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WASHINGTON – Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman announced today that tribes and tribal organizations will team up with numerous federal agencies at the National Native American Economic Policy Summit, May 15-17, 2007 in Phoenix, Arizona to brainstorm and come away with sound economic policy recommendations for Indian Country. This unprecedented effort will bring together federal policymakers, tribal leaders, Native entrepreneurs, tribal economic development professionals, and the private sector for a high-level economic development policy dialogue.

“What is planned is something radically different from other conferences. This one will have vigorous and stimulating roundtable dialogues in which participants have a hand in developing economic policies for Indian Country,” said Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs.

The primary goal of the Summit will be to identify federal policies that have successfully stimulated tribal economies as well as persistent barriers that can be addressed through policy enhancements. These recommendations will be developed through facilitated roundtable conversations and the sharing of best practices. Three key policy areas will be addressed at the Summit: 1) physical and legal infrastructure; 2) access to capital and financing; and 3) building competitive businesses in international and domestic markets.

“Federal decision makers will be listening carefully to what Native leaders, entrepreneurs, lenders, and academicians say because many of their recommendations may become action items for federal agencies in the future,” said Artman.

The Summit will also incorporate The World Café discussion method, a modern brainstorming method of dialogue, as well as the three tracks of discussion topics that have been identified as key areas to begin organizing business in tribal communities.

The Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Office of Energy and Economic Development at the Department of Interior in collaboration with other federal agencies, the National Congress of American Indians, tribes and tribal organizations are conducting the Summit.

For more information, please visit www.ncai.org or www.doi.gov/bureau-Indian-affairs.html

WASHINGTON--Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Deputy Secretary Lynn Scarlett today honored twenty-eight departmental executives at a ceremony in the nation's capital.

Presidential Rank Awards honoring exceptional long-term accomplishments went to seven employees, while 21 received the Secretary's Executive Leadership Award honoring them for their superior performance and excellence in leadership.

Each year the President recognizes a small group of career senior executives with the President's Rank Award. 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." 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 Secretary's Executive Leadership Award, an annual career Senior Executive Service performance award, was established by the Interior Department's Executive Resources Board to recognize superior performance and excellence in leadership. Career SES members are nominated for the Secretary's Executive Leadership Award by their bureau/office director, with the concurrence of the appropriate assistant secretary and the Performance Review Board. Final . selections are made by the Executive Resources Board.

Today's awards recipients included:

- Distinguished Executive: Abraham E. Haspel, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of the Secretary

- Meritorious Executive: Thomas J. Casadevall, Central Regional Director, US. Geological Survey; Larry R. Parkinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Law Enforcement and Security, Office of the Secretary; Kirk C. Rodgers, Mid-Pacific Regional Director, Bureau of Reclamation; David P. Russ, Eastern Regional Geologist, US. Geological Survey

- Meritorious Senior Professional: William M. Alley, Senior Science Advisor, U. S. Geological Survey; Laurence A. Soderblom, Research Geophysicist, U.s. Geological Survey.

- Gold: Debbie L. Clark, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Management and Administration, Indian Affairs; Roseann Gonzales Schreiner, Director, Program and Policy Services, Bureau of Reclamation; Wandafa B. Hollingsworth (Retired), Chief, Division of Budget and Program Review, Policy, Management and Budget; Lawrence J. Jensen, Deputy Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor; Suzette M. Kimball, Eastern Regional Director, U.s. Geological Survey; Thomas P. Lonnie, State Director, Bureau of Land Management; Jane Lyder, Legislative Counsel, Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs; Larry R. Parkinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Law Enforcement and Security; William E. Rinne (Retired), Deputy Commissioner of Operations/Acting Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation; John D. Trezise (Retired), Director of Budget, Policy Management and Budget;

- Silver: Henry R. Bisson, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management; Debra E. Sonderman, Director, Acquisition and Property Management, Policy, Management and Budget; Kenneth Stansell, Program Manager, US. Fish and Wildlife Service.

- Bronze: Bert T. Edwards, Director, Office of Historical Trust Accounting, Office of the Secretary; Rick Lemon, Director, National Conservation Training Center, US. Fish and Wildlife Service; Robert W. Middleton, Director, Indian Energy Resources Development, Indian Affairs; Mary Jane A. Miller, Budget Officer, Indian Affairs; Chris C. Oynes, Regional Director, Minerals Management Service; Grayford F. Payne, Chief Financial Officer, Indian Affairs; Charles E. Sandberg, Regional Director, Office of Surface Mining; Elaine Y. Zielinski, State Director, Bureau of Land Management

WASHINGTON - After more than a decade, economic policies which impact tribal communities will be systematically evaluated by interested stakeholders at a ground-breaking economic policy summit to be held in Phoenix, Arizona. The purpose of the Summit is to identify federal policies that have successfully stimulated tribal economies. Most importantly, the Summit will address persistent barriers through proactive policy enhancements. Through the act of sharing information about successful programs and best practices, discussion facilitators will utilize the innovative approach called the "World Cafe" method to create dynamic networks of conversation. The aim of the discussion is to catalyze a community's own collective intelligence around its most important questions and possible answers.

Key Note Speakers:

Additional Speakers Include:

Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel, 122 North 2nd St., Phoenix, Arizona

When: May 15-17, 2007 Press Conference will be held May, 17, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. MST in Curtis AB at the Hyatt Regency Hotel

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

For More Information go to: www.ncai.org or www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html

PHOENIX - Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne opened the first-ever National Native American Economic Policy Summit with a video-taped message to over 500 tribal leaders, federal officials and leaders of Native organizations encouraging Summit participants to “work together collaboratively to formulate policy recommendations that will improve the quality of life in America’s diverse and growing indigenous communities.”

The goals of the Summit are to establish sounds economic policy recommendations that will provide short-term and long-term goals to ensure economic prosperity in Indian communities now and in the future.

“If we have learned anything from the success and failure of federal policies in Indian Country, it is that Native nations prosper not when they rely foremost on federal aid and guidance but when they hold to their sovereignty and make their own economic choices,” said Kempthorne.

Conference participants will breakout into separate session track that will focus on three key areas: Capital and Finance, Business Development and Infrastructure.

“There is no social program in this country as important as a good job that pays well,” said U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) is a video-message. “I am committed to addressing these issues. We have to find new jobs in our communities. Its time to begin and continue this discussion which is central to whether or not we make progress and I am determined to working with you to begin making real progress.”

“I thank Secretary Kempthorne and the Department of Interior for responding to the need for this Summit,” said National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Joe A. Garcia. “This dialogue will move our agenda forward, strengthen our communities and benefit generations of Indian people.”

The Summit will conclude Thursday, May 17, 2007 with a press conference that will lay out the policy recommendations agreed upon during the Summit. The press conference will feature Carl Artman, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, and Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of NCAI.

Press may participate in the conference by teleconference. Call in number: 1-866-287-5993 Passcode: 596941#

PHOENIX – Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman delivered the keynote address at the National Native American Economic Policy Summit, calling on tribal leaders to share ideas on economic development and follow the example of tribes who have become local or regional business leaders.

“We are exploring the reinvigoration of tribal governments nation building, and how one tribe’s success can spark the success of others,” said Artman. “Successful tribes must continue to expand their outreach to tribes that strive for success.”

Artman noted that many tribes in attendance at the Summit have had tremendous economic success through business endeavors and they are excellent examples to follow.

“We are our own best mentors,” he said. “While many American businesses are exporting their jobs and best practices to places around the world, we have the opportunity to export jobs and best practices to other parts of Indian Country.”

The second day of the Summit included innovative sessions providing for interactive economic policy dialogue. Roundtable sessions gave participants the opportunity to share ideas and network to develop sound economic policy recommendations.

“This conference has been good because it has allowed those of us from a state government perspective not only give our input but also receive policy suggestions that we can implement using the federal perspective as an example,” said Major Robinson, Economic Development Specialist for the office of the Governor of Montana. “There is a give and a take. Having these conversations is extremely important in boosting economies.”

Melanie Benjamin, Chief Executive with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe said she appreciated economic policy information coming from presenters with a high level of experience.

“These sessions provided me with information that my tribe can use to really diversify its economy,” said Benjamin. “It will take hard work and education, but we have to do it. I’ve been on the phone to my Commissioners, sharing with them the ideas I have heard here.”

The roundtable sessions were centered around the Summit’s three core tracks: Capital & Finance, Business Development and Infrastructure.

“This session really gives us a chance to focus on vision,” said Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians. “Talking about our vision for vibrant, healthy Native economies-rather than focusing on familiar and longstanding problems is a radical, positive shift for Indian Country.”

The Summit will conclude Thursday, May 17, 2007 with a press conference at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, that will lay out the policy recommendations agreed upon during the Summit. The press conference will feature Bob Middleton, Director of the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development; and Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director of NCAI.

Press may participate in the conference by teleconference. Call in number: 1-866-287-5993 Passcode: 596941#

PHOENIX - Tribal leaders, federal officials and leaders of national Native organizations came together this week at the National Native American Economic Policy Summit, agreeing upon 314 economic policy recommendations for Indian Country.

"We heard the Summit participants loud and clear," said Bob Middleton, Director of the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development. "They have given us a blueprint for economic revitalization in Indian Country. We will begin immediately to work with all Federal Agencies to implement that blueprint and remove barriers to job and business growth in tribal communities."

The Summit comes 30 years to the day since the American Indian Policy Review Commission made over 200 Indian Country policy recommendations to Congress. This week's Summit included key players from different parties, robust ideas and an even greater commitment from a more comprehensive group of tribal partners, private partners and federal partners to ensure the successful implementation of the week's work.

"These are our visions for a vibrant, healthy Native economy," said Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Director for the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). "The more than 500 participants at this Summit came here with sound goals for improved Indian Country economies and now we have the first steps to improve economic development that will empower sovereignty for Native Nations."

Some of the overarching themes that came out of the recommendations are to improve community planning and to strengthen tribal government to prepare for business development. Specific issues included support for increased tribal opportunities in government contracting, removing impediments to tax exempt bond financing, and improving the processes for managing and developing the over 60 million acres of Indian trust land and natural resources.

Middleton, speaking for the U.S. Department of the Interior committed to financial training for young people on business skills by starting a program at six pilot locations at Indian high schools which will give young people examples of what can be done in the arena of entrepreneurship.

Johnson said NCAI will take a number of steps to move the recommendation themes forward including encouraging the passage of NCAI, tribal and regional intertribal organization resolutions in support of particular policy recommendations; taking Summit recommendations to NCAI's 2007 Mid-Year Session for further discussion and refinement; and exploring opportunities to promote strong tribal government institutions including constitutional reform, leadership development and citizen engagement.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman today issued a final determination not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the St. Francis/Sokoki Band of Abenakis of Vermont as an Indian tribe. This petitioner, located in Franklin County in northwestern Vermont, has 1,171 members with enrollment files completed to the petitioner’s satisfaction.

The petitioner claims to have descended as a group mainly from a Western Abenaki Indian tribe, the Missisquoi Indians, in northwestern Vermont. The available evidence indicates that by 1800 the disruption caused by colonial wars and non-­Indian settlement had forced almost all the Western Abenakis in northern New England to relocate to the Saint Francis River area of Quebec, Canada. The petitioner claims that its ancestors remained behind in northwestern Vermont or moved to Canada until it was safe to return, hiding their Indian identity until the 1970’s to avoid notice by their non-­Indian neighbors. However, the available evidence does not support these claims. Instead, it indicates that the petitioner is a collection of individuals of claimed but mostly undemonstrated Indian ancestry with little or no social or historical connection with each other before the petitioner formally organized in the 1970’s.

The petitioner did not satisfy four of the seven mandatory criteria for acknowledgment under 25 CFR Part 83, specifically criteria 83.7(a), 83.7(b), 83.7(c), and 83.7(e).

Criterion 83.7(a) requires that external observers have identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900. The available evidence demonstrated that external observers identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1975, not since 1900.

Criterion 83.7(b) requires that a predominant portion of the petitioning group has comprised a distinct community since historical times. The available evidence demonstrated that at no time since the early contact period did the petitioner show that it was a distinct community. Even since the 1970’s, the petitioner has not demonstrated that a significant portion of its membership regularly associate with each other or that its recent social and cultural activities are of more than symbolic value to the group as a whole.

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director W. Patrick Ragsdale today announced that he has appointed Vicki L. Forrest as the new deputy director for the BIA’s Office of Trust Services. Forrest, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, came to the BIA from the Interior Department’s Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST).

“I am pleased Vicki Forrest has joined the BIA’s management team as the Deputy Director for Trust Services,” Ragdale said. “She is an able Federal Indian trust administrator who will bring strong oversight and accountability experience to her new position.”

Forrest has a background in accounting and Indian trust management for both her tribe and OST. Prior to her current appointment, she had served since March of 2004 as the Regional Fiduciary Trust Administrator for OST’s Eastern Oklahoma and Pacific regions. As such, she oversaw the regions’ Fiduciary Trust Officers by providing administrative and programmatic guidance relating to Indian assets and monitoring the management of such assets to ensure their appropriate protection, accounting and disbursement.

“Working for the betterment of Indian people has been a tenet of my professional career,” Forrest said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the BIA’s Office of Trust Services for the benefit of all tribal and individual Indian trust beneficiaries.”

From October 2002 to March 2004, Forrest served as a Trust Reform Specialist within OST’s offices in Albuquerque, N.M., where she provided technical assistance in support of a variety of Indian trust management improvement projects. She also applied her financial and accounting expertise to the successful resolution of problems related to implementing trust reforms and coordinated the accrual of resources and other support to accomplish the projects’ goals.

In April 2002, Forrest joined OST as an accountant where she developed accounting policies and procedures for OST financial systems, ensured that such policies and procedures were in compliance with governmental policies, standards, applicable laws, regulations and precedent decisions, and served as a team member for reviewing, evaluating and developing new procedures for OST’s Trust Funds Accounting System (TFAS).

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, at the Bureau of Indian Education’s first National Partnership Conference on improving Indian education. The event “Partnerships for Student Success” will take place on July 24-26 at the Renaissance Denver Hotel in Denver, Colo. The event will bring together federal and tribal stakeholders in the BIE school system to discuss making schools safe, secure and healthy learning environments while improving their students’ academic performance and ability to transition successfully to post-secondary opportunities.

“The work of building Bureau of Indian Education schools into high performing institutions of learning is a continuous process requiring many hands, hearts and minds,” Artman said. “The ‘Partnerships for Student Success’ conference is an opportunity for those who care about the future of Indian children to work together on improving the performance of BIE-funded schools and the quality of their students’ educational experience.”

The BIE has the overall responsibility for ensuring the implementation of federal education laws, including the No Child Left Behind Act, in 184 BIE-funded elementary and secondary schools located on 63 reservations in 23 states serving approximately 48,000 students and employing 5,000 teachers, administrators and support personnel. The BIE also provides resources and technical assistance to 122 tribally administered BIE-funded schools and 25 tribal colleges, and direction and oversight for two BIE-operated post-secondary institutions located in Lawrence, Kan., and Albuquerque, N.M.

The BIE’s conference partners include the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Indian Health Service, the National Indian School Board Association, the Association of Community Tribal Schools, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the National Indian Education Association, the National Congress of American Indians, and the Tribal Departments of Education National Assembly, as well as the National Education Association and the National Museum of the American Indian.

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

WHAT: Assistant Secretary Artman is the keynote speaker at “Partnerships for Student Success,” the Bureau of Indian Education’s first national partnership conference on improving Indian education.

WHEN: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 The Assistant Secretary will speak during the morning portion of the program, which is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 10:30 a.m. All times are local time.

WHERE: Renaissance Denver Hotel, Concourse Ballroom, 3801 Quebec Street, Denver, Colo. Phone: 303-399-7500.

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

Thank you, Neal. Last Wednesday, Neal made his first appearance at the Senate Indian Affairs Committee since he was confirmed as Assistant Secretary.

Neal talked with Senators about tribal governance practices, economic development and education. That was expected – that’s his job.

It’s what happened after his testimony that took Washington by surprise. He could have driven back to his BIA office – and returned phone calls and other tasks.

But, instead, Neal took a seat in the audience ... and listened. He heard tribal leaders tell success stories. He listened to others contribute their ideas.

According to the web-site, Indianz.com, Democratic Committee Chairman Inouye said QUOTE: "In all my years of sitting on this committee, this is the first time I’ve seen an Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs sitting through testimony of tribal leaders." END QUOTE

Applause is rarely given in the ornate – and some would say stuffy – Capitol Hill committee rooms. But that afternoon, the visitors attending the hearing applauded Neal McCaleb.

It’s his commitment to listening and learning about Indian people’s needs and concerns that’ll make him a great Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

I’m honored that he agreed to move from Oklahoma to Washington to work with me for the good of Indian country.

I’m here this morning to listen, as well. I want this to be a conversation – not a speech.

The setting I would like to create this morning is that of a local school board meeting, where we talk about our ideas and express our concerns, our hopes and our dreams.

Improving schools in Indian Country won’t be easy. I can’t look any of you in the eye and say when schools begin this fall, they will dramatically improve. But over the next years, we can be successful. We can make Indian schools the paragon of excellence. Schools where any parent in America would want to send their children.

In January, at our Indian Education meeting, we set forth five specific goals to improve education in Indian country.

We agreed:

• All children should read independently by the third grade.
• 70 percent of students should be proficient or advanced in reading and math.
• The student attendance rate should be 90 percent or higher.
• Students should demonstrate knowledge of their language and culture.
• We must increase retention, placement and graduation rates at the post-secondary level.
• We can achieve and surpass these goals.

A week ago Monday, I visited the Tiospa Zina (T-Oats-spa) School in South Dakota. I learned from School Superintendent Roger Bourdaux (Bore-Doe) that the school was already moving forward on many of these goals.

I learned a lot from the people at Agency Village. I listened to stories about how the bureaucracy in Washington sometimes gets in the way of progress.

I learned how the school brought together teachers, students, parents and tribal elders to incorporate a varied curriculum. Students learn about our global culture, with instruction in math, science, geography and other subjects. They are also taught about their tribal history and the culture that is so important to the tribe’s heritage.

There’s good accountability at the school. Every few years, students are interviewed with their parents to make sure the students learned what they were supposed to.

I saw the gym that was built just two years ago, where basketball and native festivals take place. I saw the heavy machinery breaking ground on the spot where a new dining room, kitchen and kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms will soon be.

Ten years ago the graduation rate at Tiospa Zina was 25 percent. Today it is 65 percent.

More importantly, I felt a real excitement in the community, and a real enthusiasm for the future.

When President Bush says "No child will be left behind" he’s talking about children in Indian country.

President Bush’s education plan has four major themes:

• To Increase accountability for student performance.
• Focus on what works using education research and proven education models.
• Reduce bureaucracy and increase flexibility.
• Empower parents.

The President’s major education policies are embodied in legislation now pending in Congress.

In the legislation:

• BIA-funded schools are allowed to get state or regional accreditation rather than meeting BIA’s federally imposed education standards.
• Tribes are allowed to improve and expand education programs at schools using their own resources.
• Indian parents are allowed to choose which BIA school their children will attend.
• Tribes are given greater say in repair and maintenance priorities, and Tribes and local school boards have more flexibility in making school staffing decisions.
• BIA inspectors are required to get a second opinion from an independent source – with Tribal input – before fully closing a BIA school for health and safety violations.
• BIA is required to spend all maintenance money at school sites, rather than diverting it to fund administrative activities.

BIA has been working with the Senate and the House to ensure the Bureau’s education system is included in the legislation. The Bureau commented on the substantive parts that impact BIA education programs.

President Bush’s budget includes $161.6 million to address critical health and safety concerns at existing education facilities – an increase of $13.6 million over last year.

This year, President Bush is committed to investing $292.5 million in BIA School Construction – an increase from last year.

The Santa Fe Indian School was built in 1889. It currently serves more than 550 students from reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.

The buildings have deteriorated to a point where critical components like electricity, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and fire and safety systems don't meet the very minimum requirements.

On the Turtle Mountain Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, 80 percent of the students attend classes in portable buildings located on a steep slope that creates dangerous winter time hazards. The pipes routinely freeze and the students shiver.

With help from Congress, this Administration will rebuild the Sante Fe and Belcourt schools and four others next year.

With those six schools built, 2,900 children will go to classes in new schools. After the first four years of the Bush Administration, one out of five Indian students will attend school in a new building.

We’re also announcing today that people can log onto the Internet – at www.buildaschool.bia.edu – and see photos of each of the schools being built. We’ll update the photos, from the first day of excavation to the final ribbon cutting ceremony, We’ll share the experience and the joy of building a new school. And everyone can watch it happen.

We’re building six schools, but I’m not satisfied with those numbers. I have asked Neal to look for creative ways and work in a bipartisan manner we can improve the bonding and financing for new schools and build them even faster.

We also know that it takes more than bricks and mortar to build a student’s mind. And we know that many of the solutions are not in Washington, they are in each Tribe, each community and each family.

The most influential teacher any child will ever have is a parent who loves them. The Family and Child Education Program – called the FACE program – is a unique literacy program that connects parents in a very personal way to our schools.

The program empowers parents to work with their children from birth through third grade with early childhood education, parenting skills, and adult education and training.

Research was done to test the program’s effectiveness. The result is for every dollar invested in FACE, six dollars were saved on remediation, welfare and teen pregnancy.

Beyond the numbers, the real life success stories are compelling. Michelle Lorenzo is a FACE parent whose children attend the Pine Hill School in New Mexico. She composed a winning essay this spring and wrote:

QUOTE: "The program has changed my life forever. Now, everyday I have something to look forward to. ... I am working to complete my GED. I know now what I want in life, and I have discovered I can do so many things. Things I couldn’t imagine before FACE of what I can do – like working at a computer, solving math problems and writing this essay!" END QUOTE.

There are over 15,000 FACE success stories like Michelle’s across Indian country. I’m happy to announce that beginning this school year, we’ll expand this program to ten more schools – for a total of 32.

We must also re-intensify the amazing Indian spirit that dominates Indian life. Scientists say the Indian population was at one time 10 to 20 million strong. Indian people lived off the land, fought extreme hardship and persevered through tough times. Indian people were – as they are today – smart, tenacious and resourceful.

We can take that same spirit into our classrooms, and reignite our teaching of math, science, communication skills and Indian languages and culture. In doing so, we can achieve great things.

We don’t need to travel far to find examples. If you attended a BIA school, please stand up. ... You are our proof. You are our success stories. And you are an inspiration to each child and each life you touch. To each of you, I applaud you.

Today, five Indian schools are not connected to the Internet. It’s my honor to announce today, that by the start of the new school year every BIA school will be connected to the Internet.

But that’s just the beginning. We are ensuring that teachers have the knowledge, training and resources to utilize this technology. This summer, 50 teachers from Bureau schools are being trained at the Pueblo of Laguna through the Intel-Teach to the Future program.

Each of these teachers will return to their schools and train ten of their co-workers how to connect technology with instruction. By the end of next year, we will have more than 500 teachers employing technology in their classrooms.

To ensure teachers have a user-friendly place on the Internet, the Office of Indian Education will provide culturally relevant lesson plans, Internet content standards, a student publishing center where students can display there work, and discussion pages where teachers can exchange ideas across the country.

Finally, roadblocks for Indian children on the information Superhighway will come down – once and for all.

Neal and I need your help to improve Indian schools. We want to hear your ideas, your concerns – and even your criticisms. I’ve promised to listen to people from all over this country, to involve them in our decisions, to tap their experience, and their wisdom, and their creativity. It is an inclusive approach, and that's what I can hope we can all follow.

As I’ve said repeatedly since January, I am practicing a way of communicating called the Four C's. That’s consultation, cooperation, communication, and all in the service of conservation .

As Interior Secretary, I’m entrusted with protecting our the nation’s greatest treasures. The Department watches over the magnificent blasts of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful, the amazing sculptures of Mount Rushmore and the majesty of the mighty California Sequoias.

But the true treasures of this Department are the 50,000 children who attend BIA Schools. It’s their hopes, their dreams and their futures that I cherish most. Working together, with a common mission and an open heart, we can help each of their dreams become a reality. Thank you.