OPA

(WASHINGTON) – Interior Secretary Gale Norton, accompanied by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb, will be the keynote speaker at the National Indian School Board Association’s 2001 Summer Institute conference on Tuesday, July 24, at 8:30 a.m. (PST) at the Doubletree Jantzen Beach Hotel in Portland, Ore.

NISBA’s members serve on local school boards that educate children in Bureau of Indian Affairs-funded schools. NISBA’s mission is to support quality education in a safe environment from early childhood through life in accordance with the Tribes’ needs for cultural and economic well-being, and to consider the spiritual, mental, physical and cultural aspects of a person with his or her family, community and tribe.

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NORTHERN NEW MEXICO: Under sunny skies, tribal leaders from the Taos, Picuris and Tesuque Pueblos met with Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb to discuss a number of different road projects the Bureau of lndian Affairs has implemented this year. The visit by the Assistant Secretary fulfills a promise to make these road projects a priority in the Southwest Region by providing the necessary resources to overcome past problems associated with private contractors and Bureau employees.

Thousands of visitors travel each year to visit the ancient Pueblos located in Northern New Mexico to witness the cultural festivals and various landmarks of the region and a well designed and maintained road system is essential to ensure their safety. Access to safe roads for local residents is necessary to increase the economic development opportunities of the region.

A two-lane paved road project for Tesuque Pueblo was completed in July, while bridge replacement projects at Picuris and Taos Pueblos will start in early August and is scheduled for completion later this year. Through meetings with the Bureau of lndian Affairs Transportation Department the tribes have had a lot of concerns addressed in the preliminary stages of design and construction enabling them to get projects that meet their needs and Federal requirements.

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Thank you, Neal. Last Wednesday, Neal made his first appearance at the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since he was confirmed as Assistant Secretary.

Neal talked with Senators about tribal governance practices, economic development and education. That was expected – that’s his job.

It’s what happened after his testimony that took Washington by surprise. He could have driven back to his BIA office – and returned phone calls and other tasks.

But, instead, Neal took a seat in the audience ... and listened. He heard tribal leaders tell success stories. He listened to others contribute their ideas.

According to the web-site, Indianz.com, Democratic Committee Chairman Inouye said:

"In all my years of sitting on this committee, this is the first time I’ve seen an Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs sitting through testimony of tribal leaders."

Applause is rarely given in the ornate – and some would say stuffy – Capitol Hill committee rooms. But that afternoon, the visitors attending the hearing applauded Neal McCaleb.

It’s his commitment to listening and learning about Indian people’s needs and concerns that’ll make him a great Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

I’m honored that he agreed to move from Oklahoma to Washington to work with me for the good of Indian country.

I’m here this morning to listen, as well. I want this to be a conversation – not a speech.

The setting I would like to create this morning is that of a local school board meeting, where we talk about our ideas and express our concerns, our hopes and our dreams.

Improving schools in Indian Country won’t be easy. I can’t look any of you in the eye and say when schools begin this fall, they will dramatically improve. But over the next years, we can be successful. We can make Indian schools the paragon of excellence. Schools where any parent in America would want to send their children.

In January, at our Indian Education meeting, we set forth five specific goals to improve education in Indian country.

We agreed:

• All children should read independently by the third grade.
• 70 percent of students should be proficient or advanced in reading and math.
• The student attendance rate should be 90 percent or higher.
• Students should demonstrate knowledge of their language and culture.
• We must increase retention, placement and graduation rates at the post-secondary level.

We can achieve and surpass these goals.

A week ago Monday, I visited the Tiospa Zina (T-Oats-spa) School in South Dakota. I learned from School Superintendent Roger Bourdaux (Bore-Doe) that the school was already moving forward on many of these goals.

I learned a lot from the people at Agency Village. I listened to stories about how the bureaucracy in Washington sometimes gets in the way of progress.

I learned how the school brought together teachers, students, parents and tribal elders to incorporate a varied curriculum. Students learn about our global culture, with instruction in math, science, geography and other subjects. They are also taught about their tribal history and the culture that is so important to the tribe’s heritage.

There’s good accountability at the school. Every few years, students are interviewed with their parents to make sure the students learned what they were supposed to.

I saw the gym that was built just two years ago, where basketball and native festivals take place. I saw the heavy machinery breaking ground on the spot where a new dining room, kitchen and kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms will soon be.

Ten years ago the graduation rate at Tiospa Zina was 25 percent. Today it is 65 percent.

More importantly, I felt a real excitement in the community, and a real enthusiasm for the future.

When President Bush says "No child will be left behind" he’s talking about children in Indian country.

President Bush’s education plan has four major themes:

• To Increase accountability for student performance.
• Focus on what works using education research and proven education models.
• Reduce bureaucracy and increase flexibility.
• Empower parents.

The President’s major education policies are embodied in legislation now pending in Congress.

In the legislation:

• BIA-funded schools are allowed to get state or regional accreditation rather than meeting BIA’s federally imposed education standards.
• Tribes are allowed to improve and expand education programs at schools using their own resources.
• Indian parents are allowed to choose which BIA school their children will attend.
• Tribes are given greater say in repair and maintenance priorities, and Tribes and local school boards have more flexibility in making school staffing decisions.
• BIA inspectors are required to get a second opinion from an independent source – with Tribal input – before fully closing a BIA school for health and safety violations.
• BIA is required to spend all maintenance money at school sites, rather than diverting it to fund administrative activities.

BIA has been working with the Senate and the House to ensure the Bureau’s education system is included in the legislation. The Bureau commented on the substantive parts that impact BIA education programs.

President Bush’s budget includes $161.6 million to address critical health and safety concerns at existing education facilities – an increase of $13.6 million over last year.

This year, President Bush is committed to investing $292.5 million in BIA School Construction – an increase from last year.

The Santa Fe Indian School was built in 1889. It currently serves more than 550 students from reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.

The buildings have deteriorated to a point where critical components like electricity, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and fire and safety systems don't meet the very minimum requirements.

On the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, 80 percent of the students attend classes in portable buildings located on a steep slope that creates dangerous winter time hazards. The pipes routinely freeze and the students shiver.

With help from Congress, this Administration will rebuild the Sante Fe and Belcourt schools and four others next year.

With those six schools built, 2,900 children will go to classes in new schools. After the first four years of the Bush Administration, one out of five Indian students will attend school in a new building.

We’re also announcing today that people can log onto the Internet – at www.buildaschool.bia.edu – and see photos of each of the schools being built. We’ll update the photos, from the first day of excavation to the final ribbon cutting ceremony, We’ll share the experience and the joy of building a new school. And everyone can watch it happen.

We’re building six schools, but I’m not satisfied with those numbers. I have asked Neal to look for creative ways and work in a bipartisan manner we can improve the bonding and financing for new schools and build them even faster.

We also know that it takes more than bricks and mortar to build a student’s mind. And we know that many of the solutions are not in Washington, they are in each Tribe, each community and each family.

The most influential teacher any child will ever have is a parent who loves them. The Family and Child Education Program – called the FACE program – is a unique literacy program that connects parents in a very personal way to our schools.

The program empowers parents to work with their children from birth through third grade with early childhood education, parenting skills, and adult education and training.

Research was done to test the program’s effectiveness. The result is for every dollar invested in FACE, six dollars were saved on remediation, welfare and teen pregnancy.

Beyond the numbers, the real life success stories are compelling. Michelle Lorenzo is a FACE parent whose children attend the Pine Hill School in New Mexico. She composed a winning essay this spring and wrote:

"The program has changed my life forever. Now, everyday I have something to look forward to. ... I am working to complete my GED. I know now what I want in life, and I have discovered I can do so many things. Things I couldn’t imagine before FACE of what I can do – like working at a computer, solving math problems and writing this essay!"

There are over 15,000 FACE success stories like Michelle’s across Indian country. I’m happy to announce that beginning this school year, we’ll expand this program to ten more schools – for a total of 32.

We must also re-intensify the amazing Indian spirit that dominates Indian life. Scientists say the Indian population was at one time 10 to 20 million strong. Indian people lived off the land, fought extreme hardship and persevered through tough times. Indian people were – as they are today – smart, tenacious and resourceful.

We can take that same spirit into our classrooms, and reignite our teaching of math, science, communication skills and Indian languages and culture. In doing so, we can achieve great things. We don’t need to travel far to find examples. If you attended a BIA school, please stand up. ... You are our proof. You are our success stories. And you are an inspiration to each child and each life you touch. To each of you, I applaud you. Today, five Indian schools are not connected to the Internet. It’s my honor to announce today, that by the start of the new school year every BIA school will be connected to the Internet. But that’s just the beginning. We are ensuring that teachers have the knowledge, training and resources to utilize this technology.

This summer, 50 teachers from Bureau schools are being trained at the Pueblo of Laguna through the Intel-Teach to the Future program. Each of these teachers will return to their schools and train ten of their co-workers how to connect technology with instruction. By the end of next year, we will have more than 500 teachers employing technology in their classrooms.

To ensure teachers have a user-friendly place on the Internet, the Office of Indian Education will provide culturally relevant lesson plans, Internet content standards, a student publishing center where students can display there work, and discussion pages where teachers can exchange ideas across the country. Finally, roadblocks for Indian children on the information Superhighway will come down – once and for all. Neal and I need your help to improve Indian schools. We want to hear your ideas, your concerns – and even your criticisms. I’ve promised to listen to people from all over this country, to involve them in our decisions, to tap their experience, and their wisdom, and their creativity. It is an inclusive approach, and that's what I can hope we can all follow. As I’ve said repeatedly since January, I am practicing a way of communicating called the Four C's. That’s consultation, cooperation, communication, and all in the service of conservation.

As Interior Secretary, I’m entrusted with protecting our the nation’s greatest treasures. The Department watches over the magnificent blasts of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful, the amazing sculptures of Mount Rushmore and the majesty of the mighty California Sequoias. But the true treasures of this Department are the 50,000 children who attend BIA Schools. It’s their hopes, their dreams and their futures that I cherish most. Working together, with a common mission and an open heart, we can help each of their dreams become a reality.

Thank you.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced his approval of the reconsidered final determination in favor of Federal acknowledgment for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe of Washington. The reconsidered final determination, which McCaleb signed on December 31, 2001, affirms the final determination signed by his predecessor, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Gover, on February 14, 2000 acknowledging that the Cowlitz Indian Tribe exists as an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law.

The 1,482-member tribe, which is located in southwestern Washington State, submitted a request for Federal acknowledgment to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on September 17, 1975. After the Federal Acknowledgment Project (now the Branch of Acknowledgment and Research, or BAR) was established in 1978, the tribe’s petition was transferred to the new office for evaluation under 25 CFR Part 83, the Federal acknowledgment regulations.

The Quinault Indian Nation, a Federally recognized tribe located in western Washington, filed a request for reconsideration of the February 14 final determination with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA). In an opinion issued on May 29, 2001, the IBIA affirmed the final determination while at the same time referring three issues to Interior Secretary Gale Norton as outside of its jurisdiction. After receiving comments from the BAR, the Quinault Indian Nation and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Secretary Norton on September 4, 2001 referred one issue and part of a second issue to Assistant Secretary McCaleb as grounds for reconsideration of the final determination.

The first issue dealt with whether two misstatements contained in the final determination technical report concerning Cowlitz “metis’” or “mixed-bloods” with French Canadian heritage appearing on 1878 and 1880 Indian censuses had an effect on the BIA’s analysis and, ultimately, on the Assistant Secretary’s decision. Assistant Secretary McCaleb found that the misstatements did not impact the result of the final determination.

The second issue considered by Assistant Secretary McCaleb concerned whether the BIA misapplied the burden of proof under 25 CFR 83.6(d). The Secretary had limited her referral of this issue to “the portion that pertains to the application of the burden of proof in the context of unambiguous previous federal recognition.” The Assistant Secretary determined the Cowlitz Indian Tribe demonstrated by substantial evidence that the Lower Cowlitz tribe and the Upper Cowlitz tribe had been recognized separately at different times during the 1800s, and that the government had amalgamated these two bands by 1880. He also determined that there was a reasonable likelihood that the Cowlitz Indian Tribe had evolved from these previously acknowledged tribes.

The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is an amalgamated tribe descended from two historically amalgamated bands of Cowlitz: the Salish-speaking Lower Cowlitz Indians and the Sahaptin-speaking Upper Cowlitz, or Taidnapam, Indians. Cowlitz Indian Tribe villages ranged a distance of 60 miles from the source to the mouth of the Cowlitz River with an important center at the well-known landmark of the Cowlitz Indian Mission.

In 1855, Cowlitz representatives took part in the Chehalis River Treaty negotiations with Governor Isaac Ingalls Stephens, but refused to sign the proposed treaty because the Cowlitz Indians did not consent to be transferred away from their traditional territory to a Federally established reservation. In subsequent years, agents of the Office of Indian Affairs, the forerunner of the BIA, recorded the tribe’s members on census and other records, but the tribe continued to refuse placement on a reservation. Between 1855 and 1900, the tribe had several well-known leaders.

In 1904, the surviving traditional chiefs and younger members of the tribe began the process of filing a claim against the Federal government for compensation for the taking of the tribe’s land. The claim was resolved in 1973 by an Indian Claims Commission judgment award, which has not yet been disbursed pending determination of the tribe’s acknowledgment status.

In 1910, the tribe reorganized itself along modern lines with elected officers and a board of directors. This structure was formalized in 1912. For many years thereafter the chairman was chosen alternately from descendents of the Lower Cowlitz and the Upper Cowlitz. Known as the Cowlitz Indian Tribe since 1973, the tribe was previously called the Cowlitz Tribal Organization and the Cowlitz Tribe of Indians.

The reconsidered final determination supplements the original final determination and supersedes it to the extent the original is inconsistent with the reconsidered final determination. In conjunction with the original final determination, the reconsidered final determination is an amended final determination for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and is effective upon publication of the notice of the reconsidered determination in the Federal Register.

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 is also responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who are members of the now 559 Federally recognized tribes.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb and Deputy Assistant Secretary Wayne Smith will meet with tribal leaders on Thursday, January 10, 2002 in Rapid City, S.D., at the fourth in a series of consultation meetings on the Department’s plan to improve the management of Indian trust assets. The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza (505 N. 5th St.) starting at 9:00 a.m. (MST).

On November 15, 2001, the Department announced plans to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Interior agencies within a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management. The Department also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee BITAM and a new Office of Indian Trust Transition to implement the transfer and consolidation plans.

Consultation meetings have already taken place in Albuquerque, Minneapolis and Oklahoma City. Additional meetings will be held in San Diego, Calif., on January 17; Anchorage, Alaska, on January 23 and in Washington, D.C (Arlington, Va.) on February 1. A notice with meeting dates and locations was published in the December 11 Federal Register.

WHO: Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb and Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Wayne Smith.

WHEN: 9:00 a.m. (MST), Thursday, January 10, 2002.

WHAT: Interior Department tribal consultation meeting on improving the management of Indian trust assets.

WHERE: Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza, 505 N. 5th St., Rapid City, S.D.

(WASHINGTON) – With the stroke of a pen today, President George W. Bush signed into law the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001,” the historic education bill that for the first time will bring to BIA-funded schools the four pillars of his education reform plan: accountability and testing, flexibility and local control, funding for what works and expanded parental options for children attending failing schools.

“I applaud President Bush for his commitment to improving education in Indian Country,” Interior Secretary Gale Norton said. “We will work closely with the Department of Education to bring more accountability to our schools and improve education for all students in Indian Country.”

“President Bush and I agree that an Indian child who goes without a quality education is a dream that may never be fulfilled. We are committed to making the dreams of Indian children a reality,” Secretary Norton said.

Highlights of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001” include:

• For the first time, Bureau funded schools will be eligible for funding under the “Reading First” initiative to establish reading programs for Indian children in grades K-3.
• Makes all BIA-operated schools eligible for competitive programs under the Act.

“Like their peers, Indian students deserve a good education and must have access to good schools,” Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb said. “By his action today, the president has assured Indian Country’s parents that BIA funded schools will be held accountable for the quality and success of the education services they provide.”

Title X, Part D, of the president’s bill, the “Native American Education Improvement Act of 2001,” deals specifically with bringing more accountability to BIA funded schools. Highlights include:

• Mandating that all BIA funded schools be accredited, or a candidate for accreditation, within 24 months from enactment of the Act.
• Calling for a report on establishing a tribal accreditation agency for BIA-funded schools.
• Increasing the funding amount schools can receive at the start of each school year.
• Consolidating all BIA personnel and support services that are “directly and substantially” involved in education within the Office of Indian Education Programs.
• Authorizing a demonstration project to integrate Federal education and related services provided to Indian students with streamlined reporting requirements.

The Act reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which authorizes Federal education programs and services administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Within Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Indian Education Programs manages 185 elementary and secondary schools. The Bureau functions as a 51st state for the purpose of receiving Education Department program funds for BIA schools and students. Under Title X of the “No Child Left Behind Act” is Part D, the “Native American Education Improvement Act of 2001,” which addresses BIA education programs and schools.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb and Deputy Assistant Secretary Wayne Smith will meet with tribal leaders on Thursday, January 17, 2002 in San Diego, Calif., at the fifth in a series of consultation meetings on the Department’s plan to improve the management of Indian trust assets. The meeting will be held at the Hanalei Red Lion Hotel (2270 Hotel Circle North) starting at 9:00 a.m. (PST).

On November 15, 2001, the Department announced plans to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Interior agencies within a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management. The Department also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee BITAM and a new Office of Indian Trust Transition to implement the transfer and consolidation plans.

Consultation meetings have already taken place in Albuquerque, N.M.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Oklahoma City, Okla., and Rapid City, S.D. Additional meetings will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, on January 23 and in Washington, D.C (Arlington, Va.) on February 1. A notice with meeting dates and locations was published in the December 11 Federal Register.

WHO: Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb and Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Wayne Smith.

WHEN: 9:00 a.m. (PST), Thursday, January 17, 2002.

WHAT: Interior Department tribal consultation meeting on improving the management of Indian trust assets.

WHERE: Hanalei Red Lion Hotel, 2270 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, Calif

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb will meet with tribal leaders on Wednesday, January 23, 2002 in Anchorage, Alaska, at the sixth in a series of consultation meetings on the Department’s plan to improve the management of Indian trust assets. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Anchorage Hotel (500 West 3rd Avenue) starting at 9:00 a.m. local time.

On November 15, 2001, the Department announced plans to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Interior agencies within a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management. The Department also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee BITAM and a new Office of Indian Trust Transition to implement the transfer and consolidation plans.

Consultation meetings have already taken place in Albuquerque, N.M.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Oklahoma City, Okla., Rapid City, S.D., and San Diego, Calif. Another meeting will be held in Washington, D.C (Arlington, Va.) on February 1. A notice with meeting dates and locations was published in the December 11 Federal Register.

WHO: Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb.

WHEN: 9:00 a.m. local time, Wednesday, January 23, 2002.

WHAT: Interior Department tribal consultation meeting on improving the management of Indian trust assets.

WHERE: Hilton Anchorage Hotel, 500 West 3rd Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska. Ph: 907-272-7411/Fax: 907-265-7140.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb will meet with tribal leaders on Friday, February 1, 2002 in Arlington, Va., at the seventh in a series of consultation meetings on the Department’s plan to improve the management of Indian trust assets. He will be joined by Wayne R. Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs and Ross O. Swimmer, Director, Office of Indian Trust Transition. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel (2799 Jefferson Davis Highway) starting at 9:00 a.m. EST.

On November 15, 2001, the Department announced plans to transfer and consolidate Indian trust asset management functions currently administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Interior agencies within a new Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management. The Department also announced the establishment of an Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Assets Management to oversee BITAM and a new Office of Indian Trust Transition to implement the transfer and consolidation plans.

Consultation meetings have taken place in Albuquerque, N.M.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Rapid City, S.D.; San Diego, Calif.; and Anchorage, Alaska. A notice with meeting dates and locations was published in the December 11 Federal Register.

WHO: Neal A. McCaleb, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs; Wayne R. Smith, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs and Ross O. Swimmer, Director, Office of Indian Trust Transition.

WHEN: 9:00 a.m. EST, Friday, February 1, 2002.

WHAT: Interior Department tribal consultation meeting on improving the management of Indian trust assets.

WHERE: Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Va. Phone: 703-418-1234. Fax: 703-418-1289.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb today issued a proposed finding to decline to acknowledge the Ohlone/Costanoan Muwekma Tribe, also known as the “Muwekma Tribe,” the 400-member group based in San Jose, Calif. The Assistant Secretary found that the petitioner did not meet three of the seven mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgement under 25 CFR Part 83, thereby automatically resulting in a proposed negative finding.

The Muwekma had filed a petition under the Bureau of Indian Affairs administrative process for Federal acknowledgment. Under the regulations, the petitioner has the burden to provide evidence under the seven criteria. In reviewing the evidence, Bureau experts found that the petitioner did not meet three of the criteria.

The first criterion requires that outsiders such as government officials, researchers, newspaper reporters and others would have identified them as an Indian entity on a continuous basis. No documents identified the petitioner as an Indian entity between 1927 and 1985 -- the year the Muwekma founded their current organization.

The second criterion requires the petitioner demonstrate that it lives in a social community. The evidence did not to show that the group constituted a community with a broad base of participation among members on varied issues. According to the petitioner’s own evidence, a majority of members were not part of the group before 1995.

The third criterion requires the petitioner to show named political leaders and that it has political influence over its members. The petitioner’s evidence did not to show that it had maintained group decision-making processes from 1927 to the present. No political activities or leaders were specified between 1927 and 1985. Since 1985, however, some members were involved in archeological monitoring and public displays of heritage, but little evidence was shown that decisions were made or problems solved using group processes that involved the membership as a whole.

However, the petitioner did meet four criteria: it submitted a governing document; submitted evidence that all of its members descend from individuals on residential censuses of Indian settlements near Pleasanton, Calif., between 1905 and 1910, or descend from siblings of those residents; its members are not enrolled with federally recognized tribes; and the group or its members have not been terminated by congressional act. Today’s proposed finding was made following a January 16, 2001, U.S. District Court decision ordering the Bureau to issue a proposed finding in the case by today. The Muwekma brought the suit to speed up the government’s processing of their petition. The public and interested parties may now submit comments until October 29, 2001, to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Attention: Branch of Acknowledgement and Research, 1849 C Street, N.W., MS-4660-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240. After the Muwekma have had an opportunity to respond to the finding and public comments, the Bureau will issue a final determination by March 11, 2002.

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