Spring Shareholder Meetings Announced CIRI shareholders are invited to attend one of several shareholder informational meetings to be held this spring prior to the annual meeting. The spring informational meetings are held to advise shareholders of CIRI's business activities. The meetings rotate to different cities each year to better serve a broader shareholder audience. Shareholders will be sent more information about these meetings as the dates draw nearer. The CIRI Foundation will review scholarship and grant opportunities from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at each meeting. The annual meeting is scheduled for June 3 in Soldotna, Alaska.   Saturday, April 15, 2000 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Doubletree Suites 16500 S. Southcenter Parkway Seattle, Washington   Saturday, May 6, 2000 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sheraton Gateway Suites, O'Hare Airport, Chicago 6501 N. Mannheim Road Rosemont, Illinois   Sunday, May 7, 2000 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. DFW Lakes Hilton 1800 Highway 26 E. Grapevine, Texas   Saturday, May 13, 2000 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hilton Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska     Alaska Native Students Eligible for Gates Millennium Scholarships The CIRI Foundation would like to remind students of the availability of the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program for the 2000-2001 academic year. The scholarships are administered through the American Indian College Fund. Interested students should review the Gates Millennium Scholarship Program's guidelines on the Internet at www.gmsp.org/pdf/gms.pdf. The deadline for consideration is March 15, 2000.

CASA Seeks Child Advocates The Alaska Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program is recruiting volunteers to speak up for abused, neglected, or abandoned children. A CASA volunteer's main responsibilities include gathering information about the case, representing the child's best interest in the courtroom, meeting with the child regularly, acting as a watchdog for the child during the life of the case, and ensuring that it is brought to a swift and appropriate conclusion. There are more than 800 CASA programs throughout the country and some 43,000 CASA volunteers working with nearly 175,000 children who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned.   No special legal background is required and training is provided free of charge. Interested volunteers should be objective and committed. Informational meetings will be held Friday, March 3, from noon to 1 p.m. and Tuesday, March 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Snowden Court Administration Building located at 820 West Fourth Avenue. Training begins in April. For more information, contact the Office of Public Advocacy at (907) 269- 3500.     Alaska Native Veterans Allotment Draft Regulations Open for Comment The Alaska Native Allotment Act, enacted on Oct. 21, 1998, directed the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations by April 21, 2000. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the Solicitor's Office, and the Secretary's Office, has completed a draft of the regulations for review and comment. The proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register on February 8 and can be accessed via the Internet on BLM's Alaska home page at www.ak.blm.gov.   Written comments on the proposed rule are welcome by sending them to the Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240. Comments may also be sent

electronically to BLM in Washington, DC to the attention of 1004-AD34 at wocomment@blm.gov. Electronic comments must include your name and return address. The BLM Washington office must receive all written comments on the proposed rule by Monday, April 10.   Meetings are also being held in various Alaska locations to discuss the proposed rule and allow for public comment prior to the publication of the final regulations. The following locations have been chosen based on the highest concentrations of Native veterans according to the BIA and Veterans Administration:   Wednesday, March 1, 2000 Wedgewood Resort Fairbanks, Alaska   Friday, March 3, 2000 Aurora Inn Nome, Alaska   Tuesday, March 7, 2000 Westward Baranoff Hotel Juneau, Alaska   Monday, March 13, 2000 Native Cultural Center Bethel, Alaska   Friday, March 17, 2000 Hilton Hotel Anchorage, Alaska