The Department of the Interior today announced proposed regulations governing the preparation of a membership roll of the Ponca Indian Tribe of Nebraska.
The roll is to be compiled under provisions of a law approved by the President in September 1962 which gives enrolled tribal members an opportunity to express themselves for or against division of the tribal assets among themselves. Those on the roll would be the beneficiaries if division of the assets is approved.
Under the proposed rules those eligible for enrollment would include (1), all persons living on September 5, 1962, whose names appear on the Ponca census roll of April 1, 1934 and the supplement thereto of January 1, 1935, regardless of their degree of Ponca blood, (2) descendants of such persons having one fourth or more Ponca blood, and (3) children of tribal members adopted by non-Indians if they are otherwise qualified. The Department believes that there are eligible individuals now living in widely scattered localities throughout the United States.
The full text of the regulations will be published shortly in the Federal Register. Applications for enrollment must be filed within two months after such publication and application forms may be obtained from the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 820 So. Main St., Aberdeen, S. Dak. Superintendent, Winnebago Agency, Winnebago, Nebr.; or the Ponca Negotiating Committee, Niobrara, Nebr.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments concerning the proposed regulations within 30 days after their publication in the Federal Register to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington 25, D. C.
