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OPA

Office of Public Affairs

Assistant Secretary Sweeney Announces BIA Proposal to Streamline Its Indian Probate Processes

For Immediate Release:
January 08, 2021

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney today announced proposed changes to regulations put in place in 2008 that govern the probating of trust and restricted property belonging to individual American Indians and Alaska Natives. The proposed changes would streamline Department of the Interior’s current process.

Dear Tribal Leader Letter: Indian Business Incubators Program Proposed Rule Consultation

Dates: April 13, 2021 7:00pm to 7:00pm

Dear Tribal Leader:

I am pleased to invite you to comment on a new proposed regulation to implement the recently enacted Native American Business Incubators Program Act. The Indian Business Incubators Program (IBIP), also known as the Native American Business Incubators Program, is a program in which IEED provides competitive grants to eligible applicants to establish and operate business incubators that serve Tribal reservation communities.

American Rescue Plan Webpage Update: New Dear Tribal Leader Letter and Form Now Available

Dates: April 05, 2021 10:00pm to April 13, 2021 1:00am

Following consultation, Indian Affairs is pleased to release a new Certification Form for tribes to use when submitting tribal enrollment numbers needed to equitably & transparently distribute American Rescue Plan funding. The form and other ARP info is online now!

Trump Administration Announces BIE’s New Construction on Its School Campuses

For Immediate Release:
January 19, 2021

Grant will replace outdated facilities as part of the historic Great American Outdoors Act.

Dear Tribal Leader Letter: BIE State Assessment Waiver Consultations

Dates: April 15, 2021 8:30pm to 8:30pm

Dear Tribal Leader:

On February 22, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) issued guidance providing flexibilities in administering School Year (SY) 2020-2021 assessments required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), Pub. L. 89-10, as amendedi. BIE’s implementing regulations of the ESEA, as amended, require BIE to administer unified assessments each SY. ED’s assessment flexibilities included extending the testing window and moving assessments to the summer or fall and shortening the state assessment, to make testing more feasible to implement and prioritize in-person learning time.

Indian Affairs Begins Disbursement of $900 Million in American Rescue Plan Funding to Tribes Across Indian Country

For Immediate Release:
April 30, 2021

Funds will aid tribal governments’ response to COVID-19’s damaging impact on their populations and economies

Applying for Federal Jobs within Indian Affairs 

USAJobs is the United States Government's website for listing civil service job opportunities with federal agencies. There are several resources on USAJobs web page to assist applicants, including an explanation of the federal hiring process and a Help Center to assist applicants with writing their resume and other processes.

BIA Logo Indian Affairs - Office of Public Affairs
Media Contact: Nedra Darling, OPA-IA Phone: 202-219-4152
For Immediate Release: March 15, 2012

WASHINGTON –The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) today released the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed 350-megawatt solar energy project on tribal trust land of the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians in Clark County, Nevada.

The publication in the Federal Register tomorrow of a notice of availability begins the 30-day public comment period. Access to the Final EIS document can be viewed at:

Proposed by KRoad Moapa Solar LLC, the project includes the construction, operation and maintenance of a low-impact photovoltaic facility and associated infrastructure on 2,153 acres located on the Moapa River Indian Reservation. The project would occupy about three percent of the Tribe’s 71,954-acres, which are held in trust by the U.S. Government.

The proposed project would be located about 30 miles northeast of Las Vegas and built in three phases of 100 megawatts to 150 megawatts each. In addition to PV panel arrays mounted on concrete foundations, project components include a 500-kilovolt transmission line and a 12- kilovolt transmission line to the existing Moapa Travel Plaza after Phase 1 is complete. No water will be used in the production of electricity, but will periodically be used for cleaning the photovoltaic panels during routine maintenance.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is the lead agency and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating agencies. This proposed federal action also requires the BLM to approve a new transmission line right-of-way within the existing BLM utility corridor on the reservation. Approximately 12 acres of BLM land would be required.

Written comments on the Final EIS can be mailed, e-mailed, hand carried or faxed to Ms. Amy Heuslein, Regional Environmental Protection Officer, BIA; Western Regional Office Branch of Environmental Quality Services, 2600 North Central Avenue, 4th Floor Mail Room, Phoenix, AZ 85004–3008; phone: (602) 379–6750; fax: (602) 379–3833; e-mail: amy.heuslein@bia.gov; or Mr. Paul Schlafly, Natural Resource Officer, BIA Southern Paiute Agency, 180 N. 200 E., Suite 111 or P.O. Box 720, St. George, UT 84771; phone: (435) 674–9720; fax: (435) 674–9714; e-mail: paul.schlafly@bia.gov.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for managing the BIA’s day-to-day operations through four offices – Indian Services, Justice Services, Trust Services and Field Operations – which administer or fund tribally based infrastructure, law enforcement, social services, tribal governance, natural and energy resources and trust management programs for 566 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes in 33 states through 12 regional offices and 85 agencies.


https://www.bia.gov/as-ia/opa/online-press-release/first-large-scale-solar-energy-project-proposed-tribal-lands

Operation Lady Justice Task Force Opens Cold Case Office in Nashville, Tennessee

Dates: January 13, 2021 6:15pm to 6:15pm

Office is last of seven established starting in July 2020.

BIA Approves Cow Creek Band of Umpqua’s Leasing Regulations Under the HEARTH Act

For Immediate Release:
April 20, 2021

Over 60 tribes now possess the ability to govern and manage leasing of their trust lands without prior BIA or Secretarial approval.

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