OPA

WASHINGTON, DC- Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced today that savings in the Indian Affairs’ American Recovery and Reinvestment Act construction projects will be used to start four additional high-priority school projects in Arizona, New Mexico and South Dakota.

Favorable pricing and aggressive management of the Recovery Act large construction projects have resulted in savings of $33 million, or 11 percent of Indian Affairs’ construction allocation under the Recovery Act. Indian Affairs will use these savings to undertake the four school construction projects, putting more people to work in ways that will also make critical enhancements benefitting students and Indian Country communities.

“The Recovery Act has given us a great opportunity to meet some of our longstanding infrastructure challenges in Indian Country, including repairing and replacing schools. We’re thrilled to be able to fund these four additional projects that will improve the learning environments for additional Native American school children, while also creating additional jobs,” said Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk.

The additional projects include:

• Kaibeto School Replacement Project (Phase 2) in Arizona (Navajo): The original ARRA project list funded the first phase of the Kaibeto School Replacement project. Due to the cost savings on the Rough Rock school replacement project, the entire Kaibeto School project can now be completed, providing a new K-8 school for 276 academic and 45 residential students.
• St. Francis Indian School gymnasium construction project in South Dakota: This project will provide a high school gym and kitchen facilities that were not included in the original replacement school project (completed previously with non-Recovery Act funds).
• Santa Fe Indian School gymnasium construction project in New Mexico: This project represents completion of the gymnasium /wellness center at Santa Fe Indian School. Phase 1 was funded by the State of New Mexico to complete the exterior of the building. This project supports the completion of the interior and makes the facility functional.
• Shonto Boarding School gymnasium construction project in Arizona (Navajo): This project involves the repair and replacement of a snow-damaged and currently unusable gymnasium.

In addition to these changes, Indian Affairs has also cancelled or deferred six projects totaling $2.9 million originally scheduled to be completed with Recovery Act funds. The Department of the Interior established and follows a formal but efficient process for making timely decisions on project funding reallocations and project substitutions to ensure they are supporting the ARRA goals of quickly stimulating the economy and creating jobs. These merit-based criteria include expediency of implementation, job creation potential and ability to address high-priority mission needs. All deferred projects will remain funding priorities for Indian Affairs in future budget years.

The current list of the Indian Affairs ARRA projects can be found at the following link:

http://recovery.doi.gov/press/bureaus/bureau-of-indian-affairs/

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers a unique opportunity to invest in improvements to Indian communities that enhance the long-term economic development potential and promote near-term economic recovery. The $500 million allocated to the Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education will repair and upgrade Indian schools and detention centers, construct reservation housing, provide for road and bridge maintenance, spur economic development, and train a workforce with viable skills that can be used now and in the future.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today applauded President Obama’s nomination of Tracie Stevens to be the chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

“Tracie Stevens is an outstanding choice as chair and will bring significant experience in both tribal government and gaming to the commission,” Salazar said. “She will provide strong leadership to the commission as it deals with the many complex issues associated with Indian gaming.”

As an independent federal regulatory agency of the United States, the National Indian Gaming Commission was established pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. The commission comprises a chair and two commissioners, each of whom serves on a full-time basis for a three-year term. The chair is appointed by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. The Secretary of the Interior appoints the other two commissioners.

Stevens, an enrolled member of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington State, currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, a position she has held since July, 2009.

Stevens brings with her almost 12 years of experience gained from working for her tribe in both government and business operations.

In her most recent position as senior policy analyst with her tribe’s government affairs office, she managed day-to-day operations, including overseeing external public affairs and government relations functions, carried out advocacy and networking efforts, and served on state, regional and national Indian gaming-related boards and committees. She had served previously as a legislative policy analyst in the government affairs office working on tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and tribal governance issues.

Stevens began her professional career at her tribe’s casino where she developed expertise in business management and administration. Her work in human resource management, employee recruitment and training, and operations planning and analysis eventually led her to becoming the Tulalip Casino’s executive director for strategic planning.

Stevens received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of Washington-Seattle in 2006.

The commission's primary mission is to regulate gaming activities on Indian lands for the purpose of shielding Indian tribes from organized crime and other corrupting influences; to ensure that Indian tribes are the primary beneficiaries of gaming revenue; and to assure that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly by both operators and players.

To achieve these goals, the commission is authorized to conduct investigations; undertake enforcement actions, including the issuance of notices of violation, assessment of civil fines, and/or issuance of closure orders; conduct background investigations; conduct audits; and review and approve tribal gaming ordinances. Under the act, at least two of the three commissioners must be enrolled members of a federally recognized Indian tribe, and no more than two members may be of the same political party.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), is soliciting proposals from tribes. The grants will be funded through IEED’s Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP) that enables tribes to assess, evaluate and promote the development of tribal energy and mineral resources. A formal solicitation was published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2010, by the Department of the Interior.

“Tribal lands have invaluable energy resources and great potential to harness projects that can be utilized to help Indian Country prosper,” Echo Hawk said. “This grant opportunity will help tribal leaders and tribal resource managers to develop concrete ways of promoting energy and mineral resources on Indian trust lands for the economic benefit of Indian mineral owners.”

The EMDP strives to expand the knowledge base through which tribes, either by themselves or with industry partners, can bring new energy resources into the marketplace through a comprehensive understanding of the potential of their undeveloped resources. A strong knowledge base will ensure that resources are produced in an environmentally acceptable manner. The EMDP funds both conventional and renewable energy projects. This is the first year where there is a specific amount of funds set aside for renewable energy projects. Some of the key components to consider when submitting a proposal are:

• On the mineral side, tribes are especially encouraged to submit projects that emphasize the use of construction minerals, such as sand and gravel.
• A key element of any project should be the impact that potential development will have on creating new jobs and income for the tribal community.
• There is a 60-day period for tribes to develop proposals and submit them to IEED for evaluation, ranking, and award.
• EMDP funding can only be made available to tribes whose lands are held in trust or restricted fee by the Federal government.

For general questions about the EMDP and the grant submission process contact Robert Anderson at (720) 407-0602 or robert.anderson@bia.gov

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, whose mission is to foster stronger American Indian and Alaska Native communities by helping federally recognized tribes with employment and workforce training programs; helping tribes develop their renewable and non-renewable energy and mineral resources; and increasing access to capital for tribal and individual American Indian- and Alaska Native-owned businesses. For more information about IEED programs and services, visit http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/IEED/index.htm.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that he has selected Keith O. Moore as Director of the Bureau of Indian Education. Moore, an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, had been serving as the Chief Diversity Officer at the University of South Dakota since August 15, 2009. He takes over from the acting BIE director, Bartholomew “Bart” Stevens. Moore’s appointment will become effective on June 1, 2010.

“Keith Moore has served Indian Country as a dedicated educational administrator for many years,” Echo Hawk said. “I will rely on him as part of my senior management team as we move forward to improve the quality of education in Indian Country. He will be responsible for the line direction and management of all education functions, including the formation of policies and procedures, the supervision of all program activities and the approval of the expenditure of funds appropriated for education functions.”

“I am pleased with Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk’s efforts to strengthen his management team with the selection of Keith Moore as BIE Director,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said. “I am pleased to see that this addition will enable Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk to continue carrying forward our initiatives to improve the lives, and quality of education, of the American Indian and Alaska Native people.”

Prior to becoming the BIE director, Moore had served since August 2009 as the Chief Diversity Officer at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. In that capacity, he served as principal advisor and coordinator of policies and programs aimed at achieving the university’s diversity goals. Answering directly to the Provost, some of the projects he worked on while at USD have been the South Dakota Partnership for Teacher Quality (PTQ), the Race To the Top Proposal for South Dakota, and the American Indian University at Crazy Horse Memorial Monument.

The PTQ is intended to increase student achievement in K-12 schools by developing highly qualified teachers. The Race To the Top Proposal for South Dakota is another project he has worked on. Its primary goal is to connect the tribes and the state in a collaborative effort to develop a Native American Residential Science, Technology, Engineering and Math School. The American Indian University at Crazy Horse Memorial Monument is a summer program to take place in June 2010. Its purpose is to prepare individuals for the rigors of college, give accepted students introductory university courses that can be transferred to any regionally accredited college or university, offer paid internships at the Memorial, and to fulfill the mission of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.

On July 1, 2005, he was named Indian Education Director for the South Dakota State Department of Education, where he was a liaison between the Department and tribal education officials, BIE offices in Aberdeen, S.D., and Albuquerque, N.M., K-12 educators and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education. During his tenure, projects he directed or was involved with included an Indian Education Summit, Indian Education Advisory Council in South Dakota, the National Indian Education Advisory Committee, the Indian Education Act of 2007 in South Dakota, the U.S. Department of Education Office of Indian Education National Conference, Project Director GEAR UP South Dakota (GUSD), I LEAD, South Dakota College Access Challenge Grant (SDCAC), and Core Concepts Planning Grant (CCPG).

“I am deeply honored to have this opportunity to lead the Bureau of Indian Education,” Moore said. “I want to thank Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk for his confidence and to affirm my commitment to carrying out the BIE’s mission to provide quality education opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Natives in accordance with their tribes’ needs for cultural and economic well-being and in keeping with the wide diversity of tribes as distinct cultural and governmental entities.”

Moore graduated in 1990 from Northern State University in Aberdeen with a B.S. degree in Health and Physical Education/Social Sciences. He received a M.A. degree in Educational Administration from South Dakota State University - Brookings in 2002. He also holds a Governor Rounds’ South Dakota Leadership Development Program Masters level certification and a Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from Montana State University - Bozeman 2009. Moore is 43 years old and married with four daughters.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Education which operates the federal school system for American Indian and Alaska Native children from the federally recognized tribes. The BIE implements federal education laws, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, in and provides funding to 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools and peripheral dormitories located on 64 reservations in 23 states and serving approximately 42,000 students (School Year 2009-2010). The BIE also serves post secondary students through higher education scholarships and support funding to 26 tribal colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges. It also directly operates two post secondary institutions: Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and NIKE, Inc. The MOU presents an opportunity for both the BIE and Nike to address health and social lifestyle choices in American Indian and Alaska Native communities that contribute to disease and other medical conditions. Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Paul Tsosie was present on behalf of Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk for the signing ceremony May 12, 2010, at Nike’s World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.

“This MOU is one important step towards acknowledging the collaboration needed across Indian Country to help promote healthy lifestyles,” Echo Hawk said. “It is an opportunity for students and teachers to promote BIE’s Health Promotion Initiative to Eliminate Health Disparities. I am pleased to see the partnership between the BIE and Nike occur so that we can work together to improve and enhance our students’ awareness of the importance of healthy minds and bodies.”

Craig Cheek, Nike North America Vice President and General Manager, signed the MOU on behalf of NIKE, Inc. “We celebrate this signing as a milestone in our work to deepen connections with Native American communities around creating opportunities for health and wellness, and providing access to sport for young people.”

Under this MOU, the BIE and Nike will launch a campaign with a series of healthy lifestyle messages for Indian Country. The campaign will focus on bringing the best health information to American Indian and Alaska Native communities to help them gain a better understanding of the importance for every individual to exercise at any age, particularly those with diabetes. The BIE and Nike hope to motivate individuals to take charge of their healthcare with a healthy exercise program.

The BIE and Nike agree to collaborate in the following areas:

• Promote healthy lifestyles and healthy choices for all American Indian and Alaska Natives through program activities, such as co-sponsored educational and informational events, marathons, and sports demonstrations.
• Improve communication with, and among, tribes and tribal organizations to exchange information relevant to healthy lifestyles and fitness choices in an effort to combat diabetes, a disease that affects nearly 13 percent of the American Indian and Alaska Native population.

NIKE, Inc began its programs for Native American communities in the U.S. more than 10 years ago. Through its N7 program, Nike provides grants to sports and physical fitness programs to American Indian and Alaska Native communities aiming to create access to sport for the youth of these communities. The development of the Nike Air Native N7 shoe and N7 Collection supports the N7 Fund, which provides grants to sports and physical fitness programs. For more information, visit www.niken7.com.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Education, which operates the federal school system for American Indian and Alaska Native children from the federally recognized tribes. The BIE implements federal education laws, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, and provides funding to 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools and peripheral dormitories located on 64 reservations in 23 states--serving approximately 42,000 students (School Year 2009-2010). The BIE also serves post-secondary students through higher education scholarships and support funding to 26 tribal colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges. It directly operates two post secondary institutions: Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Division of Transportation has obligated to-date $29.9 million of $38.7 million in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (P.L. 111-5) to perform maintenance on transportation infrastructure on the Navajo Nation reservation in northeastern Arizona. These ARRA-funded maintenance projects will enhance or repair approximately 760 miles of roads and repair 41 bridges used by residents and visitors travelling through the Navajo Nation.

“Having a well-maintained transportation infrastructure is critical for ensuring public health and safety, the free flow of commerce and obtaining an education, especially in Indian Country,” Echo Hawk said. “Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has made it possible for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to improve miles of roads and bridges on the Navajo Nation reservation that are used by thousands of residents and visitors every day.”

Of the 70,000 to 100,000 miles of roads known to be on the Navajo Nation reservation, 10,000 are in the BIA’s Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) inventory, and only 1,500 of the 10,000 miles are paved. All of the Bureau’s roads on the 16 million-acre reservation are public roadways which serve the residents of both the Navajo and Hopi reservations, some with traffic of up to 20,000 vehicles per day. The roads service approximately 70 schools and 25 health care facilities within the Navajo Nation as well as seven counties and three states: Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The BIA Navajo Regional Office in Gallup, N.M., awarded a $23.8 million contract on March 30, 2010, to International Surfacing System of Chandler, Ariz., to apply rubberized chip sealing on 305 miles of paved roads under the Division’s Road Maintenance Program for Road and Bridge Repair and Restoration (R&R). Separately, $1.8 million was awarded by the Bureau to San Juan County, Utah, for maintenance of BIA roads within the county.

The Navajo Regional Office began its R&R field work in November 2009, and work is scheduled to continue through 2010.

The roads are being rehabilitated to ensure the life-cycle of the targeted road surfaces are extended for many years. Funds will be used to prevent roads and bridges from deteriorating further to unacceptable conditions or from becoming unsafe by replacing missing or badly deteriorated road features such as guard rails, fencing, bridges, bridge railings, signal lights, pot holes and ruts, and re-marking roads so that centerlines and passing lanes are visible for drivers.

The repairs made possible by the ARRA funds will bring quality-of-life improvements for residents such as reductions in missed school days and law enforcement and emergency response times due to bad road conditions, as well as improved access to medical facilities and quicker delivery of goods to schools and businesses.

The current list of the Indian Affairs ARRA projects can be found at the following link: http://recovery.doi.gov/press/bureaus/bureau-of-indian-affairs/.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers a unique opportunity to invest in improvements to American Indian communities that enhance the long-term economic development potential and promote near-term economic recovery. The $500 million allocated to the Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education will repair and upgrade Indian schools and detention centers, construct reservation housing, provide for road and bridge maintenance, spur economic development, and train a workforce with viable skills that can be used now and in the future.

-DOI-

Note to Editors: A map of the Navajo and Hopi reservations with the locations of the ARRA funded road projects may be viewed via the following link: http://www.indianaffairs.gov/idc/groups/xopa/documents/stillimage/idc00…. Source: Navajo Region Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.

WASHINGTON – Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine on June 13, 2010, issued a final determination that affirms the proposed finding of December 15, 2009, to acknowledge the Shinnecock Indian Nation (Petitioner #4) as an Indian tribe. This petitioner, located in Southampton, Suffolk County, N.Y., has 1,292 members.

The evidence in the record for the proposed finding demonstrated that the petitioner met all seven of the mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment as set forth in 25 CFR 83.7. The Department did not receive comments from any party other than the petitioner during the comment period. Its comment did not change the overall findings of the proposed finding that the petitioner meets all seven mandatory criteria. In accordance with the regulations (section 83.6(c)), a petitioning group that meets all seven criteria is an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law. Therefore, the Department affirms the proposed finding to acknowledge the Shinnecock petitioner.

This final determination treats the Shinnecock Indian tribe of New York that existed in 1789 as the ―historical Indian tribe.‖ Only three years later in 1792, an act passed by the State of New York re-organized this tribe as a trusteeship. At the time, its members lived on a leasehold created in 1703 in Southampton, N.Y. The new law provided for annual elections of three Indian trustees, and these trustee elections have taken place from 1792 to the present. The trustees have allocated the group’s land and resources consistently for almost 220 years. The proposed finding found that the petitioner met the acknowledgment criteria by demonstrating that it has evolved from this historical Shinnecock Indian tribe of New York and has continuously existed. This final determination affirms the proposed finding.

The petitioner commented on the procedural evaluation in the proposed finding that found that the evidence in the record did not demonstrate that the Federal government had ever recognized the Shinnecock Indian tribe, but knew of its state relationship. The evidence submitted with the petitioner’s comments reinforced the proposed finding that the Federal government has never recognized the Shinnecock Indian tribe. Therefore, the provisions of the regulations (83.8) relating to previously acknowledged Indian tribes, that would have reduced the petitioner’s evidentiary burden, did not apply to the evaluation of the Shinnecock petitioner.

The Shinnecock petitioner meets the seven criteria and affirms the proposed finding as follows:

Criterion 83.7(a) requires that external observers have identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900. This final determination affirms the proposed finding that state and local government officials, missionaries, journalists, and others have identified the petitioning group continuously as an American Indian entity since 1900, and the petitioner meets this criterion.

Criterion 83.7(b) requires that a predominant portion of the petitioning group has comprised a distinct community since historical times. The proposed finding did not use direct evidence as described at 83.7(1) and 83.7(i)-(iv) to demonstrate the group meets this criterion. Rather, it found that the petitioner meets criterion 83.7(b) from 1789 to the present based on its meeting criterion 83.7(c) using "high" evidence described at 83.7(c)(2)(i) for the same period. The regulations at 83.7(b)(2)(v) provide a "crossover" provision for groups with especially high evidence for demonstrating criterion 83.7(c). This final determination affirms those findings.

Criterion 83.7(c) requires that the petitioning group has maintained political influence over its members as an autonomous entity since historical times. The proposed finding determined that because the group’s three elected trustees have allocated and managed the reservation’s lands and resources since 1792, it demonstrated it meets this criterion using "high" evidence described at 83.7(c)(2)(i). This final determination affirms those findings.

Criterion 83.7(d) requires that the petitioner provide a copy of its governing document including its membership criteria. The proposed finding determined that the petitioner described its membership criteria and how it governs itself for this process. This final determination affirms these findings.

Criterion 83.7(e) requires that the petitioner’s members descend from a historical Indian tribe. The evidence in the record shows that at least 97 percent of the 1,292 members descend from the historical 1789 Shinnecock tribe, as determined by their descent from the 1865 reservation residents listed in the New York State census. Thus, this final determination affirms the proposed finding—but with a revised membership total and percentage of descent—that the petitioner meets this criterion.

Criterion 83.7(f) requires that the petitioner’s membership be composed principally of persons who are not members of another federally recognized Indian tribe. The proposed finding determined that the petitioner meets this criterion, and this final determination affirms that finding. Only ten members are enrolled in other federally recognized tribes, including Ft. Sill Apache, Hoopa Valley, Mashantucket Pequot, Navajo, Taos Pueblo, and White Mountain Apache.

Criterion 83.7(g) requires that the petitioner not be subject to congressional legislation that has terminated or forbidden the Federal relationship. This final determination affirms the proposed finding that there is no act of Congress or other legal impediment to the Department’s acknowledging the group as a Federal tribe.

In view of the receipt of minimal substantive comments, the Department has not produced a report or summary under the criteria for the final determination other than the Federal Register notice. Therefore, the Federal Register notice is the Final Determination.

The petitioner or an interested party may request reconsideration by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals of this Final Determination. The settlement agreement provides a 30-day deadline for filing an appeal.

The Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of the 564 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. When the decision becomes final and effective for the Department, the Shinnecock Indian Nation will be the 565th federally recognized Indian tribe. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.8 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the federally recognized tribes, and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), which is responsible for administering the Federal acknowledgment process.

The Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs delegated authority to sign certain Federal acknowledgment findings, including this proposed finding, to the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs effective June 4, 2009. Copies of the Federal Register notice will be posted on the Department of the Interior website at http://www.doi.gov.

FEDERAL REGISTER VOL. 75, NO.117, JUNE 18, 2010

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Tracie Stevens as chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission. The President nominated Stevens on April 28, 2010.

“Tracie Stevens brings to the commission a wealth of expertise and experience from a distinguished career working on both tribal government and gaming issues,” Salazar said. “She will be an outstanding chair of the National Indian Gaming Commission.”

Stevens, an enrolled member of the Tulalip Tribes in Washington State, most recently served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk. In this role, Stevens provided policy guidance to the Assistant Secretary regarding tribal issues such as gaming, law enforcement, energy, tribal consultation, economic development, land-into-trust, tribal government disputes, budget priorities, and treaty and natural resource rights. She has also been active in rebuilding the nation-to-nation relationship between Tribes and the Department of Interior.

The National Indian Gaming Commission's primary mission is to regulate gaming activities on Indian lands for the purpose of shielding Indian tribes from organized crime and other corrupting influences. The independent Commission also works to ensure that Indian tribes are the primary beneficiaries of gaming revenue and that gaming is conducted fairly and honestly by both operators and players.

To achieve these goals, the commission is authorized to conduct investigations and undertake enforcement actions, including the issuance of notices of violation, assessment of civil fines, and/or issuance of closure orders. The Commission conducts background investigations and audits and reviews and approves tribal gaming ordinances. Under the legislation establishing the Commission, at least two of the three commissioners must be enrolled members of a federally recognized Indian tribe, and no more than two members may be of the same political party.

For the past 12 years, Stevens worked in various capacities for her tribe in both government and business operations. In her most recent position as senior policy analyst with the Tulalip Tribes’ government affairs office, Stevens managed day-to-day operations, including overseeing external public affairs and government relations functions. She also carried out advocacy and networking efforts, and served on state, regional and national Indian gaming-related boards and committees. She had served previously as a legislative policy analyst in the government affairs office, working on tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and tribal governance issues.

Stevens began her professional career at the Tulalip Tribes’ casino where she developed expertise in business management and administration. Her work in human resource management, employee recruitment and training, and operations planning and analysis eventually led her to becoming the Tulalip Casino’s executive director for strategic planning.

Stevens received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of Washington-Seattle in 2006.

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior will continue to process eligible pending applications for gaming on Indian lands while it consults and collaborates with tribal leaders in a comprehensive review of federal Indian gaming policy, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk said today.

“Secretary Salazar believes that the Interior Department needs to establish clear guidelines for how it will review and make decisions on Indian gaming applications or requests under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” Echo Hawk said. “I agree with the common-sense approach outlined in Secretary Salazar’s memorandum on Indian gaming. With this guidance, we intend to continue to move forward not only on pending applications and requests for gaming on Indian lands, but also on meaningful consultation on federal Indian gaming policy in accordance with President Obama’s commitment to the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations.”

The Interior Department’s path forward on Indian gaming policy is outlined in a memorandum from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk.

The Interior Department, through the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, has the authority and responsibility to review and approve applications to take land into trust for Indian gaming, adhering to the legal standards set forth in federal law, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and the Indian Reorganization Act. Congress enacted IGRA to provide a basis for gaming by federally recognized tribes “as a means of promoting tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.”

Revenues from tribal gaming are used for specific purposes, including funding tribal government operations and programs, and providing for the general welfare of the tribe and its members. Proceeds from gaming can allow a tribe to provide greatly needed services such as health care, education and housing, thereby increasing the tribe’s self-reliance, one of the Act’s goals.

Under IGRA’s implementing regulations, Interior also has the responsibility to determine whether gaming can occur on lands acquired after IGRA’s enactment in 1988. The Act established two distinct types of post-1988 Indian gaming applications or requests: “Off Reservation” Land-in-Trust/Gaming Requests [25 U.S.C. Section 2719(b)(1)(A)] and Reservation and Equal Footing Exceptions [25 U.S.C. Sections 2719(a) and (b)(1)(B)].

In the more than twenty 20 years since IGRA was passed, Interior has approved only five applications under the “off reservation,” or “two-part” determination, provision and only 36 applications under the reservation and equal footing exceptions.

In accordance with the Secretary’s memorandum, the Assistant Secretary will undertake a review of issues raised by off-reservation gaming applications, including an examination of current guidance and regulatory standards and consultation with tribes, to guide Interior’s decision making in this area. As noted by the Secretary in his memorandum, the adoption of “principled and transparent” criteria regarding such determinations will lead to sound federal Indian gaming policy on two-part determination applications and requests.

In addition, the Assistant Secretary will work with the Interior Solicitor to determine whether the lands in certain other applications are eligible for gaming under the reservation and equal footing exceptions of IGRA.

Click here to view the memorandum at http://www.doi.gov/tribes/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&PageID=3…

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael S. Black today announced that he has named Weldon “Bruce” Loudermilk as Regional Director of the BIA’s Great Plains Regional Office in Aberdeen, S.D. Loudermilk, an enrolled member of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, had been serving as the acting regional director since March 18, 2010. The Great Plains Regional Office oversees 12 agencies serving 16 federally recognized tribes located within the states of Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. His appointment became effective on June 20, 2010.

“I am pleased that Bruce Loudermilk has joined my regional management team as the Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Plains Regional Director,” said Black. “His substantial knowledge of BIA tribal programs, his expertise in trust management and his private sector experience make him well-suited to carrying out the BIA’s mission of service to the tribes.”

“I am very honored to become a part of BIA Director Mike Black’s and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk’s regional directors team,” said Loudermilk. “I am looking forward to working with them in their efforts to improve the BIA’s delivery of services to the tribes throughout the Great Plains Region and across Indian Country.”

Prior to becoming the acting regional director, Loudermilk had served since March 2, 2008, as the Great Plains Deputy Regional Director-Indian Services where he provided programmatic oversight in the areas of self-determination, human services, tribal government, transportation, housing, environmental, safety and cultural resource management.

Loudermilk began his 20-year federal career in May 1990 in the transportation division of the Bureau’s Billings (Montana) Area Office (now Rocky Mountain Regional Office). Prior to becoming the deputy regional director, Loudermilk served in the Interior Department’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) as a Financial Trust Services Officer (May 1998-June 2005) and as a Fiduciary Trust Officer (July 2005-March 2008), both of which were also located in the Rocky Mountain Regional Office.

During his tenure with the OST, Loudermilk helped carry out the Department’s responsibility for Indian trust management by providing fiduciary trust oversight for tribal and individual Indian money accounts (IIMs). He also assisted in defining OST’s fiduciary trust management roles and responsibilities through the development and implementation of regulations, policies and procedures at agency, regional and national levels.

Loudermilk also brings with him private sector experience from the financial services, energy (oil and gas) exploration and petroleum technology industries.

Loudermilk holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from what is now Montana State University-Billings (1989). He is a graduate of the DOI’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Class #14 (May 2006).

Also in 2006, Loudermilk received his designation as a Certified Indian Fiduciary Trust Specialist from the Cannon Financial Institute of Athens, Ga., a provider of professional development and training to the financial services industry.