Past News Items

A "new trail" for Indians leading to equal citizenship, maximum self-sufficiency, and full participation in American life was endorsed today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

Secretary Udall endorsed the "new trail" approach in announcing the completion of a 77-page report by a Task Force on Indian Affairs which he appointed earlier in February.

"Preparing the new trail will require the collaboration of the Indians, State and local governments, and the American people," Secretary Udall said.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Acting Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that she has confirmed Terry Virden, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, as Deputy Commissioner for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). "Terry Virden has been a strong advocate for the BIA," said Martin. "I am confident that he will continue to guide the Bureau with a steady hand now and into the future." The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the nearly 180-year-old federal agency.

The Central Oregon Ecological Training Exchange (TREX) is a two-week learning program designed to provide two-way training and learning for fire practitioners, land stewards and resource specialists from a wide variety of backgrounds and organizations.

Promotion of Alfred Dubray, a career employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs since 1938, to the position of superintendent of the Winnebago Agency, Winnebago, Nebraska, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, and Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, Kevin Gover will unveil the Trust Assets Account Management System this Friday in Billings, Montana at the Billings BIA Area Office.

TAAMS is a major component in fixing the Indian Trust Funds System. The Billings Area will serve as the pilot of this project which is scheduled for completion early in 2001.

The Department of the Interior today announced the establishment of a fishing tackle assembly plant that will provide immediate employment for about 120 Indian workers on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

The new plant, located in the town of Fine Ridge, represents an expansion of the assembly operations of the Wright and McGill Company, Denver, Colorado, one of the largest manufacturers of fishing tackle in the United States.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Gover spoke Thursday, March 19, about critical American Indian issues and his vision for Tribal America during a University of South Dakota School of Law symposium on "Indian Nations on the Eve of 21st Century: Sovereignty, Self-Government, Water Rights, Land Rights." The speech was taped by C-SPAN for later broadcast.

Transfer of Will J. Pitner, area director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Anadarko, Okla., for the past nine years, to the national office of the Bureau at Washington, D. C., and appointment of Leslie P. Towle, superintendent of the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota, to succeed him, were announced today by the Department of the Interior.

On August 18, Pitner will become chief of the branch of land operations, Succeeding Evan L. Flory, who recently retired. Towle's transfer will be effective August 26. His successor at Pine Ridge has not yet been named.

Thanks to a newly developed process that streamlines the planning, design, and construction of Indian schools, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will be able to complete new schools in half the time or less. This means that the current seven to eight years that it has taken to build or renovate a school 'will now require only three years or less.

The Department of the Interior today announced award of a $963,560 contract for construction of 8.1-miles of roadway on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona from Marsh Pass, approximately 58 miles northeast of Tuba City, running northeasterly towards Kayenta.

This section of road is part of Navajo Route 1, which was authorized by the Anderson-Udall legislation of 1959.