OPA

WASHINGTON — With the goal of better preserving and enhancing the natural and cultural heritage of the nation’s public lands and waters, five U.S. government agencies today joined the National Geographic Society in a ceremony at Society headquarters unveiling a ground-breaking framework to formally adopt the principles of geotourism.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a first step to promote geotourism as a collaborative approach among governmental agencies and private partners. Pioneered by National Geographic since 2002, geotourism refers to tourism that helps sustain or enhance the geographical character of a place — its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and well-being of its residents.

Signatories to the MOU included senior leaders of National Geographic, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and their agencies, including Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service. It is anticipated there will be additional partners, both public and private. The officials agree in the MOU that geotourism is beneficial to national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges and BLM lands, as well as Indian lands and private and local attractions.

“This agreement will enhance both the environment and the local economies, better preserving America’s diverse recreational and scenic assets — a source of immense national pride,” said Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, who signed the agreement. “Geotourism showcases what is authentic and unique and defines us. It is the right concept to protect our public lands for future generations.”

“Tourism in recent decades has exploded to become one of the most pervasive industries on Earth. By this collaborative, sensitive approach to tourism, the destructive pitfalls of mass tourism can be avoided in our country’s great outdoors,” said John Fahey, National Geographic president and CEO. “Today’s signing is a tremendous step forward for geotourism and sustainable tourism in the United States.”

“Working together under this MOU will build upon our collective strength. It builds upon many of our existing initiatives and will further our working more effectively across boundaries and jurisdictions,” said Mark Rey, undersecretary for natural resources and the environment of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who also signed the MOU. “The framework will focus on what is distinctive and unique about our great American public lands.”

In addition to Kempthorne, Fahey and Rey, officials at today’s event included Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior; Mary Bomar, director, National Park Service; Jerold Gidner, director, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Henri Bisson, deputy director, Bureau of Land Management; Kenneth Stansell, deputy director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Sally Collins, associate chief, U.S. Forest Service.

This new collaboration builds upon existing National Geographic, Department of Interior agencies’ and U.S. Forest Service pilot projects that enhance opportunities for communities, tribes and regions to benefit from sustainable tourism. The first prototype project was a geotourism effort that straddles the border of Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, serving as a catalyst to help encourage citizens, communities and tribes to become actively involved in the stewardship and conservation of the public land and water. Subsequently, the state of Arizona has declared itself “geotourism dependent,” after assessing the enhanced quality of life and economic benefits derived.

The MOU establishes an official Geotourism Working Group among the signatories, committed to promoting sustainable tourism practices and local stewardship, often called destination stewardship. Partnerships with local organizations, tribes and communities will be developed.

In 2003 the National Geographic’s Center for Sustainable Destinations (CSD) established a new approach to tourism by combining its expertise with the design capabilities of National Geographic Maps and the knowledge of local people to facilitate wise stewardship of cultural and natural resources worldwide.

With direction from National Geographic, Geotourism Charters have been signed in Norway, Romania, Honduras, the Cook Islands and the states of Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora, Mexico.

CSD partnered with the Appalachian Regional Commission and the people of Appalachia to create the first Geotourism Map Guide, published in 2005. Geotourism Map Guides also have been published for Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, the Sonoran Desert region of Arizona and Mexico, Baja California and the Crown of the Continent. Currently, CSD is working with Peruvian authorities and the World Bank on a Geotourism MapGuide and Stewardship Council Project for the Vilcanota-Sacred Valley of the Inca; similar projects are underway for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Northern California Coast and the nation of Guatemala. For more information on geotourism, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable and www.doi.gov.

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), has launched a website to create a web-based clearinghouse of environmental information that will support American Indian and Alaska Native traditional and renewable energy resource development.

The Tribal Environmental and Energy Information Clearinghouse (TEEIC), which can be accessed via http://teeic.anl.gov, creates a knowledge base for tribes and tribal organizations that can assist them in capacity-building efforts to develop environmental analysis and evaluation programs and processes that further their energy and economic development goals.

“The Tribal Environmental and Energy Information Clearinghouse initiative is an excellent example of how we can support the goal of increasing traditional and renewable energy development on tribal lands, thereby enhancing economic development opportunities for Indian tribes, while ensuring that such activities are conducted in an environmentally sound manner,” Secretary Salazar said.

In addition to environmental best practices, how-to’s on conducting environmental assessments to aid in decision-making, and links to applicable federal and state laws and agency contacts related to energy development, the clearinghouse’s database includes information on the various impacts of different types of traditional and renewable energy development and infrastructure projects. The database has been developed using existing information, which will be augmented over time with environmental impact assessments as they are completed.

“As concerned stewards of their natural resources, tribes will be able to use the clearinghouse as a convenient, authoritative resource for information, both to use in the protection of their environmental and cultural values and to maximize their economic development opportunities,” Salazar said.

The Secretary of the Interior created the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development in 2005 to encourage economic development in Indian Country. The IEED’s mission is to foster strong Indian communities by creating jobs, Indian-owned businesses, a trained workforce, 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.

WASHINGTON , D.C.—Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today praised President Obama’s announcement that he intends to nominate Larry EchoHawk, a former Idaho Attorney General and state legislator, as Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. The nomination requires Senate confirmation.

“President Obama and I are committed to empowering American Indian people, restoring the integrity of a nation-to-nation relationship with tribes, fulfilling the United States’ trust responsibilities and working cooperatively to build stronger economies and safer Indian communities,” Salazar said. “Larry EchoHawk has the right leadership abilities, legislative experience and legal expertise to bring about the transformative improvements we all seek for Indian Country. He is a dedicated public servant and an excellent choice for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.”

A member of the Pawnee Nation, Echohawk was elected Attorney General of Idaho in 1990, the first American Indian in U.S. history elected as a state attorney general. He had served as the Bannock County Prosecuting Attorney since 1986. Before that, he served two consecutive terms in the Idaho House of Representatives, from 1982 to 1986.

EchoHawk began his legal career as a legal services attorney working for impoverished Indian people in California, then opened a private law office in Salt Lake City. In 1977, he was hired as tribal attorney for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes at the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in Idaho, a position he held for more than eight years. He became special counsel to the tribe in 1998. He is admitted to the bar in Idaho, Utah and California.

EchoHawk has served on the American Indian Services National Advisory Board and Board of Trustees. He was appointed by President Clinton to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, which is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s efforts to combat juvenile delinquency in the United States. He also has served on the Indian Alcoholism Counseling and Recovery House Program and the American Indian Community Resource Center Board.

A former U. S. Marine, EchoHawk is a professor of law at Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School, teaching federal Indian law, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence and criminal trial practice, and has published several scholarly papers.

EchoHawk received his Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in 1970, where he studied on an NCAA football scholarship and was named to the Western Athletic Conference All-Academic Football Team in 1969. He was a member of the varsity football team at BYU from 1967-69, playing in every game during his career. He started at safety as a junior and senior, leading the team and ranking fourth in the Western Athletic Conference with five interceptions as a junior in 1968. He earned Academic All-Conference First Team honors as a senior.

EchoHawk received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah in 1973; and attended Stanford Graduate School of Business’s MBA Program, 1974-1975. He has received numerous awards and honors, including Distinguished Alumnus Awards from both Brigham Young University (1992) and the University of Utah (2003). In 1991, EchoHawk was awarded George Washington University’s prestigious Martin Luther King medal for his contributions to human rights, and was honored as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention. As Idaho’s delegation Chair, he became the first American Indian to lead a state delegation to a national political convention.

Professor EchoHawk was honored in 1995 as the first BYU graduate to ever receive the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s prestigious Silver Anniversary Award, given to a select few prominent athletes who have completed their collegiate athletic eligibility 25 years ago, and have distinguished themselves in their careers and personal lives.

EchoHawk, 60, and his wife Terry have six children: Jennifer, Paul, Mark, Matthew, Emily and Michael; and 22 grandchildren.

Washington – Jerry Gidner, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), announced today the Second National Conference on Child Protection & Child Welfare in Indian Country will be held August 19-22, 2008, in Billings, Mont. The Conference is sponsored by the BIA and will be held in conjunction with the Interdepartmental Tribal Justice, Safety and Wellness Session #7 hosted by the Department of Justice in partnership with the Departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and the Small Business Administration, along with the Indian Health Services and Substance Abuse and Mental Heath Services Administration Behavioral Health Conference 2008.

“This is the first year that all these agencies, working together on very important issues in Indian Country, have joined to sponsor this important conference,” said Gidner, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs. “We are anticipating approximately 1,000 participants from tribal, urban, state and federal employees, educators, law enforcement, tribal court personnel, social service providers, counselors, psychologists, and social workers.”

The opening ceremony will be held at 8:00 a.m. on August 20, 2008, at the Holiday Grand Hotel, Convention Center. The week long conference is full of workshops featuring presentations on best practices, advocacy for children and lectures from the most preeminent professionals in Indian Country. Some of the workshops and lectures will be: Developing a Culturally Based Tribal Welfare System; Suicide Prevention in Indian Country; Developing Child Advocacy Centers; Risk Assessment of Children in Meth Homes; The Impact of Trauma on American Indian Children and Wisconsin Tribal State Collaboration on Modifying State Laws to Address the Indian Child Welfare Act. The Conference will culminate on Friday with the making of a video: “Pathways to Hope: Healing Child Sexual Abuse,” that will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Survivors of Sexual Abuse.

A couple of cultural events will be held: Thursday, August 21, 2008, at 12:00 p.m. “The Pink Shawl Event,” in honor of Breast Cancer Survivors, that evening at 6:00 p.m. “Our Way of Life,” music and dancing of the Apsaalooke Nation.

For more information, or if your organization is interested in sponsoring any of the events, please contact Jade Snell or Lisa Geda at the In-Care Network, 406-259-9616, or by e-mail jsnell@180com.net: or lgeda@180.com.net. Additional information and registration material can be downloaded at www.incarenetwork.com for the BIA conference. For the IHS/SAMSHA conference, the website is: www.bhconference.com, and for the OJP/DOJ conference, www.circlesolutions.com.

WASHINGTON – Mr. George Skibine, Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, announced today that the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation of Pendleton Oregon have submitted a plan to participate in Indian Affairs’ Public Law 102-477 (477) initiative. The program is a comprehensive employment and training program for federally recognized tribes to address economic and workforce needs in their communities. Along with the plan, Antone C. Minthorn, Chairman of the Tribe submitted a tribal resolution stating the tribes’ intent to improve their employment opportunities for their people. The Confederation consists of people from three tribes: the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla.

“I commend the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation for their vision and foresight to streamline the management of their workforce development programs,” said Bob Middleton, Director, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development. “Participation in the 477 program has helped tribes decrease their administrative burden, allowing them to better address their employment and economic development needs and serve their clients.”

According to the Tribes’ 477 Program plan, they are developing workshops covering job readiness and wellness, computer skills, etiquette techniques, providing resources to access employment opportunities, workshops on stress reduction, conflict resolution, diabetes maintenance and a wellness conference.

The 477 Program, established in 1994 under the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Act (Public Law 102-477), allows federally recognized tribes to combine funds from 12 federal employment, training and welfare reform programs administered by the Department of the Interior, which serves as the lead agency, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services into a single, tribally operated program with a single reporting system. Participating tribes can devote up to 25% of their total 477 funding for economic development projects to provide employment opportunities for their members.

For more information about the 477 program, contact Lynn Forcia, Chief, Division of Workforce Development, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, U.S. Department of the Interior, at (202) 219-5270.

-DOI-

On Saturday, April 25, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will visit North Dakota, where he will be joined by Senators Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) and Kent Conrad (D-ND) Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Gov. John Hoeven, and meet with local leaders and tribal officials. The Secretary will announce Interior’s Indian Affairs funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He also will visit communities hit by recent flooding and confer with state and federal flood response officials.

Event #1 -- Tour of State Emergency Operations Center Event # 2 – Recovery Act Indian Affairs Funding Announcement at United Tribes Technical College Event # 3 -- Fort Berthold Three Affiliated Tribes Event # 4 -- Beulah Coal Gasification Plant Event # 5 -- Fargo Flooding Briefing and Community Meeting

WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today congratulated the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the State of South Dakota on signing a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint sovereign filing system to administer the tribe’s newly adopted secured transactions commercial code. He was represented by officials of the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development at a signing ceremony held yesterday on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. IEED Division of Economic Development Director Jack Stevens and DED Policy Analyst Victor Christiansen were among other federal, tribal and state officials who gathered July 30 at the reservation’s Suann Big Crow Boys and Girls Club to witness the historic event. The tribe received funding from the IEED to develop its code.

“I want to congratulate the leadership of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the State of South Dakota for their vision of promoting economic development in Indian Country,” Skibine said. “By adopting a secured transactions commercial code, the Tribe has taken a major step in addressing the credit needs of businesses and consumers on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Their partnership with the State of South Dakota is a model that other tribes and states can embrace.”

Tribal secured transactions commercial codes enable tribal businesses and individuals residing on federal Indian trust lands to obtain credit for making off-reservation purchases, such as cars, appliances and other durable goods, by allowing sellers to enforce liens or security interests in such items after they have been transported onto a reservation.

The Joint Sovereign MOU was signed by OST President John Yellow Bird Steele and South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson with members of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council present. In addition to Stevens, speakers included Ellie Wicks, Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, Jesse Ewing, Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Senator John Thune, Rick Hanson, Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Jacqueline G. King, Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

The OST is one of ten federally recognized tribes in six states funded by the IEED to develop tribal secured transactions commercial codes. The others are: the Blackfeet Tribe, the Crow Nation and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe in Montana, the Sac and Fox Nation and the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, the Tulalip Tribes in Washington State and the Shoshone and Arapaho Tribes of the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.

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.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development – Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today offered praise for the installation and activation of the first large-scale wind turbine to be located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. The turbine, which is owned by radio station KILI-FM and was funded in part by the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, was activated at a noontime ceremony yesterday in Porcupine, S.D. Skibine was represented at the July 31 event by IEED Division of Economic Development Director Jack Stevens and DED Policy Analyst Victor Christiansen.

“The KILI radio station plays a vital role on the Pine Ridge reservation as a news and information provider,” Skibine said. “With the electric power and revenue potential this wind turbine offers, KILI will continue to serve its community, and Indian Country, as ‘The Voice of the Lakota Nation.’ I am proud that we have helped to make the KILI wind turbine a reality.”

The Pine Ridge reservation is home to the 42,357-member Oglala Sioux Tribe and is located in an area of the United States with wind speeds in excess of 18 miles per hour. Great Plains wind power is estimated to have the potential for generating 535 billion kilowatt-hours per year – in comparison, the total U.S. electric generation in 2004 was 3,853 billion kWh – yet much of the region’s wind power has remained undeveloped. The 72-foot high, 65-kilowatt wind turbine will power KILI, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and generate revenue for the station through the sale of surplus electricity to back to the grid.

The IEED provided the final $50,000 towards the turbine’s purchase and installation price of $150,000. Given the radio station’s importance as an economic hub for both the Pine Ridge and neighboring Rosebud Sioux reservations, the IEED also provided $106,000 for a program to train OST and Rosebud Sioux tribal members in wind turbine installation, repair and maintenance. The KILI wind turbine is expected to produce 92,000 kWh of power per year with an estimated savings to the station in utility costs of $12,000 per year.

In addition to Stevens and Christiansen, attendees included John Yellow Bird Steel, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and members of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council, Melanie Janise, KILI Station Manager, Ellie Wicks, Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Senator Tim Johnson, Jesse Ewing, Constituent Services Representative for U.S. Senator John Thune, Pat Spears, President of the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy (ICOUP) and Saye Brown of Honor the Earth. 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.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON, D.C— After 12 years of litigation over its management of the trust funds of individual Indians, U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson today issued a decision in the Cobell lawsuit rejecting the plaintiffs' theory that the government owes them $47 billion.

"The Department is gratified that the court recognized the complexities and uncertainties involved in this case," said James E. Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior. "We look forward to working with the court, the Congress, and the plaintiffs to bring the case to final closure."

After giving plaintiffs every opportunity to prove their case, Judge Robertson concluded that the model used by the plaintiffs to estimate the amount of money withheld from them could not "be used as a representation or even an estimate of the amount of trust funds that the government has failed to disburse" because it was based on biased expert opinions that assumed that "all data that favors the plaintiffs may be treated as admitted," while rejecting all data that disfavors them.

In his memorandum, the judge wrote: "Their model did not make use of the best available evidence and did not make fair or reasonable comparisons of data." He also wrote "The plaintiffs' model stands or falls with their legal theory, and it falls. The government's model, on the other hand, fits comfortably within the equitable principles that should be applied with respect to the IIM trust, because it offers a useful way of pricing the considerable uncertainty in the data. Plaintiffs presented no statistical testimony challenging the government's model, which I found to be sound."

The court noted that plaintiffs failed to provide any evidence of the "prodigious pilfering of assets from within the trust system" that they have been alleging, and that they also failed to present any evidence that the government had used any undisbursed Indian monies for its own benefit."

-www.doi.gov-