Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today called for a ten-year plan "to raise the standard of living on Indian reservations above the poverty line."
In a memorandum transmitted through the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to reservation superintendents and other top administrators of the Bureau, the Secretary restated the goals of manpower and resource development on reservations that have characterized the Department's administration during the past three years.
October 1, 1964, was set as the deadline for submission of reports by Bureau officials spelling out ways and means to institute a ten-year plan, and outlining needs on each of the 300 reservations under the Bureau's trusteeship.
Calling for the "best, boldest and most imaginative thinking" on the part of Bureau officials, the Secretary listed the following five factors to be considered in preparation of reports on reservation needs:
"1. New ideas for state or Federal programs or laws that would help raise the level of economic opportunity at Indian reservations.
"2. New program efforts that might be financed by outside capital provided from invested savings or by income from the tribe.
"3. Identification of the probable amount and probable time of receipt of any forthcoming judgment funds or large oil or mineral royalties, with indications of present plans of affected tribes for use and investment of such funds.
"4. A conservative estimate of the probable costs of each new program, aside from expected expansion of existing, ongoing programs.
“5. Projection of probable population changes in the ten-year period ahead.”
Each of these five points reflects the tenor of Bureau programs since 1961, when a Task Force on Indian Affairs, appointed by Secretary Udall, called for action leading to economic self-sufficiency for reservation Indians and full participation in American life.
The Bureau's programs are currently focusing on two interrelated objectives: education and vocational training, and economic development.
Programs and services instituted or expanded since 1961 include the following: Low-cost housing (in cooperation with the Public Housing Administration) and tribal housing projects improved real estate appraisal services to assure fair value to tribes and individuals in sale and lease of lands; economic feasibility surveys to determine industrial and business potential on reservations; school construction to provide sufficient classrooms for all Indian children who have no access to public schools; relocation, vocational training and job placement for adults; and industrial development on reservations (resulting in the establishment thus far of 40 small private manufacturing plants on or near reservations).
