OPA

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation is awarding a construction contract of almost $62 million for part of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in New Mexico to increase the supply of clean drinking water to surrounding communities.

“This contract is a big step toward completing the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, which is a top priority as it fits into the administration's commitment to improving infrastructure,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said. “The project is critical to providing a much-needed, long-term, sustainable water supply for people on the Navajo and Jicarilla Apache reservations and the City of Gallup. It is also the cornerstone of our commitments under the Navajo Nation San Juan River Water Rights Settlement.”

The contract was awarded to Oscar Renda Contracting Inc. of Roanoke, Texas. It covers Block 9-11, an integral component of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. When completed, the entire project will consist of approximately 300 miles of pipeline, two water treatment plants, 19 pumping plants, and multiple water storage tanks.

Under the new contract, Reaches 9 through 11 of the San Juan Lateral portion of the project will include construction of approximately 28 miles of 48-inch and 42-inch diameter water transmission pipeline between the community of Naschitti, New Mexico to the Twin Lakes, New Mexico area. Work on this segment of the project is anticipated to begin in January 2018 with completion scheduled for March 2020.

Upon completion of the entire Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project in 2024, Block 9-11 will include turnouts to provide water to the communities of Naschitti, Buffalo Springs, Tohatchi, and Mexican Springs.

“This contract on a critical infrastructure project is the result of tremendous work by our Reclamation team and partners,” said Alan Mikkelsen, Reclamation’s Acting Commissioner. “The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project will improve the safety and quality of life by providing an increased supply of clean drinking water to communities within the project area.”

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today thanked President Trump for signing a Presidential Emergency Declaration for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which was hard hit by Hurricane Irma last week. The tribe made its request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as soon as it was able to do so. This is the first such declaration ever approved for a tribal nation according to FEMA.

“I want to thank President Trump for quickly responding to the Seminole Tribe’s request for a Presidential Emergency Declaration to help it address the severe damage it suffered from Hurricane Irma,” Secretary Zinke said. “The Interior Department and, specifically, the Bureau of Indian Affairs are actively working to provide the tribe with law enforcement and emergency services that will help fill in gaps in its own resources and supplement the assistance it receives from FEMA.”

The declaration came with a surge of 75 volunteer officers from the Department of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, various other Interior bureaus, and other Tribal Nations. Two dozen BIA and tribal officers remain this week to provide law enforcement and emergency services.

The Seminole Tribe is headquartered in the city of Hollywood, and is one of two federally recognized tribes in the state of Florida. The Tribe has tribal members on the Hollywood, Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee, Fort Pierce, Lakeland and Tampa Reservations as well as communities in Naples, Tamiami Trail, and around the central Florida area.

“To be able to have the relationship with the federal government to ensure the support and safety of all Seminole Tribe of Florida Reservations and our members is a testament to the relationship of two sovereign governments,” said Seminole Chairman Marcellus Osceola. “I would like to thank President Donald Trump for his commitment to deploy all necessary resources to assist the Seminole Tribe of Florida during this difficult time.”

“The President’s fast response to the Seminole Tribe’s request for an emergency declaration was critical for the tribe to receive the assistance it needs to recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs John Tahsuda III. “By specifically asking for BIA law enforcement personnel to help relieve the Seminole tribal police officers, who have been on duty for over a week straight, the declaration allows us to move forward quickly to render such assistance and protect lives and property.”

With the President’s action, the BIA’s Office of Justice Services (OJS) will be able to provide law enforcement officers to support the Tribe under a Direct Federal Assistance (DFA) mission. The mission is being staffed by the BIA and supplemented by tribal and DOI law enforcement officers. The Bureau sent radio technicians to the site along with staff who delivered mobile sleeping quarters for mission personnel. BIA and other DOI Bureaus deployed 75 of the 125 personnel approved under the mission to support the Seminole Tribe at the Big Cypress, Brighton, Immokalee and Hollywood Reservations

The BIA’s Emergency Management office is leading a Tribal Assistance Coordination Group (TAC-G), which is responsible for coordinating emergency management actions of federal and state agencies, as well as volunteer organizations and other TAC-G partners, in support of tribes in Texas and Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Harvey and those impacted by Hurricane Irma.

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced the selection of Bryan Rice, a veteran federal administrator and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, as the new Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the federal agency that coordinates government-to-government relations with 567 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

“Bryan has a wealth of management expertise and experience that will well serve Indian Country as the BIA works to enhance the quality of life, promote economic opportunity, and carry out the federal responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives,” Secretary Zinke said. “I have full confidence that Bryan is the right person at this pivotal time as we work to renew the department’s focus on self-determination and self-governance, give power back to the tribes, and provide real meaning to the concept of tribal sovereignty.”

“Secretary Zinke’s naming of Bryan Rice as director of the BIA brings an accomplished individual to that post who is well-versed in the Bureau’s mission and has extensive knowledge about its work, particularly in the area of forestry and combatting wildland fires,” said Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs John Tahsuda. “Bryan will be a strong leader for the Bureau and closely follow the Secretary’s plans for reforming the BIA into a top-notch service delivery agency for tribes and tribal leaders.”

“Native Americans face significant regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles to economic freedom and success,” Rice said. “I am honored to accept this position and look forward to implementing President Trump’s and Secretary Zinke’s regulatory reform initiative for Indian Country to liberate Native Americans from the bureaucracy that has held them back economically.”

Rice, who will start his new position on Monday, October 16, 2017, recently led Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire, and has broad experience leading Forestry, Wildland Fire, and Tribal programs across Interior, BIA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His federal government career has spanned nearly 20 years, beginning with service on the Helena Interagency Hotshot Crew for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal, working in both community forestry and rural development and supervised numerous timber operations as a timber sale officer on the Yakama Reservation as well as a forester on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Rice also served in leadership capacities internationally in Tanzania, Mexico, Brazil and Australia for both Interior and the U.S. Forest Service.

Rice has served in two Senior Executive Service natural resources management leadership positions, including as Deputy Director for the BIA Office of Trust Services from 2011 to 2014, and as Director of Forest Management in the U.S. Forest Service from 2014 to 2016.

Rice spent his school years in the Midwest in Whitewater, Wisconsin and Peoria, Illinois.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alaska – Southeast, focusing on rural development and transportation systems. He is a licensed pilot, and enjoys time outside hunting and fishing.

Secretary Zinke also announced that Jeff Rupert will be the acting Director of the Office of Wildland Fire starting on Monday, October 16. Rupert was the chief of the Division of Natural Resources for the National Wildlife Refuge System, overseeing the Fire Management, Refuge Resource and Private Lands programs. He has been an active member of the Interior Fire Executive Council for the last several years. He is a graduate of Class #18 from the Interior Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Baker University and a Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Texas – Pan American.

The BIA carries out its core mission through four offices: the Office of Indian Services operates the BIA's general assistance, disaster relief, Indian child welfare, tribal government, Indian Self-Determination, and reservation roads programs; the Office of Justice Services directly operates or funds law enforcement, tribal courts, and detention facilities on Federal Indian lands; the Office of Trust Services works with tribes and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives in the management of their trust lands, assets, and resources; and the Office of Field Operations oversees 12 regional offices and 83 agencies which carry out the BIA mission at the tribal level. In Fiscal Year 2017, the BIA had 4,794 employees and a budget of $1.9 billion.

###

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke applauded President Donald J. Trump's nomination of Tara Mac Lean Sweeney, a prominent Alaska Native leader and acclaimed businesswoman with the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, to be the department’s next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Sweeney, a member of the Native Village of Barrow and the Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, would be the first Native Alaskan and only the second woman in history to hold the position.

The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs oversees Interior’s manifold responsibilities to enhance the quality of life, promote economic opportunity and provide quality educational opportunities for American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives, while protecting and improving their trust assets.

“Tara is a results-driven team leader and coalition builder who has an impressive combination of business acumen and service to her community,” Secretary Zinke said. “Her lifelong active engagement in Native American policy development and her outreach, advocacy, and organization skills are the combination we need to carry out the President’s reform initiative for Indian Country. I look forward to welcoming her to our leadership team."

“I am honored to be nominated to serve Indian Country in this capacity,” Tara Sweeney said. “My goal is to develop strong relationships with Tribes, Alaska Native corporations and Native Hawaiian Organizations to work on innovative solutions for lifting up our communities. I am motivated to work with Indian Country to find efficiencies inside the Bureau of Indian Affairs, improve service delivery and culturally relevant curriculum in the Bureau of Indian Education, and create a more effective voice for Tribes throughout the Federal Government. I am humbled by the confidence President Trump and Secretary Zinke have shown in me and ready to serve.”

“Secretary Zinke’s nomination of Tara Sweeny for Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs taps a strong advocate for Native American self-determination and tribal self-government for this key leadership position,” said Acting Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs John Tahsuda. “Her extensive organizational knowledge and collaborative management experience will well serve Indian Country by reforming federal policies, empowering tribal communities, and removing barriers to their economic advancement.”

Sweeney grew up in rural Alaska and has spent a lifetime actively engaged in state and national policy arenas focused on advocating for responsible Indian energy policy, rural broadband connectivity, Arctic growth and Native American self-determination. She has served her Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and its subsidiaries in a variety of capacities for nearly two decades. The $2.6 billion corporation is the largest locally-owned and operated business in Alaska, with about 13,000 Iñupiat Eskimo members and 12,000 employees worldwide. It is diversified in six major business sectors, including energy support services, industrial services, construction, petroleum refining and marketing, government services, and resource development.

In her current role as the Executive Vice President of External Affairs, she is responsible for all facets of government affairs and corporate communications. Her primary responsibilities include strategic policy and position development, implementation and execution; engagement with federal and state executive and legislative branches on improving policies affecting Indian energy, taxation, resource development, government contracting, broadband development and access to capital; as well as all facets of corporate communication as official company spokesperson, including stakeholder engagement and coalition building.

Sweeney also has served in leadership positions on numerous business and nonprofit boards at both the state and national level, including chair of the Arctic Economic Council from 2015 to 2017; co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives (2013); Coast Guard Foundation Board of Trustees; the University of Alaska Foundation Board of Trustees; FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in a Digital Age; Analytical Services, Inc.; Kohanic Broadcast Corporation (parent to the first Native American owned, publicly supported FM radio station); Cherokee Nation New Market Tax Credit Advisory Board (CNB Economic Development Company, LLC, beneficiary); Breast Cancer Focus, Inc.; and Arctic Power.

“I extend my congratulations and full support to Tara on her nomination to serve as Assistant Secretary,” Senator Lisa Murkowski said. “Tara has a very strong record of professionalism and accomplishment in Alaska, across the country, and internationally, especially with the indigenous people of the circumpolar north. She has significant experience on Arctic issues and chaired the Arctic Economic Council. She is an expert on energy, infrastructure, broadband, economic development, Native self-determination, and a wide range of policy issues that will come before her. Secretary Zinke could not have chosen a better leader to help him fulfill the federal government’s trust responsibility, and I know Tara has the heart and drive to excel in this position.”

“This is a historic appointment for Alaskans and for the country,” Senator Dan Sullivan said. “I’ve worked with Tara Sweeney for years and I have witnessed first-hand her integrity, her strong leadership skills and her devotion to public service. Tara has a deep love for our state and people, and is relentless in her commitment to securing a better future for Alaska and the nation. With her long history of advocating for Alaska Native cultural values, rights, and economic opportunity, I can’t think of anyone better to have as our nation’s next Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.”

“This is an absolutely outstanding choice,” said Congressman Don Young.“Tara’s knowledge, experience and leadership will go a long way in straightening out the BIA, allowing it to run more efficiently for the good of all First Americans. She has extensive experience not only in business, but also within Alaska Native groups and organizations. Tara knows first-hand the fight for Native empowerment and self-determination because she’s been on the front lines for years. There’s long been a problem with Native issues not receiving the priority they deserve but with Tara Sweeney at the helm, I have no doubt the Department of Interior will be paying close attention and the voices of our Native communities will be heard. Tara follows in great Alaskan footsteps, those of my dear friend Morris Thompson, and will do a fantastic job working on behalf of American Indians and Alaska Natives across the country.”

“Tara’s selection for this position is cause for celebration in Alaska. In each of my conversations with Secretary Zinke, I have encouraged him to include Alaskans for significant roles in his department,” said Governor Walker. “Tara’s leadership in seeking self-determination and economic development for the people of the Arctic has been exemplary. As an Inupiaq tribal and corporate leader, she has sought the necessary balance between economic development and sustaining the ways of life and cultures of Alaska’s First People. While many will be sad to see her leave ASRC, Tara’s expertise will serve our state and nation well in this new role.”

"I commend the Secretary for his choice of Tara Sweeney for the Position of Assistant Secretary," said Jackie Johnson Pata with the National Congress of American Indians. "Tara's diverse experience in the areas of energy, natural resources, and tribal governance will be a welcome addition to the Department of Interior and NCAI looks forward to working with Tara in her new capacity."

“Since March when he was sworn in, Secretary Zinke has been assembling a top-notch team of professionals to help him lead the Interior Department,” said John Berrey, Chairman of the Quapaw Tribe in Oklahoma. “With Tara Sweeney’s nomination, the Secretary is showing he means business when it comes to reforming the BIA and improving the delivery of services to Indian people. Tara’s long and dedicated service to the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and, most recently, the Arctic Economic Council, will be what is needed in the BIA’s top official. I thank the secretary for this nomination and pledge to help Tara achieve success for Native people any way I can.”

“Ms. Sweeney’s background consists of the right elements to assist our economic development efforts with the tribes we serve in Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota towards economic sustainability,” said Leonard Smith, Executive Director of the Native American Development Corporation. “Her experience in energy, capital, government contracting and economic development give her the depth of knowledge to develop legislative solutions to federal policies that hinder economic development with tribal nations. We feel confident she will be able to promote stronger federal support through collaboration with other federal, state and private resources for implementation of the infrastructure necessary for economic growth and sustainability.”

“In these critical times, Ms. Tara Sweeney will serve as a strong Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs,” said Julie Kitka, President of the Alaska Federation of Natives. “Her experience with empowering Native Americans is unparalleled and she will help all tribes achieve great self-determination. There is not a Tribe or Alaska Native corporation that she would not help. I have had the opportunity to work alongside Ms. Sweeney for over a decade, I’ve seen her in action and she is driven by results.”

"Ms Sweeney is an incredibly qualified nominee," said Robin Puanani Danner, the Policy Chair for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. "Her business experience, the cultural grounding of her Inuit people, and her keen understanding of living in some of the most remote Native areas in the country will serve all first peoples in her role at the department of interior."

“Tara is a dedicated, hard-working and fearless leader focused on providing value and real results across local, national and international boundaries,” said Gabriel Kompkoff, President of the ANCSA Regional Association, the membership association of Alaska Native Regional Corporation CEOs. “Her passion shows through in every challenge she faces.”

Among her honors, Sweeney -- a lifetime member of the National Congress of American Indians -- was crowned Miss NCAI in 1993 and traveled the country as an ambassador for the organization. In 2003, Governor Frank Murkowski recognized Sweeney’s passion for rural Alaska, appointing her to his cabinet as Special Assistant for Rural Affairs and Education. In 2008 she was honored as a “Top Forty Under 40″ business leader by the Alaska Journal of Commerce. In 2014 her team was honored by the Northwest Regional Emmy® Awards, for its IAM IÑUPIAQ commercial campaign 2014, and also served as co-chair for Senator Dan Sullivan’s (R-AK) successful Senate campaign. In 2017 she was inducted into the Anchorage ATHENA Society, a program of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce that encourages the potential of women as valued members and leaders of the business community.

Born to Dr. Bryan Mac Lean and the Late Representative Eileen Panigeo Mac Lean, Sweeney is the granddaughter of the Late May Ahmaogak Panigeo and the Late Henry Panigeo of Barrow. She is the great granddaughter of the Late Bert and Nellie Panigeo and Isabel and Dr. Roy Ahmaogak. She was raised, attended schools and lived most of her life in rural Alaska in villages from Noorvik to Wainwright, Barrow, Bethel, and Unalakleet. She graduated from Barrow High School in 1991. A 1998 graduate of Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations with a Bachelor of Science Degree, Sweeney currently lives in Anchorage with her husband Kevin, and their two children, Caitlin and Ahmaogak.

Through its Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), Interior provides services (directly or through contracts, grants or compacts) to 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. There are 567 federally recognized American Indian tribes and Alaska Native corporations in the United States. The BIE provides education services to about 42,000 Indian students. The Indian trust, co-managed by BIA and the Office of the Special Trustee, consists of 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface mineral estate. More than 11 million acres belong to individual Indians and nearly 44 million acres are held in trust for Indian tribes. On these lands, the Department manages more than 122,817 revenue-producing leases. In conjunction with the Department of the Treasury, Interior, also manages about $4.9 billion in Indian trust funds. In Fiscal Year 2016, $1.2 billion was received into and disbursed from tribal and individual Indian beneficiaries’ accounts.

###

WASHINGTON – The Department of the Interior announced today it is taking the final steps in its efforts to identify the whereabouts of approximately 17,000 Native Americans to provide compensation as part of the Cobell settlement. The settlement of the Cobell lawsuit has reached an important deadline and the Department needs Class Members, or the heirs of Class Members, to provide documentation of their status to the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) and/or the Garden City Group (GCG), the Cobell claims administrator, by November 27, 2017, which is a court-imposed deadline for claiming settlement compensation so that payment may be made.

In 1996, Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe, and four other Native American representatives filed a class-action lawsuit against two departments of the United States government: the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Treasury. The plaintiffs claimed that the government had incorrectly accounted for income derived from Indian trust assets, which are legally owned by the U.S. government but held in trust for individual Native Americans (the beneficial owners).

In 2009, the parties to the suit negotiated a settlement in the case, and in 2010 Congress passed implementing legislation designating $3.4 billion for the settlement: $1.4 billion was allocated to be paid to the plaintiffs and $1.9 billion was allocated for a Land Buy-Back Program and a newly created educational scholarship fund for American Indian and Alaska Native students.

The settlement payment process is being handled by the GCG with the cooperation of the Interior Department. Class members all over the country have received detailed information about their legal rights and options via the United States Postal Service. Information was also provided through an extensive media campaign which included Native America print media, social media, television and radio ads, and online advertising.

The bulk of the settlement monies have already been paid to individual Indians. Despite extensive efforts to contact all potential claimants, there still remain several thousand Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders who are classified as “whereabouts unknown" (WAU). These WAU accounts total millions of dollars in potential settlement payments. The Department has been making extensive efforts to reach these WAU account holders so that they or their heirs can submit their documentation before the November 27 deadline expires.

Class Members or the heirs of Class Members should provide documentation immediately to the GCG by calling 1-800-961-6109, by emailing to Info@IndianTrust.com, or by U.S. mail to Indian Trust Settlement, P.O. Box 9577, Dublin, OH 43017-4877. Class members can also search OST’s Whereabouts Unknown database. If you have any questions about the OST Whereabouts Unknown Cobell list, please call the Indian Trust Beneficiary Call Center at 1-888-678-6836.

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Mark Macarro, Chairman of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Mission Indians today signed the Pechanga Water Rights Settlement Agreement (Agreement), formally executing a Congressionally authorized pact that protects the Pechanga Band’s access to groundwater in the region and provides the tribe with more than $30 million in federal funding to pay for water storage projects.

The Agreement quantifies the water rights claims for the Pechanga Band in Southern California’s Temecula Valley, which had been pending in an adjudication dating back to the 1950s; resolves potential liability for both the United States and other parties; and establishes a cooperative and efficient water management regime involving Pechanga and local agencies.

“The Federal Government has a critical responsibility to uphold our trust responsibilities, especially Tribal water rights,” Secretary Zinke said. “This is why we are continuing to work on Indian Water Settlements with Tribes, States, and all water users to ensure there is certainty for all and an opportunity for economic development in local communities. As a former State Senator and Congressman who helped usher the Blackfeet compact through to fruition, I understand all too well the hard work and enormous struggle that goes into making these important water rights settlements possible. I congratulate all of you for your perseverance, dedication, and commitment to making this settlements happen.”

“The Pechanga Band has tirelessly pursued the quantification of its water rights and, through negotiations, engaged its neighbors in a multiyear process of building mutual trust and understanding,” said Pechanga Chairman Macarro. “Generations of tribal leaders have fought from the courts to Capitol Hill to protect this vital resource for future generations. This settlement agreement benefits all of the parties by securing adequate water supplies for the Pechanga Band and its members and encouraging cooperative water resources management among all of the parties.”

Zinke commended the congressional sponsors of the Settlement Act legislation, saying they “fought to bring these settlements across the finish line.” The agreement – introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert, (R-Corona) – settles competing claims involving the Rancho California Water District and the Eastern Municipal Water District, which both draw from the large aquifer in the region that stretches 750 square miles from Southwest Riverside County to north San Diego County .

“For the tribe, local community, and the many federal employees who have contributed to these settlements, seeing these agreements signed is the culmination of years of dedication and hard work. I think we all recognize that this is just the start of the journey towards settlement finality,” Zinke said.

“The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, as well as all of the parties to this settlement, deserve to have some certainty on the future of their water supply,” Rep. Calvert said. “I’m grateful we have been able to enact the settlement and ensure all of the stakeholders in the Santa Margarita River Watershed can better shape their future.”

Interior is in the initial stages of implementing the Settlement Act, which was enacted as part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (P.L. 114-322) in 2016. The Departments of Justice and Interior have an established protocol for processing settlement agreements for execution.

The Act and Agreement establishes the Pechanga Settlement Fund and authorizes the appropriation of about $3 million to be deposited into the fund to construct a storage pond. The legislation also authorizes the appropriation of about $26 million, with about $4 million in construction overrun costs, to build interim and permanent capacity for water storage, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Also attending today’s event were Pechanga Council Members, including Catalina R. Chacon; Robert Munoa; Russell Murphy; Marc Luker; Raymond Basquez Jr. and Michael Vasquez. Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhard and Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason also joined the ceremony.

Water resources and management of scare water supplies are central concerns in the Western states. Additionally, in many parts of the West, water resources are now either fully appropriated or over-appropriated. These situations underscore the need for cooperative management of water supplies, and highlight the important role that Indian water rights settlements can play in the West.

###

PHOENIX, Ariz. – The Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have approved an extension lease for the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) which enables operation of the coal-fired power plant to continue through December 22, 2019. Without the extension, activities to retire the plant would be required to begin in the coming year.

The Department of the Interior bureaus approved the extension lease following an environmental review which concluded earlier this week. The Navajo Generating Station Extension Lease Environmental Assessment (EA) and draft Findings of No Significant Impact were issued for public review and comment from October 5 to November 3, 2017. Comments were received from 10 entities. Minor corrections and clarifications to the EA were made where appropriate.

Under the extension lease approved today, coal combustion at NGS will cease by December 22, 2019. Retirement of the facility would then begin, to be completed by December 22, 2024. The lease provides five years for the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District to complete plant retirement and 30 years for long-term monitoring and remediation.

While the extension lease does not authorize coal combustion after December 22, 2019, efforts are continuing between the Navajo Nation and NGS stakeholders to develop agreements for post-2019 operations, which would require appropriate approvals and environmental review. Reclamation and BIA are monitoring developments to anticipate potential impacts to those who historically have received benefits from NGS operations, including Navajo and Hopi stakeholders and other Tribal interests.

An electronic copy of the revised EA and signed FONSIs are available at www.usbr.gov/ngs.

###

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – At a signing ceremony today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke approved the Shawnee Tribe’s application to put 102.98 acres of land in Guymon, Texas County, Oklahoma, into federal Indian trust status for gaming. The Shawnee Tribe proposes to develop a 42,309-square foot gaming facility on the site comprised of a 20,206-square foot gaming floor, a restaurant, retail space, and office spaces for the Shawnee Tribe Gaming Commission. When completed, the project is expected to generate a $30 million annual impact for the local economy, including creating 200 permanent jobs. The federally recognized tribe, landless for well over 160 years, is headquartered in Miami, Okla., and has approximately 2,500 members.

“One of my top priorities for the Department of the Interior is to make tribal sovereignty meaningful, and that includes providing the basis for tribes to build and strengthen their economies,” Secretary Zinke said. “​This ​gaming facility will ​create 200 jobs and bring in $30 million annually to the Tribe.”

“I want to thank Secretary Zinke for approving the Shawnee Tribe’s application to put land into trust, which will provide the Shawnee people with their first land base in well over a century,” said Shawnee Tribe Chief Ron Sparkman. “We’ve worked hard to set ourselves on the path to a better future, and this project will help us achieve our goals of tribal self-sufficiency through economic progress.”

“It is fitting we follow the acknowledgement by Congress to offer the Shawnee Tribe the ability to self-determination and self-governance by allowing economic development opportunities,” said Governor Mary Fallin. “I concur with the secretary of the interior’s determination that the Shawnee Tribe’s proposal will provide economic development to the Guymon and surrounding area. This will also benefit the Shawnee Tribe in helping it develop a funding source as it works toward self-determination and self-governance.”

“Federally recognized tribes should be able thrive and serve as steadfast contributors to our economy, and I am confident that the Shawnee Tribe will do so with their proposal,” said Congressman Tom Cole. “I’d like to thank Secretary Zinke for leading this effort, and for being at the forefront of recognizing self-governance and sovereignty among Native American tribes. Indian Country has been successful in exercising its sovereignty through its enterprises and this proposal is a clear example of that right.”

“I congratulate Chief Sparkman, the Shawnee tribal council, and tribal members for achieving this important goal,” said John Tahsuda, Interior’s principal deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs. “Their efforts to create greater economic prosperity for themselves and their future generations, combined with the approval of their fee-to-trust application, underscore the Secretary’s determination that tribal sovereignty must mean something.”

The Tribe’s application was considered under the Secretary’s authority to acquire the land in trust for it under the Shawnee Status Act of 2000 through the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

The application met the Department’s requirements for placing land into trust for gaming, despite the proposed site’s location being approximately 370 miles west of the Tribe’s headquarters in Ottawa County, and the Department received comments in support of the proposed project.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, concurring with the Department’s positive two-part determination on the application, called for the expedient acquisition of the site into trust. Local officials supporting the application include a Texas County commissioner and the mayor of Guymon.

It was also supported by several Oklahoma tribes including the Cherokee Nation, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe, the Miami Tribe, the Modoc Tribe, the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, the Peoria Tribe of Indians, the Quapaw Tribe, the Seneca-Cayuga Nation, and the Wyandotte Nation.

Until the Secretary’s approval of its land-into-trust for gaming application, the Shawnee Tribe had been landless since the mid-19th century, when the 1854 Treaty of Washington terminated the Tribe’s 1.6 million-acre reservation in Kansas, which had been created under earlier treaties, allotted approximately 200,000 acres to individual Indians, and opened the majority of the remaining lands to non-Indian settlement. In 1869, the United States relocated the Shawnee tribal members in Kansas, known as the Loyal Shawnee because of their service to the Union during the Civil War, to present-day Oklahoma, but did not provide the tribe with its own land base.

In 2000, Congress passed the Shawnee Status Act which reaffirmed the Tribe’s federal recognition status. That act also confirmed the Tribe’s eligibility to have land acquired in trust, but prohibits it from acquiring trust land within the jurisdiction of the Cherokee Nation or any other tribe without its consent. The Cherokee Nation’s constitution prohibits it from consenting to any action that would diminish its jurisdiction.

Because of the act’s limitations, the only place the Shawnee Tribe can effectively acquire trust land is in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

###