"Famous" Dave Anderson as the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Hoodoo
Jan 31, 2005
http://wcco.com/
WASHINGTON (AP) Dave Anderson is resigning as head of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs after just one year on the job, saying he can
do more to help American Indians by working in the private sector.
Anderson, 52, earlier removed himself from decisions on which
tribes get federal recognition -- a designation that would allow
them to run casinos, among other things. He also declined to be
involved in Indian gambling issues to avoid the appearance of any
conflict of interest, given his past work in the gaming industry.
"I have concluded that I can have the greatest impact to improve
the future of Indian country not by managing the day-to-day
operations of BIA programs, but by focusing my time on developing
private sector economic opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs,"
he wrote in a Jan. 27 letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton,
released Monday.
The BIA is part of the Interior Department. The resignation is
effective Feb. 12.
Anderson was traveling Monday and unavailable for comment, said
BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling. She did not have any more details
on what Anderson wanted to do in the private sector.
Just last month, Anderson told The Associated Press that he
planned to stay through a second Bush administration.
"I very definitely do," he said in the December interview. "I
think this is an incredible opportunity to get some things done.
One of the reasons I'm here is to help create the change that's
needed in the bureau."
Anderson founded Grand Casinos Inc., the former casino management
company for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, in central Minnesota,
before leaving the company to launch his Famous Dave's barbecue
restaurant chain in Minnesota.
Anderson's decision to remove himself on key Indian issues led to
some criticism in Indian country and on Capitol Hill. Sen. Chris
Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who had called on Anderson to resign
after the removals became public, said Monday that the Bush
administration should take the opportunity to find someone who
can tackle the recognition process.
"I intend to carefully scrutinize the next nominee to determine
if he or she will be able to address the serious flaws in the
recognition process," Dodd said in a statement.
The chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Arizona
Republican John McCain, declined to comment Monday. But the
panel's top Democrat, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, said the
bureau needs someone who can provide "consistent leadership over
a longer period of time."
"He (Anderson) had to recuse himself from a significant number of
issues, which handicapped him from doing the job," Dorgan said in
a telephone interview.
Jackie Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of
American Indians, said the department wants someone who can
resolve a lawsuit over money Indians say they are owed by the
federal government over mismanaged Indian trusts.
"Given that emphasis, the timing probably wasn't best for what he
wanted to get accomplished," Johnson said, referring to
Anderson's focus on economic development.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton said in a letter to Anderson that
she accepted his resignation with "understanding and regret."
Department spokesman Hugh Vickery declined to comment further,
except to say no successor had been chosen.
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