Jack Stevens: The Tribes Have Spoken. Is the BIA Listening?

Leading BIA bureaucrats seem to be perpetually dreaming of new ways to stack the deck chairs. It’s called “realignment.”

Rumor has it that they are now mulling over realigning the Division of Energy and Mineral Development (DEMD) so that it is subordinate to the Indian Energy Service Center. We have argued at length in this space about why this is a dreadful idea (“The Emerging Plan to Slow or Stop Energy and Mineral Development in Indian Country,” March 15, 2025).

But perhaps it is more persuasive to revisit how the Indian nations viewed IESC’s alignment when it was originally funded by Congress: The tribes wanted it placed under and subordinate to DEMD, just the opposite of what the BIA is considering doing now

The National Congress of American Indians passed a resolution at its General Assembly in Atlanta, Georgia on October 31, 2014, which in part urged that Congress “structure (DEMD) into a One-Stop-Shop to service tribes with energy production . . .”

And in March 2014, the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) passed a resolution supporting the establishment of a service center under DEMD’s control.

We know Congress was listening to the tribes because it originally appropriated service center funds into DEMD’s (the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development’s) account.

BIA staff who like the notion of realigning the IESC so that it calls the shots for DEMD either have short memories or presume to have a better understanding of the situation than do the tribes.