OPA

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure honored three law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty, expressing his gratitude and appreciation to their family members, friends and colleagues at the 21st Annual Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service.

Held May 3 at the U.S. Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M., the ceremony was hosted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services to remember and honor tribal, state, local and federal law enforcement officers working on federal Indian lands and in tribal communities who have died in the line of duty since the 1800s.

“Every officer memorialized here worked on behalf of the United States, on behalf of tribal communities and their citizens, and on behalf of those people living and working in Indian country,” Laverdure said. “President Obama, Secretary Salazar, and I are committed to improving public safety and justice, including officer safety, in Indian country. Through the Tribal Law and Order Act the President signed in 2010 and the Secretary’s Safe Indian Communities and High Priority Performance Goal Initiatives, we in Indian Affairs are working to help tribes address quality-of-life issues in their communities that can help law enforcement in its mission to protect lives and property.”

The officers’ names were added at the event to those inscribed on the Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial’s stone tablet monument, bringing the total to 99. The three are:

• Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives Federal Agent William Louis Pappan, who was killed on December 4, 1935, in Indian Territory while inspecting beer licenses near Tulsa, Oklahoma.
• San Carlos Apache Tribal Police Officer Aaron Daniel Peru, who died on February 13, 2011, on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona from injuries he received in a motor vehicle accident while on official business.
• Navajo Nation Tribal Sergeant of Police Darrell Cervandez Curley, who died on June 25, 2011, on the Navajo Nation Reservation from a gunshot wound he received while making an arrest in a domestic dispute.

In his remarks, Laverdure, who is a member of the Crow Tribe in Montana, noted that one of the names inscribed on the memorial belonged to BIA Law Enforcement Officer LeRoy A. Pine, Jr., a Northern Cheyenne tribal member who was assigned to the Crow Reservation. In 1988, Officer Pine assisted in breaking up a drinking party and was killed when a driver leaving the party struck his parked car. His name was added to the memorial on May 2, 1991.

The acting Assistant Secretary was accompanied by BIA Director Mike Black and OJS Deputy Bureau Director Darren Cruzan, and OJS Special Agents in Charge Matthew Pryor and Mario Red Legs.

The OJS holds the service in conjunction with other law enforcement organizations and agencies including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Indian Country Law Enforcement Section, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).

In addition to Laverdure, Black and Cruzan, other speakers included Department of the Interior Director Polly Hansen, IACP Indian Country Law Enforcement Section Chairman Joe LaPorte, FLETC Deputy Director D. Kenneth Keene, ATF Assistant Director John Torres, Captain Jerry James of the San Carlos Tribal Police Department, Captain Bobby Etsitty of the Navajo Nation Police Department, and Artesia Mayor Phillip Burch.

Also speaking was Ted Quasula of the Indian Law and Order Commission, an advisory body established by the Tribal Law and Order Act charged with reporting to the President and Congress proposals to improve safety and justice for Native Americans living and working on Indian lands.

Following the service, relatives of the officers being added to the memorial were presented with American flags in honor of their loved ones: Agent Pappan’s son and daughter-in-law, Officer Peru’s parents, and Sergeant Curley’s wife and daughter.

The Indian Country Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Service was first held in 1991, and the memorial itself first dedicated on May 7, 1992, at the U.S. Indian Police Academy, when it was then in Marana, Ariz. The academy and the memorial were later moved to their present site on the FLETC campus in Artesia. The memorial was re-dedicated there on May 6, 1993.

The earliest name inscribed on the memorial dates back to 1852. In addition to BIA and tribal law enforcement, agencies represented include 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.

DURANT, OKLA. — The fifth government-to-government tribal consultation regarding the draft report on Indian Affairs Administrative Organizational Assessment and Bureau of Indian Affairs/ Bureau of Indian Education streamlining plans starts Thursday, May 10, 2012 at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Okla. The two-day consultation is the fifth of seven that will take place around the country in Arizona, Florida, South Dakota, Washington, California and Alaska. The first was held in Miami on April 12 and 13, 2012.

Tribal leaders have said that organizational changes are needed in the administration of Indian Affairs programs and services to better meet the needs of the federally recognized tribes throughout Indian Country. The Department of the Interior’s Indian Affairs officials have heeded these concerns and undertaken an extensive review of the organization of the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

The culmination of this review will be a draft Administrative Organizational Assessment Report compiled by an independent, third-party contractor. The draft report identifies several ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of delivering services to Indian Country. The goal is to support a consolidated organization while improving Interior responsiveness to all Tribal needs. The BIA and BIE are seeking tribal input on ways to streamline their respective organizations to meet budgetary constraints and increase efficiency.

More information and materials can be found at: http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/ASIA/Consultation/index.htm

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WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure today welcomed hundreds of tribal leaders and representatives attending the 2012 Tribal Self-Governance Annual Conference taking place this week in New Orleans, La. The conference, which started May 6 and runs through May 10, is being held at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel.

The Acting Assistant Secretary opened the portion of the conference devoted to Department of the Interior bureaus and agencies who fund self-governance tribes. Laverdure assured the conference attendees that proposed changes within the Indian Affairs organization do not specifically target the Indian Affairs Office of Self-Governance and would not affect self-governance tribes separately from other tribes. “No decisions have been made and tribal feedback will be incorporated into any final decisions,” Laverdure said. “Furthermore, no matter what changes, if any, are made, we will work closely with the tribes and Office of Self-Governance to ensure that services are not disrupted.”

Proposed administrative changes include proposed streamlining plans for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). The proposals are the subject of tribal consultation meetings taking place across Indian Country in seven states. The sessions, which began in April and will continue into summer, have already been held in Florida, Arizona, Washington, and South Dakota. The remaining sessions will be held in Oklahoma, California and Alaska. For more information on these and consultation meetings on other topics, visit the Indian Affairs web site at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/ASIA/Consultation/index.htm.

He reiterated his office’s strong support for a legislative Carcieri “fix,” and commitment to supporting amendments to Title IV of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 that seek to resolve the problem of tribes having to follow the BIA’s and the Indian Health Service’s differing sets of self-governance program administration requirements.

Laverdure reviewed Administration accomplishments that the Interior Department and Indian Affairs have achieved since 2009:

• Tribal consultations are at historic levels across the federal government, and President Obama has held three White House Tribal Nations Conferences where leaders from the federally recognized tribes meet with Cabinet and senior Administration officials.
• Over 157,000 acres of land have been taken into federal trust status for federally recognized tribes. These lands are used for housing, economic development, tribal government services, cultural and natural resource protection, and other purposes deemed necessary by tribes.
• Strengthened the Department’s government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes through the development of a formal DOI-wide tribal consultation policy. The Department also is in the process of formalizing its consultation policy for Alaska Native Corporations as called for by congressional appropriations acts of 2004 and 2005.
• The provision of over $3.0 billion to tribal communities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and since its inception, the guaranteed lending of over $1.0 billion to qualified tribes and individual Indian entrepreneurs by Indian Affairs through its business loan guaranty program.
• Indian Affairs’ continuing efforts to promote tribal economic development which include coordinating its loan programs with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Commerce to improve their effectiveness in Indian Country.
• The Interior Department’s finalizing of new leasing regulations that include the creation of residential and commercial leasing subparts and provisions that allow the development of wind and solar renewable energy projects on federal Indian lands.
• The continuing implementation by the Department, Indian Affairs and the BIA Office of Justice Services of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, which gives tribes greater sentencing authority, strengthens services to victims, helps combat alcohol and drug abuse, and improves coordination between tribal and federal law enforcement. This is being accomplished through training for tribal court personnel and practitioners and law enforcement officers, as well as through the Secretary’s Safe Indian Communities High Priority Performance Goal (HPPG) Initiative to reduce violent crime in tribal communities.
• The Interior Department reached a settlement agreement in the Cobell class action lawsuit and the Agriculture Department reached a settlement in the Keepseagle case. Forty-one tribal trust cases have been settled that include over $1.0 billion to tribes. Several water settlements have been finalized ending costly, decades-old litigation.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs has responsibility for assisting the Secretary of the Interior in the fulfillment of his trust responsibilities to tribal and individual Indian trust beneficiaries, and in promoting self-determination and self-governance for the nation’s 566 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The Assistant Secretary oversees several programs including the Indian Affairs Office of Self-Governance, as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which administers one of two federal school systems.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Bureau of Indian Education Family & Child Education Program (FACE) has received national recognition for its exceptional work in promoting young children’s heath and preventing childhood obesity. The recognition came from the first lady’s Let’s Move! Child Care initiative, Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Del Laverdure announced today.

“Incorporating Let’s Move! activities into our own Let’s Move! in Indian Country is already having a positive impact on our students in BIE schools,” said Laverdure. “I am grateful to the first lady for initiating and leading the effort to reduce childhood obesity in Indian Country. Healthy students are key to Indian Country’s future.”

The Bureau’s FACE Program was recognized at the Let’s Move! Child Care Recognition Luncheon, which took place on May 9, 2012 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. White House Assistant Chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives, Sam Kass, gave keynote remarks and highlighted FACE’s efforts.

The FACE program was recognized for carrying out exceptional work to promote and implement the goals of Let’s Move! Child Care. FACE includes using creative strategies, engaging families in obesity prevention efforts, and overcoming challenges to get children moving and encourage healthy eating in early care and education settings. FACE was one of twenty programs nationwide selected for recognition out of a multitude of groups including early education and child care programs and networks, communities, and states.

“It is extremely exciting and pleasurable to have been nominated and selected for this great honor and achievement,” said BIE Director Keith Moore. “The BIE is truly dedicated to being at the forefront of the movement to build a healthier and more sustainable future for our children across Indian Country. This award acknowledges our perseverance to achieve greatness, and inspires us to keep pushing forward.”

Let’s Move! Child Care is a nationwide call-to-action to empower early education and child care programs to make positive health changes in children that could last a lifetime. The initiative focuses on five goals:

• Physical Activity: Provide one-to-two hours of physical activity throughout the day, including outside play when possible.
• Screen Time: No screen time for children under two years. For children age two and older, strive to limit screen time to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and work with parents and caregivers to ensure children have no more than one-to-two hours of quality screen time per day, the amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Food: Serve fruits or vegetables at every meal, eat meals family-style when possible, and no fried foods.
• Beverages: Provide access to water during meals and throughout the day, and do not serve sugary drinks. For children age two and older, serve low-fat (1%) or non-fat milk, and no more than one 4-6 ounce serving of 100% juice per day.
• Infant feeding: For mothers who want to continue breastfeeding, provide their milk to their infants and welcome them to breastfeed during the child care day; and support all new parents in their decisions about infant feeding.

Through Lets Move!, BIE’s FACE program emphasizes Body, Mind and Spirit. The 44 BIE FACE programs were able to collaborate with community resources, utilize Indian Health Services Physical Activity Kits in a Train-the-Trainers concept, increase Wellness programs, and add their own community twist to promoting healthy lifestyles. Humana joined forces with their partner organization, the National Center for Family Literacy, to donate pedometers, and tape measures, and create health journals for all adult students in the program.

Let’s Move! Child Care is supported by public and private partners, including the Office of the First Lady, the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Administration for Children and Families, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, Nemours, Child Care Aware of America and the University of North Carolina. For more information about Let’s Move! Child Care, please visit: www.healthykidshealthyfuture.org

The 44 FACE Programs are located in 10 states in the U.S. funded by the Bureau of Indian Education. For more information about the FACE program contact Debbie Lente-Jojola, BIE Supervisory Education Specialist and FACE National Director, or please visit: http://www.bie.edu/Programs/FACE/index.htm.

The Let’s Move in Indian Country 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.

WASHINGTON –The Office of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative and four federal agencies today launched Let’s Move! in Indian Country (LMIC). LMIC is an initiative to support and advance the work that tribal leaders and community members are already doing to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native children. As a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative, LMIC brings together federal agencies, communities, nonprofits, corporate partners and tribes to end the epidemic of childhood obesity in Indian Country within a generation.

The LMIC initiative was launched today at an event at the Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin where Interior Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk was joined by the Office of the First Lady Let’s Move! Initiative Executive Director Robin Schepper, White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Associate Director Charlie Galbraith, USDA Deputy Administrator for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Lisa Pino, and IHS Director for Improving Patient Care Program Lyle A. Ignace M.D., M.P.H. Also joining the Administration officials were Actor Chaske Spencer from the Twilight series, Nike N7 General Manager Sam McCracken and Nike N7 Fund Board of Directors Ernie Stevens, as well as National Congress of American Indians Board Secretary Matthew Wesaw, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Consultant for Health and Physical Education John W. Hisgen, and Menominee Tribal Chairman Randal Chevalier.

“Through Let’s Move! in Indian Country we have an opportunity to engage Native communities, schools, tribes, the private sector, and non-profits to work together to tackle this issue head on,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “Tribes can sign up to become part of Let’s Move! in Indian Country, elders can mentor children about traditional foods and the importance of physical activity, and families can incorporate healthy habits like eating vegetables or participating in the President’s Active Lifestyle Award into their everyday life.”

“Interior is proud to partner with our federal family in support of the First Lady’s call to combat childhood obesity in Indian Country,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Educating all youth about the benefits of leading an active lifestyle and outdoor recreation is a vital step in creating healthier communities and generations.”

“As the principal agency tasked with protecting the health of all Americans, HHS is at the forefront in tackling the growing epidemic of childhood obesity not only in Indian Country, but also across the nation," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "Working together to help our children live more active lives is one of the biggest steps we can take to improve our nation's health.”

“This is a special day for the Tribes and for USDA. Let’s Move in Indian Country, will help promote healthy eating and physical activity among Native Americans and is an important part of the effort to reduce teen and childhood obesity,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Through initiatives like Let’s Move!, ‘Fuel up to Play 60’ and the People’s Garden, the Obama administration is working to get kids to become active and ensure they will have full, rich and healthy lives.”

“Today’s launch is a great example of the positive change we can support in Indian Country. By bringing together numerous government agencies, tribes, schools, communities and the private sector to focus on the health and welfare of Indian Country we can make a difference in the lives of Native youth and families,” Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk said. “Menominee is a powerful demonstration that we can all do our part to accomplish this goal.”

“We are absolutely honored to be the launch site for this important national campaign for Indian Country. I can attest that there is no better place for this initiative. The Menominee Reservation ranks 72 out of 72 in health factors and outcomes associated with high diabetes and heart disease rates,” said Chairman Chevalier. “Becoming a healthier community starts with our children, so I am delighted that we can address these issues in such a comprehensive way.”

Childhood obesity is a national health crisis in America. Over the past three decades, rates of childhood obesity in this country have tripled. Today, nearly one in three children in the U.S. is overweight or obese. An equal proportion—one in three—of all children born after 2000 will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives—an all-time high.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children are twice as likely to be overweight than the general population. These children make up the only racial or ethnic group whose obesity rates increased between 2003 and 2008. The acute nature of this problem in Indian Country warrants a targeted initiative like LMIC to support culturally proficient strategies for ensuring access to healthy food and prenatal services, implementing nutrition and physical education programs, and engaging Native youth, parents, and communities in active, healthy lifestyle choices.

LMIC has four main goals: (1) create a healthy start on life for children, (2) create healthy learning communities, (3) ensure families access to healthy, affordable, traditional foods, and (4) increase opportunities for physical activity.

To accomplish these goals, Let’s Move! in Indian Country will

• Launch a new webpage and toolkit that includes step-by-step assistance, resources and information for schools, tribes and organizations on accessing federal programs and grants to combat childhood obesity/diabetes in Indian Country at www.letsmove.gov/indiancountry. 
• Certify all 14 federally run IHS obstetrics facilities as Baby Friendly Hospitals by 2012.
• Launch new on-line PSAs featuring Sam Bradford, quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, and Tahnee Robinson, the first female full-blood American Indian athlete to be drafted to the Women’s National Basketball Association. Both are Nike N7 Athlete Ambassadors encouraging Native youth to lead healthy, active lives. Nike N7 is Nike, Inc.’s long-term commitment and comprehensive program to bring access to sports to Native American and Aboriginal communities. For more information, visit www.niken7.com and http://www.doi.gov/letsmove/indiancountry/index.cfm.
• Issue the 25,000-person Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) Challenge this summer in Indian Country. Six thousand Native youth have already completed the challenge and received a certificate from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition. To learn more about the Challenge, visit www.presidentschallenge.org/lmic.
• Announce a partnership between the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services programs, the National Society for American Indian Elderly, Boys and Girls Clubs in Indian Country, and Southwest Youth Services to place 200 AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associations in Indian Country to support LMIC implementation, positive youth development, and healthy lifestyles in at least 15 states. In addition, CNCS, with support from the Nike N7 Fund, will place fulltime, year-long AmeriCorps VISTA members with organizations promoting physical activity and sport on Native lands.
• Engage celebrity spokespersons in getting out the message including, Sam Bradford (Cherokee Nation)* and Tahnee Robinson (Northern Cheyenne)*, Chicago Bears player Levi Horn (Northern Cheyenne)*, Olympic runner Alvina Begay (Navajo Nation)* and Twilight film actor Chaske Spencer (Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation). (*These spokespeople are also N7 athlete ambassadors.)
• Encourage 363 “Just Move It” tribal partners to mobilize locally PALA walks, runs and other on-reservation family-oriented activities across Indian Country.

WASHINGTON – A federal judge, in response to a motion on behalf of the Department of the Interior, has granted permission for Interior officials to begin communicating with class members on land trust consolidation provisions of the Cobell Settlement agreement. The Department will soon publish a Federal Register notice announcing its intent to begin formal government-to-government consultations with tribal leaders. Interior expects the land consolidation consultations to begin by late-summer.

Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the motion to communicate with class members on May 27, 2011. At Interior’s request, the Department of Justice filed the motion with Judge Hogan on April 6, 2011 for permission to communicate with class members regarding trust land consolidation.

The Cobell settlement was approved by Congress on November 30, 2010 (Claims Settlement Act of 2010) and signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010. Interior officials have been under a longstanding court imposed prohibition from communicating with Cobell class members while the litigation continues. Judge Hogan’s order allowing for communication between the parties states that, “This case has materially changed since the date of any other order that may have prohibited such communication. The case’s posture now compels the Court to grant the motion.”

The $3.4 billion Cobell Settlement will address the Federal Government’s responsibility for trust accounts and trust assets maintained by the United States on behalf of more than 300,000 individual Indians. A fund of $1.5 billion will be used to compensate class members for their historical accounting, trust fund and asset mismanagement claims.

In addition, to address the continued proliferation of thousands of new trust accounts caused by the "fractionation" of land interests through succeeding generations, the Settlement establishes a $1.9 billion fund for the voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractionated land interests. The land consolidation program will provide individual American Indians with an opportunity to obtain cash payments for divided land interests and free up the land for the benefit of tribal communities. Individual Indians will receive cash payments for these transfers and, as an additional incentive, transfers will trigger government payments into a $60 million Indian scholarship fund.

The court documents filed by DOJ are at http://www.doi.gov/tribes/special-trustee.cfm. More information on the Cobell Settlement, including resources for Indian Trust Beneficiaries, is available at http://www.doi.gov/ost/cobell/index.html or http://www.indiantrust.com/index

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today joined First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House kitchen garden for the planting of the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—a traditional indigenous agricultural method of planting. This activity comes a week after the launch of Let’s Move! in Indian Country (LMIC) and continues to push the message of leading active and healthy lifestyles in Indian Country.

“Today’s a big day for us in the garden because it’s the first time we’re going to use native seeds of corn, beans and squash in the way they’ve been planted for thousands of years,” Mrs. Obama said. “We’re all pretty excited to continue this tradition. This is another example of a fun, easy way that we all can work together to be healthier. And that’s what we’re trying to accomplish with Let’s Move!”

“I am always very pleased when history acknowledges the wonderful achievements of our nation’s first Americans,” Echo Hawk said. “The agricultural contributions of the ancestors to contemporary American Indian and Alaska Natives are significant, and today’s event is a great testament to their lasting legacy.”

Corn, beans, and squash, when planted together, are referred to as the Three Sisters—stemming from tribal stories that weave the three agricultural staples into traditional narratives. This method is also known as companion planting. The science behind such planting techniques involves the mutually beneficial effects of their simultaneous growth. The corn provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize and the squash spreads along the ground, blocking the sunlight, which helps prevent weeds. This method of planting and agriculture differs greatly from the more common methods of plowing. The First Lady’s Three Sisters planting today acknowledges the amazing contributions and skills of our nation’s first Americans.

The numerous contributions of the ancestors to today’s American Indian and Alaska Native people are continually being recognized by modern science. Europeans, whose farming relied on extensive plowing, often dismissed the Three Sisters mound system as primitive. Early settlers had a strong ideological interest in denying that the Natives here had any agriculture. There were apologists from noted and influential people, like the political theorist John Locke, who justified European right to take Native lands because it was not being utilized. Modern science has come to realize the method behind planting these three staples together is based upon sound scientific evidence and principles.

Mrs. Obama was joined by numerous American Indian children from a variety of tribes including Jemez Pueblo, Skokomish, Cherokee, Sault Ste. Marie, Navajo, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, St. Regis Mohawk, Tlingit, Oglala Sioux, Standing Rock Sioux, and the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. Together, they planted Cherokee White Eagle corn, Rattlesnake pole beans, and Seminole squash seeds that were provided by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

“We harvested some crops for the First Lady and planted some squash, beans, and corn,” said Jayce Archambault of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. “It was a real fun experience; to get outside and be active and plant these things to help people get healthy is something we will remember.”

The planting of the Three Sisters is intertwined with the LMIC initiative to end childhood obesity in Indian Country. In 2009, American Indian and Alaska Native children aged two to four had a higher prevalence of obesity (20.7%) than any other racial or ethnic group. In Indian Country, one in three children are overweight or obese before their fifth birthday and a national survey found that 18.9 percent of high school aged students are obese. LMIC brings together federal agencies, communities, non-profits, corporate partners, schools and tribes to focus on four areas: (1) early childhood development, (2) healthy learning communities, (3) physical activity, and (4) increasing access to affordable, healthy foods. For more information on this initiative, please visit: www.letsmove.gov/indiancountry.

Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk was also joined by other leaders in the American Indian and Alaska Native community, including Indian Health Service Director Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service Director Kevin Concannon, Bureau of Indian Education Director Keith Moore, President of the National Congress of American Indian Jefferson Keel, National Museum of the American Indian Director Kevin Gover, NFL quarterback Sam Bradford and basketball player Tahnee Robinson.

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 565 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), which supports tribal agriculture, and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which administers one of two federal school systems and funding to tribal colleges and universities.

Note to Editors: A photo of the event may be viewed via the Indian Affairs website at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62695826@N03

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Director Keith Moore has selected Chris Redman as president of Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU), the 127-year old, BIE Education administered post secondary institution for American Indian and Alaska Natives from the nation’s 565 federally recognized tribes. Redman, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, was an education specialist with the BIE who had served as Haskell’s acting president in times of need. His appointment will become effective on July 3, 2011.

“I am pleased to announce Chris Redman’s appointment as the new president of Haskell,” Echo Hawk said. “Redman’s proven leadership will make a great addition to our team as we work to improve the delivery of quality education to Haskell students and help prepare them to further their goals, dreams and the prosperity of Indian Country.”

“Chris Redman is a dedicated public servant whose commitment to Haskell and to American Indian higher education is unquestioned,” Moore said. “I am pleased that he has joined our management team, bringing his talent, dedication and leadership.”

Prior to his appointment, Redman served as acting president from September to December 2009 and from May 2010 until March 2011.

Redman began his federal career in 2005 with the predecessor to the BIE, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP) in Washington, D.C., where he worked in the Division of Budget and Planning administering grants to tribal colleges and universities (TCUs). He continued there until April 2007, when he became a Human Resources Specialist with the OIEP in Anadarko, Okla.

In September 2008, Redman was promoted to the position of Education Program Specialist for Post Secondary Education with the OIEP in Oklahoma City, where he performed oversight and support duties for the TCUs. He first began working with Haskell in late 2008.

Between 1998 and 2005, Redman worked for his tribe, holding various positions including as manager of a vocational rehabilitation and chemical dependency program, as a special assistant to the lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation, as director of the Carter Seminary, a BIA funded boarding school, and as administrator of the tribe’s education division.

“I want to express my appreciation to Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk and BIE Director Moore for this tremendous opportunity and for their confidence in me,” Redman said. “I am looking forward to working with them and with the students, faculty and staff to address issues that are important for Haskell’s long-term success.”

Redman holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa (1993), and a master’s degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma (1998).

Redman lives with his wife and family in Ardmore, Okla.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Bureau of Indian Education which operates the federal school system for American Indian and Alaska Native children from the federally recognized tribes. The BIE 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 42,000 students (School Year 2009-2010). The BIE 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.

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. For more information, visit www.haskell.edu.

LINCOLN, CALIF. — The sixth government-to-government tribal consultation regarding the draft report on Indian Affairs Administrative Organizational Assessment and Bureau of Indian Affairs/Bureau of Indian Education streamlining plans starts Thursday, May 17, 2012, at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, Calif. The two-day consultation is the sixth of seven that will take place around the country in Arizona, Florida, South Dakota, Washington, Oklahoma and Alaska. The first was held in Miami on April 12 and 13, 2012.

Tribal leaders have said that organizational changes are needed in the administration of Indian Affairs programs and services to better meet the needs of the federally recognized tribes throughout Indian Country. The Department of the Interior’s Indian Affairs officials have heeded these concerns and undertaken an extensive review of the organization of the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

The culmination of this review will be a draft Administrative Organizational Assessment Report compiled by an independent, third-party contractor. The draft report identifies several ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of delivering services to Indian Country. The goal is to support a consolidated organization while improving Interior responsiveness to all Tribal needs. The BIA and BIE are seeking tribal input on ways to streamline their respective organizations to meet budgetary constraints and increase efficiency.

More information and materials can be found at: http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/ASIA/Consultation/index.htm

CREDENTIALS: All media must present government-issued photo I.D. (such as a driver’s license) and valid media credentials.

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WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk will deliver a keynote address at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Mid-Year Conference on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, in Milwaukee, Wis. Echo Hawk will be speaking on the accomplishments and progress made by Indian Affairs over the last 24 months. He will address such topics as: federal Indian policy, economic development, restoration of homelands, Indian energy development, safe communities, education, Indian gaming, and Indian Affairs leadership.

He will be joined by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Del Laverdure who will participate in the NCAI’s Tribal Lands Forum on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Administration’s ongoing efforts and accomplishments relating to Indian lands.

Established in 1944, NCAI (www.ncai.org) is the country’s oldest national association of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, and holds one of the largest annual gatherings of tribal representatives.

WHO:

• Larry Echo Hawk, Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.
• Del Laverdure, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior.

WHAT: Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk will deliver a keynote address at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) 2011 Mid-Year Conference. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Del Laverdure will participate in the meeting’s Tribal Lands Forum.

WHEN: 10:00 a.m. (CDT), Tuesday, June 14, 2011.

WHERE: Frontier Airlines Center 400 W. Wisconsin Avenue (4th & Wisconsin), Ballroom A/B Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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