Proposed FY 2011 Indian Affairs Budget Highlights

President Obama’s proposed FY 2011 budget includes $2.6 billion for Indian Affairs, a net decrease of $3.6 million from the 2010 enacted level.

But, as stated in a press release issued yesterday by the Interior Department, the budget targets more than $70 million in program increases to strengthen tribal management of federally funded programs and to enhance energy, education and public safety programs that will bring jobs to Indian Country.

FY 2011 Proposed Budget Highlights:

Operation of Indian Programs gets $2.4 billion, $58.7 million (2.5 percent) more than the 2010 enacted level.

Includes $115.7 million for Construction, $51.6 million less than the 2010 level: $52.9 million for Education Construction; $11.4 million for Public Safety and Justice Construction; $42.2 million for Resource Management Construction; $3.8 million for the Safety of Dams program; and $9.3 million for Other Program Construction.

Includes program increases of $21.5 million for contract support and the Indian Self-Determination Fund. (So, now is the time to ensure your proposals are in on time and crafted to maximize contract support recoveries. Mark your calendar for Falmouth’s IDC Summit next month).

Tribal Priority Allocations gets a net increase of $28.0 million, 3.4 percent more than the 2010 enacted level.

DOI’s New Energy Frontier Initiative has an increase of $2.5 million for Indian Affairs to help tribes explore and develop lands that have active and potential energy resources.

Nearly $47 million goes to Resolving Land and Water Claims.

Interior Department Seeks Tribal Comments on New Consultation Policy

On Nov. 25, the Department of the Interior announced the launch of a new effort to develop a department-wide policy on tribal consultation. The new policy will be developed with input from the nation’s 564 federally recognized tribes.

The action follows President Obama’s Nov. 5 executive memorandum that directs all federal departments and agencies to develop a “plan of actions” to implement the policies and directives of Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, issued by President Clinton on Nov. 6, 2000.

DOI is seeking tribal comments via e-mail, regular mail and in real-time meetings by Jan. 15, 2010, regarding what parameters a comprehensive Interior Department-wide consultation policy should include.

To view “Tribal Consultation, Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies” and “Executive Order 13175 – Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments,” visit www.indianaffairs.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/Consultation/index.htm and scroll down to the section “Presidential and BIA Tribal Consultation Documents.”

DOI May Change Rule on Where Tribal Casinos Can be Located

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Obama Administration may reverse an Interior Department regulation that tribal casinos must be within commuting distance of the tribe’s reservation. If the directive, issued by the Bush Administration, is reversed, it could spur a new wave of casinos in Indian Country and assist state governments, some of which receive payments from the tribes based on casino revenue. George Skibine, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, told the WSJ that he expects a decision on whether the policy will be changed "fairly soon".

Feds Bust Network Trafficking in Stolen Native Artifacts

Twelve indictments charging 24 defendants with violations of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) were unsealed this morning in Salt Lake City.  The case involves 256 artifacts totaling $335,685.

The indictments were announced this morning in Salt Lake City and are the culmination of a two-year undercover operation targeting a network of individuals allegedly involved in the sale, purchase and exchange of artifacts illegally taken from public or Indian lands in the Four Corners region of the country.  The investigation represents the nation’s largest investigation of archaeological and cultural artifact thefts.

 “These archaeological treasures are precious and protecting them preserves a rich history and heritage. That is why the Justice Department will use all of its tools to vigorously enforce the laws designed to safeguard the cultural heritage of Native Americans,” said Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden.  “Recommitting resources and focus to criminal justice in Indian Country is of paramount importance to the Justice Department.  We are currently conducting a training initiative with the Interior Department for federal prosecutors and law enforcement personnel on looting, vandalism, and illegal trafficking of cultural heritage, and are planning to reach out to with Indian Country leaders in the near future to engage in an ongoing consultation on these issues.”

Echo Hawk Approved for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Post

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee yesterday approved by voice vote the nomination of Larry Echo Hawk for the Department of Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs post, the Associated Press reported.

In this post, Echo Hawk will develop DOI policy on Indian affairs-related issues and make budget recommendations that affect Indian education, public safety, social health and welfare, economic development, energy development, federal recognition of tribes and other issues.

He will oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), the Office of Indian Gaming, the Office of Self-Governance, the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (OIEED), the Office of Federal Acknowledgement, the Office of Budget Management and other offices at the Department of the Interior related to tribes, individual Indians and Indian lands.

Nominated by President Obama in April, Echo Hawk said economic development, education and public safety in Indian Country will be among his top priorities. He also said Indian health is an area that requires special attention.

Echo Hawk, Pawnee, is a law professor at Brigham Young University. He served as Idaho Attorney General from 1991 to 1995.

Interior Internet Security Remains an Issue

The Washington Post reported yesterday that despite warnings that its computer network was vulnerable to hackers, the Interior Department “persistently failed to meet minimum standards in information security.”

The information was disclosed in a report written last spring by then-Inspector General Earl Devaney. The report was made public last week when it was filed with a federal appeals court as part of the Cobell lawsuit.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs was reconnected to the Internet last year after several years of a court ordered disconnection because of security concerns.

BIA Roads Program in Alaska “Rife with Mismanagement”; Poor Candidate for Stimulus Funds

Interior Inspector General Earl Devaney is warning Interior Department officials about distributing stimulus money to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Alaska Region Indian Reservation Roads Program. 

“We found that the Alaska region’s inattention to expenditures and failure to manage its programs has repeatedly jeopardized the success of the Alaskan Native community roads projects and caused millions of dollars to be wasted or unaccounted for,” Devaney wrote in is cover letter of a Flash Report. 

Among the findings in the report:

ü      Only $3 to $4 million of the $230 million in road projects administered by the Alaska BIA each year have any physical oversight or verification that work is completed.

ü      An Alaska Native community advanced more than $2 million to build and repair critical road areas used the money instead to perform unauthorized work on another road that was deemed unnecessary.

ü      Some wage-grade employees are earning more than $100,000 a year – far above the maximum pay for their grade -- without explanation 

Kempthorne's New Bathroom at Interior May Have Cost More than Your House

Washington Post columnist Al Kamen reported Monday that Dirk Kempthorne, the outgoing secretary of Interior, spent about $235,000 a few months ago to renovate his office bathroom. Although some renovation may have been justified, because the aging plumbing in the exiting bathroom needed to be replaced, most of the money was spent on lavish paneling and tile, installing a shower, a refrigerator and a freezer.  The Inspector General's office said there was no wrong-doing -- well at least none of this was illegal -- because the General Services Administration approved the project. Go here to read more and keep in mind that this is the same federal agency that won't appropriate enough money to renovate Indian schools or jails. 

Kempthorne Testifies on Mineral Management Service Scandal

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told the House Natural Resources Committee Thursday that he might fire employees in the Mineral Management Service for unethical behavior. Kempthorne was summoned to testify on a series of scathing inspector general reports that detailed a culture of ethical failure” within the agency that is charged with collecting oil and gas royalties for, among others, Indian tribes.

The reports released last week cites some MMS employees for “a callous disregard for the ethical rules by which the rest of us are required to play.” The OIG investigation found that some MMS officials ignored government procurement regulations and that some employees were accepting gifts from and having sexual relationships with oil and gas company employees.

Kempthorne said Interior would follow all the recommendations from the inspector general, including enhanced oversight of the agency and a stronger ethics program. He said he would be considering the full spectrum of disciplinary action, including termination. Go to the New York Times for more.

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.

Students and staff endangered in structurally deficient BIA schools

Severe health and safety deficiencies at the Chinle Boarding School in Many Farms, Ariz., endanger the lives of close to 500 students and staff members, according to a report released by the Department of Interior Office of Inspector General.

Severe structural cracks and unstable foundations exerted pressure on natural gas lines, electrical wires and boiler room components. Escaping natural gas or electrical discharges from damaged pipelines or wiring could result in explosions and loss of life, the report said.

The report details the health and safety issues endangering DOI staff at a number of Department of Interior facilities around the country, including 13 elementary and secondary schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Indian Education. Deterioration at the schools inspected by the OIG ranged from minor deficiencies like leaking roofs to major deficiencies like structural weaknesses, outdated electrical systems and inadequate fire detection and suppression systems. In fact, the BIE told the OIG that 69 of its 184 elementary and secondary schools and dormitories are in poor condition.

At the Shonto Preparatory School in Shonto, Ariz., inspectors found significant electrical deficiencies that increased the risk of fire and endangered the lives of the 550 students who attend classes there. Inspectors found duct tape placed over a circuit breaker to prevent it from tripping, electrical extension cords routed through brick walls and dangling from ceilings and fire alarm system that didn’t work. The school’s ongoing rodent problem poses a risk for hantavirus.

This latest report restates many of the same structural deficiencies cited last May when the OIG issued a Flash Report, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education: Schools in Need of Immediate Action.

Despite the dire predictions in that report and recommendations for immediate step to mitigate the issues, the BIE FY 2009 school construction budget was cut by about $30.5 million from 2008. Included within this request amount is $115.4 million for Education Construction, a reduction of $27.6 million from the 2008 enacted level. The FY 2009 request fully funds the replacement of the Dennehotso Boarding School, a K-8 on-reservation boarding school in Arizona, and replaces buildings at the Chinle Boarding School. The Education Construction request also includes funding for facilities improvement and repair projects including $50.7 million for annual maintenance. In addition, employee housing is funded at $1.6 million.

Indian Preference Expanded

The U.S. Department of Interior must give preference to qualified Indians for all positions within the Department of Interior that relate to the provision of services to American Indians, not just the Bureau of Indian Affairs, according to a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Indian Educators Federation v. Kempthorne (Civil No. 04-01215). The Indian Educators Federation argued that Section 12 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 mandates employment preference for American Indians employed in any position in the Department of Interior that directly and primarily relates to the provision of services to American Indians. In ruling for the organization, the court examined the Interior Department’s historical interpretation of Section 12 and the meaning of the term “Indian Office,” as used in the act. Though acknowledging that the term is ambiguous in the Act, the court determined that the ambiguity should be “construed liberally to favor the Indians.”