Indians in Spokane for conference

Associated Press

SPOKANE — Issues of sovereignty and economic development dominated the agenda Monday as this year’s largest U.S. gathering of American Indian and Alaska Native representatives got under way.

More than 2,500 delegates were expected at the five-day National Congress of American Indians conference, which was also to include sessions on topics ranging from trust reform to health.

In opening remarks, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the federal government has a responsibility to increase spending on Indian health and education programs, and to aid economic progress through access to broadband communications. She also called for a comprehensive U.S. Energy Department study of tribal energy programs.

"The U.S. government must respect tribal sovereignty," said Cantwell, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

J. Steven Griles, deputy secretary at the Department of the Interior, was expected Wednesday with an outline of a proposal to create a new federal agency charged with overseeing Indian trust assets.

The plan, recently announced by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, has been met with skepticism.

The new agency — the Bureau of Indian Trusts Management — would have jurisdiction over millions of dollars in royalties derived annually from mining, cattle grazing, oil drilling and logging on Indian land held in trust by the federal government.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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