The Department of the Interior today announced the establishment of a fishing tackle assembly plant that will provide immediate employment for about 120 Indian workers on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
The new plant, located in the town of Fine Ridge, represents an expansion of the assembly operations of the Wright and McGill Company, Denver, Colorado, one of the largest manufacturers of fishing tackle in the United States.
The company announced that the plant will be used for the assembly of various items of fishing tackle currently being produced in its Denver plant, and explained that certain new products will be added later as the operation develops, The firm manufactures fish hooks, glass rods, reels, lures, spinners, and other fishing tackle products.
An initial work force of 120 Indians is now working on the assembly operations in two reconditioned buildings leased from the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Company officials have already expressed their satisfaction with this new work force and found them capable, enthusiastic, and particularly adapted to skilled hand work, Plans call for an additional 50 workers to be placed on the payroll within the next two or three weeks, with the prospect of more expansion in the future as the operation proves successful.
The new plant is another outgrowth of the Indian Bureau's nationwide industrial development program which encourages the establishment of industrial plants on or near the reservations to provide employment and improve the economic and social status of Indian people.
The employers are taking advantage of the Bureau's on-the-job training program under which the company is reimbursed for the cost of training Indian employees.
