Office of the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Office of the Deputy Bureau Director, Field Operations

Office of Indian Services

Mr. Kevin Bearquiver, an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota, began his federal career in 1998 with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Redding, California as the Acting Realty Officer for two years. He also served as the lead person for a consortium of 57 California tribes, which involved a special project for transferring land into trust status. He assisted in creating and implementing the Standard Operating Procedures for processing fee-to-trust acquisitions within the division. During his tenure more than 6,000 acres were placed into trust for California tribes.

Mr. Bearquiver, the Deputy Regional Director for Trust Services in the Midwest Region, is currently enrolled in the Department of the Interior’s Senior Executive Services Candidate Development Program (Class 16). He will also be completing a detail as the Deputy Director of Indian Services in Central Office beginning January 21, 2009.

Office of Trust Services

Vicki L. Forrest serves as deputy director for the BIA’s Office of Trust Services. An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Ms. Forrest has a background in accounting and Indian trust management for both her tribe and OST.

Prior to her current appointment, she had served as the Regional Fiduciary Trust Administrator for OST’s Eastern Oklahoma and Pacific regions. She began her Federal career in 1990 with the Indian Health Service (IHS) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Claremore, Okla.

“Working for the betterment of Indian people has been a tenet of my professional career,” Forrest said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the BIA’s Office of Trust Services for the benefit of all tribal and individual Indian trust beneficiaries.”

Office of Justice Services

William Patrick (Pat) Ragsdale, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, was appointed Deputy Bureau Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs- Office of Justice Services on September 16, 2007, where he oversees the BIA's law enforcement, detention facilities, and tribal courts functions. Prior to his appointment, he had served as the Director of the BIA since February 13, 2005. He came to the BIA's headquarters from Albuquerque, N.M., where he had been serving since February 2004 as Director for Trust Review and Audit within the Department's Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST).

Regional Directors

The Regional Directors report to the Deputy Director-Field Operations. They are responsible for carrying out the mission and goals of the BIA and the Interior Department in their regions. They provide overall leadership, direction and technical assistance in the implementation of BIA programs operated for the benefit of the Federally recognized tribes and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives who are eligible to receive services from the Bureau. These include protecting Federal Indian trust assets through effective natural resources management, supporting tribes in building sustainable tribal economies, strengthening tribal governments by protecting and preserving tribal sovereignty, and improving the quality of life in tribal communities. They also work with other Federal and state, local and tribal governmental entities to improve and strengthen interagency relations and intergovernmental cooperation and coordination. Each Regional Director is supported by a Deputy Regional Director for Trust Services and a Deputy Regional Director for Indian Services.

Alaska Regional Office

Niles C. Cesar is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Alaska Regional Office in Juneau which oversees two agencies that together serve 224 Federally recognized Alaska Native tribes and villages, except the Metlakatla Indian Community of the Annette Island Reserve which is served by the Northwest Regional Office.  Mr. Cesar has been the regional director since September 1990.  He joined the BIA that year after having served first as an officer (now retired) with the U.S. Navy’s Medical Service Corps from 1960 to 1979, then as Executive Vice-President and President of the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium from 1979 to 1990.  Mr. Cesar is an enrolled member of the Tlingit-Haida Tribe of Alaska.

Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office

Jeanette Hanna is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office in Muskogee, Oklahoma, which oversees six agencies that together serve 19 Federally recognized tribes in eastern Oklahoma. Ms. Hanna was named to her post in May 2002 after serving as the Bureau’s Director for Planning, Budget and Management Support. Her Federal career began in 1983 upon joining the legislative staff of (now former) U.S. Congressman Wes Watkins. In 1990, she joined the Interior Department’s Office of Budget. Ms. Hanna joined the BIA headquarters as a senior budget analyst and, in 1994, joined the Bureau’s Phoenix Area Office (now Western Regional Office) as Area Budget Officer. In 1997, Ms. Hanna was named acting Area Director. She returned to Washington, D.C., later that year to become the BIA’s Deputy Budget Director, and in November 1998 she was selected as the Budget Director. Ms. Hanna is an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma.

Eastern Regional Office

M. Franklin Keel is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Eastern Regional Office in Nashville, Tennessee, which oversees four agencies that together serve 27 Federally recognized tribes in 11 states (Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina). Mr. Keel was named the regional director in 1997 after having served as deputy director for the BIA’s Office of Trust Responsibilities (now the Office of Trust Services) in Washington D.C., where he was responsible for overseeing and managing the Bureau’s natural resources and trust programs. During the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Keel held several management positions with the BIA including Director of the Office of Trust Responsibilities, Director of the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, and Chief of the Division of Energy and Minerals. His Federal service also includes serving as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Information Agency in Athens, Greece, and as an administrative assistant with the U.S. Naval Weapons Laboratory. Mr. Keel is a citizen of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian Nations of Oklahoma.

Great Plains Regional Office

Michael S. Black is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Great Plains Regional Office in Aberdeen, South Dakota, which oversees 12 agencies that together serve 16 Federally recognized tribes in three states (Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota). Mr. Black was named to his position in July 2008 after having served since January 2004 as the Deputy Regional Director for Indian Services in the Bureau’s Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings, Montana, during which time he also served a period of eight months as the acting Great Plains Regional Director. Mr. Black began his Federal career in 1987 with the BIA’s Aberdeen Area Office (now the Great Plains Regional Office) as a General Engineer in the Branch of Facilities Management. He went on to hold regional facility and engineering management positions in the Billings Area Office (now the Rocky Mountain Regional Office) until being named the Deputy Regional Director. Mr. Black is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

Midwest Regional Office

Terrence L. “Terry” Virden is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Midwest Regional Office in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, which oversees four agencies that together serve 30 Federally recognized tribes in five states (Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). Mr. Virden was named to his current post after having served as the BIA Deputy Commissioner since 2003. Starting with the BIA in 1977 as a Reservation Forester on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Wisconsin, he rose through the ranks to become the region’s Area Forester. In 1993, he moved to the BIA’s headquarters where he eventually became the Director of the Office of Trust Responsibilities (now the Office of Trust Services). In July 2002, he was named the acting Deputy Commissioner until his selection for the post in 2003. Mr. Virden is a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

Navajo Regional Office

Omar C. Bradley is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Navajo Regional Office in Gallup, New Mexico, which oversees five agencies that together serve the 16 million-acre Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Mr. Bradley was named the Regional Director in February 2007 after having served as the acting Regional Director since May 2006. He began his Federal career in 1978 as a realty officer with the BIA’s Southern Pueblos Agency in Albuquerque. In 1990, he was promoted to the position of Natural Resources Program Administrator, during which time he periodically served as the acting agency superintendent for his and other BIA agencies in New Mexico and Colorado. From 1998 until his selection as the Deputy Regional Director for the Navajo Regional Office in 2000, Mr. Bradley served as the Albuquerque Area Office (now Southwest Regional Office) Regional Water Rights Protection Manager. In 2004, his title was changed to Deputy Regional Director for Trust Services following a reorganization of the BIA and its field offices. Mr. Bradley is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

Northwest Regional Office

Stanley M. Speaks is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Northwest Regional Office in Portland, Oregon, which oversees 15 agencies that together serve 45 Federally recognized tribes in six states (southeastern Alaska, Idaho, western Montana, Oregon, northern Utah, and Washington). Mr. Speaks’ Federal career began when he joined the BIA following graduation from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. During his tenure, he has served in a variety of management positions with the Bureau including boarding school superintendent, agency superintendent, area director, and acting deputy commissioner. Mr. Speaks is a Native of Oklahoma.

Pacific Regional Office

Dale Morris is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Pacific Regional Office in Sacramento, California, which oversees four agencies that together serve 102 Federally recognized tribes in the state of California. Mr. Morris was named the Regional Director in April 2008 after having served as chief of the regional office’s natural resources division since 2004 and graduating from the Interior Department’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program. He began his Federal career in 1980 with the U.S. Forest Service and worked throughout the decade as a forester in national forests in Idaho and California. He eventually joined the BIA’s Central California Agency in 1993 as a forester, and went on to hold several positions within the Pacific Regional Office including Regional Fire Management Officer and Regional Natural Resources Officer, as well as serving as the acting superintendent at the BIA’s Palm Springs Agency and Central California Agency in Sacramento. Mr. Morris is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

Rocky Mountain Regional Office

Edward F. Parisian is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Rocky Mountain Regional Office in Billings, Montana, which oversees six agencies and one field office that together serve eight Federally recognized tribes in two states (Montana and Wyoming). Mr. Parisian was selected in April 2007 after having served as the acting regional director since May 2006. He has over 25 years of experience in the fields of Indian health and education. His current position followed service as Director of the Interior Department’s Office of Indian Education Programs, a post he had held since August 2003 after having served as deputy director since April 2002. From 2000 to 2002, he served as an education line officer with the BIA’s Northern Pueblos Agency in Espanola, New Mexico. In the 1980s and 1990s, Mr. Parisian held tribal health and tribal school superintendent positions in Montana. And from 1990 to 1992 he served as the OIEP Director in Washington, D.C. Mr. Parisian is an enrolled member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe in Montana.

Southern Plains Regional Office

Dan Deerinwater is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Southern Plains Regional Office in Anadarko, Oklahoma, which oversees five agencies that together serve 24 Federally recognized tribes in three states (Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas). He has served as the regional director since May 2005. Mr. Deerinwater began his Federal career as a Loan Specialist for the Bureau’s Talihina (Okla.) Agency in January 1975. He has held several management positions within the BIA culminating in his selection as the regional director. Mr. Deerinwater was raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, and joined the United States Marine Corps after graduating from high school. Upon release from the military, he attended Midwestern State University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree. He is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation.

Southwest Regional Office

William T. “Bill” Walker is the acting Regional Director for the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which oversees nine agencies that together serve 25 Federally recognized tribes in three states (Colorado, New Mexico and west Texas). Mr. Walker has been serving as the acting regional director since September 2008. His career with the BIA began in 1992 as a soil conservationist at the Bureau’s Fort Apache Agency in Arizona after having served seven years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service in Oklahoma. He eventually moved to the BIA’s Southwest Regional Office in May 2000 as Regional Environmental Scientist. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Mescalero Agency superintendent in New Mexico, after which he was selected as the Deputy Regional Director for Trust Services for the BIA’s Western Regional Office in Phoenix. In October 2008, he returned to Albuquerque to assume the same post for the Southwest Regional Office. He continues to serve as the deputy regional director and as the acting regional director for the Southwest Region. Mr. Walker is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Western Regional Office

Allen J. Anspach is the Regional Director for the BIA’s Western Regional Office in Phoenix, Arizona, which oversees 13 agencies that together serve 48 Federally recognized tribes in four states (Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah), except the Navajo Nation which is served by the Navajo Regional Office. Mr. Anspach was named the regional director in May 2006 after serving in the post in an acting capacity. His Federal career began in 1978 upon joining the BIA’s Phoenix Area Office (now the Western Regional Office) as a tribal operations officer intern. He later became a tribal operations specialist, serving until 1985 when, after spending several months in management training at the Interior Department headquarters, he was appointed superintendent of the Bureau’s Pawnee Agency in Oklahoma. He went on to hold similar posts at three BIA agencies in Arizona between 1988 and 2005. Mr. Anspach is a certified Senior Executive Service administrator. He is a member of the Blackfeet Tribe of Montana.