News by Year

Increase due to rising operational and regional energy costs over past 16 years.

Alternative 2 provides guidance on controlling noxious weeds across Navajo Nation

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) today announced a $15 million investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for repairs to the Oglala Dam on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. This investment is in addition to over $21 million allocated for the project last year, as part of a $29 million investment for dam safety programs in Tribal communities across the country.

Previously based in Mescalero, NM, the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Vulcan Peak Helitack program is now successfully operational from its new location in Albuquerque, NM, as of April 2022. Since moving the program from Mescalero, NM, staff were hired, training and qualifications were achieved, and a 6-person helitack crew was reestablished.

In the fall of 2022, Northern Arizona University (NAU), in partnership with the Intertribal-Timber Council, hosted its bi-annual Tribal Forestry Fire Student Summit. This year’s theme focused on “Investing in the Future of Tribal Forest Resource Management & Wildland Fire.” Seventy-four Tribal fire and forestry students from NAU and other campuses throughout the nation participated in the summit virtually and in-person on the NAU campus in Flagstaff, Arizona.

This October, 12 students received certificates for completing S-219 Firing Operations training (S-219) at the BIA Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. The instructors for the course were Justin Bauer, BIA Pine Ridge Agency Forestry Aid, Kyle Golus, BIA Sisseton Agency Fire Operations Specialist and Eric O’Connor, Lieutenant with the Rapid City Fire Department’s Wildfire Mitigation Program. The students came from six different fire management offices including BIA Agencies, state, city, and a volunteer fire department.

The Department of the Interior’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs today announced the publication of proposed revisions to two regulations, one regarding the fee-to-trust process and one regarding Class III gaming compacts. The updated regulations will provide clearer and more efficient processes for Tribes that are applying to place land into trust or enter into gaming compacts.

The TCR Regional Assessment Report aims to evaluate the effectiveness of TCR’s Annual Awards Program and technical assistance and incorporate direct Tribal input to meet Tribal needs and priorities.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced an agreement that updates guidelines to provide for the effective and efficient administration of criminal investigations in Indian Country. This is the first update since the early 1990s to a memorandum of understanding between the bureaus.

Funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act Supports Community-Driven Relocation for Threatened Communities.

In FY 22, The Timber Team spent 30 weeks traveling in response to Tribal forestry project needs. Between driving and flying to project locations, they traveled over 32,000 miles and successfully completed forestry work for 16 Tribes throughout the United States.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced today the approval of a land into trust acquisition for the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. This is the second fee-to-trust acquisition in Alaska since the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971, and the first in five years.

The recent Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides additional funds to the BIA Branch of Tribal Climate Resilience that continues to fund and support Tribal communities and organizations through the annual awards program.

The Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development announced grants under two programs that support economic development in Indian Country, the Native American Business Incubators Program and the Native American Business Development Institute Feasibility Study Program.

This past September, the Timber Team traveled to southern South Dakota to assist the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Forestry Department. The team helped the tribe with the layout, marking and cruising (measuring forestland to determine merchantability) of ponderosa pine trees to salvage materials lefts behind in the wake of the West SF Fire.

124 awards will support 76 Tribes and 8 Tribal organizations to enhance preparedness, resilience, and ocean and coastal management planning.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provides funds to dramatically increase fuels treatments and post-wildfire recovery efforts. This funding represents an opportunity to dramatically improve the tools and modeling to plan individual fuel treatments, monitor fuel treatment effectiveness, and account for landscape scale risk reduction.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that Richard “Glen” Melville, an enrolled member of Makah Tribe of Washington, will lead the Office of Justice Services as a deputy bureau director starting this month. Melville joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1997 and served a 29-year career with the bureau and Tribal law enforcement programs before retiring in 2021 as the deputy associate director for the Office of Justice Services. He has since returned from retirement to lead OJS’s public safety programs.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced today that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development is soliciting applications for its Fiscal Year 2022 Tribal Tourism Grant Program.

Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced today that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development is accepting applications from eligible federally recognized Tribes for the 2022 National Tribal Broadband Grant Program.

Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announced an agreement to coordinate responsibilities in ensuring compliance with environmental, historic preservation, and cultural resources requirements related to the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP).

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland today announced that Haskell Indian Nations University, a Bureau of Indian Education-operated Tribal University in Lawrence, Kansas, is the recipient of a $20 million award from the National Science Foundation for an Indigenous science hub project. Funded under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the award is for five years and is the largest research award ever granted by the NSF to a Tribal college or university.

The Department of the Interior today announced that 2,184 landowners with fractional interests at the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana have been sent more than $11.1 million in purchase offers from the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Landowners who received offers with a cover letter date of June 28, 2022, have until August 12, 2022, to consider and return accepted offers.

The Department of the Interior today announced over 5,500 landowners with fractional interests at the Crow Creek Reservation have been sent more than $5 million in purchase offers from the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Landowners who received offers have until July 11, 2022, to consider and return accepted offers in the pre-paid postage envelopes provided.

Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland announced today that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development has awarded $7 million in grants under the Living Language Grant Program to 45 American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and Tribal organizations.

The Department of the Interior today announced over 3,000 landowners with fractional interests at the Lower Brule Reservation in South Dakota have been sent more than $2.8 million in purchase offers from the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Landowners who received offers have until June 16, 2022, to consider and return accepted offers in the pre-paid postage envelopes provided.

In response to the April 2022 Cerro Pelado Fire, a BAER Team was brought in to evaluate soil burn severity and post-wildfire threats to human life, safety, and property as well as critical natural and cultural resources, important to each Pueblo.

Between May 6 and 12, 2022, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, the Moapa River Indian Reservation Police Department, Nevada State Police, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, and other federal agencies conducted a criminal interdiction operation within the Moapa River Indian Reservation that resulted in the seizure of millions of dollars’ worth of illegal narcotics.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that Steven Juneau, an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska, will be the Office of Justice Services acting deputy bureau director starting this month. Juneau is currently the associate director of the office’s Professional Standards Directorate, where he is responsible for leading national training, policy, recruitment, retention, inspections, and cultural resource investigations.

Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland wrapped up a weeklong tour of Alaska where he met Tribal leaders and community members to discuss investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for Tribal climate resilience and the Department of the Interior’s ongoing efforts to support Alaska Native communities. Assistant Secretary Newland’s visit follows Secretary Haaland’s recent trip to Alaska where she highlighted ongoing efforts to support sustainable economies across the state.

The Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development announced today it is accepting applications for Native American Business Development Institute grants. Proposals must be submitted via the Grants.gov website by June 27, 2022.

Indian Affairs announced today that land leasing regulations submitted by five federally recognized Tribal Nations have been approved under the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership (HEARTH) Act of 2012. The regulations were submitted by the Karuk Tribe, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians, Pala Band of Mission Indians, and Pechanga Band of Mission Indians in California.

Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Bryan Newland will host a briefing for Tribal leaders on the President’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for Indian Affairs. The briefing will take place via conference call on Friday, April 15, 2022, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT.

The Department of the Interior’s Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs today announced new regulations to improve implementation of the Buy Indian Act to promote economic development opportunities in Indian Country. The final rule was developed in consultation with Tribes after the Department proposed revisions to the Buy Indian Act regulations last year.

DFWFM’s Timber Strike Team traveled to nine states to assist 17 Tribal agencies with timber sales and continuous forest inventory (CFI) projects.

The Tribal Climate Resilience program is pleased to announce the three Tribal organization awardees of the recent solicitation to support regional Tribal climate resilience liaisons, who will bring the technical services at the Department of the Interior's Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs) to Tribal Nations across the country.

The Department of the Interior’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs today announced that it will hold nation-to-nation consultations with Tribes on draft amendments to two different regulations, one regarding the fee-to-trust process and one regarding Class III gaming compacts. The potential changes to these separate regulations aim to address concerns about their clarity, efficiency, and cost. Tribal leaders were notified of upcoming consultations in a letter from Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Bryan Newland.

The Biden-Harris Administration today submitted to Congress the President’s Budget for fiscal year 2023. The President’s Budget details his vision to expand on the historic progress our country has made over the last year and deliver the agenda he laid out in his State of the Union address—to build a better America, reduce the deficit, reduce costs for families, and grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out.

The Department of the Interior today announced nearly 3,000 landowners with fractional interests at the Crow Reservation have been sent more than $97 million in purchase offers from the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Landowners who received offers have until April 11, 2022, to consider and return accepted offers in the pre-paid postage envelopes provided.

The Indian Affairs Office of Indian Economic Development announced today it is soliciting applications for its Native American Business Incubators Program. The deadline for proposals is June 17, 2022.

The Department of the Interior’s Office for the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced today that it has approved the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians’ application to create its Tribal Energy Development Organization. The action makes the Minnesota Tribe the first to receive such approval and will support their ongoing effort to develop renewable energy resources.

In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal to address climate change and promote renewable energy production, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today it is advancing the Chuckwalla Solar Projects in coordination with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians (Moapa Band), the Bureau of Land Management and other federal partners.

BIA’s Western Region will participate in fuels treatments on the Catalina-Rincon Restoration and Fuels Mitigation project for the Santa Catalina Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest (CNF) over a three-year period. The project is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Joint Chief’s Landscape Restoration Project Award.

Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Bryan Newland has completed a four-day tour of meetings and listening sessions with Tribal leaders and members of the public across New Mexico and Arizona.

Indian Affairs announced today that land leasing regulations submitted by three federally recognized Tribal Nations have been approved under the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership (HEARTH) Act of 2012. The regulations were submitted by the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and by the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians and Table Mountain Rancheria in California.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs today submitted its initial spend plan for funding allocations authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to the U.S. Congress. This spend plan represents a blueprint for how BIA will invest directly in Tribal communities across the country to bolster community resilience, replace aging infrastructure and expand access to clean drinking water. The BIA participated in three Department-wide consultations with Tribes in the development of the submitted spend plan and to inform further program implementation.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) today announced a series of reforms to the Office of Justice Services (OJS) Correctional Program to protect the rights, dignity and safety of those who are in custody

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that, due to increased costs of delivering electrical utility service, the San Carlos Irrigation Project in Arizona is proposing an increase in electricity rates, effective June 1, 2022. This will be the first rate increase for San Carlos Irrigation Project Power Division customers in 16 years.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that, due to increased costs of delivering electrical utility service, the San Carlos Irrigation Project in Arizona is proposing an increase in electricity rates, effective June 1, 2022. This will be the first rate increase for San Carlos Irrigation Project Power Division customers in 16 years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Indigenous populations across the country, including among children. In response, the Bureau of Indian Education announced today it is acquiring personal protective equipment to distribute to schools for the health and safety of the Tribal communities it serves.The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Indigenous populations across the country, including among children. In response, the Bureau of Indian Education announced today it is acquiring personal protective equipment to distribute to schools for the health and safety of the Tribal communities it serves.

The Status of Tribes and Climate Change (STACC) Report, produced and coordinated by the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP), was written by over 90 co-authors, was recently published and is now available.

The TCR 2021 Annual Awards Summary contains information about this year's Tribally-designed training and planning climate adaptation, resilience, ocean and coastal management efforts.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs Division of Drug Enforcement, with assistance and cooperation of the Moapa River Tribal Police Department and other federal and state partners, conducted a highway interdiction operation along Interstate 15 northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The four-day operation resulted in the seizure of over 123 pounds of narcotics with a street value of nearly $2.8 million. Please make sure you enter 2 - 3 sentences of summary. This will assist the display of news on the webpage

The Bureau of Indian Affairs would like to announce the release of a 2020 report on The Unmet Infrastructure Needs of Tribal Communities and Alaska Native Villages in Process of Relocating to Higher Ground as a Result of Climate Change (Report).

Indian Affairs announced today that land leasing regulations submitted by seven federally recognized Tribal nations have been approved under the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership (HEARTH) Act of 2012. The regulations were submitted by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana, Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe in Nevada, Tule River Indian Tribe in California, and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in Texas.

Interested sellers have until March 4, 2022, to respond to offers The Department of the Interior announced that nearly 1300 landowners with fractional interests at the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation have been sent more than $13 million in purchase offers from the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations. Landowners who receive offers have until March 4, 2022, to consider and return accepted offers in the pre-paid postage envelopes provided.

The Bureau of Indian Education marks a significant milestone by unveiling its official logo today. This is the first logo for BIE since becoming a bureau in 2006. The initial logo design was created by Kayla Jackson, a member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe who is also a graduate of the Bureau’s Haskell Indian Nations University located in Lawrence, Kansas.