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MARCH 1, 2001

Secretary of Interior Gale Norton made her first appearance before Congress on Wednesday and outlined the Bush administration's agenda for Indian Country.

"President Bush and I are both believers in the concept of Indian Self-Determination," Norton told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. "We want to make advances in Self-Determination and Self-Governance during our tenure which we believe can be fostered through consultation and our mutual goal of better government."

But tribal leaders who were present at last week's winter session of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, DC, might have found Norton's words a bit too familiar. As expected, her testimony was nearly the same, word for word, to her speech last Wednesday.

Still, the fact that Norton chose tribal affairs as the subject of her first public speech and Congressional testimony represents a major political victory for Indian Country. Yet Norton offered little specifics yesterday on what may lie ahead for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, relying mostly on her work with Colorado's Ute Tribes during her eight years as Attorney General in the state.

"I have had positive experiences in Colorado," said Norton. "As Attorney General from 1991 to 1999, I handled a number of important issues involving Native Americans."

While the leaders of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes have praised her record as Colorado's top law enforcer, it has been characterized as anti-Indian by her detractors. They point out she signed several Supreme Court briefs calling for limitations on tribal sovereignty in Alaska, Montana, Minnesota, and beyond.

Her Department was also heavily criticized by Committee Chairman Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo), a longtime friend and supporter, and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz), for its handling of the estimated 300,000 Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts it holds in trust for American Indians all over the country. Both urged Norton to settle the issue, which Campbell said was a "national disgrace."

Campbell entered into the record a Denver Post editorial which called on Norton to settle the billion dollar class-action lawsuit. Norton said she hadn't read the editorial, which lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell said was indicative of the need for the new Secretary to get "up to speed" on the historically mismanaged system.

"This is our money," said Cobell. "We are not going to tolerate someone standing before the Indian Affairs Committee saying she hasn't had a chance to study the issue."

Although Norton is new on the job, Cobell said she expects her to take a lead on the matter soon. Norton yesterday promised to make trust reform a top priority but Cobell said she is tired of hearing that pledge and wants action instead.

"I've been listening to these promises for quite some time from Interior secretaries," said Cobell. "They must use the same script."

The Interior later this week will release its fifth court-mandated quarterly status report on trust reform.

Get Norton's Senate Testimony:
Statement of Interior Secretary Gale Norton Before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee (2/28)

Get Norton's NCAI Speech:
Remarks by The Honorable Gale Norton, Secretary of Interior National Congress of American Indians (February 22, 2001)

Relevant Links:
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs - www.senate.gov/~scia
Trust Management Improvement Project, BIA - www.doi.gov/bia/trust/tmip.htm
Indian Trust: Cobell v. Babbitt - www.indiantrust.org

Related Stories:
Norton hit on trust fund mess (Tribal Law 3/1)
Norton to address Indian affairs (Politics 2/28)
Norton outlines Indian Country priorities (Politics 2/23)
Norton fields questions from tribal leaders (Politics 2/23)
Norton warns of Interior budget cuts (Politics 2/16)