Past News Items

Appointment of Paul L. Winsor as area director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Minneapolis, Minn., was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall. He succeeds James E. Hawkins, who recently transferred to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which the Interior Department administers for the United States under a United Nations trusteeship.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Eddie F. Brown today announced approval of historic agreements giving five Indian Tribes greatly increased authority in the budgeting and spending of federal funds for Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) programs. "This is a major step toward giving tribal governments full authority and responsibility for governing their reservations," according to Brown, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs. "These agreements are historic for these tribes and for the BIA."

Award of a $2,129,250 contract for the construction of elementary school facilities at Rough Rock, Arizona, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The scheduled construction, which will replace the obsolete existing temporary sheet metal building serving some 60 children, will provide an additional 260 Navajo children with needed school accommodations.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ross Swimmer said today he supports the repair of existing Navajo homes on Hopi Partitioned Lands (HPL) in northern Arizona, but pledged legal recourse if evidence is found new home construction is underway in the area.

"We have always maintained that existing law and court orders allow for repair and it has never been our position that such repairs are prohibited," Swimmer said. "But if new home construction is started on the HPL, we will have no choice but to seek appropriate legal action to stop the Navajo Tribe from breaking federal law.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today that five prominent figures in the art world--Commissioners of the Department's Arts and Crafts Board--will be among the guests at the invitational opening of an Indian art exhibit, Monday, May 11. The exhibit features the re-activating of the Department’s art gallery after nearly two decades.

The Board's Commissioners, all serving without pay, are Dr. Frederick J. Dockstader, chairman of the Board; Vincent Price; Rene D'Harnoncourt; Lloyd New Kiva; and Erich Kohlberg.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ross Swimmer today signed the Fort Peck Tribal Water Code, a model agreement for the administration of Indian water rights and the first code to be approved since 1975.

The code resulted from a 1985 compact between the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation and the State of Montana. The Fort Peck tribes own a portion of the Missouri River in northeastern Montana.

The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs today announced renewal of contracts totaling more than $150,000 with six manufacturers to provide on-the-job training for 236 American Indians. The trainees will learn industrial skills ranging from diamond polishing to electronics assembly.

Ross Swimmer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the Department of Interior, announced today a realignment of his office and the headquarters structure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)

A Secretarial Order signed March 18, creates four deputies for Swimmer -- each with specific areas of responsibility in (1) Tribal Services; (2) Education; (3) Trust and Economic Development; and (4) Operations. The order establishes a direct chain of command from the new deputies to the Assistant Secretary by abolishing two former deputy positions.

MULTIPURPOSE CONSERVATION PROJECT AT FORT HALL

A multipurpose project on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho will combine a 12,000-acre bird refuge on Grays Lake with efficient irrigation and flood control. The project was made possible through joint agreement of the Fort Hall Indians, the Grays Lake Protective Committee, and the Department of the Interior.

The National Park Service has compiled a list of Federal, Tribal, Native Alaskan, Native American and Native Hawaiian contacts to assist other Federal agencies and museums in complying with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).