OPA

The Department of Justice announced today the repatriation of an Acoma Shield and several other important items of historical and cultural significance to the Pueblo of Acoma and its members.

U.S. Attorney John C. Anderson for the District of New Mexico participated in a repatriation ceremony earlier today with Special Agent Franklin Chavez of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Governor Kurt Riley of the Pueblo of Acoma. Other federal and tribal officials and community members also attended the event at the Sky City Cultural Center and Haak’u Museum.

“The Department of Justice is committed to enforcing federal laws that preserve the historical, cultural, and religious heritage of Native Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker. “This commitment includes ensuring sacred objects like the Acoma Shield are returned to their rightful owners. Today’s announcement further demonstrates the Justice Department’s dedication to the safety, prosperity, and wellbeing of American Indian and Alaska Native people.”

BIA recovered the shield that was repatriated today after learning that it was offered for sale online by an art gallery in Montana. Acoma Pueblo war shields are sacred pieces of cultural patrimony that date back hundreds of years and are at the heart of Acoma Pueblo’s heritage and identity. Items such as the war shield are used for ceremonial purposes and are closely kept among traditional leaders of the Pueblo community.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a federal law intended to return unlawfully obtained human remains and cultural objects to their Native American homelands. The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the BIA-Office of Justice Services Cultural Resources Division are dedicated to stemming the loss and trafficking of cultural patrimony by investigating and enforcing the NAGPRA.

“Today, we celebrate the return of several items of cultural patrimony to their true owners: the Pueblo of Acoma,” said U.S. Attorney Anderson. “Our ability to return these items is the result of years of hard work. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, through Special Agent Frank Chavez’s dedicated efforts, discovered these sacred and historic items, and we, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, are proud to partner with BIA in facilitating their return. Sadly, we all too often find sacred, religious, and culturally significant items being sold at art markets, flea markets and in galleries. In keeping with federal law, we will continue to do everything in our power to locate such objects and deliver them to their rightful homes.”

“I thank the Pueblo of Acoma for their due diligence in locating and reporting these precious objects to BIA and DOJ. I want to acknowledge the voluntarily actions of those individuals who returned the items in their possession once they learned of the cultural significance to the Pueblo of Acoma tribal community,” said Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney. “The proactive work demonstrated by Special Agent Chavez in working closely with all involved makes us proud.”

"We have raised our voices internationally, in the halls of Congress and the legislative chambers here in New Mexico, drawing attention to the longstanding epidemic of theft, looting, and trafficking of our sacred items – all in violation of tribal and federal law. During the 2015 attempted sale of an Acoma Shield by the Eve Auction house in Paris, France, the Pueblo also identified a similar shield and other sensitive cultural items being sold here in the United States. The amount of resources and energy, the Pueblo of Acoma has expended in this matter is a reflection of the seriousness with which we treat the protection of items uniquely distinct to our culture. That is why when U.S. Attorney Anderson informed us that these items of cultural patrimony, including another Acoma Shield, were coming home -- our hearts were overjoyed," said Governor Kurt Riley.

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Education Director Thomas M. Dowd today announced that the Enemy Swim Day School, a BIE­ funded K­8 school in Waubay, S.D., is one of four non- profit organizations named by the Verizon Foundation last month as the first winners of its Verizon Tech Savvy Award. Enemy Swim, operated by the Sisseton­ Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of the Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota, was among a national field of 85 nominees.

“I want to congratulate Enemy Swim Day School and its FACE Program for being among the winners of the first Verizon Tech Savvy Award,” Dowd said. “The Enemy Swim FACE Program’s RealeBook Project is bringing new hope to parents that their children will have the reading skills necessary to sustain them for the future.”

The school received the award for its RealeBook Project, an initiative of the Enemy Swim Family and Child Education (FACE) Program, which was recognized by the foundation as an exemplary program for increasing technology skills among tribal parents by teaching them to write and publish children’s books using computers, software, digital cameras and printers while learning organizing, writing, editing and publishing skills. Parents then read the books they produce, which are written both in English and Dakotah, the tribe’s native language, to their children. The project, which produces four original books per month, supports the school’s focus on teaching the Dakotah language while promoting literacy, employment training, and cultural pride through the FACE program.

In addition to being named a 2006 award winner, the Enemy Swim Day School FACE Program received $25,000 to continue and expand their RealeBook Project.

FACE and its companion program Baby FACE are projects of the National Council for Family Literacy (NCFL), a national non­profit organization established in 1989 to meet the educational needs of parents and their children through family literacy programs. Both are administered by BIE to provide early childhood education and pre­-literacy experiences for infants and families in the home as well as early childhood and adult education programs in school. An important facet of these programs is support of parental involvement in a child’s reading experience. Since its start in 1991, the FACE program has served over 15,000 infants, children and adults. In addition, it has enabled over 500 adults to earn high school or general equivalency diplomas (GEDs) and approximately 2,000 adults to find employment.

RealeBooks (pronounced REALLY­books) is a web­-based application that can be used by children and adults to create their own “books” with text and photos which then can be posted to the RealeBooks website. Books created by other BIE ­funded schools can be found on the website’s Bureau of Indian Education Reale Library page at http://bie.realelibrary.com/. In school year 2006­2007, the BIE awarded RealeBook Projects to nine FACE programs. They have since produced 1,840 books reaching 460 families.

The Verizon Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications. According to its website, the foundation funds programs that address social issues such as literacy, technology education and domestic violence, and builds partnerships to replicate its most successful programs in communities across the country. The Verizon Tech Savvy Award is part of the foundation’s Verizon Literacy Network, a free, online resource that leverages technology to deliver training and information to improve literacy.

The BIE school system serves almost 50,000 American Indian children in 184 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools located on or near 63 reservations in 23 states. In school year 2006-­2007, the BIE directly operated one­-third of these schools and the remaining two­ thirds were tribally operated under BIE contracts or grants. For more information about NCFL, its projects and partners, visit www.famlit.org. To learn more about the Verizon Literacy Network and the 2006 Verizon Tech Savvy Awards, visit http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/.

RAPID CITY – “Native Americans Entrepreneurs: Blueprint for Economic Development in the Great Plains” is the theme of the 9th Annual Great Plains Regional/Tribal Economic Summit to be held April 17­18, 2007, at the Ramkota Hotel in Rapid City, S.D. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Plains Regional Office in Aberdeen, S.D., is a sponsor of this annual event.

This year’s Summit is designed for Native American business owners, or those thinking about starting a business, in the Great Plains Region, which includes the states of South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska. The Summit is a forum where Native American entrepreneurs, tribal business enterprises and Corporate America can come together to address and work towards economic development on reservations. The overall concept of this year’s program is to discuss the various stages Native economies and businesses are in: whether the beginning phase or advanced stage of growth.

“We have seen an explosion of entrepreneurial spirit throughout Indian country in the past few years, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs is committed to nurturing that spirit and increasing the resources necessary to provide more opportunities,” said BIA Director W. Patrick Ragsdale. “The Great Plains Economic Summit plays a significant role in helping to foster knowledge about and the desire for economic success within the Indian business community.”

This Summit will be an open forum format where all participants will be invited to actively engage in open conversations with panelists. Discussion panels include:

• Creating the Environment for Economic Change ­ Setting the Legal Foundation
• Infrastructure Planning – The Who, Why, When, How and What?
• Discussions with Successful Entrepreneurs Showcasing Technology
• Work Force Development; Diversification: Developing New Industries
• Financing in Indian Country
• 8(a)/Government Contracting Successful Native Models and Native Woman­ Owned Businesses.

Each panelist will discuss how their progression has led to further success.

The Annual Trade Show, a popular feature of the Summit, is designed for Native businesses to showcase their products and services while providing networking opportunities with others to potentially create additional economic opportunities. It is common for Native businesses to leave the Summit with additional demands for their products and services.

In conjunction with this year’s event, the Great Plains Regional Office also is holding its 3rd Annual Future Native Entrepreneur competition. This business plan competition is open to Native American students currently enrolled in school (college and junior and senior high school students) within the Great Plains Region. Students must submit business plans and finalists will be given an all ­expense­ paid trip to the Summit where they will present their plans to a panel of judges. Winners will be chosen from each of the two categories with their names announced at the conference banquet scheduled for April 18, 2007. Each winner will receive a fully loaded computer sponsored by the 7th Generation Community Services Corp. and Upper Mohawk, Inc.

For more information on the Summit, sponsorships and vendor opportunities, please call or write Ms. Onna M. LeBeau at (605) 226­7381 or at Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great Plains Regional Office, Branch of Economic Development, 115 Fourth Avenue S.E., Aberdeen, S.D., 57401.

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will ceremonially administer the oath of office to Carl Artman as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at a 3:30 p.m. event on Wednesday, April 18,2007 in the Sidney Yates Auditorium of the Main Interior Building.

Artman, 42, is an enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. His nomination by President Bush was confirmed by the U. S. Senate on March 5, 2007. Artman had served as the Department's Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs since February 2006. Prior to joining the Solicitor's Office, he was chief counsel for the Oneida Tribe, where he managed all legal affairs of the tribe and provided legal guidance for tribal-wide reorganization and economic development.

Leaders and elders of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin will join the ceremony and tribal members will perform an honoring blessing for the new Assistant Secretary. Members of the tribe who are veterans of military service will serve as a color guard; and a youth group from the Oneida Elementary School will participate.

Who: Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne; Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman

What: Ceremonial swearing in of Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

When:3:30 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Where: Sidney Yates Auditorium, Main Interior Building, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, D.C, 20240

Media: All credentialed media are invited to attend and photograph the event

WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today formally swore in Carl Artman as the department's new Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

"Carl's extensive work with tribal governments, his work in the private sector, his legal training, his passion for Indian Country, his intensity as well as his experience in the executive and legislative branches of the U.S Government prepare him well for this new responsibility," Kempthorne said at a headquarters' ceremony attended by tribal leaders and Artman's family and friends.

"In his new position, Carl will find ample opportunities to put his legal training, professional experience and considerable abilities to good use as we address such key issues" such as tribal self-government, law-enforcement, education and economic development. "

Artman, 42, who had been the Department Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs since February 2006, said it was a great honor to be the new Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. "I share Secretary Kempthorne's view that we must continue moving forward on tribal self-determination," Artman said "All of us working together can accomplish great things, and I will do my best to provide Indian Affairs with the necessary leadership to help tribes achieve their goals."

An enrolled member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, Artman has also served as the Tribe's chief counsel, managing its legal affairs and providing legal guidance for tribal wide reorganization and economic development. Artman's nomination by President Bush was confirmed by the U. S. Senate on March 5, 2007.

Leaders and elders of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin joined the ceremony and tribal members performed an honoring blessing for the new Assistant Secretary. The Oneida Nation Veterans provided the color guard for the Flag Presentation; and a group of Oneida Tribal School teachers and students also participate.

WASHINGTON, DC – In a signing ceremony held at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs, signed an interagency agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide funding to develop the American Indian/Alaska Native Business Opportunity and Workforce Development (ABOWD) Center for highway construction.

Along with the Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs these officials signed the April 19th agreement: Frederick D. Isler, Associate Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation; John Navarro, President, Council for Tribal Employment Rights (CTER); Carol Clay Levi, Citizen Potawatomi Nation of Oklahoma, who will serve as the Director of ABOWD; and Margret Zeintek, Co-Chairwoman for the Public Law 102-477 Tribal Workgroup.

The $800,000 award from the Federal Highway Administration is for one year with a second year contingent upon the first year’s success, totaling $1.6 million for the project. The objectives of the project are:

1. Enhance the growth and development of at least 10 under-utilized American Indian/Alaska Native Disadvantaged Businesses involved in highway construction;
2. Increase the participation of underutilized American Indian/Alaska Native firms on highway construction projects;
3. Develop the workforce of American Indian/Alaska Native firms and prime contractors enrolled in the ABOWD Center implemented by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation; and
4. Enroll 50 American Indians/Alaska Natives in on-the-job training programs and placement in highway construction positions.

The funds will pass through the Division of WorkForce Development program, in the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), to the Citizen Potawatomi Nation for administration of the project. The Council for Tribal Employment Rights (CTER) is a national non-profit organization, which includes the membership of 300 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, will provide training and technical assistance to ensure success of this project.

For more information contact: DOT, FHA: Ms. Teresa Banks, Office of Civil Rights: (404) 562-3592 or DOI, IEED: Ms. Jody LeCompte-Garrison, Division of WorkForce Development (202) 219-0740.

WASHINGTON - Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman today announced that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) has selected 13 tribal energy and mineral development projects to receive $1.5 million in grants to provide their tribes with economic development opportunities in support of tribal self-determination and self-governance.

"The grants will allow these tribes to evaluate, develop and manage their energy and mineral resources to benefit their communities," Artman said. "They also significantly promote tribal self-determination, as intended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, through capacity-building for tribal governments and tribal management of Indian energy resources."

Grant recipients include the Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah; the Resighini Rancheria in California; the Blackfeet Tribe and Crow Tribe in Montana; Mescalero Apache Tribe and Jemez Pueblo in New Mexico; the Seneca Nation in New York; the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma; the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota; the Spokane Tribe, Makah Indian Tribe and Colville Confederated Tribes in Washington State; and the St. Croix Chippewa Tribe in Wisconsin.

The grants will fund projects promoting the development of tribal oil, gas and coal resources, the development of construction aggregate markets, and renewable energy projects such as using biomass from forest fire treatments and other sources, geothermal greenhouses, and solar and wind energy production.

Artman said he has listened closely to tribal leaders on what they say is needed to support tribal governments and their social, commercial and political development. High on the officials' list is the ability to utilize their tribes' energy and mineral resources to improve local economic conditions. He also noted that there has been greater tribal interest in IEED's Energy and Mineral Development Program this year, which received 53 proposals requesting a total $12.1 million to help tribes assess and develop their energy and mineral resources.

"Tribes are interested in putting their energy resources to work for them and to help reduce America's dependence on foreign imports," he said. "The greater interest they have shown in the Energy and Mineral Development Program attests to their desire for economic success through energy development. The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development is providing tribes with the technical assistance they need to achieve their economic goals."

Underdeveloped tribal lands are estimated to contain nearly five and a half billion barrels of oil, nearly 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 53 billion tons of coal, in addition to renewable resources-such as wind and biomass-and a significant amount of construction aggregate.

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development was established to provide high-level support for the Department's goal of serving tribal communities by providing access to energy resources and helping tribes stimulate job creation and economic development, and supporting the President's National Energy Policy by fostering the development of domestic energy resources to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign energy sources.

For more information on the IEED Energy and Mineral Development Program, contact Stephen Manydeeds, Chief, Division of Energy and Minerals Resources Management, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Lakewood, Colo., at (303) 969-5270.

WASHINGTON - Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman will speak on Thursday, May 3,2007, at the 16th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service. The event will take place at the United States Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. The Bureau of lndian Affairs holds the service each year to honor tribal, state and federal law enforcement personnel killed in the line of duty while working on Federal Indian lands or in tribal communities. This year marks only the third time since the Memorial's initial dedication when no names will be added to it. The May 3 event will instead commemorate all law enforcement officers who have fallen in the line of duty.

"It is appropriate that we take time each year to remember the men and women who have died while working to protect Indian Country," Artman said. "We honor their lives and the sacrifices they and their families have made for the good of all Americans."

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial was formally dedicated on May 7, 1992, at the Indian Police Academy at its previous location in Marana, Ariz. It was re-dedicated on May 6, 1993, following the Academy's move to its present site.

The Memorial's design is based upon indigenous design concepts. Comprised of three granite markers sited within a circular walkway lined with sage, a plant of spiritual significance to many tribes, it includes four planters, located near the walkway's entrance, that represent the four directions of the earth. The planters are filled with foliage in colors representing people of all races.

The markers are inscribed with the names of 87 American Indian and non-Indian law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty since 1852. They include two FBI agents killed at Wounded Knee in 1975 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and two BIA officers, father and son, who died in 1998 and 2001, respectively. Ten individuals have been added since 2001, including two Quinault tribal police officers killed on the same day in 1910 while investigating the assault of a young girl and the first U.S. Border Patrol agent, included last year, who died while working on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation in southern Arizona.

WHO: Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.

WHAT: Assistant Secretary Artman is the Distinguished Guest Speaker at the 16th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers' Memorial Service.

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. (local time), Thursday, May 3,2007.

WHERE: United States Indian Police Academy, DRS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, 1300 West Richey Avenue, Artesia, N.M. Phone: 505-748-8151.

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

The State of Idaho, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the U.S. Department of the Interior finalized a major water rights agreement for the Snake River today. The settlement resolves a number of water rights issues as part of the Snake River Basin Adjudication (SRBA).

Since 1998, the Nez Perce Tribe, the United States, the State of Idaho, and local communities and water users in Idaho have been working to resolve the claims of the Nez Perce Tribe in the Snake River Basin. The SRBA is the legal inventory of about 150,000 water rights in 38 of Idaho's 44 counties. The Nez Perce claims had been the largest outstanding Issue m the Snake River Basin.

The parties have now finalized a settlement of the case. It defines the rights and responsibilities of the parties over a broad spectrum of terms, ranging from quantified tribal water rights to collaborative Endangered Species Act agreements. It also provides federal funding for tribal water and fisheries projects, tribal water supply systems, and mitigation funding for several counties in Idaho.

Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Carl Artman, praised the significant accomplishment "I am pleased that all of the parties have been able to come together to resolve a number of long-standing issues. This settlement will provide benefits to the Nez Perce Tribe, help rebuild salmon and steelhead runs, and provide needed certainty about water rights. It is a model for tribes, states, and the federal government working together."

Governor Butch Otter noted the significant effort that went into the Settlement. "I want to thank the Idaho Congressional Delegation, members of the Legislature, the Attorney General and his staff, the Idaho water users, and the Nez Perce Tribe for all of their dedication and hard work in finding creative solutions that will provide benefits to the people of Idaho for many years."

Rebecca Miles, the Chair of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, said "This settlement has been a difficult decision for the Tribe. For generations to come, however, we think it will provide benefits to the Tribe and help rebuild salmon and steelhead runs that are so important to our community."

Congress passed the Snake River Water Rights Act in 2004 to implement the settlement and authorize Federal funding. The Idaho Legislature and Nez Perce Tribe ratified the settlement in March 2005. The SRBA Court Consent Decree process was completed in March 2007. Today's actions certify that all preconditions for finality of the Settlement have been completed.

For more information contact

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director W. Patrick Ragsdale today announced that he has confirmed Edward F. Parisian as regional director of the BIA Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings, Mont. Parisian, an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation in Montana, had been serving as the acting regional director since May 8, 2006. His new appointment was effective April 1. The Rocky Mountain Regional Office serves federally recognized tribes in Montana and Wyoming.

“Ed Parisian is an experienced administrator who will bring a fresh perspective to the Rocky Mountain Region,” Ragsdale said. “I am pleased to have him as a member of the BIA’s team of regional senior executives.”

Parisian has over 25 years’ experience in the fields of Indian health and education. He came to the regional office following a period as director of the Interior Department’s Office of Indian Education Programs (now the Bureau of Indian Education). He was appointed to that position on August 3, 2003, after having served as deputy director since April 15, 2002. As director, he oversaw a system of 184 elementary and secondary schools serving almost 50,000 students and employing 5,000 teaching, administrative and support personnel. He was responsible for implementing federal education programs and laws, such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, directing resources and technical assistance to 122 tribally administered, BIA-funded schools and 25 tribal colleges, and providing direction and oversight for two BIA-operated postsecondary institutions.

His experience also includes serving as an education line officer for the BIA’s Northern Pueblos Agency in Espanola, N.M. (2000 to 2002); as chief executive officer of the Rocky Boy’s Health Board (1995 to 2000); as superintendent of Heart Butte Schools on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana (1992 to 1995); as OIEP director (1990 to 1992); and as superintendent of schools on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation (1983 to 1990). He was the tribal health director and planner for the Rocky Boy’s Health Board in the early 1980s.

His teaching experience includes courses in human growth and development at Stone Child College and social studies at Browning (Mont.) Junior High School. In addition, he has evaluated over 30 Indian education programs under Title IV and Title VII for school systems in North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Mississippi, Utah, and Washington, D.C.

Parisian holds an M.A. in Educational Administration from the University of South Dakota (1977), and a B.A. in Physical Education (1974) and an A.A. in Liberal Arts (1973) from Eastern Montana College. In 1973, he became a member of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), an association of American Indian and Alaska Native educators, and served several years on its board of directors. He also held one term as NIEA president (1988 to 1989). In 1985, Parisian was named to Who’s Who in the West. In 1982, he was named one of the Outstanding Young Men of America and Outstanding Indian Administrator by the Montana Indian Education Association.