Past News Items

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.

Notice is being published in the Federal Register that about 35,000 acres of land within the boundaries of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota has been declared excess by the Air Force, and administrative jurisdiction has been transferred to the Secretary of the Interior.

The land had been part of the Badlands Air Force Gunnery Range. It was formerly part of the reservation trust lands.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs today awarded a contract to Southern Cafeteria Operating Company, Birmingham, Alabama, for the provision of noonday meals during the coming school year at five Federal day schools on the Cherokee Reservation in western North Carolina.

Southern Cafeteria’s bid of 44 cents per meal was the lowest of those received in response to invitations issued by the Indian Bureau on July 22. The bids were opened August 15.

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).

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson said today that many of the recommendations made in a recently released report on the troubled conditions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation were being implemented.

The report was prepared by a special commission appointed by the Secretary of the Interior. It dealt with problems in law enforcement and judicial services, tribal government, trust management functions, and provision of services to outlying areas of the reservation.

Transfer of Melvin L. Robertson, superintendent of the Western Washington Indian Agency, Everett, Wash., on July 14 to the comparable position at the Menominee Agency, Keshena, Wis., was announced today by Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs W. Barton Greenwood.

Robertson replaces Raymond H. Bitney who moves to the position of assistant director in the Bureau's area office at Anadarko, Okla.

WASHINGTON – Indian Affairs will hold the second of three training workshops designed for tribal judges and attorneys on the topic of secured transactions. The training, to be held on May 8-9, 2013, in Bloomington, Minn., will be conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Office of Justice Services/Tribal Justice Support (BIA-OJS/TJS) and the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED).

Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph said today that Indian affairs are now a major priority within the Department of the Interior.

In an address before the National Tribal Chairmen's Association in Atlanta, Georgia, tonight, Joseph described five areas of concern to Indian people in which progress is being made in the Department: internal changes; the commitment to Indian self-determination; the approach to economic development on Indian reservations; the protection of Indian rights; and the development of Indian policy.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce today announced the appointment of Orville N. Hicks, 44, a graduate of Colorado State University in range management and a veteran of 20 years of Bureau of Indian Affairs service as Superintendent of the new Lower Brule Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, with headquarters at Lower Brule, S. Dak.

He will assume the duties of his post January 9.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk will be a Keynote Speaker with remarks following by the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education Keith Moore at the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) 41st Annual Convention on Thursday, October 7, 2010. They will discuss the roles of the current administration and their policies on making Indian education a priority.