News by Year

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has received petitions from forty Indian groups seeking to be acknowledged by the Federal Government as Indian tribes. A list of the forty groups, from 21 states, is being published in the Federal Register as required by regulations made effective October 2, 1978. These regulations establish the procedures for establishing that an American Indian group exists as an American Indian Tribe.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today signed an order restoring to the Quechan Indians 25,000 acres of land within the original 1884 boundaries of the Fort Yuma Reservation in Arizona and California.

Indian educators, students, tribal community representatives and Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel will meet January 8-11 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to begin implementation efforts for two major pieces of Indian education legislation enacted in the closing days of the 95th Congress.

Leo J. O'Connor, an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Yankton Agency at Wagner, South Dakota. Acting Deputy Commissioner of Indian Affairs Martin E. Seneca, Jr. said that O'Connor's appointment was effective December 3, 1978.

O'Connor has been the Agency Administrative Officer. From 1971 to 1976 he held various positions with the tribe. He was the acting tribal chairman, executive director of the tribal development program and director of the business and claims committee.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today that Earl J. Barlow, a Blackfeet Indian, has been appointed Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education.

Barlow has been Superintendent of Schools in Browning, Montana since 1973. He has also served as the Montana State Supervisor of Indian Education and has worked for thirty years as a teacher, principal and education program administrator.

Richard C. Whitesell, Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Flathead Agency at Ronan, Montana, has been detailed to act as Area Director at the Bureau office in Billings, Montana. He will serve in this capacity pending the appointment of a temporary successor to James Canan.

Canan was recently assigned by Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard to manage the field operations portion of a BIA Management Improvement Program.

Louise Perkins, Tribal Government Worker, is Buried: Louise Gilbault Perkins, of Michigan Ottawa who worked 36 years with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, died November 22. Louise was administrative officer for the division of tribal government services. After attending Haskell Institute in 1941-42, Louise went to work for the BIA in Chicago as a Clerk-stenographer. She came to Washington in 1949 to work in the office of tribal relations under D'Arcy McNickle and has been since then part of the Washington scene for most tribal delegations.

The Department of the Interior announced today publication of final regulations in the Federal Register for designating public easements on lands conveyed to Alaska Natives under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The regulations are designed to carry out the terms of the Federal District Court decisions in Alaska by Judge James von der Heydt in July and subsequent policy decisions on ANCSA by Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus in Marc of 1978.

Assistant Secretary -- Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard announced today the detail of Phoenix Arizona Director John Artichoker to manage the training and personnel assistance project which will determine the feasibility of establishing a national training center for Indian tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Gerard said Artichoker's educational background and professional experience make him eminently qualified to carry out the congressionally mandated study.

Assistant Secretary -- Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard announced today the detail of James Canan, Billings Area Director to the Bureau's Management Improvement Program, where he will manage the field operation portion of the program. Gerard said he selected Canan for this assignment because of his many years of experience as an area director, his knowledge of the BIA's field operations at both the area and agency level.

Proposed regulations to, govern the administration of Bureau of Indian Affairs adult education programs are being published in the Federal Register, Acting Deputy Commissioner Martin Seneca said today.

The proposed regulations provide a definition of the term "adult education" and give guidelines for the administration of funds and programs including the contracting of the programs.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerrard, said today that the Department has initiated action to establish order in the administration and government of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in Northern California. Gerard said that long-standing disagreements about the unity of the reservation and the persons entitled to the use and benefit of the reservation had created an "unfortunate situation which is detrimental to both the Hoopa and Yurok Indians and has severely impeded the proper management of government of the reservation."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that Raymond W. Mayotte has been appointed Superintendent of the Minnesota Agency at Bemidji. He succeeds Edwin Demery who is now the BIA area director for the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard said today that his office has initiated plans to implement changes in Indian education programs mandated by Title XI of the Education Amendments Act of 1978, (P.L. 95-561), signed by President Carter November 1. Title XI, of the Act stresses self ... determination and control of Indian education programs by the Indian community. Its three parts deal with federally assisted programs in public schools, Bureau of Indian Affairs education programs, and programs administered by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Jack R. Ridley, a Washoe-Shoshone Indian, has been appointed Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Tribal Resources Development in Washington, D.C., Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today

Ridley has served as Director of the Center for Native American Development at the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho since 1977.

Donald A. McCabe, former president of the Navajo Community College, has been appointed President of the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute at Albuquerque, New Mexico, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Martin E, Seneca, Jr., has been named Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerrard announced today.

Seneca, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Seneca Sr., Brant-Reservation Road, Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, will act as the functional and operational head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the agency until the post of the Commissioner is filled on a permanent basis.

Assistant Secretary Forrest J. Gerard today announced that Deputy Assistant Secretary George V. Goodwin, Jr., will return to his native Minnesota to work with his Tribe.

"Mr. Goodwin has outstanding experience and leadership qualities" stated Gerard, "and he has been a vigorous advocate for the Indian interest. The focus of his work in our administration has been the improvement of the management systems and structure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in order that: the agency might be fully responsive to the unique and pressing needs of the Indian tribes."

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today released a draft supplement to the 1974 final environmental impact statement covering Executive Branch alternatives for protecting Alaska National Interest Lands until Congress can take final action.

Assistant Secretary Forrest J. Gerard announced today actions in the ongoing effort to organize and improve the management systems and structure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

A formal agreement has been signed by the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM) with the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) of Washington, D.C., for a comprehensive $700,000 study of surface mining of coal on Indian lands, OSM Director Walter N. Heine announced today.

The study, expected to take nine months, was contracted by OSM under Section 710 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. CERT was organized three years ago by 25 Indian tribes.

With the salmon spawning run on the Klamath River in California nearly over, the Department of the Interior announced today that it is opening portions of the river to Indian subsistence fishing.

Award of an $198,000 contract to Price, Waterhouse & Co. to aid the efforts of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to bring integrity in the use and control of funds to the Bureau's financial and accounting systems was announced today by Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard.

Senator Milton Young of North Dakota and Robert Richmond, a Brunswick Corporation executive, will be honored for "outstanding contributions to economic development on American Indian reservations," Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

Bureau of Indian Affairs' Economic Development Award plaques will be presented to the honorees October 19 in a ceremony on the Fort Totten Reservation in North Dakota.

A $34 million Bureau of Reclamation contract has been approved for award on September 22, for construction of the Central Arizona Project's Havasu Pumping Plant on the Bill Williams Arm of Lake Havasu, Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus announced today.

·Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus and Under Secretary James Joseph reported today that they have reviewed and approved the general principles of a reorganization plan for the administration of Indian affairs.

Andrus and Joseph said that implementation of most major features of the plan, developed by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard, and would begin promptly after analysis of the plan's details.

Gerard's recommendations, which he announced today at the National Congress of American Indians annual convention in Rapid City, South Dakota, include:

Proposed regulations to govern the preparation of a roll of Eastern Creek Indians eligible to share in a judgment award made by the Indian Claims Commission are being published in the Federal Register the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The award of $1,346,000 in favor of the Creek Nation of Indians for lands in Georgia and Alabama taken in 1818 is to be apportioned between the Creek Tribe of Oklahoma and the unorganized group of Creek Indian descendants called Eastern Creek Indians.

Regulations governing the preparation of a roll of lineal descendants of the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River Bands of Chippewa Indians to share in the distribution of funds awarded by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today. The regulations establish the requirements for enrollment and a decid1ine of December 1, 1978 for filing applications.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus, accompanied by his Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Forrest Gerard, will visit the lower Klamath River area in northern California next Thursday, September 7, for meetings with Indian leaders concerned about fishing controversies in that region.

James A. Joseph, Under Secretary of the Interior, and Huey Johnson, California' Secretary for Resources, today announced creation of a five-member observer team to monitor enforcement of strict regulations the two departments imposed earlier this week on Klamath River salmon and steelhead fishing.

"Formation of the team responds to general concern that the regulations be rigorously and equitably enforced," said Joseph. "The group will be a neutral body which will work to reconcile the interests of all parties concerned with the Klamath River fishery."

Secretary Cecil D. Andrus announced today that he will visit the Pacific Northwest in September to review the status of salmon and steelhead runs and to make an official visit to the Quinault Indian Reservation

"There is a growing concern for the condition of the fishery and I want to take the opportunity not only to review its current status but also to obtain first-hand reports about the future of the runs from Federal, State and Tribal representatives," Andrus said.

Final regulations governing the procedures by which an Indian group would be acknowledged to be an Indian tribe are being published in the Federal Register Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The increased number of Indian groups requesting that the Secretary of the Interior officially acknowledge them as Indian tribes has necessitated the development of uniform procedures to be followed.

Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard has appointed Joe G. Weller as Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent on the Hoopa Reservation in northern California. Weller,an enrolled member of the Caddo Tribe has been a program analyst on the Indian Self-Determination Staff in Washington, D.C

Weller, 39, worked in BIA field office is in Texas, Idaho and Washington as an employment assistance specialist and officer. He has been in the Bureau's central office as a program analyst since 1975

The Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Pine Ridge Agency, Anthony Whirlwind Horse, is being transferred to the Aberdeen, South Dakota area office to avoid real or apparent conflict of interest situations on the Pine Ridge Reservation where his brother, Elijah, was recently elected President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard said that "the decision to reassign Mr. Whirlwind Horse was based on the opinions and advice of the Solicitor and the Department's Ethics Counselor."

A draft environmental impact statement considering the consequences of transferring certain public lands to the Navajo Tribe under the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act, P.L. 93-531, is now available.

According to a notice published in the Federal Register August 18, single copies of the statement may be obtained from the Flagstaff Administrative Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 1889, Flagstaff, Arizona 86002.

Russell A. Bradley, a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Winnebago Agency in Nebraska. His appointment is effective September 10, 1978.

Theopule L. Traversie, a former Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, has been named Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Cheyenne River Agency at Eagle Butte, South Dakota.

Traversie was formerly in the BIA's Portland Area Office where he worked as a loan specialist. A United States Navy veteran, Traversie earned a degree in business administration in 1963 from Northern State College in Aberdeen, South Dakota and completed law studies at the University of South Dakota in 1966.

The Department of the Interior and the State of California today announced all fishing for fall chinook salmon and steelhead trout will be closed at midnight Sunday, August 27 in the Klamath River below the Highway 101 bridge, and severely curtailed above the bridge.

Revisions in the regulations governing contracts and grants under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance (P.L.93-638) are being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The most significant change is the addition of procedures to deal with situation in which a contract proposal is adequate but the Bureau does not have sufficient funds to finance it.

The revisions, published as proposed regulations in March, 1976, will be effective 30 days after publication.

The Department of the Interior an the State of California have agreed on a cooperative interim management plan for Klamath River salmon and steel fishery during the 1978 fall run, which has already begun, and the 1979 spring and summer run.

In a joint announcement today. Leo M. Krulitz, Interior Solicitor and A Secretary, ad Huey D. Johnson, California Secretary for Resource, said the agreement will allow the careful management of the fishery now while long-range studies continue.

An Indian Claims Commission award of almost $44 million for Sioux lands ceded the Indians in 1868 "is not a settlement of the much publicized Black Hills Claim;" a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman said today.

The Black Hills Claim, not yet settled, is for land west of the Missouri River in South Dakota ceded by various Sioux groups in 1876.

The $44 million award, largest yet made oy the Commission, is compensation for lands in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska and an area east of the Missouri River in South Dakota.

A plan for the use and distribution of approximately $1.4 million awarded to the Creek Nation of Indians by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today

The award is additional compensation for 1.4 million acres of land in Alabama and Georgia taken from the tribe in 1818.

According to the plan, approved by Congress and made effective June 15, 1978, the funds will be divided between the Creek Nation of Oklahoma and an unorganized group of descendants of the Creek Indians east of the Mississippi.

Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz announced today he has named Claudeen Bates Arthur a Field Solicitor for the Window Rock, Arizona, and Office, which provides legal service to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Navajo Indian Reservation.

Ms. Arthur, 36, is now an attorney in the Division of Indian Affairs in the Solicitor's Washington Office. She will begin work in Window Rock on August 14, replacing Dale H. Itschner who was transferred to the Portland, Oregon, Regional Solicitor's Office.

Indian leaders of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association (NTCA) had a "productive" meeting with Vice President Walter Mondale at the White House July 24, according to Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard.

Gerard said that the Indian, in an hour-long meeting, discussed various Indian programs and trust-related issues but "stressed the need for Government consultation with the elected leaders of Indian tribes before making Indian policy decisions."

Proposed regulations dealing with the acquisition of and for Indians in a trust or restricted status are being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz announced today the working groups formed to help work out negotiated settlements of the New York land claims of the Cayuga Nation and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe will resume meetings soon.

Bureau of Indian Affairs plans to poll Osage Indian descendants to obtain their views on the future form of the Osage tribal government.

Under existing legislation, the present system of tribal government will expire January 1, 1984, if not extended. The extent of authority of the present Osage tribal government is also being questioned in litigation by some tribal members.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus announced today he will review the Department's policy requiring five years' occupancy before land can be withdrawn under the 1906 Alaska Native Allotment Act.

Action on such withdrawals will be suspended pending the review, the Secretary said. A notice of the review and suspension was published in the Federal Register July 11, 1978

The appointments of three officials to serve in administrative positions on the Navajo Reservation were announced today by Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard.

Ted S. Koenig was named Assistant Area Director for Resource in the Navajo Area Office.

Albert L. Keller was appointed Supervisory General Engineer for the Navajo Irrigation Project.

Thomas H. Begay was made Superintendent of the Chinle, Agency on the reservation.

The Department of the Interior, seeking to restore a once-outstanding salmon and steelhead fishery on the Lower Klamath and Trinity Rivers in California, announced today it would closely regulate Indian commercial and subsistence fishing this summer while undertaking “significant” studies aimed at improving the fish resources.

Both rivers flow through the Hoopa Indian Reservation, where regulation and enforcement of commercial and subsistence fishing has been admittedly ineffective.

New regulation providing extra sockeye salmon fishing time under long standing treaty rights to members of eight Washington State Indian Tribes were published June 23 in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The new regulations will be effective June 25, in time for the salmon season beginning June 26. They replace similar regulations published in June of 1977 in the Federal Register.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that it plans to initiate a nutrition program, including delivery of hot meals, for elderly residents of the former Navajo-Hopi Joint Use Area.

Required stock reduction in the heavily over-grazed area has greatly reduced the supply of available mutton, the traditional meat food.

The BIA is contracting with the Navajo Tribe's Aging Office for the administration of the program.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs has submitted for publication in the Federal Register final rules governing removal from the roll of Alaska Natives the names of those ineligible under terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest J. Gerard today called President Carter's water policy "a logical framework for a rational solution to the complex problems concerning scarce water resources in the West."

Gerard said that he is "particularly pleased with the President's recognition of Indian water rights as a key to settlement of this controversial issue, as well as a key to the maintenance of a permanent tribal homeland."

The final environmental impact statement for the Vekol Hills Project, a proposed open pit copper and molybdenum mine on the Papago Indian Reservation in Pinal, County, Arizona, has been completed, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

Notice of the availability of the EIS is being published in the Federal Register.

The project calls for mining and related activities to be conducted under the terms of mineral and surface leases granted by the Papago Tribe, if approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

A plan for the use and distribution of $725,000 awarded by the Indian Claims Commission to the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington is being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The award is compensation for lands taken from the Joseph Band of the Nez Perce in 1875.

According to the plan approved by Congress, effective May 1, the portion of the award going to the Colville Tribes will be distributed on a per capita basis to the members.

The Administration's Water Policy Message sent to Congress today by President Carter recommended that States put up a front-end share of the cost of all Federal water projects.

The President said that State governments should assume a share of the cost over and above existing cost-sharing of Federal water projects. The proposal was among several initiatives the President announced to achieve a new national emphasis on water conservation, enhance Federal State cooperation, increase attention to environmental quality, and improve Federal water resource programs.

Proposed regulations governing the procedures by which an Indian group would be acknowledged to be an Indian tribe were published June 1 in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The increased number of Indian groups requesting that the Secretary of the Interior officially acknowledge them as Indian tribes has necessitated the development of uniform procedures to be followed.

Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary Forrest J. Gerard today announced that he has appointed Suzan Harjo to be Special Assistant for Legislation and Liaison.

Harjo, 32, is Cheyenne and Creek and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. She will serve on the Assistant Secretary's immediate staff in the areas of Congressional and Tribal relations.

Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard today announced the appointment of James L. Sansaver as Special Assistant in the area of trust services.

Sansaver, a member of the Assiniboine-Sioux Tribes of the Ft. Peck Reservation, will work on the Assistant Secretary's immediate staff in matters involving natural resource programs and the strengthening of tribal governments.

The Department of the Interior is seeking public comment on regulations proposed for establishing public easements across Native lands in Alaska. The proposed regulations are published in the May 25 Federal Register. They carry out the policy decisions which were announced on March 6, 1978, following months of work by the Department with the Joint Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission, Alaska Natives and the State.

Twenty Alaska Natives from villages in the Kuskokwim Delta area came to Washington, D.C., in mid-May to tell United States Congressmen how pending legislation, H.R. 39, involving millions of acres of Alaska land could affect their lives.

The Eskimo group raised funds for the trip through tribal activities in 56 villages. For most of the group it was a first visit to the Nation’s Capital.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, both of the U. S. Department of the Interior, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further the cause of dam safety. The purpose of the memorandum, according to Commissioner of Reclamation R. Keith Higginson, is to identify those areas where Reclamation can provide technical expertise to assist BIA in developing formalized program for dam safety.

Edwin L. Demery, an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been named Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Minneapolis area Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

In his new position, Demery is the BIA's top official in the four states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.

A native of Fort Yates, North Dakota, Demery has been since 1970 Superintendent of the Minnesota Agency at Bemidji, Minnesota.

Franklin L. Annette, a Chippewa Indian, has been appointed Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Technical Assistance Center in Denver, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Annette in his new position will be responsible for the administration of programs designed to help Indian tribes and individuals to develop capabilities to construct, maintain, operate and manage tribal facilities and businesses.

Representatives of the Interior Department, other, U.S. agencies, and Alaskan Eskimos met last weekend and reached an understanding on the identification and counting of endangered bowhead whales in an effort to avoid exceeding the Eskimo quota for this year.

Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today that: he is initiating action to help the Oneida Indians of New York resolve internal governmental problems.

Since 1975 the tribe has had no recognized governing body to handle tribal affairs, including negotiations of two large tribal land claims in the state. They had previously functioned under a consensus form of leadership.

Regulations governing Interior Department recognition of assignments by Regional Corporations of future interests in the Alaska Native Fund are being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The regulations will implement Section 31 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended November 15, 1977, which gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to recognize validly executed assignments made by Regional Corporations of their rights to receive payments from the Alaska Native Fund.

A plan for the use and distribution of more than $9 million awarded to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

The award is compensation for reservation land taken by the United States in the early part of this century. The reservation is in North Dakota.

Proposed regulations governing the preparation of a roll of lineal descendants of the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River Bands of Chippewa Indians to share in the distribution of funds awarded by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The proposed regulations establish the requirements for enrollment and a deadline for filing applications.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has published a study of Indian tribal courts done by the National American Indian Court Judges Association.

The 200-page book, Indian Courts and the Future, provides basic information about reservation judicial systems, considers the role of the courts under the current policy of Indian self-determination and discusses future needs.

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus announced today that a task force has been named to develop a proposed legislative settlement for the Catawba Indian Tribe's South Carolina land claim.

The three-member task force will include Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz; James Moorman, Assistant Attorney General; and Eliot R. Cutler, Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget. Krulitz and Cutler were also members of the Maine Indian Claims task force which developed the proposed settlement of the Passamaquoddy-Penobscot land claims announced in February.

The 1978 calendar of Indian fairs, exhibits, ceremonials, dances, feasts and other celebrations is now available, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

Most of the events in the state-by-state listings occur in the summer or fall months and are open to tourists and other visitors. The pocket-size booklet lists more than 500 items, giving the nature of the activity, dates and locations.

The booklet also contains some summary information about Indians in the United States and the addresses of Bureau of Indian Affairs field offices.

A recent Supreme Court decision that Indian tribes have no inherent criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians does not leave a void in criminal law enforcement on reservations, Interior Department Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz said in an opinion released today

A plan for the distribution and use of more than $6 million awarded to the Potawatomi Nation is being published in the Federal Register, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

The judgment award, granted by the Indian Claims Commission, is compensation for lands in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan ceded to the United States by the Indians during the treaty making period of 1795 to 1833.

Members of a Task Force appointed in December 1977 to prepare recommendations on the restructuring of the Bureau of Indian Affairs presented their final report to Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today.

The report will be published in the Federal Register and distributed to Indian tribes and organizations for connect through June 30, 1978.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs has drafted proposed rules for its revised program to remove from the roll of Alaska Natives the names of those ineligible under terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The proposed rules will be published this week in the Federal Register.

Wilfred Brown, a Navajo, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' agency at Fort Defiance, Arizona Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The Fort Defiance agency is one of five serving the huge Navajo Reservation.

Brown, 38, has been Administrative Manager and Program Officer at the agency. He previously worked for the Navajo Tribe as a planning assistant and economic planner.

An Army veteran, Brown earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering and Industrial Design at Arizona State University.

Fred Thompson, Jr., has been made Assistant Area Director, Community Services, in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Navajo Area Office, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Thompson, a member of the Navajo Tribe, has been the Housing Development Officer in the area office since August, 1976.

After serving as Assistant Executive Director of the Navajo Housing Authority, Thompson, 34, became Housing Development Officer at the Fort Defiance Agency in 1971. He transferred to the area office in 1974.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that proposed revisions in the regulations governing contracts and grants under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) were published in the Federal Register March 28.

The Self-Determination Act regulations require that the Bureau annually consult with Indian tribes and organizations about the need to revise the regulations. These proposed changes are the result of the consultation with Indian tribes and organizations.

Frederick S, Bigjim, an Eskimo, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs agency at Bethel, Alaska, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Bigjim, who has a Master's degree in education from Harvard, has been an administrator and instructor at the Kuskokwim Community College at Bethel.

A graduate of the University of Alaska, Bigjim was Executive Officer for that university's Rural Education Affairs Division in Anchorage in 1975-76. He has also served as Director of Alaska Methodist University’s Intercultural Studies program.

Proposed rules, revising and updating regulations implementing a section of Public Law 93-638 concerning the construction of public schools on or near Indian reservations, are being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) authorized the Secretary of the Interior to contract with state education agencies or school districts for the construction or renovation of public school facilities serving reservation Indian students.

Sidney L. Mills, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been named Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Albuquerque area, Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today. Mills was formerly Executive Assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Gerard also announced the appointment of Roland Johnson as Deputy Director of the Albuquerque area. Johnson, a former tribal operations officer in the area office, has been on leave from BIA to serve as the Governor of the Pueblo of Laguna.

Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard said today he was disappointed by the United States Supreme Court ruling March 6 that Indian tribes do not have criminal jurisdiction over non Indians on reservations. He said that he thought the decision would inhibit the development of tribal self-government and the maintenance of criminal justice systems on the reservations.

Proposed regulations governing the assignment by regional corporations of future interests in the Alaska Native Fund were published March 2 in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The regulations are designed to implement Section 31 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended November 1!5, 1977, which gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to recognize validly executed assignments made by Regional Corporations of their rights to receive payments from the Alaska Native Fund.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today announced completion of an eight month process aimed at speeding the conveyance of land to Alaska Native Corporations and smoothing implementation of other parts of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today the appointment of Irene Sparks Rowan as his Special Assistant for Alaskan Affairs.

Rowan, an-enrolled Alaska Native, is President of Kish Tu, Inc., an Alaska-based research and consulting firm. She is also the former elected Chairperson and President of Klukwan, Inc., her Alaska Native village corporation.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has requested an increase of $62.1 million in appropriated funds for fiscal year 1979. The Bureau's request submitted January 23 to Congress as part of the President's budget asks for $949.5 million of Federal appropriation. This includes $761 million for the operation of Indian programs; $86.8 million for the construction of irrigation systems, building and utilities; $71.4 million for road construction, and $30 million payments under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today the appointment of George V. Goodwin and Rick C. Lavis as Deputy Assistant Secretaries for Indian Affairs.

Gerard said that organizational changes in the Bureau of Indian Affairs to create the double deputy positions were recently approved.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus has asked the Congress to extend the January 31 deadline for completion of projects authorized under the 1977 Emergency Drought Act to keep them eligible for Federal funding.

Regulations governing eligibility for preference in employment in the Bureau of Indian Affairs were published January 17 in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The regulations define the term "Indian" for purposes of initial hire, promotion, transfers and all other appointments to vacancies in the Bureau.

Those persons entitled to Indian preference, according to the regulations are:

* Members of any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction;

Martin E. Seneca, Jr., is returning to the Bureau of Indian Affairs as Director of Trust Responsibilities, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Seneca was formerly Trust Responsibilities Director from May, 1974 to November, 1976. He has most recently been with the Federal Energy Agency as Assistant General Counsel for Conservation and Deputy Assistant Administrator for Conservation and Environment.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus announced today that a proposal has been sent to the Congress recommending designation of the Lewis and Clark Trail as a National Historic Trail in the National Trails System.

Legislation proposed earlier to the Congress would add National Historic Trails as a new category of trails within the National Trails System. They would complement the existing three types of trails: National Scenic Trails, National Recreation Trails, and connecting or side trails.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today urged the Senate Energy committee to adopt President Carter's recommendation to designate 92 million acres of federal lands in Alaska as new or expanded units of the National Park, Wildlife Refuge, Wild and Scenic River or National Forest systems.

"Through enactment of these proposals, we can be certain that the crown jewels of Alaska -- its most spectacular natural environments, recreation areas and wildlife habitats -- will remain intact for the benefit of our nation's citizens," Andrus said.

An Interior Department task force working on the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs has scheduled field conference meetings in five locations between January 30 and February 8. Notice of the meetings is being published in the Federal Register.

The purpose of the meetings is to receive comments concerning issues and problems involving the BIA reorganization. Persons wishing to testify are asked to give four days' prior notice.

In a step aimed at clearing the way for an exchange of land between the Federal Government and the Navajo Indian Tribe, the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management is proposing the withdrawal from mineral entry of 57,000 acres of public land in San Juan County, New Mexico.

The land exchange would allow the Navajos to acquire land where Tribal families are now living. The Bureau of Land Management would acquire approximately 80,000 acres 'in McKinley County within the El Malpais Outstanding Natural Area south of Grants, New Mexico.

The Department of the Interior has ordered four coal companies to show cause within 30 days why their prospecting permits and mining leases on Crow Tribal lands in Montana should not be canceled because they exceed limitations on lease size.

Involved in the action are American Metals Climax (AMAX) and Shell Oil Co., which have mining leases; and the Peabody Coal Co. and Gulf Oil Corp. which have permits with options to lease. The companies are entitled to an administrative hearing on the matter.

An American Indian planning committee has set three goals for a White House Pre-conference dealing with library services on reservations, Dr. William Demmert, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Indian Education announced today.