The Bureau of Indian Affairs has more than 1,900 land-into-trust applications, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a June 18 memo.

The majority of the applications are for non-gaming purposes, Salazar said. He told the BIA to move forward "in a transparent and orderly fashion."

"Decisions must be made in a lawful and timely manner; indecision creates frustration and uncertainty," Salazar wrote.

The memo didn't set out any new policy regarding non-gaming applications. But it said the goal of the land-into-trust process is to restore tribal homelands.

“Tribal self-determination through self-sufficiency rests on the restoration and protection of tribal homelands, and that is key to the Department’s strategy of empowerment for Indian tribes. To achieve that, we must have, and we will have, a land-into-trust process that is transparent, orderly, lawful and timely," Assistant Secretary Larry Echo Hawk said in a press release.

Relevant Documents:
Processing Land-into-Trust Applications for Applications Not Related to Gaming (June 18, 2010) | Press Release: Salazar Policy on Land-into-Trust Sees Restoration of Tribal Lands as Key to Interior Strategy for Empowering Indian Tribes (July 1, 2010)