George Skibine, a member of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, is assuming the duties of assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the Interior Department.

Rather than name Skibine in an acting capacity, the department chose to delegate the duties to him. A similar move was taken following the resignation of former assistant secretary Dave Anderson in February 2005.

"He is not acting," said Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesperson Nedra Darling. "He is basically assuming the duties of the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs."

Darling said the action was "effective immediately." A memo on Friday announced the change.

Skibine is a career BIA employee. He currently heads the Office of Indian Gaming Management.

Related Stories:
Artman to testify one final time before leaving office (5/22)
Senate hearing on backlogs at Interior Department (5/21)
Gaming regulations finalized by resigning Artman (5/20)
BIA to issue Section 20 rules for gaming acquisitions (5/19)
BIA cancels four land-into-trust environmental reviews (5/19)
Dorgan disappointed by Artman's resignation (5/2)
Unfinished business for BIA after Artman (5/1)
Artman resigns after a year as head of BIA (4/29)
Artman acknowledges Indian preference ruling (4/15)
Judge backs Indian preference at Interior (4/4)
DOI won't comment on new land-into-trust policy (3/24)
Artman suggests mileage limit for off-reservation land (02/28)
BIA starts new year with off-reservation gaming policy (1/7)
Rejected tribes want casinos too far from reservations (1/7)
Carl Artman letter on off-reservation gaming (1/4)
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe responds to BIA rejection (1/4)
Bush holding back off-reservation gaming proposals (11/16)
BIA tackles land-into-trust backlog (11/9)
New York tribe pushes Interior to act on casino land (11/1)
BIA still having trouble accounting for land-into-trust (10/5)
Cason explains misgivings on land-into-trust (4/20)
Artman jumps into job as new head of BIA (4/12)
Artman highlights priorities as head of BIA (4/5)
Leadership changes at BIA under Artman (4/2)
Senate finally confirms Artman to head BIA (3/6)
Update from NCAI 2007 winter session: Day 3 (3/1)
Update from NCAI 2007 winter session: Day 2 (2/28)
Congressional Record: Support for Carl Artman (2/22)
New York governor approves off-reservation casino (2/20)
Off-reservation gaming concerns at Interior (2/16)
Senate panel promises strong backing for BIA nominee (2/2)
Artman up for Senate confirmation hearing again (1/29)
BIA continues work on gaming land regulation (12/04)
BIA nominee's tribal background prompts recusal (09/15)
BIA nominee Carl Artman to go before Senate panel (9/14)
Nomination hearing for Artman set for Thursday (9/12)
NCAI welcomes Artman as assistant secretary (08/03)
Carl Artman, Oneida, named assistant secretary (08/02)