The United States has a unique legal and political relationship with Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities as provided by the Constitution of the United States, treaties, court decisions and Federal statutes. Within the government-to-government relationship, Indian Affairs provides services directly or through contracts, grants, or compacts to 566 Federally recognized tribes.
 Kevin Washburn | Press Release USDA, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Work to Boost Access to Farm Programs in Indian Country |
News 
USDA, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Work to Boost Access to Farm Programs in Indian Country
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2012—Officials from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) have signed two memorandums of understanding (MOU) designed to foster improved access to USDA and BIA programs by tribes and tribal members. The memorandums apply to programs administered by the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Rural Development at USDA, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior (DOI). The MOUs will further improve the important government-to-government relationships and also the services offered between USDA, BIA and the tribal governments and the communities they serve.
Read MoreSalazar Applauds Senate Confirmation of Kevin Washburn as Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Kevin K. Washburn, a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, to serve as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior. The Senate confirmed Washburn’s nomination, which President Obama announced in early August, by unanimous consent last night.
Read MoreSalazar Applauds President’s Intent to Nominate Vincent G. Logan as the Special Trustee for American Indians
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today applauded President Obama’s intent to nominate Vincent G. Logan, a member of the Osage Nation, as the next Special Trustee for American Indians.
Read MoreCommission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform Reaches Out to Indian Country at Public Meeting in Bismarck
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In keeping with its mission to establish responsive, accountable, transparent, and customer-friendly management of Indian trust funds and assets, the Secretarial Commission on Indian Trust Administration and Reform reached out to Indian Country at its fifth public meeting of the year in Bismarck, N.D. All five Commission members – Chair Fawn Sharp, Tex G. “Red Tipped Arrow” Hall, Stacy Leeds, Dr. Peterson Zah, and Robert Anderson – participated in the September 13-14, 2012, conference.
Read MoreSpirit Lake Tribe Retrocedes Social Services Program to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Donald “Del” Laverdure today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has agreed to a request by the Spirit Lake Tribe of the Fort Totten Reservation in North Dakota to assume administrative responsibility for its social services program. The Tribe, by letter dated September 14, 2012, requested to voluntarily retrocede the social services program to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In their letter, the Tribe stated that it had concluded this retrocession “would be in the best interest of the Tribe, its children, and its families, to voluntarily return the program to the Secretary of [the] Interior.”
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The Tribal/Interior Budget Council provides a forum and process for tribes and Federal officials to work together in developing annual budget requests for Indian programs in the Department of the Interior.
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America's Move to Raise a Healthier Generation of Kids
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