OPA

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced four personnel changes in the Bureau of Indian Affairs as part of the general reorganization of the agency, which has been proceeding for several months.

The transfers follow:

Raymond H. Bitney, superintendent, Western Washington, Everett, Wash., to same post at Menominee Agency, Neopit, Wisconsin, Effective June 6.

Melvin L. Robertson, superintendent, Northern Idaho, Lapwai, Idaho, replaces Bitney. Effective May 23.

Frell M. Owl, superintendent, Red Lake, Minn., replaces Robertson. Effective May 23.

James Arentson, superintendent, Menominee, transferred to Pipestone Indian School, Pipestone, Minn.

No replacement has yet been named for Mr. Owl.

Mr. Bitney, who has been at Western Washington since 1950, joined the Bureau in 1926 as forest assistant at the Klamath Agency, Oreg., and in 1930 was promoted to the superintendency of Neah Bay Agency, Wash. When this agency was abolished in 1933 he served for six years as superintendent at Red Lake. In 1939 he was transferred to the Taholah Agency, Taholah, Wash. From 1942 to 1946 he was in military service and spent 15 months overseas as Battalion Commander of the 796th Engineer Forestry Battalion. On returning to the Bureau in 1946 he was superintendent two years at Red Lake and two years at Klamath before going to Western Washington in 1950.

Mr. Robertson was born at Kalispell, Mont., in 1900 and has had 26 years of continuous service with the Bureau. From 1928 to 1948 he served in various capacities from timber scaler to forest ranger at the Colville Agency, Nespelem, Wash., and the Klamath Agency. In 1948 he was named assistant to the superintendent of the California Agency at Sacramento, Calif. and later was ma.de district agent at the Hoopa Subagency at Hoopa, Calif. He was appointed superintendent at Northern Idaho in 1950.

Mr. Owl, an eastern Cherokee Indian, also has a long background with the Indian After joining the Bureau in 1928 he served for 17 years at the Great Lakes Ashland, Wis., as teacher principal, education field agent, community and assistant to the superintendent. In 1945 he became superintendent of the Crow Creek Agency, Fort Thompson, s. Dak., and in 1950 was transferred to Red Lake. He was born at Cherokee, NC, in 1899, attended Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., Hampton Normal Agriculture Institute, Hampton, Va., and received a B.S. degree from Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., in 1927.

Mr. Arentson, a native of' Harlan, Iowa, entered the Bureau in 1946. Prior to that he had 16 years experience with the State board for vocational education, Nashville, Tenn., and as special representative for the United States Office of Education.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay announced today he had signed two orders adjusting prices received by the Warm Springs Indians for the sale of timber on their reservation.

Under the order the Indians will receive approximate1y $250,000 additional income each year for the timber cut.

The Warm Springs Lumber Company will henceforth pay $26 a thousand board feet as compared to $16 it now pays. The Philip Dahl Company will pay $18 a thousand board feet instead of the $13 it now pays.

Early in March Secretary McKay said representations had been made to him that under the terms of the sales contracts the Indians have with the lumber companies the prices are to be adjusted in keeping vitl1 economic conditions in the lumber industry.

The Indians were represented as believing their timber justified a higher price.

Secretary McKay said the way to learn the facts in the case was to hold a hearing in Oregon, He sent Commissioner Glenn Emmons) Bureau of Indian Affairs; J. Reuel Armstrong, special assistant to the Solicitor; and William Guernsey, assistant director, Bureau of Land Management, to Oregon to ascertain the facts.

The Secretary held the adjustment which increased the price for the Indian timber becomes necessary principally because the average price index for Ponderosa pine in the Oregon area has shown a marked increase since the last adjustment.

It should be understood, Secretary McKay said, that the pattern set in the Warm Springs case is not to be considered a precedent in any similar cases involving sales of timber owned by Indians. Each such case will be decided on its own merits, he said.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs will continue for the present operating its two area offices in Oklahoma at Muskogee and Anadarko.

Early consolidation of the two offices at a central location in the State was recommended last January by the Bimson survey team which made an organization study of the Bureau. Further consideration of the matter by Department and Bureau officials, however, has led to the conclusion that both offices are now needed. The decision was based on a study of present workload factors and the types of services which the Bureau is currently obligated to provide individual Indians and tribal groups in Oklahoma.

Appointment of Robert L. Bennett, a member of the coordinating staff of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, as superintendent of the Consolidated Ute Agency, Ignacio, Colo., was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay.

Elbert J. Floyd, whom Mr. Bennett replaces, has been designated as administrative officer in charge of a new area field office to be established by the Bureau at Zuni, N. Mex.

Both moves are part of the current reorganization of the Bureau and are effective June 6.

An Oneida Indian, Mr. Bennett was born at Oneida, Wis., in 1912 and attended the Haskell Indian Institute, Lawrence, Kans., from 1929 to 1931. He came with the Bureau in 1933 as a clerk at the Uintah and Ouray Agency, Ft. Duchesne, Utah, and five years later was promoted to senior clerk in the Bureau's Washington Office. In 1943 he transferred to the Navajo Agency, Window Rock, Ariz., and was promoted to administrative assistant later that same year. In 1945 he was inducted into the Marine Corps and served one year, returning to the Navajo Reservation as District Supervisor at Ft. Defiance, Ariz., for a few months in 1946, This was followed by three years of service with the Veterans Administration at Phoenix, Ariz., and two years as placement officer with the Indian Bureau at Aberdeen, S, Dak., prior to. joining the Bureau's Washington staff as Program Officer in 1951.

Mr. Floyd, Born at Hartsville, Mo. in 1900, came with the Bureau in 1925 at the Consolidated Ute Agency and served there for 17 years as laborer, farm leader, and agricultural extension agent. In 1942 he transferred to the Klamath Agency in Oregon as agricultural extension agent and remained in that position until 1950 when he was appointed superintendent at Consolidated Ute. In his new position he will be responsible for the Bureau's "Work on the Zuni Reservation and will be under the supervision of Area Director William Wade Head at Gallup, N, Mex.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs on or before June 15 will conduct a poll by mail among members of the Choctaw Tribe of Oklahoma in order to have an expression of their views regarding the selection of a principal chief. The term of the present principal chief expires June 30.

The polling will include two major groups of adult Choctaws: (1) surviving members whose names appear on the final roll of the Tribe compiled in accordance with a 1907 statute, and (2) the heirs of deceased members included on this roll. The Indian Bureau estimates that there are approximately 50,000 tribal members including both adults and minors.

The Bureau's questionnaire is designed to bring out the views of the tribal membership on five main topics, One is whether the Office of Principal Chief should be continued after June 30, 1954. The second asks whether the Chief should be selected by the Secretary of the Interior after a secret vote among tribal members by mail or a secret ballot at the polls, The third raises the question whether the Chief should be appointed by the Secretary without a vote of the tribal members. The fourth asks whether the Chief should be paid for his services. The fifth gives the voter an opportunity to express his preference concerning the rate of salary and expenses for the Chief. Under present regulations the Chief receives an annual salary of $3,000 and an expense allowance paid from Choctaw tribal funds.

The questionnaire also gives each voter an opportunity to designate his choice of a candidate to fill the office after June 30. If the decision is made to continue the office, an election will subsequently be held involving the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes on the questionnaire.

In a message addressed to the tribal members accompanying the questionnaire, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons pointed out that the term of the present Principal Chief, Harry J.W. Belvin, was extended through June 30 so that the Indian Bureau staff would have an opportunity to study the need for a continuation of the Office. Since the salary and expenses of the Principal Chief are paid from tribal funds on deposit in the United States Treasury, Commissioner Emmons added, members of the tribe should have an opportunity to express their views on the questions under study and their answers will be helpful to the Bureau staff in reaching final decisions.

Under present law the President of the United States is given the authority to appoint a Principal Chief for the Choctaws, This authority, however, has been delegated to the Secretary of the Interior.

Three additional personnel moves involved in the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs were announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay.

W. Wendell Palmer, superintendent, Wind River Agency, Fort Washakie, Wyo., will be transferred to the same position at Klamath Agency, Oreg., replacing Erastus J. Diehl who retires June 30. Glenn R. Landbloom, Bureau extension and credit officer at Aberdeen, s. Pak., will replace Palmer. Both transfers are effective June 13.

Palmer entered the Indian Service in 1950 at Wind River. Prior to that he was with the Bureau of Reclamation at Minot, N. Dak. and Bismarck, N,.· Dak. During World War II he was with the War Relocation Authority and operated his own farm at Malad, Idaho, from 1945 to 1947. He received a B.S. degree in agronomy from the University of Idaho in 1923.

Mr. Landbloom was born in Fargo, North Dakota in 1909, and has been with the Bureau for 16 years, entering the service as a trainee at the United Pueblos Agency, Albuquerque, N. Mex., under a Rockefeller Foundation grant, He has held various responsible Bureau positions in Montana and South Dakota and was in the military service from 1942 to 1945. He is a graduate of North Dakota Agricultural College, Fargo, N. Dak., with a B.S. degree in economics in 1932 and an M.S. degree in agricultural economics in 1938.

Mr. Diehl, a native of North Platte, Nebr., started with the Bureau in 1932 as a dairyman and farm leader at the Fort Hall Agency, Fort Hall., Idaho. He was assigned to the Uintah and Ouray Agency, Fort Duchesne, Utah. He was also superintendent of the former Western Shoshone Agency, Owyhee, Nev., and superintendent at Fort Peck Agency, Poplar, Mont., before transferring to Klamath Agency in 1950. He is a graduate of Utah State Agr1.cultural College, Logan, Utah and a veteran of World War I.

Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons of the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that the museum of the Northern Plains Indians at Browning, Montana, will continue to be operated by the Bureau without any change except a reduction in staff required by reduced appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

It had been proposed to transfer management responsibility for the museum to the Arts and Crafts Board, created in the Department of the Interior by the act of August 27, 1935 (49 Stat. 891).

Commissioner Emmons stated that due to widespread misunderstanding concerning the operation of the museum by the Arts and Crafts Board and an indication that the State of Montana might be interested in taking over the museum in the near future, he considered it inadvisable to effect any change in the management until the Montana Legislature, at its next session, has had an opportunity to consider assuming responsibility for the institution.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced the award of four contracts for the construction of school facilities on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico. The total amount of the awards is $1,647,791.

This is the first step in the development of the Navajo Emergency Educational Program.

The awards are as follows:

A description of the projects follows:

Crystal, New Mexico, day school

Construction of two 64-pupil dormitories (one with dining and kitchen) two 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom duplexes, one 2-car carport and one light plant and storage building, remodeling of existing school building and the installation of water and sewer, gas and ell and electrical distribution system.

Greasewood, Arizona, day school project
Construction of two 64-pupil dormitories (one with dining and kitchen) one 2-bedroom duplex, one 5-unit efficiency apartment, one root cellar, one light plant and storage building, and one 4-car garage, remodeling of the existing school building, and the installation of water and sewer, gas and oil, and electrical distributing system.

Kaibeto, Arizona, quarters and school remodeling
Construction or one 2-bedroom duplex, remodeling of the existing school building, and the extension of existing steam and hot water, sewer and water and gas and electrical distribution systems.

Nazlini, Arizona, quarters and school addition
Construction of one 2-bedroom duplex; addition or two classrooms to existing school buildings and the extension of existing services.

Pinon, Arizona, day school project
Construction of two 96 pupil dormitories, one 4-classroom school building, four 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom duplexes, one light plant and storage building, one 6-car carport, one dining and kitchen building, remodeling of existing school buildings and the remodeling and addition to existing clinic and quarters buildings; installation of water, sewer and other services.

Shiprock, New Mexico, quarters project
Construction of eight 2-bedroom duplexes, and three 5-unit efficiency apartments, extension of $team, hot water, etc., services.

Steam Boat Canyon, Arizona, project, day school
Construction of two 64-pupil dormitories with playrooms, one dining and kitchen building, three 2-bedroom and one 3-bedroom duplexes, one light plant and storage building, one 2-bedroom house with carport, one 6-car carport, and one root cellar, remodeling of existing school building and two quonset buildings, installation of water and sewer, etc.

Wide Ruins, Arizona, quarters and school addition
Construction of one 2-bedroom duplex, addition of one classroom to existing school building and the installation or water, sewer and other services.

Standing Rock, New Mexico, day school
Construction of 64-pupil dormitory, installation of water, sewer and other facilities.

The Navajo emergency educational program is designed to provide facilities for a larger number of children, not now attending school.

By reprogramming funds appropriated to the Bureau for construction throughout the Service, the first step in the Navajo educational plan has been taken. It will expand facilities at the nine locations on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico as well as to provide trailer school facilities at about 36 small, isolated communities.

The facilities when completed will provide accommodations for about 2,150 additional children, who would otherwise be deprived of educational opportunities. Teachers and other educational personnel will also be housed in the facilities.

About 14,000 of the 28,000 children of school age on the Navajo are not now attending any school, While the construction projects awarded today will take care  of 2,150 children, Secretary McKay said that 4,850 other Navajo children will be provided with school facilities in the trailer schools, public schools adjoining the reservation and in other Bureau schools off the reservation. This total of 7,000 children, he said, should be able to begin school next September.

The initial phase of the emergency program will entail the expenditure of $5,600,000 with other school facilities to be provided in the near future.

In addition to the four successful bidders today, 5 other contractors submitted bids for the projects.

They were:
Daum Donaldson Construction Co., Phoenix, Arizona
Lemke, Clough and King, Inc., Albuquerque, N. Mex.
Ashton Building Co., Tucson, Arizona
H. J. Whitted, Gallup, N. Mex.
M. M. Sundt, Tucson, Arizona

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced the appointment of Richard Do Butts as superintendent of the Red Lake Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, at Red Lake, Minn. Butts will be succeeded as superintendent at the Umatilla Agency, Pendleton, Oregon by Clarence W. Ringey realty assistant at Consolidated Chippewa Agency, Case Lake, Minn.

Butts succeeds Frell M. Owl who was recently transferred as Red Lake superintendent to the same position at the Northern Idaho Agency, Lapwai, Idaho.

A native of Harrington, Kansas, and graduate of Oklahoma A. and M. College, Butts has been with the Bureau since 1948 when he was soil conservationist at Colville Agency, Nespelem, Wash. He became superintendent at Umatilla in 1951. He served six years in the Army in World War II, attaining the rank of major when he was discharged in 1948.

Ringey, a native of Clarissa, Minn., joined the Bureau in 1931 and for 10 years served as farm agent at Red Lake,, From there he went to the now abolished Tomah Agency, Shawano, Wis., as a field aid and later became assistant to the superintendent. In 1947 he transferred back to Red Lake as farm management supervisor and in 1949 was promoted to District Agent at the Great Lakes Consolidated Agency, Ashland, Wis. He was appointed to the Consolidated Chippewa Agency in 1952.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay will arrive in Anchorage, Alaska, on July 17, for a ten-day inspection tour of the Territory.

In addition to surveying the Department’s Alaskan activities, the itinerary has been planned to provide for meeting with government personnel and with Alaska business groups, natives and other citizens.

Mrs. McKay will accompany the Secretary on the tour which will end on July 27. William Strand, director of the Office of Territories, Department of the Interior, which has immediate supervision of Alaskan affairs, will also be in the party.

Secretary McKay's visit is the second time in 22 years that a Secretary of the Interior has visited the Territory. A previous Secretary visited Alaska in 1946.

Major bureaus of the Department have extensive operation in Alaska. These include the Bureau of Indian Affairs which operates through the Alaska Native Service, schools and hospitals; the Bureau of Land Management, which has jurisdiction over millions of acres of public lands; the Bureau of Mines and Geological Survey, active in mineral exploration and development.

The Fish and Wildlife Service supervises regulation of the salmon fishery and operates the fur seal industry on the Pribilof Islands. The National Park Service has jurisdiction over Mount McKinley National Park and the Bureau of Reclamation, is building a hydroelectric project at Eklutna.

The Department also operates the Alaska Railroad and supervises the Alaska Road Commission and the Alaska Public Works program.

While it will not be possible for Secretary McKay to make an examination of all the Department’s activities, the tour has been arranged so that the supervisory personnel and many employees will have an opportunity to meet him and discuss departmental programs.

The Secretary’s party will leave Seattle at 8:30 a.m., July 17, arriving in Anchorage at 12:20 p.m.

On arriving in Anchorage the Secretary will inspect the Alaska Native Service Hospital and meet with the medical and administrative staff. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates a seaplane pert at Anchorage and this will be inspected, prior to a survey of the Alaska Railroad facilities, He will attend a public reception in the late afternoon and a Chamber of Commerce dinner that evening.

Departing from Anchorage early Sunday morning after attending church services he will travel by Alaska Railroad to Whittier, an important transportation base, where he will confer with the commanding officer and inspect the facilities. Late in the afternoon he will travel to Seward by rail for an inspection of the Seward docks and transportation facilities. A reception and Chamber of Commerce dinner will follow, the return trip to Anchorage by automobile being made that night.

Monday, July 19 – The Secretary will tour Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson, having lunch with General Atkinson - commanding officer of all Alaskan Armed Forces and fly to Valdez, arriving at 2:30 p.m. At Valdez he will drive through Keystone Canyon to Thompson Pass. A reception at Cordova has been arranged and the return flight to Anchorage will be made that night.

Tuesday, July 20 – Travelling by automobile, he will leave Anchorage and inspect the Eklutna project en route to Palmer, where he will join municipal officials and Chamber of Commerce members for a tour through the Matanuska Valley to Wasilla. By rail he will travel from Wasilla to Mount McKinley with a brief stop at Talkeetna en route. At Mount McKinley, Park headquarters and other facilities will be inspected.

Wednesday, July 21– Leaving Mount McKinley in midmorning he will travel by Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks.., Most of the afternoon will be spent inspecting railroad facilities there and with a visit to the University of Alaska and the gold dredging operations. A reception will be held by local residents at the Country Club where the Secretary will also attend a community dinner that night.

Thursday, July 22 – By air he will travel from Fairbanks to Barrow where he will visit the Arctic Research Laboratory. After meeting with Eskimo community leaders at the nearby native village he will depart for Kotzebue an inspection of native and fish and Wildlife seal and fishery operations. A picturesque reindeer corral is maintained at Kotzebue. He will leave Kotzebue early in the evening and travel by air to Nome.

Friday, July 23 – The Secretary will spend most of the day touring the Nome, area and will meet with various Eskimo groups. A reception and lunch has been arranged by the Nome Chamber of Commerce. The return trip to Fairbanks will be by air and an evening inspection of Ladd Air Force base will be made.

Saturday, July 24 – Departing from Fairbanks by air, the party will arrive at Juneau in early afternoon with a stop over at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. The famous Mendenhall Glacier will be one of the features of the Juneau tour and at 4 o’clock; the Secretary and Mrs. McKay will be guests at a public reception given by Gov. Frank Heintzleman at the Governor’s Mansion. A Chamber of Commerce dinner will follow that evening.

Sunday, July 25 – The party will attend church services in the morning at Juneau and will watch the final day of fishing in the Golden North Salmon Derby.

Monday, July 26 – Leaving Juneau early Monday morning the party will travel by float plane to Sitka for an inspection of the Mount Edgecumbe Hospital, operated by the .Alaska Native Service and a visit to the Pioneer Home. Departure from Sitka will be made around noon for Petersburg, with a stop over at Kake, a native village en route. At Petersburg, a luncheon meeting with local people has been arranged. A brief stop at Wrangell, en route to Ketchikan will be made in the afternoon. At Ketchikan a public reception and community dinner will close the day.

Tuesday, July 27--In the Ketchikan area the Secretary and party will confer with business and community leaders and will take lunch at the new pulp mill at Ward Cove. Late in the afternoon the party will depart for Annette Island and the return trip to Seattle with arrival there at 5:20 p.m.