News by Year

Acting upon the recommendation of a special task force which visited Alaskan native villages this past summer, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced that the Tsimpshian Indians of the island community of Metlakatla will be permitted to continue using their fish traps during the 1963 fishing season.

Since 1915, by Secretarial regulation, the Metlakatlans have been allowed to fish with traps. Early in 1962, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that an Alaskan law prohibiting traps does not apply to the Annette Island Reservation within which Metlakatla is situated.

It is good to be back at the University of Toronto—this time as a guest rather than an employee. I still have many warm memories of the four years I spent here as a lecturer in anthropology from 1937 to 1941. So I am especially grateful for the opportunity of corning back to renew old acquaintances and establish new ones in this outstanding Canadian academic institution.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall has sent a letter of congratulations to the Papago Candy Stripers, a group of 18 Arizona Indian girls who recently won first place honors from Parents' Magazine for youth group achievement in teenage public service.

On November 24 the Indian Hospital at Sells, Arizona, was the setting for a ceremony at which the Papago Candy Stripers were presented with the first place plaque and a cash prize of $500 for their outstanding volunteer work in the hospital.

Promotion of Robert E. Robinson to the post of superintendent of the Fort Apache Indian Agency, Whiteriver, Ariz., effective November 25, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Robinson has been land operations officer at the Fort Apache Agency since 1955. He succeeds Albert M. Hawley who is transferring to the staff of the Indian Bureau's area office at Phoenix as, projects development officer.

An unusually large volume of legislation that will bring far-reaching benefits to American Indians was enacted by the recently adjourned 87th Congress, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall said today.

The Department of the Interior today announced the adoption of regulations governing distribution of a judgment fund awarded to the Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma by the Indian Claims Commission.

Under legislation recently passed by Congress the persons eligible to share in the funds are those whose names appear on the final Cherokee roll of March 4, 1907, and their heirs or legatees as determined under the laws of succession and testacy of the State of residence of the decedent on the date of his death. No names will be added to the roll.

Award of a contract totaling $3,195,062 for expansion of school facilities to accommodate 510 additional Indian students on the Navajo Reservation at Greasewood, Arizona, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Award of an $874,700 construction contract that will provide 150 additional classroom seats for Indian students in the White Shield School at Emmet, North Dakota, on the Fort Berthold Reservation was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Planned development of visitor attractions in Indian areas of the U.S. is proving to be one of the more effective economic rehabilitation programs designed to provide tribal members with self-sufficiency, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall said yesterday (September 16) in the official opening of a new highway link on the Navajo Trail.

As part of the ceremonies, Secretary Udall dedicated a unique marker where the corners of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet.

The Department of the Interior today proposed new regulations so Indian tribes having organized forest enterprises may be able to sell lumber and other forest products without supervision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Bureau guidance over sales, the Department explained, is needed for small scale operations where the tribal enterprise organization has limited experience in conducting such sales. It also serves a purpose where there is no formal agreement between the tribal forest enterprise and the tribal or individual Indian owners of the forest land.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall will dedicate Navajo Dam, first completed major storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project, in New Mexico on Saturday, September 15, and the new Four Corners marker and highway across the Navajo Indian Reservation on Sunday, September 16. The Four Corners marker designates where boundaries of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona come together, the only such point in the United States.

Robert G. Hart has been promoted from Assistant General Manager to General Manager of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the Department of the Interior announced today. He succeeds J. Edward Davis, who retires after 12 years of service with the Board and 10 years as General Manager.

Have you been on or near an Indian reservation and become the proud owner of a concho belt, a squash blossom necklace or earrings, a beadwork purse, some linens, an Indian doll, or some other product representative of the resident Indian tribe? Are you sure that what you bought was a genuine handicraft of the Indians? It is easy to be fooled, and many manufacturers and dealers are getting rich by fooling you.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has agreed to make loans that may be needed for reactivation of a tribally operated steer enterprise on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, the Department of the Interior announced today.

The Department of the Interior has announced its support of Federal legislation providing for an exchange of lands between the United States and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of southwestern Colorado in connection with the construction of the Navajo Dam and Reservoir unit of the Colorado River Storage Project.

Some 707.5 acres of Southern Ute tribal land are needed for the reservoir project, the Department explained, and the tribe has expressed a desire to exchange this acreage for public land instead of selling it for cash.

Selection of Edward F. Edzards, a career employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as a new superintendent of the Pierre Agency, supervising the Bureau's operations on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule Reservations in South Dakota, effective August 19, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Edzards has been in charge of the Bureau's Cheyenne and Arapaho area field office (formerly designated as a sub-agency since 1955. For six years before that he worked for the Bureau as a farm management supervisor at Pawnee, Clinton and Concho, all in western Oklahoma.

Appointment of Kendall Cumming, land operations officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Fort Defiance, Ariz., as superintendent of the Jicarilla Apache Agency, Dulce, N. Mex., effective August 19, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

He succeeds the late John B. Keliiaa, who died in Washington, D. C., last January.

A group of young American Indian and Eskimo trainees in electronics who have prepared themselves for defense and communications jobs in their home State of Alaska under the adult vocational training program of the Bureau of Indian Affairs will visit President Kennedy at the White House at 9:45 a.m. August 2 during the course of a two-day visit to the Nation's Capital, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Twelve studies to determine the feasibility of economic development which could create greater job opportunities on Indian reservations and in the native villages of Alaska are being undertaken by the Bureau of Indian Affairs with technical assistance funds provided by the Area Redevelopment Administration of the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Contracts totaling $402,493 have been awarded to the lowest qualified bidders for carrying out the studies in 11 States.

The Department of the Interior said today it has recommended enactment of Federal legislation (8.2384) that would bring greater benefits to Navajo Indians living in San Juan County, Utah, from the leasing of reservation lands for oil and gas development.

The Department of the Interior said today it has recommended enactment of Federal legislation (8.2384) that would bring greater benefits to Navajo Indians living in San Juan County, Utah, from the leasing of reservation lands for oil and gas development.

The Department of the Interior today announced its support of proposed Federal legislation providing for distribution of a jl1dgment fund totaling nearly $12 million recovered by the Cherokee Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.

Award of a $1,121,000 contract for the construction of new school facilities on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Rock Point, Arizona was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract calls for the construction of a 7-classroom academic building with multipurpose room and administrative unit, a 192-pupil dormitory, a kitchen and dining hall, and other related facilities. The construction, when completed, will replace the old stone 2-classroom school building and two temporary classrooms and will allow an additional 120 pupils to be enrolled.

Award of a $729,911 contract for the construction of school facilities on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation at Fort Yates, North Dakota was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract calls for the construction of a l2-classroom elementary school building, a high school general shop building, and other related facilities, The construction, when completed, will replace the old frame structure now housing ,he elementary school, which is over-crowded and substandard, and will allow an increase of 30 pupils in the school enrollment.

The broad and growing interest of American Indians in education for their children is graphically revealed in a recent survey by the Bureau of Indian Affairs showing Indian participation on 284 local school boards and 414 parent teacher associations throughout the country, the Department of the Interior reported today.

Included in the number of Indian participants are four school board chairmen in the Montana-Wyoming area and a president of a public school PTA in the Arizona-New Mexico area.

Award of a $1,944,455 contract for the construction of additional school facilities on the Navajo Indian Reservation at Kayenta, Arizona, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract provides for the construction of two 192-pupil dormitories, a 4-classroom beginners' school, a 660-pupil kitchen-dining room, a multipurpose building, and other related facilities. The construction, when completed, will provide more educational opportunity for the present enrollment of 460 pupils at the Kayenta School and allow the enrollment of 200 additional Navajo pupils.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced approval of new regulations today that will help several Pueblo Indian tribes in central New Mexico consolidate their land holdings and improve their livestock operations.

The new rules carry out exchange provisions of a law passed last September which transferred 69,700 acres of the national land reserve to eight Pueblo Indian tribes in New Mexico.

W. Wade Head, area director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Gallup, New Mexico since 1954, and Fredrick M. Haverland, who has occupied the comparable position at Phoenix, Ariz., since 1955, will exchange positions in the near future, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced the ending of the legal relationship which the Government has had for nearly 20 years with the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina and with its individual members as Indians.

The Secretary’s action was taken in compliance with the provisions of a 1959 act of Congress (73 Stat. 592) which were accepted by a majority of the adult tribal members.

The Department of the Interior today announced the completion of an Indian-approved property distribution plan for the Redding Rancheria in Shasta County, California, under terms of a 1958 law.

Under the 1958 enactment the group property of the rancheria, consisting mainly of 30.89 acres of land, was divided among the 44 Indian beneficiaries in accordance with a plan approved by the Indians in referendum ballot. In all cases, unrestricted title was conveyed to the Indians.

A proposal for a National Recreation Area adjoining Yellowtail Reservoir in Big Horn and Carbon Counties, Montana, and Big Horn County, Wyoming, is detailed in a report released today by the Department of the Interior.

A 7l-mile long reservoir will be formed by the construction of the Yellowtail Dam now being built near the mouth of Big Horn Canyon, about 42 miles southwest of Hardin, Montana, by the Bureau of Reclamation as a part of the Missouri River ( Project. The dam is expected to be completed by 1966.

The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project and the initial stage of the San Juan-Chama Reclamation Project, authorized in a bill passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President, will provide economic assistance to the Navajo Indians and will enable New Mexico to put to use a major portion of the water of the Upper Colorado River system to which it is entitled under two interstate compacts.

James F. Canan, career employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, will take over as new area director for the Bureau at Billings, Montana, June 24, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Canan has been assistant area director in charge of resources at Gallup, New Mexico, since last December. At Billings he succeeds Percy E. Melis who retired last March.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall and Alaska's Governor William A. Egan today Jointly announced plans for a three-man task force to visit native villages in Alaska and study Indian Bureau operations there during June.

Visitors travelling to the Pacific Northwest will find many reasons for lingering beyond their visit to the Seattle World Fair in a special informational pamphlet being readied by the Department of the Interior.

A special exhibit, "Indian Handicraft, the True and the False," has been arranged in the Department of the Interior Museum at Washington, D. C., and will be displayed for two months.

Material for the exhibit was furnished by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior and consists of Indian handicraft of all types, from jewelry to Indian dolls.

Although I have been in office only a little over seven months, it has been an extremely crowded period. So I really welcome the opportunity to back off here in a somewhat more cloistered atmosphere and cast an appraising eye on our present situation in Indian affairs.

The Department of the Interior announced today that a contract for sawmill equipment for the Red Lake Indian Mills, Redby, Minnesota will be awarded to the Mater Division of the Appleton Machine Company, Appleton, Wisconsin.

The decision to award the contract on the basis of installation of the equipment by the manufacturer was determined to be in the best interest of the Federal Government and the Red Lake Indians. The contractor becomes responsible for correcting any operating difficulties resulting from improper installation.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash, accompanied by other Indian Bureau officials, will travel extensively through Indian areas of North Dakota in early May, and Minnesota in early June, to consult with Government officials and Indian leaders and visit with Indian families in their homes.

Award of a $685,435 contract for construction and conversion of educational facilities at Santa Fe, New Mexico, into an Indian arts school was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract calls for the construction of a new academic building, an administrative building and a student center building. The present academic building will be remodeled into art studios and classrooms. In addition to the building construction, outside utilities will be improved, paved streets with curbs and gutters will be provided, and a chain link perimeter fence will be installed.

Award of a $1,437,000 contract for the construction of school facilities at Toadlena, New Mexico, on the Navajo Indian Reservation was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Selection of Dale M. Baldwin, superintendent of the Fort Peck Indian Agency, Poplar, Mont., as the new superintendent of the Nevada agency, Stewart, Nev., effective April 29, was announced today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

Baldwin succeeds Burton A. Ladd, who is retiring after nearly 34 years' service with the Indian Bureau. A new superintendent for the Fort Peck Agency has not been selected.

Appointment of George M. Felshaw, a veteran of more than 20 years' service with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as superintendent of the Western Washington Indian Agency, Everett, Wash., effective May 1, was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

Felshaw, who has been in charge of the Bureau's field relocation office at Los Angeles since 1957, replaces Clarence W. Ringey who is transferring to the Bureau's area office at Aberdeen, S. Dak., April 29. Ringey has been superintendent at Everett since 1955.

In response to wishes of the tribal membership, the Department of the Interior has proposed legislation providing for division of tribal assets of the Ponca Indians of northeastern Nebraska and discontinuing their special Indian relations with the Federal Government, Assistant Secretary John A. Carver, Jr., reported today.

Under a bill suggested to Congress by the Department, division of the assets would be made only if approved by a majority of the adult members of the tribe.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior and the Federal Housing Administration of the Housing and Home Finance Agency today jointly announced the signing of an agreement opening up new possibilities for FHA-insured financing of home building and housing improvements on Indian reservations.

Such financing has been available in the past, but its availability has been limited by complications arising from the trust or restricted status of most Indian-owned land.

Award of a $758,802 contract for construction of school facilities at Kaibeto, Arizona, on the Navajo Indian Reservation, was reported today by the Department of the Interior.

Facilities to be built under the contract include a two-classroom and multipurpose room addition to the existing school, a 128-pupil dormitory, five one-bedroom apartments, and a multistory building containing two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced proposed rules today that would help several Pueblo Indian tribes in central New Mexico block up their land holdings and improve their livestock operations.

The new rules would carry out exchange provisions of a law passed last September. That law transferred 69,700 acres of the national land reserve to eight Pueblo Indian tribes in New Mexico.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced the assignment of Sidney M. Carney, a career employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to work with "the Seneca Indians of New York on problems resulting from construction of the Kinzua Dam and Reservoir on the Allegheny River.

The state of Alaska, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Education have reached a basic understanding on educational goals and responsibilities in the 49th state, the Department of the Interior reported today.

The understanding was developed at meetings in Washington, D. C., attended by representatives of the Alaska state Government and the two Federal agencies.

The conference agreed on the following 13 points:

1. Alaska. Public education in Alaska is a primary responsibility of the State of This responsibility extends to all children within the state.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced approval of a proposal made by the Navajo Indian Tribe that bids be invited for a two-year preferential oil and gas prospecting permit on 35,336 acres of wildcat tribal land in Coconino County, Arizona.

The successful bidder would be given not only a. prospecting permit but a preference to select for lease not less than six tracts comprising 2,560 acres each, Subject to a bonus payment of $25 per acre less 50 percent of the per-acre bonus paid for the permit.

Memorandum

The Department of the Interior today announced several major changes in the Federal regulations governing the conduct of elections of officers of the Osage Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.

Owners of “headright” interests in the Osage Tribe’s mineral estate 21 years of age or over are eligible to vote in these elections. While most of the headright owners live in Oklahoma, a substantial number are residents of southern California.

Appointment of Roderick H. Riley, former economic advisor to the U. S. Information Agency, as assistant and economic advisor to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash was reported today by the Department of the Interior.

A career civil servant and native of Antigo, Wisc., Riley entered Federal service in 1933 as research assistant to the late Senator Robert M. La Follette, In He has been with USIA for the past two years.

The three top officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs--Commissioner Philleo Nash, Deputy Commissioner John O. Crow, and Associate Commissioner James E. Officer--will travel extensively through Indian areas of Oklahoma, consulting with Indian leaders and visiting Indian families in their homes, during the week starting March 4, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today approved a plan proposed by the Crow Indian Tribe of Montana for using a judgment fund of over $9 million awarded to the Tribe by the Indian Claims Commission.

Under the Tribe's plan, the money will be used for a variety of economic development programs.

One million dollars will be set aside for land purchases involving mainly those tracts that are needed to round out farm and range units.

New programs instituted by the Department of the Interior during 1961 to stem inroads on vital natural resources by this Nation's explosive growth were outlined today in the Department's annual report entitled "Resources for Tomorrow."

"Because so much of what is happening inside America today is drowned out by the clamor of an embattled world, “Secretary Stewart t. Udall writes in the report, is only recently that we have become aware of a growing internal crisis which deeply affects the lives of all Americans."

A change in Bureau of Indian Affairs regulations which will make more American Indians in the 18-35 age bracket eligible to receive vocational training with Government financial assistance was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

Under the former rules, only Indians living on trust or restricted land under jurisdiction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs were eligible for such training.

Three major personnel changes in the Bureau of Indian Affairs involving the area offices at Muskogee, Okla., and Minneapolis, Minn., were announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Paul L. Fickinger, area director at Muskogee since 1954, has been named special assistant to Deputy Commissioner John O. Crow and will be stationed at Albuquerque, N. Mex. His first major assignment will be to supervise a comprehensive survey of the adequacy of the Bureau's buildings and plants, consisting largely of school plants, located at its field installations throughout the country.

American Indians, widely considered a vanishing race in the early years of the present century, are now increasing at a faster rate than the whole United States population, the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior reported today.

The annual growth rate for the Nation's Indian population during the decade of the 1950's was about 2.5 percent as compared with 1.7 percent for the entire country.