U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced Tuesday that Bryan Rice has been named as the new Bureau of Indian Affairs Director, according to a departmental press release. Bryan – a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and veteran federal administrator – will lead the federal agency that coordinates government-to-government relations with 567 federally recognized tribes in the U.S.
“Bryan has a wealth of management expertise and experience that will well serve Indian Country as the BIA works to enhance the quality of life, promote economic opportunity, and carry out the federal responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes and Alaska Natives,” said Secretary Zinke. “I have full confidence that Bryan is the right person at this pivotal time as we work to renew the department’s focus on self-determination and self-governance, give power back to the tribes, and provide real meaning to the concept of tribal sovereignty.”
“Secretary Zinke’s naming of Bryan Rice as director of the BIA brings an accomplished individual to that post who is well-versed in the Bureau’s mission and has extensive knowledge about its work, particularly in the area of forestry and combatting wildland fires,” said John Tahsuda, Acting Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs. “Bryan will be a strong leader for the Bureau and closely follow the Secretary’s plans for reforming the BIA into a top-notch service delivery agency for tribes and tribal leaders.”
“Native Americans face significant regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles to economic freedom and success,” said Bryan Rice. “I am honored to accept this position and look forward to implementing President Trump’s and Secretary Zinke’s regulatory reform initiative for Indian Country to liberate Native Americans from the bureaucracy that has held them back economically.”
Rice will officially start his new post effective Monday, October 16, 2017.
His federal career has spanned nearly 20 years, beginning with service on the Helena Interagency Hotshot Crew for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana. He served in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer, working in both community forestry and rural development and supervised numerous timber operations as a timber sale officer on the Yakama Reservation as well as a forester on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Rice also served in leadership capacities internationally in Tanzania, Mexico, Brazil and Australia for both Interior and the U.S. Forest Service.
Rice holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alaska – Southeast, focusing on rural development and transportation systems.
