KGOU: Indian Times review of news affecting Oklahoma tribes

Decision Made On Cheyenne And Arapaho Tribal Government
It’s been a long four plus years for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes - working under two governments, enduring separate court systems and dealing with divisive and competing decisions by local Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officials. Compounding these difficulties was the freezing of assets which adversely affected tribally owned casinos, payrolls and tribal programs that served the Cheyenne and Arapaho people.

Things were in such upheaval that the Interior Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA) was asked to step in with its authority to speak for the Secretary of the Interior. Part of the IBIA’s job is to exercise its authority over BIA decisions and just what entity is recognized as a tribe.

Senate Affairs Committee On Indian Affairs Questions Garden City Group On Cobell Settlement
Democratic senator and chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Jon Tester brought the Chief Operating Officer, Jennifer Keough, from Garden City Group before a his committee this week to give a progress report on the implementation of the Cobell Settlement.

Tester expressed concern with the lack of progress on making final payments to individual Indians “four years after the Settlement was first agreed upon, and twenty months after final approval by the Courts.”

Secretary Of The Interior Announces Tribal Climate Resilience Program
Interior Secretary Sally Jewel and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn announced a new Tribal Climate Resilience Program as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan.

Jewel said the impacts of climate change are “increasingly evident” for American Indian and Alaska Native communities, making it hard for them to maintain cultural traditions and beliefs. The program will offer funding to develop science-based information and enable adaptive resource management techniques.