The Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced the award of two contracts that will make on-the-job training available for 134 Indian workers.
A $65,375 contract was awarded to the First Seneca Corp. of New York State to train 124 Seneca Indians in occupations relating to the textile mill products industry. First Seneca is a corporation formed to promote industrial development on the two Seneca Reservations, in western New York. Most of the trainees will be employed as sewing machine operators and fitters in the production of pillows and other soft goods.
The corporation is the first industry to locate in the recently established Seneca industrial park on the Cattaraugus Reservation. Funds for economic development come from $12 million received by the Seneca Nation from the Federal Government in 1964 in payment for tribal lands flooded when Kinzua Dam was constructed on the Allegheny River. A program formulated by the Seneca Nation authorizes up to $2 million to be spent for industrial purposes to generate new employment opportunities for Seneca Indians.
A second contract, for $6,500, was awarded the Phillips Products Co., Inc., of Pryor, Okla., to provide on-the-job training for 10 area Indians. The trainees will prepare for occupations in the manufacturing and processing of plastics and plastic products.
Both contracts were negotiated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs under its Employment Assistance program, which aids Indians in finding employment near their homes or in relocating where more jobs exist.
