, tools, and other resources designed to support climate-resilience efforts in the Arctic.

ANCHORAGE, AK – In recognition of the long history of strong support from Alaska state, tribal and congressional leaders, and in resolution of an official request for a name change pending for 40 years, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the highest mountain in the United States and North America, formerly known as Mount McKinley, will be officially given the traditional Koyukon Athabascan name of Denali.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that $1.75 million in funding is being made available to tribes through two Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) initiatives: The Sovereignty in Indian Education (SIE) Enhancement Program and the Tribal Education Department (TED) Grant Program. These programs assist federally recognized tribes with building their tribal education departments and promoting tribal control of their schools.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Tulalip Tribes of Washington will co-host a VAWA Tribal Trial Advocacy Skills Training session September 2-4, 2015, for tribal court judges, prosecutors and criminal defenders covering basic trial advocacy skills and the use of special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction (SDVCJ) authority granted federally recognized tribes by the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA). The training will take place on the Tulalip Reservation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to empowering tribal nations and strengthening their economies, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that he has approved land leasing regulations from the Makah Indian Tribe and the Squaxin Island Tribe in Washington State pursuant to the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (or HEARTH) Act.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced a new Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) program to assist federally recognized tribal social services agencies seeking to place children in safe homes.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn today announced that DOI University will pilot an interactive training course for Federal employees and tribal representatives engaged in tribal consultation, and will launch the course at the National Indian Programs Training Center in Albuquerque, N.M., on August 25-27, 2015.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to empowering tribal nations, rebuilding their homelands and strengthening their economies, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that he has approved the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians’ probate code, which the Department of the Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) will start applying when probating trust or restricted lands within the Fond du Lac Reservation in Minnesota.

WASHINGTON – Following extensive environmental and economic analyses and robust tribal and public outreach, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor today approved the Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP) and Navajo Mine Energy Project in northwestern New Mexico, under a plan that would minimize and mitigate the project’s projected environmental impacts while maintaining the substantial economic benefits of coal mining and energy production for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and local communities.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joined Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Director Dr. Charles M. “Monty” Roessel today in announcing important funding to help further the Department of the Interior’s goal to transform and improve the quality of education students receive at tribal schools funded by the BIE.

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, July 9, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will deliver opening remarks at the first-ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering, part of the Obama Administration's Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative to remove barriers standing between Native youth and opportunities to succeed. The Gathering provides Native youth from across the country the opportunity to interact directly with senior Administration officials and the White House Council on Native American Affairs, chaired by Secretary Jewell.

Washington, D.C. * 11:00AM – The First Lady will deliver remarks at the first-ever Tribal Youth Gathering. The event will take place at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, DC. This event – cohosted by UNITY Inc., the largest Native youth organization in the country – focuses on creating a national dialogue around wellness, education, and opportunity for tribal youth. In her remarks, Mrs.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today issued final determinations for two petitioners under the existing Federal Acknowledgment process. The decisions include a final determination to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Pamunkey Indian Tribe (Petitioner #323) as a federally recognized Indian tribe, and a final determination on remand to decline acknowledgment for the petitioner known as the Duwamish Tribal Organization (DTO) (Petitioner #25).

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today released a final rule to reform the regulatory process by which the Department of the Interior officially recognizes Indian tribes. The updated rule promotes a more transparent, timely and consistent process that is flexible enough to account for the unique histories of tribal communities, while maintaining the rigor and integrity of the criteria that have been in place for nearly 40 years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – William Mendoza, Director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education at the U.S. Department of Education, and Dr. Charles M. “Monty” Roessel, Director of the Bureau of Indian Education, today announced that the Pine Ridge School in South Dakota has received $218,000 at their request under the U.S.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that Indian Affairs offices and bureaus have hired nearly 600 American Indian and Alaska Native veterans in Fiscal Year 2015, exceeding the goal set last year to increase the number of Native American veterans employed by these agencies from nine percent of the workforce to 12.5 percent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced today that the Miccosukee Indian School (MIS) has received flexibility from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), to use a different definition of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) that meets their students’ unique academic and cultural needs. The Miccosukee Indian School in Florida is funded by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that grants ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 per fiscal year are available for federally recognized tribes and their education departments. The grants are designed to help tribes assume control of Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded schools in their communities, promote tribal education capacity, and provide academically rigorous and culturally appropriate education to Indian students on their reservations and trust lands.

LAWRENCE, KS – On Friday, May 8, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will deliver the commencement address at the Haskell Indian Nations University 2015 Graduation Ceremony. Haskell is commemorating its 130th year of providing education and opportunity to Native American communities nationwide.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Interior Deputy Secretary Mike Connor will deliver the keynote address at the 24th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service being held Thursday, May 7, 2015, at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. Also scheduled to speak is BIA Director Michael S. Black.

Washington, D.C. – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona will hold a VAWA Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Training focusing on the challenges that occur when a tribe uses its special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction (SDVCJ) authority as authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA) to prosecute offenders. The training is scheduled for May 5-7 on the Pascua Yaqui Reservation in Tucson.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Advancing President Obama’s ongoing commitment to work with tribal leaders to build strong economies, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today released final regulations that will ensure tribal communities receive all the royalties they are owed from oil production on their lands, reduce administrative costs and provide greater predictability to the oil industry.

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service has proposed to modify the regulation governing the gathering of plants in national parks. The rule would allow members of federally recognized Indian tribes with traditional associations to areas within specific units of the National Park System to gather and remove plants or plant parts for traditional purposes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In furthering President Obama’s efforts to support American Indian and Alaska Native families and protect tribal communities, Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn and Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator Robert L.

Grants to Help Native Americans Identify and Repatriate Human Remains, Cultural Objects

WASHINGTON – The National Park Service today announced the award of eight Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Repatriation grants totaling $74,348. The grants will assist in the repatriation of individuals and sacred objects, objects of cultural patrimony and funerary objects back to the tribes.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of the Interior today announced it has transferred more than $12 million to the Cobell Education Scholarship Fund, bringing the total amount transferred so far to $17 million. Authorized by the historic Cobell Settlement, and funded in part by the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program), the Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance through scholarships to American Indian and Alaska Native students wishing to pursue post-secondary and graduate education and training.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior, in partnership with the Crow Tribe, will enter into an agreement for hydropower development on the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam, downstream of Yellowtail Dam and Powerplant, on the Bighorn River near Fort Smith, Montana.

The agreement is part of the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 2010. Under the settlement, the Tribe holds the exclusive right to develop and market power generation on the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam.

WASHINGTON, DC – Continuing the momentum of the Department of the Interior’s Land BuyBack Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program), Deputy Secretary Mike Connor today announced that more than $34 million in additional purchase offers have been sent to almost 11,000 landowners with fractional interests at the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Interested sellers have 45 days – until May 16, 2015 – to return accepted offers in the pre-paid postage envelops provided.

LAVEEN, AZ – More than 150 tribal leaders and individual landowners joined Department of the Interior Deputy Secretary Michael Connor and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn at the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program) 2015 Listening Session yesterday. The event, held on the Gila River Indian Community, allowed Interior officials to share updates and hear directly from tribal communities about how the Program can best be implemented across Indian Country.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to supporting Indian families and building resilient, stable and thriving tribal communities, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has published a proposed rule to govern the implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) by state courts and child welfare agencies. The proposed rule also includes changes to current regulations that govern notice to state agencies under ICWA.

WASHINGTON – National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis this week announced $8.78 million of grants to 154 American Indian tribes to support their historic preservation offices in order to carry out national historic preservation program responsibilities on tribal lands.

Washington, D.C. — As part of the Obama Administration’s effort to prepare communities nationwide for the impacts of a changing climate, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the Interior Department will make available $8 million to fund projects that promote tribal climate change adaptation and ocean and coastal management planning through its Tribal Climate Resilience Program.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today released the first of two reports developed by the Rangeland Fire Task Force.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to supporting Indian families and building resilient, thriving tribal communities, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced action the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has taken to help prevent the further dissolution of American Indian and Alaska Native families through the misapplication of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978 (Public Law 95-608).

Dear Tribal Leader:

Washington, DC – At the invitation of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will attend the organization’s leadership meeting in Alaska next week.

This will be Secretary Jewell’s second visit to the state in her official capacity. Jewell has visited Alaska more than a dozen times in previous roles, including as an oil and gas engineer, commercial banker and outdoor recreation business leader.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to empowering tribal nations and strengthening their economies, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced his approval of three separate land leasing codes for the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Today’s action brings to 18 the number of federally recognized tribes whose land leasing regulations have been approved by the Department of the Interior in accordance with the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (or HEARTH) Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request for Indian Affairs, which includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), is $2.9 billion – a $323.5 million, or 12 percent increase from the FY2015 enacted level.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael Connor today announced that the Department has signed two additional agreements with tribal nations in Washington State through the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program).

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to empowering American Indian and Alaska Native tribal nations and strengthening their economies, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael Black today joined Seminole Tribal Chairman James E. Billie to formally approve tribal leasing regulations that will help spur investment and commercial development on the Seminole Tribe’s reservations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will visit South Florida this week for a series of events focused on restoring the health of the Everglades. While there, Jewell will also meet with the Seminole Tribe of Florida to announce a milestone in increasing self-determination and economic development for Native American tribes.