Kevin Washburn Stepping Down

Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (AS-IA) has decided he has had enough.

Head of US Bureau of Indian Affairs announces resignation

By Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The head of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs announced Thursday that he is resigning and will return to New Mexico as a law professor.

Kevin Washburn, a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, has been on leave from the University of New Mexico since he was selected in 2012 to oversee Indian Affairs for the federal government. He said issues confronting Indian Country, such as youth suicides, have weighed heavily on him, and he wants to dedicate more time to family.

"The responsibilities are just immense, and the challenges are great," he told The Associated Press. "Frankly, it's taken a couple of centuries for the problems to get this bad, and it will take a long time to solve them." [Emph. Added]

Washburn described as recent successes settlements over the bureau's mismanagement of royalties for natural resources on reservations, the reform of leasing regulations, better coordination with tribes and a push for tribes to take over education of their children.

Read Full Article Here-->Head of US Bureau of Indian Affairs announces resignation

Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs - Kevin Washburn on Tribal Enrollment Disputes

Indian Country Today Media Network published some quotes from AS-IA Kevin Washburn with regard to Tribal Membership Disputes.  I posted a few excerpts below but I recommend reading the whole article.  Click the link below to go to the full article.


indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Washburn on Membership Disputes: Should US Trample on Sovereignty?

By Gale Courey Toensing

Emphasizing that he was speaking in general terms and not about any specific tribe, Washburn told ICTMN that issues surrounding tribal leadership and membership disputes “are the hardest questions that I face,” because they raise core questions about the fundamental meaning and practice of sovereignty.

“I think the question is, should tribes always be sovereign and self-governing? Or are there times when the United States should trample over their sovereignty and self-governance for some other purpose – the principle of justice or equity or something like that?” Washburn said.

“One can make a solid argument that the United States never has any business trampling on tribal sovereignty and self-governance, but that’s not satisfying to everyone because we all see occasionally a tribe doing something that well-thinking people outside the tribe disagree with. These are just agonizing decisions and I’m not convinced that the United States is better at making these decisions on average than tribes are at making them themselves,” Washburn said.

As sovereign nations, perhaps tribes should be looking to other authorities for conflict resolution, he suggested.

“There are other forums for deciding tribal disputes that might better serve tribes than the United States. A lot of what we see are human rights violations, at least arguably so, and the United States is not the only entity that has an interest in policing human rights violations."

Read More Here indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Washburn on Membership Disputes: Should US Trample on Sovereignty?

William Pink's Letter to Kevin Washburn, Assistan Secretary of Indian Affairs

Below is Willie Pink's letter to Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs (AS-IA) BIA.

This is a follow up letter from Willie's previously filed appeal

You can read Willie's appeal here:  Wiliam Pink direct appeal to AS-IA

William Pink Letter to Kevin Washburn Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs