OPA

SALT LAKE CITY – An unprecedented two-year undercover operation led by agents from Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the FBI today began rounding up what prosecutors call a ring of archeological grave robbers who looted pristine sites in the Southwest, desecrated ancient American Indian burials and stole priceless artifacts, selling them to dealers and collectors who were associated with the network.

In the nation’s largest investigation of archaeological and cultural artifact thefts, law officers from BLM, FBI, and U.S. Marshals, joined by local and state law enforcement partners, began arresting 23 individuals and executing a dozen search warrants in four states. The defendants, from Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado, were named in 12 indictments handed down by a Salt Lake City grand jury for multiple violations of federal law. Federal agents have identified more than 250 artifacts stolen by the ring, with an estimate value exceeding $335,000, including decorated Anasazi pottery, burial and ceremonial masks, a buffalo headdress, and ancient sandals known to be associated with Native American burials.

“Let this case serve notice to anyone who is considering breaking these laws and trampling our nation’s cultural heritage that the BLM, the Department of Justice, and the federal government will track you down and bring you to justice,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “As these alleged criminals are prosecuted and as federal agents continue to hunt down wrong doers, BLM cultural resources staff will work to ensure the proper recovery, identification, repatriation, and storage of the artifacts that have been confiscated.

“Looters robbing tribal communities of their cultural patrimony is a major law enforcement issue for federal agencies enforcing historic preservation laws in Indian Country,” said Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk. "Today's action should give American Indians and Alaska Natives assurance that the Obama Administration is serious about preserving and protecting their cultural property."

The indictments were announced by Secretary Salazar; Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk; Deputy Attorney General David Ogden of the U.S. Department of Justice; Brett L. Tolman, U.S Attorney in Utah; and Timothy J. Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office. The ring is charged with multiple counts of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act as well as theft of government property, depredation of government property, and theft of Indian tribal property.

The Four Corners region, rich in archaeological resources, contains priceless and sacred artifacts of vital importance to Southwest American Indian communities, as well as of cultural and historical interest to scientists and academic scholars. The looting of the archeological sites also means the permanent loss of significant amounts of archeological, cultural and historical information because the artifacts cannot now be identified in their in-situ context.

“These archaeological treasures are precious and protecting them preserves a rich history and heritage,” said Deputy Attorney General Ogden. “That is why the Justice Department will use all of its tools to vigorously enforce the laws designed to safeguard the cultural heritage of Native Americans. Recommitting resources and focus to criminal justice in Indian Country is of paramount importance to the Justice Department.”

Ogden said the Department of justice is conducting a training initiative with the Interior Department for federal prosecutors and law enforcement personnel on looting, vandalism, and illegal trafficking of cultural heritage, and the Department plans to reach out to Indian Country leaders in the near future to engage in consultation on these issues.

“These treasures are the heritage of all Americans, and some of the objects are sacred to American Indians,” said U.S. Attorney Tolman. “Those who loot or damage public and American Indian resources for their own personal use or gain take something from all of us. Those engaged in this kind of conduct will be prosecuted,” Tolman said.

“The FBI has taken this matter seriously and spent a significant amount of personnel and financial resources in exposing this network of individuals illegally trafficking in these items,” Said FBI Special Agent in Charge Fuhrman. “The FBI remains committed to devoting all necessary resources to address this problem.”

A list of defendants is included as an attachment to this press release. The defendants were scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Samuel Alba at the Grand County Courthouse in Moab later today. Defendants charged in federal indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

The Archaeological Resources Protection Act prohibits the unauthorized excavation and removal of archaeological resources on federal lands as well as the unlawful sale, purchase, or exchange of such resources. Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, any Native American human remains, funerary objects, objects of cultural patrimony and sacred objects must be repatriated to Indian tribes.

The BLM will consult with tribes to determine cultural affiliation and to facilitate repatriation of the stolen artifacts. For objects not subject to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, the BLM will work with museums to stabilize, identify, and preserve them under the provisions of Archaeological Resources Protection Act and make them available for scientific research and public education.

Brett L. Tolman

United States Attorney District of Utah

Defendants in ARPA/NAGPRA cases

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will administer the oath of office to Larry Echo Hawk as Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs at a 10:00 a.m. ceremonial event on Friday, June 26, 2009, in the Sidney R. Yates Auditorium of the Main Interior Building.

Echo Hawk, 60, is an enrolled member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. His nomination by President Obama was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 19, 2009. Prior to his appointment, Echo Hawk served for 14 years as a Professor of Law at Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School where he taught federal Indian law, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence, criminal trial practice, and published several scholarly papers. A former U.S. Marine, Echo Hawk built a civilian law career that has included legal services, private practice, tribal counselor, county prosecutor, and election in 1990 as Attorney General for the state of Idaho, the first American Indian to achieve that distinction. In the mid-1980s, he served two consecutive terms in the Idaho House of Representatives.

Leaders of the Pawnee Nation will be in attendance along with members of the Echo Hawk family and representatives from other tribes and Native organizations. A Pawnee elder will perform an honoring blessing for the new assistant secretary.

WASHINGTON – The Interior Department’s Sidney R. Yates Auditorium resounded with drum beats and applause this morning as Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar administered the oath of office to the Obama Administration’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Larry Echo Hawk. The ceremony took place before an estimated crowd of 300 that included family members, tribal representatives, and Interior and other federal employees. “Today is not a day for long speeches,” Echo Hawk said. “It is a day for solemn oaths, a day for thanksgiving, and a day for prayers. I am honored to have been entrusted with this responsibility.”

“Today is another milestone in President Obama’s agenda to empower Native American communities,” Salazar said. “Across the government, agencies are working together and with tribes to help build new schools, improve health care access, upgrade housing, fix roads and bridges, and make communities safer.”

In attendance were officials from the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, where Echo Hawk is an enrolled member, and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho, who, as he explained, gave a fresh law school graduate his professional start more than 30 years ago when they hired him as their Chief General Legal Counsel. The Assistant Secretary expressed his deep appreciation to both tribes and to his family for their support and encouragement.

Also among those in attendance were Congressman Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, American Samoa; Senate Indian Affairs Committee staff members; and Obama Administration appointees Jodi Gillette (Standing Rock Sioux) Deputy Associate Director, White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs; Dr. Yvette Roubideaux (Rosebud Sioux), Director, Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Hilary Tompkins (Navajo Nation), Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior; Michael L. Connor (Taos Pueblo), Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior; Wizipan Garriott (Rosebud Sioux), Advisor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs; and Paul Tsosie (Navajo Nation), Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary. Also attending was Kimberly Teehee (Cherokee Nation), who is the incoming Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council.

Echo Hawk noted as “historic” the number of American Indians who have been appointed by President Obama to White House and Executive Branch posts: “Future generations will look back on this time and know that something special happened.”

Witnessing the gathering was a group of students from the Muckleshoot Tribal School, a Bureau of Indian Education-funded K-12 school in Auburn, Wash., serving the Muckleshoot Tribe. The students happened to be visiting the city when they received word of the swearing-in ceremony in time to attend.

Echo Hawk is the 11th Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 19, 2009, and was officially sworn into office in a private ceremony at the Interior Department on May 22.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced the addition of Wizipan Garriott, Tracie Stevens and Paul Tsosie to his immediate staff and senior policy team. They will support the Assistant Secretary as he moves forward in carrying out Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s Indian education and law enforcement initiatives, distributing Recovery Act funds to Indian Country, and overseeing Indian Affairs bureaus, offices and programs.

“I am pleased to announce the addition of Wizipan Garriott, Tracie Stevens and Paul Tsosie to my staff,” Echo Hawk said. “The knowledge, experience and abilities they bring to Indian Affairs will ensure that we can meet our priorities to protect Indian Country, advance Indian education and empower tribal communities.”

Garriott, an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota (Aske Gluwipi Tiyospaye [They Wrap Their Hair] Clan), is the Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, where he provides experience and counsel on a variety of policy matters.

Prior to his appointment on March 4, 2009, Garriott served as the First Americans Public Liaison for the Obama-Biden Transition Team where he helped develop the Obama administration’s transition plan for Indian policy. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he served as the First Americans Vote Director for Obama for America. As such, he advised on, coordinated outreach efforts, and developed policy on issues relating to American Indians for the campaign, as well as served on its American Indian Policy Advisory Council. Garriott had previously worked for then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota (2003) and for Washington, D.C., firms Olsson, Frank & Weeda, P.C., and Perkins Coie LLP (2005 and 2006, respectively). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from Yale University (2003) and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law (2008).

Stevens, an enrolled member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington State, is the Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs. She joined the Assistant Secretary’s staff on July 13, bringing with her almost 15 years of experience from working for her tribe in both government and business operations. In her most recent position as Senior Policy Analyst with her tribe’s government affairs office, she managed day-to-day operations, including overseeing external public affairs and lobbying functions, carried out advocacy and networking efforts, and served on state, regional and national Indian gaming-related boards and committees. She previously had served as a legislative policy analyst in the government affairs office working on tribal sovereignty, treaty rights and tribal governance issues.

Stevens began her professional career at her tribe’s casino where she developed expertise in business management and administration. Her work in human resource management, employee recruitment and training, and operations planning and analysis eventually led her to becoming the Tulalip Casino’s executive director for strategic planning. Stevens received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of Washington-Seattle in 2006.

Tsosie, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah (Black Sheep Clan), started June 15 as the Chief of Staff to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs. Tsosie is the proud father of two children.

Tsosie joined the Interior Department from his law practice, Tsosie & Hatch LLC, of West Jordan, Utah, which he started in 2002 with law partner Calvin Hatch, a Tsimshian member of the Metlakatla Indian Community in Alaska. Tsosie & Hatch LLC focused on Indian law, and as a result represented various Indian tribes in Utah and Nevada. Tsosie also practiced criminal law, as both a prosecutor and defender, in various state, federal and tribal courts. Tsosie also holds tribal court, state and federal bar memberships in Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio (pro hac vice) and Texas (pro hac vice).

In addition to his law practice, Tsosie worked as a lobbyist for the Navajo Nation on tribal-state matters and as a paralegal teacher for the Utah Career College class on Criminal Law and Civil Litigation. He also has served on the boards of several Salt Lake City-based organizations that address social and legal services needs of juveniles, American Indians and indigents.

Tsosie received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History with a minor in Native American Studies (1997) from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He also holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from BYU’s Romney Institute of Public Management (2002) and a Juris Doctor degree from the university’s J. Reuben Clark Law School (2002). Tsosie also is a graduate of the Pre Law Summer Institute at the University of New Mexico, which is a program designed to prepare American Indian students for the rigors of law school.

Among his student achievements, Tsosie served as secretary (1999-2000) and president (2000- 2001) of the law school’s Minority Law Student Association and president (1999-2000) of its Native American Law Student Association. His honors include the BYU Faculty Award for Meritorious Achievement and Distinguished Service (2001 and 2002) and Native American Law Student Association Indian Law Award (2002), as well as the Utah Bar Foundation Public Interest Law Award and Scholarship (2000).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Responding to a call for greater transparency throughout government, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today said the Department will provide regular status updates to the American public on the financial health and ongoing reforms of the American Indian trusts, which consists of $3.5 billion in Indian trust funds.

“Interior has a critically important responsibility for improving American Indian trust management—the largest land trusts in the nation,” Secretary Salazar said. “President Obama wants to bring greater public transparency to the progress that has been made to reform this vital program for American Indians.”

“While Indian trust beneficiaries are now informed of the status of their accounts on a regular basis, it is also important that the American public be periodically apprised of challenges we face in revamping this unique trust system, the progress being made and the general health of trust accounts,” Salazar said.

The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, which manages the financial assets of the trusts, provides quarterly reports to individual account holders and monthly reports to tribal governments, as well as annual reports to Congress. Since 1996, the trust funds’ financial statements have been audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

The Indian trusts consist of about 56 million acres of land, managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. More than 11 million acres belong to individual Indians and nearly 45 million acres are held in trust for Indian tribes. Interior manages more than 100,000 leases on these lands for a range of uses, including oil, gas, coal and mineral development; timber harvesting; farming and grazing; rentals and rights-of-way. Court judgments and settlement awards for tribes and individuals also are deposited into trust accounts.

In fiscal year 2008, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians:

• receipted $890 million from leases and income from financial assets, including $384 million for about 378,000 open accounts in the Individual Indian Money system and $506 million for about 2,700 tribal accounts (for 250 tribes);
• disbursed about $747 million to Indian beneficiaries, including $439 million to individual account holders and $308 million to tribal governments.

From fiscal year 1996 through fiscal year 2008, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians:

• receipted over $9.6 billion (an average of $739 million per year) from the individual and tribal leases and financial assets;
• disbursed over $8.8 billion (an average of $679 million per year) to individual account holders and tribal governments.

In 1994, the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act established the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians to improve management and accountability of the Indian trust administered by Interior. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and other Interior bureaus and offices manage trust resource assets, such as leases and land use; the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians manages financial assets. This includes accounting, investing, and disbursing trust funds to individual and tribal beneficiaries. The Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians is also responsible for overseeing and coordinating reform efforts throughout Interior to improve Indian trust asset management and beneficiary services.

More information on the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and the Indian trust fund is available at www.doi.gov/ost

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced today that the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan’s reservation proclamation has been signed. Approximately 147 acres, more or less, will serve as the Tribe’s initial reservation under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 986; 25 U.S.C. 467). The land is located in Wayland Township, Allegan County, Michigan.

“I am pleased to issue this proclamation and to exercise the authority delegated to me by the Secretary of the Interior to the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians,” Echo Hawk said. “The land is for the exclusive use of Indians on the reservation who are entitled to reside at the reservation by enrollment or tribal membership. These properties will provide opportunities for economic development, self-determination and self-sufficiency.”

A proclamation is a formal declaration issued by the Secretary, proclaiming that certain trust lands, acquired for an Indian tribe, are a new reservation or are being added to an existing reservation. The request for a proclamation must originate from the tribe. The parcel was acquired in trust under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act.

The Gun Lake Tribe filed their initial land acquisition application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in August of 2001, requesting the Secretary of the Interior to take this land into trust and to proclaim the land to be the Tribe’s reservation. The application was processed in accordance with 25 C.F.R. Part 151 and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. On May 13, 2006, the Department of the Interior, BIA, published in the Federal Register, a Notice of Final Agency Determination to take the 147 acres of land into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe under 25 C.F.R. Part 151.

On August 10, 2009, Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk signed the proclamation for the Tribe’s initial reservation. With this proclamation the trust lands are now legally a formal reservation. The BIA’s Midwest Regional Office shall record the Federal Register’s notice and Proclamation in the Land Titles and Records Office, after which the Original Proclamation will be sent to the Tribe for their records.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs has responsibility for helping the Secretary of the Interior to fulfill his trust responsibilities to tribal and individual trust beneficiaries and promoting self-determination and self-governance for the nation’s 564 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which administers one of two federal school systems.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Bureau of Indian Education, Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU) in Lawrence, Kan., and the Haskell Indian National Board of Regents have formed a partnership to develop a post secondary education learning model to improve the educational experience of Haskell students. HINU is one of two BIE-operated post secondary institutions of higher learning for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

“I am pleased to see the Bureau of Indian Education and the administration and Board of Regents of Haskell Indian Nations University collaborate on improving the quality of education for Haskell students,” Echo Hawk said. “The information collected from these sessions will be used to develop a learning model for post secondary education and a strategic planning process that Haskell can use to offer current and potential students an enhanced learning experience that will serve themselves and Indian Country well.”

The BIE, the university and the Haskell Board of Regents are currently holding a series of 12 dialogue and information-sharing sessions across Indian Country to develop such a model. The sessions, which began on June 26 and will continue until March 2010, are for Haskell students, their parents and alumni, as well as tribal leaders, educators, managers of tribal education programs, and others to share ideas and methods on improving American Indian post secondary education to meet the students’ cultural and learning needs.

“These dialogue sessions are an effort by the BIE and Haskell Indian Nations University to connect directly with, and obtain input from, tribal leaders and other stakeholders who have shared in Haskell’s rich heritage,” said Acting BIE Director Kevin Skenandore. “They also offer a great opportunity to learn about Haskell as a post secondary institution of higher learning and to provide feedback on ways to enhance and enrich the learning experience for students.”

Through the sessions, the BIE and HINU want to learn more about the successes and challenges experienced by Haskell students and alumni, and to understand how Haskell graduates have strengthened tribal government and economic development in Indian Country. They also are seeking recommendations on improving the students’ quality of life and on degree offerings that are useful to tribes and to students for post-graduate employment, as well as identifying public and private sector entities to partner with HINU in support of its mission.

The first two sessions in the 2009-2010 schedule have already taken place. The remaining sessions (all times are local time) are:

Session 1: Western and Navajo Regions, June 26, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Phoenix, Ariz.

Session 2: Northwest Region, July 24, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Portland, Ore.

Session 3: Rocky Mountain Region, August 14, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-noon, Bureau of Indian Affairs building, 316 North 26th Street, 3rd Floor, Billings, Mont.

Session 4: Pacific Region, August 21, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-noon, Bureau of Indian Affairs building, 2800 Cottage Way, Large Conference Room W2820, Sacramento, Calif.

Session 5: Southern Plains and Eastern Oklahoma Regions, August 28, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Indian Health Service building, 701 Market Drive, Red Bud Conference Room, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Session 6: Haskell Indian Nations University, Sept. 11, 2009, times TBA, 155 Indian Avenue, Lawrence, Kan.

Session 7: Great Plains Region, September 18, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Oglala Lakota Community College, 127 Ollwood Drive, Room 133, Rapid City, S.D.

Session 8: Pacific Region, October 11-16, 2009, times and location TBA, Palm Springs, Calif.

Session 9: Midwest Region, October 23, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Hilton Milwaukee City Center, 509 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Mitchell Room, Milwaukee, Wisc.

Session 10: Eastern Region, October 25-29, 2009, times TBA, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, Fla.

Session 11: Alaska Region, December 2, 2009, 9:00 a.m.-noon, Egan Civic and Convention Center, 555 W. 5th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska

Session 12: Southwest and Navajo Regions, March 11, 2010, 1:00-4:00 p.m., location TBA, Albuquerque, N.M.

For more information about session dates, times and locations, visit the BIE website at http://enan.bia.edu/home.aspx or call BIE Education Specialist Chris Redman at (405) 605-6001.

Haskell Indian Nations University has served the educational needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students for well over a century. Opened on September 1, 1884 as the United States Industrial Training School, with a focus on agricultural education in grades one through five, the school was known as Haskell Institute throughout Indian Country until 1970 when it was transformed into a two-year higher education institution and renamed Haskell Indian Junior College. In 1993, the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs approved changing the school’s name to its current form.

Haskell has grown from its original 22 students in 1884 to an average enrollment today of over 1,000 students each semester from federally recognized tribes across the U.S. It offers baccalaureate programs in elementary teacher education, American Indian studies, business administration and environmental science, and integrates American Indian/Alaska Native culture into all of its curricula. Students may transfer to another baccalaureate degree-granting institution or go directly into the workforce. Haskell is celebrating its 125-year anniversary in 2009. For more information, visit www.haskell.edu.

WASHINGTON – Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs George T. Skibine today issued a proposed finding not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Brothertown Indian Nation (Petitioner #67) as an Indian tribe. This petitioner, located in Fond du Lac, Wisc., has 3,137 members.

The evidence in the record demonstrates that the petitioner does not meet five of the seven mandatory criteria for federal acknowledgment as set forth in 25 CFR Part 83.7. In accordance with the regulations [section 83.6(c)], 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 Brothertown petitioner.

This proposed finding treats the Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin that was acknowledged by the U.S. government until 1839 as the “historical Indian tribe.” This historical tribe evolved from the Brothertown Indian tribe of New York State when a large portion of the tribe moved from New York to Wisconsin. At an earlier time, portions of several historical Indian tribes of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island had combined to form the Brothertown Indian tribe of New York. The proposed finding evaluates whether the petitioner meets the acknowledgment criteria by demonstrating that it is a continuation of the historical Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin.

The evidence in the record indicates that a Senate proviso to a Treaty of 1831, a Treaty of 1832 and an Act of 1839 constitute “unambiguous previous federal acknowledgment” of the Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin. Therefore, in accordance with provisions of the regulations relating to previously acknowledged Indian tribes, the proposed finding evaluated the Brothertown petitioner on the basis of whether or not it meets the seven mandatory criteria in section 83.7 as modified by section 83.8(d) from last federal acknowledgment in 1839 until the present.

The five criteria the Brothertown petitioner does not meet are criteria 83.7(a), 83.7(b), 83.7(c), 83.7(e) and 83.7(g).

Criterion 83.7(a) requires that external observers have identified the petitioner as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900. As modified by section 83.8(d)(1), the petitioner must be identified since last federal acknowledgment, which for the Brothertown petitioner is 1839. The evidence in the record demonstrates that external observers identified a historical Brothertown group from 1839 until 1855. Between 1855 and 1981, outside observers periodically identified a Brothertown Indian entity, but because these periodic identifications are separated by long periods of time in which the petitioner or its members’ ancestors were not identified as an Indian entity, the petitioner does not satisfy the standard of “substantially continuous” identification as required by the regulations. The petitioning group has been identified as an American Indian entity since 1981.

Criterion 83.7(b) requires that a predominant portion of the petitioning group has comprised a distinct community since historical times. As modified by section 83.8(d)(2), the petitioner must demonstrate only that a predominant portion of the petitioning group comprises a distinct community “at present,” which for this case is considered to be the period since the petitioner formally organized in 1980. For the period from 1980 to 2009, there is insufficient evidence that a predominant portion of the petitioning group’s members regularly associate with each other or that the petitioner’s members comprise a distinct community.

Criterion 83.7(c) requires that the petitioning group has maintained political influence over its members as an autonomous entity since historical times. The petitioner does not meet the requirements of this criterion as modified by section 83.8(d)(3) because the evidence in the record does not demonstrate that authoritative, knowledgeable external observers identified leaders or a governing body of the petitioning group on a substantially continuous basis since the date of last federal acknowledgment in 1839. Alternatively under the provisions of section 83.8(d)(5), the evidence in the record is insufficient to demonstrate that the petitioner or any group antecedent to it maintained political influence or authority over its members at any time since 1839.

Criterion 83.7(e) requires that the petitioner’s members descend from a historical Indian tribe. The evidence in the record shows that only 51 percent of the petitioner’s 3,137 members have demonstrated descent from an individual known to be a member of the historical Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin. The claims of descent from the historical Indian tribe for additional members of the petitioning group may be demonstrated for the final determination.

Criterion 83.7(g) requires that the petitioner not be subject to congressional legislation that has terminated or forbidden the federal relationship. Congress, in the Act of 1839, brought federal recognition of the relationship with the Brothertown Indian tribe of Wisconsin to an end. By expressly denying the Brothertown of Wisconsin any federal recognition of a right to act as a tribal political entity, Congress has forbidden the Federal Government from acknowledging the Brothertown as a government and from having a government-to-government relationship with the Brothertown as an Indian tribe. Congress has both expressly ended and forbidden the federal relationship for this petitioner.

The two criteria the petitioner meets are criteria 83.7(d) and 83.7(f).

Criterion 83.7(d) requires that the petitioner provide a copy of its governing document including its membership criteria.

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.

The petitioner does not meet all of the seven mandatory criteria; therefore, it does 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 Part 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 564 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 the tribes and their members, approximately 1.9 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives, and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), which is responsible for administering the federal acknowledgment process.

The Assistant Secretary has delegated authority to sign some federal acknowledgment findings, including this proposed finding, to the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs effective June 4, 2009.

Copies of the proposed finding and Federal Register notice will be posted on the Department of the Interior’s website at http://www.doi.gov.

On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will visit the Navajo Nation, meet with tribal officials and hold a news media availability with Nation President Joe Shirley at Window Rock, Arizona. Secretary Salazar will be accompanied by Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins and Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk.

Who: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Solicitor of the Interior Hilary Tompkins Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk

What: Visit with Navajo Nation officials and news media availability with Nation President Shirley When: 2:30 p.m. MDT, Thursday, August 20, 2009

Where: Navajo Nation Veterans Park, located at the foot of Window Rock landmark. Window Rock is located in Apache County, Arizona, about 27 miles northwest of Gallup, N.M., and about 6 miles southeast of Fort Defiance, Arizona, just across the New Mexico-Arizona state line.

Media: Credentialed news media are invited to participate in the media availability.

Venue: Window Rock, a natural sandstone hill with an oval opening 200 feet above ground level, is a landmark and Sacred Mountain to the Navajo People. South of the landmark is the site of the capitol and administrative center of the Navajo Nation, containing the Navajo Nation Council House, the Navajo Nation Museum and Window Rock Fairgrounds where the Navajo Nation Fair is annually held.