OPA

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Carl Artman today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Great Plains Regional office will host the 10th Annual Great Plains Tribal Economic Development Summit April 15-16, 2008, in Sioux Falls, S.D. The theme for this year’s summit, “Contemporary Economic Resources for Great Plains Tribes,” reflects a renewed commitment to the Bureau’s overall emphasis on modernization.

“We are excited about this 10th anniversary milestone and the exciting economic growth in Indian Country it represents,” said Alice Harwood, acting BIA Regional Director, Great Plains Region. “The Summit provides a place where resources and ideas connect with the many excellent economic opportunities available in the Great Plains region and throughout Indian Country.”

The Summit will feature Juni Kae Randall, founding director of Circle of Nations Publishing and creator of the critically-acclaimed PBS series, “Indian Pride” to present the opening keynote address. Additional featured speakers will include Elsie Meeks, Executive Director of First Nations Oweesta, Lance Morgan, CEO, Ho-Chunk, Inc. and Dr. Robert Middleton, Director, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Office of Indian Affairs. The Summit will also have sessions on tribal energy development, gaining financial resources, community development financial institutions, government and corporate procurement, contemporary tribal management, financial literacy, and successful Indian Country entrepreneurship. In addition, a number of the tribal leaders in the region will discuss their economic achievements and plans for the future.

The Great Plains Region encompasses the Tribes in South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska. The Summit provides opportunities for those interested in improving tribal economies to convene, learn from best practices and network. It is attended by tribal government leaders, tribal economic development staff, non-profits, financial institutions, State and Federal agency staff, and others interested stakeholders.

Co-sponsors of the Summit are: the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development; Citigroup; Ho-Chunk, Inc.; Mandaree Enterprises Corporation; First Nations Oweesta; PLAINS Procurement Learning for American Indian Nations & Societies; Seventh Generation Fund and Wells Fargo Bank. For more information about the Summit, please contact Dani Daugherty, Economic Development Specialist, BIA Great Plains Regional office at 605-290-4089.

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WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman and South Dakota Senator John Thune yesterday unveiled their joint proposal for a South Dakota Indian and Tribal Business Incubator Project to help accelerate economic development throughout the state’s nine federal Indian reservations. The project will target the Cheyenne River Sioux, Crow Creek Sioux, Flandreau Santee Sioux, Lower Brule Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Standing Rock Sioux and Yankton Sioux tribes.

“Senator Thune and I believe that an economic development campaign can be more effective if focused on specific tribes and areas,” Artman said. “The South Dakota Indian and Tribal Business Incubator Project is a multi-tiered project designed to accelerate economic development throughout the state’s tribal communities. I am pleased that Senator Thune has joined with me in initiating this project to support tribal economic development in South Dakota.”

The Incubator Project will aid the tribes by increasing access to capital, promoting financial literacy, providing successful business techniques and know-how, offering strategic advice, developing new businesses, and fostering the legal, corporate, and judicial infrastructures needed for economic development. In addition to business infrastructure as a means of economic development, the Project will also work to develop energy and mineral resources on reservations as another means of fostering the tribes’ self-sufficiency.

“The South Dakota Indian and Tribal Business Incubator Project gives Native institutions needed resources to increase financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills on reservations,” Thune said. “The project specifically targets resource development on reservations, including wind energy development. It is my hope that the economic development projects that are taking place on reservations today remain a part of the long-term solution to increase the quality of life for South Dakota’s tribes.”

Yesterday’s announcement was made by Robert Middleton, director of the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), at the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ 10th Annual Great Plains Regional/Tribal Economic Development Summit in Sioux Falls.

“The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development oversees a variety of programs to help create businesses and jobs across Indian Country, but we have never attempted to focus all of them in one state or region,” Middleton said. “This project will allow us to assess the effectiveness of a concentrated effort and the possibility of extending the incubator concept to tribes in other states.”

To help close South Dakota’s investment gap and to promote greater use of loan guarantees for Indian tribes and entrepreneurs, the IEED will hold “lender workshops” throughout the state to acquaint lenders and potential borrowers with its successful Loan Guaranty, Interest Subsidy, and Insurance Program. The IEED will also promote financial literacy by partnering with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in South Dakota to sponsor reservation workshops, and seek to educate secondary school students at reservation schools to help them better understand the principles of finance and entrepreneurship and the importance of individual initiative, risk-taking, and innovation when developing viable businesses.

"The incubator concept proposed by Assistant Secretary Artman and Senator Thune is fantastic,” said Lower Brule Sioux tribal chairman Michael Jandreau. “The assurance that this process can work is vested in the willingness of the tribes and the State to work cooperatively with Indian Affairs to ensure that adequate resources and incentives are available to make the initiative fruitful and accepted by the constituency.”

The IEED will help South Dakota tribes in several ways to build the capacity necessary to launch businesses and create jobs: through workshops that provide intensive business training, and educating tribal members on how to form 8(a) Indian-owned business enterprises and take advantage of state and federal procurement opportunities. In addition, the IEED will expand federal workforce training programs to fund training of tribal members in the construction, cable laying and meat-packing trades, and in bookkeeping for raising livestock. It will work with tribes to identify opportunities for commercial development of their energy and mineral resources, and it will conduct workshops to train tribal leaders on how to prepare, adopt and administer secured transactions codes, codes to protect intellectual property and cultural patrimony, and indigenous plans to govern land use, economy, and energy use and generation.

The IEED will also collaborate with private sector sponsors to supply computer equipment and computer/Internet training on South Dakota reservations in order to address the “digital divide” that prevents tribes in rural, remote locales from using the Internet to gain access to the global high-tech economy.

Through its efforts, the IEED will provide South Dakota tribes with an array of technical assistance to help them assess economic options and by helping to develop long-term comprehensive economic development plans. It will also facilitate tribal efforts to obtain business development advice from some of the most distinguished business schools in the nation, allowing Indian entrepreneurial and tribal raw materials suppliers to link with demand from out-of-state hospitality sector tribes and federal purchasers. The incubator project will help tribes explore new opportunities on several business fronts.

“One of the most important aspects of this effort will be in developing effective collaborative partnerships with the existing private, tribal, and State programs that have already demonstrated success,” Middleton said.

The Secretary of the Interior created the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development to encourage economic development in Indian Country. The IEED’s mission is to foster strong Indian communities by creating jobs, Indian-owned businesses, and a trained workforce, and by developing Indian energy and mineral resources, and increasing access to capital. The IEED believes that thriving economies and opportunities for work are the best solutions to Indian Country’s economic and social challenges.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced today that Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman will be leaving the Department of the Interior effective May 23, 2008.

"Throughout your tenure, I have appreciated your able insight as we have worked to address important issues in Indian Country," Kempthorne said in a letter to Artman. "The Indian Modernization Initiative, developed and launched under Carl's leadership, has upgraded communications between tribal leaders and the Department on a number of priority issues."

"I believe at the end of this Administration, the work we have done within Indian Affairs will leave not just a legacy, but an infrastructure upon which American Indian and Alaska Natives can build to secure their governmental, cultural and economic futures," Artman said in a letter to Secretary Kempthorne. "Thank you for this opportunity, your support and your leadership. It has been a great pleasure to work for you and with you."

Artman, an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, was confirmed as Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs by the Senate on March 5, 2007. He had served as the Department's Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs since February 2006.

Prior to joining the Solicitor's Office, he served as chief counsel for the Oneida Tribe where he managed the tribe's legal affairs and provided legal guidance for tribal-wide reorganization and economic development.

Artman, 41, also has experience in the private sector with telecommunications companies, including serving as general manager of development and operations for Voice Stream Wireless and vice president of legal affairs for Airadigm Communications. He has a bachelor's degree from Columbia College in Columbia, Mo., and a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

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WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Jerold L. “Jerry” Gidner today announced that he has named Dale Morris as Regional Director of the BIA’s Pacific Regional Office in Sacramento, Calif. Morris, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, had been serving as chief of the regional office’s natural resources division since 2004. His new appointment became effective on April 27, 2008. The Pacific Regional Office oversees four agencies serving the 102 federally recognized tribes located within the State of California.

“Dale Morris is an experienced Federal manager who brings tremendous leadership qualities to the Pacific Region,” Gidner said. “He is a welcome addition to my regional management team.”

Morris began his career with the BIA as a forester at the Bureau’s Central California Agency in Sacramento in February 1993. He has held several positions within the Pacific Region since then, including serving as Regional Fire Management Officer from 1993 to 1998 and Regional Natural Resources Officer from 1998 to 2004. He also served as acting superintendent of the Palm Springs Agency in 2002 and Central California Agency in 2005.

In 2007, he was selected to participate in the Interior Department’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. Under the program, he served 60-day details as a special assistant to the BIA Director at the Bureau’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and as a special assistant to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Director for the California and Nevada Region, respectively.

Morris began his Federal career in 1980 with the United States Forest Service as a Forester with the Targhee National Forest in Idaho. He also worked as a forester with the Lassen National Forest in California from 1984 to 1986.

Morris was raised in Woodland, Calif. He attended the University of California-Davis and the University of California-Berkeley where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry in 1981. He also received a Single Subject Teaching Credential from California State University-Chico in 1990. After receiving his Teaching Credential, Morris worked as a science and math teacher in northern California from 1990 to 1992.

Note to Editors: A photo of Dale Morris may be viewed via the Interior Department’s website at www.doi.gov.

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WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has published final regulations in the Federal Register implementing Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (IGRA). IGRA contains a general prohibition against gaming on land acquired after October 17, 1988, the date the act was signed, which may be overcome if the land meets certain exceptions. The final rule incorporates suggestions received by the BIA through public comment and the tribal consultation process. The rule will become effective on June 19, 2008.

“I am pleased to announce the publication of the final rule implementing Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,” Artman said. “It establishes a formal process with clear standards for tribes to utilize when assessing the eligibility of a site for gaming and clarifies when a tribe may request an opinion from the Interior Department or the National Indian Gaming Commission.”

Publication of the Section 20 rule caps a year-long effort by Assistant Secretary Artman to bring predictability, stability and accountability to the Indian gaming marketplace. It joins other tools he has used such as ordering the review of the Indian Reorganization Act fee-to-trust process (25 CFR Part 151) followed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and issuance of a guidance memorandum on 151(11)(b) for off-reservation acquisitions related to gaming.

The new regulations articulate standards that the Department and NIGC will follow when interpreting Section 20 exceptions to the general prohibition against gaming on after-acquired trust lands and establishes an application process for tribes seeking to conduct gaming activities on lands acquired in trust by the Bureau after October 17, 1988.

Subpart A of the final rule defines key terms contained in Section 2719 or used in the regulation.

Subpart B delineates how the Department will interpret Section 2719(b)(1)(B)’s exceptions regarding: land acquired through settlement of a tribal land claim, the restoration of land for a tribe that has been restored to federal recognition, and the initial reservation of a tribe acknowledged through the Federal Acknowledgment Process.

Subpart C sets forth how the Department will evaluate tribal applications for a two-part Secretarial Determination under Section 2719, which provides an exception for gaming to occur on off-reservation trust lands if the Secretary, after consultation with appropriate state and local officials and officials of nearby tribes, determines that a gaming establishment would be in the best interest of the tribe and its members and would not be detrimental to the surrounding community. The regulation also sets forth how such consultation will be conducted, articulates the factors the Department will consider in making the two-part determination, and gives the governor of the state where the gaming activity is to take place up to one year, with an additional 180-day extension at either the governor’s or applicant tribe’s request, to concur in a Secretarial two-part determination.

Subpart D clarifies that the rule does not disturb existing written opinions made by the BIA or the NIGC.

The BIA first published proposed regulations to implement Section 20 on September 14, 2000. On January 28, 2002, the Bureau published a notice to correct the effective date section in the proposed rule. In March and April of 2006, the Department held a series of tribal consultation meetings on the development of proposed regulations to establish standards for implementing Section 2719. On October 5, 2006, the Bureau published a new proposed rule to address all exceptions contained in Section 2719 in order to explain to the public how the Department interprets these exceptions. On December 4, 2006, the Bureau published a notice to extend the comment period and make corrections concerning the new proposed rule. On January 17, 2007, the Bureau published a notice to reopen the comment period for the new proposed rule. The comments received in 2006 and 2007 were considered in the drafting of the final rule.

The BIA is the only federal agency authorized to acquire land into trust for the federally recognized tribes and to recommend approval of tribal applications under 25 CFR Part 151 and Section 20.

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WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has published in the Federal Register a notice providing guidance and direction to the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA) to address recurring administrative and technical problems related to the processing of petitions under the Federal Acknowledgment Process (FAP). The notice does not amend the acknowledgment regulations at 25 CFR Part 83, Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Group Exists as an Indian Tribe. The effective date of the notice is May 23, 2008.

“This guidance provides a clearer understanding of the respective responsibilities of OFA staff and petitioners,” Artman said. “This guidance brings greater efficiency and transparency to the Federal Acknowledgment Process.”

In the more than 29 years that the federal acknowledgment regulations have been in effect, the Department has confronted a number of recurring issues in the administration of the regulations which have hampered the OFA’s ability to efficiently process petitions for acknowledgment. The Notice of Guidance and Direction Regarding Internal Procedures addresses such issues which include: the emergence of splinter groups, the administration of technical assistance, requests for expedited processing for uniquely qualified groups, requests for a reduction of the time period for historical evidence, opportunities for streamlining the process through expedited decisions against acknowledgment and decisions against acknowledgment on fewer than all seven mandatory criteria, the handling of questionable submissions, and the designation of an “inactive” status.

The Department developed its federal acknowledgment regulations both as original regulations in 1978 and amended regulations that became effective in 1994. These regulations establish a uniform procedure and fact-based approach to acknowledgement. The Department subsequently published two notices in the Federal Register concerning internal procedures for managing and processing petitions. This notice supplements one published in the Federal Register on March 31, 2005, entitled “Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Reports and Guidance Documents, Availability, etc.”

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WASHINGTON – Internet access is being restored to the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) via the BIA’s network following a recent court order. This means that Indian Affairs, BIA and BIE employees will soon be able to communicate by email with tribes, other federal offices and the general public to provide services and conduct business.

“I am extremely pleased that all Indian Affairs offices and bureaus will now be allowed to enter the 21st century and take their place among their federal peers on the Internet,” said Assistant Secretary Carl J. Artman. “Reconnection will allow our employees to work more efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of tribes and their members.”

On Dec. 5, 2001, the federal judge in a class action lawsuit against the Department of the Interior, Cobell v. Norton, entered a temporary restraining order requiring the Department to disconnect from the Internet all information technology systems that housed or provided access to individual Indian trust data, on the basis of perceived risks to that data. On Dec. 17, 2001, a Consent Order was entered which continued that prohibition and also established a process for the Department to obtain permission from the court to reconnect bureaus on a case-by-case basis.

Parts of the Department were permitted to reconnect in 2002. However, the five offices that work closely with Indian trust data remained off the Internet. On May 14, 2008, U.S. District Judge James Robertson, the presiding judge in the case, vacated the Consent Order thus allowing those offices to reconnect. In addition to the BIA, the offices to go back online are the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), the Office of Hearing and Appeals (OHA) and the Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA).

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs is responsible for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities to individual Indian and tribal trust beneficiaries, as well as promoting tribal self-determination, self-governance and economic development for the nation’s 562 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and their 1.9 million members.

The BIA administers and manages 66 million acres of land held in trust by the United States for American Indians, Alaska Natives and federally recognized tribes. Developing forestlands, leasing assets on trust lands, directing agricultural programs, protecting land and water rights, and developing and maintaining infrastructure and economic development on tribal lands are all part of the Bureau’s responsibility.

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WASHINGTON – George T. Skibine, a top career official in Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, will temporarily assume the responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Skibine is the Acting Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs.

Interior Deputy Secretary P. Lynn Scarlett issued the delegation of authority action on May 23, 2008, following Carl J. Artman’s departure from the post. The delegation is effective until further notice.

“George Skibine is an experienced federal manager who is well known and respected throughout Indian Country,” said Deputy Secretary Scarlett. “The Office of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education will be in very capable hands during the search for a new assistant secretary for Indian Affairs.”

Skibine, who is an enrolled member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, has served as the acting deputy assistant secretary since 2004. He also currently serves as Director of the Office of Indian Gaming in the Department and has directed that office since 1995. From April to August of 2007, he served as the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs.

His experience at the Interior Department also includes having served as an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor and as Deputy Associate Solicitor for the Division of Indian Affairs.

He also served for several years with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Skibine holds a degree in economics from the University of Chicago and a law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.- Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today presented President's Rank Awards or Secretary's Executive Leadership Awards to 36 Senior Executive Service employees of the Department of the Interior at a ceremony at the main Interior building.

Secretary Kempthorne said the awards recognize executives who exemplify Interior's core values­ "Stewardship for America with Integrity and Excellence."

"I am proud of this department and all our employees," the Secretary noted. "In every area of our vast mandate - from endangered species conservation to offshore oil and gas development to the world's finest system of national parks - you serve the American people with distinction."

Secretary Kempthorne presented Presidential Rank Awards to thirteen employees. Each year, the President of the United States recognizes and celebrates a small group of career Senior Executives and Senior Professionals with the President's Rank Award for exceptional long-term accomplishments. Winners of this prestigious award are strong leaders, professionals, and scientists who achieve results and consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, industry, and a relentless commitment to excellence in public service.

There are two categories of rank awards: Distinguished and Meritorious. Award winners are chosen through a rigorous selection process. They are nominated by their agency heads, evaluated by boards of private citizens, and approved by the President. The evaluation criteria focus on leadership and results. All recipients receive a framed certificate signed by the President.

The Secretary's Executive Leadership Award, an annual career SES performance honor, was established by the Interior Department's Executive Resources Board to recognize superior accomplishment of performance objectives and excellence in leadership. Career SES members are recommended for the Secretary's Executive Leadership Award with the concurrence of the appropriate assistant secretary. Final selections are made by the Executive Resources Board.

Criteria for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards include extraordinary accomplishment of the performance elements that comprise the SES member's annual performance plan and demonstration of excellence in leading change, driving results, leading people, achieving business acumen, and building coalitions and communication.

1. James F. Devine Distinguished Senior Professional (ST), Senior Advisor for Science Applications, U.S. Geological Survey
2. Mary L. Kendall Meritorious Executive (SES), Deputy Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General
3. Suzette M. Kimball Meritorious Executive (SES), Director of the Eastern Region, U.S. Geological Survey
4. P. Patrick Leahy Distinguished Executive (SES), (Retired) Acting Director! Associate Director for Geology, U.S. Geological Survey
5. Thomas P. Lonnie Meritorious Executive (SES), State Director - Alaska Office, Bureau of Land Management
6. Mamie A. Parker Meritorious Executive (SES) (Retired), Assistant Director for Fisheries and Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
7. Robert O. Rye Meritorious Senior Professional (ST), Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey
8. Carl B. Schreck Meritorious Senior Professional (ST), Research Fishery Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey
9. Paul B. Smyth Meritorious Executive (SES), Deputy Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor
10. Debra E. Sonderman Meritorious Executive (SES), Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management Office of Policy Management and Budget
11. Willie R. Taylor Meritorious Executive (SES), Director, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance Office of Policy Management and Budget
12. Steve Thompson Distinguished Executive (SES), Regional Director - California, Nevada U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
13. Sandra L. Weisman Meritorious Executive (SES), Associate Director, Financial Management Directorate Office of Policy Management and Budget

Gold

1. Abraham E. Haspel, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of the Secretary
2. Nina Rose Hatfield, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Management and Budget
3. Pamela K. Haze, Director, Office of Budget
4. Melinda J. Loftin, Director, Office of Ethics, Office of the Solicitor http://www.doi.gov/news/08 News Releases/080528a.html 6/5/2008 U.S. Department of the Interior - News Release - Secretary Kempthorne Presents Presidential and ...
5. William McDonald, Regional Director, Pacific Northwest, Bureau of Reclamation
6. Grayford F. Payne, Chief Financial Officer, Indian Affairs
7. Elaine Y Zielinski, State Director - Arizona, Bureau of Land Management

Silver

1. Henry R. Bisson, Acting Senior Advisor for Alaska Affairs; Deputy Director of Operations, Bureau of Land Management
2. Debbie Lynn Clark, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs
3. Lawrence J. Jensen, Deputy Solicitor
4. Jane Lyder, Legislative Counsel, Office of Congressional/Legislative Affairs,Office of the Secretary
5. Pamela R. Malam, Associate Director for Human Capital, U.S. Geological Survey
6. Robert W. Middleton, Ph.D., Director, Indian Energy Resources Development, Indian Affairs
7. Mary Jane A. Miller, Director, Office of Budget Management, Indian Affairs
8. Linda S.C. Rundell, State Director - New Mexico, Bureau of Land Management
9. George T. Skibine, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy and Economic Development, Indian Affairs
10. Brent Wahlquist, Director, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

Bronze

1. Bert T. Edwards, Director, Office of Historical Trust Accounting, Office of the Secretary
2. Daniel L. Fletcher, Director, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Office of Financial Management, Office of Policy Management and Budget
3. Sam D. Hamilton, Regional Director, Southeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4. Robert P. LaBelle, Deputy Associate Director, Offshore Minerals Management, Minerals Management Service
5. C. Bruce Sheaffer, Comptroller, National Park Service
6. Michael J. Tollefson, Superintendent, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service

WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced the publication of a Notice of an Amended Proposed Finding declining to acknowledge that a group known as Biloxi, Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, Inc., of Louisiana is an Indian tribe according to federal law. This finding determined that the petitioner does not meet four of seven mandatory criteria for federal acknowledgment under the regulations governing the federal acknowledgment process at 25 CFR Part 83, and does not meet the requirements for a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

The Biloxi, Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, Inc. (BCCM), petitioner # 56a, is a confederation of three subgroups, which claim to be the continuations of historical Indian communities on bayous in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes. The subgroups are the Bayou Lafourche Band, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band, and Isle de Jean Charles Band. They claim descent from historical Biloxi, Chitimacha and other Indians. They do not claim descent from the Houma tribe, although BCCM’s members and ancestors have been called “Houma” Indians since at least 1907. Neither the confederation nor its subgroups have had a treaty or other formal relationship with the federal government.

Most of the BCCM’s 2,545 members were part of the United Houma Nation (UHN), petitioner #56, in 1994, when it received a proposed finding declining acknowledgment. The BCCM organized separately and petitioned for federal acknowledgment in 1995. The Department told the BCCM that it would issue an “amended Proposed Finding” after the BCCM had responded to the UHN proposed finding as it applied to their petition. The Department also told the BCCM that it would evaluate them “as a petitioner with a proposed finding.”

The BCCM petitioner meets criterion 83.7(a), which requires that a petitioner be identified as an American Indian entity since 1900. The BCCM meets two other criteria, including criterion 83.7(f), which requires that a petitioner be composed of persons who are not members of any already acknowledged North American Indian tribe, and criterion 83.7(g), which prohibits the Department from acknowledging petitioners with congressional legislation forbidding a government-to-government relationship with them. The BCCM has not been the subject of such legislation.

The BCCM petitioner does not meet four other criteria. It does not meet criterion 83.7(b) requiring the petitioning group to comprise a distinct community from historical times until the present. The evidence does not show that the petitioner’s ancestors lived together in a community before 1830, but between 1830 and 1940 they constituted one or more communities identified as meeting this criterion in the 1994 UHN proposed finding. Since 1940, evidence shows that only Isle de Jean Charles, not all BCCM subgroups or the confederation, meets the criterion.

The BCCM petitioner failed to meet criterion 83.7(c) requiring that groups show political influence and authority over members from historical times to the present. The evidence did not show that the BCCM met this criterion before 1830. The BCCM met criterion 83.7(c) from 1830 to 1940, based on the 1994 UHN proposed finding. For the period after 1940, Isle de Jean Charles subgroup met the criterion only since 1990. The other two subgroups did not meet the criterion for any of that period. Although the record contains significant evidence concerning the political influence and authority in communities on the two bayous they claim to represent, the subgroups’ memberships do not appear to encompass the actual memberships of these communities.

The BCCM petitioner does not meet criterion 83.7(d), which requires petitioners to submit governing documents. The three BCCM subgroups submitted governing documents, but the confederation did not submit governing documents, and thus, failed to meet this criterion. The BCCM petitioner does not meet criterion 83.7(e) requiring that petitioners submit an official membership list and demonstrate that its members descend from a historical Indian tribe or tribes that combined and functioned as an autonomous political entity. The three subgroups of the 2,545-member BCCM provided separate membership lists, but the BCCM governing body did not certify them. This analysis of selected members showed that more than half of them descend from at least one of two historical “Indians,” but those two individuals have not been shown to be part of a historical Indian tribe, or tribes which combined.

The Notice of Proposed Finding on the Biloxi Chitimacha Confederation of Muskogees, Inc., petitioner will be published in the Federal Register. As provided by the acknowledgment regulations at 25 CFR 83.10(i), the petitioner or any individual or organization wishing to challenge or support the proposed finding has 180 days after the notice’s publication date to submit arguments and evidence to rebut or support the proposed finding before a final determination is issued.

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