More than 6400 man-years of employment will be created on Indian reservations in 27 states by projects to be funded through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with funds received under the 1983 Emergency Jobs Act, Interior Assistant Secretary Ken Smith announced today.
Smith said that tentative allocations of $114.5 million to reservation projects had been completed and that· the funds would be transmitted to Bureau area offices in the field in the next few days.
The act provided $20 million for natural resource development on reservations; $30 million for the Bureau's Housing Improvement Program; $24.5 million for the construction of a high school on the Hopi Indian Reservation; $30 million for the rehabilitation of Indian irrigation systems; and $10 million for the repair and renovation of BIA jails on reservations.
Assistant Secretary Smith, the Administration's top Indian official, said that unemployment on many of the reservations exceeded 50 percent.
"These funds are helping to meet critical needs on the reservations", Smith said. "They are providing badly needed jobs now and strengthening the reservation infrastructures for future developments."
Smith noted that the Indian reservations would be receiving additional assistance under the jobs act through The Indian Health Service, HUD, and other Federal agencies.
The $20 million for natural resource projects includes $12.5 million for agriculture and range development. These funds will be used for erosion control, fencing, brush and weed control, cattle guard construction, livestock water systems and related tasks.
Another $5 million will be used for forestry projects, including the maintenance of forest roads. The balance of $2.5 million is for tribal fisheries and stream clearance projects.
The $30 million for housing improvements will benefit 87 tribes and six Alaska villages. The funds will be used for bringing existing housing up to minimum standards and for new construction.
Rehabilitation work on 36 Indian irrigation systems will be carried out with the $30 million allotted for that purpose. This will include dam repairs, ditch linings and other needed work.
The $10 million for repairing jails will be used to bring 15 BIA jails on reservations up to health and safety standards and in compliance with the provisions of the juvenile delinquency control act.
The BIA area offices can provide specific information about projects within their regions.
A listing of the allocation totals by state follows:
Alaska, $5,183 (all figures are in thousands of dollars); Arizona, 49,347; California, 6,430; Colorado, 469; Florida, 290; Idaho, 880; Iowa, 192; Kansas, 315; Louisiana, 216; Maine, 572; Michigan, 568; Minnesota, 2,019; Mississippi, 330; Montana, 7,861; Nebraska, 143; Nevada, 6,142.
New Mexico, $9,027; New York, 193; North Carolina, 77; North Dakota, 2,993; Oklahoma, 3,111; Oregon, 1,202; South Dakota, 4,517; Utah, 932; Washington, 6,682; Wisconsin, 1,457; and, Wyoming, 1,585.
