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Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Carl J. Artman today issued a proposed finding not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation, (Petitioner #84A) as an Indian tribe. This petitioner, located in San Juan Capistrano in Orange County, Calif., has 1,640 members.
The evidence in the record demonstrates that the petitioner does not meet four of the seven mandatory criteria for Federal acknowledgment as set forth in 25 CFR 83.7. In accordance with the regulations set forth in 25 CFR 83.7, the failure to meet all seven criteria requires a determination that the petitioning group is not an Indian tribe within the meaning of Federal law. Therefore, the Department proposes to decline to acknowledge the petitioner.
This proposed finding treats the Indian population at the San Juan Capistrano Mission in 1834 as the “historical Indian tribe.” The regulations provide for acknowledgment of historical Indian “tribes or groups that have historically combined.” The evidence in the record establishes by a reasonable likelihood that as a result of Spanish policy, the Indian population of the mission became an entity consisting of Indian tribes or groups that had combined. Therefore, the proposed finding evaluates whether the petitioner meets the acknowledgment criteria by demonstrating that it is a continuation of the Indian tribes that historically combined at the mission by 1834.
The four criteria the petitioner does not meet are 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 demonstrates that external observers identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1997, 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 does not demonstrate that the petitioner evolved as a distinct community from the historical Indian tribe that existed at San Juan Capistrano Mission in 1834.
Criterion 83.7(c) requires that the petitioning group has maintained political influence over its members as an autonomous entity since historical times. The available evidence does not demonstrate that the petitioner maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from 1834 until the present.
Criterion 83.7(e) requires that a petitioner’s members descend from a historical Indian tribe. The available evidence shows that only two percent of the petitioner’s 1,640 members demonstrated descent from the historical San Juan Capistrano Mission Indian tribe. The three criteria the petitioner meets are criteria 83.7(d), 83.7(f), and 83.7(g).
Criterion 83.7(d) requires that the petitioner provide a copy of its governing document.
Criterion 83.7(f) requires that the petitioner’s membership be composed principally of persons who are not members of another Federally recognized Indian tribe.
Criterion 83.7(g) requires that the petitioner not be subject to legislation forbidding the Federal relationship.
The petitioner did not meet all of the seven mandatory criteria; therefore, it did not qualify for acknowledgment under the Department’s regulations.
Notice of this proposed finding will be published in the Federal Register. As provided by 25 CFR 83.10(i), the petitioner or any individual or organization wishing to challenge or support the proposed finding shall have 180 days after the notice’s publication date to submit arguments and evidence to rebut or support the proposed finding before any final determination is issued.
After the 180 day comment period, the petitioner will have an additional 60 days to respond to the comments from interested parties. After the response period closes, the Department will begin work on a final determination.
The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities and promoting self-determination on behalf of the 562 Federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.8 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the Federally recognized tribes, and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), which is responsible for administering the Federal Acknowledgment Process.
Copies of the proposed finding and Federal Register notice will be posted on the Department of the Interior website at http://www.doi.gov
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/artman-issues-proposed-finding-against-acknowledgment-juaneno-band
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON – The latest class to graduate from an Indian Affairs-supported pilot project to train American Indians in the commercial building trade will hold its commencement ceremony on January 16, 2009, in Phoenix, Ariz. The current class has 12 trainees, all of whom are from the Navajo Nation, the largest federally recognized tribe in the state. The ceremony will take place at the Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Phoenix immediately following a luncheon for graduates and guests that starts at 11:30 a.m. (local time).
The project is the result of an agreement between the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) and United Association (UA), the 326,000-member journeymen and apprentice plumbers and pipe fitters union in North America, to offer unemployed and underemployed American Indians from economically challenged tribal communities in the U.S. the chance to acquire new job skills that can lead to job opportunities back home or elsewhere.
The program’s first class, who graduated on December 19, 2008, attended the Pipe Fitters Training Center, Local 597, in Mokena, Ill. The trainees came from several tribes including the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the Seneca Nation of New York and the Spokane Tribe of Washington. The current graduates attended the Arizona Pipe Trades Apprenticeship Training Center, Local 469, in Phoenix.
All participants spent 16 weeks away from their homes and families undergoing intensive in-class instruction and hands-on training, with funding provided by the IEED to support them during that time.
The Secretary of the Interior created the IEED to encourage economic development in Indian Country. Its mission is to foster strong American Indian communities by creating jobs, Indian-owned businesses and a trained workforce, as well as developing Indian energy and mineral resources and increasing access to capital.
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/graduation-ceremony-latest-class-ieed-ua-pilot-project-trainees-be
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
On Thursday, February 12, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will testify before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on his views and priorities on American Indian issues. The full committee hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room SD 628.
Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
What: Secretary Salazar’s testimony before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee
When: 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009
Where: Dirksen Senate Office Building, SD 628. Constitution Avenue and Second Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.
Media: The Senate Indian Affairs Committee handles media requests concerning the hearing. For information on the Secretary's testimony after the hearing, contact Interior's Office of Communications at 202-208-6416
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/secretary-salazar-testify-indian-affairs-senate-hearing
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today pledged to restore integrity in government relations with Indian tribes, fulfill the United States' trust responsibilities to Native Americans, and work cooperatively to build stronger economies and safer American Indian communities.
"As Secretary of the Interior, I will work hard to empower America's Native American communities by helping address economic development, education, and law enforcement and other major challenges faced in Indian country," Secretary Salazar told members of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in his first formal testimony to Congress. "I will also seek to resolve the unending litigation about the management of these lands and assets. And I am committed to the settlement of Indian water rights claims."
Salazar reiterated President Obama's pledge to empower Indian people in the development of the national agenda. "As President, he recognizes that federally recognized Indian tribes are sovereign, self-governing political entities that enjoy a government-to-government relationship with the United States government. I, too, am a strong supporter of the principle of tribal self-determination and will work to fully enable tribal self-governance."
Salazar said his administration would address Indian Country infrastructure and employment needs through its Interior programs and the congressional reinvestment and recovery package to encourage robust sustainable economic development that will create thousands of jobs.
One of the greatest opportunities for economic development for tribes can be the development of alternative energy sources, Salazar said. Indian lands have major resources for renewable energy as well as rich sources of conventional fossil fuels.
"Indian country offers some of the premier wind energy sites in the United States," the Secretary noted. "I look forward to exploring with tribes the potential for wind, geothermal, biomass and solar energy development that exists on those lands."
The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development has identified 77 reservations that possess commercial-scale wind resources and the ability to support viable wind-based economies. Forty of these are in states that enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring utilities to purchase a percentage of their power from renewable sources.
On education, Salazar said Interior will look at ways to preserve native languages through the Indian education system and examine the No Child Left Behind Act, its implementation and the issues it has raised in Indian schools. "I agree with President Obama and Vice President Biden that our children and our country need a vision for a 21st century education in Indian schools," Salazar said. "This begins by demanding more reform and accountability and asking parents to take responsibility for their children's success."
The Secretary also pledged to recruit, retain, and reward teachers who teach in Bureau of Indian Education schools. Interior is responsible for 183 elementary and secondary schools and dormitories as well as two Bureau-operated post-secondary institutions. This school system serves about 47,000 students on or near 63 reservations in 23 states.
Citing his experience as Colorado's Attorney General, Salazar said he would use his law enforcement background to strengthen the kinds of partnerships that will help bring about safer Indian communities. "Violent crime in Indian country must be aggressively confronted and we will continue to work with Tribes and the Department of Justice in this regard," Salazar said. "We will continue to aggressively attack methamphetamine trafficking and abuse in Indian communities."
"I also plan to address the serious declining conditions of detention facilities in Indian country as well as staffing needs for those facilities," the secretary said. "And finally, I want to work on strengthening tribal court systems."
The United States, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, and tribal programs, provides public safety and judicial services to Indian tribes and their communities. The Department provides either directly or through Indian Self-Determination and Self-Governance contracts and compacts basic law enforcement services; local court services; detention and corrections programs; and professional training related to policing, detention and judicial services.
The full text of the Secretary's testimony is online at http://www.doi.gov.
For Immediate Release: February 12, 2009
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/secretary-salazar-pledges-restore-trust-strengthen-tribal
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced the names of three individuals who have received career appointments to Senior Executive Service (SES) positions within the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). They are Stephanie E. Birdwell as the Deputy Director for Policy, Evaluation and Post Secondary Education, Bartholomew “Bart” Stevens as the Deputy Director for School Operations and David Talayumptewa as the Assistant Deputy Director for Administration. The appointments became effective on January 4, 2009.
“I am pleased that Stephanie Birdwell, Bartholomew Stevens and David Talayumptewa have joined the Bureau of Indian Education’s senior management team,” Skibine said. “The filling of these key posts will allow us to continue implementing the school accountability and student performance requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act across the BIE school system.”
Birdwell is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Her federal career began in 1996 as a social worker at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Northern Pueblos Agency in Espanola, N.M., where she rose to the rank of Southwest Regional Social Worker in the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office in Albuquerque. While there, she served as the bureau’s Acting Deputy Regional Director for Indian Services from October 2005 to January 2006. In October 2006, Birdwell joined the Office of Indian Services staff at the BIA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., as Human Services Program Officer, a position she held until May 2008. From July to December 2007, she also served as Acting Assistant to the Deputy Director for Indian Services. In December 2007, she became Acting Assistant to the Deputy Bureau Director for the BIA’s Office of Trust Services. She joined the BIE in June 2008 as the Acting Deputy Director for Policy, Evaluation and Post Secondary Education.
Birdwell has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma (1992) and a Master’s degree in Social Welfare from the University of California-Berkeley (1996). She also holds a social worker license from the State of New Mexico.
Stevens is an enrolled member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona with ancestry from the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho and the Ute Indian Tribe in Utah. Following a long career in teaching, counseling and school administration positions in Utah tribal and public schools, Stevens joined the BIE’s New Mexico South Education Line Office in Albuquerque in July 2006 as Education Line Officer (ELO).
Starting in August 2007, he concurrently held two of three BIE associate deputy directorships. As Acting Associate Deputy Director – East and Acting Associate Deputy Director – West, he was responsible for the line management, direction and supervision of 16 Education Line Offices overseeing BIE-funded schools in 25 states. He continued to serve in both posts until his current appointment.
Stevens holds a Bachelor’s degree in Family and Human Development (2000) and a Master’s degree in School Administration and Supervision (2005) from Utah State University. He also holds a Master’s degree in Social Work (2003) from the University of Utah. In 2005, he received an administrative/supervisory education license from the Utah Office of Education.
Talayumptewa, an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe in Arizona, has over 25 years of experience in the field of Indian education, most of that time with the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education Programs (now the BIE). His early years were spent as Chief Administrative Officer for the Hopi Tribe where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of four divisions, including education. He oversaw the construction of the Hopi Junior/Senior High School, and ensured that it was staffed and operational in preparation for its opening in 1986. That year, Talayumptewa began his career with the OIEP where he served as the Hopi Education Line Office’s Business Manager (1986-2001) and Education Line Officer (2001-2003, 2004-2005) in Keams Canyon and as the Acting ELO at the Western Navajo Education Line Office in Tuba City, Ariz. (2001). He went on to hold senior positions at the BIE’s Central Office – West location in Albuquerque including Acting Deputy Director, OIEP (2004, 2005-2006), Special Assistant to the Director, BIE (2006-2007), Acting Assistant Deputy Director for Administration, BIE (2007) and Special Assistant to the Deputy Director, BIE (2007- 2008).
Talayumptewa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Personnel and Industrial Relations from Utah State University (1973) and a Masters of Science degree in Human Resources Management from the University of Utah (1976). He received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1973. He served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves, and was honorably discharged in 1981.
The BIE is responsible 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. It provides resources and technical assistance to 122 tribally administered BIE-funded schools and 25 tribal colleges and universities. It directly operates two postsecondary institutions: Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.
For Immediate Release: February 12, 2009
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/skibine-announces-three-bie-ses-career-appointments
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
DENVER, CO – Today, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made the following statement in honor of Crow Tribal Chairman Carl Venne, who died this weekend in Montana:
“Chairman Venne’s death is a terrible loss for the Crow Nation and for our country. He dedicated more than three decades to serving his community and to leading his people. His tireless work to improve education, make communities safer, and expand opportunities for those who follow is an indelible legacy and an inspiration for the Crow Nation, Indian Country, and all of the American people. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chairman Venne’s family, his friends, and the Crow Nation.”
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/secretary-salazars-statement-crow-chairman-carl-venne
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will hold a media roundtable tomorrow – Friday, Feb. 20, 2009 -- to discuss how the department will swiftly and responsibly implement President Obama’s economic recovery plan in order to help create jobs, generate economic activity in local communities, and renew our national parks, national wildlife refuges and other public lands and resources.
The 12:15 p.m. roundtable will be held in Conference Room 5160 at the Main Interior Building and will also be available to news media via a moderated teleconference. Media wishing to attend the roundtable should arrive at Interior no later than 11:45 a.m. and after security screening will be escorted to the conference room. Media wishing to participate in the interactive teleconference should call 1-888-889-1035 and enter the access code 7712644.
Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
What: Media Roundtable on Department of the Interior implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
When: Friday, Feb. 20, 2009. 12:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 11:15 a.m. Central Standard Time; 10:15 a.m. Mountain Standard Time; 9:15 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
Where: Main Interior Building, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20240
Media Teleconference: News media wishing to participate in the interactive teleconference should call 1-888-889-1035 and enter the access code 7712644.
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/secretary-salazar-hold-media-roundtable-how-interior-will-implement
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON – Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today announced a new effort to recruit and train American Indian and Alaska Native post-secondary students to become Indian Country’s next generation of tribal energy and natural resource management professionals. The Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program has been developed through a partnership between the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to help increase the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who can effectively manage a tribe’s energy and natural resources.
“This internship program will offer an exciting opportunity for American Indians and Alaska Natives interested in the science and engineering professions, two fields where they are traditionally underrepresented,” Skibine said. “It will also help tribes by developing a cadre of professionals who have the training and expertise to aid them in managing the development of their energy and natural resources.”
Title V of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical assistance to those Indian tribes seeking to develop their energy resources, establish an Indian energy resource development program and to further the goal of Indian self-determination. The internship program is one aspect of the IEED’s efforts to fulfill the act’s mandate.
The IEED will provide guidance and oversight for the program and funding for student recruitment. CERT, in coordination with ANL, will recruit interns from public, private and tribal institutions of higher learning. CERT also will seek to recruit tribes that are in various stages of energy development to provide mentors for the interns. It also will seek to match internship candidates with the pool of potential tribes and ANL research opportunities, and will work with ANL to identify strategic opportunities for internships based on current ANL programs and the availability of mentors at its facility.
“Tribes are being severely impacted by the inadequate number of available American Indian and Alaska Native energy resource professionals,” said CERT Executive Director A. David Lester. “We anticipate that the Native youth of today will play a critical role in Indian Country’s, and the nation’s, energy future as they inherit the responsibility for prudently managing tribal resources. Unless deliberate measures such as this internship program are undertaken to prepare them for such a role, however, we fear that many will be lost to other fields of work unrelated to their major fields of study.”
The program, which will be held annually, is slated to begin this summer and run for 10 weeks. Students will be housed at the ANL facility in DuPage County, Ill. Applicants will be considered based on whether they have the requisite skills to perform necessary tasks, if their needs will be met by the program and if they are interested in developing capabilities in sustainable energy programs.
“At this critical time, meeting the demand for energy from sustainable sources can only be achieved through investment in training programs such as the Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program,” said ANL’s Director of Educational Programs Harold Myron. “We are very excited to play a role in that effort by hosting interns from the program at Argonne.”
For more information about the Energy Resource Development Tribal Internship Program, contact the ANL Division of Educational Programs at 630-252-4114 or visit ANL’s website at http://www.dep.anl.gov and click on “Tribal Internships.” Information also can be found on CERT’s website at http://www.certredearth.com. The deadline for applications is April 3, 2009.
The Secretary of the Interior created the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, which is located in the Office of the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, 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, by developing Indian energy and mineral resources, and by 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.
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/skibine-announces-new-effort-recruit-train-next-generation-tribal
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior issued the following statement today regarding the February 24, 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, in which the Court said that land could not be taken into trust for the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island under Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 because the Tribe was not under the jurisdiction of the United States in 1934.
“Secretary Salazar is very disappointed by the Court's ruling," said Interior spokesman Matt Lee Ashley. "Our attorneys are in the process of evaluating the decision. The Department is committed to supporting the ability of all federally recognized tribes to have lands acquired in trust."
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/interior-department-statement-carcieri-court-decision
Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tomorrow morning at 8:50 a.m., Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will speak to the Tribal Nations Legislative Summit of the National Congress of American Indians at the Weston Hotel in the District of Columbia. Later in the day, he will be the keynote speaker for a Council of Energy Resource Tribes summit on Native energy development and its place in America's future. The afternoon event will be held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building at 4:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill, and will include representatives from 53 tribes and Canadian First Nations.
Event 1
Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
What: Remarks to the National Congress of American Indians
When: 8:50 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, March 4, 2009
Where: Weston Hotel, 1400 M Street NW, Washington, D.C.
Where: Credentialed media are invited to cover the event.
Event2
Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
What: Remarks to the Council of Energy Resource Tribes
When: 4:30 p.m Eastern Standard Time, March 4, 2009
Where: Room 628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, 1st St. and Constitution Avenue, NE , Washington, D.C.
Where: Credentialed media are invited to cover the event.
https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/secretary-address-national-congress-american-indians-and-council
