Kempthorne Praises Artman's Leadership at BIA

Yesterday, Indian Country was abuzz with the rumor that Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Carl Artman had resigned. By the end of the day, the rumor proved to be fact, confirmed by an announcement from Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.

In his letter of resignation, Artman gave no reason for his resignation, which comes just nine months before the end of the Bush Administration. At the regional directors meeting in Albuquerque last week, Artman said he was resigning for many reasons, one of them being a desire to relocate and settle his children in a new area before the start of the school year.

Artman, a member of the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, was confirmed to the post on March 5, 2007. Before that, he served as the Interior’s Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs. He also served as director of the Federal Affairs and Chief Legal Counsel and as chief operating officer of Airadigm, a tribally owned telecommunications company in Wisconsin.

Just last week, Artman and South Dakota Sen. John Thune unveiled their joint proposal for a South Dakota Indian and Tribal Business Incubator Project to help accelerate economic development throughout the state’s nine reservations, which the tribes are praising.

In a letter to Artman, Kempthorne praised him for "The Indian Modernization Initiative." The initiative, "developed and launched under Carl’s leadership, has upgraded communications between tribal leaders and the Department on a number of priority issues,” Kempthorne said.

Artman Resigns

Carl J. Artman has reportedly resigned his position as assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, effective May 23. A spokesperson for the BIA, Nedra Darling, could not confirm Artman's resignation, saying he was in flight and unavailable. But according to sources, Artman announced his resignation last week at a BIA regional directors' meeting in Albuquerque.