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Rice named BIA director, looks to increase economic freedom for Indians WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced on Oct. 16 the selection of Bryan Rice, a veteran federal administrator and citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, as the new director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the federal agency that coordinates government-to-government relations with 567 federally recognized Tribes in the United States. “Bryan has a wealth of management expertise and experience that will well serve Indian Country as the BIA works to enhance the quality of life, promote eco- nomic opportunity and carry out the fed- eral responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives,” Zinke said. “I have full confidence that Bryan is the right person at this pivotal time as we work to renew the department’s focus on self-determination and self-governance, give power back to the Tribes and provide real meaning to the concept of Tribal sovereignty.” “Secretary Zinke’s naming of Bryan Rice as director of the BIA brings an accomplished individual to that post who is well-versed in the bureau’s mission and has extensive knowledge about its work, particularly in the area of forestry and combatting wildland fires,” said John Tahsuda, acting assistant secretary – Indian Affairs. “Bryan will be a strong leader for the bureau and closely follow the secretary’s plans for reforming the BIA into a top-notch service delivery agency for Tribes and Tribal leaders.” “Native Americans face significant regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles to economic freedom and success,” Rice said. “I am honored to accept this posi- tion and look forward to implementing President Trump’s and Secretary Zinke’s regulatory reform initiative for Indian Country to liberate Native Americans from the bureaucracy that has held them back economically.” Rice, who started his new position Oct. 16, recently led Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire and has broad experience leading Forestry, Wildland Fire and Tribal programs across Interior, BIA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His federal government career has spanned nearly 20 years, beginning with service on the Helena Interagency Hot- shot Crew for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal working in both community forestry and rural develop- ment, and supervised numerous timber operations as a timber sale officer on the Yakama Reservation as well as a forester on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Rice also served in leadership capaci- ties internationally in Tanzania, Mexico, Brazil and Australia for both Interior and the U.S. Forest Service. Rice has served in two senior execu- tive service natural resources management leadership positions, including as deputy director for the BIA Office of Trust Ser- vices in 2011-2014 and as director of for- est management in the U.S. Forest Service in 2014-2016. Rice spent his school years in the Midwest in Whitewater, Wis., and Peoria, Ill. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne and a Master of Business Administration from the Univer- sity of Alaska-Southeast, focusing on rural development and transportation systems. He is a licensed pilot and enjoys time outside hunting and fishing. Zinke also announced that Jeff Rupert will be the acting director of the Office of Wildland Fire starting Oct. 16. Rupert was the chief of the Division of Natural Resources for the National Wildlife Refuge System, overseeing the Fire Management, Refuge Resource and Private Lands programs. He has been an active member of the Interior Fire Executive Council for the last several years. He is a graduate of Class #18 from the Interior Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Baker University and a Master of Science degree in biology from the University of Texas-Pan American. The BIA carries out its core mis- sion through four offices. The Office of Indian Services operates the BIA’s General Assistance, Disaster Relief, Indian Child Welfare, Tribal Government, Indian Self- Determination and Reservation Roads programs; the Office of Justice Services directly operates or funds law enforce- ment, Tribal courts and detention facili- ties on federal Indian lands; the Office of Trust Services works with Tribes and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives in the management of their trust lands, assets and resources; and the Office of Field Operations oversees 12 regional offices and 83 agencies that carry out the BIA mission at the Tribal level. In FY 2017, the BIA had 4,794 employees and a budget of $1.9 billion. For more information about the Siletz Tribe, please visit ctsi.nsn.us. 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