Post by blackcrowheart on Oct 11, 2006 16:58:13 GMT -5
Kempthorne Pledges Active Agenda for Indian
Country Economic and Social Development
www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061003.html
<http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061003.html> WASHINGTON,
D.C. �" Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today told American
Indian and Native Alaskan leaders that his administration is committed
to working with their governments to increase educational and economic
opportunities in Indian Country and to promote stronger
government-to-government relations. In remarks to the National Congress
of American Indians in Sacramento, Calif., Kempthorne noted his
experience working with tribal communities in Idaho and the Northwest
and stressed the importance of listening closely to tribal leaders and
his commitment to actively shape a more effective system for supporting
tribal governments in their social, commercial and political
development. “As Secretary, I will continue to listen and to act
in the best interests of Indian Country,” Kempthorne told more
than 2,500 delegates to the conference. “My goal is to bring the
spirit of partnership we had in Idaho to the national level.”
He noted his work with Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene and other tribal
leaders on water rights, fish and wildlife restoration and economic
development in the Columbia River Basin. Kempthorne said his Interior
team is making progress in resolving the Cobell case, thanking Jim
Cason, Interior’s Associate Deputy Secretary, who has been
serving as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs for 18 months.
“Currently, Jim is helping me as I work with the U.S. Attorney
General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Office of Management and
Budget and key congressional leaders, such as Senators McCain and
Dorgan, to find a mutually acceptable resolution to Cobell litigation
that will be fair, full, and final,” Kempthorne said. Kempthorne
introduced Carl Artman, the Administration’s nominee for
Assistant Secretary of Interior for Indian Affairs, and an enrolled
member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin who has been serving as
Interior’s Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs. Previously, he
was chief counsel of the Oneida Tribe.
Kempthorne said Interior has a clearer understanding of how reservation
economies are different from non-Indian economies and how to approach
strengthening these economies. “We are making changes at Interior
to meet the unique needs of Indian Country,” he said, noting the
realignment of Interior’s Indian economic development programs
into Interior’s new Office of Indian Energy and Economic
Development. “The office is organized and sharply focused on the
goals of new jobs, new businesses, and new capital on tribal
lands,” Kempthorne said. “I have charged this office with
the task of developing innovative, collaborative and more modern
approaches to improving economic opportunities for the tribes.”
This office is working with individual tribes to identify and nurture
economic opportunities that best fit their resources, workforce,
markets, and culture. Energy and mineral development are areas that hold
enormous economic potential for tribes, he noted. Tribal lands hold the
potential to produce nearly five and a half billion barrels of oil,
nearly 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 53 billion tons of
coal. Advanced technology can assist tribal governments with energy
development, including renewable sources, such as wind and biomass. On
the education front, Kempthorne noted several major initiatives,
including
a coordinated effort to combat the methamphetamine epidemic in Indian
Country. “The initiative will focus both on law enforcement to
crack down on the gangs and other criminals who are preying on our
children and treatment for those who have been ensnared in meth’s
deadly web,” Kempthorne said. He is working to obtain additional
funds to bolster law enforcement on tribal lands, particularly in
problem areas. “We are considering the idea of helping tribes
establish drug courts to handle the flood of meth cases and to construct
new jail space that is badly needed if we are going to be effective in
combating this scourge. I am eager to hear your ideas as we develop this
initiative,” he told American Indian and Native Alaskan leaders,
who applauded his remarks. Kempthorne also reported that Interior has
completed the transition of the Office of Indian Education Programs to a
full-fledged bureau, improving Interior management performance as the
first step to improving student performance. Interior is hiring seven
senior managers and 19 Education Line Officers, and has opened a new
National Indian Programs Training Center in Albuquerque to train
Interior and tribal employees in a variety of trust areas, including
education.
Country Economic and Social Development
www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061003.html
<http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061003.html> WASHINGTON,
D.C. �" Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today told American
Indian and Native Alaskan leaders that his administration is committed
to working with their governments to increase educational and economic
opportunities in Indian Country and to promote stronger
government-to-government relations. In remarks to the National Congress
of American Indians in Sacramento, Calif., Kempthorne noted his
experience working with tribal communities in Idaho and the Northwest
and stressed the importance of listening closely to tribal leaders and
his commitment to actively shape a more effective system for supporting
tribal governments in their social, commercial and political
development. “As Secretary, I will continue to listen and to act
in the best interests of Indian Country,” Kempthorne told more
than 2,500 delegates to the conference. “My goal is to bring the
spirit of partnership we had in Idaho to the national level.”
He noted his work with Nez Perce, Coeur d’Alene and other tribal
leaders on water rights, fish and wildlife restoration and economic
development in the Columbia River Basin. Kempthorne said his Interior
team is making progress in resolving the Cobell case, thanking Jim
Cason, Interior’s Associate Deputy Secretary, who has been
serving as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs for 18 months.
“Currently, Jim is helping me as I work with the U.S. Attorney
General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Office of Management and
Budget and key congressional leaders, such as Senators McCain and
Dorgan, to find a mutually acceptable resolution to Cobell litigation
that will be fair, full, and final,” Kempthorne said. Kempthorne
introduced Carl Artman, the Administration’s nominee for
Assistant Secretary of Interior for Indian Affairs, and an enrolled
member of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin who has been serving as
Interior’s Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs. Previously, he
was chief counsel of the Oneida Tribe.
Kempthorne said Interior has a clearer understanding of how reservation
economies are different from non-Indian economies and how to approach
strengthening these economies. “We are making changes at Interior
to meet the unique needs of Indian Country,” he said, noting the
realignment of Interior’s Indian economic development programs
into Interior’s new Office of Indian Energy and Economic
Development. “The office is organized and sharply focused on the
goals of new jobs, new businesses, and new capital on tribal
lands,” Kempthorne said. “I have charged this office with
the task of developing innovative, collaborative and more modern
approaches to improving economic opportunities for the tribes.”
This office is working with individual tribes to identify and nurture
economic opportunities that best fit their resources, workforce,
markets, and culture. Energy and mineral development are areas that hold
enormous economic potential for tribes, he noted. Tribal lands hold the
potential to produce nearly five and a half billion barrels of oil,
nearly 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 53 billion tons of
coal. Advanced technology can assist tribal governments with energy
development, including renewable sources, such as wind and biomass. On
the education front, Kempthorne noted several major initiatives,
including
a coordinated effort to combat the methamphetamine epidemic in Indian
Country. “The initiative will focus both on law enforcement to
crack down on the gangs and other criminals who are preying on our
children and treatment for those who have been ensnared in meth’s
deadly web,” Kempthorne said. He is working to obtain additional
funds to bolster law enforcement on tribal lands, particularly in
problem areas. “We are considering the idea of helping tribes
establish drug courts to handle the flood of meth cases and to construct
new jail space that is badly needed if we are going to be effective in
combating this scourge. I am eager to hear your ideas as we develop this
initiative,” he told American Indian and Native Alaskan leaders,
who applauded his remarks. Kempthorne also reported that Interior has
completed the transition of the Office of Indian Education Programs to a
full-fledged bureau, improving Interior management performance as the
first step to improving student performance. Interior is hiring seven
senior managers and 19 Education Line Officers, and has opened a new
National Indian Programs Training Center in Albuquerque to train
Interior and tribal employees in a variety of trust areas, including
education.