Past News Items

The actual celebration -- the throwing of a switch to turn on electric power at Puertocito -- takes place August 26, but the real significance of the event extends both ways in time from that date, according to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Puertocito is a remote Indian reservation in west central New Mexico, the home of the Alamo Navajos, a tribal group separated from the main or "Big Navajo" Reservation 100 miles to the north during the Navajo's struggles with Kit Carson and the U.S. Cavalry 100 years ago.

The first step in a "pilot" operation to test the feasibility of contracting for food service in Indian Bureau schools will begin at Cherokee Agency, Cherokee, N. C., on January 17 when Cleaves Food Service, Washington, D. C., takes over the job of providing noonday lunches at the five schools under the agency, Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay announced today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today approved leasing regulations submitted by four federally recognized tribes, restoring their authority to control the leasing of their trust lands and promoting their self-determination and economic development. This streamlined process for restoring tribal leasing authority is consistent with the objectives of the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act, or HEARTH Act.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has awarded a $98,750 contract to Twinco-Enki Corp. of San Fernando, Calif., to review and evaluate projects undertaken by the Bureau under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

The Act, which was amended in 1966 to provide funds for Indian education, requires a broad-based evaluation of projects carried out under its provisions. Twinco-Enki will direct the evaluation from its Muskogee, Okla., branch office, which is centrally located for a number of BIA education projects currently operating.

Commissioner Louis R. Bruce of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that two highway construction contracts totaling nearly $7.6 million have been let by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for projects on the Arizona portion of the Navajo Indian Reservation.

WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn today issued a final determination not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Tolowa Nation (Petitioner #85) located in Fort Dick, California, as an Indian tribe under the regulations governing the Federal acknowledgment process (at 25 Code of Federal Regulations Part 83).

The reassignment of two Indian Agency superintendents and the appointment of a third was announced today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

William W. Grissom will move from the Superintendent's post at the Blackfeet Agency, Browning, Mont., to Superintendent of the Anadarko Agency, Anadarko, Okla. He succeeds Robert Meshaw, who died Aug. 30, 1966.

Born in Noble, Okla., Grissom served in the Coast Guard during World War II. He joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1949 as a soil conservationist at Anadarko after being graduated from Oklahoma A & M College.

Persons claiming Menominee Indian blood have until September 17 for filing applications to have their names added to the present tribal roll, Acting Secretary Fred G. Aandahl said today. Applications should be filed with the Menominee Tribe, in care of the Superintendent, Neopit, Wisconsin.

SHAWNEE, Okla. – As part of President Obama’s commitment to self-determination of tribal nations, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today joined Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John Barrett to formally approve tribal leasing regulations that will help spur investment and commercial development on the nation’s trust lands in central Oklahoma.

A plan for the use and distribution of $4.6 million awarded to the Winnebago Indians by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The award represents payment for lands in Wisconsin and Illinois ceded by the Winnebago Tribe to the United States between 1829 and 1837.

The plan, approved by Congress and made effective October 30, 1975, divides the award between the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and the Winnebago Tribe of Wisconsin on the basis of current tribal rolls.