OPA

WASHINGTON – The Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform will hold its next meeting on August 26-28, 2002 at the Hilton Anchorage Hotel in Anchorage, Alaska. At this meeting task force members will continue to look at reforming current trust management systems and processes to better serve American Indian and Alaska Native tribal and individual trust account beneficiaries.

The national task force was established in February of 2002 to review and propose plans for improving the Department’s management of individual Indian and tribal trust assets. On June 5, 2002, task force members presented a progress report to Secretary Gale Norton on their efforts to review and evaluate proposals for improving the Department’s management of Indian trust funds and assets. The report identified five options for trust management improvement by the Department along with comments and recommendations. The Department sent copies of the report to tribal leaders for review and comments as part of its on-going tribal consultation process on trust reform.

WHO: Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform

WHAT: Meeting to review and propose plans for improving the Department’s management of individual Indian and tribal trust assets.

WHEN: August 26-28, 2002 8:30 a.m. (Local time)

WHERE: Hilton Anchorage Hotel, 500 West 3rd Ave., Anchorage, Alaska. Ph: 907-272-7411.

WASHINGTON - The National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies, which is scheduled for September 16-19,2002, in Phoenix, Ariz., supports President Bush's goal for creating economic security for all Americans. "The President will not be satisfied until every American who wants a job can find a job, and all Americans have economic security," said Ruben Barrales, the president's deputy assistant and director of Intergovernmental Affairs, in a letter to tribal leaders on August 15, 2002.

The National Summit, hosted by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, will seek ways to create 100,000 jobs in Indian Country by 2008 and establish sustainable, market-driven tribal economies by 2020. "The President's economic agenda invests in people by creating jobs, expanding opportunities to save and invest, and providing a good education," Barrales said. Chairing the conference's steering committee is Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb.

Presentations will focus on the nuts and bolts of creating and sustaining economic systems in a tribal environment. Participants will be able to choose from a wide range of industry tracks in business areas such as fossil and renewable energy, manufacturing, agriculture, utilities and telecommunications, hospitality and tourism, aerospace, health care, construction, media and finance. In addition, the event will showcase a myriad of successful Indian businesses. Projected outcomes from the summit include the creation of a catalogue of tribal products and services and initiating alliances for creating business opportunities and living wage jobs in Indian Country.

Federal agencies partnering with Interior to support the summit are the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration, Minority Business Development Agency and Bureau of the Census; the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Transportation and Treasury; the Federal Communications Commission, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the Community Development Investment Fund and the Federal Reserve.

For conference registration and other information visit www.doi.gov/special or www.lakotamal1.com/nationalsummit.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced he has issued a Notice of Final Determination whereby he declined to acknowledge that the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe (petitioner #111, formerly known as Ohlone/Costanoan Muwekma Tribe) located in San Jose, Calif., exists as an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law. The decision is based on a determination that the petitioner does not satisfy three of seven mandatory criteria set forth under 25 CFR Part 83, specifically 83.7(a), 83.7(b) and 83.7(c). The petitioner was evaluated under Section 83.8 because it was determined to have had unambiguous previous Federal acknowledgement until 1927.

Criterion 83.7(a) requires the petitioner to have been identified on a substantially continuous basis as an American Indian entity since 1900. Section 83.8(d)(1) requires the petitioner to have been identified on a “substantially continuous” basis since last Federal acknowledgment. Based on the available evidence, the Assistant Secretary determined that the petitioner had not been identified as an Indian entity on a “substantially continuous” basis since 1927.

Criterion 83.7(b) requires the petitioner to have maintained a continuous community from historical times until the present. Section 83.8(d)(2) requires the petitioner to demonstrate that it comprises a distinct community “at present,” but need not demonstrate its existence as a community historically. The Assistant Secretary determined that the petitioner did not submit documents or oral histories sufficient to demonstrate that it meets the requirement “at present.”

Criterion 83.7(c) requires the petitioner to have maintained political authority or influence on a substantially continuous basis from historical times until the present. The Assistant Secretary determined that the petitioner did not meet the requirements of Section 83.8(d)(3) and that it did not demonstrate that it has maintained “political influence or authority” over its members since 1927, and thus does not meet the requirements of criterion 83.7(c).

A Notice of Proposed Finding to decline to acknowledge the petitioner was published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2001. An order of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dated January 16, 2001 set the close of the period for comment on the proposed finding as October 29, 2001. Following two extensions granted by the Court in response to the petitioner’s motions, the end date for the comment period was set as January 27, 2002 and the end of the period for the petitioner to respond to third-party comments as March 28, 2002. The petitioner submitted comments on the proposed finding, but did not submit a response to the public comments. The Court granted the Department’s request for a 30-day extension to the August 8, 2002 due date for the issuance of a final determination to September 9, 2002. The final determination was made following a review of the petitioner’s comments and the public comments on the proposed finding, and was based on all of the evidence in the record.

Having completed his review, the Assistant Secretary will publish the Notice of Final Determination on the petitioner in the Federal Register. This determination is final and will become effective 90 days from the notice’s publication date unless a request for reconsideration is filed with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) pursuant to 25 CFR 83.11.

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Director Stanley M. Speaks was one of nine BIA employees recognized by Interior Secretary Gale Norton at the Department’s 61st Honor Awards Convocation on September 4, 2002. The event, last held in October 2000, honored the achievement, valor, excellence and merit of Interior employees.

Mr. Speaks, a member of the Chickasaw Nation and director of the BIA’s Northwest Regional Office in Portland, Ore., received the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honorary recognition that an employee can receive within Interior, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Department and to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). “Stan Speaks is an example of what service to tribes and Indian people is all about,” said Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb. “His dignity and sense of responsibility for Indian people are reflected in the quality of his work.”

“It is a real honor to receive this award,” Mr. Speaks said. “I enjoy working with Tribes and seeing their progress in economic development, protecting treaty rights and strengthening tribal government. My philosophy has been to take issues and find solutions to resolve them.”

Mr. Speaks was cited for his work with the Joint Tribal/DOI Task Force for the Reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (1991-1994), as well as with other BIA, Departmental, Federal and State task forces, boards and committees, including the Regional Interagency Executive Committee to the Northwest Forest Plan on which he has served since its inception. Mr. Speaks was also recognized for innovative initiatives and administrative and program improvements he has made during his tenure as regional director, and for his work with Federal, State and Tribal leaders on a wide variety of environmental, infrastructure, natural resources enhancement and other efforts to improve the Northwest Region. In one example, he was instrumental in bringing together the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon and Portland General Electric to sign an agreement to co-manage the Pelton Dam hydroelectric plant located on the reservation.

Mr. Speaks began his public service career 42 years ago as a teacher at Intermountain Indian School, a now-closed BIA boarding school in Utah. He went on to serve first as superintendent of the BIA Agency and then as Area Office director in Anadarko, Okla. He went on to become director of the BIA’s Portland Area (now Northwest Regional) Office where he has served for 20 years. During the mid-1980s, Mr. Speaks undertook assignments in the BIA’s Central Office in Washington, D.C., including twice serving as interim director of the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP). He also served as acting Deputy Commissioner of the BIA in 1988 and from 1990 to 1991.

Eight other BIA employees also were recognized, one posthumously, for their dedication to duty and the quality of their work.

BIA Law Enforcement Officer Creighton T. Spencer was honored along with other Interior employees who have died in the line of duty since the October 2000 Convocation. Officer Spencer died on March 25, 2001 while responding to a call for assistance. On May 9, 2002, his name was added to the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial at the BIA Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M.

The Department presented its second highest honorary recognition, the Meritorious Service Award, to seven BIA employees: Earl J. Azure, Tribal Government Officer, Great Plains Regional Office, Aberdeen S.D.; Carmen N. Jacobs, Administrative Manager, Great Plains Regional Office; Cora L. Jones, Regional Director, Great Plains Regional Office; Lawrence H. Morrin, Regional Director, Midwest Regional Office, Ft. Snelling, Minn.; Wayne Nordwall, Regional Director, Western Regional Office, Phoenix, Ariz.; Loretta B. Webster, Equal Employment Manager, Great Plains Regional Office and JoAnn N. Young, Superintendent, Rosebud Agency, Rosebud, S.D.

“The BIA is truly honored to have so many of its employees recognized by the Department,” said Assistant Secretary McCaleb. “I want to commend each award recipient for a job well done, and acknowledge our entire BIA staff for their dedication to providing good service to Indian Country.”

The Meritorious Service Award is presented to Interior employees for an important contribution to science or management, a notable career, superior service in administration or in the execution of duties, or initiative in devising new and improved work methods and practices.

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) will continue its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Northwest Region will be briefed on June 4 in Portland, Ore., and June 5 in Spokane, Wash. Western Region employees will be briefed on June 4 in Phoenix, Ariz. The Department is seeking to increase accountability and efficiency in its trust management functions by reorganizing the agencies that manage Indian trust funds and assets. Presentations will take place in June at the Bureau’s 12 regional offices and other locations around the nation.

The employees will be briefed on the Department’s plan for reorganization of the BIA and OST, and on the Comprehensive Trust Management Plan (CTMP) at 8:30 a.m. sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. The CTMP describes how the new BIA and OST organizational structures will improve the delivery of trust services when the reorganization is completed. Tribal leaders from the region will also be briefed on the reorganization effort in subsequent sessions.

In 2002, the Department and the Tribes together undertook an ambitious effort to change the way the BIA and OST deliver trust and non-trust services to Tribes, tribal service populations and trust beneficiaries. The Plan is based on agreements reached with the Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force established by Secretary Gale Norton to examine and recommend proposals for improving service delivery to recipients and beneficiaries.

CREDENTIALS: Press registration will be provided. Please bring your sanctioned media credentials and if possible, wear on your shirt collar or around your neck for easy viewing. This will assist our staff. Press seating will be provided.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – Building sustainable tribal economies and creating jobs will be the focus of the National Summit for Emerging Tribal Economies, which will take place September 16-19, 2002 in Phoenix, Ariz., at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. The Summit, which will be hosted by Secretary Gale Norton, is a major initiative that will seek ways to create 100,000 jobs in Indian Country by 2008 and establish sustainable, market-driven tribal economies by 2020. Well over 1,000 attendees from across Indian Country will hear from and interact with representatives from government and business offering insights and resources for improving economic conditions in tribal communities. “A strong tribal economy is a consumer and supplier of goods and services.

A strong tribal economy has jobs for those who want them. Strong tribal economies are good for Indian people and good for America,” said Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb. “The National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies will begin a dialogue with tribal leaders on the ways they can move forward to achieving their economic goals.”

Jennifer Farley, Deputy Associate Director for Inter-Governmental Affairs, the White House, and Secretary Norton will be the first of several Federal officials to address the conference. Also representing the Department will be Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget Lynn Scarlet and Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb.

Kicking off the week will be a golf tournament on September 16 at the Whirlwind Golf Course in Chandler, Ariz., to raise money for diabetes research. Day 1 (September 17) will have panel presentations on identifying the components of a successful company and showcasing successful Indian businesses. Day 2 (September 18) will focus on how public and private sector partnerships can strengthen tribal economies and create tribally-driven capital formation strategies. Day 3 (September 19) will highlight federal agencies and corporate initiatives with workshops and seminars on accessing resources for minority and small businesses.

Other Federal speakers include Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell; FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps; Lou Gallegos, Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Agriculture; Louis Kincannon, Director, Bureau of the Census and Ronald N. Langston, National Director, Minority Business Development Agency, Department of Commerce; Larry Meeker, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Rodger Boyd, Program Manager, Community Development Financial Institution, Department of the Treasury; Frank M. Ramos, Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Department of Defense; Scott Denniston, Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Department of Veterans Affairs and Susan Houser, Director of Strategic Planning, Marketing and Sales, General Services Administration.

Industry leaders and Indian business representatives who also will speak include L. Kenneth Johnson, President, CACI; George C. Nolen, President and CEO of U.S. Operations, Siemens Information and Communications Networks; Daniel L. Lewis, Senior Vice President, Bank of America; Lance Morgan, CEO, Ho-Chunk, Inc.; Ray Halbritter, CEO, Oneida Nation Enterprises; Leonard Smith, CEO, A&S Technologies; Denise St. Cyr, Director of Corporate Development, CADDO Design and Office Products, Inc.; Rhonda Whiting, Vice President, S&K Technologies; Clarence O’Berry, CEO, Mandaree Enterprise Corporation; Harold Buck Elk, CFO, West Electronics; Kent E. Paul, CEO, AMERIND Risk Management Corporation; Elise Meeks, President, First Nations Oweesta Corporation; Monica Drapeaux, Executive Director, Lakota Fund and Ken Robbins, President and CEO, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.

Projected outcomes from the summit include the creation of a catalogue of tribal products and services and initiating alliances for creating business opportunities and living wage jobs in Indian Country.

For conference registration, agenda and other information visit www.doi.gov/special or www.lakotamall.com/nationalsummit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) will continue its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Navajo Region will be briefed on June 6 at the Navajo Nation Museum Auditorium in Window Rock, Ariz. The Department is seeking to increase accountability and efficiency in its trust management functions by reorganizing the agencies that manage Indian trust funds and assets. Presentations are taking place in June at the Bureau’s 12 regional offices and other locations around the nation.

The Navajo Region employees will be briefed on the Department’s plan for reorganization of the BIA and OST, and on the Comprehensive Trust Management Plan (CTMP) at an 8:30 a.m. session on Friday. The CTMP describes how the new BIA and OST organizational structures will improve the delivery of trust services when the reorganization is completed. Tribal leaders from the region will also be briefed on the reorganization effort in a subsequent session.

In 2002, the Department and the Tribes together undertook an ambitious effort to change the way the BIA and OST deliver trust and non-trust services to Tribes, tribal service populations and trust beneficiaries. The Plan is based on agreements reached with the Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force established by Secretary Gale Norton to examine and recommend proposals for improving service delivery to recipients and beneficiaries.

CREDENTIALS: Press registration will be provided. Please bring your sanctioned media credentials and if possible, wear on your shirt collar or around your neck for easy viewing. This will assist our staff. Press seating will be provided.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced that President Bush’s Special Assistant for Domestic Policy, Aquiles F. Suarez, and Jennifer Farley, the White House Associate Director for Inter-Governmental Affairs, will join Interior Secretary Gale Norton in leading a host of Federal speakers at the National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies to be held September 16-19, 2002 in Phoenix, Ariz. Also representing the Department will be Assistant Secretary McCaleb and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Finance Nina Hatfield.

Suarez and Farley will represent President Bush at the event and will provide White House support for the conference goal of developing strategies to create 100,000 new jobs in Indian Country by the year 2008 and to establish sustainable, market-driven tribal economies by 2020. Attendees representing tribes from across the nation will hear from and interact with government and business officials offering insights and resources for improving economic conditions in Indian Country. The event will showcase 120 successful Indian businesses.

Other speakers include Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael K. Powell; FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps; Lou Gallegos, Assistant Secretary for Administration, Department of Agriculture; Louis Kincannon, Director, Bureau of the Census and Ronald N. Langston, National Director, Minority Business Development Agency, Department of Commerce; Larry Meeker, Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Rodger Boyd, Program Manager, Community Development Financial Institution, Department of the Treasury; Frank M. Ramos, Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Department of Defense; Scott Denniston, Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Department of Veterans Affairs and Susan Houser, Director of Strategic Planning, Marketing and Sales, General Services Administration.

WHO: Aquiles F. Suarez, Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Jennifer Farley, Associate Director for Inter-Governmental Affairs, the White House Gale Norton, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior Neal A. McCaleb, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, USDOI Nina Hatfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Budget and Finance, USDOI

WHAT: National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies, a major initiative for developing strategies to create 100,000 new jobs in Indian Country by the year 2008 and to establish sustainable, market-driven tribal economies by 2020.

WHEN: September 16-19, 2002 (all start times are local time): September 16: 8:30 a.m. September 17: 8:00 a.m. September 18: 8:15 a.m. September 19: 8:15 a.m.

WHERE: Phoenix Civic Plaza, Exhibit Hall A, 111 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, Ariz.

CREDENTIALS: Press registration will be provided. Please bring your sanctioned media credentials and if possible, wear on your shirt collar or around your neck for easy viewing. This will assist our staff. Media are advised to be in place by 7:30 a.m. on September 17. Press seating will be provided. The program will not begin until 8:00 a.m. For conference registration, agenda and other information visit www.doi.gov/special or www.lakotamall.com/nationalsummit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) is continuing its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. Next week, employees of the Alaska Region will be briefed on June 10, 2003, in Juneau and June 12 in Anchorage. Midwest Region employees will be briefed on June 11 in Fort Snelling, Minn. The Department is seeking to increase accountability and efficiency in its trust management functions by reorganizing the agencies that manage Indian trust funds and assets. Presentations are taking place this month at the Bureau’s 12 regional offices and other locations around the nation.

The Alaska and Midwest Region employees will be briefed on the Department’s plan for reorganization of the BIA and OST, and on the Comprehensive Trust Management Plan (CTMP) at morning sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The CTMP describes how the new BIA and OST organizational structures will improve the delivery of trust services when the reorganization is completed. Tribal leaders from each region will also be briefed on the reorganization effort in subsequent sessions.

In 2002, the Department and the Tribes together undertook an ambitious effort to change the way the BIA and OST deliver trust and non-trust services to Tribes, tribal service populations and trust beneficiaries. The Plan is based on agreements reached with the Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force established by Secretary Gale Norton to examine and recommend proposals for improving service delivery to recipients and beneficiaries.

CREDENTIALS: Press registration will be provided. Please bring your sanctioned media credentials and if possible, wear on your shirt collar or around your neck for easy viewing. This will assist our staff. Press seating will be provided.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin today announced that James H. McDivitt, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs (Management), will retire this month after a 35-year career in the Federal government. His retirement will be effective June 13, 2003. “Jim McDivitt has been a tremendous asset to the Bureau of Indian Affairs because of his experience as a Federal manager and dedicated public servant,” Martin said. “He proved himself invaluable to the Bureau and the Department, and he will be sorely missed.”

Prior to being named Deputy Assistant Secretary in 2000, McDivitt served as Chief of Staff to former Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin Gover. McDivitt’s experience in Indian Affairs began in September of 1995 when he became Budget Officer for the BIA. He held that position until May of 1998. McDivitt also served as Acting BIA Director for Management and Administration from May of 1996 to November of 1997. He continued as Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs (Management) under President George W. Bush.

McDivitt began his Federal career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1968. In 1969 he left Federal civilian service to become an officer in the U.S. Army for two years. He returned to Federal civilian service after leaving the Army to work first for the Economic Research Service (1972-1981) and then the U.S. Forest Service (1981-1990). In 1990, he joined the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President where he served as primary examiner for several bureaus of the Department of the Interior (DOI), including the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. While at OMB, he also held positions as Deputy Branch Chief and Acting Branch Chief over all DOI programs included in Interior Appropriations legislation.

McDivitt received a B.A. in Economics and an M.B.A. in Financial Management from Michigan State University in 1968 and 1972, respectively.

-DOI-