President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves the Seminole Tribe of Florida Emergency Declaration
November 10, 2022
Last night, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that an emergency exists for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the Tribe’s response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Nicole beginning on November 7, 2022, and continuing.
Click for more info.
|
Interior Department Announces $122.5 Million for Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Grants
Grants will fund projects that support community economic development
November 2, 2022
WASHINGTON— The Department of the Interior today announced that the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is making $122.5 million in fiscal year 2022 funding for Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization (AMLER) grants available to eligible states and Tribes. These funds will support local investment opportunities that create good-paying union jobs and provide for the sustainable long-term rehabilitation of abandoned mine lands.
Click for more info.
|
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Supports $45 Million Investment to Build Climate Resilience in Tribal Communities
124 awards will support 76 Tribes and 8 Tribal organizations to enhance preparedness, resilience, and ocean and coastal management planning
November 2, 2022
WASHINGTON –?The Department of the Interior today announced a $45 million investment in Tribal communities to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change. These Tribal Climate Resilience projects will support Tribes and Tribal organizations in adaptation planning, climate implementation actions, ocean and coastal management planning, capacity building, relocation, managed retreat, and protect-in-place planning for climate risks. Today's announcement is supported by $20 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $25 million from fiscal year 2022 annual appropriations.
Click for more info.
|
First-Ever Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee Convenes
Committee leadership announced
September 29, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior’s first-ever Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee (STAC) held its kick-off meeting this week. Secretary Deb Haaland announced that President Whitney Gravelle (Bay Mills Indian Community) and Chairwoman Erica Pinto (Jamul Indian Village) will serve as the new Chair and Vice Chair of the STAC, respectively.
Click for more info.
|
Assistant Secretary Trujillo Highlights $20 Million Investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for El Paso Water Purification Facility
September 27, 2022
El Paso, Texas — Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Tanya Trujillo, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and El Paso Water leadership today celebrated a $20 million investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support construction of an El Paso Water Advanced Water Purification facility. The funding was allocated as part of an over $310 million investment in water recycling and drought resilience projects. Once completed, the direct-to-distribution potable reuse project is expected to produce 13,000 acre-feet of water annually and reduce dependence on Rio Grande water and the Hueco-Mesilla Bolson Aquifer.
Click for more info.
|
SCHATZ, MURKOWSKI: SENATE CONFIRMS ROSELYN TSO AS INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE DIRECTOR
September 21, 2022
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), vice chairman of the Committee, released the following statements on Roselyn Tso’s confirmation as Director of the Indian Health Service (IHS) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Click for more info.
|
Bureau of Indian Affairs announces Richard “Glen” Melville will lead the Office of Justice Services
Ensures continuity for BIA’s community safety, law enforcement, Tribal courts, detention and corrections programs
September 21, 2022
WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that Richard “Glen” Melville, an enrolled member of Makah Tribe of Washington, will lead the Office of Justice Services as a deputy bureau director starting this month. Melville joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1997 and served a 29-year career with the bureau and Tribal law enforcement programs before retiring in 2021 as the deputy associate director for the Office of Justice Services. He has since returned from retirement to lead OJS’s public safety programs.
Click for more info.
|
Interior Department Issues Guidance to Strengthen Tribal Co-Stewardship of Public Lands and Waters
September 13, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today released new guidance to improve federal stewardship of public lands, waters and wildlife by strengthening the role of Tribal governments in federal land management. New guidance from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)outlines how each bureau will facilitate and support agreements with Tribes to collaborate in the co-stewardship of federal lands and waters.
Click for more info.
|
Interior Department Completes Removal of “Sq___” from Federal Use
Decisions of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names are effective immediately
September 8, 2022
WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) has voted on the final replacement names for nearly 650 geographic features featuring the word sq___. The final vote completes the last step in the historic efforts to remove a term from federal use that has historically been used as an offensive ethnic, racial and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women.
Click for more info.
|
Secretary Haaland Meets with Tribal, Local Leaders Regarding Conservation Efforts in Southern Nevada
September 7, 2022
LAUGHLIN, Nev. — Today Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited public lands in southern Nevada to meet with Tribal and local community leaders and to experience the landscape that is considered sacred by several Tribal nations, including the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe.
Click for more info.
|
Additional Information on the Biden-Harris Administrations Efforts to Bring High-Speed, Affordable Internet to Tribal Communities
August 12, 2022
Yesterday, The Biden-Harris Administration announced efforts to increase access to high-speed internet for Tribal communities along with Vice President Harris, Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator, and Pueblo of Isleta Governor Vernon Abeita provided additional information on how Tribal communities can take advantage of these grants and opportunities.
Click for more info.
|
|
|
