Past News Items

During the many years I have worked in the Bureau of Indian Affairs I have witnessed many phases and much progress in service to Indian people. I believe that no era is as exciting or potentially beneficial to Indians as that of the "70's".

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the winning college and high school teams that designed and built the most efficient portable wind turbine systems as part of the 2010 Indian Education Renewable Energy Challenge with the Argonne National Laboratory. The awards were presented today at the Interior Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

President Jimmy Carter showed a special interest in Indian affairs when he visited the Department of the Interior Friday, February 18.

The President, scheduled to speak to Interior employees in the Department's auditorium, came early, went directly to the fourth floor wing housing the Commissioner of Indian Affairs' offices, shook hands and exchanged greetings with BIA staffers in the hall and then visited with Acting Commissioner Raymond V. Butler for a few minutes.

A Forestry Service Center to help Indians develop productive capacities of their commercial forest lands has been established at Littleton, Colo., in the Denver metropolitan area, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce announced today.

The new office will be directly under the Central Office of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, and initially will be staffed with six employees. Bruce said the Cen­ter is centrally located to most Indian reservations.

On Thanksgiving Day, Americans everywhere gather with family and friends to recount the joys and blessings of the past year. This day is a time to take stock of the fortune we have known and the kindnesses we have shared, grateful for the God-given bounty that enriches our lives. As many pause to lend a hand to those in need, we are also reminded of the indelible spirit of compassion and mutual responsibility that has distinguished our Nation since its earliest days.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today that Earl J. Barlow, a Blackfeet Indian, has been appointed Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education.

Barlow has been Superintendent of Schools in Browning, Montana since 1973. He has also served as the Montana State Supervisor of Indian Education and has worked for thirty years as a teacher, principal and education program administrator.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton announced today that he has asked the Bureau of Indian Affairs to send one of its forestry experts immediately into northern Idaho for an investigation of timber sale prospects on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Bureau of Indian Education Director Keith Moore announced today that BIE-funded schools across Indian Country will have the opportunity to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Green Ribbon Schools program, and will soon invite them to apply to the BIE to be nominated for this national recognition.

The tribal plan for the use and distribution of judgment funds awarded to the Seneca Nation of Indians by the Indian Claims Commission has been published Ii in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

A total of almost $5.5 million was awarded jointly to the Seneca Nation and the Tonawanda Band of Senecas to provide, fair compensation for land sold in the period between 1797 and 1842. Each tribe will receive a proportionate share based on tribal membership. Both are New York tribes.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today disapproved a proposed 25-year oil and gas development contract negotiated between the Navajo Indian Tribe and the Delhi-Taylor Oil Corporation of Dallas, Texas.

One of his objections was based upon the questionable legality of the proposal. The contract would have embraced 5,300,000 acres, about one-third of the Navajo Reservation which includes land in three States.