OPA

WASHINGTON – Secretary Ken Salazar has laid out his vision that restoration of tribal lands is key to Interior’s strategy of empowering tribes and that there must be an improved land-into-trust process for non-gaming applications, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk said today.

“We want to continue the rebuilding of strong relationships with tribal governments that began at the Tribal Nations Conference hosted by President Obama last November,” Echo Hawk said. “Tribal self-determination through self-sufficiency rests on the restoration and protection of tribal homelands, and that is key to the Department’s strategy of empowerment for Indian tribes. To achieve that, we must have, and we will have, a land-into-trust process that is transparent, orderly, lawful and timely.”

The Secretary’s views are outlined in a memorandum to the Assistant Secretary dated June 18, 2010.

The Secretary of the Interior’s authority to take land into trust is the primary means to help restore and protect homelands of the nation’s federally recognized tribes. From the allotment period of 1887 to 1934 and the Termination Era of the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. Government removed over 90 million acres of tribal lands. To date, nine million acres of tribal lands have been reacquired and taken into trust, mostly within the bounds of existing reservations.

The vast majority of land-into-trust applications processed by the Department are for tribal self-determination purposes such as providing housing, health care and education for tribal members and for supporting agricultural, energy and non-gaming economic development. Of the more than 1,900 trust land applications currently pending before the Bureau of Indian Affairs, over 95 percent are for non-gaming purposes.

In accordance with the Secretary’s memorandum, the Assistant Secretary will ensure that pending non-gaming land-into-trust applications fully satisfy the requirements set forth in applicable federal law, including but not limited to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the land-into-trust application regulations (25 C.F.R. Part 151), and any applicable case precedent. Once these applications have been evaluated under all applicable legal standards, the Assistant Secretary will then move forward “diligently and expeditiously” with decisions on such applications.

The memorandum may be viewed at: http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/OTS/RealEstate/index.htm.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk on June 24, 2010, issued a final approval to the May 11, 2010, proposed Class III Gaming Compact (Compact) between the Seminole Tribe of Florida (Tribe) and the State of Florida (State). The signing of the approval letter was conducted on his behalf by Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Del Laverdure.

“I am very pleased that the Tribe and the State were successful in reaching an agreement on the terms of a gaming compact. I want to wish the Tribe continued success in its economic endeavor,” Echo Hawk said.

“The signing of this gaming compact approval letter demonstrates Indian Affairs’ commitment to support tribal efforts to foster economic development and tribal self-sufficiency,” Laverdure said.

Seminole Tribal Chairman Mitchell Cypress executed the Compact on April 7, 2010, as directed by Tribal Council Resolution No. C-194-10, which also ratified the Compact. Florida Governor Charlie Crist executed the Compact on the same day. The Compact was then submitted to the Florida legislature, where it was approved as part of Senate Bill 622 and signed into law by Governor Crist on April 28, 2010.

Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(8)(C), the Secretary may approve or disapprove a Compact within 45 days of its submission. If the Secretary does not approve or disapprove the Compact within 45 days, IGRA states that the Compact is considered to have been approved by the Secretary, "but only to the extent the Compact is consistent with the provisions of [IGRA]." 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(8)(C)(emphasis added). Under IGRA the Department must determine whether the Compact violates IGRA, any other provision of Federal law that does not relate to jurisdiction over gaming on Indian lands, or the trust obligations of the United States to Indians.

The Interior Department reviewed the Compact, along with additional documentation submitted by the parties, and determined that the Compact satisfies the requirements of IGRA. Therefore, the Department approved the Compact pursuant to IGRA.

The Interior Department, through the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, has the authority and responsibility to review and approve tribal-state gaming compacts. 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 IGRA’s goals.

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. 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.

WASHINGTON – Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure, acting on behalf of Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk who was travelling, issued on July 2, 2010, a proposed finding not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Choctaw Nation of Florida (Petitioner #288) as an Indian tribe. The petitioner, located in Marianna, Fla., has approximately 77 members. It claims to be a group of Choctaw Indians that migrated from North Carolina to Georgia, and then Florida following the Indian removal of the 1830s. None of the evidence demonstrates the validity of this claim. The evidence shows the petitioner is an association formed in 2003 of individuals who claim but have not documented Indian ancestry. Under the federal acknowledgment regulations (25 C.F.R. Part 83), the Department may not acknowledge associations, organizations, corporations, or groups of any character formed in recent times.

The Department evaluated the group’s petition under 83.10(e) of the acknowledgment regulations, which allows for issuing a proposed finding under criterion 83.7(e) only. To meet criterion 83.7(e), the petitioner must demonstrate Indian ancestry from a historical Indian tribe or tribes that combined and functioned as a single entity. The petitioner claims its members descend from the historical Choctaw Indian tribe. The Department examined an extensive body of documentation submitted by the petitioner and obtained by Department researchers to evaluate this claim. All the evidence clearly shows the petitioner’s ancestors were not identified as Indian and do not descend from a historical Indian tribe. Instead, the evidence clearly shows they were consistently identified as non-Indians living in non-Indian communities.

The petitioner clearly does not meet criterion 83.7(e), which satisfies the requirement for issuing a proposed finding under 83.10(e). If, in the response to the proposed finding, the petitioner provides sufficient evidence that it meets criterion 83.7(e) under the reasonable likelihood standard, then the Department will undertake a review of the petition under all seven mandatory criteria. If, in the response, the petitioner does not provide sufficient evidence that it meets criterion 83.7(e) under that standard, then the Assistant Secretary will issue the final determination based upon criterion 83.7(e) only.

The Department will publish notice of this proposed finding in the Federal Register. The regulations provide that the petitioner or any party will have 180 days after the publication of the notice to submit comments to rebut or support the proposed finding before the Department issues a final determination. After the comment period, the petitioner will have an additional 60 days to respond to the comments from interested parties. Following the response period, the Department will begin work on a final determination.

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. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for providing services to the tribes and their members, approximately 1.9 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives, and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, which administers the Federal acknowledgment process.

The Department will post copies of the proposed finding and Federal Register notice on the Indian Affairs website at http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/OFA/RecentCases/index.htm.

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael S. Black today announced that he has named Bryan L. Bowker as Regional Director of the BIA’s Western Regional Office in Phoenix, Ariz. Bowker, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, had been serving as Project Manager of the Bureau’s San Carlos Irrigation Project in Coolidge, Ariz. The Western Regional Office oversees 13 agencies and one federal irrigation project serving 44 federally recognized tribes located within the states of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. His appointment became effective on July 4, 2010.

“Bryan Bowker is an extremely capable federal manager who brings to his new position extensive knowledge and experience of BIA programs and Indian Country,” Black said. “I am glad that he has agreed to become a part of my regional management team.”

“Improving the BIA’s ability to deliver services to Indian Country has been an important goal in my career,” Bowker said. “I am very grateful to BIA Director Black and Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk for giving me this leadership opportunity to move Indian Affairs forward in meeting the needs of the tribes in the Western Region.”

Bowker began his federal career with the BIA’s Portland Area Office (now Northwest Regional Office) in February 1988 as a Computer Specialist, a position he held until February 1990 when he became a Computer Assistant and then, in September 1991, a Computer Specialist. While the latter, he was involved with designing, installing and implementing federal information technology and network security systems and conducting employee IT training, as well as helping to develop the BIA’s first internet site.

In June 1995 he became a Supervisory Computer Specialist in the BIA’s Phoenix Area Office (now Western Regional Office) where he served until September 1997 as manager of the Bureau’s Southwest Information Management Center. While there he led the planning and installation of the area office’s local area network that culminated in the installation of LANs at 12 BIA field locations throughout Arizona.

From September 1997 to May 1998, Bowker served as the Acting Superintendent of the BIA’s San Carlos Agency in San Carlos, Ariz., where he was responsible for the day-to-day administration of BIA programs and services for the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

In May 1998, Bowker moved to the position of Regional Administrative Officer for the Western Region, a post he held until May 2002, where he oversaw nine BIA agencies, three field stations and two Irrigation and Power projects while also serving periodically as the Acting Western Regional Director. [During that time, from May to August 2001, Bowker also served as the Acting Deputy Director for the Bureau’s Office of Information Resources Management in Reston, Va., where he was responsible for managing federal and contract employees, negotiating and administering federal IT contracts and addressing computer network security issues.]

In May 2002, Bowker was promoted to Deputy Director-Administration for the Western Region, where he remained until October 2004 when he moved to the position of Deputy Director-Indian Services, a position he held until February 2005. As the head of Indian Services for the Western Region, he oversaw the BIA’s housing, roads, tribal governance, credit, social services and 638 contracting programs. Periodically, he also would serve as the Acting Regional Director.

From February 2005 to August 2007, Bowker was named the Deputy Director-Trust Services for the Western Region, where he was responsible for the BIA’s land, water, environmental and economic development programs in the region, and served as the Regional Director’s principal advisor on trust matters. His responsibilities also included addressing high priority issues such as border security, probate reform, environmental liabilities reporting and remediation, and wildland fire emergencies.

Bowker served again as the Acting Western Regional Director from April to December 2006. In April 2006, he also was named the project manager for the San Carlos Irrigation Project. The project provides irrigation water to the Gila River Indian Community in Sacaton, Ariz., and the non-tribal San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District. It also provides electrical service to approximately 17,000 on- and off-reservation customers.

Bowker is a graduate of the DOI’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Class No. 14 (May 2006). He has professional certifications in the fields of federal administration, contracting and information technology.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today praised President Obama’s signing of legislation that will strengthen tribal law enforcement on American Indian reservations. Secretary Salazar, Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes, Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk, and Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins joined the President at a White House signing ceremony.

“By providing greater law enforcement resources for Indian Country, this measure will help combat violence and lawlessness and ensure that more crimes are prosecuted on reservations,” Secretary Salazar said. “This legislation reflects the continuing commitment of President Obama to work closely with tribal leaders to improve safety in Indian communities and to tackle the years of neglect of law enforcement needs.”

The Secretary also commended Sen. Byron L. Dorgan for his leadership in shepherding this legislation through the Senate, and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin for her efforts in the House of Representatives. Dorgan (D-ND) is chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and sponsor of the Tribal Law and Order Act. Sandlin (D-SD) introduced the House version of the bill.

“The federal government has a distinct legal, trust and treaty obligation to provide public safety in tribal communities,” said Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk. “The Tribal Law and Order Act helps allow both the Executive Branch and the Congress to better address the public safety challenges that confront tribal communities. This Act will improve our ability here at Indian Affairs to work with Indian tribes to investigate and prosecute crime impacting tribal communities, and authorizes resources for tribes to fight crime more effectively.”

American Indians and Alaska Natives suffer violent crime at far greater rates than other Americans, according to congressional and Department of Justice statistics. Some tribes have experienced rates of violent crime twice, four times and at times more than 10 times the national average. In addition, Native American communities are faced with an increase of youth gangs engaged in the drug trade.

The Tribal Law and Order Act, which Congress passed last week, strengthens law enforcement in Indian Country by authorizing the appointment of Special Assistant US Attorneys to prosecute crimes in tribal communities in federal court; providing tribal courts tougher sentencing powers; and allowing some tribal police officers to enforce federal laws on Indian lands. The Act increases recruitment and retention efforts of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal law officers and works to prevent drug trafficking and reduce alcohol and drug addiction in tribal communities.

The law also requires federal investigators and prosecutors to maintain information on cases that occur on Indian lands that are closed or declined for prosecution in federal court and share that information with tribal justice officials. In addition, the bill requires the Secretary of Interior to establish the Indian Law Enforcement Foundation, a federally chartered corporation, to accept and administer donations to support public safety and assist the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribes in activities supporting public safety.

Secretary Salazar has been strongly focused on addressing critically neglected law enforcement needs on tribal lands. An Interior Department senior-level working group has achieved a number of successes, including implementation in 2010 of a targeted, intense community policing pilot program on four reservations that is anticipated to reduce violent crime by more than 5 percent on each of those reservations by year-end 2011.

The group also guided the development of a fully revamped recruiting process for Bureau of Indian Affairs law officers that increased by 500 percent the number of applicants for those positions, and the hiring of more than 70 new officers in the first half of 2010 – the largest hiring increase in BIA’s history.

In addition the working group oversaw the development and implementation of an expedited bridge officer training program for State-certified police officers to become BIA officers, shaving 14 weeks off deployment time; and a partnership effort with Attorney General Eric Holder to streamline Interior-Department of Justice tribal law enforcement budgets and programs to best serve tribal law enforcement needs, including full coordination on the location of detention centers on Indian lands.

Washington -- Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk on August 6, 2010, issued a proposed finding not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Central Band of Cherokee (CBC) (Petitioner #227) as an Indian tribe. The petitioner, located in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, has approximately 407 members. The evidence shows the petitioner is a voluntary association formed in 2000 of individuals who claim but have not documented Indian ancestry. There is no evidence that Petitioner #227 existed under any name prior to its emergence in 2000 as the “Cherokees of Lawrence County, TN, Sugar Creek Band of the Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy, Inc.” Under the regulations, the Department may not acknowledge associations, organizations, corporations, or groups of any character formed in recent times.

The petitioner claims its members are descendants of Cherokee Indians who had not given up their rights to 1806 treaty lands in Tennessee, or are descendants of Indians living in Tennessee who evaded removal or escaped when the Cherokee were removed from North Carolina in the late 1830s. None of the evidence demonstrates the validity of either claim.

The Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) evaluated the group’s petition under 83.10(e) of the acknowledgment regulations, which allows for issuing a proposed finding under criterion 83.7(e) only. To meet criterion 83.7(e), the petitioner must demonstrate descent from a historical Indian tribe or tribes that combined and functioned as a single entity. The petitioner’s self-generated family histories and descent reports that attribute Cherokee ancestry to some of its ancestors are not supported by the evidence. The recent decision of the Tennessee Commission on Indian Affairs to grant state recognition to the CBC does not provide evidence of Indian descent.

OFA investigated CBC’s claims, located public records to verify members’ ancestors, and examined rolls of early eastern Cherokee Indians. The readily available public records clearly showed the petitioner’s members do not descend from any Cherokee group or any other Indian tribe. The evidence clearly shows the group’s ancestors were consistently identified as non-Indians, primarily “White” settlers coming to Tennessee in the early and mid-1800s from disparate locations. At no time were they identified as Indians or living in an Indian community.

The petitioner clearly does not meet criterion 83.7(e), which satisfies the requirement for issuing a proposed finding under 83.10(e). If, in the response to the proposed finding, the petitioner provides sufficient evidence that it meets criterion 83.7(e) under the reasonable likelihood standard, then the Department will undertake a review of the petition under all seven mandatory criteria. If, in the response, the petitioner does not provide sufficient evidence that it meets criterion 83.7(e) under that standard, then the Assistant Secretary will issue a final determination based upon criterion 83.7(e) only.

The Department will publish notice of this proposed finding in the Federal Register. The regulations provide that the petitioner or any party will have 180 days after the publication of the notice to submit comments to rebut or support the proposed finding before the Department issues a final determination. After the comment period, the petitioner will have an additional 60 days to respond to the comments from third parties. Following the response period, the Department will begin work on a final determination.

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. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for providing services to the tribes and their members, approximately 1.9 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives, and OFA, which administers the Federal acknowledgment process.

The Department will post copies of the proposed finding and Federal Register notice on its website at http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/OFA/RecentCases/index.htm.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Office of Justice Services (OJS) Division of Drug Enforcement (DDE) worked in successful cooperation with the Caddo County Okla. Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to halt a drug operation discovered by a lease holder looking for lost livestock. The land being leased is a Kiowa tribal member’s allotment near Carnegie, Okla. This collaborative effort between the BIA OJS-DDE in conjunction with its other law enforcement partners took place earlier this month and ended with the seizure and dismantling of a marijuana operation, as well as the arrest of a suspect.

“Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement personnel play a vital role in the detection, investigation and prosecution of drug crimes both within Indian Country and across the United States,” said Echo Hawk. “I congratulate BIA’s Division of Drug Enforcement, the sheriff’s deputies and the other law enforcement officers who contributed to successfully stopping this drug operation.”

Based on information provided by the Caddo County Sheriff’s Office they received a tip that marijuana was being cultivated on federal Indian trust land near Carnegie. This led to a follow up reconnaissance by a BIA Special Agent (SA) on August 10, 2010. On August 11, 2010, the BIA SA, with the assistance of OBN agents, Caddo County Sheriff’s officers, and Oklahoma Highway patrolmen, successfully eradicated the marijuana crop, dismantled the cultivation operation and apprehended one of two suspects.

The BIA Office of Justice Services is responsible for managing the Bureau’s law enforcement, detention facilities and tribal courts programs, either directly in tribal communities or by funding tribally administered programs through contract and grants.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Gaming (OIG) will conduct tribal consultation with federally recognized tribes on Indian Gaming Land into Trust Determinations. A letter announcing the meetings was sent to tribal leaders on August 24, 2010.

“I am pleased that Indian Affairs is continuing our consultation with tribes,” Echo Hawk said. “It is critical that we work together with tribes to address important issues regarding Indian Gaming and sovereignty.”

Secretary Salazar issued a directive on July 18, 2010, recommending a thorough review of the "current guidance and regulatory standards" used to make decisions for off-reservation two-part determinations under Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and its implementing regulations. In accordance with the Secretary's directive, and in keeping with the Department of Interior's commitment to government-to-government consultation, the OIG will engage with tribal governments on three major subjects: (1) the January 3, 2008 Memorandum regarding Guidance on Taking Off-reservation Land into Trust for Gaming Purposes; (2) whether there is a need to revise any of the provisions of 25 C.F.R. Part 292, Subpart A (Definitions) and Subpart C (Two-Part Determinations); and (3) whether the Department of the Interior's process of requiring compliance with 25 C.F.R. Part 151 (Land Into Trust Regulations) should come before or after the Two-Part Determination.

The Office of Indian Gaming implements the Secretary’s responsibilities under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The office reviews and approves/disapproves fee-to-trust applications; gaming leases; tribal/state compacts; per capita distributions plans; gaming contracts; Secretarial procedures for class III gaming and requests to game on land acquired in trust after the enactment of IGRA. The office is also charged with developing policies and procedures, providing technical assistance and training in all of the above areas.

Comments may be mailed or hand delivered to the Office of Indian Gaming, 1849 C Street N.W., MS-3657-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240. Please contact the Office of Indian Gaming at (202) 219-4066 for any additional questions you might have about the upcoming meetings.

Additional information can be found on the “Current Tribal Consultations” page of the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/Consultation/index.htm

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that he has taken steps to address the change in accreditation status of the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), a Bureau of Indian Education post secondary institution of higher learning in Albuquerque, N.M., by its accrediting organization, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. SIPI’s status was changed from “accredited” to “candidate for accreditation” following a periodic review and evaluation by the HLC that examined the Institute’s record from 2000 to 2010.

“I am deeply concerned about this setback for SIPI and its students,” Echo Hawk said. “In response to this development, I have directed my education team to take all necessary steps to regain SIPI’s status as a fully accredited institution as quickly as possible. To that end, the Office of the Assistant Secretary is working in close coordination with Bureau of Indian Education Director Keith Moore and SIPI President Sherry Allison to swiftly address and alleviate the deficiencies identified by the HLC.”

The Assistant Secretary outlined his response to SIPI’s change in status in a letter to tribal leaders dated August 26, 2010.

The change to “candidate for accreditation” status, which became effective on August 6, 2010, will not affect SIPI’s eligibility for federal funding or its students’ eligibility for federal and state financial aid programs. It also will not affect the transferability of academic credits earned by students prior to the August 6 effective date. Credits earned after August 6 and prior to SIPI regaining full accreditation, however, may transfer only to institutions that will permit them.

Allison, who was named president in December 2009, was formally notified of the change in status by the HLC in a letter dated July 2, 2010. According to the HLC, which performed its review in a site visit that took place the same month, SIPI failed to meet the first four of five criteria the Commission uses for all post secondary institutions. The HLC did note the high degree of commitment demonstrated by SIPI representatives to the Institute’s mission and students and to improving its operations. The HLC also acknowledged as credible the BIE’s plans for remediating SIPI’s accreditation issues.

The Assistant Secretary and his education team will be working with tribal leaders, the U.S. Department of Education, the SIPI Board of Regents and the SIPI community over the coming months to prepare for the next HLC evaluation team visit, which is scheduled for March 2011. At that time, the team is expected to determine whether SIPI is continuing to meet “candidate for accreditation” eligibility requirements and if it is making reasonable progress toward meeting the criteria for full accreditation. In the meantime, the BIE and SIPI are developing a Performance Improvement and Action Plan (PIAP) to serve as a roadmap for the Institute’s return to full accreditation status.

SIPI officials also are in discussions with the New Mexico Higher Education Department and other relevant associations in New Mexico, including the New Mexico Association of Community Colleges, New Mexico Independent Community Colleges and the New Mexico Council of University Presidents, with the goal of ensuring that credits earned after August 6 will continue to be transferable to all in-state colleges and universities. The BIE will work with out-of-state institutions on a case-by-case basis to assist SIPI students seeking to transfer credits. The BIE is responsible for ensuring the implementation of federal education laws, including the No Child Left Behind Act, in 183 BIE-funded elementary and secondary schools and residential programs located on 64 reservations in 23 states serving approximately 42,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students and employing over 5,000 teachers, administrators and support personnel.

The BIE also provides resources and technical assistance to 124 tribally administered BIE-funded schools, 26 tribal colleges and universities and two technical colleges. It also directly oversees two post secondary institutions: SIPI and the Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.

SIPI is a National Indian Community College established in 1971 at the request of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and other federally recognized tribes in the U.S. to help train American Indians and Alaska Natives for employment. It is advised by a national, tribally appointed Board of Regents. SIPI provides career technical training and transfer degree programs to students from the nation’s 564 federally recognized tribes. It offers competitive job training programs; granting of Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees; and opportunities to transfer into four-year degree programs. SIPI’s fall 2009 enrollment was 657 students from over 150 tribes.

The August 26, 2010, letter from Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk to tribal leaders may be viewed at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/text/idc010785… .

The July 2, 2010, letter from the Higher Learning Commission to SIPI President Allison may be viewed at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/text/idc010792….

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that tribal consultation will be held regarding the Interior Department’s Fiscal Year 2011-2016 Strategic Plan in a series of meetings across Indian Country from September 15 through October 7, 2010. The Plan is a roadmap for the Department for the next six years, and a means of communicating its goals and specific commitments to the federally recognized tribes, DOI employees and other stakeholders. The Assistant Secretary notified tribal leaders of the upcoming consultation in a letter dated September 8, 2010.

“One of my top priorities is ensuring an Indian Affairs organization that efficiently serves Indian Country. The input of tribal leaders is vital in prioritizing the needs of Indian Country and identifying measures and milestones that can gauge our progress as we work to meet those needs,” Echo Hawk said. “I urge all tribal leaders to participate in this consultation through attendance at these meetings and through the submission of comments to ensure all tribal concerns and recommendations are heard.”

Also announced today is the schedule for the tribal consultation meetings (all times are local):

Alaska Region

Date: Wednesday, September 15

Times: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Location: Hilton Hotel, 500 W. 3rd Ave., Anchorage, Alaska; 907-272-7411.

Northwest Region

Date: Thursday, September 16

Times: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Location: Red Lion SeaTac Airport, 18220 International Blvd., Seattle, Wash.; 206-246-5535.

Eastern Oklahoma and Southern Plains Regions

Date: Thursday, September 23 Times: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Location: Four Points Hotel, 6300 Terminal Dr., Oklahoma City, Okla.; 405-681-3500.

Eastern Region

Date: Tuesday, September 28 Times: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel Providence-Warwick Airport 801 Greenwich Ave., Warwick, R.I.; 401-732-6029.

Great Plains and Midwest Regions

Date: Thursday, September 30 Times: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Location: Best Western Ramkota, 2111 N. Lacrosse St., Rapid City, S.D.; 605-343-8550.

Pacific Region

Date: Tuesday, October 5 Times: 1:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Location: Red Lion Hotel at Arden Village, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento, Calif.; 916-922-8041.

Navajo, Rocky Mountain, Southwest and Western Regions

Date: Thursday, October 7 Times: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: MGM Grand Las Vegas, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nev.; 877-880-0880.

Comments and recommendations may be submitted during the meetings, by email at consultation@bia.gov, or by U.S. Postal Service, overnight carrier or hand-delivery to: Indian Affairs Office of Planning and Performance Management, Ely S. Parker Building, Room 245, 2051 Mercator Drive, Reston, Va., 20191-3413. The submission deadline is no later than October 8, 2010.

To view the Assistant Secretary’s September 8 letter to tribal leaders, visit the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/Consultation/index.htm.