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FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2002

Tribes, individual Indians and other interested parties can continue to submit comments on the proposed reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

Although the response period on the creation of the Bureau of Indian Trust Assets Management (BITAM) has officially ended, Nedra Darling said the bureau will continue to accept comments. She said a new deadline would be set but a date has not been settled.

Darling also said BITAM meetings in Billings, Montana; Window Rock, Arizona and Phoenix, Arizona are still in the works. The tribal leaders' task force on trust reform is working with the BIA to schedule the sessions, she said.

So far, the BIA has logged 50 hours of testimony at eight meetings, Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb told Congress this week. Comments have been received from 2,000 parties, he said.

The public can view the documents received, as well as the available transcripts of the meetings, at the Department of Interior's reading room in Washington, D.C. The room is open from 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1849 C St. NW.

Use the C street entrance to gain access.

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://130.94.214.68/main/pages/
issues/other_issues/trust_reform.asp

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