Del Laverdure, a member of the Crow Tribe of of Montana, will serve as acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, the Obama administration announced today.

Laverdure has served as principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Indian Affairs since August 2009. He has been a steady figure in the leadership team of Larry Echo Hawk, who is resigning from the agency's top post on April 27.

“Del has played a key role in many of Interior’s meaningful accomplishments over the past three years, and I am confident that he is the right person to lead Indian Affairs as we continue to fulfill President Obama’s vision for reconciliation and empowerment for Indian nations,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a press release.

Laverdure will lead the agency until President Barack Obama nominates a permanent replacement for Echo Hawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma. Echo Hawk is taking a leadership position within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Larry has done an extraordinary job at Interior, opening a new chapter in our nation-to-nation relationship with American Indian and Alaska Natives tribal governments and carrying out President Obama’s vision for empowering Indian nations,” Salazar said. “During his tenure, the Department accelerated the restoration of tribal homelands, improved public safety in tribal communities, resolved century-old water disputes, made critical investments in education, and reached many more milestones that are helping Indian nations pursue the future of their choosing. We thank Larry for his exemplary leadership and wish him all the best as he begins a new chapter in his life.”

Echo Hawk, who joined the Obama administration in May 2009, has been the longest serving assistant secretary since the Clinton era.

Get the Story:
Press Release: Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk to Conclude Successful Tenure at Interior (DOI 4/9)

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