OPA

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joined Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Director Dr. Charles M. “Monty” Roessel today in announcing important funding to help further the Department of the Interior’s goal to transform and improve the quality of education students receive at tribal schools funded by the BIE.

A centerpiece of the transformation includes transferring control of BIE-funded schools from the BIE to the tribe the school serves. Local control will be facilitated through $1.45 million in grants to seven tribal nations who will use the funding to begin restructuring school governance, build capacity for academic success and develop curriculum that is both academically rigorous and culturally relevant to students. The Department received this funding in its FY2015 appropriation from Congress authorized under the Education Amendments Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 2020).

“The future of Indian Country rests on ensuring American Indian and Alaska Native children receive a world-class education that honors their cultures, languages and identities as Native people,” said Secretary Jewell. “This funding reflects President Obama’s commitment to promote tribal self-governance and self-determination, enabling the BIE to more effectively support tribal nations who best understand the unique needs of their communities.”

Today’s announcement supports the Obama Administration’s Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative, which is intended to remove barriers to Native youth success. Today, in conjunction with the funding announcement, the White House is hosting its first-ever Tribal Youth Gathering. The gathering provides Native youth from across the country the opportunity to interact directly with senior Administration officials and the White House Council on Native American Affairs, chaired by Secretary Jewell.

“This funding will help keep students in school and on the path to graduation while furthering the President’s commitment to creating opportunities for Native students to receive a great education,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “It lays the foundation for instilling in all BIE students the belief that they can perform well in school, obtain a degree, and prepare for a promising future.”

The governance capacity and curriculum development grants are awarded to the following tribal nations:

• Hopi Tribe, AZ
• Navajo Nation, AZ
• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, ND
• Pueblo of Acoma, NM
• Santa Clara Indian Pueblo, NM
• Oglala Sioux Tribe, SD
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe, SD

“The Tribal Education Departments National Assembly (TEDNA) applauds Congress and the Department for providing more opportunities for tribal nations to have more control over the education of their tribal members,” said TEDNA Executive Director Quinton Roman Nose. “These Section 2020 grants will help ensure that students attending BIE-funded schools will receive a culturally rich and academically rigorous education.”

Additionally, Interior is awarding $995,000 to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) to be disbursed among 20 Tribal Colleges and Universities and the two BIE-operated post-secondary schools (Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) in Albuquerque, N.M.). AIHEC works with more than 45 BIE-funded elementary and secondary schools to create college pathway programs that will help more K-12 BIE students graduate from high school and continue to college.

“As part of our continuing efforts to re-imagine the Bureau of Indian Education as a capacity-builder and service-provider to tribes in the education of their children, the Bureau will work in partnership with tribes and AIHEC to not only improve student performance and strengthen student preparedness for college, but to build a college-going culture throughout the BIE school system,” said Director Monty Roessel. “I want to thank AIHEC for supporting all BIE students by partnering with us to achieve these worthy goals.”

“AIHEC is thrilled to partner with the BIE through this cooperative agreement and support their overall efforts to increase tribal self-determination,” said AIHEC President and CEO Carrie L. Billy. “AIHEC and TCUs are ideally positioned to work with BIE schools to make a significant impact on AI/AN academic performance and participation, yet the benefits of our partnership are far greater – they go right to the core of who we are as Indian people today.”

In 2013, Jewell and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan convened the American Indian Education Study Group to propose a comprehensive reform plan to ensure that all students attending BIE-funded schools receive a quality education. Based on listening sessions held throughout Indian country, the Study Group issued a Blueprint for Reform in June 2014. The Blueprint recommends that BIE support tribal nations in their efforts to assume control over BIE-funded schools. To date, tribes are operating two-thirds of BIE-funded schools.

The Department will soon release a summary of the BIE’s progress on the five educational reform goals published in the Blueprint and the strides towards improving the education of students in BIE-funded schools. This report takes stock of the Department’s progress approximately one year after President Obama’s historic trip to Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Nation in Cannonball, N.D. in June 2014. The report affirms that while the BIE is making important progress, more work needs to be done, and the Department remains committed to improving the lives of Native youth across the country by providing students a world-class education at BIE-funded schools.

The BIE oversees 183 elementary and secondary schools, including 14 off-reservation boarding schools and peripheral dormitories located on 64 reservations in 23 states serving more than 48,000 students. Of these, 59 are BIE-operated and 124 are tribally operated under Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act contracts or Tribally Controlled Schools Act grants. TEDNA is The Tribal Education Departments National Assembly, Co. (“TEDNA”), is a nonprofit organization.

TEDNA is a membership organization for the Education Departments of American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes. Since 2003, TEDNA serves its member tribal education departments by fostering effective relationships with other governmental and educational agencies, and supporting and encouraging each member nation’s right to define and reach its own educational goals for its students, families, and communities wherever they may be located.

AIHEC is a nonprofit organization that represents the nation's 37 Tribal Colleges and Universities – a unique community of tribally and federally chartered institutions working to strengthen tribal nations and make a lasting difference in the lives of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Since 1973, AIHEC serves its network of member institutions through public policy, advocacy, research, and program initiatives to ensure strong tribal sovereignty through excellence in American Indian higher education.

WASHINGTON – Following extensive environmental and economic analyses and robust tribal and public outreach, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor today approved the Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP) and Navajo Mine Energy Project in northwestern New Mexico, under a plan that would minimize and mitigate the project’s projected environmental impacts while maintaining the substantial economic benefits of coal mining and energy production for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and local communities.

The executed Record of Decision (ROD) approves a 25-year site lease extension with the Navajo Nation for the Four Corners Power Plant, authorizes continued mining operations to supply the power plant’s remaining units, renews transmission line and access road rights-of-way on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations, and accepts the proposed mining plan for the Navajo Mine.

The project will support continued operation of the remaining two units at FCPP and is expected to support 2,340 jobs statewide and may produce as much as $40 to 60 million annually in direct revenue for the Navajo Nation. Of the action alternatives considered by DOI, the preferred alternative would permit the smallest area, minimize impacts to water resources and air quality and allow the fewest roadways compared to other proposed action alternatives. It also includes protections for wildlife, cultural and archaeological resources.

“Today’s decision includes a robust suite of mitigation measures designed to reduce the potential environmental impacts of the project to the greatest extent possible, while still supporting earlier pollution reduction measures, and promoting tribal self-determination and economic development,” said Deputy Secretary Connor.

The FCPP, an existing coal-fired electric generating station, that receives coal solely from the Navajo Tribal Coal Lease area, is jointly owned by five utilities, and currently generates 1,540 megawatts of energy for regional consumers. In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Federal Implementation Plan for the Best Available Retrofit Technology for FCPP, the plant operators shut down three of the five units, and agreed to install selective catalytic reduction devises on the remaining two units. These actions significantly reduce emissions from the FCPP and decrease the amount of air pollutants emitted. The Navajo Nation’s Pinabete Permit Area includes previously permitted but undeveloped reserves that would supply coal to the power plant for up to 25 years, based on current projected customer needs. The permittee is the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, a wholly owned limited liability company of the Navajo Nation.

The ROD’s supporting Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), prepared by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), analyzes the project’s anticipated effects on air emissions, greenhouse gases, water quality and other resources. The EIS was developed in close cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Other Cooperating Agencies include: Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Park Service; the EPA; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. The final EIS was published on May 1, 2015.

The project review process included substantial tribal consultation and public outreach. OSMRE also consulted with FWS on impacts to threatened and endangered species and identified reasonable and prudent measures necessary for four species and their habitat. In addition, OSMRE developed programmatic agreements with the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, the proponents, and other federal and state agencies to provide for appropriate mitigation of archaeological and cultural resources that may be encountered with this project.

Public announcements were made in Navajo, Hopi and English in local newspapers and radio stations and a scoping period from July 18, 2012, to November 1, 2012, included nine public meetings in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. From March 28, 2014 to June 27, 2014, the public comment period on the Draft EIS also included nine public meetings in those states. All meetings had Navajo and Hopi interpreters as needed. OSMRE also considered comments received after publishing the Final EIS on May 1, 2015. The ROD is available here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with President Obama’s commitment to empowering tribal nations, rebuilding their homelands and strengthening their economies, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that he has approved the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians’ probate code, which the Department of the Interior’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) will start applying when probating trust or restricted lands within the Fond du Lac Reservation in Minnesota. The OHA will use the tribe’s code to determine how an individual’s trust or restricted fee lands within the reservation will pass to his or her heirs upon the person’s death.

“I want to congratulate the Fond du Lac Band on becoming the next tribal government to establish its code under which trust estates within its reservation can be probated,” Washburn said. “Developing its own Tribal Probate Code is a significant exercise of tribal sovereignty and is fundamental to a tribe’s ability through that process to ensure that property is distributed according to their tribal member’s preferences.”

Approval of tribal probate codes is one of many steps the Obama Administration is taking within a larger effort to empower tribes by restoring tribal homelands while addressing the historical problems of land fractionation. Additional elements of this strategy include implementation of the Department’s Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations, which carries out the land consolidation provisions of the historic Cobell Settlement, as well as Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership (or HEARTH) Act approvals, which allow federally recognized tribes with approved leasing regulations to negotiate and enter into leases without further Secretarial approvals, and prioritizing the land-into-trust process. The combination of these actions has the potential to unlock millions of acres of fractionated lands for the benefit of tribal communities.

"The Band's Probate Code will reduce land fractionation and improve its ability to make productive use of land on our reservation," said Fond du Lac Chairwoman Karen R. Diver, who met with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell Tuesday morning to discuss the Band’s Probate Code. "In the long run,” Diver told Secretary Jewell, “the Probate Code will provide additional services to our tribal members, help the Band to reduce its housing shortage and promote economic development.”

Application of tribal probate codes helps to make certain that tribal preferences for inheritance are applied during the probate process. Other crucial streamlining elements include proactive estate planning and increased participation by Indian trust property owners in the probate process. Having a will in place may help ensure that an individual’s trust property is distributed according to the person’s wishes and can vitally assist in the administration of the deceased’s estate. Also important is the cooperation of family members with the appropriate Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agency or regional office in the preparation of probate files, which further helps the OHA make progress in reducing its substantial probate caseload.

Under the American Indian Probate Reform Act (AIPRA) of 2004 federally recognized tribes have the ability to present the Department with their own tribally enacted probate codes that govern the descent and distribution of Indian trust properties within their jurisdictions. The Fond du Lac Band is only the third tribe to gain approval of its own probate code – the others are the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, which were approved in November 2014 and May 2008, respectively.

“The approval of an AIPRA-compliant tribal probate code for the Fond du Lac people is a good achievement as it will remind all Indian landowners that under AIPRA they need to have a written and properly executed will if they want to direct how their trust assets will be distributed to their heirs,” said Chris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. “They also need to know that a number of tribes have pre-AIPRA partial probate codes that strictly limit inheritance of land interests to their tribal members.”

Lands allotted to individual American Indians in the 19th and early 20th centuries now have hundreds and sometimes even thousands of individual owners, thereby making it difficult to lease or develop the parcels. As a result, highly fractionated allotments lie idle, unable to be used for any economically beneficial purpose. Because fractionation often increases when an allotment property owner dies without leaving a will, individual owners and tribes can address in part the fractionation problem through careful attention to wills and probate issues, including adoption of tribal probate codes.

The Department of the Interior holds about 56 million acres of land in trust for American Indians, with more than 10 million acres held for individuals and nearly 46 million acres for federally recognized tribes. The Department holds this land in more than 200,000 tracts, of which about 92,000 (on approximately 150 reservations) contain fractional ownership interests subject to purchase by the Land Buy-Back Program. The Cobell Settlement provided $1.9 billion to purchase fractionated interests in trust or restricted fee land from willing sellers, at fair market value, within a 10-year period.

For more information on the probate and estate planning process, please visit www.bia.gov/yourland/. For more information on the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations, please visit http://www.doi.gov/buybackprogram/index.cfm. A photo of Secretary Sally Jewell (at right) and Chairwoman Karen Diver can be viewed at https://flic.kr/p/wVzMoc.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn today announced that DOI University will pilot an interactive training course for Federal employees and tribal representatives engaged in tribal consultation, and will launch the course at the National Indian Programs Training Center in Albuquerque, N.M., on August 25-27, 2015.

The course, Consulting with Tribal Nations, was developed in response to the mandate found in the Department’s Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes issued in December of 2011. That policy mandates training as a means of improving the government-to government relationship with Federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and increasing consultation regarding decisions that affect tribal interests. In 2012, DOI University convened a cross-Departmental team of subject matter experts who developed the Consulting with Tribal Nations course and the online prerequisite training to improve Interior’s capacity to promote communication, collaboration and consultation with tribes and execute the consultation provisions of Section VII of the Department‘s Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes.

“As a Department, we have a great deal of experience in tribal consultation and yet we can continue to improve,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “The training course will provide the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for tribal and Interior staff to make consultation more productive. The online and classroom work is designed to increase awareness and understanding of tribal sovereignty, the federal trust responsibility to tribes and cross-cultural perspectives. Participants will come away with an understanding of how best to engage in tribal consultation and listen to tribes, improving the Department’s ability to make policy for Indian Country and beyond.”

The Departmental team, led by DOI University and comprised of representatives from eight Interior bureaus, created a tribal consultation competency model that became the framework for the training. The model includes seven competency clusters: Legal and Technical Expertise; Intercultural Communication; Building Relationships; Effective Consultation Practices; Interest-based Consultation; Decision-making; and Facilitation Skills, and 47 associated competencies. Using the competency model as a guide, the team developed the learning objectives and a draft course outline for the online prerequisite training and the classroom-based course. DOI University contracted with the Falmouth Institute, a consulting and training company dedicated to serving Indian Country, to complete the course development. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center was instrumental in helping with the production of the prerequisite training videos.

Consulting with Tribal Nations is open to Interior and other federal employees and to tribal members and will be offered at a variety of training sites across the country. The course builds on the knowledge gained in the online prerequisite training and provides an opportunity to participate in a mock consultation. The online prerequisite training is a series of three 45-minute videos that cover Tribal Sovereignty, Doctrine of Trust Responsibility, and an Overview of the Consultation process. These online videos are an excellent resource for those employees who are not involved in tribal consultations, but who need to be familiar with Interior’s commitment to tribal consultation. The two-and-a-half-day classroom-based Consulting with Tribal Nations is targeted to those who need more in-depth knowledge of the tribal consultation fundamentals, process and practices. Tuition is $525 per person. DOI employees can register through DOI Learn. Others can register at https://doiu.doi.gov/.

The obligation to engage in meaningful consultations with the Federally recognized tribes is rooted in the United States Constitution and Federal treaties, statutes, executive orders and policies. Federal agencies are required to consult with Federally recognized tribes on actions that will have substantial, direct effect or implications for them, including regulations, rulemakings, policy, guidance, legislative proposals, grant formula changes, and operational activities. The tribal consultation training will reinforce Interior’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with the tribes and promote a new era of consultation.

Tribal consultations should emphasize trust, respect and shared responsibility; promote enhanced communication; and demonstrate a meaningful commitment to ensure continuity in the process. Enhanced consultations honor the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian tribes, and comply with the Presidential Memorandum of November 5, 2009, which obligates Interior to meet the spirit and intent of Executive Order 13175.

Interior’s Department-wide policy on tribal consultations seeks the appropriate level of decision-maker in the process; promotes innovative communication; details early tribal involvement in the design of a process that could affect tribal interests; and captures a wide range of policy and decision-making processes under the consultation umbrella. Inclusion of tribes in the Department’s decision-making processes help ensure that future Federal action is achievable, comprehensive, long-lasting, and reflective of tribal wisdom.

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced a new Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) program to assist federally recognized tribal social services agencies seeking to place children in safe homes.

“The BIA-OJS Purpose Code X Program will provide tribal social service agencies with the information they need to protect the children they place into care in emergency situations when parents are unable to provide for their welfare,” Washburn said. “This program provides BIA law enforcement personnel with the ability to provide our social service agency partners with much needed information to help to make sure children requiring emergency placements will be placed in safe homes.”

The BIA-OJS Purpose Code X Program arose out of a 2014 working group formed by the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and the Interior (DOI) to identify sustainable solutions that provide tribes access to national crime information that addresses criminal and civil needs of tribes. The outcome of this collaboration was the BIA-OJS Purpose Code X Program and DOJ Tribal Access Program for National Crime Information (TAP) TAP will allow tribes to more effectively serve and protect their communities by ensuring the exchange of critical data.

Under the BIA-OJS Purpose Code X Program, BIA-OJS dispatch centers will be available to provide 24-hour access to criminal history records, so name-based checks can be done immediately. Protocols for operating under the new program are being developed by BIA-OJS and will be tested by a select number of tribes prior to a nationwide implementation of the program.

BIA-OJS obtained authorization to perform these name-based checks from the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council, an organization which has the legal authority to promulgate rules and procedures governing the exchange of criminal records for non-criminal justice purposes.

“The BIA Office of Justice Services and DOJ’s Office of Tribal Justice have made collaboration on improving tribal access to information a high priority over the last year, and I am grateful to the Compact Council for approving our request so quickly,” said BIA OJS Deputy Director Darren A. Cruzan.

OJS has also worked to improve tribal reporting to the Uniform Crime Report system and encouraged tribal participation in the National Data Exchange (NDEx) system.

All of these efforts underscore the importance of the exchange of information between law enforcement agencies to achieving public safety in all jurisdictions, including Indian Country.

The BIA-OJS’s mission is to address public safety concerns in Indian Country by funding law enforcement, correctional departments 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. The BIA-OJS operates the Indian Police Academy in Artesia, N.M., which provides training and professional development to BIA and tribal law enforcement personnel.

Visit http://www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/OJS/index.htm for more information about OJS and its work.

For more information on TAP, visit www.justice.gov/tribal/tribal-access-program-tap.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Justice Services and the Tulalip Tribes of Washington will co-host a VAWA Tribal Trial Advocacy Skills Training session September 2-4, 2015, for tribal court judges, prosecutors and criminal defenders covering basic trial advocacy skills and the use of special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction (SDVCJ) authority granted federally recognized tribes by the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA). The training will take place on the Tulalip Reservation.

“VAWA is a historic step forward in public safety because it recognizes the central role tribes must play if we are serious about addressing the chronic problem of domestic violence in Indian Country,” said Kevin K. Washburn, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs. “We support tribal governments addressing this problem because we know that some problems can only be solved within the community.”

Trainers include experienced judges, public defenders, prosecutors, law school faculty, and federal attorneys from the Interior Department and the U.S. Department of Justice. The training will cover basic trial advocacy skills from the point of view of the parties and the bench, as well as information about prosecuting non-Indian defendants under VAWA. The training will consist of joint skill lectures and separate skills practice for each cohort, and will end with a mock trial in the Tulalip Tribal Courthouse.

The OJS Tribal Justice Support Directorate took note from the Intertribal Technical-Assistance Working Group’s collaborative discussions on implementing VAWA SDVCJ and saw the value in supporting the concept that tribal experts should train other tribes interested in prosecuting under the VAWA SDVCJ. The Intertribal Technical-Assistance Working Group (ITWG) is a voluntary working group of designated tribal representatives launched by the Department of Justice as part of the Pilot Project phase of VAWA SDVCJ implementation. For more information on the ITWG, visit www.ncai.org/tribal-vawa.

Tulalip is the second tribe to co-host the Directorate’s VAWA training series this year. In May, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona co-hosted the Directorate’s first training session, which utilized curriculum based on the Tribe’s experience from its first year of exercising SDVCJ authority.

Tulalip and Pascua Yaqui Tribes are among five tribes approved as pilot projects to exercise VAWA SDVCJ authority on an accelerated basis. The OJS Tribal Justice Support Directorate plans to continue the series with a training hosted by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate in spring 2016 as well as plans to work with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to bring the VAWA training series to other parts of Indian Country.

VAWA authorizes federally recognized tribes to exercise “special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction” over certain defendants, regardless of their Indian or non-Indian status, who commit acts of domestic or dating violence or violate certain protection orders on federal Indian trust lands. Under VAWA SDVCJ authority a tribe must protect the rights of defendants under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968, including the right to due process, which requires including a fair cross-section of the community in jury pools which does not systematically exclude non-Indians. Furthermore, the due process rights also require informing defendants detained by a tribal court of their right to file federal habeas corpus petitions.

Substantive trial training will be provided specific to VAWA prosecutions including training on jurisdictional considerations, witness recantation, and evidence considerations, and will focus on three tracks: prosecutor, defender, and judicial.

WHO: Tribal Justice Support Directorate, Office of Justice Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior

WHAT: The Tribal Justice Support Directorate in the BIA’s Office of Justice Services will co-host with The Tulalip Tribes of Washington a VAWA Tribal Trial Advocacy Skills Training session that will cover basic trial advocacy skills and the use of special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction (SDVCJ) authority granted to federally recognized tribes by the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA).

WHEN: September 2-4, 2015 (PDT)

• Wednesday, Sept. 2 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Hilbulb Cultural Center
• Thursday, Sept. 3 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Hilbulb Cultural Center
• Friday, Sept. 4 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Tulalip Tribal Court

WHERE: Hilbulb Cultural Center, 6410 23rd Ave NE, Tulalip, WA 98271 Tulalip Tribal Court, 6103 31st Ave NE, Tulalip, WA 98271

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that $1.75 million in funding is being made available to tribes through two Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) initiatives: The Sovereignty in Indian Education (SIE) Enhancement Program and the Tribal Education Department (TED) Grant Program. These programs assist federally recognized tribes with building their tribal education departments and promoting tribal control of their schools.

“Tribes have the best perspective on what their children need to learn and how the schools that serve their communities can become successful,” Washburn said. “I want to thank Congress for providing the funding that ensures tribes will be able to assume total control over BIE-funded schools and guide their children’s cultural and academic learning.”

The SIE enhancement and TED grant programs were established based on a recommendation contained in the Blueprint for Reform – a report that was created with help from tribal governments and key federal and tribal officials – and are in the second round of funding. The program funds fulfill a recommendation in the Blueprint for Reform for BIE to support tribal nations in their efforts to: restructure schools’ governance, assume control over BIE-funded schools, and develop curriculum that is both academically rigorous and culturally relevant to their students.

“When the Blueprint for Reform was released in 2014, the BIE set out a vision for tribal nations and BIE-funded schools that is grounded in high academic standards and tribal culture, language and history. The TED and SIE funding will support and prepare tribes to operate successful schools and shape what their students are learning. Today, this funding announcement moves us one step closer to our goal of allowing tribes to truly structure how they envision what education should look like,” said BIE Director Dr. Charles M. “Monty” Roessel.

The purpose of SIE enhancement funds is to support the tribes’ capacity to manage and operate tribally controlled schools as defined by the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988. These funds support the development of a school-reform plan to improve educational outcomes for students and improve efficiencies in the operation of BIE-funded schools within a reservation. Tribes must have at least one BIE-funded school to be eligible.

SIE enhancement funding range from $100,000 to $200,000 per fiscal year depending on the number of schools involved, student enrollment, the complexity of creating a new tribally managed school system, and the tribe’s technical approach. In year 1 of the program, SIE will support tribes in the research and design of their tribally managed school systems. Year 2 funds, the implementation year, are awarded based on tribe’s approved support of the tribally managed school system plan. These enhancements will provide funds for tribes to:

• Research and define its adequate yearly progress (AYP);
• Develop an implementation plan that will reform a tribe’s current organizational structure towards an expert and independent TED that supports schools and students; and
• Cover the execution of the implementation plan with identified staffing, projected timelines, proposed budgets and activities.

The TED grant program provides funds for tribes and their TEDs for projects defined by the Education Amendments Act of 1978. These funds support the development and operation of TEDs to advance educational outcomes for students and improve the efficiency and effectiveness in the management of BIE-funded schools.

• TED grants will range from $25,000 to $150,000 per fiscal year, for three years or depending on the project, number of educational programs impacted, project design, and expected outcomes. Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, grants will be provided for three years and, depending on performance, may be renewed for additional two-year terms. Grant funds will support program goals for the following areas that promote tribal education capacity-building;
• To provide for the development and enforcement of tribal educational codes, including tribal educational policies and tribal standards applicable to curriculum, personnel, students, facilities and support programs;
• To facilitate tribal control in all matters relating to the education of Indian children on reservations and on former reservations in Oklahoma; and
• To provide for the development of coordinated educational programs on reservations and on former reservations in Oklahoma by encouraging tribal administrative support of all BIE-funded educational programs, as well as encouraging tribal cooperation and coordination with entities carrying out all educational programs receiving financial support from other federal agencies, state agencies or private entities.

Eligible tribal governments may apply for SIE and TED funding by responding to the relevant Request for Proposals (RFPs) notices published in the Federal Register. To view them, visit: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/08/28/2015-21338/sovereignty-in-indian-education https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/08/28/2015-21339/tribal-education-departmentgrant-program

Both SIE and TED grant proposals must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, September 21, 2015.

In addition to today’s funding announcement, the BIE will hold pre-grant training workshops for SIE and TED applicants. Further information on these programs and pre-grant training workshops can be found on the SIE (http://bie.edu/Programs/Sovereignty/index.htm) and TED (http://bie.edu/Programs/TribalEduDeptGrantProgram/index.htm) websites.

The Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs oversees the BIE, which operates the federal school system for American Indian and Alaska Native children from the federally recognized tribes. The BIE director is directly responsible for implementing federal education programs and laws in 183 elementary and secondary day and boarding schools on 64 reservations in 23 states serving over 48,000 students. Of these, 59 are BIE-operated and 124 are tribally operated under Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act contracts or Tribally Controlled Schools Act grants. The BIE also funds or operates off-reservation boarding schools and peripheral dormitories near reservations for tribal students attending public schools.

ANCHORAGE, AK – In recognition of the long history of strong support from Alaska state, tribal and congressional leaders, and in resolution of an official request for a name change pending for 40 years, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the highest mountain in the United States and North America, formerly known as Mount McKinley, will be officially given the traditional Koyukon Athabascan name of Denali.

President Obama endorsed Jewell’s decision to issue a Secretarial Order that officially changes the name. Jewell is granted the authority to make such changes in certain cases per the 1947 federal law that provides for the standardization of geographic names through the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. The name change will be reflected in all federal usage.

“This name change recognizes the sacred status of Denali to many Alaska Natives,” Secretary Jewell said. “The name Denali has been official for use by the State of Alaska since 1975, but even more importantly, the mountain has been known as Denali for generations. With our own sense of reverence for this place, we are officially renaming the mountain Denali in recognition of the traditions of Alaska Natives and the strong support of the people of Alaska.”

Since 1987 and until today, the official name of the mountain in federal publications has been Mount McKinley. The mountain retained the federally authorized name Mount McKinley, even as the name of the national park was changed in 1980 from Mount McKinley National Park into the new (and larger) area named Denali National Park and Preserve under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. “Recognizing the long history and discussion about the name of this iconic American mountain, the time has come to restore the traditional Alaska Native title Denali for this landmark, which holds great significance to the people of Alaska,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.

In 1896, a prospector emerged from exploring the mountains of central Alaska and received news that William McKinley had been nominated as a candidate for President of the United States. In a show of support, the prospector declared the tallest peak of the Alaska Range as Mount McKinley – and the name stuck.

For centuries, the mountain that rises more than 20,000 feet above sea level, the tallest on the North American continent, had been known by another name – Denali. McKinley, our 25th President, was tragically assassinated just six months into his second term, but he never set foot in Alaska.

On March 11, 1975, Governor Jay S. Hammond of Alaska requested that the Secretary of the Interior direct the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to officially designate Mount McKinley in Alaska as Denali. This proposal, never withdrawn, is based on a resolution that was passed by the Alaska State Legislature.

Since 1977, the Board, in deference to potential congressional action, had not resolved the proposal for changing the federally recognized geographic name from Mount McKinley to Denali. Secretary Jewell’s action today finally resolves the March 1975 petition by former Governor Hammond.

Denali National Park & Preserve, where the mountain is located, was established in 1917 and annually sees more than 500,000 visitors to the 6 million acres that now make up the park and preserve. About 1,200 mountaineers attempt to summit the mountain each year; typically about half are successful.

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – As part of the Obama Administration’s Climate Data Initiative, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced a new set of online climate data resources to help Arctic communities with climate change planning, adaptation and management. The new data sets, introduced today as part of an online Climate Resilience Toolkit, comprised more than 250 Arctic-related datasets and more than 40 maps, tools, and other resources designed to support climate-resilience efforts in the Arctic.

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit is a website developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other Federal agencies that will enable decision makers to take action. The toolkit will boost climate resiliency by using data-driven tools, information and subject-matter expertise. This also offers information from across the Federal government in one easy-to-use location so that Americans are better able to understand the climate-related risks and opportunities impacting their communities, which will enable them to make smarter decisions to improve their resilience.

“Through the release of Arctic-themed climate data, the U.S. is demonstrating its leadership in sharing free and open climate-relevant information, while also encouraging public innovation and partnerships with private sector entities that are interested in leveraging this data,” Secretary Jewell said. “Also, by sharing climate data among nations, we are providing tools that may be useful in increasing resilience measures across national boundaries in the Arctic."

In tandem with the release of Arctic-specific climate data sets, Jewell joined Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn to announce that the Climate Resilience Toolkit will also be updated with climate impact information specific to tribal nations.

“Rising temperatures, thawing permafrost, melting glaciers and sea ice are having significant impacts on critical infrastructure and traditional livelihoods for tribes in Alaska and across Indian country,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “That means climate change not only affects tribal livelihood, but it also affects access to vital resources and the cultural integrity of communities. We are committed to working with tribal leaders to help build more resilient Native communities in the face of a changing climate."

The online tribal climate resources, developed with support by tribes and other federal agencies like NOAA and the EPA, represent an important outcome from the cross-agency work of the White House Council on Native American Affairs.

The tribal toolkit can be viewed at this website.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s Generation Indigenous (“GenI”) initiative to remove barriers standing between Native youth and their opportunity to succeed, Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has awarded $1.3 million in Tribal Climate Resilience Program grants for internships intended to engage the next generation of Native leaders on climate change. Twentyone grants for internships, specifically designed around climate change adaptation and community resilience, were awarded to federally recognized tribes and tribally chartered organizations.

“American Indian and Alaska Native communities are experiencing the effects of climate change, and we need to engage, educate, and provide relevant work experience for the next generation of tribal leaders and program managers,” Washburn said. “These investments in Indian Country’s young people show how wide the Obama Administration’s commitment is to supporting tribes as they address these challenges.”

The funds will support tribal youth internships that focus on identifying and integrating climate adaptation into tribal program management as well as climate research internships to develop actionable science that will help tribal managers identify effective management choices to aid their tribes’ resilience to climate change. A subset of awards encourages climate literacy to cultivate the next generation of tribal leaders and climate adaptation program managers. Some applicants received grants in more than one category.

The funds build on the Tribal Climate Resilience Program awards of nearly $14.1 million -- $2.3 million, issued last December, and $11.8 million in direct tribal support awards in June -- presented to 104 tribal and tribal organization projects.

The BIA gave out 21 awards yesterday totaling $1,367,719 in three categories:

• Category 1: Program Internships – Awards: 9; Total Funding: $ 607,836
• Category 2: Research Internships – Awards: 5; Total Funding: $ 319,178
• Category 3: Youth Engagement – Awards: 7; Total Funding: $ 440,705

As part of Executive Order 13653 of November 1, 2013, all federal departments and agencies are expanding their efforts to help tribes, states, cities and localities prepare for the impacts of climate change. To comply with this Executive Order, the Secretary of the Interior’s Tribal Climate Resilience Program carries out Recommendations and Supplemental Recommendations of the President’s State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience, and assists in implementing President Obama’s Climate Action Plan. A key part of the Climate Action Plan is to build more resilient communities and strengthen defenses for communities already on the front lines of a changing climate.

Furthermore, the President’s proposed budget for FY 2016 includes $137 million to prepare communities and ecosystems for the challenges of a changing climate. Included in this request is $50 million to support competitive resilience projects in coastal areas. The budget also proposes expanding the Tribal Climate Resilience Program to specifically address the changing Arctic landscape and offer support to Alaska Native villages and other critically vulnerable communities in evaluating options for their long-term resilience to climate change.

Visit the Indian Affairs website http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/BIA/climatechange/index.htm to view lists of the FY 2015 youth internship and climate awardees.

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. These offices directly administer or fund tribally based infrastructure, law enforcement, social services (including child welfare), tribal governance, natural and energy resources, and trust lands and resources management programs for the nation’s federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages through 12 regional offices and 81 agencies. The Office of Trust Services administers the Tribal Climate Resilience Program.