NEW SUPERINTENDENT AT MESCALERO APACHE RESERVATION--Paul H. Clements, assistant superintendent at the Pima Agency in Arizona since 1964, has been named superintendent of the Mescalero Apache Agency in New Mexico. He fills a post vacated by the transfer last May of Kenneth L. Payton to head the United Pueblos Agency. The new assignment became effective June 26. Clements, a native of Port Townsend, Wash., has since 1948 held various BIA administrative posts -- at the Yakima Agency in Washington; the Umatilla Agency in Oregon; and the Flathead Agency in Montana. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from the University of Washington, at Seattle.
INDIAN WOMAN TO COORDINATE SAFETY EFFORTS--At least one Bureau of Indian Affairs program will receive an infusion of glamour through the recent assignment of Mrs. Fern Thompson Fisher as the first full-time BIA coordinator for tribal and Federal safety programs.
A granddaughter of James Arkeketa, last hereditary chieftain of the Otoe-Missouria tribe, Mrs. Fisher completed a term recently as Secretary to the tribe.
In her new role as accident-prevention coordinator, Mrs. Fisher will work directly with officials of Indian tribes to combat the mounting rate of Indian accidents on the highways, in the homes, in school. These are the leading causes of deaths among Indians and Alaska Natives, according to the Public Health Service's Division of Indian Health. The Indian death rate of 155 deaths per 100,000 population (from all causes) is three times the national rate.
The new safety coordinator is currently studying safety education at American University, Washington, D.C. under a National Education Association scholarship, the first such scholarship awarded to a Department of Interior employee.
INDIAN HOUSING - Since the early 1960's the Public Housing Administration and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have coordinated efforts to improve housing conditions on Indian reservations.
To date, more than 80 housing authorities have been established on the reservations for the purpose of applying for public housing. Some recent developments include:
A 54-unit low-rent housing project, recently completed on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico, was dedicated on May 14.
Water and sewer lines have been completed for 20 mutual self-help housing units on Utah's Uintah and Ouray Reservation. The mutual housing programs permits Indian owners to gain equity in the new home through labor instead of cash. The Uintah and Ouray Indians have applied for 70 additional housing units under the plan.
On the Salt River Reservation in Arizona, 15 homes have been completed under the mutual help plan and an additional 15 are under construction.
On Arizona's Colorado River Reservation, 10 new mutual help homes were dedicated June 5.
Ground has been broken on the Yakima Reservation in Washington for a 30-unit, low-rent housing complex.
A target date of mid-August was established for completion of a 375-unit, low cost, prefabricated housing project on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. The homes will be manufactured in a plant on the reservation, with tribal members employed in manufacturing processes.
FURNITURE PLANT FOR YAKIMAS - The Yakima Tribe of Washington, a California furniture manufacturing company and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have announced plans to establish a manufacturing plant on the Yakima Indian Reservation.
The Tribe will provide an industrial site and construct a 100,000 square foot factory building, to cost an estimated $790,000. The Economic Development Administration will provide a loan for financing machinery and equipment and will guarantee a second loan for working capital, to be obtained from a private financing institution.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs plans to negotiate an on-the-job training contract with the firm, White Swan Industries, Inc. About 175 Yakima Indians will be trained for employment in the new plant, which is expected to be in operation this fall.
INDIAN CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES – Kickapoos - An order issued by the Indian Claims Commission April 21, 1966, in Docket No. 145 awarded $11,511 to the Kickapoo Nation. The award represented recovery on an accounting claim.
Puyallup - In Docket No. 203, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians seeks payment for land in Washington ceded under the Medicine Creek Treaty of December 26, 1854, ratified March 3, 1855. The Commission issued an order April 25, 1966 which held that the Tribe had title to an area of land smaller than that claimed and that the United States extinguished Indian title to this land on March 3, 1855. The case now proceeds for determination of the acreage involved, its value and remaining issues.
Yankton Sioux - The United States Court of Claims, in a May 13, 1966 decision reversed the Indian Claims Commission in Docket No. 332-A, a petition of the Yankton Sioux Tribe or Band of Indians. The Indians originally claimed an interest in a 25 million acre tract in southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, ceded by four bands of Mississippi Sioux under treaties of July 23, 1851, and August 5, 1851; however, this claim was dismissed by mutual agreement. They also claimed a portion of a tract in western Missouri, western Iowa and southern Minnesota, ceded under treaties of July 15, 1830, and October 21, 1837. Dismissed by the Indian Claims Commission on January 12, 1962, this second claim now must be reconsidered by the Commission under the Court's recent ruling.
Southern Ute - The Indian Claims Commission issued a May 6 order in Docket No. 328 holding that the Southern Ute Tribe is entitled to compensation for more than 230,547 acres of land on their Colorado Reservation which was disposed of by the United States without tribal consent. The case now proceeds for determination of the dates of land taking and land values at the time.
SEMINAR FOR INDIAN LEADERS -The first in a planned annual series of two-week workshops and training sessions for Indian leaders and tribal representatives was scheduled for the last week of July and first week of August on the campus of Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.
The workshops were to be jointly sponsored by the Idaho State University, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Arrow, Inc., a private organization dedicated to Indian interests.
Sponsors provide tuition, and room and board to participants designated by their tribal organizations to attend the annual meetings. Transportation expenses are paid by the tribe whenever possible.
Problems common to tribal councils and Indian community leaders were scheduled for consideration at the seminar. At least one session this year will be devoted to problems involved in labelling and certifying Indian-made products.
Those who complete the first workshop meeting receive charter membership certificates in the Association for Progress in Indian Management, established by the sponsors to stimulate Indian leadership training.
STANDING ROCK ACQUIRES LAND - A 2,607 acre tract adjacent to lands of the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas was recently purchased for $130,375 in tribal funds by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The purchase is part of tribal and Bureau efforts to consolidate Indian holdings on the reservation. The area is one in which Indian lands are heavily checker-boarded with lands owned by non-Indians.
ALLIS-CHALMERS ON GILA RIVER - The Gila River Indian community and Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company recently signed a 15-year lease involving 4,860 acres of Indian land for testing and demonstrating heavy machinery. Under the terms of the lease, the Indians will construct a $75,000 industrial plant which will be amortized in 10 years. Allis-Chalmers will rent the building, and pay an annual ground rent of $5,000. The company will develop, according to a phased plan, test sites, water reservoirs, roadways, flow direction and land balancing projects within the leased area. When equipment and time is available the company will also develop water courses, carry on land leveling, clearing, road grading and ditch cleaning projects outside the lease area for the benefit of the tribe.
Equipment operators, mechanics and technicians will be hired and trained locally whenever possible, thus providing an additional employment source for tribal members
BUREAU BOARDING SCHOOL SERVES DEMONSTRATION PROJECT - A contract signed June 28 at Window Rock, Ariz. by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Dine, Inc., gave the corporation control of a new $3.5 million Bureau elementary school on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The school, known as Rough Rock and located 35 miles northwest of Chinle, Ariz., will be operated as a demonstration center to explore new educational concepts and instructional methods.
Dine - from the Navajo word for "people" - comprises a group of Navajo leaders, including Allen Yazzie, Chairman of the Tribal Education Committee; Ned Hatathli, Director of Resources for the Navajo Tribe, and Guy Gorman, a tribal councilman.
To open in September, Rough Rock School will enroll 210 boarding students and 60 day students in beginning classes through sixth grade and will employ several specialists in remedial reading and speech correction, as well as general classroom teachers.
The demonstration will be funded by a grant provided through the Office of Economic Opportunity. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will continue to provide basic operating funds for the school plant.
BIA CONTRACTS FOR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING - A number of companies have recently renewed contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide on-the-job training for Indian employees. Included are:
Ashland Precision Products Corp., of Ashland, Wis., $14,615 to train 21 Chippewas in parts manufacturing for miniaturized subassemblies.
Burnell &Company, Inc., of Pelham Manor, N. Y., $140,250 to train 195 residents of Laguna Pueblo, N. M. in electronics industry vocations.
- Caldak Electronics Corp., Pierre, S. D., $11,700 to train 23 Indians in electronic components assembly.
- Jicarilla Lumber Co., Dulce, N. M., $24,250 to train 29 Apache Indians in the forest products industry.
- Saddlecraft, Inc., Cherokee, N. C., $5,275 to train 15 Cherokees in leather manufacturing.
- U.S. Automatics Corp. of Pewaukee, Wis., $21,200 to train 47 Indians in the manufacture of electronic components and devices.
- The Vassar Corp. of New York, N. Y., $94,075 to train 158 Cherokees in manufacture of hair accessories.
- Winston Container Corp., Louisville, Miss., $16,675 to train 28 Choctaws in manufacturing paper boxes and containers.
A new $36,256 contract with Philco Corporation has also been negotiated to train 16 Indians of various tribes in the company's Palo Alto, Calif., plant. The trainees will acquire vocational skills needed for employment as electronic technicians.
