Assistant Attorney General J. Stanley Pottinger announced today the creation of an Office of Indian Rights within the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
Carl Stoiber, senior trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division and head of the special task force on Indian rights, has been named Director of the new Office. R. Dennis Ickes will serve as Deputy Director.
Mr. Pottinger, head of the Civil Rights Division, said, “The Department of Justice has a special statutory mandate to protect the civil rights of American Indian citizens, and, therefore, the Office of Indian Rights will have both a litigative and coordinative function to carry out this mandate. “
Mr. Pottinger said the new Indian Rights Section is amount growth of a special Division task force that has been actively engaged in studying the legal problems of Native American Indians since last January.
Mr. Pottinger said after a careful review of this task force's findings, he recommended to Attorney General Elliott L. Richardson the need to establish a permanent Office of Indian Rights.
The Office of Indian Rights will have the responsibility of enforcing federal statutes regarding the civil rights of American Indians, primarily Title II of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, commonly known as the lndian Bill of Rights,
Under this Title, individual Indian citizens are protected from violations of Constitutional rights by their own tribal council.
The Office of Indian Rights will also have the responsibility of conducting litigation in appropriate cases and recommending intervention or friend of the court participation. The new section also will coordinate Civil Rights Division activities regarding Indians.
Mr. Pottinger said he eventually hopes the office will have six attorneys and appropriate support personnel.
