OPA

Raymond Lightfoot, 54, Assistant Area Director for the Minneapolis Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was named Area Director for the Minneapolis Area Office today by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce.

An enrolled member of the Michigan Band of Chippewa Indians, Lightfoot replaces Owen D. Morken, who retired in January 1971.

Lightfoot was born at Fort Thompson, S. Dak. After he completed a course in Business Administration at Nettleton College, Sioux Falls, S. Dak., Lightfoot, joined the Bureau in 1937.

He has been in responsible administrative positions in the Aberdeen and Navajo Area Offices and at Cherokee Agency, in North Carolina. He has been in the Minneapolis Area Office as Administrative Officer and Assistant Area Director for 11 years.

In making the announcement the Commissioner of Indian Affairs said: "He is one of our most able Indian administrators. He has had wide experience throughout the Bureau. He has always had the confidence and respect of the Indian people, the Indian tribal governments, and the Indian organizations with whom he has dealt."

About thirty American Indians are being provided a course in co-operative management and leadership training that will enable them to successfully operate enterprises that vary from arts and crafts through campground, credit, farming, fishing, livestock, marketing, paddy rice, and tourism.

It began in mid-July at the University of Wisconsin and is funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Training includes nine weeks of classroom and group learning situations interspersed with one week researching on their home reservation and a two week field trip reviewing selected United States cooperatives.

Following this 12 week -period a one-year on-the-job training opportunity, which selected United States coo-operatives have agreed to provide, will be given each participant. Three one-week seminars are scheduled, one after each-four months of on-the-job training.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce, a former member of the board of directors of the Dairyman’s League Cooperative Association and former public relations and promotions director of Mid-Eastern Cooperatives, a chain of 23 co-operative supermarkets said in commenting on the program:

“It is particularly appropriate that Indians be trained in cooperative techniques because they suit the Indian tribal concept. Indians take readily to the idea of cooperative enterprises both, as tribes and as groups of individuals.”

Classroom and group leadership training if provided by the International Cooperative Training Center and by the Center for Community Leadership Development, both of which are at the University of Wisconsin.

All field and on-the-job training is arranged for and supervised by Cooperative Education and Training, Inc. (CET), an organization representing United States cooperatives. Their management work experience may be anywhere in the United States where participating cooperatives can provide the training required. However, those cooperatives nearest reservations will be favored.

Expenses of participants during the, classroom training period are paid by the Bureau, as well as the travel, expenses of participants and their families during their on-the-job training period. Participants will be paid the going local wage by those cooperatives for which they work during the on-the-job training portion of the program.

Information on the program is available from International Cooperative Training center, University of Wisconsin Extension Service, 610 Langdon Street, Madison, Wisc. 53706.

Acting Secretary of the Interior Fred J. Russell today announced that former South Dakota Congressman Ben Reifel, an American Indian, will serve without compensation as an assistant for Indian Affairs to the Director of the National Park Service.

Representative Reifel voluntarily retired at the close of the 91st congress after serving five consecutive terms.

Before his election to represent South Dakota First District, Reifel was for 22 years an administrator in the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. While there he served both as an agency superintend and as an area Director and earned the Department’s highest employee recognition, its Distinguished Service Award.

Born of a Sioux mother and a German-American father at Parmelee, S. Dak., in 1906, Reifel received a Bachelor of Science degree at South Dakota State College in 1932. He attained a master’s degree in 1950 and a doctorate in public administration in 1952, both from Harvard University. He was named Outstanding American Indian in 1956 and began his congressional career with the elections of 1960.

George B. Hartzog, Jr., director of' the National Park Service, said this in welcoming the Reifel appointment:

“Ben Reifel brings to us a wealth of experience and knowledge which will materially enhance our efforts to support and assist the Indian Tribes, many of whom are close neighbors of the national parks, in preserving and interpreting their natural and cultural heritage and enhancing the vast outdoor recreational opportunities available on their lands.

“With Mr. Reifel’s commitment, imagination, and enthusiasm, I am confident that this most worthwhile program will achieve a new and sharpened dimension of public service.”

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce today announced his support of the Iroquois League and the Onondaga Nation of New York State in their efforts to have the sacred wampum belts returned to their proper place and preserved in the tribes' possession.

The Commissioner pledged his support following a meeting in his office with a 12-member delegation of Iroquois tribal leaders. The wampums, sacred belts of historic religious importance to the Iroquois League of New York, have been kept in the New York State Museum at Albany since they were taken from the tribes in 1898.

“I strongly urge the New York State Legislature to repeal the Custody of Wampums Law,” Commissioner Bruce declared. “As a member of the Mohawk Tribe, which is a part of the Iroquois League, I know the deep feelings that all Iroquois attach to the wampums."

The Onondagas hold the religious office of Keepers of the Wampum in the Iroquois League. Since the belts were removed from their custody in 1898, they have made numerous attempts to regain possession. Their initial legal effort failed because the State court did not recognize their right to sue.

A bill was introduced in the last session of the New York Legislature to modify the statutes of the wampum belts, but it was not enacted.

Commissioner Bruce continued: "We existed as a people long before the coming of the white man. Were it not: for the Iroquois the French would have won the struggle for North America, since it was the strong protection given the English by the Iroquois League that enabled them to survive.”

The Commissioner also noted that the wampum belts have a recognized religious significance to all the -member tribes of the Iroquois League, and that they are integral parts of the religious ceremonies conducted by the tribes; therefore, “The return of these belts involves a principle more precious to American freedom than any other -- the freedom to practice one's religion without interference from any government body. The continued possession of the belts by the State museum limits the religious freedom of my people, and for that reason I urge their prompt return. “

The wampum belts issue was among others discussed by Commissioner Bruce and members of his Washington staff during a day-long series of meetings with the New York delegation today. The Commissioner indicated his willingness to provide federally recognized tribes in New York with Bureau of Indian Affairs cooperation.

Bruce discussed with the group the services that New York State is presently offering to the tribes. He said the Bureau would not supplant these services but rather would provide complementary services, primarily in the technical assistance area.

The Commissioner also pointed out that the Indians have lacked the unity to obtain many services in the past. He declared: "We must stand united in order to obtain the services and programs which are due to the Indian people.

The delegation lunched on Capitol Hill with members of the New York Congressional delegation, including Representatives Henry p. Smith, Ogden R. Reid, and Robert C. McEwen.

Tribal chiefs and leaders in the delegation included Chief Franklin Patterson, Cayuga; Chiefs Robert Burr, Jr. and Jacob Thompson, Oneida; Chiefs Irvin Powless, Jr. and Leon Shenandoah, Onondaga; Chief John Cook, Mohawk; Barry Snyder, treasurer, and Hrs. Cheryl Barney, clerk, Seneca;, Chiefs Corbett Sundown and Beeman Logan, Tonawanda; and Chiefs Arnold Hewitt and Leo Henry, Tuscarora.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce announced today the appointment of Morris Thompson, an Alaska Native, as the new Alaska Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Thompson's appointment was effective February 7, 1971.

"I am most happy to be announcing this appointment, “Commissioner Bruce said, “because Thompson is the first Alaska Native to be Alaska Area Director. The Alaska Natives have long wanted this. “

At 31, Thompson is also the youngest man in BIA history to be named as an area director.

Bruce pointed out that Thompson's appointment was endorsed by the executive committee of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska in a meeting in Juneau January 30. Thompson is an Athabascan Indian, born in Tanana, Alaska.

Prior to his Alaska assignment, Thompson was an Assistant to Commissioner Bruce. He also acted as a special assistant for Indian affairs under former Interior Secretary Walter J. Hickel and had been associated with administration of Indian programs for the State of Alaska.

He attended the first eight grades at Tanana Day School and was a 1959 graduate of Mt. Edgecumbe High School, where he was a member of the National Honor Society. He studied for two and a half years at the University of Alaska, majoring in civil engineering with a minor in political science. He continued his studies at the RCA Institute in Los Angeles, and after graduation worked as a technician at the RCA satellite tracking facility at Gilmore Creek near Fairbanks.

Thompson has a wide background of involvement in affairs of Alaska Natives and is a former chairman of the Board of the Fairbanks Native Association.

Thompson succeeds Charles A. Richmond, who has been named director of education for the BIA in eastern Oklahoma. Richmond formerly taught in BIA schools.

A new environmental awareness award program for Indian schools and communities was announced today by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce. The program is an outgrowth of new emphases upon environment and conservation in Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. It is designed to encourage environmental awareness throughout all aspects of daily life in the community.

Local Indian school board members will take part in selecting projects for awards, and will present them in ceremonies concluding the school year, Bruce said. Not only students but any other individuals in the community, as well as classroom groups, community groups, or schools or communities as a whole may qualify for the commendations.

"We hope the awards program will encourage students, teachers, parents and others to learn together," Bruce said. "Indians are often regarded as the Nation's 'first environmentalists,' and we expect the program to help carry this concept forward to meet the complex environmental challenges of today."

He pointed out that the 219 schools operated by the BIA are stressing environmental awareness through language arts, social studies, science and art curricula "in keeping with the National Environmental Policy Act which aims for harmony between man and his environment and an understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation."

Bruce also said: "We believe this approach to environmental awareness encourages a sense of responsibility to tribe, community and country, and will enable more people to have a constructive influence in a.l1 these spheres. Studies of Indian myths, religion, philosophy, ethics indicate a reverence for the natural environment which may be a lesson for the non-Indian."

Cooperating in the environmental education program is Interior's National Park Service.

National parks have set aside outdoor areas for the study of ecology and have provided materials for classroom and outdoor study projects, and is helping to provide materials that demonstrate the interdependence of man and his environment and show how Indian cultural values reinforce the balance between man and nature.

Further information on the awards program will be available through BIA schools, school boards, and tribal organizations.

During the fiscal year 1970, estimated financing for Indian individuals and enterprises jumped from $382.9 million to $437.7 million -- a $54.8 million increase over the previous year, according to a report released today by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce.

The borrowed monies financed construction of thousands of new homes and rebuilding or repair of existing homes; provided funds for Indian education in technical schools and colleges; and stimulated Indian small business and development of cooperative enterprises such as cattle ranching.

Productive-type loans -- that is, those that generate income -- increased in 1970 over the previous year, with a commensurate decrease in loans for non-recoverable items. Refinancing also decreased slightly in the same period, indicating somewhat more financial stability among an increasing number of Indian families and enterprises.

Full-blooded Indians received nearly 60 percent of the loans in 1970, and 50 percent of the total amount loaned.

Private and public lending institutions provided 67.2 percent of the Indian financing last year, with tribal funds accounting for another 26.9 percent, and with 5.9 percent deriving from a Bureau of Indian Affairs revolving loan fund.

The largest percent increase over 1969 was in financing by, customary lenders. Federal credit agencies provided $91.8 million; national and state banks $50.09 million; and consumers' credit sources.

The amount of tribal funds being used for financing economic development for Indian tribes or individuals has doubled during the past five years, the report also states -- from $57.6 million to $117.7 million.

Credit and financing operations of some Indian tribes are conducted entirely with tribal loans to members and associations of members, and to finance tribal, industrial, commercial, and agricultural enterprises.

"The doubling of Indian input indicates the extent to which Indian communities can help themselves if they are given minimum Federal aid," said Commissioner Bruce.

"But," he added, "Modern American Indian communities need an additional $1 billion in credit to make them viable components of the nation. Most of this deficit cannot be met by private lenders unless they are given some incentives to furnish the money, because of the trust restricted title to Indian lands and the underdeveloped conditions of some reservations. Incentives could be in the form of loan guarantees or loan insurance and interest subsidies."

Legislation that would enable more credit to be extended to Indian communities has been introduced into the 92nd Congress. Similar bills failed passage in the 88th, 89th, 90th, and 91st Congresses. If enacted, legislation now under consideration would increase the BIA revolving loan funds as well as establishing substantial loan guaranty and insurance funds.

Copies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs "1970 Annual Credit and Financing Report," 45 pages, are available without charge from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U. S. Department of the Interior, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20242.

The deadline has been extended to June 4, 1971, for filing applications by descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees for enrollment to, share in a $1,627,244.64 judgment awarded to the Delaware Nation of Indians by the ! Indian Claims Commission, according to Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

The money comes from an award in settlement of an Indian claim against the United States Government for additional payment for approximately 3,859,000 acres of Indian land ceded by the Delaware Nation pursuant to the Treaty of October 3, 1818 (7 Stat. 188).

Notice of preparation of the roll was previously given to Absentee and Cherokee Delaware about the judgment and eligibility requirements for sharing in it. That roll has been completed and partial payment made to eligible applicants.

It has been found, however, that the descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees, also entitled to share in the award, did not receive adequate notice of the preparation of the roll. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has, therefore, extended the filing deadline for the descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees so that those persons who believe they are eligible may apply for enrollment.

The descendants of Kansas and Wisconsin Munsees who may be eligible to share in the award are those who are lineal descendants of Delaware Indians who were members of the Delaware Nation of Indians as constituted at the time of the Treaty of October 3, 1818. The "lineal descendants" are basically comprised of those who are descendants of the Christian (Munsee) Indians of Kansas and the Munsee faction of the Stockbridge-Munsee Indian Community of Wisconsin.

The Munsee Indians who were a part of the Stockbridge-Munsee group and those who were incorporated with the Swan Creek and Black River Bands of Chippewa Indians in 1859 are both considered to have been a part of the Delaware Nation in 1818 and their descendants should be eligible to share in the judgment funds.

Four Navajo Indian tribal officials are in the lobby of the U. S. Department of the Interior building in Washington, D. C., this week to exhibit crafts produced under the Navajo Work Experience Program -- a tribal effort which provides constructive jobs and a pay envelope to people who, would otherwise have to depend upon welfare checks.

Begun nine months ago, the program has already provided 1,700 Navajos with jobs, a number expected to double within the next year. It operates across the reservation from the rim of the Grand Canyon eastward to Shiprock, New Mexico.

The exhibition includes rugs, jewelry and handcrafted souvenir items as well as photographs illustrating construction and other community improvement projects accomplished under the work experience program.

The four Navajos accompanying the exhibit are Mrs. Elizabeth Beyal, director of the Navajo Tribal Work Experience Program; John Francis, assistant director; Mrs. Joann Pinto, acting director of the Navajo Public Services Division; and Richard Beyal, Navajo Tribal Community Worker.

In welcoming the exhibit to Washington, D. C. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce said today: "We look upon your achievement in operating a successful work experience program as an example for other Indian tribes to follow. It is self-determination on the part of Indian people at its best."

The Navajo Work Experience Program works this way: The Tribe, through its local chapters (tribal subdivisions), develops work projects considered necessary to help local community development. Unemployed but employable tribal members are assigned by the tribe to jobs on these projects.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs turns over to the tribal officials the money which would have been paid in assistance grants to these jobless workers, plus an additional $30 monthly as a work incentive. The tribe then pays each worker what he would have received in assistance, plus an additional $30. The payment is not identified as welfare supervising the work.

The most popular tribal work projects involve the construction, improvement and repair of individual homes. Other vital projects are road repair, fence repair, corral improvement) hauling and chopping wood for elderly and disabled persons, improvement of water and sanitation facilities, arts and crafts, adult education, and provision of assistance in Navajo schools and hospitals.

One task performed under this program unique to the Navajo reservation is the construction of hogans, traditional Navajo homes. Some Indians prefer them because they are solidly constructed and provide warmth in winter and coolness in summer, others because they represent their culture, which they wish to retain. More than 100 hogans have been built under the Navajo Work Experience Program.

The program director, Mrs. Beyal points out that there have been benefits from it in addition to the jobs produced.

"By becoming involved in a work project a man on general assistance has taken the first step toward gaining self-respect in the eyes of his children and neighbors," she explained. He develops self-esteem and self-determination and sets an example for impressionable youngsters. By helping his neighbor, he is instrumental in establishing a stronger community."

She cites the example of a tribal elder physically unable to work who contributed a cultural point of view to the Indian children of a Greasewood, Ariz. school. He tells stories of the Navajo tribe and its traditions to groups of Indian school children who come to hear him in a hogan near the school.

Most popular among the training opportunities under the Work Experience Program is instruction in reading safety signs and the English alphabet-- requirements under an Arizona driver: licensing regulation. Basic English and health education are also popular.

Classes are conducted after hours in public and BIA schoolrooms, in Navajo chapter houses, and in Federal, State, and local government facilities. In the Chinle area, some of the teachers in the program are from the Navajo Community College, the only college to be operated by Indians and to be on an Indian reservation.

Tribal work experience programs similar to the Navajo, but on a much smaller scale, have been in operation on a number of Indian reservations for over two years. There are now 23 such programs throughout "Indian country".

One of the first programs was on the Papago reservation in southern Arizona. It now employs about 500 workers and is next in size to the Navajo project.

In fiscal year 1969, a monthly average of 500 people eligible for welfare help from the Bureau worked on tribal work experience programs. In fiscal year 1970, that figure rose to 775. With the addition of the Navajo and other programs, about 2,900 Indians who otherwise would be on Bureau welfare roles are now working.

Tim C. Dye, 47, Acting Superintendent of the Fort Apache Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, has been given the post of Superintendent, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce announced today. He succeeds Robert Robinson, who was transferred to the Sacramento Area Office of the Bureau in February.

Dye became a Land Operations Officer 'With the Fort Apache Agency in September 1970. He had held a similar post with the Colorado River Agency, Arizona for nine years. Prior to that he had been supervisory General Engineer with the Gallup, N.M. and Holbrook, Agricultural Engineer at Holbrook and conservation Engineer at Polacca, Ariz.

In announcing the appointment of Dye the commissioner said “Mr. Dye is unusually effective in dealing with people. He handles a large operation with many problems very well. We believe he will do the job the White Mountain Apache Tribe needs done at Whiteriver.”

Dye has B.S. degree in agriculture engineering from Oklahoma A & M College and served three and a half years with the Army Air Force.