Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced three important personnel moves in the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Russell G. Fister will transfer from the position of assistant area director, Minneapolis, Minn., to be superintendent at Osage Agency, Pawhuska, Okla., effective November 27. He will succeed Theodore B. Hall whose transfer to the position of assistant area director, Gallup, New Mexico, was recently announced.
James W. Kaufmann, now superintendent of the Consolidated Chippewa Agency, Cass Lake, Minn., will become superintendent of the new combined Minnesota agency at Bemidji on December 1.
Richard D. Butts, superintendent of the Red Lake, Minn., agency, which is being absorbed in the new headquarters at Bemidji, will transfer to the Bureau's Washington Office as program officer on December 1.
Mr. Fister has been with the Bureau for 28 years. After holding a number of clerical and fiscal positions, he was appointed in 1943 assistant director of credit in the Bureau's central office and four years later was promoted to director. In 1948 he transferred to the Bureau's Navajo headquarters at Window Rock, Ariz. as business economist and was later named director of resources. He transferred to Minneapolis as assistant area director last June.
Mr. Kaufmann originally came with the Bureau in 1929 as agricultural extension agent at Consolidated Chippewa Agency and subsequently served in this line of work for 21 years. His service included assignments at Minneapolis, Spokane, and Oklahoma City. He has been superintendent at Cass Lake since 1950.
Mr. Butts has been superintendent at Red Lake since last June. Before that he served three years as superintendent of the Umatilla Agency, Pendleton, Oregon. He came with the Bureau in 1948 following his discharge from the Army with the rank of major and was soil conservationist at the Colville Agency, Nespelem, Wash., until 1951.
