Past News Items

Appointment of Thomas M. Reid as Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay. Mr. Reid has been serving as staff assistant to the Commissioner since December 1953, specializing in the field of resources (extension, forest and range management, irrigation, management of trust land, roads, and soil conservation) and program development.

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar kicked off the Second White House Tribal Nations Conference today, calling the gathering a testament to President Obama’s respect for the inherent sovereignty of Indian nations and determination to honor the Nation’s commitments to American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

Demonstrations of two newly established career development programs on the Navajo Reservation will be opened to visitors July 9 and 10.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson said that the programs at Tuba City, Arizona, and Shiprock, New Mexico, have been proposed as models for other reservations. BIA officials from all regions of the country, as well as congressional, state and tribal representatives have been invited to see demonstrations of the program operations.

A Northeast Region Advisory Committie appointed by Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton on April 24, is the first of the public advisory bodies to be named for each of the six regions of the National Park Service.

"This group of interested private citizens, and those to be appointed for five other National Park System regions, will provide for a free exchange of ideas between the National Park Service and the public on current problems and programs," Secretary Morton said.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will reopen its search for a new regional director of the Bureau’s Alaska Regional Office. The BIA will begin soliciting applicants for the Senior Executive Service (SES) position, which is located in Anchorage, starting on April 22, 2013.

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.