OPA

WASHINGTON - Interior Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced his selection of Jeanette Hanna, currently Director of Planning, Budget and Management Support for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as his choice to be the new director of the Bureau's Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office located in Muscogee, Okla. The appointment is effectively immediately.

"I am delighted Ms. Hanna has accepted the directorship of the BIA's Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office," said McCaleb. "With her in-depth knowledge of Bureau operations, experience with tribal governments and unparalleled work ethic, Jeanette is a valuable member of my management team and will be a strong advocate for the eastern Oklahoma tribes."

Hanna, a member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, has almost 20 years of Federal service. Her professional career began in May 1983 when she joined Representative Wes Watkins' Washington, D.C., office as a staff assistant. She eventually became Legislative Director. In December 1990 she left Watkins' office to join the Interior Department's Office of the Budget as a budget analyst, where she served for two years until taking a senior budget analyst position in the BIA's Division of Program Development and Implementation.

In August 1994, Hanna became the Area Budget Officer for the BIA's Phoenix Area Office, as the regional offices were formerly known, where she served 42 Federally recognized tribes in the states of Arizona, Nevada and Utah. As Area Budget Officer, Hanna was responsible for negotiating with tribes on self-governance compacts and funding levels for P.L. 93-638 contracts. In 1997, she served as Acting Area Director until December of that year when she returned to Washington, D.C., to become the BIA's Deputy Budget Director. Hanna was made Budget Director in November 1998.

"As the BIA's budget chief, Jeanette handled her tough job with aplomb," said McCaleb. "Throughout her career, she has worked in areas of the Federal government that typically don't see many professional American Indian women. Her experience has made her well-equipped to meet the challenge of helping shape the BIA into a modern service agency for the tribes and their members."

Hanna has overseen the BIA's $2 billion budget and agency-wide planning efforts to implement mandates of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). She also has served as key staff to a number of Federal/Tribal workgroups on reorganizing the BIA, the Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) process and other issues.

Jeanette Hanna has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration-Management from East Central State University in Ada, Okla. She received her degree in May 1983.

(Washington, D.C.) – The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb is in Ottawa, Canada today for bilateral talks with representatives from the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The bilateral talks were created to provide an opportunity for the United States and Canada to exchange information on how each administer their responsibilities to their indigenous populations.

“I welcome the exchange of information and ideas on how each country deals with the unique relationships we have with our first nations,” Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb said. “It will be constructive dialogue that will result in our doing a better job of delivering services.”

During the one-day meeting, the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb will meet with a group headed by Marc Lafreniere, Deputy Minister, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). The discussion of issues will involve: First Nation governance; education; economic development and on-reserve employment; litigation; federal responsibilities for land and natural resource management; building infrastructure; water rights; and cross border issues that Canada and the United States share in common.

Accompanying the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs is, William Mahojah, Director, Office of Indian Education Programs, Jim Pace, Director, and Eric Wilson, Deputy Director, Office of American Indian Trust.

Two years ago, a group of Canadian government officials and First Nations people traveled to Washington, DC and met with the former Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs and staff at the Department of the Interior.

WASHINGTON -- The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES) will hold its 11th Annual Memorial Service May 9, 2002, to commemorate the sacrifice made by tribal law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty while serving on Indian lands. The Memorial Service will start at 10:30 A.M. on the BIA Indian Police Academy grounds in Artesia, New Mexico.

"The BIA Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial pays homage to those brave police officers who paid the ultimate sacrifice," Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb said. "We must never forget those individuals or their families for what they gave up while working for our safety."

Robert Ecoffey, Director, BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services will provide the keynote address. Kenneth Scabbyrobe, a spiritual leader from the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana will provide the blessing for the Memorial Service. At this year's Memorial Service, three names of fallen officers will be added to the granite stones joining seventy-eight other law enforcement officers, whom have lost their lives in the line of duty since 1852. The names of Officer Creighton T. Spencer, Elko, Nevada, Marshall Shelby D. Blackfox, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and Officer John Red Horse, Pine Ridge, South Dakota will join their fallen comrades on the Memorial.

Officer Creighton T. Spencer, BIA Law Enforcement died on March 25, 2001 while responding to a call for assistance in a town seventy-five miles away from his Elko, Nevada station. While in route, Officer Spencer lost control of his patrol car rolling it across the median where it was struck in mid-air by a semi-tractor trailer traveling in the opposite direction. Officer Spencer's death is particularly poignant since his father, Officer Jack Spencer; Captain of BIA Police at the Western Agency was tragically killed in the line of duty on September 25, 1998.

Shelby D. Blackfox, Cherokee Nation Marshall Service died on November 6, 2001 while en route to meet an informant in the matter of drug interdiction case when he lost control of the motorcycle he was riding and was hit by a passenger car going in the opposite direction.

John Red Horse, Indian Police, Pine Ridge, South Dakota was killed on November 14, 1894 near an Indian camp near Rushville, Nebraska. Officer Red Horse was responding to break up a fight, when an individual in the group attacked him with a club, others joined in beating Officer Red Horse to death.

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial site is constructed with Native American symbolism and traditional plants incorporated into the design. The three granite stones are surrounded by a cement/aggregate surface forming a circle around the vertical slabs with an opening to allow for access. Sage, a plant with spiritual significance, is planted in the four directions to consecrate the hallow ground. Four planter areas are filled foliage surrounded by white, red, yellow, and black stones to signify the four colors of mankind on the Earth.

The original Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial was dedicated on May 7, 1992 at the BIA's Indian Police Academy (IPA), in Marana, Arizona. The Memorial was later moved to Artesia, New Mexico and re-dedicated on May 6, 1993 when the BIA Indian Police Academy was relocated to New Mexico.

A 750 person department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Law Enforcement Services provide uniformed police services, detention operations, and criminal investigation of alleged or suspected violations of major federal criminal laws in Indian Country

Who: BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services

What: 11th Annual Memorial Service for Fallen Law Enforcement Officers

When: May 9, 2002 10:30 A.M. MDT

Where: BIA Indian Police Academy 1300 West Richey Avenue Artesia, New Mexico

(Washington, D.C.) – Bilateral talks between agencies from the United States and Canada that administer programs to help their Indigenous populations yielded a commitment to continue sharing information and working on common issues of concern. A one-day meeting took place on May 2, 2002, in Ottawa, Canada with delegations headed by the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb and Marc Lafreniere, Deputy Minister of the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

“Both countries, clearly share a strong commitment to enabling economic, educational, and social successes in working with the First Nations in our respective countries and I look forward to working in this cooperative spirit with Canada’s Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs to advance these objectives,” said Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb. “I am extremely pleased with the open and frank discussions that we had during the talks.”

The United States and its neighbor to the north have similar histories, yet different styles, in dealing with its Indigenous populations. Each formed relationships based on treaties, physical interaction, and judicial rulings that establish the framework for dealing with their Indigenous inhabitants. Canada has similar government based programs for education, land and resource management, and social programs as the United States, but Canada continues its policy of more direct control over the tribes. Since the early 1960’s particularly with the passage of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Act of 1975, the United States embarked on a journey to implement programs that encourage tribes toward self-governance and self-sufficiency. The Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is looking to implement similar polices, but are constrained by laws that prevent them from adequately doing it.

“INAC is hampered by antiquated laws that prevent them from implementing the types of programs that allow the tribes to exert more control over their internal affairs,” said Eric Wilson, Deputy Director, Office of American Indian Trust. OAIT works with its counterpart from the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to coordinate and facilitate the meetings. “They are looking for success stories to go to the Canadian Legislature to get them to amend the Indian Act, so that Canadian Aboriginals can achieve a level of self-governance and self sufficiency like the tribes are doing in the United States.

The formal discussions established a set of issues that each country has common concerns about, and interest in cooperating with each in order to make their programs more beneficial to tribal people. The meeting focused on five major topics: Economic Development and On-Reserve employment; education; litigation case management; land and resource management, and policing and security issues were on the agenda. Representatives from both agencies shared overviews and answered questions on specific programs, success stories, and policies that have contributed to tribal self-sufficiency.

At the end of the day, the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs McCaleb and Deputy Minister Marc Lafrenier agreed that a series of thematic meetings between program directors should be conducted to work on details that pertain to their programs. Through dialogue, several themes emerged from the talks were: the Office of Indian Education Program’s FACE program; BIA’s Indian Youth Water Resources and Survey Technicians Training Programs, Ground leases/assignments on Tribal land to enable home loan mortgages; Canada’s litigation case management system; and law enforcement issues that pertain to the Akwesasne reservation that straddles the U.S./Canadian border in New York.

The Office of American Indian Trust will coordinate future meetings as a part of the Office of Indian Affairs’ international program. “We want to ensure that quality discussions are taking place that will assist both agencies in achieving their objectives,” said Jim Pace, Director, OAIT.

Already, a contingent from the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada will visit with Office of Indian Education Programs personnel in Phoenix, AZ and will tour Gila Crossing Day School and Black Water Day School in Arizona during the week of May 20th. The discussion will focus on the Family and Child Education (FACE) Program initiated in 1990 to develop an integrated model for an American Indian early childhood/parental involvement program that has successfully improved children’s ability to learn.

The meeting in Ottawa, Canada was the second meeting between top-level administrators of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The first meeting took place on June 14, 2000 a delegation from Canada led by Shirley Serafini visited the Department of the Interior and met with the former Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs and his staff.

WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb today joined a ground blessing ceremony for a $38 million classroom and dormitory complex in Santa Fe, New Mexico, emphasizing President Bush's Indian Education Initiative and commitment to nationwide educational reform.

The Santa Fe Indian School project is funded by $23 million in President Bush's 2002 budget. The new dormitory will be built with $15 million proposed in his 2003 budget. When completed, the school, which has 550 students, will serve about 1,200 children from 26 tribes, including the 19 New Mexico Pueblos, Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache Tribes, and Navajo Nation.

Other BIA schools receiving replacement buildings from the President's 2002 budget include the Wingate Elementary School in New Mexico; Polacca Day School and Holbrook Dormitory (Navajo Nation) in Arizona; Ojibwa Indian School on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota; and Paschal Sherman Indian School on the Colville Indian Reservation in Omak, Washington.

"The President cares deeply about our children's education and is committed to closing the achievement gap so that no child will be left behind," Norton told Pueblo and tribal leaders during the ceremony at historic Santa Fe Indian School.

"That means improving the quality of education in all Bureau of Indian Affairs' schools, working with parents, teachers, and school boards across Indian Country, and building educational excellence through higher standards, higher expectations, and greater accountability."

Norton spent two days visiting and conferring with Indian leaders in New Mexico. The Santa Fe Indian School is one of 12 BIA schools that will be receiving new buildings during the next few years to replace aging structures that pose a health and safety threat and make learning difficult.

The old school site and 24 original buildings, which qualify for the National Register of Historic Places, will be preserved and given to the All Indian Pueblo Council of New Mexico when the new school is finished.

Founded in 1889, Santa Fe Indian School went from one of the weakest schools in the BIA system to one of the best. Norton noted that the principles that guide President Bush's Indian Education Initiative -- a strong sense of community, commitment to local control, and belief in the pursuit of excellence -- helped make the Santa Fe Indian School a model of academic achievement for other BIA schools.

President Bush's initiative provides the tools to carry out this systemwide reform, Norton said, offering Indian parents, tribal leaders, school boards, and educators the means to work with Interior and the BIA to build educational excellence. These tools include increased budget support, curricula reform, access to information technology, and new education laws, such as the President's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

These mandates promote higher academic standards, increased parental involvement, and local control; expanded flexibility in using federal education funds; and program consolidation and streamlining. They also require greater accountability for student progress and academic achievement, offers funding for what works, and expands parental options for children in failing schools.

Providing safe, adequately equipped and maintained schools is an important part of the initiative. The President's 2002 budget provided $293 million for BIA school construction, including $123 million for new buildings at Santa Fe and five other BIA schools and $61 million for major repair projects at 10 more. His 2003 budget calls for another $293 million for BIA school construction, with $120 million for new buildings at Sante Fe and five other schools.

On May 15, Norton visited the Isleta Elementary School and the To'Hajilee School to promote the Family and Child Education Program. The Bureau of Indian Affairs developed FACE in 1990 as an American Indian initiative to increase parental understanding and involvement in early childhood education. Last year more than 3,000 families participated in the FACE Program.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced that the Joint DOI/Tribal Leaders Task Force will hold its next meeting on May 19- 21, 2002 in Minneapolis, Minn. The Task Force was established in February of 2002 to review plans on improving the Department’s management of individual Indian and tribal trust assets.

In addition to Assistant Secretary McCaleb, Interior Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles, Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason and Indian Trust Transition Director Ross O. Swimmer will be in attendance at the meeting, which is the fourth since the task force’s inception.

On November 15, 2001, Secretary Gale Norton announced her proposal to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other Interior agencies within a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management (BITAM). She also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee BITAM and a new Office of Indian Trust Transition (OITT) to implement her transfer and consolidation plan. After holding an extensive series of consultation meetings with tribal leaders on her trust reform efforts, Secretary Norton formed the task force to review her proposal along with alternative plans submitted by tribes.

The task force held its first meeting in Shepherdstown, W.Va., on February 1-4, 2002. Subsequent meetings were held in Phoenix, Ariz., in March and in San Diego, Calif., in April.

Transmittal Letter From Secretary Norton Full Report Chart of Key Dates List of Task Force Members Photograph

(WASHINGTON) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb and Tex Hall, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota, presented to Interior Secretary Gale Norton today the Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform's five options for improving the department's management of Indian trust funds and assets. McCaleb and Hall are Task Force co-chairs.

The five options reflect the best features and major elements contained in the Task Force's submissions. The Task Force is proposing to submit these options to Indian Country as part of the department's on going tribal consultation process on trust reform.

"The Task Force has worked diligently and swiftly," Secretary Norton said. "I'm confident we will continue to make progress. This effort is a excellent example of how communication, consultation and cooperation can bring people together to achieve meaningful trust reform for the future good of Indian Country."

The 13-section report gives an overview of the Task Force's history, mission and organization; outlines proposals submitted by tribes and others that were reviewed by the Task Force; identifies the Interior Department's five options for trust management improvement along with pros and cons for each option; proposes specific "cross-cutting" principles that the five options should address; explores changes needed at low, mid, and upper-management levels within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the department; and recommends "key" criteria with which to evaluate the options.

On Nov. 15, 2001, Secretary Norton announced her proposal to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the BIA and other Interior bureaus to one specific organization. She also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee trust reform. After holding an extensive series of consultation meetings with tribal leaders earlier this year, Secretary Norton agreed to sponsor a task force to review her proposal along with alternative plans submitted by tribes. By the end of April, a total of 29 alternative proposals and comments had been received, reflecting a wide range of ideas.

The Task Force is composed key Interior Department officials, along with 24 tribal leaders and 16 alternates from the BIA's 12 regions. Co-chairing the task force are Deputy Interior Secretary Steve Griles, McCaleb, Hall and Sue Masten, Chairwoman of the Yurok Tribes of Indians of California.

"The Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force has taken its mission very seriously," McCaleb said. "I commend the task force members for their hard work and commitment to the process of finding an appropriate, equitable solution to the current state of trust management within the department."

"The Task Force has selected what we think are the best options for further consultation with the tribes. We need to clarify the lines of responsibility and put someone in charge of developing a trust accounting system. After that, the hard work will really start in actually designing the system and developing the policies and procedures that will work out in Indian Country," Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota Chairman Tex Hall said.

The Task Force held its first meeting in Shepherdstown, W.Va., on Feb. 1-4, 2002. Subsequent meetings were held in Phoenix, Ariz., in March; San Diego, Calif., in April and Minneapolis, Minn., in May. The task force's next scheduled meeting is June 13-15 in Bismarck, N.D. Additional meetings will be held over the next six months to allow the task force to continue its work.

- DOI -

WASHINGTON - In a letter sent to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb expressed the Department of the Interior's deep regret over the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) decision not to renew the aboriginal subsistence whale quota for the 2003 - 2007 period. He also offered his agency's support to ensure that the subsistence needs of Alaska Natives are met, and that their whaling traditions continue.

"I don't understand, how the IWC could vote to deprive the Alaska Eskimos of eighty percent of their food supply causing them undue hardship and threatening their way of life," Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb said. "However, I can assure you that my office will continue to advocate forcefully for the continuation of aboriginal subsistence hunts."

A vote on the joint bowhead whale quota requested by the United States and Russian Federation at the 54th Annual Meeting of the IWC in Shimonoseki, Japan failed, by one vote, to garner the three-fourth majority to renew it, totally ignoring the cultural, nutritional, and subsistence needs of the Alaska and Chukotkan Natives. The IWC voted against the 2003 - 2007 block quota despite the fact that it was identical to the 1998 - 2002 quota. There was no conservation reason, or challenge to the legitimate aboriginal subsistence traditions given. And, it disregarded an IWC Scientific Committee assessment that the annual take of up to 102 bowheads does not jeopardize the stock.

But, the conditions created by the vote may affect the subsistence of the Alaska and Chukotkan Natives that have hunted bowhead whales for thousands of years. Whaling underlies the entire way of life of the Inupiat and Siberian Yupik Eskimos of northern and western Alaska. Each whale harvested is an essential source of nutrition for the Natives, providing thousands of pounds of meat and maktak. Without this source of food, Natives in remote areas will have few alternatives to meet their nutrition and dietary requirements.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs has formed a workgroup made up of departmental staff to develop an action plan to assist the Alaska Natives with the ramifications of the IWC's action.

The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission is located in Barrow, Alaska, and was created in 1977 to preserve and enhance the bowhead resource, including its habitat, to protect Eskimo subsistence whaling and associated traditions, and to participate in the research and management of the stock.

Established in 1824, the BIA provides services to and carries out the federal government's trust responsibility for the 559 federally recognized Tribal governments and approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives nationwide. The BIA manages approximately 56 million acres of land held in trust for individual Indians and tribes in the lower 48 states and Alaska.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform will hold its next meeting on June 13-15, 2002 in Bismarck, N.D. The Task Force was established in February of 2002 to review and propose plans for improving the Department’s management of individual Indian and tribal trust assets.

On June 5, 2002, task force members presented a progress report to Secretary Gale Norton on their efforts to review and evaluate proposals for improving the Department’s management of Indian trust funds and assets. The report identifies five options for trust management improvement by the Department along with comments and recommendations on each; proposes specific “cross cutting” principles that the five options should address; explores changes needed at low, mid- and upper management levels within the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Interior Department; and recommends “key” criteria with which to evaluate the options. The report has been sent to tribal leaders throughout Indian Country for review and comment as part of the Department’s on-going tribal consultation process on trust reform.

Last November, Secretary Norton announced her proposal to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and other Interior agencies within a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management (BITAM). She also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee BITAM and a new Office of Indian Trust Transition (OITT) to implement her transfer and consolidation plan. After consulting with tribal leaders, Secretary Norton supported their request to establish a task force to review her proposal and alternative plans submitted by tribes themselves.

The Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force is composed of Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb, Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles, Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs Director David L. Bernhardt, Office of Communications Director Eric Ruff, the Special Trustee for American Indians Thomas J. Slonaker, Indian Trust Transition Director Ross O. Swimmer and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene Martin along with 24 tribal leaders and 16 alternates from the BIA’s twelve regions. Co-chairing the task force are Griles, McCaleb, Tex Hall, Chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota and Sue Masten, Chairwoman of the Yurok Tribe of Indians of California.

The task force held its first meeting in Shepherdstown, W.Va., on February 1-4, 2002. Subsequent meetings have taken place in Phoenix, Ariz., in March; San Diego, Calif., in April and Minneapolis, Minn., in May. Additional meetings will be held over the next six months to allow the task force to continue its work.

Note to Editors: A 2-page list of task force members accompanies this release.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced his appointment of Aurene Martin as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. Martin, a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, came to the Interior Department in October 2001 as Counselor to Assistant Secretary McCaleb. Her appointment was effective on May 28, 2002.

“Aurene Martin is an invaluable member of my team,” said McCaleb. “She has extensive experience working in Indian affairs and I am confident that in her new role she will provide greater opportunities for improving trust and other BIA services for the Tribes and the American Indian and Alaska Native people.”

Before joining the Interior Department, Ms. Martin had served as Republican senior counsel to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs since January 1999, where she covered Indian health care, gaming and self-determination issues and appropriations. From October 1998 to January 1999 she was Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC).

From June 1993 through October 1998, she worked for the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin and left as Senior Staff Attorney. While there she worked on all aspects of tribal representation including Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) litigation, gaming, and self-determination and tribal government issues.

Ms. Martin was born in Shawano, Wisconsin, and was raised on the Menominee Indian Reservation. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she majored in History, Italian and History of Culture. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989. Ms. Martin also received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1993. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Bar and has been active in its Indian law section, including serving as an officer of the section.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Department’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of tribal governments, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. The Assistant Secretary, who oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is also responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who are members of the 559 federally recognized tribes.

Note to Editors: A photo of Aurene Martin may be viewed via the Interior Department’s web site at www.doi.gov.