OPA

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior announced today the first set of four awards which will hereafter be made annually "in recognition of long and outstanding services in the preservation, encouragement and development of the arts and crafts of the American Indians."

The 1958 awards, consisting of certificates of appreciation, are being presented today in Gallup, New Mexico. Recipients, and the categories for which they won, include:

1. The Gallup Intertribal Indian Ceremonial Association, of Gallup, New Mexico--Nonprofit organizations.
2. Mr. Fred Wilson, Phoenix, Arizona--Dealers in arts and crafts.
3. Mr. Ambrose Roanhorse, Gallup, New Mexico--Indian craftsmen.
4. Mrs. Leslie Van Ness Denman, San Francisco, California--Collectors or patrons of Indian arts and crafts.

Actor Vincent Price, a member of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, is making the presentation of awards today. The basis for selection of winners is the longstanding services over and above the normal activities of the recipients in each classification.

The Chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board is Rene d'Harnoncourt, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Other members of the Board, all serving without compensation and under appointment by the Secretary of the Interior, are:

James W. Young, retired vice-president of J. Walter Thompson Company, New York City and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Frederick J. Dockstader, Assistant Director, Museum of the American Indian, New York City; Erich Kohlberg, dealer in Indian crafts, Denver, Colorado; and Mr. Price.

The Confederated Indian Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon were warmly commended today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior for the "progressive step" they have taken in entering into a $100,000 contract with Oregon State College for a study of the human and natural resources on the reservation.

In a letter to the chairman of the tribal organization, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs H. Rex Lee called particular attention to lithe outstanding job performed by the tribes in keeping the members so well informed on the basic intent of the survey and the manner in which the agreement negotiations were conducted."

The agreement with the College was entered into July 28 and will be financed by funds which the Warm Springs Tribes received from the Federal Government in compensation for the loss of their fishing rights at Celilo Falls resulting from construction of The Dalles Dam.

The survey to be undertaken by the College will consist of two major parts: A study of the human resources and social conditions, and an evaluation of the physical resources. Under the first heading the College will study the wants and needs of the tribal members, housing conditions, health and welfare problems, educational facilities, household economic status, and the adequacy of commercial and business services. The second phase will cover agricultural, water, recreational, mineral, forest and soils resources of the reservation and will appraise their present and potential value to the reservation economy.

The ultimate objective being sought by the tribal organization is "a long-range plan for the development and use of the resources of the reservation which will include opportunities for the Tribal members to improve their personal and financial status."

Acting Commissioner Lee called this "an excellent and highly constructive use” of the Dalles settlement money and pointed out that the survey is wholly in line with Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons' emphasis on Indian planning for economic and social development.

Award of a $275,000 contract for the construction of school facilities at Jones Ranch, approximately 12 miles southwest of Gallup on the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The new construction will replace a one-classroom trailer school put into operation under the Navajo Emergency Education Program. Growing and stable pupil attendance created the need for a permanent school with larger capacity which will accommodate Navajo school children from grades 1 through 6. In addition to the three classroom school, storage and utilities sheds as well as minimum housing facilities for staff will be constructed on the site.

Lockwood and Katz of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the successful low bidder for the project. Ten higher bids ranging from $280,623 to $332,340 were received.

Proposed regulations to govern the preparation of an up-to-date membership roll of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina were announced today by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior.

Under the rules, which have been recommended by the Eastern Cherokee Tribal Council, and will be published in the Federal Register, the membership roll of the band would be brought up to date as authorized by congressional legislation enacted last August.

The proposed regulations provide for an Enrollment Committee of three members to be appointed by the Tribal Council which would consider applications for addition to the roll and generally supervise the revision process. Provision is also made for appeals from decisions of the Enrollment Committee to the Tribal Council. Decisions of the Council would be final.

The starting point would be the existing membership roll of the band which was prepared under 1924 and 1931 congressional legislation. After removing from this roll the names of those who died prior to midnight of August 21, 1957, the Enrollment Committee would receive applications for the addition of new names.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a direct descendant of a person on the original roll, must have at least 1/32 degree of Eastern Cherokee blood, must have been born between June 4, 1924 and midnight August 21, 1957, and must have lived on Eastern Cherokee lands in North Carolina for at least a part of this period. Exceptions from the residence requirement are provided for those whose parents were away from the reservation because of service in the Armed Forces or for other specified reasons.

Special provisions are included for handling applications submitted on behalf of minors or incompetents and for adding the names of children born after August 21, 1957.

The proposed regulations also provide for advance notification and wide publication in the area by the tribal officials before actual commencement of the revision process.

Interested parties will have 30 days after publication of the proposed regulations in the Federal Register for submission of their comments, suggestions or objections to the Commissioner, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington 25, D. C.

Award of a $76,714 contract for the construction of approximately 36 earth filled detention dams on the Papago Indian Reservation in southern Arizona was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The project is part of the over-all Papago Development Program for the social and economic development of the Papago people.

When completed, the structures will minimize flood damage to Indian farms and rangelands on the reservation, and the flood waters thus contained will be used by livestock and wildlife. In the past heavy precipitation above the area has resulted in uncontrolled runoff with ensuing excessive erosion to farms and rangelands.

Successful and low bidder on the conservation project was James G. Trout, Tolleson, Arizona. Four higher bids ranging from $90,029 to $138,490 were also received.

Award of a $91,195 contract for rehabilitation of Hubbart Dam on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The dam is an important link in the Flathead Project Irrigation system, which was originally authorized for construction in 1909 to promote Indian economic advancement on the Flathead Reservation. The waters impounded by the dam are used to irrigate about 10,000 acres on the Camas Division of the project. Over the years the 90-foot-high, concrete-arch structure has deteriorated to the point where major repairs are needed.

Major items of work involved in rehabilitation of the dam include clearing a portion of the reservoir are, drilling and grouting around the abutments, repair of trash racks and valve house, and repairing the upstream and downstream faces of the spillway.

The contract was awarded to Rolfson Company of Polson, Montana. Four other bids were received ranging from $145,442.50 to $247,930.00.

Award of a $78,415.84 contract for construction of 2.899 miles of road on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Montana was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The route will connect the Indian community of Hays with the new State Federal-Aid highway extending from the Fort Belknap Agency south to a new crossing of the Missouri River. The new State road by-passes the town of Hays and the construction of the Indian Bureau section will permit access for the community to the State highway.

The contract was awarded to E. C. Powell Construction Company, of Great Falls. Two other bids were received ranging up to $102,100.99.

Award of a $30,934.75 construction contract for irrigation improvement work on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in southwestern Colorado was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract covers the erecting of a 40-inch diameter steel pipe siphon approximately 670 feet long across Dry Creek Wash, located in the vicinity of Ignacio, Colorado, as part of the Indian Bureau's Pine River Irrigation Project.

The Pine River Project has a total of over 10,000 acres to which water can be delivered, including about 4,000 acres of the Pine River Unit which will be served by the siphon. The estimated value of crops produced under the Dry Creek portion is estimated at $100,000 annually. The structures to be built will dissipate the excess head that is created by the water coming off the nearby steep hillside.

The contract was awarded to American steel and Iron Works, Inc., of Denver. Eight other higher bids were also received.

Award of two contracts in the amounts of $34,876 and $23,741.25 for water development at ten school locations on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Development work is needed at all of the locations to supplement present water supplies for the schools and other facilities, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In each case, wells will be drilled to specified depths previously determined from geological surveys. These depths range from 250 feet to 2,300. The drilling will also indicate whether there is a sufficient water supply available to support additional schools or other facilities at these particular locations.

The $34,876.00 contract went to B &W Drilling Co., of Borger, Texas, for the following locations: Rough Rock, Pinon, and Red Rock, Arizona, and Mariano Lake, New Mexico. Three other bids were received ranging to a high of $43,200.

Morrison Brothers Drilling Co., of Las Cruces, New Mexico, was successful bidder for the $23,741.25 contract for the following locations; Nazlini, Fort Defiance, Pine Springs, Wide Ruins, Leupp and Steamboat, Arizona. Three higher bids ranging to $30,987.50 were received.

Award of a $36,309 contract for construction of a new water system to serve the Indian school on the Papago Reservation at Chuichu, Arizona, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Chuichu School has an enrollment of 60 pupils, and the present water system includes a small pond and pump with a 3,500-gallon elevated tank. The new system to be installed under the contract will include a drilled well, pump house, new pump, water distribution system, and a 15,000-gallon elevated storage tank.

The successful bidder was Paul Sanetra of Phoenix, Arizona. Four higher bids ranging from $38,674.28 to $41,295 were received.