OPA

WASHINGTON – Department of the Interior Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason today announced a partnership effort involving the Bureau of Indian Affairs, South Dakota Senator John Thune, South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds, and Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Chairman Duane Big Eagle involving an initiative to address the devastating effects of a fire in the Crow Creek school dormitory in Fort Thompson, South Dakota on Sunday, April 24, 2005.

Associate Deputy Secretary Cason said that Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Senator Thune, Governor Rounds, and Chairman Big Eagle have aggressively developed a strategy for an expeditious response to the fire.

“I am impressed by the cooperative efforts that have gone into crafting this response,” said Secretary Norton. “While we cannot undo the devastating fire, we can, through coordinating our efforts, mitigate its effects on students and help Crow Creek resume its educational mission later this year.”

The fire damaged the dormitory, kitchen and dining area, miscellaneous offices, and displaced more than 100 dormitory residents for the balance of this school year. The fire did not affect the separate classroom buildings and classes continued for the more than 400 students enrolled at the school.

Mr. Cason announced that the Department of the Interior will contribute up to $1.3 million in repair and recovery assistance to the Tribe. The funds will be used to provide a modular pre-engineered kitchen and dining facility and temporary dormitory space for the opening of the 2005-2006 school year.

Governor Rounds also plans to provide financial and technical support for mitigating environmental issues associated with the fire, along with other temporary facilities to replace destroyed operations space.

The Crow Creek School is currently ranked ninth on the Bureau of Indian Affairs list of fourteen schools scheduled for replacement over the next few years. The school is among 184 that serve Indian students across the nation.

WASHINGTON – Representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs will join with officials of the Colville Confederated Tribes on May 27 to celebrate the opening of the Tribes’ new replacement Paschal Sherman Indian School in Omak, Wash., situated at the northwest corner of the Colville Reservation. Jack Rever, Director of Facilities, Environmental Safety and Cultural Resources Management for Indian Affairs in the Interior Department, and Stanley Speaks, Regional Director of the BIA’s Northwest Regional Office in Portland, Ore., will lead the contingent of Bureau officials attending the event.

“I congratulate the Indian Affairs Facilities staff and the Colville Confederated Tribes for the successful completion of the new Paschal Sherman Indian School,” Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason said today. “Through your efforts, the Colville people now have a state-of-the art facility where their children can be educated in a safe and healthy learning environment.”

Paschal Sherman is a BIA-funded, tribally operated school which began as St. Mary’s Mission in 1886 on land donated by Chief Smitkin. The boarding school, which housed both Indian and non-Indian students, operated until 1973 when it turned over to the Tribes and renamed Paschal Sherman Indian School with funding provided by the BIA. In 2001, President Bush named Paschal Sherman as one of six BIA-funded schools slated for replacement in his Fiscal Year 2002 budget request.

The 91,623-square foot complex’s design incorporates Colville traditions with “green” technology and enhanced access for persons with disabilities. It will house 260 students from early childhood through Grade 9 and run full Residential and daily Academic Programs, including the BIA’s popular family literacy program, FACE (Family and Child Education).

WHO: Jack Rever, Director of Facilities, Environmental Safety and Cultural Resources Management – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Stanley Speaks, Regional Director, Northwest Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs.

WHAT: Grand opening of the Paschal Sherman Indian School, a new replacement BIA-funded school operated by the Colville Confederated Tribes on the Colville Reservation. WHEN: Friday, May 27, 2005, starting at 9:00 a.m. (local time)

WHERE: Paschal Sherman Indian School, 169 North End Omak Lake Road, Omak, Wash. Phone: (509) 422-7590

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives, who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.

WASHINGTON – Department of the Interior Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason today announced that the Department has released the final increment of $1 million to the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in Fort Thompson, S.D., to address costs stemming from a serious fire that broke out on April 24 at the Crow Creek High School, a BIA-funded, tribally operated boarding school that serves over 400 students in grades 6-12 on the Crow Creek Reservation. The fire damaged the school’s dormitory, kitchen and dining area, and miscellaneous offices, and displaced more than 100 dormitory residents for the balance of the 2004-2005 school year.

“These funds will help the Crow Creek Tribe and Crow Creek High School recover from the devastating April 24 fire and alleviate costs borne by the local fire departments that provided firefighting services that day,” Cason said. “We will continue working with tribal and school officials so that Crow Creek High School will be ready to start the new school year.”

The funds announced today bring the total amount provided by the Interior Department to $1.4 million, $100,000 more than its original pledge to help the school recover. They include $1.3 million to provide temporary kitchen, dining and dormitory facilities lost in the fire and $100,000 to pay for the services of seven local fire departments who responded to the emergency.

Separate classroom buildings which were not affected by the fire allowed students to attend classes without disruption.

The Crow Creek High School ranks ninth on the BIA’s list of 14 schools scheduled for replacement over the next few years. A replacement school is currently programmed for construction beginning in 2009.

The BIA school system serves approximately 48,000 American Indian children in 184 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools located on or near 63 reservations in 23 states. The BIA directly operates one-third of these schools and the remaining two-thirds are tribally operated under BIA contracts or grants

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director W. Patrick Ragsdale today announced that he has named Christopher B. Chaney as Deputy Bureau Director of the BIA’s Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES). Chaney, an enrolled member of the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, had previously served as Associate Solicitor for the Division of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior. The appointment became effective August 7.

“I am very pleased that Chris Chaney has joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs team,” Ragsdale said. “His leadership, experience and deep commitment to Indian people will ensure the BIA delivers quality law enforcement services to the federally recognized tribes and their citizens.”

Interior Secretary Gale Norton appointed Chaney in October 2003 to oversee the Interior Solicitor’s Office Division of Indian Affairs. The division is responsible for legal matters related to the programs and activities of the BIA and provides legal assistance and counsel to the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs and the Special Trustee for American Indians.

Chaney obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1984 and a law degree from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1992. From 1992 to 1997, he had a private law practice in Farmington, N.M. During that time he worked primarily in the field of Indian law and served as the prosecuting attorney for the Jicarilla Apache Tribe and the Southern Ute Tribe, and as an administrative law judge for the Navajo Housing Authority. In 1997, he accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in Salt Lake City, Utah. As a federal prosecutor he prosecuted violent crimes that occurred on the Navajo Nation reservation, the Ute Tribe’s Uintah & Ouray reservation and other areas of Indian country within the state of Utah. He also served as the U.S. Attorney’s Tribal Liaison to the eight tribes located in Utah. In 2000, Chaney accepted a work detail to the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys as Counsel to the Director’s Office where he worked on Indian country legal issues on a national scale.

“I appreciate being given the opportunity to lead the Office of Law Enforcement Services,” Chaney said. “I am looking forward to working with BIA and tribal law enforcement personnel, and supporting their efforts to ensure public safety throughout Indian country.”

The OLES carries out its mission to improve law enforcement services and preserve public safety in Indian country through its six district offices and by supporting through funding and/or training over 170 tribally-operated police departments and directly operating 31 police departments across the country, funding 59 tribally-operated detention facilities and directly operating 22 detention facilities, coordinating homeland security support on federal Indian lands, and providing training and professional development through the Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M.

WASHINGTON – Acting Office of Indian Education Programs Director Edward Parisian today announced that the OIEP will hold its 2005 Tribal Consultation Meetings on August 29 and 30 to obtain oral and written comments on potential issues concerning Bureau of Indian Affairs-funded schools under authority provided by Public Law 95-561, the Education Amendments Act of 1978. The BIA published a notice on the 2005 Tribal Consultation Meetings in the Federal Register on August 8.

The consultation meetings scheduled for August 29 will be held in Phoenix, Ariz., Gallup, N.M., Portland, Ore., and Minneapolis, Minn. The August 30 meetings will be held in Aberdeen, S.D., Albuquerque, N.M., and Nashville, Tenn.

The OIEP will be accepting both verbal and written comments from interested parties on several proposed topics: a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Education regarding education programs for BIA-funded schools, a proposed restructuring of the Office of Indian Education Programs, and a draft policy of the Office of Facilities Management and Construction (OFMC) establishing standards for “high risk” grantees seeking construction grants in excess of $100,000. The OIEP also will be accepting recommendations for additional topics to be discussed during the consultation session.

The Office of Indian Education Programs oversees the BIA school system which serves approximately 48,000 American Indian children in 184 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools located on or near 63 reservations in 23 states. Two-thirds of the schools are tribally-operated under BIA contracts or grants and one-third are Bureau-operated.

WHO: Office of Indian Education Programs 2005 Tribal Consultation Session.

WHAT: The OIEP will hold tribal consultation meetings on several topics concerning BIA funded schools.

WHEN: August 29 and 30, 2005

WHERE: Monday, August 29 – 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (local time):

Bureau of Indian Affairs Western Regional Office 400 N. 5th St., 2 Arizona Ctr. [12th Floor Conference Room] Phoenix, AZ 85001 (602) 379-6600

Holiday Inn 2915 W. 66th Gallup, NM 87301 [Take I-40 exit 16] (505) 722-2201

Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel 8235 N.E. Airport Way Portland, OR 97220 (503) 281-2500

Bureau of Indian Affairs Whipple Federal Building One Federal Dr. Ft. Snelling, MN 55111 (612) 713-4400 ext. 1090

Tuesday, August 30 – 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (local time):

Ramkota Hotel 1400 8th Ave., N.W. Aberdeen, SD 57401 (605) 229-4040

Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern Pueblos Agency 1001 Indian School Rd., N.W. [Conference Rm. #133] Albuquerque, NM 87104 (505) 563-3692

Sheraton Music City Hall 7777 McGavock Pike Nashville, TN 37214 (888) 627-7060

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives, who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to these events.

“We wish to join Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith in expressing our grief and deepest sympathy to the Cherokee Nation people and to the Dawes family over the loss of Mike Dawes, a Cherokee citizen and lifetime law enforcement officer who died in service to his tribe and his country while endeavoring to bring peace in a country at war. As a Bureau of Indian Affairs-deputized law enforcement officer in the 1990s, he brought an esprit de corps and level of professionalism to the performance of his duties that set a standard for others. His contributions and sacrifice are in the highest tradition of upholding the principles for which the United States of America stands, and we are proud to have known him.”

WASHINGTON – The Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason will visit the Hopi Tribe of Arizona on September 1 to meet with Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor and tribal council members, as well as school officials and students of the tribe’s seven Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)-funded schools who have met their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement under the No Child Left Behind Act for a second year in a row. The Hopi Tribe is one of several federally recognized tribes who have multiple BIA-funded schools on their reservations. As of today, it is the only tribe whose schools have achieved AYP for the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 school years.

Contributing to the schools’ achievement is the Hopi Tribe’s overall support for education, a decision by school officials to implement curriculum throughout the school system that meets the state’s content standards and assessment requirements, having all instructors use a skills checklist aligned to those standards to ensure students are mastering them, and strong parental support for their children’s education.

In school year 2004-2005, the Hopi school system served 1,675 day students in grades K-12. The student population is predominantly American Indian with Hopi being the largest group. The schools also serve Navajo students. Three of the schools are tribally operated under BIA contracts or grants and the rest are directly operated by the Bureau.

WHO: James E. Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior Wayne Taylor, Chairman, Hopi Tribe of Arizona

WHAT: Associate Deputy Secretary Cason will meet with the Hopi chairman, tribal council members, school officials and students to see first-hand BIA-funded schools and their surrounding communities. All seven Hopi schools have achieved their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act for two years in a row – the only tribal school system to do so, at present.

WHEN: Thursday, September 1, 2005

12:00 Noon – 4:00 p.m. (local time): Hopi Day School

• 12:00 Noon: Meet with Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor; lunch with students.
• 12:30 p.m.: Tour Hopi Day School facility.
• 1:00 p.m.: Meet with Hopi Tribe education director, Hopi school board president, school board members, principals, administrators and staff.
• 1:30 p.m.: Address Hopi Tribal Council.
• 3:10 p.m.: Tour Hotevilla-Bacavi Community School.

WHERE: Hopi Day School, Kykotsmovi, Ariz., and Hotevilla-Bacavi Community School, Hotevilla, Ariz.

Directions from Flagstaff to Kykotsmovi/Hopi Day School:

• Take North US 89 to Townsend Winona Road.
• Turn right onto Townsend Winona Road and continue on to Leupp Road.
• Turn left onto Leupp Road and continue on to Leupp-Oraibi Road.
• Turn left onto Leupp-Oraibi Road and continue on to State Hwy 264.
• Turn left onto Hwy 264 and continue on to road to Kykotsmovi Village.
• Turn left and continue approximately ¼ mile to stop sign.
• Turn left and continue approximately 200 yards to the Hopi Day School.

Directions from Winslow to Kykotsmovi/Hopi Day School:

• Take Rte. 87 North to State Hwy 264 (approximately 60 miles).
• At intersection, turn left going west approximately 8 miles.
• Continue on 264 to the village of Kykotsmovi.
• Go past Rte. 2 (from Leupp) to the next road which leads to the village.
• Turn left and continue approximately ¼ mile to stop sign.
• Turn left and continue approximately 200 yards to the Hopi Day School.

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives, who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to these events.

WASHINGTON – Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason announced today that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has undertaken its initial response to assisting tribes in the Gulf Coast states who are victims of Hurricane Katrina. There are six federally recognized tribes located in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi who were impacted by the powerful storm. “Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this devastating event and their families,” Cason said. “The Bureau of Indian Affairs, along with other Interior Department agencies, is working directly with affected tribal communities in assessing and responding to their public safety, emergency access and emergency services needs.”

The affected communities belong to the Poarch Creek Band in Alabama, the Chitimacha Tribe, Coushatta Indian Tribe, Jena Band of Choctaw and Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in Louisiana, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Mississippi. While all of the tribes were left with varying degrees of wind and rain damage, the Choctaws’ tribal government offices in Philadelphia, Miss., and several, largely rural communities lay directly in the storm’s path resulting in extensive physical damage and loss of telephone service and power.

The BIA’s Eastern Regional Office, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and Choctaw Agency in Philadelphia are coordinating their recovery efforts with the Mississippi Choctaw tribal government, which include arranging for fresh water to be trucked in from Arkansas, utilizing agency road equipment to help clear debris from roadways, exploring ways to bring in supplies of ice, fuel and food, and assigning law enforcement personnel to protect lives and property.

The BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES) personnel arrived at the Choctaw reservation shortly after midnight on Tuesday with a Mobile Command Vehicle and Emergency Response Task Force (ERT) to assist Choctaw police with their recovery efforts. Downed trees and power lines impeded their ability to reach the reservation quickly.

The Bureau also is evaluating requests from the affected tribes for financial assistance to help with their recovery efforts. For example, the Chitimacha Tribe is caring for upwards of 400 tribal members who had been living in New Orleans and are now homeless.

“The BIA is committed to helping these communities get back on their feet,” Cason said. “We will continue to do all we can to meet that goal.”

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Director W. Patrick Ragsdale toured the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Reservation yesterday to view the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina and to meet with Choctaw Chief Phillip Martin and tribal officials on the Bureau’s continuing relief efforts in the area. He was accompanied by Franklin Keel, Regional Director of the BIA’s Eastern Regional Office in Nashville, Tenn., and Special Agent David Nicholas, Commander of the BIA’s Office of Law Enforcement Services (OLES) District VI, which includes the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe, who have been coordinating the Bureau’s response to the federally recognized tribes impacted by the powerful storm.

“The impact of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe and surrounding communities has been tremendous,” Ragsdale said. “We are working with Chief Martin and the Mississippi Choctaw tribal government to assist their recovery from this natural disaster.”

The hurricane’s eye passed directly over the city of Philadelphia, Miss., where the BIA’s Choctaw Agency is located. Winds estimated at 100 to 120 miles per hour knocked out power to homes and businesses, felled trees, and damaged roofs in each of the tribe’s eight communities. The hardest hit appeared to be Bogue Homa, the southernmost Choctaw community where several homes were left with structural damage and 200 families needing assistance. At least 300 acres of the tribe’s forest lands suffered damage when the high winds uprooted hardwood and pine trees, some as large as 24 inches in diameter.

The OLES deployed police officers to the Choctaw Reservation where they arrived shortly after midnight on August 29 with a Mobile Command Vehicle (MCV) to assist the Mississippi Choctaw Tribal Police Department and to support local relief efforts. The OLES also has coordinated law enforcement personnel sent by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation of Arizona, and the Tohono O’odham Nation of Arizona to assist the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe. Almost 80 BIA and tribal officers have participated in the ongoing relief effort.

In addition to working with tribal officials, BIA personnel have been working with Federal and State emergency management agencies to provide assistance to non-Indian communities in the region.

While the Mississippi Choctaw Tribe administers the BIA’s General Assistance Program for tribal members living on the reservation, the Bureau is working with the tribe to determine how much additional funding it may need to continue providing such assistance.

This is the seventh hurricane mobilization undertaken by the BIA’s Eastern Regional Office, which serves the federally recognized tribes in the Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and North and South Carolina. While keeping an eye on the hurricane’s progress, the regional office maintained communication with Mississippi Choctaw tribal officials. Once the tribe made its request for assistance, the BIA dispatched its MCV from Florida to Choctaw, Miss., where the tribe is headquartered, to become its Mobile Command Center. “BIA personnel were already underway when Katrina made landfall in Mississippi,” said Keel.

Shortly after arriving on August 29 law enforcement personnel began going house-to-house to check on residents and provide aid. The BIA also has been working with businesses who are contributing to the relief effort, such as Tractor Supply Company of Nashville which donated much-needed dog food and cattle feed to the affected areas.

“I am extremely proud of how quickly BIA employees and tribal leaders moved to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina,” Ragsdale said. “The morale of our personnel on the ground is very high.”

The BIA will continue to provide relief assistance until the tribe is able to move into its recovery phase when power is fully restored to its communities, road conditions improve, and damage assessments and home repairs can be made. The tribe’s eight BIA-funded schools suffered minimal effects from the storm. The Bureau’s Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), which oversees the BIA school system, will replace spoiled food supplies. The schools are expected to reopen within the next few days.

WASHINGTON – Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason will appear October 7 at the National Indian Education Association’s (NIEA) 36th Annual Convention in Denver, Colo., where he will speak on Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Indian education programs and policy. The NIEA convention is the largest annual convocation of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian educators in the United States.

Topics he will address include the proposed restructuring of the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP) and the national search for a new OIEP Director, implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in the BIA-funded schools, and the continuing success of the Bureau’s Family and Child Education Program (FACE) in strengthening the school readiness skills of young learners.

In School Year 2003-04, the BIA school system served over 45,000 American Indian children in 184 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools located on or near 63 reservations in 23 states. One-third are BIA-operated schools; the remaining two-thirds are tribally operated under BIA contracts or grants.

WHO: James E. Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior.

WHAT: Associate Deputy Secretary Cason will speak on BIA Indian education programs and policy at the National Indian Education Association’s 36th Annual Convention.

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. (local time) on Friday, October 7, 2005.

WHERE: Colorado Convention Center, Ballroom 5-8, 700 14th Street, Denver, Colo.

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to working media representatives, who are required to display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.