OPA

Interior Secretary Cecil Andrus said today he was "pleased by the White House announcement that President Carter had nominated William Hallett, a Red Lake Chippewa, to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs."

Andrus said that the "filling of the Commissioner's post with a competent, knowledgeable man like Bill Hallett will be good for both the Indian community and the Department of the Interior."

Hallett's nomination was sent to the Senate September 28. A tentative date of November 13 has been set for the confirmation hearings.

Hallett is the HUD Assistant Regional Administrator, Office of Indian Programs, in the Denver region.

As Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Hallett would be responsible for directing the programs and day-to-day operations of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard, a Blackfeet Indian, said Hallett would be filling a "key role in the administration of Indian programs." He said that Hallett's nomination was preceded by an exhaustive search for the highly qualified individual needed

for the position." Gerard said that he looked forward to working with Hallett to "improve services to the Indian community."

Hallett was born May 18, 1942 in Red Lake, Minnesota. He graduated in 1960 from the Red Lake Indian High School. After two years at Brigham Young University, Hallett completed studies for a Bachelor's degree in business administration at Bemidji State College, Minnesota in 1965. He did post-graduate work in public administration at the University of New Mexico under the HUD Career Education Program.

From 1965 to 1967 Hallett was a personnel technician for the Chicago Police Department. He then became director of housing and manpower programs on the Red Lake Chippewa Reservation, where he set up and directed the Tribal Home Construction Company. From 1968 to 1970 he was director of industrial development for the National Congress of American Indians.

In 1970 Hallett served as a consultant to the National Council on Indian Opportunity and the President's National Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprise.

Hallett went to the Denver HUD office in 19 70 as a special assistant to the regional administrator for Indian affairs. He was named assistant regional adn1inistrator in 1975.

Award or a contract for construction of an earth-fill dam on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Fremont County, Wyoming was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The accepted bid of $35,932.64 submitted by L. H. Weber of Rawlins, Wyoming, was the lowest of seven received by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The others ranged from $36,000 to $70,600.

Construction of the dam on Big Muddy Creek is part of a comprehensive program for development and conservation of the resources of the Wind River Basin in which the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been engaged for the past eight years. When completed, it will be known as Big Muddy Dam and will help to retard erosion, halt sedimentation, and reduce peak flows of the creek.

The project will involve 260 feet of 42-inch asphalt-coated drawn down pipe, trash rack, concrete cutoff collars, and outlet structure. All labor and materials are to be furnished by the contractor

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus said today that the energy crisis presents Indian tribes with opportunities to break the cycle of dependence which has plagued their people for more than a century.

"For too long, too many Indian people have been -- through no fault of their own -- too dependent upon the Federal government," Andrus said in a speech before the National Congress of American Indians in Albuquerque, N.M. "The energy crisis offers an opportunity for many tribes to break that cycle of dependence which has plagued your people."

The Secretary praised the Indians for their efforts to accelerate energy development on reservations and to become active partners in energy-producing projects.

"You are seeking independence -- the type of independence that comes with employment opportunities on the tribal lands, from adequate housing, from improved health," Andrus said.

"By developing your resources wisely, you can attain the independence American Indians seek while helping all Americans attain the national energy independence goal."

The Secretary said that President Carter's program, including the Windfall Profits Tax, Energy Security Corporation, and the Energy Mobilization Board, were of vital importance to the tribes. He said that to be effective, the national program would have to include measures to help Indians develop the vast energy resources on Indian lands.

"This is not only equitable, it is essential to increased energy supply, Andrus said.

The Secretary reviewed efforts by the Department of the Interior to help tribes make informed decisions regarding energy development and to better manage all their natural resources.

"Decisions on the development of energy resources on tribal lands will be made in the final instance by tribal leaders," Andrus said, responding to concern expressed by Indian leaders that the proposed Energy Mobilization Board would override established rights of tribes to control their own natural resources.

"In the vast majority of cases, I believe that you can make decisions regarding resources development which will be not only in your own best interest, but in the best interest of the Nation," Andrus said.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons today praised the progress being made by Pacific Northwest Indian tribes in 'establishing tribal scholarships for Indian youths seeking education beyond the high school level.

At the same time the Commissioner said he was hopeful that the four tribes which received portions of the $26,000,000 Celilo settlement would use some of their money received for ancient fishing rights to educate their youths to take their rightful place in modern American society as full-fledged citizens.

"Our Portland area director, Don C. Foster, has reported to me this week that eight Northwest tribes are offering scholarship help to their youths and that this year 79 students are receiving help from these scholarships or from tribal educational loan funds," Mr. Emmons said.

He said that the practice of Indian tribes providing scholarships is a relatively new one. Most scholarships provide only a part of the students expenses and the tribes expect the students to work to help themselves. In this way more students can be aided.

In addition to the 79 students receiving tribal scholarships or loans there are six Northwest Indian youths who received Bureau of Indian Affairs educational grants and 'one who is attending college with the help of a scholarship from the American Missionary Association.

“Mr. Foster tells me this report by no means represents all of the Indian youths attending Pacific Northwest colleges, universities or vocational schools. Many youths are attending these institutions of higher learning on their own or with the help of their parents. We have made no effort to tabulate how many there are in these categories.“ Emmons said.

The Commissioner said he was particularly happy about the report because it indicates progress is being made in the education phase of his three part program to better the lot of the Indians of the United States. The three part program, said Mr. Emmons, is designed to give all Indians 1) better education, 2) better health, and 3) better economic conditions. Commissioner Emmons arrived in Portland Monday to meet with a committee of the American Bankers Association to discuss problems involved in protecting the assets of Klamath Indians who are minors or otherwise not capable of managing their affairs after the termination of Federal trusteeship which is provided in Public Law 587. During the week he will also meet with members of the Warm Springs, Umatilla and Yakima tribal councils to discuss plans for use of the Celilo settlement funds.

Four small bands of Paiute Indians in Utah, comprising 232 members, will take over full responsibility for management of their own affairs under a proclamation approved by Acting Secretary of the Interior Fred G. Aandahl in fulfillment of a 1954 congressional enactment.

The bands affected are Shivwits with 130 enrolled members and 27,520 acres of tribal property, Kanosh with 42 members and about 6,000 acres of tribal land, Koosharem with 34 members and 440 acres, and Indian Peaks with 26 members and approximately 9,000 acres. In addition to the tribal holdings, individual members of the Kanosh band own a total of 1,840 acres and members of the Koosharem group 240 acres which have been up to now in Federal trusteeship.

In accordance with the 1954 enactment, Public Law 762 of the 83rd Congress, subsurface or mineral rights to all of the lands still owned by the Indians have been transferred to a private trustee to be held for at least 10 years. The Walker Bank and Trust Company of Salt Lake City has been selected for this purpose.

In the case of the surface rights, the decision on disposition was left up to the Indian owners. The great bulk of the lands involved have not been used by the Indians in recent years and most are scheduled for sale. Those not already sold have been transferred to the Walker Bank and Trust under a liquidation trust agreement.

One major exception is on the Shivwits Reservation where two tracts of irrigated land and a homestead tract, comprising 840 acres altogether, will be held by the Walker Bank for the use and benefit of the tribal members. In addition, an 80-acre tract on the Kanosh Reservation has been divided among four tribal members and a 40-acre parcel at Koosharem has been conveyed to two individuals. In each of these latter cases, other members of the band will have a lifetime right of access and use to the particular tract.

Over 100 members of the four bands have taken advantage of the Indian Bureau's voluntary relocation program and have moved to cities such as Los Angeles, Denver, or San Francisco. A substantial number of the adults have taken vocational training or adult education courses which were made possible by Public Law 762 and provided by the University of Utah under a contract with the Indian Bureau.

The Utah bands are the second group of Indians to move away from Federal trusteeship in the past six months. A similar step was taken by the Indians of western Oregon under a proclamation signed by Secretary Fred A. Seaton last August 13.

Proposed revisions to regulations dealing with the tribal purchase of certain property interests of decedents under special laws applicable to the Yakima Tribes of Washington, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho are being published in the Federal Register, the Department of the Interior's Office of Hearings and Appeals announced today.

The proposed revisions, which incorporate suggestions offered by the tribes concerned, are intended to improve procedures for administration of the tribal purchase statutes and to simplify language in the regulations.

The two major changes are: (1) blood quantum and enrollment in a tribe will not be contested before an Administrative Law Judge but instead will be determined by the official tribal roll which will be binding on the Judge;

(2) valuation of the property taken for purposes of just compensation under the tribal purchase statutes will no longer be determined as of the date of inspection but instead will be made as of the date of taking by a tribe.

The date of taking occurs when a tribe files a written notice of election with the Superintendent along with payment of at least 10 percent of the appraised value.

Written comments, suggestions or objections should be submitted within

60 days after publication of the proposed revisions in the Federal Register.

Such comments should be addressed to the Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of the Interior, 4015 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia 22203.

Burton Rider, a Gros Ventre-Cree Indian, has been named Assistant Area Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Billings, Montana office, Acting Deputy Commissioner Sidney L. Mills said today.

Rider, 49, has been Superintendent of the Fort Peck Agency at Poplar, Montana. His appointment in the area office will be effective October 21 He succeeds Maurice W. (Bill) Babby who has accepted a position in the Office of the Commissioner in Washington, D.C.

A United States Army veteran, Rider began working with BIA in 1954 and has held increasingly responsible jobs in various agency and area offices. He was named Superintendent at Fort Peck in 1975 and, for four years before that, was the Employment Assistance Officer at the Minneapolis Area Office.

To stimulate wider competitive bidding and more active development of Indian-owned mineral resources, the Department of the Interior has substantially liberalized the acreage limitations in the Federal regulations governing the mineral leasing of Indian lands, it was announced today.

Under the new regulations approved by Acting Secretary Hatfield Chilson on February 28, the maximum area that may be covered by a single lease for development of all minerals (including oil and gas), except coal, is established at 2,560 acres. However, individual lessees are not limited, as they were under the former regulations, in the amount of Indian land they may hold under more than one lease in a particular State.

On the leasing of Indian lands for coal development, the limitation under the new regulations will ordinarily be 2,560 acres for one lease. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, however, is authorized to approve the combining of several coal mining leases held by one or more lessees or the issuance of a single lease covering more than 2,560 acres when such action is considered to be in the best interests of the Indian landowners and is necessary to permit the establishment of steam electric power plants or other industrial facilities on or near the reservations.

The former acreage limitations were originally established in the period before World War II when deposits of strategic metals and nonmetals in Indian lands were not being widely developed because of inadequate transportation facilities or remoteness from mills and markets. More recently there has been a growing interest in the commercial development of such deposits.

Under the former regulations the maximum amount of Indian land in a single State that could be held by one lessee was limited to 640 acres on “deposits of the nature of lodes or veins, containing ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, or other useful metals;" 960 acres for "beds of placer gold, gypsum, asphaltum, phosphate, iron ores or other useful minerals except coal, oil and gas” unless otherwise authorized by the Commissioner; and 10,240 acres for coal mining.

While no acreage limitations have been in effect on oil and gas leasing for the past several years, very few tracts of Indian land advertised for such leasing have exceeded the 2,560-acre limit established by the new regulations.

The new regulations do not apply on the Osage or Quapaw Indian lands of Oklahoma where special regulations on mineral leasing still remain in effect.

The Department of the Interior is publishing notice in the Federal Register on its proposal to acknowledge the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians bf Northern Michigan as an Indian tribe, Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard said today

The formal acknowledgment as an Indian tribe, which includes the recognition of a government to-government relationship with the United States, would entitle the Grand Traverse Band to the same privileges and immunities available to other federally recognized tribes by virtue of their status as Indian tribes.

Under regulations made effective in October of 1978, persons wishing to challenge the acknowledgment may submit their factual or legal arguments within 120 days of the publication of the notice. A report summarizing the evidence for the proposed decision is available from the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior,

18th & C Streets N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240. Comments on the proposed acknowledgment should be sent to the above address.

The Grand Traverse Band, which has about 300 members, is expected to be the first group formally acknowledged as a tribe under the 1978 regulations. The tribe has a 147.4 acre reservation in Leelanau County.

A total of 497 Indian or Alaska Native groups are now acknowledged by the Federal Government to be tribes. These groups are located in 27 states and include 218 Alaskan village groups.

Award of a contract to Yuma Rock and Sand, Yuma, Arizona, for construction of a concrete waste way structure as a key element in the Colorado River Indian Irrigation Project at Parker, Ariz., was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Yuma Rock and Sand’s bid of $83,615 for the job was the lowest of five received by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The other four ranged from $111,366 to $125,747.20.

The new structure will be located on the main canal of the project about 18 miles southwest of Parker and will replace a temporary timber structure installed about 14 years ago.

Plans call for extending the main canal about 27 miles to the south beyond the location of the new structure and for expanding the area under irrigation from the present 37,000 acres to an eventual 100,000 acres of fertile river bottom land. The new waste way, with a capacity of 1,500 cubic feet per second or three times that of the present structure, is designed to regulate the water in the main canal and to prevent flash floods and seepage and waterlogging of the area.