OPA

Washington, D.C.— On Thursday, October 6, 2011, Department of the Interior (DOI) Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs for Policy and Economic Development Jodi Gillette and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Director Michael Black will attend the sixth regional government-to-government tribal consultation regarding the Trust Land Consolidation component of the Cobell Settlement. Tribal leaders from the BIA Eastern Oklahoma and Southern Plains Regions and Other Regions are scheduled to participate in the consultation session.

BACKGROUND ON COBELL SETTLEMENT:

The $3.4 billion Cobell settlement was approved by Congress on November 30, 2010 (Claims Resolution Act of 2010) and signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010. The Cobell Settlement will address the federal government’s responsibility for an historical accounting of individual Indian trust accounts and trust mismanagement claims on behalf of more than 300,000 individual American Indians. A fund of $1.5 billion will be used to compensate class members for their historical accounting, trust administration 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 successive 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 trust land interests and free up the land for the benefit of tribal communities. Up to $60 million of the $1.9 billion will be set aside to provide scholarships for post secondary higher education and vocational training for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

More information and materials can be found at www.doi.gov/cobell.

WHO: Jodi Gillette, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Economic Development, Indian Affairs, DOI Michael Black, Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, DOI Tribal leaders from the BIA Eastern Oklahoma and Southern Plains Regions and Other Regions

WHAT: Sixth Regional Tribal Consultation on the Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program.

WHEN: Thursday, October 6, 2011 Registration will begin at 7:00 a.m. (CDT) Consultation will begin at 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 a.m. (CDT)

WHERE: Best Western Saddleback Inn and Conference Center 4300 Southwest Third Oklahoma City, OK 73108

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

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Deputy Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs for Policy and Economic Development Jodi Gillette and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Director Michael Black met with tribal leaders in Oklahoma City, Okla., today in the sixth regional government-to-government tribal consultation meeting on the Trust Land Consolidation component of the Cobell Settlement. The consultations are part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to re-invigorating nation-to-nation relationships with tribes.

“These consultation sessions have been invaluable to the Interior Department’s efforts to adhere to the obligations of the Cobell Settlement,” said Gillette. “In order to ensure that our efforts continue in the right direction, it is important that we hear from tribal leaders on their concerns and issues relating to this landmark case and our collaborative efforts.”

“I am pleased to see that we are moving forward in close collaboration with the tribes on ways of implementing the settlement,” said Black. “The tribal input from these sessions is very helpful and we will continue to work closely with the tribes.”

Today’s participants included leaders and representatives of a number of tribes from the Eastern Oklahoma and Southern Plains Regions and other BIA Regions.

On May 27, 2011, U.S. Senior District Judge Thomas F. Hogan granted communication between representatives of the United States and Cobell class members only in regards to the Trust Land Consolidation component of the Settlement.

BACKGROUND ON COBELL SETTLEMENT:

The $3.4 billion Cobell settlement was approved by Congress on November 30, 2010 (Claims Resolution Act of 2010) and signed by President Obama on December 8, 2010. The Cobell Settlement will address the federal government’s responsibility for an historical accounting of individual Indian trust accounts and trust mismanagement claims on behalf of more than 300,000 individual American Indians. A fund of $1.5 billion will be used to compensate class members for their historical accounting, trust administration 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 successive 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 trust land interests and free up the land for the benefit of tribal communities. Up to $60 million of the $1.9 billion will be set aside to provide scholarships for post secondary higher education and vocational training for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The locations and dates for the remaining regional tribal consultations can be found at: www.doi.gov/cobell.

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 565 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.

Uncasville, Conn. — The fourth of five in a series of listening sessions will be held on the morning of Friday, August 24, 2012. The Obama Administration recognizes that the protection of sacred sites on federal lands is integral to traditional religious practices, tribal identities and emblematic of sovereign tribal nations. These sacred site listening sessions are intended to assist in developing policies that result in effective, comprehensive and long-lasting federal protection of and tribal access to the places that are so important to the fabric and culture of tribal nations.

To address tribal concerns regarding sacred sites issues, Interior will conduct listening sessions on sacred sites in general, as well as knowledge relating to specific sites on Interior-managed tribal trust and other federal lands. The Department will be better equipped to make decisions that are sensitive to the ceremonial use and physical integrity of sacred sites through the benefit of tribal input and views on such matters.

Because many Indian tribes have belief systems that discourage or even prohibit the disclosure of the location or other information about sacred sites and places, Interior will respect tribal requests that information about such locations be kept confidential and only share this information with appropriate agency personnel.

For all those unable to attend any of these listening sessions, please send your input/suggestions by September 21, 2012, via email to consultation@bia.gov or the U.S. Department of the Interior, attn.: Mr. Dion Killsback, Counselor to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 4141-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240. Should you have additional questions, Mr. Killsback can be reached at (202) 208-6939.

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 – The Justice and Interior Departments this week launched a new training seminar for tribal and federal law enforcement on investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases on tribal lands. More than 75 participants from throughout the United States participated in the three day training course, which began on Monday, August 20, 2012. They included tribal and federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors and victim specialists from 23 tribal nations and 23 states. Topics included law enforcement response, children as victims and witnesses, forensic examinations with adult victims and developing a coordinated community response to sexual assault.

The course, held at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, S.C., was taught by the Justice Department’s National Indian Country Training Coordinator and other nationally recognized subject matter experts including Joanne Archambault; FBI Forensic Interviewer Stephanie Knapp; Jennifer Peirce-Week, Past President of the International Association of Forensic Nurses; and Dr. Barbara Knox, Medical Director of the University of Wisconsin Child Protection Program at the American Family Children’s Hospital.

“It will take committed federal and tribal partnerships and a coordinated response to address the high rates of sexual violence in Indian Country today,” said Leslie A. Hagen, National Indian Country Training Coordinator for the Justice Department’s Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. “This new training series will help build capacity for tribal and federal law enforcement first responders as well as the tribal and federal prosecutors who can help achieve justice for victims of sexual crimes, and who must also take into careful consideration the needs of victims in native communities.”

“The training program we are launching jointly with the Department of Justice to address the high rates of sexual assault on tribal lands builds on our efforts to reduce violent crime in Indian Country,” said Darren Cruzan, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services. “I want to thank our federal and tribal partners for working with us to develop this comprehensive training program. It is an important part of OJS’s mission to improve public safety in tribal communities, and underscores our commitment to achieving justice for violent crime victims.”

For more information on the national Indian Country training program, contact Leslie A. Hagen at Leslie.Hagen3@usdoj.gov.

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DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE USE THE CONTACTS IN THE MESSAGE OR CALL THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT 202-514-2007.

Portland, Ore. — The fifth and final in a series of listening sessions will be held on the morning of Tuesday, August 28, 2012. The Obama Administration recognizes that the protection of sacred sites on federal lands is integral to traditional religious practices, tribal identities and emblematic of sovereign tribal nations. These sacred site listening sessions are intended to assist in developing policies that result in effective, comprehensive and long-lasting federal protection of and tribal access to the places that are so important to the fabric and culture of tribal nations.

To address tribal concerns regarding sacred sites issues, Interior will conduct listening sessions on sacred sites in general, as well as knowledge relating to specific sites on Interior-managed tribal trust and other federal lands. The Department will be better equipped to make decisions that are sensitive to the ceremonial use and physical integrity of sacred sites through the benefit of tribal input and views on such matters.

Because many Indian tribes have belief systems that discourage or even prohibit the disclosure of the location or other information about sacred sites and places, Interior will respect tribal requests that information about such locations be kept confidential and only share this information with appropriate agency personnel.

For all those unable to attend any of these listening sessions, please send your input/suggestions by September 21, 2012, via email to consultation@bia.gov or the U.S. Department of the Interior, attn.: Mr. Dion Killsback, Counselor to the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 4141-MIB, Washington, D.C. 20240. Should you have additional questions, Mr. Killsback can be reached at (202) 208-6939.

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, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald E. “Del” Laverdure today announced that, in addition to ongoing efforts by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to address reported child safety and protection deficiencies at the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, he is sending in a strike team of senior BIA officials from its Central Office to assess and evaluate efforts to improve the Tribe’s social services program. The decision to deploy senior officials to the region came at the urging of U.S. Senator Kent Conrad.

“In light of the continuing need to improve child safety and protection on the Spirit Lake Reservation, I have directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs to send in a ‘strike team’ of senior leadership officials who will conduct an in-depth assessment and evaluation of the ongoing efforts to assist the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe with improving its social services program,” Laverdure said. “While the BIA has been working closely with the Tribe and other stakeholders on this for several months, I feel it is incumbent upon me as the acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to bring additional resources to bear on this critical matter for the people of Spirit Lake.”

Senior leadership officials being deployed include BIA Director Mike Black, Office of Indian Services (OIS) Deputy Bureau Director Hankie Ortiz, OIS Social Services Chief Sue Settles, and Office of Justice Services (OJS) Deputy Bureau Director Darren Cruzan.

The BIA OIS has been working with the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe since August 2011 to help it improve and strengthen its child safety and program compliance while respecting the Tribe’s inherent right of self-governance. The Tribe has administered the social services program under a Public Law 93-638 contract with the BIA since 2001.

In August 2011, the BIA’s Great Plains Regional Office’s (GPRO) Division of Human Services in Aberdeen, S.D., conducted its regular annual review of the program and found serious deficiencies in contract performance, including failing to follow regulations, a lack of documentation for critical child safety activities, and improper expenditures. A corrective action plan was issued and the Tribe has been working on addressing these deficiencies, with an intensive focus on critical child safety activities, with the BIA, the State of North Dakota Department of Human Services and the Indian Health Service (IHS).

Since the initial corrective action plan was issued by the BIA to the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribal Social Services program in November 2011, with a more detailed plan issued on April 23, 2012, the Bureau has provided financial, training, and technical assistance resources to the program.

In April 2012, the BIA provided one-time funding for a temporary social services worker to help the Tribe with addressing the deficiencies cited in its corrective action plan. Since then, the Bureau has detailed social workers from its Rosebud and Standing Rock Agencies in South Dakota and Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings, Mont., to Spirit Lake to work with the tribal social services program and oversee its efforts to improve compliance and reporting. It also has provided funding to the tribe for an additional Child Protection Worker as well as to the GPRO to hire another Child Welfare Specialist to provide intensive support to the tribes in the Great Plains Region, particularly the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe.

The BIA also has worked cooperatively, and continues to do so, with the Tribe and other stakeholders to ensure the program is gaining access to federal and state resources, and to provide the Tribe with additional assistance to help it address jurisdictional issues and training needs. For example, it formed a supportive coalition of stakeholders that includes the Spirit Lake Tribal Social Services program, the BIA Central Office, GPRO and Fort Totten (N.D.) Agency, the IHS, the North Dakota Department of Human Services, Ramsey County Social Services, Benson County Social Services, and state and local law enforcement.

It also has been working with the IHS to develop a tracking and coding system for suspected child abuse and neglect reports and to ensure that children under the tribal social services program can access the full range of IHS services. In addition, the GPRO has been and continues to monitor the program as it works on correcting deficiencies while coordinating BIA personnel and resources to support the Tribe’s efforts at improvement.

With the assistance of the BIA and other stakeholders, the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe Social Services program has made progress in the areas where it was deficient, and the BIA will continue to provide technical assistance, staffing and training to the program for the foreseeable future and as resources allow. Future efforts include:

• A follow-up program review by the GPRO during the week of September 10, 2012,

• Recruiting BIA social workers to assist with on-site monitoring and technical assistance for up to one year contingent on funding,

• Coordinating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF) on resources for the Tribe,

• Working with IHS on training for mandatory reporters,

• Establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, the BIA and law enforcement to complete National Crime Investigation Center federal background checks for each foster care placement, and

• Sending tribal social service child protection workers to the University of North Dakota for Child Welfare Certification training next month.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the BIA, which is headed by a director who is responsible for managing day-to-day operations through four offices – Indian Services, Justice Services, Trust Services and Field Operations – that administer or fund tribally based infrastructure, law enforcement, social services, tribal governance, natural and energy resources and trust management programs for the nation’s federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages through 12 regional offices and 85 agencies.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Donald E. “Del” Laverdure today issued the following statement on the recent passing of Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Chairman Stanley R. Crooks:

“Stanley Crooks, the late chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Minnesota, takes his place among the thoughtful, far-seeing and decisive tribal leaders that Indian Country has produced throughout history.

“He was a vigorous and dedicated advocate of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and his commitment to the Dakota principle of sharing with others made him a leader in tribal philanthropy that helped to improve lives in many tribal communities in addition to his own. As the son of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s first chairman, Norman N. Crooks, and as a member of the U.S. Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a time of great peril for the United States, Chairman Crooks had the timber to be a great leader.

“His efforts to improve the lives of his people and others across Indian Country, and his leadership and vision on matters affecting all American Indians, will be deeply and sorely missed.”

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WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED) has awarded approximately $2.0 million in economic development technical assistance grants to 30 federally recognized tribes. The funding was provided by the IEED’s Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI) grant program to foster economic activity and create jobs within tribal communities.

“Providing funding for tribes to conduct the research necessary for developing their economic and business plans is a vital and necessary part of Indian Affairs’ mission,” Echo Hawk said. “The funds provided by the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development’s Native American Business Development Institute technical assistance grant program are the seeds that, if carefully tended, will help Indian Country’s economy to bloom and grow. I am very pleased to announce these grants to tribes who are seeking to improve their local economic and employment conditions.”

The NABDI grants will allow recipients to hire consultants to perform feasibility studies of tribal economic development opportunities or long-term, strategic, reservation-wide economic development plans. Consultants may include universities and colleges, private consulting firms, non-academic/non-profit entities, or others. The feasibility studies may concern the viability of an economic development project or business, or the practicality of a technology a tribe may choose to pursue.

In response to a solicitation of proposals the IEED published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2011, the NADBI grant program received 79 tribal funding requests totaling approximately $7.8 million. Last month, the program awarded almost $2.0 million in grants for 46 projects from 30 tribes. The list of those grantees is attached.

The IEED established the Institute in 2007 and the NADBI grant program shortly thereafter. This is an annual program and the IEED uses a competitive evaluation process to select several proposed projects to receive an award. The program is funded under the non-recurring appropriation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) budget and is based on available funds.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs oversees the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, whose mission is to foster stronger American Indian and Alaska Native communities by helping federally recognized tribes with employment and workforce training programs; developing 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. For more information about IEED programs and services, visit the Indian Affairs website at http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/IEED/index.htm.

ARIZONA

Hualapai Indian Tribe
Grant Award: $75,000 Purpose: For a feasibility study on the expansion or replacement of the only local grocery store.

Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation
Grant Award: $26,000
Purpose: For a market feasibility study on the development of a local grocery store. Navajo Nation Grant Award: $150,000 Purpose: For ten projects that include feasibility studies on developing a variety of on-reservation businesses, and market assessment and planning to support the development of a tribal solar energy manufacturing facility and a tribal commercial scale bio-fuels facility.

Yavapai-Prescott Tribe
Grant Award: $39,997
Purpose: To develop the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe Telecommunication Infrastructure Feasibility Project.

CALIFORNIA

Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
Grant Award: $55,000
Purpose: For a strategic plan for agricultural economic development.

Karuk Tribe
Grant Award: $43,838
Purpose: For a tribe-wide economic development plan.

Santa Rosa Indian Community
Grant Award: $110,000
Purpose: For feasibility studies on the development of a commercial retail center and for a biomass/ renewable energy project.

Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians
Grant Award: $50,000
Purpose: For a market analysis on and an applicable business plan for a travel plaza.

COLORADO

Ute Mountain Tribe
Grant Award: $30,000
Purpose: To prepare a master plan for the expansion and development of on-reservation tribal enterprises.

KANSAS

Kickapoo Tribe of Indians
Grant Award: $57,900
Purpose: For a comprehensive economic development plan.

MAINE

Penobscot Tribe
Grant Award: $69,576
Purpose: For a feasibility study for an alternative energy-related business.

MICHIGAN

Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
Grant Award: 22,900
Purpose: For a feasibility analysis and impact study on agricultural economic development initiatives.

MINNESOTA

Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
Grant Award: $15,000
Purpose: For a feasibility study on the merits of starting a vocational education program in the area of construction and carpentry technology.

MONTANA

Crow Tribe
Grant Award: $50,000
Purpose: For a reservation-wide economic development strategy focused on tourism.

Northern Cheyenne Tribe
Grant Award: $55,043
Purpose: For a feasibility study on a motel/lodging business in conjunction with local mining operations. NEVADA Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes Grant Award: $59,500 Purpose: For a reservation-wide economic development plan with an emphasis on the U.S. Highway 96 commercial district.

Wells Indian Colony Band Council, Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians
Grant Award: $69,850
Purpose: For an economic development plan that includes an incubator feasibility study, a land use study and a tribally chartered economic development enterprise.

NEW YORK

Shinnecock Indian Nation Grant Award: $49,500
Purpose: For feasibility studies on the development of a gas station/convenience store business and on long-term economic development initiatives.

NORTH DAKOTA

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota
Grant Award: $100,000
Purpose: For feasibility studies on small business development on the Standing Rock Reservation and for the tribe’s telecommunications company Standing Rock Telecom.

Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation
Grant Award: $100,000
Purpose: For a feasibility/economic impact study in regards to the recent oil boom of the Bakken Shale Formation.

OKLAHOMA

Delaware Nation
Grant Award: $60,000
Purpose: For a feasibility study on a joint-venture solar module manufacturing business.

OREGON

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation
Grant Award: $35,000
Purpose: To develop and implement a comprehensive strategic economic plan.

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians
Grant Award: $74,154
Purpose: For a comprehensive economic development strategy.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation
Grant Award: $175,000
Purpose: To establish baseline analysis on creating Tribal Intellectual Property (TIP) centers on tribal lands across the U.S. and for feasibility studies for projects relating to a hydrogen production facility, an electrical micro-grid business, the operation of convenience and/or retail stores and expansion of an existing tribal fish hatchery for water bottling and aquaculture.

UTAH

Indian Peaks Band, Paiute Indian Tribe
Grant Award: $50,000
Purpose: For an economic feasibility study for an RV park/campground.

WASHINGTON

Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation
Grant Award: $75,672
Purpose: To develop feasibility studies to update the tribe’s current strategic plan and for the development of an indoor water park.

Port Gamble Indian Community
Grant Award: $121,442
Purpose: For two projects that include developing a strategic long-term economic development plan and a local market study of the Noo-Kayet Development Corporation.

Quileute Tribe
Grant Award: $81,330
Purpose: For feasibility studies on the development of a conference center facility in conjunction with the existing Ocean Side Resort and on the renovation and expansion of services related to the tribe’s marina.

Swinomish Indians of the Swinomish Reservation
Grant Award: $45,500
Purpose: For a tribal economic zone market analysis study.

WISCONSIN

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Grant Award: $50,000
Purpose: For feasibility studies on the redevelopment and reuse of an old casino site and facilities

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk issued the following statement today on the passing of Elouise Cobell:

“Indian Country, as well as the entire nation, has lost a champion of human rights. Elouise Cobell battled to make our country acknowledge historical wrongdoing, and she spoke truth to power so that justice could prevail.

“She was tireless in her efforts to reach a respectable resolution to the long-standing Cobell litigation. The Claims Resolution Act of 2010, signed into law by President Obama, will forever remain a testament to her colossal feat. Through her legacy, individual Indians will have more control over their lands and many American Indian and Alaska Natives will be able to pursue higher education through the scholarship component of the settlement.

“As we take a moment to reflect upon the life of Elouise Cobell, I think of how she embodies what our nation is all about—the quest for justice and opportunity for all. She will be sorely missed but never forgotten for her strength and courage. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her entire family and the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana.”