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Karen Atkinson Pic

Karen J. Atkinson is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota.  As the IEED director, Atkinson oversees an agency that provides services to federally recognized tribes in the areas of economic development, employment and training, and energy and mineral development, and administers the Indian Guaranteed Loan Program.

Atkinson returns to the Interior with 23 years of experience working in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including four years with the Department as a senior counselor to the Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks and deputy director of the National Park Service. Immediately prior to her appointment, Atkinson was the president of Tribal Strategies, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm she established that advises tribes, Native American entrepreneurs and private industry on energy, economic development and small business issues to enhance economic opportunities in tribal communities.

Atkinson also served as the first executive director of the Native American Contractors Association (NACA), a trade association that promotes the interests of Native American small businesses who provide professional services to the federal government.  After leaving the Interior Department in 2001, Atkinson served on the staff of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs as senior counselor to Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, where she worked with tribal leaders and helped to draft the Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self- Determination Act of 2005. That legislation promotes tribal energy sufficiency and economic development.

Prior to her time at Interior, Atkinson had her own law practice in Albuquerque, N.M., and she served as a negotiator and drafter of a secretarial order on American Indian tribal rights and the Endangered Species Act issued by Interior and the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1997. Atkinson also worked as an attorney for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana, where she worked extensively on treaty rights and cultural resource protection issues. Upon graduation from law school, Atkinson served as senior judicial law clerk to then-U.S. District Judge Juan Burciaga in Albuquerque.

Atkinson is the recipient of the National Park Service Achievement Award in 2000 for her work on the Grand Canyon Over Flights Team, and has served as an advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She was also program director for Duke University’s Executive Education Tribal Consultation Course, and since 2001 has provided training on tribal economic development and small business issues. In addition, she has authored several publications on tribal business, energy development and land use.

Atkinson earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and her law degree in 1987 from the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she was a member of the Natural Resource Journal law review, graduating with honors.
 

Jack Stevens- DED
Jack Stevens

Division of Economic Development

Before becoming Chief of the Division of Economic Development, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Jack R. Stevens served as senior associate and legal counsel for the Washington, D.C. public affairs firm, The Carmen Group, where he handled energy-related and economic development matters.  He also served as Assistant Attorney General for the State of California.  He earned a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor’s in history from Stanford University, where he was selected to Phi Beta Kappa.  He authored the novel Spark’s Tract, a political satire. (Ex Libris, Philadelphia, 2001).  In 2010, the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development named Mr. Stevens the "Timothy Wapato Federal Advocate of the Year" in recognition of his work in support of Indian business men and women.

Contact: Jack.Stevens@bia.gov, (202) 208-6764

   

 

Division of Capital Investment

Phil Viles - web sized
Phil Viles

Phil Viles, a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, has been a federal employee for over ten years and in his current position for more than seven years.  In FY12, his program guaranteed $72million in loans to Indian tribes and Indian-owned businesses. He is a frequent panelist or speaker
at finance meetings where he discusses Interior’s ability to guarantee loans for economic development projects in Indian Country.

An Oklahoma native. Viles came to Washington, DC to draft and implement policies and procedures for the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians.  He holds graduate degrees in law and business from the University of Tulsa, and a graduate degree in library science from the University of Oklahoma.  He served on the board of directors of two Oklahoma banks for over twenty years. 

A veteran, Viles holds four U.S. military decorations, two decorations from the Republic of Vietnam, and was awarded the Cherokee National Medal of Patriotism in 2003.  During his more than 25 years’ service on the Cherokee Supreme Court, Viles met with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Breyer and Ginsburg and twice with Chief Justice Rehnquist who moved his admittance to the U.S. Supreme Court.  He also met with Attorney General Janet Reno to discuss matters of mutual interest.

His service to the Cherokee people includes being a trustee and officer of the Cherokee National Historical Society (1982-1996), serving as Chair of the Cherokee Foundation, and as a Commissioner of the Housing Authority of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.  He is a grandson of J. Bartley Milam, who served as Principal Chief of the Cherokees from 1941 to 1949 and is a direct descendant of Judge John Martin (1781-1840), who served as the first Treasurer of the Cherokee Nation and Chief Justice of the first Supreme Court.

Viles wrote a book on statues in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall; a copy is in the Library of Congress’ Main Reading Room reference collection.  He parlayed that book into seven live C-SPAN appearances and a taped interview used on the “Today” Show.   He also wrote five biographical essays for a book titled Notable Native Americans (1994) and seven essays for American National Biography (1999), a 24-volume reference work published by Oxford University Press.  The American Library Association awarded the American National Biography its prestigious Dartmouth Medal as a reference work of outstanding quality and significance.

 Contact: philip.viles@ios.doi.gov , (202) 219-0740  

 

Division of Energy and Mineral Development

Steve Manydeeds- web sizedStephen A. Manydeeds

Stephen Manydeeds is a geologist and an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.  His passion for wanting to make a positive difference in Indian country led him to his current position.

Manydeeds, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, oversees a unique, federal office responsible for all energy and mineral activity on Indian Trust lands nationwide.

With over 35 years experience performing geologic and economic studies of energy and mineral resources on nearly all western U.S. reservations, Manydeeds has redefined the Office’s mission to include not just assessment of resources, but development of those vast resources found on Indian lands.

Under Manydeeds’ leadership, the office has had a long-standing commitment to identify tribal needs and how they best fit with their long-term desires, and to help tribes maximize their resource potential to whatever extent they want.

His expertise in managing nation-wide programs for the development and management of mineral resources on Indian lands has proven beneficial to many tribes. He provides direct assistance to tribal offices in the negotiation of agreements and monitoring compliance with the terms of mineral agreements. He meets regularly with Tribal councils to assist them with numerous endeavors that include lease negotiations, analyzing mineral and energy resources, developing programs and budgets, setting priorities, and identifying potential renewable energy resources.

Since taking the helm in 2004 first as division chief of IEED's Division of Energy and Mineral  Development, Manydeeds has provided geotechnical assistance to over 70 different Indian Tribes regarding their mineral resources.

Contact: Stephen.Manydeeds@bia.gov, (202) 219-0740

 

 

Division of Workforce Development

Acting Division Chief: Jack Stevens Jack.Stevens@bia.gov, (202) 208-6764