Past News Items

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced the reappointment of Vincent Price, the actor and art connoisseur, for an additional four-year term as a member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

Mr. Price, of Los Angeles, Calif., was first appointed to the Board in 1957 to fill the unexpired term of William J. Lippincott. In light of his distinguished service in the advancement of Indian arts and crafts, he was reappointed to the board again in 1959. His current term started July 6 and expires July 6, 1967.

On April 25, 1996, President Clinton approved leg1siation extending the date that a Final Rule for the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (P.L. 93-638) be published in the Federal Register. The date required by the Indian Self-Determination Act Amendments of 1994 (P.L. 103-413) was April 25, 1996. This legislation provides for a 60-day extension and sets a new publication date of June 25, 1996 for a rule, Ada E. Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs announced.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior George W. Abbott today announced approval of a public land order restoring to tribal ownership about 1,161 acres of scattered tracts on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

The lands being restored were ceded to the United States by the Indians many years ago and were opened to settlement and entry under the homestead laws in 1911. These particular tracts, however, have not been sold or disposed of over the 50-year period.

I join Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Attorney General Janet Reno in strongly opposing proposals by some members of Congress to levy taxes on tribal government revenues from gaming and other economic activities. As they noted in a joint letter to U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, H.R. 325 and H.R. 1554 are contrary to the United States' longstanding protection of tribal self-government and the Federal trust responsibility.

ELECTRONICS COMPANY TO TRAIN CROW INDIANS

The newly established U. S. Automatics Corporation plant on the Crow Reservation in Montana has negotiated a $17,475 contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide on-the-job training for 35 Crow Indians. The company, which has home offices in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, manufactures electronic components, mainly timing and regulating devices.

BOAT BUILDER TO LOCATE IN PRYOR. OKLAHOMA

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today signed a contract with the Gila River Indian Community, completing the allocation of Central Arizona Project water to 11 tribes within the state "Central Arizona Project water will be instrumental in the future development of Arizona, and it will be especially beneficial to the Gila River Indian Community and other tribes sharing in it," Lujan said. "The signing of this contract is an important milestone, completing a process that has taken 16 years." Governor Thomas R.

Indian tribes have found that projects to enhance natural beauty get more results than meet the eye, according to the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Clean-up campaigns have prevented accidents and fires.

Efforts to stop unsightly erosion and to start landscaping programs have resulted in better soil conservation.

But, best of all, "face lifting" of the reservations has helped the tribes' tourist business and lifted the morale of tribal members.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan and Chairman Merlyn Dixon of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribes of Nevada today signed agreements settling water disputes dating back to the early years of this century.

On-the-job training for 480 American Indians is set to begin under contracts recently completed with nine industries, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash announced today. The companies are located in New Mexico, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin, Montana, and Oklahoma.

Under Bureau agreements negotiated during the current fiscal year, a total of 717 Indian workers will receive on-the-job training--an increase of 10 percent over the total for the entire preceding year. Six contracts in Oklahoma, Minnesota and North Dakota were announced last month.

Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan today directed implementation of short-term and long-range plans-to improve regulation of gaming on Indian reservations