OPA

Award of a $53,046.69 contract for irrigation work on the Western Shoshone Indian Reservation in Nevada to L. C. Cheney, Weiser, Idaho, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract covers construction of approximately three miles of laterals and 13 miles of farm ditches, construction or installation of 66 water control structures, leveling 211 acres to a predetermined grade, and plowing and land planning of 507 acres.

When completed, the project will be the first in a series which will eventually cover approximately 12,000 acres on the reservation with the same general type of work. These lands are used to produce forage to feed the livestock while they are off the range and will be put back into production by planting the type of hay crop best adapted to the land and the farm plan.

Ten other higher bids were also received ranging from $53,442.85 to $101,192.92.

Award of a $291,950 contract for construction of additional school facilities at South Segment School near Holliday, North Dakota, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Chase Construction Company of Minot, North Dakota was the successful bidder for the contract. Five higher bids, ranging from $295,900 to $331,325, ware received.

South Segment School, operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, has a present enrollment of 62 day pupils. When completed the new structure will provide modern school facilities for a total of 120 pupils.

Under the contract a four-classroom school with a principal's office, book storage, toilet facilities, school kitchen and stage, and dressing rooms will be constructed. The existing two-classroom school building will be converted to two employees' quarters

The Department of the Interior announced today award of a contract by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for $324,650 to build a 200-pupil dormitory at Oglala Community School, Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

The successful bidder was D. L. Moffitt Company of McCook, Nebraska. Thirteen higher bids, ranging in price from $328, 401 to $397,450, were received.

Oglala Community School, operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is a reservation boarding and day school, with a present enrollment of 457 boarding and 349 day school pupils in grades 1 through 12.

The new structure will replace an old dormitory which has become unsafe, and which is not occupied this school year.

Award of a $62,321.94-contract for grading, draining, and crushed gravel surfacing of 2.6 miles of the Nishu North Road and 2.7 miles of the Northeastern Segment Road on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, McLean County, North Dakota, was announced by the Department of the Interior today.

Delzer Construction Company, Selby, South Dakota, won the contract and was the low bidder. Four higher bids were received ranging from $64,838.48 to $69,830.61.

The job will provide an all-weather road needed for school bus travel, mail route and farm-to-market outlet. This work is being undertaken as a part of the Indian Bureau’s broad program of bringing reservation roads up to standard so they can be transferred to the county highway systems. The contract calls for 138,209 cubic yards of unclassified excavation, 10,854 cubic yards of crushed gravel surface course, and 1,980 linear feet of culvert pipe.

Under Secretary Hatfield Chilson today announced cancellation of the development lease on 67,000 acres of Indian lands on the Colorado River Reservation near Parker, Arizona. The lease was executed by the Department on August 13, 1957 with the Colorado River Enterprises, an Arizona Corporation.

On April 8 Under Secretary Chilson gave notice to the Corporation requiring it to show cause, on or before May 7, why the lease should not be cancelled for failure of the Corporation to post the performance bond in the amount of $5 million required under the terms of the lease.

The Under Secretary stated that the showing which has been made on behalf of the lessee, in response to the notice to show cause, has been considered and has been determined to be insufficient.

Proposed amendments to the Federal regulations governing the oil and gas leasing of land owned by Indian tribes or individual Indians were announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The purpose of the amendments is to permit overriding royalties or payments out of production on oil and gas leases on Indian lands. Such royalties or payments are those paid to a lessee when a lease is assigned and are in addition to the royalties or payments paid to the lessor.

Heretofore, overriding royalties have not been specifically prohibited by regulation but it has not been the policy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to permit them to be paid. It was felt that royalties or payments in addition to those paid to the lessor might impose an undue hardship upon operations under the lease which could result in premature abandonment of an oil or gas well. The practice of reserving overriding royalties is common in the oil and gas industry.

The proposed amendments place all parties on notice that agreements creating overriding royalties or payments out of production shall be subject to the condition that all lease requirements must be met. This should insure diligent development and operation of wells and the plugging and abandonment of wells only after possibilities for commercial production have been exhausted, which is the conservation objective desired.

Interested persons will have 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register within which to submit their views in writing before the new regulations become final.

The award of a $378,590.14 road construction contract for 16.8 miles of road on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, Gila and Navajo Counties, Arizona, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The Krumtum-Dewar Construction Company, Ltd., of Phoenix, Ariz., was the successful bidder, with the lowest of fifteen bids received. The others ranged from $409,939.50 to $518,262.68.

This is the last section of the road from Fort Apache to U. S. Highway 60 which leads to Globe and Phoenix and completes a blacktop road from those vicinities to the summer resort areas on the reservation at Whiteriver and thereabouts for recreational and commercial trade, as well as an all-weather road out for the people on the reservation.

The State of Arizona will assume responsibility for future maintenance when the Bureau of Indian Affairs contract is completed.

Improved safeguards for the property interests of both individual Indians and tribes were announced today by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons. The Department of the Interior made public his statement on the Indian Bureau's policy governing sales of individually owned Indian lands.

The Commissioner said the statement was issued to correct widespread misinformation about sale of lands which are the property in trust of individual Indians. Tribally owned lands, comprising about 75 percent of the Indian holdings in Federal trust status, are not involved since their sale requires congressional legislation.

“The problem, in essence, has been to work out a method for permitting the fullest possible development of sound tribal land acquisition plans without violating the property rights and interests of the individual tribal members," Commissioner Emmons said. The policy was developed recently after an intensive four-year study, he said.

Commissioner Emmons pointed out that tribal holdings have increased since he became Commissioner, August 10, 1953.

He said that when a single Indian owner of an allotment requests that his land be sold, a sale will be authorized if it appears to be clearly justified.

In all such cases, however, the tribal organization will be notified of the proposed sale, Commissioner Emmons added. The notice will provide an opportunity for the tribe to negotiate a purchase with the owner.

If a negotiated sale is not arranged, the policy provides two additional methods by which the tribal organization may acquire the property, by meeting the high bid, if the owner approves, or at auction.

Commissioner Emmons said the same general procedures would govern sales or Indian allotments in multiple ownership as a result of inheritance, but with same exceptions. The policy statement explains in detail how the owners' rights are protected and how the tribal organization may obtain the land.

The Commissioner said the Department and Bureau recognize that some difficulties remain to be solved, including limitations on the amounts of tribal funds available for land purchases. Legislative proposals are being developed to eliminate the handicaps, he said. The policy statement is attached.

Because of the evidence of widespread public concern and substantial public misunderstanding about the Indian Bureau's policy governing sales of Indian land, it seems essential at this time to state the policy that is being followed (and the reasons for it) as clearly and concisely as possible.

It should be emphasized at the outset that what follows deals only with lands which are the property' in trust of individual Indians. Tribally owned lands, which comprise roughly three-fourths of the Indian holdings currently in Federal trust status, lie wholly outside the scope of this discussion since they cannot be sold or alienated except as authorized by Congressional legislation. While there has been some slight diminishment of tribal holdings in the past few years in connection with Federal flood control projects (principally in the upper Missouri Basin)1 this has been much more than offset by the addition or return of more than 1,000,000 acres to tribal holdings during the same period since 1953. These additions have resulted either from tribal purchases approved by the Department or from legislation sponsored or endorsed by the Department.

To put the current policy governing sales of individually owned Indian lands in proper perspective, it is necessary to review briefly the immediate historical background. During the 1930's and the early 1940's the Department followed substantially the same policy on land sales that is now being so strenuously urged by the outstanding critics of the present policy. In other words, it strongly discouraged individual Indian landowners from selling their holdings and permitted such sales ordinarily only to other Indian individuals or to tribal groups. During this period hundreds of Indian landowners who wished to convert their land holdings in excess of their needs into cash for various purposes were completely frustrated and tied to lands that may have produced little or no benefit to them. Where sales were permitted with the market limited to Indian purchasers, thousands of acres were sold at prices substantially below the returns that the Indian sellers might have realized if free and unrestricted bidding had been permitted.

During the late 1940’s the former policy of restricting the market to Indian purchases began to break down as Indian landowners demanded to be allowed to sell their holdings for a maximum price. They developed the practice of going directly to Congress for individual legislation that gave the “fee patents” or unrestricted title to their lands. Although the Department in this period generally recommended against the enactment of such bills, a great many of those introduced in each Congressional session were nonetheless enacted. A substantial acreage of individually owned Indian land was removed from Federal trusteeship through this process and undoubtedly the major portion of it was sold to non-Indian purchasers.

The policy which the Department and bureau have been following over the past few years, and especially since 1955, is based on full recognition of the individual Indian property rights which are unquestionably involved. In allotting lands to individual Indians on many of the reservations and in public domain under Congressional law during the latter part of the 19th century and down through the 1920’s, the Federal Government, in effect, gave these Indian a deed to the lands allotted. It thus vested in these individual Indians (and their rightful heirs) a valid property right, though under trust, fully equivalent, in the last analysis, to that enjoyed by any other American property owner.

Under the system of free democracy few concepts are more centrally important than respect for individual property rights. This is in sharp contrast with the situation in the Soviet Union and other communist countries where individual property rights are either not recognized at all or regularly and systematically . subordinated to the interests of the State or the larger group.

At the same time, however, we are also fully aware of our trust responsibilities for tribal property and we recognize that many of the tribal organizations have a legitimate and valid interest in acquiring individual Indian properties that may be offered for sale. The problem, in essence, has been to work out a method for permitting the fullest possible development of sound tribal land acquisition plans without Violating the property rights and interests of the individual tribal members. During the past four years the Department and Bureau have been giving a great deal of intensive study to this problem and we have recently developed a policy which, we believe, goes a long way toward attainment of the desired objective. The essential elements of this policy are as follows:

1. Wherever a single Indian owner of an allotment asks that his land be sold and, after careful examination of the circumstances in his case, a sale appears to be clearly justified in the light of his long-range best interests, a sale will be authorized.
2. In all such cases the tribal organization will be notified that the particular allotment is being offered for sale. This will give the tribe an opportunity to negotiate a purchase with the owner. If the owner insists on competitive bidding, he will be specifically asked whether he is willing to let the tribal organization meet the high bid that may be offered. The land will then be advertised for sale and sealed bids will be received. If all bids fall substantially below the Bureau's appraisal of the property's value, all will be rejected. If one or more of the bids are acceptable, the tribe will be given the opportunity to buy the land by meeting the high bid provided that the owner has agreed in advance to such an arrangement. If the owner has not agreed and one or more sealed bids exceed the appraisal, the land will be put up for auction with the amount of the highest sealed bid as the floor of the auction bidding. This will give the tribe an additional opportunity to acquire the property in competition with other bidders.
3. In connection with Indian allotments which are in multiple ownership as a result of inheritance, the same general procedure will be followed with a few noteworthy exceptions. Such properties will be sold only if' a sale is requested by one of the owners and approved by or on behalf of all the others. If any one of the owners is interested in buying out the others, he will be given first opportunity to purchase the land at the Bureau's appraisal figure unless one or more of the other owners object. A sale may also be made to one of the owners at less than the appraisal if the other owners are agreeable. If more than one of the owners wishes to buy the allotment, all of those interested will submit sealed bids and the property ,will be sold to the highest bidder. If none of the owners is interested, the property will be offered to the tribal organization at the appraisal price unless one of the owners objects. If there is objection by an owner, then the procedure outlined under Number 2 above, involving sealed bids to be followed by an auction, will be used.

The Department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs recognize that there are difficulties in the present situation which will hinder the tribes from full realization of their land acquisition and development plans even under the policy outlined above. One of these is the difficulty of securing the approval of frequently dozens of owners for sale of multiple-ownership lands as required under existing law. Another is the fact that many, perhaps most, of the tribes do not now have the financial resources needed for a substantial land purchase program. The Department and Bureau are now working to develop legislative proposals which we believe will go a long way toward eliminating these deterrents.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has tightened up its procedure to protect Indian landowners against unwise or unwitting disposition of actual or potentially valuable mineral assets when they sell their lands, Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons announced today.

Under the new procedure all Indians who ask the Bureau to sell their trust or restricted holdings will be urged to reserve the mineral rights if the lands are located in an area where the United States Geological Survey reports the land to be prospectively valuable for minerals. The sales at issue concern only individually owned Indian lands, not tribal lands.

In other areas Indians asking for sale of their holdings will be explicitly advised by the Bureau that they may reserve all or any part of the minerals if they wish and their wishes will be complied with. In sales involving holdings of Indians who need continuing assistance in managing their affairs, all mineral rights will be automatically reserved if the Geological Survey reports the area to be of prospective value for minerals.

Up to now the Bureau of Indian Affairs has generally followed the practice of permitting Indian landowners to reserve the mineral interests in connection with sales and has advised them to do so in areas of known mineral interest or activity. Field employees now have been formally directed to place additional emphasis on the subject. Specific directions have been written into land sale application forms.

Enactment of legislation that would add about 845 acres of public land to two Indian reservations in southern California and 80 acres to a reservation in Nevada has been recommended to Congress by the Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst announced today.

The California lands are in San Diego County between the towns of Pala and Pauma Valley and were included in a 1903 withdrawal order along with some 8,262 acres lying within the Cleveland National Forest. If the proposed bill is enacted, the Interior Department intends to revoke the withdrawal order so that this latter acreage would be added to the National Forest. Of the lands lying outside the forest boundaries, the bill would add 708.5 acres to the Pala Indian Reservation and 136.5 to the Pauma Indian Reservation.

The 80-acre tract in Nevada is on the Summit Lake Indian Reservation and entirely surrounded by Indian tribal and allotted lands. Although it has been used by the Indians for their livestock enterprise since establishment of the reservation, it has remained legally a part of the public domain. The proposed bill would formally incorporate it as part of the reservation to be held in trust, like other Indian tribal lands, by the United States for the Indian group.