Past News Items

Richard C. Whitesell, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, has been appointed Assistant Area Director, Community Services, in the BIA's Phoenix Area Office, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

Whitesell has been Superintendent of the Flandreau Indian School at Flandreau, South Dakota.

A former marine, Whitesell was Education Program Administrator at Riverside Indian School in Oklahoma before going to Flandreau. He began
his career as an educator in the Brockton, Montana schools in 1961.

Acting Secretary of the Interior Hatfield Chilson today announced the signing of a 25-year contract with Colorado River Enterprises, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona, under which the corporation will complete the gravity irrigation system on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in western Arizona and develop approximately 67,000 acres of agricultural land at an estimated cost of $28,000,000.

During the last five years of the contract one-fifth of the developed land will be turned over each year for use by the Indians who are the beneficial owners of the property.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure today issued decisions on two tribal gaming applications in California, determining that one of the proposed gaming sites meets the legal and regulatory requirements and one does not.

Laverdure approved a gaming application for the Ione Band of Miwok Indians in Amador County, Calif., that includes authorization for land to be acquired in trust for gaming purposes under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s (IGRA) “Equal Footing Exceptions.”

Proposed amendments to the regulations governing the enrollment of Alaska Natives under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended, were published in the Federal Register, June 4, 1976 Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The proposed revision of the regulations is for the purpose of permitting the filing and review of applications for enrollment pursuant to the Act of January 2, 1976. This Act re-opened the rolls for those persons who missed the original enrollment deadline of March 30, 1973.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today announced awarding of a $70,395 contract for base course road surfacing on the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, to Allison &Haney, Inc., of Albuquerque.

The project begins at the junction of New Mexico Highways 32 and 53 south of Gallup and runs 9.833 miles westward along Route 53 to the Zuni Pueblo. Allison & Haney, Inc. was the low bidder. Higher bids ranged from $74,520.94 to $95,153.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Bureau of Indian Education Family & Child Education Program (FACE) has received national recognition for its exceptional work in promoting young children’s heath and preventing childhood obesity. The recognition came from the first lady’s Let’s Move! Child Care initiative, Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Del Laverdure announced today.

Joseph W. Gorrell, Deputy Director of Interior's Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR), has been appointed to direct financial management programs for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

Commissioner Thompson said, ''This is a position of critical importance so I am pleased to fill it with someone so highly qualified and competent."

Award of a $73,494.33 contract for construction of additional floor space in the dormitory facilities for Indian children at Snowflake, Arizona was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The successful bidder is D. H. Walker Construction Co., Inc. of Phoenix. The only other bid was submitted by Bob Roberts & Associates in the amount of $87,430.

The dormitory is operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Navajo children attending the public school at Snowflake. Approximately 120 Indian students above grade 5 or 12 years of age are enrolled there.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge was given to the KinLani Bordertown Dormitory in Flagstaff, Ariz., a Bureau of Indian Education-funded facility. BIE Director Keith Moore, NFL player Levi Horn of the Chicago Bears, who is the ambassador for Nike N7, Nike, Inc.’s program to bring access to sports to Native American and Aboriginal communities in the United States and Canada, were in attendance to present the award.

Regulations governing the enrollment of Cherokee Indians who will share in the per capita distribution of $1 million are being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The fund to be distributed is part of an award made by the Indian Claims Commission to the Cherokee Nation as additional compensation for lands taken between 1872 and 1893.

According to the regulations, only those Cherokees who were alive on November 5, 1975 and whose names appear on one of eight final rolls of the tribe are eligible for enrollment.