OPA

WASHINGTON - Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced the formation of the National Indian Country Telecom Infrastructure Consortium (NICTIC) to coordinate an effort to build and improve the telecommunications infrastructure throughout Indian Country. "Creating this consortium supports the President's National Strategy for Homeland Security by providing critical direction to improving the telecommunications infrastructure in Indian Country," said Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb. "It will improve the capabilities of law enforcement, medical emergency response, border control and infrastructure protection."

The goals of the Consortium are to: 1) develop an Indian Country telecommunications resource inventory; 2) establish an Indian Country telecommunications network architecture; 3) establish an Indian Country telecommunications integration model and 4) encourage cooperation between Federal, state, local and tribal organizations to share the cost of telecommunications infrastructure and provide technical assistance and aide to tribes in obtaining Federal grant funds and loan programs available each year from Federal agencies.

The NICTIC will hold their second meeting today, October 17, 2002, in conjunction with the Federal Wireless Users Forum in Las Vegas, Nev. The Consortium's first meeting was jointly hosted by DOI - Indian Affairs and the General Services Administration (GSA) on September 18, 2002, in Phoenix, Ariz., during the National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies. Other organizations represented were the Office of Homeland Security, the Federal Communications Commission, Mescalero Apache Telecommunications, San Carlos Apache Telecommunications, WorldCom, IndigiCom, Network Infrastructure Corporation and Information Services Support, Inc.

The NICTIC strategy for implementing the Indian Country telecommunications infrastructure calls for three phases. Phase one will identify connectivity for each organization's program offices, regional offices and agencies. Phase two would identify opportunities to share connectivity to other Federal agencies that provide services to Federally recognized tribes including the Indian Health Service and the Office of Native American Programs, within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Phase three would identify opportunities to share connectivity to Federally recognized tribes, state and local governments through coordination and collaboration of tribal organizations and Federal Agencies that provide funding to the tribe for telecommunications, such as tribal organizations, the Rural Utility Service/Department of Agriculture (USDA), Lifeline Assistance Program, FCC, Homeland Security and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

"The last mile of infrastructure is the main roadblock to comprehensive services in remote areas throughout Indian Country," said Brian Burns, Indian Affairs Chief Information Officer. "No one entity can provide all the necessary resources to get the job done. The National Indian Country Telecom Infrastructure Consortium will work to utilize the necessary technological resources available to ensure success in building wireless telecommunications infrastructure."

"In conjunction with DOI - Indian Affairs, the General Services Administration's Federal Technology Service (FTS) is proud to support the National Indian Country Telecom Infrastructure Consortium that will bring a single interoperability Land Mobile Radio (LMR) infrastructure to NICTIC while maintaining the telecommunications autonomy of each individual Native American Nation. The Land Mobile Radio solution provided on the FTS2001 contract meets the requirement of the President's e-Government initiative SAFECOM," said Denny Groh, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Delivery Services, FTS GSA.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Department's trust responsibility to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and individuals, as well as promoting tribal self-determination and economic development. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives and the nation's 562 Federally recognized tribes.

WASHINGTON – Charlotte P. Begay, the adult education coordinator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Wingate Elementary School’s Family and Child Education Program (FACE) in Ft. Wingate, N.M., was honored yesterday as one of the state’s two winners of the Milken National Educator Award. She and Suzanne Harper, principal of Colinas Del Norte Elementary School in Rio Rancho, received their $25,000 awards at surprise notification ceremonies at their respective schools. Each can use their award in any way they choose.

“As a recipient of the prestigious Milken National Educator Award, Charlotte Begay has brought honor and pride to her family, school and community,” said Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb. “This award represents a high standard for all BIA educators, who I know join with me in congratulating Ms. Begay on her achievement.”

Begay and Harper will receive all-expenses-paid trips to Los Angeles in June 2003 to participate in the annual Milken Family Foundation National Education Conference. They will also become part of the Milken Educator Network, a coalition of over 1,800 educators who have access to a variety of professional resources to help cultivate and expand innovative programs in their classrooms, schools and districts.

The Milken National Educator Award, which has been called the “Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher Magazine, was created in 1985 by education pioneer Lowell Milken, chairman and founder of the Milken Family Foundation. The award was established to celebrate the efforts of some of the nation’s most outstanding teachers, principals and specialists in K-12 education.

Recipients of the awards are recommended to the Milken Family Foundation by an independent blue ribbon panel, appointed by each state’s department of education. Predetermined criteria for the award include exceptional educational talent as evidenced by outstanding instructional practices in the classroom, school and profession; outstanding accomplishment; strong long range potential for professional and policy leadership and an engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community.

New Mexico State Superintendent of Public Instruction Michael J. Davis and Christopher Cain, senior vice president, operations and general counsel for the Milken Family Foundation, presented the awards. “Charlotte takes an innovative approach to learning. She meets with parents, grandparents, aunts and others to involve them in students’ lives and learning,” Davis said.

Note to editors: A photograph of Charlotte Begay may be viewed via the Interior Department’s website at www.doi.gov.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) today issued the following statement relating to a DOI notification to federal court officials on behalf of Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb. “

Assistant Secretary McCaleb learned this past week that despite his understanding to the contrary, a complete record of his e-mail messages has not been printed and filed. The Assistant Secretary has acknowledged his misunderstanding to Secretary Norton and is cooperating fully in efforts to remedy the oversight. Once Mr. McCaleb identified the problem, it was immediately and fully disclosed to the court.

“Through a separate investigation into the matter, the Department is confident it will be able to retrieve, print and file Assistant Secretary McCaleb’s e-mail messages from its library of computer backup tapes. The federal contractor Zantaz of Pleasanton, California, will process the backup tapes and retrieve the affected e-mails.

“In addition, further efforts are being undertaken to provide renewed training and reinforcement of the detailed e-mail retention, printing and filing policies within the Department. This reported oversight and the Department’s quick response to it will serve as a vivid reminder to all Department of the Interior employees that these recordkeeping requirements are of primary importance.”

On September 10, 2002, the Department of the Interior received a Class III gaming compact executed by the Seneca Nation of Indians and the State of New York. Under the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), the Secretary may approve or disapprove the compact before the date that is 45 days after receipt of the compact. If the Secretary does not approve or disapprove the compact by that date, the compact is considered to have been approved, but only to the extent that its terms comply with the requirements of IGRA.

In accordance with Section 11(d)(8)(C) of IGRA, the Secretary will neither approve or disapprove the Class III gaming compact between the Seneca Nation of Indians and the State of New York. As a result, the compact will be considered to have been approved as of October 25, 2002, and will take effect after notice is published in the Federal Register.

The Secretary will communicate by letter to the Governor of the State of New York and the President of the Seneca Nation of Indians regarding this matter.

WASHINGTON - In an official proclamation issued by the White House, President George W. Bush has declared November “National American Indian Heritage Month.” President Bush praised American Indian heritage and Indian role models who serve as a central part of America’s history, including Sacagawea and the Navajo Code-talkers of World War II.

“These examples of our true American spirit reflect our shared history and serve as reminders of the unique heritage of American Indians and Alaska Natives,” President Bush said in his proclamation today. “Upon its completion on the National Mall, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian will help educate all Americans about the lives, contributions and culture of our Native peoples.”

Assistant Secretary of the Interior – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb says the president’s announcement serves as a clear reminder of this administration’s efforts to improve the quality of life for American Indian and Alaska Native people.

“We are working to focus the efforts of government to create new jobs and new opportunity for American Indian entrepreneurs and tribally-owned businesses,” McCaleb said today. “Our goal of building sustainable tribal economies and vibrant businesses is beginning to bear fruit, but there is much more work to do. I will continue to work with President Bush to expand these opportunities and provide renewed attention on education for our young people.”

In his proclamation today, President Bush reaffirmed the administration’s goal to expand economic opportunities and employment for all Native Americans. The President said the National Summit on Emerging Tribal Economies, held in Phoenix in September of this year, was an important part of that effort: “In order to build upon this effort, my Administration will work to promote cooperation and coordination among Federal agencies for the purpose of fostering greater economic development of tribal communities. By working together on important economic initiatives, we will strengthen America by building a future of hope and promise for all Native Americans.”

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior will celebrate this year’s National American Indian Heritage Month on Thursday, November 21, with an observance of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), the nation’s only Congressionally chartered school for American Indian and Alaska Native arts. IAIA President Della Warrior, a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe in Oklahoma, will be the keynote speaker at the Department’s event, which will start at 10:00 a.m. (EST) in the Sydney R. Yates auditorium in the main Interior building in Washington, D.C. Also present will be Geraldine Barney, an IAIA alumnus and a member of the Navajo Nation, who will perform her own compositions and sing traditional Navajo songs.

“Art is an integral part of American Indian and Alaska Native cultural expression,” said Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb. “National American Indian Heritage Month is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the contributions the Institute of American Indian Arts has made to increasing the public’s awareness and understanding of all Native cultures.”

Thursday’s event, which has as its theme “Celebrating Our Past, Creating Our Future,” also will include the opening of an exhibit from IAIA in the Interior Department’s museum to accompany the 40th anniversary observance. Twenty-seven works of painting, sculpture, poetry and jewelry will be displayed presenting the creativity of American Indian artists in interpreting a rich diversity of cultural traditions. The exhibit continues on display through November 29, 2002, and features works of alumni and current students as well as faculty members.

Some of the American Indian art world’s brightest stars have passed through IAIA’s doors as students or faculty. Among them are Charles Loloma (Hopi), Fritz Scholder (Mission), Dan Namingha (Tewa-Hopi), Earl Biss (Crow) and Allan Houser (Apache).

The Institute of American Indian Arts was founded in 1962 under the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as a high school with a special emphasis on the fine arts, including a post-secondary art program. The high school program was phased out in the mid-1970s and efforts were made to gain college accreditation for the Institute, which became a two-year college in 1975. In 1986, President Reagan signed into law P.L. 99-498 establishing the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development, a successor entity to IAIA that retained the school’s original name and initials. The Institute now offers four-year degree programs, operates as a public-private partnership and includes a contemporary Indian art museum.

Della Warrior was named president of the Institute in 1998 after having served as the school’s development director for over four years. Under her tenure as president, she led the Institute to full accreditation for its academic programs. Warrior is the first and only woman elected as chairperson and to serve as chief executive officer for her tribe. She has a Master of Arts Degree from Harvard University’s School of Education.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Department’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of tribal governments, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. The Assistant Secretary, who oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is also responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives from the 562 federally recognized tribes.

The Interior Museum is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (except for federal holidays) and the third Saturday of each month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Adults must present photo identification when entering the Interior building at 1849 C Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C. For information, call 202-208-4743. For photographic prints, contact Anne James, Assistant Curator, The Interior Museum, at 202-208- 4659.

Note to Editors: Program information about DOI’s National American Indian Heritage Month event, including a photo of Della Warrior, may be viewed via the Department’s web site at www.doi.gov

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, November 26, 2002, Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb will be joined by The Honorable R. Perry Beaver, Principal Chief, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, in dedicating the new headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office in Muskogee, Okla. The BIA will be the sole tenant of the two-story facility, which was built, and is owned, by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma.

The Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office, which moved into its new space this fall, is leasing the 42,000-square-foot building from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation under a 12-year lease renewable in five-year increments. Assistant Secretary McCaleb and Principal Chief Beaver will be joined by Jeanette Hanna, Regional Director, Eastern Oklahoma Region.

WHO: Neal A. McCaleb, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior The Hon. R. Perry Beaver, Principal Chief, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Jeannette Hanna, Regional Director, Eastern Oklahoma Region, BIA

WHAT: Opening of the new BIA Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office headquarters building.

WHEN: Tuesday, November 26, 2002 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 Noon (CST)

WHERE: 3100 W. Peak Blvd., Muskogee, Okla.

WASHINGTON – Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) recognizes the leadership of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas (KTTT), selected by tribal members on October 28, 2002, as the tribe’s provisional governing body. The recognition accepts the Traditional Council members selected through last month’s ‘Vote of Conscience’ for the purpose of maintaining the tribe’s government-to-government relationship with the United States.

“I have examined numerous documents relating to October’s ‘Vote of Conscience’ and believe the Traditional Council has the necessary foundation to be recognized as a provisional tribal government,” McCaleb said today. “It is vitally important for this provisional government to promptly call for special elections in accord with the tribe’s constitution. The tribe’s members expect to have a fair opportunity to elect candidates to fill the unexpired terms of the officers who were removed last month.”

In announcing BIA’s provisional recognition of the KTTT leadership, McCaleb said he was persuaded to accept the substitute leadership in light of the prior tribal council’s apparent abandonment of the tribe’s constitution, leaving dissenting members no choice but to resolve questions by traditional means. McCaleb, however, urged the provisional government to promptly hold the special election to resolve the controversy.

McCaleb, as the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, has the responsibility for fulfilling the Department of the Interior’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of tribal governments, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. The Assistant Secretary, who oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is also responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who are members of the 562 federally recognized tribes.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today announced a major proposal to realign the management organization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) to improve services to individual Indian and tribal trust beneficiaries. The “Indian Trust Management Plan” is the result of consultation meetings the Interior Department held this year with tribal leaders and the efforts of the Joint Tribal/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform to find ways of improving the Department’s management of Indian trust assets.

“The Indian Trust Management Plan closely reflects the ideas and concepts we developed at our consultation sessions and task force meetings,” McCaleb said. “It is a blueprint to guide the Interior Department’s trust management efforts well into the future. Using the blueprint, we will be able to accentuate accountability and improve direct services to all trust beneficiaries.”

The Plan will provide enhanced benefits to trust beneficiaries, including 1) dedicating personnel to provide consolidated beneficiary services; 2) increasing the emphasis on tribal contracting and compacting; 3) preserving staff and monetary resources within BIA and OST; 4) improving organization accountability; 5) elevating the profile of Indian economic development and 6) grouping organizational functions more efficiently.

While the BIA’s structure will remain largely unchanged, the Plan calls for new staffing in the agency’s regional offices. All natural resource trust asset management will remain within the BIA, but the management of trust functions at the regional and agency levels would be achieved through the creation of a Deputy Regional Director for trust operations and a Deputy Regional Director for all other BIA services except for those that report directly to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs.

In addition, a new Office of Self-Governance and Self-Determination will be placed under a new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development Policy.

Finally, while the OST would retain its oversight responsibilities of fiduciary trust asset management and other authorities, the Plan creates a new Deputy Special Trustee for Trust Accountability to be responsible for trust training, regulatory policy and procedures and a Trust Program Management Center. The Center would be centrally located within Indian Country with a staff of up to six trust administrators overseeing trust officers and trust account managers in the field.

The Indian Trust Management Plan is the culmination of the Department’s extensive meetings with tribal leaders following Secretary Norton’s release in November 2001 of a proposal to improve the Department’s management of Indian trust assets by consolidating all of the BIA’s trust functions into another entity, the Bureau of Indian Trust Asset Management (BITAM), under a new Assistant Secretary for Indian Trust Asset Management.

After hearing from tribal leaders about the proposal, Secretary Norton held several consultation meetings with them to discuss her ideas as well as those put forth by tribes to improve the Department’s trust management efforts. She also agreed to establish the Joint Tribal/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform to review all of the proposals and develop recommendations for the Department.

For nearly 12 months, the Joint Tribal/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform has commanded the attention of Indian Country and the unprecedented, full-time involvement of the most senior officials of the Department. The meetings generated more than 5,500 page of testimony and over 1,500 senior staff hours were dedicated to the effort.

“We could not have come this far without the input of tribal leaders,” McCaleb said. “I want to extend my personal appreciation to the members of the Joint Tribal/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform for their dedication and commitment to this major undertaking.”

The Joint Tribal/DOI Task Force on Trust Reform will be reconvening in Washington, D.C., on December 16, 2002.

The Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Department’s trust responsibility to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and individuals, as well as promoting tribal self-determination and economic development. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives from the nation’s 562 Federally recognized tribes.

Note to Editors: The 2 charts that accompany this press release may also be viewed via the Department’s website at www.doi.gov.

WASHINGTON - Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Neal A. McCaleb today issued a proposed finding to decline to acknowledge a Derby, Conn., group, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, as an Indian tribe.

The Federal acknowledgment regulations (25 CFR Part 83) require that a petitioning group meet seven mandatory criteria. Assistant Secretary McCaleb issued the proposed negative finding because the evidence submitted was not sufficient to show that the petitioner met criteria 83.7(b) for community and 83.7(c) for political authority or influence during certain periods of time.

Although Connecticut has recognized the Schaghticoke tribe, this state relationship does not substitute for the extended periods of time (from the early 1800s to1875 and 1885 to 1967) where there was little or no direct, specific, evidence provided in regard to political authority or influence. The State relationship with a historical tribe is also not a substitute for direct evidence of political authority or influence within the group. In this instance, during the above periods of time, the evidence neither demonstrated that the State dealt with or identified formal or informal leaders of the Schaghticoke, nor that the state-appointed overseers or oversight agencies consulted with Schaghticoke members concerning issues which concerned the entire group. In the 1930s, the State declared affirmatively that there were no leaders recognized by the group. In these respects, the State’s relationship with the Schaghticoke petitioner differed from its relationship with the historical Eastern Pequot.

The petitioner does not meet the regulatory definition of a community between 1940 and 1967 and from approximately 1996 to the present. From 1996 to the present, the petitioner’s current membership does not comprise all those who were part of the group as it existed from the 1960s through the mid-1990s. Also, one-third of the current membership – although they descend from the historical Schaghticoke tribe – are from a family line that has not been involved with the group since at least the early 1900s.

Assistant Secretary McCaleb says the petitioner meets the other five mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment. It has been identified consistently as an American Indian entity from 1900 to the present as required by criterion 83.7(a). In accordance with 83.7(d), it submitted a copy of its governing document and membership criteria. All current members descend from the historical Schaghticoke tribe (83.7(e)), and none are currently enrolled with any Federally acknowledged tribe (83.7(f)). The Schaghticoke have never been the subject of legislation terminating or forbidding the Federal relationship (83.7(g)).

The proposed finding is based on the available evidence in the administrative record. The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation petition #79 is being considered under a court-approved negotiated agreement in pending litigation which modifies the procedures in 25 CFR Part 83 but neither modifies the criteria nor the standards required to demonstrate that the criteria are met. The pertinent lawsuits are Schaghticoke Tribal Nation v. Kent School Corp. et al., Civil No. 3:98 CVO1113 (PCD), Schaghticoke Tribal Nation v. U.S. and the Connecticut Light and Power Company, Civil No. 3:00 CV00820 (PCD) and United States of America v. 43.47 Acres of Land et al., Civil No. H-85-1078 (PCD).

Parties to the litigation have six months from the date of the decision to provide comments, documents and arguments on the proposed finding to the Department. Interested and informed parties who are not also parties to the litigation have 180 days from the date of publication of the notice of the proposed finding in the Federal Register to provide comments to the Department.

Note to Editors: The abbreviated version of the Mandatory Criteria for Federal Acknowledgment that accompanies this press release may be viewed via the Department’s website at www.doi.gov.