'I don't know what Gale Norton does all day'

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2002

Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles is really in charge of the Department of Interior, an anonymous official told liberal magazine The American Prospect for its upcoming September issue.

"Nothing happens here without Griles' signature," the unnamed official said. "He's the secretary of the Interior. I don't know what Gale Norton does all day."

The magazine publishes on expose of sorts on Griles. "The West's Griles Virus" recounts his troubles with coalbed methane drilling in Montana and Wyoming but also includes tidbits on his handling of Indian trust.

The article reads: "The Interior Department's bungling of the case became more evident on July 30, when its special trustee for American Indians, Thomas Slonaker, resigned. Slonaker claims he was forced out, and sources close to the case say Griles and White House counsel Kyle Samson [sic] barred Slonaker from telling the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that the Interior Department was unable to live up to its trust responsibility because documents had been destroyed. When Slonaker, in response to a question, nonetheless told the committee the real story, he was gone from the Interior Department within days."

Get the Story:
The West's Griles Virus: Industry's man in Interior (The American Prospect September 2002)

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