After more than six years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs website is back online.

The BIA lost Internet connectivity in December 2001 after a court investigator found vulnerabilities that put billions of dollars of Indian trust funds at risk. Most of the Interior Department regained service but the BIA, the Office of Special Trustee, and other agencies remained offline.

A court order on May 14 finally gave the BIA and the other agencies approval to reconnect. On his last day in office on Friday, former assistant secretary Carl Artman announced the gradual restoration of service.

“I am extremely pleased that all Indian Affairs offices and bureaus will now be allowed to enter the 21st century and take their place among their federal peers on the Internet," said Artman, who resigned after a little over a year on the job. “Reconnection will allow our employees to work more efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of tribes and their members."

Get the Story:
Press Release: The Bureau of Indian Affairs Network Reconnects to the Internet (BIA 5/23)

Relevant Documents:
Information Technology Court Order (May 14, 2008)

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