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The Week in Review
ending November 24

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton visits the wreckage at the World Trade Center in New York City. November 9, 2001. File photo Reuters.

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton.
File photo © Reuters.

Missed last week's stories? Get a complete listing.

Norton moves forward with BIA overhaul
With little to show except a few court documents some tribal leaders have found disconcerting, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton continued to push her proposal to strip the Bureau of Indian Affairs this week, appointing a former Reagan official to head up the transition.

Familiar to many for all the wrong reasons, former Assistant Secretary Ross O. Swimmer said he wanted to complete projects he started more than a decade ago under a president who slashed Indian Country's funding and tried to privatize the government's trust responsibilities. But tribes complained then, and they are now voicing outrage over a plan they say was drafted without their input.

Get the Story:
Few answers on BIA overhaul (11/19)
Gover: Indian Country had it coming (11/19)
BIA reorganization focus of radio show (11/19)
Cherokee's Swimmer tapped by Bush (11/19)
Reagan's Indian chief is back (11/20)
McCaleb faces Indian preference (11/20)
Norton defends overhaul of BIA (11/20)
Norton promises fast start (11/20)
Campbell supports BIA overhaul for now (11/20)
Indian Country slams 'sham' consultation (11/21)
BIA reorganization a focus of NCAI (11/21)
Rahall: No Thanksgiving for Indian Country (11/21)
Domenici praises Norton's 'bold move' (11/21)

Norton responds to court charges
As she moved her reorganization plan forward, Norton was also trying to convince a federal judge her department is in charge of trust reform, even if the only proof she has offered is a sworn testimonial of her second=in-command.

But beyond having U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth take the failing Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust away from her, Norton is facing other worries. One surfaced right before the holiday break this week, when Lamberth held a secret hearing to discuss the safety of $3.1 billion belonging to tribes and an estimated 300,000 American Indians.

Get the Story:
Norton challenges trust fund receiver (11/19)
Norton defends quarterly reports (11/19)
Top trust fund official questioned (11/21)
Judge holds secret hearing (11/23)

more stories
There's still more to read in the recap of the top stories.

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