The Department of the Interior today announced that all Tillamook Indians who consider themselves eligible to participate in a judgment distribution totaling approximately $149,000 should contact the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office in Portland, Oregon, regarding applications.
The funds cover a 1962 judgment of the Indian Claims Commission in favor of the Nehalem and Tillamook Indian Bands. Money was appropriated by Congress in May 1963. Public Law 88-506 of August 30, 1964 provides for disposition of the funds.
The preparation of a roll to serve as the basis for the distribution will be under the direction of the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Box 3785, Portland, Oregon. March 1, 1965 has been set as the deadline date for accepting applications, in accordance with the 1964 Act.
Public Law 88-506 directs that each person of Tillamook Indian ancestry is eligible to apply for enrollment providing:
1. He was born on or prior to and was living on August 30, 1964, and
2. His name or the name of an ancestor through whom he claims eligibility appears either on the census roll of the Nehalem Band of Tillamooks of January 28, 1898, or the annuity payment roll of the Tillamook Band of Tillamooks prepared in 1914.
Some of the Tillamooks are today found on and near the former Grande Ronde and Siletz Reservations in Oregon. The Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde Community and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, both terminated in 1956, included Tillamook Indians among their membership. Former members are now widely scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest. Until applications have been received and evaluated, there is no way of determining the number of persons who will be eligible to share in the award.
Specific regulations to be followed in effecting the distribution are being published in the Federal Register. They include provisions for appealing rejections, handling the shares of minors and insuring that persons in the armed forces overseas will not be overlooked.
