OPA

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) has submitted the featured entry in the 2011 Indian Education Renewable Energy Challenge targeting college age students and the Oneida Nation High School has submitted the featured entry in the high school-age challenge category.

The Challenge is sponsored by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) in partnership with the Indian Affairs Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. SIPI is a BIE post secondary school in Albuquerque, NM., and the Oneida Nation High School is a BIE funded school in Oneida, Wis.

“I am very pleased that this contest allowed the creativity of our BIE students to shine,” Echo Hawk said. “Both SIPI and the Oneida Nation High School student’s bio-diesel fuel teams were able to meet the challenge of designing an innovative process for converting biomass into diesel fuel. Projects like this demonstrate that our students can take on real world challenges with successes they can someday use to help promote tribal self-sufficiency.”

This is the second year in a row that both the SIPI team and the Oneida Nation High School team have been the featured entries in the national competition. The SIPI wind turbine team was one of the top two national winners at the 2010 college level competition. Last year’s competition ended in a tie with both SIPI and the College of the Menominee Nation from Keshena, Wis., sharing first place. In the high school level category, this is the second year in a row that the Oneida Nation High School has received an award in the renewable energy challenge.

This year the SIPI bio-diesel fuel team took first place for their process design to convert raw biomass material to diesel fuel. The team members are students Monique Mousseaux (Oglala Sioux), Felipa DeLeon (Oglala Sioux), John David (Laguna Pueblo), Josh Begay (Navajo), and Vernetta Long (Navajo), SIPI faculty members Dr. Nader Vadiee and Dr. Massoud Ahghar, and the teams’ mentor from the University of New Mexico, Ralph Kelly.

“We had an excellent team of students working on this challenge,” said Dr. Vadiee. “I am very pleased with their efforts and creativity in this endeavor. All of the students worked very hard and are extremely deserving of this recognition.”

The Oneida Nation High School team used cooking grease to produce a usable bio-diesel fuel. Their project design, like SIPI’s, was chosen as the best for the 2011 Challenge. The students working on the project included Devan Little, Larissa Lucus, Charles Cook, Alexi Silva, Danny McKinney, Bradley Grandquist, Jade Doxtator, and Brandon White. The eight-person group spent about 20 hours over three weeks building and developing the project before it was submitted for judgment. “It did feel good to get out of the classroom and come here to work on it,” said White, a senior.

The focus of the contest was to promote renewable energy development for Indian Country among students and teachers at the high school and college level. Preparing a proposal, feasibility studies, background research and team work, time management, budget management, communications, and partnering with other research and development entities were some of the activities students practiced and learned.

“This is a great way for students to translate what they are learning in the classroom to real world applications for developing renewable energy sources," said Andrew Skipor, who leads Argonne’s educational programs. “We are thrilled to be a part of such an important program that provides the hands-on training and experience that will help increase the use of clean energy technologies and promote energy independence.”

Both the SIPI and Oneida Nation High School bio-diesel fuel teams attended a BIE-IEED Argonne Award Ceremony at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois on July 14-15, 2011. They will have their project results prominently displayed at Argonne, which is located near Chicago.

Background:

SIPI is a National Indian Community College established in 1971 at the request of the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and other federally recognized tribes in the U.S. to help train American Indians and Alaska Natives for employment. It is advised by a national, tribally appointed Board of Regents. SIPI provides career technical training and transfer degree programs to students from the nation’s 565 federally recognized tribes. It offers competitive job training programs; granting of Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees; and opportunities to transfer into four-year degree programs. SIPI’s fall 2009 enrollment was 657 students from over 80 tribes.

The Oneida Nation High School was established in 1995 as an expansion of the pre-existing Oneida Nation Elementary School. Enrollment is non-compulsory, and as a school of choice draws students from five adjacent school districts including Green Bay, West DePere, Pulaski, Seymour, and Freedom. It has a current enrollment of 84 students, most of whom are members of the Oneida Nation, a federally recognized tribe. The school also draws students from approximately four other tribes, however, and has some non-member students as well. Oneida Nation High School adheres to the same standards as Wisconsin public schools, but offers the advantage of training in Oneida language and culture. It is funded through BIE grants and tribal contributions. ,.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs (ASIA) oversees the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), whose mission is to foster stronger American Indian and Alaska Native communities by helping federally recognized tribes with employment and workforce training programs; helping tribes develop their renewable and non-renewable energy and mineral resources; and increasing access to capital for tribal and individual American Indian and Alaska Native-owned businesses. ASIA also 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 is responsible for ensuring the implementation of federal education laws, including the No Child Left Behind Act, in 183 BIE-funded elementary and secondary schools and residential programs located on 64 reservations in 23 states serving approximately 42,000 American Indian and Alaska Native students and employing over 5,000 teachers, administrators and support personnel. The BIE also provides resources and technical assistance to 124 tribally administered BIE-funded schools, 26 tribal colleges and universities and two technical colleges. It directly operates two post-secondary institutions: Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. For more information, visit the BIE website at: http://www.bie.edu/.

GALLUP, N.M. – On Saturday, June 2, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly will break ground on the long-awaited Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in New Mexico. Eventually the project will provide a 280-mile-long pipeline, two water treatment plants and delivery systems that will bring water to more than 250,000 people at more than 43 Navajo chapters, portions of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the city of Gallup.

The initial stage of construction on the project that begins on Saturday will create upwards of 450 jobs, with more than 650 jobs at peak construction.

Secretary Salazar and President Shelly will be joined by a wide variety of other top tribal, state. Federal and local officials for the ceremony; a partial list follows.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the Departments of Interior and Justice applauded the final approval by U.S. Senior District Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the settlement of Cobell v. Salazar, a long-running and contentious individual American Indian trust class-action lawsuit. The court’s approval of the $3.4 billion settlement paves the way for payments to be made to as many as a half-million individual American Indians who had Individual Indian Money accounts or an interest in trust or restricted land managed by the Department of the Interior. The suit has been pending for 15 years.

Reaching a final settlement of Cobell has been a priority of the Obama administration.

“Judge Hogan’s decision is another milestone in empowerment and reconciliation for the American Indians,” Secretary Salazar said, noting in particular the contributions of Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes and Interior’s Solicitor Hilary Tompkins in reaching the settlement. “The Cobell settlement not only resolves the contentious 15-year litigation, but also honorably and responsibly turns the page on an unfortunate chapter in the Department’s history, demonstrating President Obama's commitment to reconciliation and empowerment for American Indian nations.”

“The judge’s finding that the settlement is fair and reasonable is a major milestone in the Administration’s effort to reach a resolution of litigation that has cast a cloud over the government’s relationship with American Indians,” said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, who has twice testified before Congress on the settlement.

“The Cobell settlement is the beginning of true trust reform,” said Interior Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, noting that Interior is establishing a Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform. The commission will undertake a forward-looking, comprehensive evaluation of how the Interior Department manages and administers its trust responsibilities. "Interior needs to be more transparent and customer-friendly," said Hayes. "The status quo is not acceptable."

Following an earlier ruling by Judge Hogan, Hayes began scheduling consultation meetings with tribal leaders to begin discussions on the land consolidation component of the settlement.

Interior Department officials will hold six regional government-to-government tribal consultations which will provide valuable input in developing an implementation strategy that will benefit tribal communities and help free up trust lands. The consultation process is fundamental to respecting the government-to-government relationship with the tribes.

Additional information is available at www.cobellsettlement.com and the Office of Special Trustee website at www.doi.gov/ost. 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

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure today praised a federal training program that is working to develop tribal courts by enhancing and improving the trial advocacy skills of tribal court prosecutors, defenders and judges. The Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Program is a joint effort by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior that furthers the mandate of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (TOLA) to strengthen tribal sovereignty over criminal justice matters on federal Indian lands by strengthening the skills of those who practice within the tribal court system.

“Tribal courts are fundamental to strengthening tribal sovereignty because of their role in administering and dispensing justice in Indian Country,” Laverdure said. “The Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Program is bringing much-needed and desired training to those who practice law within the tribal court system, which will only enhance the courts’ ability to serve their communities. I am very pleased that this program is already proving its worth, and I want to thank the Justice Department for partnering with us on meeting the Tribal Law and Order Act’s mandate in this area.”

The result of a collaborative effort by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (OJS) and DOJ’s Access to Justice Initiative (AJI), the Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Program is the first national effort by DOI and DOJ to offer trial advocacy training with courses designed specifically for tribal courts and free training to the judges, public defenders and prosecutors who work in them. Training is provided in three topic areas – domestic abuse, illegal narcotics and sexual assault on children and adults – with faculty and instructional materials prepared by experts knowledgeable about tribal court issues. The program is unique because it also has training specifically for public defenders.

A pilot training session on domestic violence held by the OJS and the ATJ in August 2011 in Rapid City, S.D., proved so successful that the OJS and its federal partners provided funding for seven additional sessions. The first of those, which focused on illegal narcotics, was held March 13-15, 2012, in Phoenix, Ariz. Each of the six remaining sessions, to be held through the rest of 2012 and into 2013, will focus on one training topic. The schedule for the coming sessions is:

• July 24-26, 2012, Duluth, Minn.
• August 14-16, 2012, Durango, Colo.
• September 11-13, 2012, Great Falls, Mont.
• October 2-4, 2012, Seattle, Wash.
• October 23-25, 2012, Chinle, Ariz.
• January 15-17, 2013, Albuquerque, N.M.

Training is structured in a way whereby participants are brought together for combined training, with breakout sessions provided where prosecutors and defenders can be trained separately to further develop their trial skills. Coursework is focused on evidentiary issues and provides participants with opportunities to work one-on-one with faculty and practice opening statements, direct examination, cross-examination and closing arguments in a small, courtroom-like setting.

In addition to the ATJ, the Department’s other DOJ partners in designing the training program and serving as trainers include the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Arizona, Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota; the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the District of Arizona; and the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts’ Office of Defender Services.

For more information about the DOI-DOJ Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Program, which training topic will be offered at which site, and how to register for upcoming sessions, contact the BIA’s Indian Police Academy at 575-748-8151.

The BIA Office of Justice Services’ mission is to enhance public safety and protect property in Indian Country by funding or providing law enforcement, corrections and tribal court services to the nation’s federally recognized tribes. It also coordinates emergency preparedness 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 to BIA and tribal law enforcement personnel.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Director Michael S. Black today announced that the Office of Indian Services (BIA-OIS) Division of Human Services was recognized by Computerworld for the Division’s case management automation initiative. The Laureate award bestowed on the Division recognizes visionary application of information technology promoting positive social, economic, and educational change. The presentation took place at the Annual Laureates Medal Ceremony & Gala Awards on Monday, June 20, 2011

“The Bureau’s obligations to Indian Country require constant adaptation to new technologies so that we provide the best possible services,” Black said. “I am pleased that the Office of Indian Services Division of Human Services now has the Financial Assistance and Social Services— Case Management System (FASS-CMS)—it will allow for the needs of many to be met with a more efficient mechanism in place and the award from Computerworld acknowledges the hard work that was undertaken to produce this system.”

“We are thrilled to be recognized for this honor,” said BIA-OJS Division of Human Services Chief Sue Settles. “The impact we will make goes far beyond business efficiency. With this new system, our social workers will be able to deliver our programs more effectively in some of the most isolated and economically depressed areas of the United States.”

To modernize and improve its case management capabilities, BIA-OIS Division of Human Services turned to Hitachi Consulting’s full lifecycle case management solution, built using Microsoft Dynamics® CRM and Microsoft SharePoint® technologies. With the help of this software, BIA has automated data management and access, streamlined operations, and integrated with other organizational units to allow case workers to be significantly more efficient and productive in providing social services for those in need.

The FASS-CMS uses technology familiar to most of BIA’s social workers but this is the first time the tools have been integrated to achieve the level of productivity, mobility, and work quality improvements needed to improve the performance of the Division of Human Services and meet its needs. Improved case load management and oversight, improved funding justification and reduced opportunities for fraud are just a few of benefits. The BIA-OIS Division of Human Services utilized the consulting services of Hitachi Consulting Corporation to produce the FASS-CMS.

Founded by International Data Group (IDG) in 1988, The Computerworld Honors Program is governed by the not-for-profit Computerworld Information Technology Awards Foundation. Computerworld Honors is the longest running global program to honor individuals and organizations that use information technology to promote positive social, economic and educational change. Additional information about the program and a Global Archive of past Laureate case studies and oral histories of Leadership Award recipients can be found at the Computerworld Honors website: http://events.computerworld.com/Honors2011.

The Human Services Program supports the Department’s Strategic Goal to Advance Quality Communities for Tribes and Alaska Natives by improving welfare systems for Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives. Human Services consists of direct funding and activities related to social services, welfare assistance, Indian child welfare, and program oversight. The objective of this activity is to improve the quality of life for individual Indians that live on or near Indian reservations and to protect the children, elderly and disabled from abuse and neglect. The activity also provides child abuse and neglect services and protective services to Individual Indian Monies (IIM) supervised account holders who are minors, adults in need of assistance, adults under legal disability, and adults found to be non compos mentis.

The Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for managing the BIA’s day-to-day operations through four offices – Indian Services, Justice Services, Trust Services and Field Operations – which administer or fund tribally based infrastructure, law enforcement, social services, tribal governance, natural and energy resources and trust management programs for 565 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes in 33 states through 12 regional offices and 85 agencies.

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the establishment of a new Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform that will conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Interior’s trust management and provide recommendations on how to improve performance. The announcement kicks off a 30-day period during which Secretary Salazar is seeking nominations and input from the public on individuals to serve on the new commission, as well as comments on the commission’s proposed charter.

“This Commission will play a critical role in our forward-looking, comprehensive evaluation of how Interior manages and administers our trust responsibilities to the First Americans,” Salazar said. “I look forward to working with the Commission as we move forward on President Obama's commitment to reconciliation and empowerment for American Indian nations.”

Today’s announcement fulfills one of the actions Salazar outlined in a 2009 Secretarial Order regarding steps to be taken upon approval by the U.S. District Court of the Cobell settlement. On June 20, 2011, the district court approved the $3.4 billion settlement, paving the way for payments to as many as half-a-million American Indians to resolve their class-action litigation regarding the federal government’s management of individual trust accounts and assets.

“Recent approval of the Cobell settlement by the U.S. District Court signaled the beginning of a new era in the U.S. Government’s relations with American Indian communities,” said Deputy Secretary of the Interior David J. Hayes. “We must carry out our trust responsibilities in a pro-active and transparent manner, and the establishment of this commission is an important step in the process.”

The Secretarial Commission will examine Interior’s performance on trust management, seek input from affected individuals and tribes, identify opportunities for enhancing accountability, responsiveness, and efficiency, as well as provide recommendations on improvements to the current trust administration system.

Following the 30-day comment and nominations period, and in consultation with trust beneficiaries, Salazar will appoint a Commission Chair and four members. Members will have experience and/or expertise in trust management, financial management, asset management, natural resource management, and Federal agency operations and budgets, as well as experience as account holders and in Indian Country.

As part of the $3.4 billion Cobell settlement, a fund of $1.5 billion will be used to compensate class members for their claims regarding potential mismanagement of their trust funds and assets and historical accounting. The agreement also establishes a $1.9 billion fund for the voluntary buy-back and consolidation of fractionated land interests, which have been proliferating through succeeding generations. The program, to be administered by the Department of the Interior, provides individual American Indians an opportunity to obtain cash payments for small divided land interests and free up the “fractionated” land for the benefit of tribal communities. The settlement also provides for an Indian Education Scholarship Fund of up to $60 million for the benefit of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Next Friday in Billings, Montana, Secretary Salazar and Deputy Secretary Hayes will attend the first of six regional consultation meetings with tribal leaders to begin discussions on the land consolidation component of the settlement. These discussions will provide valuable input in developing and implementing a strategy to benefit tribal communities and help free up trust lands.

WASHINGTON – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure today posted on the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs blog “The First Anniversary of Let's Move! in Indian Country Brings Together Renowned Panelists and the Positive Accomplishments in Indian Country’s Quest for Healthier Living and Eating.”

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs blog can be found at: http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/ASIA/blog/index.htm

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs carries out the Secretary’s responsibility for managing the government-to-government relationship between the federal government and the 566 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.

Washington, DC— On Monday July 11, 2011 at 10 AM, DC area and Native American youth will visit the White House for a South Lawn Series event highlighting Let’s Move! in Indian Country and celebrating lacrosse and its origins. Students will participate in lacrosse stations on the South Lawn that will demonstrate both the traditional and modern forms of the game. Leadership from the White House, Department of the Interior and the National Museum of the American Indian will join lacrosse stars Danny Glading, Matt Danowski, Brett Bucktooth, and Jenny Collins as well as Haudenosaunee traditional Lacrosse Stick Maker Alf Jaques, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy Oren Lyons and Iroquois Confederacy Tadodaho Sid Hill. Representatives from Major League Lacrosse, the National Lacrosse League, Iroquois Nationals and Metro Lacrosse will also be in attendance. Media credential information can be received by emailing SouthLawnSeries@who.eop.gov by noon on Friday, July 8th. Media who do not have a White House hard pass must submit their full name, date of birth, Social Security number, country of citizenship, gender, country of birth, and city and state of residence.