Twelve studies to determine the feasibility of economic development which could create greater job opportunities on Indian reservations and in the native villages of Alaska are being undertaken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs with technical assistance funds provided by the Area Redevelopment Administration of the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior announced today.
Contracts totaling $402,493 have been awarded to the lowest qualified bidders for carrying out the studies in 11 States.
In ALASKA a $50,000 contract to study the feasibility of establishing a reindeer meat, fish processing, tannery and fur production enterprise at Kotzebue has been awarded to Arthur D. Little, Inc., and Cambridge, Mass. A $40,500 contract was awarded to the University of Alaska for a study to improve methods and changes needed to increase the market for Alaskan native arts and crafts.
In ARIZONA a survey of the economic potential for industrial development for the Gila River and Salt River Reservations is to be carried out by Western Management Consultants, Phoenix, Ariz., under a $26,000 contract.
In IDAHO a survey of recreation and tourism resources in the Nez Perce Country will be made by Armour Research Foundation, Illinois Institute of Teleology, under a $35,743 contract.
The quantity and condition of timber on the Blackfeet and Rocky Boy's Reservations in MONTANA and the Wind River Reservation in WYOMING are the subject of a study being conducted under a $48,500 contract by K. B. Wood and Associates, Inc., Portland, Ore. (A similar survey on the Flathead Reservation in Montana is being carried forward by Greenacres, Inc., Seattle, Wash., under a $75,000 contract entered into about a month ago.)
On the Pyramid Lake Reservation in NEVADA two studies will be carried forward--one covering a market study and a feasibility report on the potential for recreation and economic development for the reservation and the other aimed at determining the skills of the resident Indians for organizing and managing such enterprises. A $38,200 contract for the development study was awarded to International Development Services, Inc., New York City. For the study of managerial skills a $4,500 contract was awarded to Dr. William Gomberg of the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
On the Navajo Reservation in ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO, and UTAH there are two studies under way. Under a $14,000 contract AGRI Research, Inc., Manhattan, Kansas, will explore the economic feasibility of establishing a meat processing plant on the reservation. The other study is aimed at determining the economic utilization of mill and woods byproducts of the Navajo Forest Products Industries, the tribal sawmill enterprise, located on the New Mexico portion of the reservation. It is being conducted by Kenneth Smith, San Francisco, Calif., under a $17,500 contract. –
In OREGON the feasibility of developing the Kahneeta Hot Springs Resort on the Warm Springs Reservation as a tourist attraction will be studied by Fenton, Conger and Ballaine, Inc., Seattle, Wash., under a $10,000 contract.
In SOUTH DAKOTA a study to determine character, extent and location of commercial recreation facilities needed in the Big Bend Redevelopment area (Crow Creek and Lower Brule Reservations) will be studied by Harland Bartholomew and Associates, St. Louis, Mo., under a $40,750 contract. The study will be focused on attracting to the Indian-owned area around the reservoir, now under construction, some of the two million tourists who annually visit the Black Hills.
On the Colville Reservation in WASHINGTON a feasibility study of mining, processing and marketing of sodium sulphate and other saline deposits found mainly in dry lake beds is being conducted by Michael Rivisto, Industrial Consultants, Seattle, Wash., under a $76,800 contract.
Commenting on the broad range of studies being launched, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash called them "a most important move toward bringing direct, tangible benefits to Indians through full development of their reservation resources."
"If these numerous economic development possibilities are found feasible and put into effect," he added, "they will create hundreds of new jobs providing steady employment for Indians who have too long lacked such opportunities. Many of these developments would also substantially increase the flow of income into tribal treasuries that could be used for other beneficial projects.
"Before the enterprises are undertaken, however, we must first know whether they are practical and feasible. All the significant economic facts affecting them must be carefully weighed and objectively analyzed by research organizations with highly developed skills in this type of study and analysis. That is why these studies are so crucially important. They constitute an early stage of a far-reaching program of greater economic development on Indian reservations."
