Past News Items

A second series of regional meetings with Indians to discuss implementation of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act will begin May 28, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

Draft regulations for the Act, mailed to leaders of Indian tribes and organizations May 16, will be reviewed at these sessions, conducted jointly by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service.

The first series of meetings was held in March prior to the drafting of regulations.

Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton, acting on requests by the Pauma and Pala Bands of California Mission Indians, has instructed the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to issue trust patents to those Bands for certain public lands in California.

WASHINGTON, DC– On Wednesday, January 16, 2013, the Department of the Interior will participate in a 2:00 pm (Eastern Time) conference call and webinar hosted by the National Congress of American Indians to inform and clarify roles and responsibilities regarding the recent Cobell Settlement trust administration class payments.

The selection of Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson as one of America's ten outstanding young men was described today as "symbolic of the achievements and progress of all American Indians," by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton.

"One of the reasons Morrie was given this honor was because he overcame the odds against a poor Athabascan Indian from the fish camps of the Yukon River. Today there are thousands of Indians overcoming similar odds and moving towards greatness in various fields," Morton said.

The U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today reaffirmed a commitment to improve housing conditions for Indians with the signing of an Agreement of Cooperation. It calls for development of a manual of Federal housing and related programs to spur Indian use of Federal housing aid.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and HUD are operating jointly under a five-year plan to provide 6,000 dwellings a year for Indians.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary- Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today praised the passage of the Violence Against Women Act, which includes important provisions for federally recognized tribal communities, saying it advances the progress the nation has made in combating violence against women by providing greater protections against homicide, rape, assault and battery in the home, workplace and on school campuses across the country.

Because of increasing reports of violence and the alleged breakdown of law and order on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Morris Thompson, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, today said he was taking several steps to alleviate the situation there and to help the Oglala Sioux Tribe find solutions to the causes which are disrupting the quality of life on the reservation.

Thompson said he was detailing a Bureau of Indian Affairs Special Officer and an assistant, along with 10, members of the Special Operations Service, to Pine Ridge immediately.

Carl J. Cornelius, 57, an Oneida Indian from Green Bay, Wisc. and a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee for 36 years has been named Deputy Director of Management Services of the Bureau by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce. He replaces Harold Bassett, who transferred to the Office of Management and Budget.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today issued the following statement on the passing of United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye:

“Senator Inouye was a remarkable man who served his country at a time of its greatest peril during World War II and later as a distinguished member of Congress. His endurance of racial prejudice made him a champion of human rights and dignity – a hallmark of his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

Final regulations governing the revision of the membership roll of the Menominee Indian Tribe were published in the Federal Register, April 2, 1975, it was announced today. The regulations will become effective on May 1.

Updating of the roll is required by the Menominee Restoration Act which re-established the tribe's Federal status and eligibility for special Federal services and programs. The tribal roll was closed as of June 17, 1954, when legislation terminated the tribe's special relationship with the Federal Government.