OPA

First, let me pass on the sincere regrets of Secretary Fred A. Seaton and Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons that they were unable to be with you here today. While previous commitments have unfortunately made their attendance impossible, both have asked me to express personal greetings and very best wishes for a most successful and memorable dedication.

Speaking for myself let me say at once that it is both a pleasure and a privilege to be here as your speaker, This is the first chance I have had as under Secretary of the Interior to take part in a ceremony of this kind involving four Indian friends, and I have been looking forward to it eagerly ever since I received the invitation.

One thing that has impressed me particularly about this occasion is the fact that Eagle Butte is this month celebrating its golden jubilee or 50th anniversary. This city is, by my reckoning, a remarkably young community. And yet in another Sense to all of us, regardless of age, the year of Eagle Butte’s founding, 1910, must seem a tremendously long time ago when we measure those years in terms of human progress.

We have to remind ourselves, almost forcibly, that in 1910 there were no rockets or missiles, no atomic energy, no television or even radio. In fact, airplanes were still a curiosity rather than an established mode of travel; automobiles were largely a rich man's plaything; and paved highways were virtually unknown. In almost every way it was a much different kind of world from the one we find ourselves in today--slower-moving, far less complex, perhaps a little closer to the soil.

And so, on an occasion like this, while it is appropriate for us to dip back briefly into the nostalgic past, it seems to me even more pertinent that we should focus our attention chiefly on the evidences of recent progress and on the prospects for the unfolding future.

This progress is reflected in the budget figures for the past 10 years for South Dakota. In 1950, the Indian Bureau was spending $3,157,189 in the State for education and welfare services, and that included almost one million dollars for health programs. In 1960, the Department of the Interior is spending almost five and one-half million dollars in this State for education and welfare. When we consider that the Department of Health, Education, and welfare has allocated an additional sum of more than three and one-half million for South Dakota Indian Health projects, the present-day expenditures are about nine million, or three times the amount of 10 years back.

Ten years ago, the Indian Bureau programmed $722, 699 for resources management. Now we are using $1,944,171 for this work. In 1950, the Bureau had $168,265 for construction in South Dakota. Now it is using $1,480,000. Those figures do not include road construction. The 1950 outlay for road building was $36,997. This year’s road work in South Dakota is going forward with an appropriation of $961,000.

In brief, the Government 10 years ago was spending $4,383,040 in this State for these various programs to benefit our Indian citizens. Today, we are conducting greatly expanded programs, and using $13,581,325, including the expenditures for health.

The $1.3 million figure does not include the rehabilitation and compensation money appropriated for South Dakota because of Congressman Berry’s bills 'which were enacted into law.

Mr. Berry’s legislation assisted by your able Senators, resulted in total rehabilitation and compensation appropriations for, South Dakota reservations of $21 million. These funds are for the sole benefit of the Indian people in your area.

For this reservation alone the money for rehabilitation and compensation for and required for Federal projects amounts to $10.5 million.

In a very real sense, the buildings that we are dedicating here today are a tangible symbol of the progress I have in mind. Taken together, they constitute one of the most modern and finest installations serving an Indian reservation anywhere throughout the Nation.

They represent progress, improvement; and the active policy of our National Government to help the Indian people in building toward a more ample and more rewarding way of life than they have known in the past. And we are certainly all indebted to the Army Engineers for an outstanding job in the planning and supervision of this most excellent project.

But over and beyond the new school facilities, the new hospital, and the other physical structures, we have something which is less tangible but even more basically important. It is the underlying community spirit--the growing sense of tribal and local purpose--which seems to pervade the whole atmosphere of this general area.

Before leaving Washington I did a little checking on the developments that I have been taking place around here during the past several years and I found that they add up to an unusual story of cooperative accomplishment and growth. Let us consider just some of the major highlights.

In the first place; there was the action of Congress in providing the legislative authorization and the necessary funds not only to compensate for properties taken in connection with the Oahe Project but to make possible the relocation of facilities and the launching of a broad rehabilitation program for the benefit of the Cheyenne River Sioux people. As all of you doubtless know, it was not easy to win congressional approval for far--reaching legislation of this kind, It took persistence and skill and dedication of the highest order. But the Cheyenne River Sioux people and the non-Indian people of this area are fortunate enough to be represented in Congress by men who command the wide respect of their colleagues and are thoroughly familiar with the mechanics of legislation, I refer, of course, to your two able Senators Karl E, Mundt and Francis Case, and to your capable member in the House of Representatives, Mr. E, Y, Berry. All of them played a major part in providing the legislative ground work for the tribal rehabilitation program now on the way to impressive reality. All of them are eminently entitled to a special tribute on an occasion such as this and I am particularly happy to extend a word of gratitude to them on behalf of everybody who has benefited from their efforts.

There are, of course, many other persons who deserve credit for their untiring devotion to the needs and interests of the Cheyenne River Sioux and of this general area. While I do not have time to list them all, I would like to mention specifically the late Ralph Case, who served for so many years as the tribal attorney. It is, I believe uncommonly fitting and appropriate that the new hospital which we are dedicating on this occasion should be mimed in his honor.

Once Congress had provided the authorization and funds for the Cheyenne River Sioux rehabilitation program in the next step was up to the Indian people, And I am happy to say that the tribal leaders met this challenge with a rare blend of statesmanship and vision and intelligence. In this effort they concentrated chiefly on long-.range projects and on a thoughtfully planned program designed to be broadly beneficial to the full tribal membership for a great many years to come.

The advances that have been achieved by the tribe since 1956 in the field of education provide an excellent illustration of the constructive programming that has been accomplished, For one thing we have the outstanding consolidated school system which has now been established here at Eagle Butte. Credit for this, of course is due not only to the tribal leaders but also to the local community and particularly those who have the responsibility for the public school operations.

I am told that during this past academic year the Indian children and the non-­Indian youngsters went through their educational paces together without the slightest incident of trouble or unpleasantness. Equally important, I am told that the number of Indian children who reach the stage of high school graduation has been increasing steadily and rather rapidly every year since 1956.

And this, of course, gives special significance to the program of scholarships 'for higher education which the tribe has established. As far back as February of 1959, according to the report I received in Washington, nearly 200 grants had been approved for Cheyenne River youngsters to attend colleges or vocational schools beyond the high school level. Although the program was only two years old at that time, 38 students had already graduated and their average earnings were running approximately $3,350 a year. Today I feel sure that the statistics are even more impressive.

Education has been one of our most overriding concerns in the administration of Indian affairs here in South Dakota. For example, in 1950 there were 7,094 school-age Indian children attending school. In 1959, that figure had increased more than 20 percent, to 8,545, The largest increase was in the public schools, where enrollment went from 1,906 pupils in 1950 to 3,078 in 1959--·a rise of more than 60 percent. The increase in public enrollment was in line with the policy of developing public school opportunities for all Indian children whenever possible.

During this period, some Bureau schools were transferred to public school operation. Several of the smaller schools in the State were consolidated. The 45 federally operated schools in 1950 had shrunk to 32 by 1959, a graphic illustration of how this Administration managed to help more children get an education and at the same time cut down on federally run institutions.

In the past few years we have been encouraged by the response to the adult education program launched in 1956. Adult education units were established on this reservation, as well as at Rosebud, Standing Rock, Sisseton, and Pine Ridge. The programs were designed to meet the needs and interests of adults, and included projects on taxation, citizenship, home improvement, and other aspects of modern life. In 1959, approximately 180 adults were engaged in formal classroom studies, and there was an over-all State-wide total of 260 participating in community or group discussions on self-help community improvement.

Without soil and range conservation there would be little hope of improving the standard of living of those who live on Indian lands in South Dakota.

Back in 1950 the Indian Bureau conducted no soil and range inventory work in South Dakota. But in this year of 1960 a report has been completed on the combined soil and range surveys on the Cheyenne River Reservation, totaling a little over one million acres" Soil and range inventory work furnished basic technical information to assure the highest quality conservation programs, and maximum production of range and farm products. The Bureau has been inventorying the soil and range for the past four years.

Ten years ago the Government did have soil and moisture conservation programs. Now they apply to all Reservations in South Dakota, which was not true in 1950. Back then the Government was spending $62,579 for conservation work in South Dakota, whereas in 1960 we are devoting $441,020 to this work. Lands leased to non-Indians have soil and moisture conservation stipulations in the lease con­tract, requiring the lessee to pursue the recommended program. The acceleration of these programs over the past 10 years has been impressive. Let us look at a few. Land-use plans and soil surveys have been made for nearly twenty times as many acres in 1960 as in 1950. There are 195 ponds today in contrast to the 33 in 1950. These are but examples and a similar picture prevails in the use of fertilizers, tree planting, contouring and all the other techniques of soil conservation.

At this point I suggest that we pursue for a moment and contrast this picture of educational achievement and advancement with the situation that prevailed among the Cheyenne River Sioux when the city of Eagle Butte was first established back in 1910. Certainly all of us have come a long way in the past 50 years. But I personally doubt whether any segment of our population has moved ahead more rapidly or dramatically than this particular tribal group.

Apart from the basically important field of education, the tribe has also moved forward on many other fronts. There has been first-rate progress in the development and utilization of rangelands and other resources for the maximum benefit of the Indian owners. New business enterprises have been established by the tribe at Riverview, Timber Lake and Eagle Butte. And one of the finest developments of all, in my estimation, has been the new housing provided with tribal funds for older members of the tribe. Here we see social justice in action.

But what encourages me most deeply is the thought that these developments which have already taken place are only the beginning. Your superintendent, Mr. Howard Dushane, tells me that the trice "is bursting at the seams with plans." And this is certainly most welcome news to all of us in the Department of the Interior who have any responsibility for the administration of Indian Affairs.

Under the leadership of Secretary Fred A. Seaton, we have followed a consistent policy of encouraging Indian tribal groups to take on increasing responsibility for mapping out their own future plans of development and for carrying through the execution of the programs. This Cheyenne River tribe is one that has not only risen to the challenge but actually gone far beyond our most optimistic expectations. I congratulate all the members of the Tribe for the leadership they have enjoyed over the past several years, and I commend the non-­Indian people of this general area for the cooperation and support they have extended to the tribal group.

Award of a $64,850.08 contract for construction of a 50-foot bridge and reinforced concrete box culverts on the road between U. S. Route 59 and State Highway 100, in Adair County, Oklahoma, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The road when completed will be an important asset to the Indians and other residents of the district and will serve as an important school bus route, mail route and farm-to-market road passing through heavily populated Indian lands.

The successful bidder was Frank Newell &Son, Inc., of Muskogee, Oklahoma. Three higher bids were also received.

The Department of the Interior today announced a proposed revision of Federal regulations to remove restrictions against read construction that have applied for more than 20 years on 283,000 acres of Indian reservation land in Arizona and Washington.

The lands that would be affected are the Goat Rocks Area of 105,000 acres and the Mount Adams Area of 48,000 acres, both on the Yakima Reservation in Washington, and the Mount Thomas Area of 130,000 acres on the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona.

The Mount Adams acreage was designated as a "wild” area and the other two as “road less" areas by administrative action of the Department during the 1930 l s without consulting the Indians. All three areas consist not of Federal land but of tribally owned property held in trust by the United States.

Both the Yakima and Fort Apache tribal councils have requested removal of the restrictions to facilitate economic development of the areas" Interested parties may submit their comments to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington 25, D. C., within 30 days after publication of the proposed revision in the federal Register.

Young American Indians will be given an opportunity to develop their creative talents in arts and crafts through a new two-year course starting this coming fall under Department of the Interior auspices at the Federal Indian school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons announced today.

“The opening of this course, “commissioner Emmons said, “represents the fulfillment of plans which I have had in mind for some time. It will give Indians “the younger generation who have creative aptitudes in arts and crafts a chance to make the kind of contribution which so many Indians of earlier generations have already made toward the enrichment of American culture.”

To be eligible for the course, candidates must be of one-fourth or more Indian blood and recognized members of tribes under trust supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Students will be selected on the basis of recommendations made either by their teachers or other persons qualified to evaluate their artistic interests and potentialities. First preference will be given to otherwise qualify high school graduates from 16 through 21 years of age, Applications will also be considered from candidates between the ages of 16 and 19 who dropped out of high school prior to graduation if they are otherwise qualified and their sale career interest is in creative art.

The maximum enrollment that can be accepted for the course during the 1960-61 term is 75 students.

In a personal letter to a young American Indian who recently won a prize in a national essay contest, Secretary of the Interior Fred- A. Seaton called him a "shining example not only for other young Indian people but for all youthful Americans throughout the country."

The prize winner is Eddie Palmanteer, 27, now living in Salem, Oreg. In his essay he described his dissatisfaction with the sawmill job he formerly held on the Colville Indian Reservation near Nespelem, Washington, and explained why he decided to improve his prospects by enrolling in an accounting course at the Merritt-Davis School of Commerce in Salem. The opportunity to take the course was provided to Mr. Palmanteer by the Bureau of Indian Affairs through its adult vocational training program.

The essay contest was sponsored by an advertising agency representing private business schools.

The full text of Secretary Seaton's letter to Mr. Palmanteer follows:

"Having just read your prize-winning essay, which was brought to my attention by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I want to express to you at once my heartiest congratulations and my deeply-felt admiration.

"Like many other young people of American Indian descent, you have shown a commendable eagerness to develop your capabilities, acquire new skills, and improve your prospects for leading a fuller and more productive kind of life. Speaking both for myself and on behalf of the Department of the Interior, I am particularly pleased to learn that you took advantage of the opportunities offered by the Indian Bureau's adult vocational training program and entered the course in accounting in a Salem school of commerce which I understand you have now finished.

"It is a source of real gratification to me that the Department of Government which I represent was able to provide you with this training as it has similarly aided many hundreds of other young Indian men and women during the past few years. But the far more important point is the personal initiative you have displayed and the shining example you have set not only for other young Indian people but for all youthful Americans throughout the country.

"For this, I salute you and wish you the very best of good fortune in your newly-chosen profession."

A majority of the 215 adult Indians of the Catawba Tribe of South Carolina have now indicated their agreement to a division of the tribal assets among themselves as provided in a law enacted last September and a notice of this fact will be published in the Federal Register shortly, Secretary of the Interior Fred A, Seaton announced today.

Upon publication of the notice, Secretary Seaton added, the membership roll of the tribe will be closed at midnight thereafter and the pr0visions of Public Law 86-322 will go into effect.

The property to be divided among the tribal members has been estimated to have a value of about $250,000. It consists of 3,388.8 acres of land under Federal trusteeship in York County, S. C., near Rock Hill; a tribal herd of 85 beef cattle; approximately 6,500,000 1'oard feet of timber; and nearly $5,000 of cash on deposit with the United States Treasury.

Public Law 86-322, approved September 21, 1959, was so drafted that it becomes effective on publication of a Secretarial notice that a majority of the adult tribal members, according to the most reliable information regarding membership available to the Secretary of the Interior, have indicated their agreement to the property division.

The best information the Department has on tribal membership, Secretary Seaton said, is based on a roll prepared by the State of South Carolina dated July 1, 1943. Using this roll as a base, the Department has found that there were 215 adult Catawbas on February 2, 1960, Of this number, 127 have filed with the Department witnessed individual statements accepting the provisions of Public Law 86-322 and 117 of these signatures have been verified either by notarization or through a mail recheck with the signers.

Under the law the tribal council is authorized to designate any part of the tribe’s land that is to be set aside for church, park, cemetery or playground purposes and to select trustees or agencies 1.Jho will hold such tracts for the benefit of the group. All other property will be appraised by the Department and the share of each member will be determined by dividing the number of enrolled members into the total appraisal Members who have received an assignment or use right in a particular tract of tribal land may apply their distributive shares to the acquisition of the tract on the basis of its current appraised value. Tribal lands not distributed in this way may be selected and acquired by other tribal members in the same manner.

All tribal lands in Federal trusteeship not disposed of under this procedure and all other tribal assets are to be sold by the Department and the proceeds distributed to the members in accordance with their respective shares.

Secretary Seaton indicated that a special administrator will be appointed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the near future to work directly with the Catawba people in carrying out the provisions of Public Law 86-322. As authorized in the law, a special program of education and training will be undertaken to help the tribal members in preparing to conduct their own affairs and assume their responsibilities as citizens without special services because of their status as Indians.

The Catawba Indians have received services for many years from the State of South Carolina but have only a relatively short history of special relationships with the Federal Government. Under a 1943 agreement among the Tribe, the State, d the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the land now held in Federal trusteeship was bought for the Tribe by the State and conveyed to the United States in 1945. In addition, the tribe has had for many years a reservation of one square mile which is held in trust by the State. This is not affected by Public Law 86-322 unless the State Legislature takes action to have it included in the distribution plan. So far no such action has been taken.

Award of a $176,195 contract for improvement of approximately 27 miles of road from U. S. Highway 18 north to Sharps on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

When completed, the project will provide a bituminous surfaced road to communities at Wounded Knee, Porcupine, and Sharps and serve approximately one thousand Indian residents of the central section of the Pine Ridge Reservation for school bus, mail route, and farm to market travel.

Summit Construction Company of Rapid City, South Dakota, was the successful bidder. Six other bids were received ranging from $180,520 to $243,000.

Persons who are not enrolled members of the present-day Omaha Indian Tribe of Nebraska but are descendants of the Aboriginal Omaha Tribe and Nation should be permitted to share in the judgment fund recovered by the Tribe before the Indian Claims Commission last February, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst said today.

Mr. Ernst expressed this opinion in making known the views of the Department of the Interior on H. R. 11782, a bill providing for disposition of the judgment fund. The judgment was based on a "stipulation of settlement" between the Indians and the Department of Justice. While the stipulated amount was $2,900,000, this has been reduced by the payment of attorney’s fees and expenses to $2,655,205.

The Department's position was based on a finding by the Claims Commission that the Tribe, in presenting its claim, was acting both on its own behalf and in a representative capacity on behalf of the descendants of the Aboriginal Tribe and Nation. The Commission further found that some descendants of the aboriginal group are not members of the present-day tribe but are entitled to share in the judgment.

For this reason, the Department recommended that the judgment fund should not be wholly placed under control of the Omaha tribal council as provided by H. R. 11782. Instead, it proposed (1) that the Department be directed to prepare a roll of persons who have one-eighth or more Omaha Indian blood and are living on the date of the act, (2) that the cost of preparing this roll be paid out of the judgment fund, and (3) that the balance of the fund be divided between the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and the persons on the roll who are not members of the Tribe, proportionately according to the relative number of persons in the two groups.

The Department also recommended a change in the language of the bill which now provides that $250,000 of the judgment fund must be spent on community development projects proposed by the tribal organization.

The Tribe, Mr. Ernst pointed out, has prepared a $500,000 community development program and proposes to provide half of the financing from the judgment money and the other half through a loan from the Federal Government.

"We believe, II he added, "That the entire cost of the community development program should be financed out of the portion of the judgment fund that is allocable to the members of the Tribe, and that no Federal loan funds should be provided. We believe that it would be unwise to allow a tribe that has recovered a substantial judgment against the United States to borrow from the general revolving loan fund and thereby deprive needy tribes and Indians of access to the limited loan fund. In other words, if the Tribe wants a community development program it should not pay its judgment funds out on a per capita basis and then expect to borrow additional money from the United States."

In order to give the Tribe “clear notice" on this point, the Department recommended the inclusion of language in the bill requiring a referendum of the tribal membership to determine “whether $500,000 or any other sum shall be used for the community development program which the Tribal Council has planned." The Department's amendment would also make the Tribe explicitly ineligible to borrow from the general revolving loan fund of the Indian Bureau for the financing of this program.

Under the Department's proposal, the portion of the judgment allocated to persons who are not tribal members would be paid out directly to them on a per capita basis.

Award of a $31,740 contract for development of approximately 320 acres of land on the Sandia Pueblo Grant under the jurisdiction of the United Pueblo Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

This is a part of the rehabilitation program for Indian lands of the Middle to Grande Pueblos authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1948 and 1950, and will provide additional developed land for use of tribal members.

Morgan Construction Company, of Monte Vista, Colorado, was the successful bidder for the contract. Four higher bids, ranging from $32,040 to $49,350, were received.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst today emphasized that Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Glenn L, Emmons is to be credited for the recent decision to establish a new arts and crafts course at the Santa Fe (N. Mex.) Indian School this coming fall.

The statement was made in a letter to Oliver LaFarge of Santa Fe, nationally known author. Mr. LaFarge wrote in an article published by the Santa Fe New Mexican on June 26 that the decision to establish the course was the result of intervention of the Secretary of the Interior, at the urgent request of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.”

“On this point, “Assistant Secretary Ernst told Mr. LaFarge, “I am afraid you have been seriously misinformed. “

The text of the letter to Mr. LaFarge follows:

“My attention has just been called to an article by you in the Santa Fe New Mexican of June 26 concerning the decision to establish a new arts and crafts course for Indian students at the Santa Fe Indian School this coming academic year. In writing the article you were apparently under the impression that the course was established over the opposition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs through intervention by the Secretary of the Interior.

“On this point I am afraid you have been seriously misinformed. The fact is that the decision to establish the arts and crafts course at the Santa Fe school was made solely by the Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Glenn L. Emmons. Neither I nor any other officer of the Department outside of the Bureau intervened in the making of this decision; none of us was ever asked to do so by members of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board.

"Commissioner Emmons decided to establish this course after long and thoughtful consideration for two major reasons. One was his deep personal interest in the future of Indian arts and crafts, the other was his equally profound desire to provide artistically talented Indian youngsters with training which will sharpen their skills and enhance their earnings prospects in their chosen vocation. He deserves full credit for the decision and your impression that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was opposed on this matter by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board and overruled by the Department of the Interior is apparently based on an unfortunate misunderstanding of the facts.

“Since your article was given newspaper publicity, I am taking the liberty of releasing this letter to the press as a means of setting the public record straight.”