OPA

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael S. Black today announced that the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (OJS) has created a training program for tribal court judges, prosecutors, clerks and administrators in an effort to improve the administration of justice in Indian Country. The program was developed in collaboration with the University of New Mexico School of Law’s Institute of Public Law (IPL) and Southwest Indian Law Clinic (SILC) and the American Indian Law Center, Inc. (AILC) in Albuquerque, N.M. The 2011 training, which is being held in four sessions over three months, started March 15 at the Bureau’s National Indian Program Training Center in Albuquerque.

“I want to thank the University of New Mexico School of Law and the American Indian Law Center for helping us to develop this important training program,” said Black. “With the advent of the Tribal Law and Order Act, we want to aid tribal court judges, court staff and prosecutors by offering them an opportunity to sharpen their skills and improve their knowledge in the administration of justice for the tribal communities they serve.”

Training for new and experienced tribal judges was held March 15-18 and will be repeated on May 23-26. New judges who complete this course will be able to conduct complete criminal trials and will leave with a greater understanding of the Indian Civil Rights Act and the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. More experienced jurists will be able to refresh their knowledge through this part of the program. Judges from 23 tribes attended the first session.

Training for prosecutors to enhance their knowledge and skills of criminal law and procedure will be held March 28-30. And training for tribal court administrators and clerks will be held April 18-20 on topics such as record development, case management and budgeting.

The program was developed in consultation with an advisory board comprised of tribal court judges, prosecutors, clerks, practicing attorneys and others who provided their expertise and hands-on perspective on the unique issues facing tribal courts. Training curriculum and instruction are being provided by the IPL, SILC and the AILC with funding provided for two years by the OJS.

The training, which will be taught by UNM School of Law faculty along with experienced tribal judges, practitioners, clerks and administrators at the National Indian Program Training Center, is being offered at no cost to attendees. In addition, attorneys who successfully complete the training can receive CLE credits.

For additional information on the training program or to register for upcoming sessions visit the AILC website at http://www.ailc-inc.org/.

The BIA Office of Justice Services’ mission is to enhance public safety and protect property in Indian Country by providing or funding law enforcement, corrections and tribal court services to the nation’s 565 federally recognized tribes. It also coordinates homeland security support on federal Indian lands by working cooperatively with other federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies throughout Indian Country. It also operates the Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M., which provides training and professional development for BIA and tribal law enforcement personnel.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today issued a final determination not to acknowledge the petitioner known as the Choctaw Nation of Florida (Petitioner #288) as an Indian tribe.

The petitioner, from Marianna, Fla., and which has about 77 members, claims to be a group of Choctaw Indians who migrated from North Carolina to Georgia and then to Florida following the Indian removals of the 1830s.

In July 2010, the Department issued a proposed finding against federal acknowledgment of the petitioner as an Indian tribe. The review of the evidence clearly established the petitioner did not meet mandatory Criterion 83.7(e), and the Department issued the negative finding under that one criterion as allowed by the regulations. For Criterion 83.7(e), the petitioner must show its members descend from a historical Indian tribe or tribes that combined and functioned as a single entity. The petitioner claims its members descend from a historical Choctaw Indian tribe. For the proposed finding, the Department examined an extensive body of evidence to evaluate this claim. All the evidence clearly showed that no record identified the petitioner’s named ancestors as descending from a historical Indian tribe.

For this final determination, the petitioner had to provide evidence that it members descended from a historical tribe. It did not submit any materials for the final determination that established such descent. There was no evidence supplied by the petitioner or located by the Department for the proposed finding or the final determination showing that any of the named ancestors or members of the group descended from a historical Choctaw Indian tribe or any other tribe.

As a result, the Department declines to acknowledge the petitioner as an Indian tribe because the evidence does not show that the membership descends from a historical Indian tribe as required by Criterion 83.7(e).

The Department will publish notice of this determination in the Federal Register. This determination is final and effective 90 days after the notice’s publication, unless any interested party requests reconsideration with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.

The Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs has responsibility for fulfilling the Interior Department’s trust responsibilities to and promoting self-determination on behalf of the nation’s 565 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The Assistant Secretary also oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which is responsible for providing services to approximately 1.9 million individual American Indians and Alaska Natives from the federally recognized tribes, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and the Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA), which is responsible for administering the federal acknowledgment process.

Copies of the final determination and Federal Register notice will be posted on the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/OFA/RecentCases/index.htm.

Washington, April 27, 2011—Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack welcomed St. Louis Rams Quarterback Sam Bradford to the Agriculture Department today and joined him in urging Native American youth to spend the summer pursuing healthy outdoor activities. Bradford, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, participated with over 30 Native American students at USDA's People's Garden in planting a Native American garden, called The Roots of American Agriculture.

"Through programs like 'Fuel Up to Play 60' and Let's Move!, the Obama administration is helping get kids active in order to help them have a healthy future," said Vilsack. "Our partners at the NFL and across the country are key to engaging kids in an exciting way that teaches them that physical activity can be fun, while also important to their health."

Bradford and Vilsack noted that a recent study of four year-old children found that obesity is more than twice as common among American Indian/Alaska Native children than among white or Asian children. In 2002, nearly 15 percent of those receiving care from the United States Indian Health Service (IHS) were estimated to have diabetes.

The USDA People's Garden Initiative promotes the establishment of school and community gardens to grow healthy food, people and communities across the country. Over 30 Native students helped plant the garden. Those participating included students representing Eastern and Western tribes, Southeast Alaska, and a class from a Native elementary school in Tuba City, Arizona. The garden showcases heirloom Native American crops and planting techniques and celebrates the tremendous contributions Native Americans have made to the foods we eat today.

Bradford and Vilsack were joined at USDA by Robin Schepper, executive director of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Campaign; Keith Moore, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education Director, and Janie Hipp, Senior Advisor to Secretary Vilsack with the USDA Office of Tribal Relations.

The First Lady's Let's Move! initiative, which aims to end childhood obesity, has also since joined in support of Fuel Up to Play 60 and USDA's HealthierUS Schools Challenge, which are both helping to combat this issue and provide access to nutrition information.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by the National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League (NFL), with additional partnership support from USDA. The program encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods (low-fat and fat-free dairy, fruits, vegetables and whole grains) and achieve 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Fuel Up to Play 60 is designed to engage and empower youth to take action for their own health by implementing long-term, positive changes for themselves and their schools.

On April 22, 2010, Bradford was selected by the St. Louis Rams as the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He grew up in Oklahoma and spent his college career with the Oklahoma Sooners. In 2008, Bradford became the second sophomore to win a Heisman Trophy. In his first season in the NFL, Bradford won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award after setting the record for most completions by a rookie in NFL history.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk will deliver the keynote address at the 20th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service being held Thursday, May 5, 2011, at the United States Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) holds the event to honor and commemorate tribal, state, local and federal law enforcement officers working on federal Indian lands and in tribal communities who have given their lives in the line of duty.

This year, seven names will be added bringing the total number of fallen officers listed on the memorial to 96. Those to be added are:

• BIA Deputy Special Officer A.H. Scott, killed June 22, 1925
• Uintah and Ouray Tribal Police Officer Joshua Yazzie, killed June 2, 2010
• City of Hoonah, Alaska, Police Officer Anthony Michael Wallace, killed August 28, 2010
• City of Hoonah, Alaska, Police Officer Matthew Dean Tokuoka, killed August 28, 2010
• U.S. Border Patrol Agent George Debates, killed December 19, 2004
• U.S. Border Patrol Agent Michael Vincent Gallagher, killed September 2, 2010
• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Police Officer Merrill Allen Bruguier, killed October 9, 2010

The BIA-OJS will hold the service in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police Indian Country Law Enforcement Section, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and the U.S. Border Patrol. The memorial is located on the FLETC campus in Artesia.

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was first dedicated on May 7, 1992, at the Indian Police Academy, which was then in Marana, Ariz. The academy and the memorial were later moved to their present site. The memorial was re-dedicated there on May 6, 1993.

The earliest name inscribed on the memorial dates back to 1852. In addition to those from BIA and tribal law enforcement, officers listed represent the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Customs Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The list includes one female officer, from the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, who was killed in 1998; a father and son, both BIA officers, who died in 1998 and 2001, respectively; and two FBI agents killed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975.

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

WHO: Larry Echo Hawk, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.

WHAT: Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk will deliver the keynote address at the 20th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers’ Memorial Service. The names of seven fallen officers will be added to the memorial this year.

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. (local time), Thursday, May 5, 2011.

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

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

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk conveyed the nation’s gratitude to the families of seven police officers who were being remembered and honored at the 20th Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service held today at the United States Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) holds the memorial service each year to honor and commemorate tribal, state, local and federal law enforcement officers working on federal Indian lands and in tribal communities who have given their lives in the line of duty. The Assistant Secretary was joined by BIA Director Mike Black and OJS Deputy Director Darren Cruzan.

“As law enforcement officers stand together as brothers and sisters to protect one another, so this administration will stand with you,” Echo Hawk said. “On behalf of a grateful nation, President Obama and Secretary Salazar, we honor and remember your sacrifice – now and for future generations.”

This year, seven names were added to those already inscribed on the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, bringing the total number to 96. Those added at today’s ceremony were:

• BIA Deputy Special Officer A.H. Scott, killed June 22, 1925
• Uintah and Ouray Tribal Police Officer Joshua Yazzie, killed June 2, 2010
• City of Hoonah, Alaska, Police Officer Anthony Michael Wallace, killed August 28, 2010
• City of Hoonah, Alaska, Police Officer Matthew Dean Tokuoka, killed August 28, 2010
• U.S. Border Patrol Agent George Debates, killed December 19, 2004
• U.S. Border Patrol Agent Michael Vincent Gallagher, killed September 2, 2010
• Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Police Officer Merrill Allen Bruguier, killed October 9, 2010

In his remarks, the Assistant Secretary drew upon his law enforcement experiences in Idaho as chief general legal counsel to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, as a county prosecuting attorney and as state attorney general.

In addition to Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk, other speakers included New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Artesia City Mayor Phillip Burch, National Sheriffs’ Association President B.J. Roberts, International Association of Chiefs of Police Indian Country Law Enforcement Section President Joe LaPorte, FLETC Deputy Director Ken Keene and U.S. Border Patrol Division Chief Manuel Padilla.

Following the service, the Assistant Secretary presented folded American flags to representatives of the families of Officers Scott, Tokuoka and Wallace and to family members of Officers Bruguier and Yazzie. Officials of the U.S. Border Patrol presented flags to family members of Agents Debates and Gallagher.

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial was first dedicated on May 7, 1992, at the U.S. Indian Police Academy, which was then in Marana, Ariz. The academy and the memorial were later moved to their present site on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) campus in Artesia. The memorial was rededicated there on May 6, 1993.

The earliest name inscribed on the memorial dates back to 1852. In addition to those from BIA and tribal law enforcement, officers listed represent the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Customs Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The list includes one female officer, from the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, who was killed in 1998; a father and son, both BIA officers, who died in 1998 and 2001, respectively; and two FBI agents killed on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975.

The memorial’s design is based upon indigenous design concepts. Comprised of three granite markers sited within a circular walkway lined with sage, a plant of spiritual significance to many tribes, the memorial includes four planters filled with foliage in colors representing people of all races. The planters represent the four directions and are located near the walkway’s entrance. The BIA-OJS holds the memorial service in conjunction with the ICAP Indian Country Law Enforcement Section, the National Sheriffs’ Association, FLETC, the U.S. Border Patrol and other law enforcement agencies.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— In a letter to the Tejon Indian Tribe of California, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk reaffirmed the federal relationship between the United States and the Tejon Indian Tribe. The Assistant Secretary’s letter confirms that the Tribe has a relationship with the federal government.

The Tejon Indian Tribe first requested confirmation of its status in 2006. Due to an administrative error, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) failed for several years to place the Tejon Indian Tribe on the list of federally recognized tribes that the BIA is required to publish annually. That list, entitled “Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs,” was last published in the Federal Register on October 1, 2010 at 75 FR 60810, and the list was supplemented on October 27, 2010 at 75 FR 66124.

In his letter to the Tejon Indian Tribe, the Assistant Secretary stated that “[u]pon review of the facts and history of this matter, including prior Assistant Secretaries’ decisions, I herby reaffirm the federal relationship between the United States and the Tejon Indian Tribe, thus concluding the long and unfortunate omission of the Tejon Indian Tribe from the list of federally recognized tribes.”

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs discharges the duties of the Secretary of the Interior with the authority and direct responsibility to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with the nation’s 566 federally recognized tribes, advocate policies that support Indian self-determination, protect and preserve Indian trust assets, and administer a wide array of laws, regulations and functions relating to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, tribal members and individual trust beneficiaries. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. For more information, visit www.indianaffairs.gov.

-DOI-

The Honorable Kathryn Montes Morgan
Chairwoman. Tejon Indian Tribe
2234 4th Street
Wasco, California 93280

Dear Chairwoman Morgan:

Please accept this response to your June 14, 2009 letter requesting "confirmation" that the Tejon Indian Tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe, or, in the alternative, permitting the Tribe to organize as a half-blood community under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA). My letter is limited to your request for "confirmation" and does not address the alternative request.

Under limited circumstances, Indian tribes omitted from a list of Indian Tribal Entities because of an administrative error can be placed on the current list without going through the Federal acknowledgment process at 25 CFR Part 83. As a threshold matter, I find that an Assistant Secretary's authority to make this determination is not limited by the regulations at 25 CFR Part 83. In addition, pursuant to 25 CFR Part 1.2, a waiver of the regulations at 25 CFR Part 83 is permissible for my review of your request.

Upon review of the facts and history of this matter, including prior Assistant Secretaries' decisions, I hereby affirm the Federal relationship between the United States and the Tejon Indian Tribe. This concludes the long and unfortunate omission of the Tejon Indian Tribe from the list of federally recognized tribes.

Henceforth, the Tejon Indian Tribe will be included on the list of "Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services from the United States Bureau of lndian Affairs." The BIA last published this list in the Federal Register on October 1, 2010, at 75 FR 60810 and supplemented the list on October 27, 2010, at 75 FR 66124.

By copy of this letter, I am directing the BIA and specifically the Pacific Regional Office in Sacramento, California, to take appropriate action to deal with the Tejon Indian Tribe in accordance with this action.

Corrected Copy

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) will hold tribal consultation meetings for tribal leaders to review and provide input on the proposed rules on leasing in Indian Country. The proposed rules will establish subparts to 25 CFR Part 162 (Leasing and Permits) addressing residential leasing, business leasing and wind and solar resource leasing on Indian trust lands. Tribal leaders were notified of the upcoming consultation in a letter dated November 28, 2011.

The BIA’s schedule for the consultation meetings (all times are local):

Date: Tuesday January 10, 2012

Times: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location: The Arctic Club Seattle–Doubletree, 700 3rd Avenue, Seattle, Wash., 98104,

(206) 340-0340

Date: Thursday, January 12, 2012

Times: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location: Palm Springs Convention Center, 277 N. Avenida Caballeros, Palm Springs, Calif. 92262,

(800) 333-7535

Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Times: 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Location: Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, 444 N. Mt. Rushmore Rd., Rapid City, S.D. 57701,

(605) 394-4115

Comments can be submitted during the meetings, by email at consultation@bia.gov, or by U.S. Postal Service, overnight carrier or hand-delivery to: Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C St., N.W., MS-4141-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240.

To view the November 28, 2011, letter to tribal leaders and the proposed rules, visit the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/Consultation/index.htm.

To view the November 28, 2011 leasing regulations press release on DOI.gov go to:

http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Significant-Leasing-Reform-will-Spur-Commercial-Residential-and-Renewable-Energy-Development-on-Indian-Lands.cfm

-DOI-

WASHINGTON — A partnership among Department of the Interior agencies and American Indian communities in North Dakota has spurred a 400 percent increase in revenues from increased domestic energy production over last year – providing substantial economic benefits to the tribal government and individual mineral owners.

“The Bakken Formation in North Dakota is producing more and more energy resources for domestic consumption, while providing increasing royalty revenue to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Ft. Berthold Reservation,” said Greg Gould, Interior’s Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources Revenue. “These royalty revenues are returned 100 percent to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribal government and individual American Indian mineral owners, providing a crucial source of income and helping to spur local economies.”

During fiscal year 2011, the production of oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons generated more than $117.4 million in royalty revenue at Ft. Berthold – a 400 percent increase over the previous year’s $26.5 million in royalty revenue. In fiscal year 2009, royalty revenue at Ft. Berthold totaled just $4.5 million.

Oil production represented the largest amount of royalties in fiscal year 2011 with a sales volume of about 7 million barrels, producing more than $105 million in revenue. Those numbers compare to the $25 million in royalty revenue received in fiscal year 2010, based on an oil sales volume of approximately 2 million barrels.

“The impressive energy production and revenue that are being generated on the Ft. Berthold Reservation are proof of what a successful federal-tribal partnership looks like,” said Interior Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk. “This effort is based on the Tribes’ vision of economic self-sufficiency through the safe development of its energy resources coupled with strong leadership and determination to succeed from the Tribes’ and their federal partners.”

The federal partners include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, the Bureau of Land Management, the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development approached the Three Affiliated Tribes in 2002 to facilitate tribal efforts to develop energy resources on their lands. In 2008, a U.S. Geological Survey assessment of the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province in Montana and North Dakota estimated a mean undiscovered resource volume at 3.65 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

Lease sales on the reservation began in 2006 and the first new wells were drilled in 2009. The Bureau of Indian Affairs conducts the lease sales and the Bureau of Land Management performs compliance inspections on drillers operating on the reservation. BLM's Montana state office, which carries out these responsibilities for the Dakotas, has helped to improve leasing and inspections on the reservation. The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development provides technical support to Interior’s efforts at Ft. Berthold to more efficiently and more effectively provide services to the Indian mineral owners concerning the rapidly expanding oil and gas development taking place on the reservation.

Ongoing meetings among federal partners and tribal representatives are held to listen to tribal concerns and to address a wide range of coordination issues, identify opportunities to collaborate – including revisions in document processing – and other matters that impact the development of oil and gas resources on the reservation and the distribution of royalties.

The Bakken Formation, which straddles the northern United States and Canada and includes private, tribal, state and federal lands, has been characterized as a “world-class find.” In July 2011, for example, the Bakken Formation produced 424,000 barrels, compared to Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, which produced 453,000 barrels of oil during the same month.

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The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs carries out the Secretary’s responsibility for managing the government-to-government relationship between the federal government and the 565 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes with a combined service population of about 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development provides assistance to tribal communities with managing and developing their renewable and non-renewable energy resources and helping them to expand job creation, workforce training and economic development.

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue, under the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget, collects and disburses revenue from energy production that occurs onshore on Federal and American Indian lands and offshore on the Outer Continental Shelf

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools can now apply for the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon School program (ED-GRS), which provides national recognition for schools using outstanding environmental programs and techniques, BIE Director Keith Moore announced today.

“The Green Ribbon Schools program will recognize the outstanding accomplishments of the BIE schools that are working hard to create environmentally friendly and healthy learning spaces,” said Moore, who noted that the application for eligibility is now available. “The BIE is dedicated to leading the movement to build a healthier and sustainable future for our children across Indian Country.”

Interested schools can access the online application on the BIE Green Ribbon School website at: http://www.bie.edu/greenribbonschools/index.htm. Applications are due by February 24, 2012. The BIE will review and select up to four nominees to the ED-GRS. Awardees will be announced in April 2012 and are expected to receive their awards in May 2012.

The BIE joined the recently launched national Green Ribbon School program and launched a nationwide search across Indian Country to find outstanding environmental schools that meet its standards. Many BIE schools are actively saving energy, reducing costs, promoting environmental literacy and providing healthy environments for students, faculty and staff. Those schools will now have the opportunity to be recognized nationally.

States and other education agencies have also been invited to participate in the Green Ribbon Schools program, which is patterned after the long running Blue Ribbon School Program. The U.S. Department of Education took many months to strategically design the Green Ribbon Schools program and have named this year as the “pilot year.” The new federal program encourages schools to:

• Implement energy conservation measures that pave the way for reduced environmental impact, cost savings, and job creation;
• Undertake environmental and behavioral changes in schools that ensure the health, wellness, and productivity of students, teachers, and staff, and;
• Promote environmental education that supports students’ strong civic skills, environmental stewardship, and workforce preparedness.

As part of this effort to promote a comprehensive approach to creating a healthier school environment in all BIE-funded schools, the bureau committed to the Let’s Move! in Indian Country (LMIC) initiative in 2010 and encouraged all BIE-funded schools to sign up to become Team Nutrition Schools. The LMIC website http://www.letsmove.gov/indiancountry includes information about resources, grants and programs available to assist schools in becoming healthier places of learning.

The Bureau of Indian Education in the U.S. Department of the Interior implements federal education laws, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, in and provides funding to 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools and peripheral dormitories located on 64 reservations in 23 states and serving approximately 48,000 students from the nation’s federally recognized tribes. Approximately two-thirds are tribally operated with the rest BIE-operated. The bureau also serves post secondary students through higher education scholarships and support funding to 26 tribal colleges and universities and two tribal technical colleges. It also directly operates two post secondary institutions: Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M.

MINNEAPOLIS— A federal indictment unsealed in part late yesterday charges 24 alleged members of the Native Mob gang with conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity and other crimes. The Native Mob is a regional criminal gang that originated in Minneapolis in the early 1990s. Members routinely engage in drug trafficking, assault, robbery, and murder. Membership is estimated at 200, with new members, including juveniles, regularly recruited from communities with large, young, male, Native American populations. Association with the gang is often signified by wearing red and black clothing or sporting gang-related tattoos.

The 47-count indictment was unsealed as to six defendants who made their initial federal court appearances late yesterday afternoon. They were apprehended earlier Tuesday, during a take-down conducted by between 100 and 150 local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement officials. Arrests were made on the White Earth, Mille Lacs, and Leech Lake Indian reservations as well as in the Twin Cities. Of the 18 remaining defendants, 12 are presently in jail or prison on other charges, while six continue to be sought by law enforcement. The six individuals arrested yesterday remain in custody pending their next hearings, scheduled for January 26th and 27th.

Earlier today, U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones said of the investigation, “This investigation exemplifies the law enforcement cooperation we are fortunate to experience here in Minnesota. Local, state, federal, and tribal investigators worked side by side to take down some of the most 2 violent criminals in our state and, in the process, disrupt an extremely dangerous gang that diminishes the quality of life for those who live and work in Native American communities. We owe a debt of gratitude to everyone involved in the investigation. Their efforts have made our streets and communities much safer.”

The indictment alleges that since at least the mid-1990s, the defendants named in this case and others have conspired to conduct criminal activity through an “enterprise,” namely, the Native Mob, in violation of the federal Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). The indictment alleges that the primary objective of this “enterprise” is to preserve, protect, promote, and enhance the Native Mob’s power, territory, and financial gains.

To that end, gang members purportedly distribute illegal drugs, from crack cocaine to ecstasy. They also reportedly provide monetary support to other members, including those incarcerated; share with one another police reports, victim statements, and other case discovery; hinder or obstruct officials from identifying or apprehending those wanted by the law; and intimidate witnesses to Native Mob crimes. Moreover, they purportedly maintain and circulate firearms for gang use and commit acts of violence, including murder, against individuals associated with rival gangs.

Those charged in this indictment, along with their last known residence, include—

Dale Wesley Ballinger, Jr., age 20, Isle, arrested this morning

Damien Lee Beaulieu, age 20, Onamia, arrested this morning

Aaron James Gilbert, Jr., age 24, Minneapolis, arrested this morning

Cory Gene Oquist, age 22, Bemidji, arrested this morning

Dale John Pindegayosh, age 29, Cass Lake, arrested this morning

Justen Lee Poitra, age 26, Cass Lake, arrested this morning

In addition to the racketeering charge filed against all 24 defendants, other charges were levied against just some of the defendants. Those charges include conspiracy to use and carry firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, the use and carrying of firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, attempted murder in aid of racketeering, felon in possession of ammunition, felon in possession of a firearm, armed career criminal in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and a crime of violence, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, distributing a controlled substance, and tampering with a witness. (See the attached chart for a breakdown of charges by defendant. Note, until such time as defendants make their initial appearances in federal court, their names and the specific charges levied against them will not be disclosed.)

If convicted, the defendants face a potential maximum sentence of between 20 years and life in federal prison. Since the federal justice system does not have parole, prison terms would be served virtually in entirety. All sentences will ultimately be determined by a federal district court judge.

3 This case is the result of a long-term, cross-jurisdictional investigation conducted by local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement officers dedicated to making our streets and communities safer. They include the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI-funded Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force; the Mille Lacs Tribal Police Department; the Bemidji Police Department; the Minneapolis Police Department; the Minnesota Department of Corrections; the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs; and the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force.

These agencies investigated this case with assistance from—in alphabetical order—the Becker County Sheriff’s Office, the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office, the Carlton County Attorney’s Office, the Cass County Attorney’s Office, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office of Wisconsin, the Duluth Police Department, the Fon du Lac Tribal Police Department, the Fridley Police Department, the Itasca County Sheriff’s Department, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office, the Leech Lake Tribal Police Department, the LCO Reservation Police Department, the Lower Sioux Tribal Police Department, the Mahnomen County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Mille Lacs County Attorney’s Office, the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office, the New Brighton Police Department, the North Central Drug Task Force, the Prior Lake Police Department, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, the Redwood County Sheriff’s Office, Richfield Police Department, the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Paul Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Minneapolis Violent Offender Task Force, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and the White Earth Tribal Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew R. Winter and Steven L. Schleicher.

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An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.