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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2002

Last Updated: 2:30 p.m. EDT.

Tribal sources reported today that Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb plans to announce a reorganization of Indian affairs at the Department of Interior.

A select group of tribal leaders were invited to hear of the proposal this afternoon. A formal announcement is expected later today.

According to Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe of Washington, the changes will affect the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of the Special Trustee. "What they are trying to do is step off of the work that was done with the task force and weave those structural recommendations into the department into the BIA and OST," he said.

Other tribal sources said the reorganization would be part of the overall plan the department is submitting to a federal judge overseeing the Indian trust fund lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has ordered Secretary Gale Norton and McCaleb to submit their plans by January 6, 2003.

The lawsuit affects individual Indian accounts but the Bush administration foresees major changes to the way the BIA serves tribes, American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Dan DuBray, a spokesperson for McCaleb, did not immediately return a phone call regarding the announcement.

Relevant Documents:
New BIA | Old BIA

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