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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2002

The proposed Bureau of Indian Affairs reorganization is unacceptable, says National Congress of American Indians President Tex Hall in a National Native News report.

Hall, who is also chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, characterized the plan as a "waste of money." "If you don't have a uniform plan and if you don't have standards, you could move boxes around," he told NNN.

"We're not on target," he added.

Hall was a co-chair of the trust reform task force, which was disbanded after tribal leaders and government officials failed to agree on key legislative reforms. According to Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb, the reorganization is based on consultation with the task force.

Although Hall was in Washington, D.C., for meetings this week, he was not invited to receive a private briefing that McCaleb held on Tuesday afternoon. Only a select group of tribal leaders were shown details of the reorganization.

Listen to the Report:
MP3: Tex Hall on 'waste of money' (NNN 12/5)
Note: NNN updates this link in the afternoon, so the Tex Hall story will disappear later today.

Relevant Documents:
New BIA-OST Organization | New BIA Organization | Old BIA Organization

Relevant Links:
Indian Trust, Department of Interior - http://www.doi.gov/indiantrust
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Norton - http://www.indiantrust.com
Cobell v. Norton, Department of Justice - http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/index.htm
Trust Reform, NCAI - http://www.ncai.org/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

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