OPA

WASHINGTON – Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Michael S. Black today announced that he has named Sharon A. Pinto as regional director of the BIA’s Navajo Regional Office in Gallup, N.M. Pinto, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, had been serving as the regional deputy director since October 28, 2007, and as the acting regional director since May 4, 2011.

“Sharon Pinto is a proven and capable senior federal manager, and her commitment to the welfare of the Navajo people makes her an outstanding choice for regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Navajo Regional Office,” Black said. “I have every confidence in her ability to successfully lead the office in carrying out the BIA’s mission to serve the Navajo Nation.”

“As the new Navajo Regional Office regional director, I want to thank BIA Director Black for this tremendous opportunity,” Pinto said. “I look forward to working with him as a member of his field management team, and to maintaining the office’s high standard of service to the Navajo Nation.”

The Navajo Regional Office oversees five agencies serving the Nation, a federally recognized tribe with over 200,000 enrolled members whose 16 million acre reservation is located in northeast Arizona and extends into northwest New Mexico and southeast Utah. Her appointment became effective on October 9, 2011.

As the acting Navajo Regional Office regional director, Pinto has been responsible for the oversight and management of 420 employees and the administration of over $170 million in BIA programs and $90 million in P.L. 93-638 Indian self-determination contracts with the tribe, carrying out tribal consultation with the Navajo Nation on a day-to-day basis, and working with tribal officials, Interior’s regional trust administrator and other federal representatives, and state and county agencies on matters relating to the development and management of the tribe’s trust lands and natural and mineral resources.

Prior to becoming the acting regional director, Pinto had been serving as the deputy regional director for the Navajo Region since October 2007, where she was responsible for providing oversight and management of BIA regional trust resource management and tribal services programs.

Pinto began her federal career in October 2001 as an Indian self-determination specialist with the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office in Albuquerque, N.M. She also helped provide 638 training to BIA and tribal employees, worked with 23 tribes on administrative support cost issues, and sought to improve the distribution of regional indirect cost funds. She served in that position until her promotion to the post of Indian self-determination officer in the Navajo Regional Office in December 2004, where her responsibilities included supervising and directing the regional self-determination office.

Pinto came to the BIA after having spent 11 years working for the Navajo Nation, the state of New Mexico and the private sector. After graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona University, Pinto started in July of that year as a district prosecutor for the Navajo Nation Prosecutor’s Office in Window Rock, Ariz.

She left the prosecutor’s office in June 1997 to work for the Navajo Housing Authority, the largest Indian housing authority in the United States, as a staff legal advocate. From March 1998 to March 1999, Pinto served as a tribal court advocate with the John A. Chapela law firm in Window Rock where she handled civil and criminal cases in Navajo Nation courts.

From March to December 1999, Pinto worked as a paralegal/victim advocate with the state of New Mexico’s 11th Judicial District Attorney’s office in Gallup providing legal assistance to victims of domestic violence. In May 2000, Pinto joined the staff of the Navajo Nation Ramah (N.M.) Navajo Chapter as human resources manager. In November 2000, Pinto was appointed acting executive director of the chapter’s 638 grants and contracts office, which managed and operated its law enforcement, community resources, trust services, realty management, tribal government, financial management, and property, procurement and facilities management contract and grant programs. She held the post until October 2001.

Between 1991 and 2001, Pinto served on or with numerous local boards and organizations including the Navajo Multi-Disciplinary Team for Child Abuse; Navajo DNA Legal Services, Inc.; the Navajo Nation Domestic Abuse Advisory Board; the Navajo Nation Youth Crime Prevention Coalition; and the McKinley County (N.M.) Domestic Violence Task Force. She also has served as a member of the Ramah Navajo Community Economic Development Task Force, the Ramah Navajo Community Housing Task Force and the Ramah Navajo Community Local Governance Task Force.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk issued the following statement today on the election of the new Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation:

“I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to Bill John Baker as he is officially sworn in to the position of the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. I also congratulate the citizens of the Cherokee Nation whose actions have honored and upheld the democratic ideals of the Nation. I look forward to working with the Cherokee Nation on a government-to-government basis to strengthen our relationship and meet the Nation’s goals for a prosperous future.”

The White House Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 24, 2011

WASHINGTON - On Friday, December 2, 2011, President Obama will host the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Department of the Interior. As part of President Obama's ongoing outreach to the American people, this conference will provide leaders from the 565 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the President and representatives from the highest levels of his Administration. Each federally recognized tribe will be invited to send one representative to the conference. This will be the third White House Tribal Nations Conference for the Obama Administration, and continues to build upon the President's commitment to strengthen the nation to nation relationship with Indian Country. Additional details about the conference will be released at a later date.

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 Rapid City, S.D., today in the final 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.

“The Interior Department’s consultations with Indian Country have been pivotal sources of information,” said Gillette. “I want to thank all of the tribal leaders for providing their invaluable input regarding this landmark case as we move forward to fulfill the obligations of the Cobell Settlement.”

“I am pleased to have seen the close collaboration with the tribes,” said Black. “All of the tribal comments from these sessions have been very helpful and continue to strengthen our government-to-government relationship.”

Today’s participants included leaders and representatives of a number of tribes from the BIA’s Great Plains and other 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.

More information about the 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.

WASHINGTON – Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Gil Kerlikowske and the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today announced that on Saturday, October 29, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time, Americans will be able to drop off their expired, unused and unwanted prescription drug pills at sites across Indian Country free of charge, no questions asked. By doing so, they will be helping prevent drug abuse and theft.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is partnering with national, state, local and tribal law enforcement officials, as well as community coalition groups to hold a third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. This one-day event will make it convenient for the public to rid their homes of potentially dangerous prescription drugs.

“Prescription drug abuse is one of the fastest-growing drug problems in the country,” said Kerlikowske. “Data show that 70 percent of the people who abuse prescription drugs get them from the medicine cabinets of friends or family members, which is why properly disposing of unwanted prescription drugs is more important than ever. Together, we can help save lives by promoting the proper disposal of unused prescription drugs.”

“Through the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, we can all help to ensure the safety of loved ones and tribal communities,” Echo Hawk said. “I urge everyone who has unused prescription drugs to turn them in and help us continue to make every Indian home a prescription drug-safe home.”

The public can find a nearby collection site by visiting www.dea.gov and clicking the “Got Drugs?” banner, which links to a database where they can enter their zip code. Information can also be found by visiting http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/. Below this press release is the table of PARTICIPATING INDIAN COUNTRY LOCATIONS.

The two previous National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events turned in more than 309 tons of pills at more than 5,300 sites manned by over 3,800 federal, state and local law enforcement partners.

Unattended or outdated prescription drugs are often found in home medicine cabinets, and create a public health crisis because they are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Prescription drug abuse in the U.S. today is at an alarmingly high level—two-and-a-half times more people currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants combined, according to the recently released 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The same study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

Four days after the first Take-Back event in September 2010, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA has begun drafting regulations to implement the Act, a process that can take as long as 24 months. Until new regulations are in place, law enforcement agencies like the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

Prescription drug disposal and the Take-Back events are significant pieces of the White House’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan released this year by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Purging home medicine cabinets of neglected drugs is one of four strategies for reducing prescription drug abuse and diversion laid out in Epidemic: Responding to America’s Prescription Drug Abuse Crisis. The other strategies include education of health care providers, patients, parents and youth; establishing prescription drug monitoring programs in all states; and increased enforcement to address doctor shopping and pill mills.

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 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. The BIA Office of Justice Services is responsible for managing the Bureau’s law enforcement, corrections and tribal courts programs, either directly in tribal communities or by funding tribally administered programs through contract and grants. For more information, visit www.indianaffairs.gov.

U.S. DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKE-BACK DAY

OCTOBER 29, 2011

PARTICIPATING INDIAN COUNTRY LOCATIONS

For More Information: http://www.justice.gov/dea/take-back/takeback-day.htm

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Donald E. “Del” Laverdure today announced additional actions that Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officials are taking to aid the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe in its efforts to improve child safety and protection on its reservation. On August 24, Laverdure announced that he was sending in a “strike team” of senior BIA officials to assess and evaluate efforts to improve the Tribe’s social services program at the urging of U.S. Senator Kent Conrad.

The team, comprised of BIA Director Mike Black, Office of Indian Services (OIS) Deputy Bureau Director Hankie Ortiz, OIS Human Services Chief Sue Settles, and Office of Justice Services (OJS) Deputy Bureau Director Darren Cruzan, accompanied by officials from the Bureau’s Great Plains Regional Office (GPRO) and Fort Totten Agency, arrived at the Fort Totten Reservation in North Dakota on August 26. On August 27 they met all day with the tribal chairman and other tribal representatives. Ortiz and Settles stayed the following day to meet with the Tribe’s new social services director to provide technical assistance, discuss a corrective action plan issued by the BIA to the Tribe in April 2012, and share the Bureau’s expectations for improvement.

“Protecting the youngest and most vulnerable tribal citizens is a high priority in our efforts to improve public safety in Indian Country,” Laverdure said. “I want to thank the Spirit Lake leadership for working with us to improve their social services program. I also want to thank our BIA employees who have been and are detailed to the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe for their dedication to the safety and protection of all children.”

The BIA will conduct a program review the week of September 10 and generate an internal report shortly thereafter that will give an assessment of the Tribe’s progress on the corrective action plan. The Bureau will then determine what steps are appropriate going forward. The goal is to help the Spirit Lake Tribe safely and successfully operate its social services program.

Settles will return to the reservation on September 3 where she will remain for the next two weeks to assist the Tribe and supervise BIA social workers detailed to the Tribe’s social services program. Starting on September 4, two supervisory social workers will arrive to assist tribal program staff in conducting home visits, following up on child protection referrals, and documenting such activities through appropriate protocols and forms.

BIA social workers also will continue assisting the program’s new director with developing policies and procedures to address deficiencies identified in the corrective action plan issued by the Bureau to the Tribe in April. Tribal social service child protection workers will be attending a series of training sessions starting next month at the University of North Dakota to attain Child Welfare Certification.

The Tribe has been conducting weekly meetings with community stakeholders on collaborative approaches to meeting the needs of its children.

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 an Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistant Act (ISDEAA) Title I contract with the BIA since 2001.

In August 2011, the BIA’s Great Plains Regional Office’s Division of Human Services in Aberdeen, S.D., found serious deficiencies in contract performance. 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.

The BIA will continue to provide such assistance for the foreseeable future and as resources allow. Ongoing and future efforts include:

• 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, and
• 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.

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. – The Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform will hold its next public meeting on Sept. 13-14, 2012, in Bismarck, N.D. It will be preceded by a public facilitated discussion hosted by Commissioner Tex Hall in the afternoon of Sept. 12 in New Town, N.D., for members of the public to share their perspectives about trust management and administration. In addition, a youth-outreach session will be held the evening of Sept. 13 at the United Tribes Technical College (UTTC) in Bismarck.

The Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform was established by Secretary Salazar in 2011 to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the Department’s management and administration of nearly $4 billion in American Indian trust assets over two years and to offer recommendations on improvements in the future. Building on progress made with the historic Cobell Settlement, the Commission will help to establish a new era of trust administration: one that stresses responsive, accountable, transparent, and customer-friendly management of these substantial funds and assets.

For more information about the Commission and its work, please visit the Interior Department website at http://www.doi.gov/cobell/commission/index.cfm.

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to credentialed media representatives, who must display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services (OJS) will hold the third of six training sessions to improve the trial advocacy skills of tribal court prosecutors, defenders and judges on September 11-13, 2012, in Great Falls, Mont. This training session will focus on cases dealing with the sexual assault of children and adults.

The training is being conducted under the Tribal Court Trial Advocacy Training Program, a joint effort by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice 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 sharpening the skills of those who practice within the tribal court system.

The program is the result of a collaborative effort by the OJS and DOJ’s Access to Justice Initiative (AJI) 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 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.

NOTE: The dates and locations for two of the three remaining sessions have changed. The fourth session will now be held October 23-25 in Chinle, Ariz., and the fifth session will be held Nov. 13-15 in Seattle, Wash. The sixth and last session is still scheduled for January 15-17, 2013, in Albuquerque, N.M. The first and second sessions were held July 24-26 in Duluth, Minn., and August 14-16, in Ignacio, Colo.

CREDENTIALS: This invitation is extended to credentialed media representatives, who must display sanctioned media credentials for admittance to the event.

-DOI-