OPA

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis R. Bruce today announced that 11 American Indian and Alaska Native high school and college students who represent nearly as many tribes have been selected for scholarships enabling them to accompany some of the Nation's leading scientists this summer on worldwide expeditions.

The scholarships for the American Indians are funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They were arranged through two organizations -- the Explorers Club and Educational Expeditions International (in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution).

Selection of the Indian students was based upon demonstrated interest and achievement in the natural sciences.

The students are: Edward P. Cardipe (Pawnee) 1656 Bridge Street, S. W., Albuquerque, N. M.; Aaron Harrison (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) Belcourt, N. Dak. ; Theodore Isham (Creek-Seminole) 3616 N. W. 27th Street, Oklahoma City, Okla.; James E. Monogye (Hopi) Oraibi, Ariz.; Carol Mae Nichol (Pottawatomi) 2525 Military Avenue, Los Angeles, Calif.; Maud Oktollik (Alaskan Native) Pt. Hope, Alaska; Lawrence Oliver (Navajo) Lukachukai, Ariz.; Ronald Quetone (Kiowa) Anadarko, Okla.; Joe M. Sampson, Jr. (Yakima) White Swan, Wash.; Janneil Summers (Oneida) Oneida, Wisc.; Valerie Taguma (Chippewa) Stone Lake, Wisc.

Harrison will pursue his interest in volcanology on an expedition to Nyragongo, Eastern Congo. Oliver will travel the vast distance from Navajo land to Okavango, Botswana, South Africa to join an anthropological study team visiting the Hambukushu people. Isham, who leans toward astronomy as a college major, joined scientific observers of a solar eclipse from the vantage point of Prince Edward Island, Canada; and Quetone will be part of an eclipse-viewing team in Rhode Island.

Miss Oktollik will travel from Pt. Hope, Alaska to Portland, Ore., to join Sampson, Taguma, Summers, and others on an ecology expedition in wilderness areas of Oregon. Monogye explores the wilderness area of Riverton, Wyoming, in a similar expedition. A recent UCLA graduate, Miss Nichol, has joined an archeological dig at the Ubeidiya site, Israel. She plans to continue with graduate studies in anthropology-archeology next fall.

Three separate actions affecting the office of principal chief of the Choctaw, Seminole and Cherokee Indian Tribes of Oklahoma, were announced today by Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor.

A run-off election will be held by the Bureau of Indian Affairs between September 20 and October 10 so that members of the Choctaw Tribe many express their preferences between Harry J. W. Belvin and Hampton w. Anderson, who received the highest number of votes in the balloting held last June. Mr. Belvin has been principal chief of the tribe for the past several years.

Because of disagreement among members of the Seminole Tribe concerning the office of principal chief, the Department has decided to fill the office through appointment only for temporary periods when the services of a chief are actually needed in connection with certain types of land transactions.

The term of office of William W. Keeler, principal chief of the Cherokees, has been extended for an indefinite period. Mr. Keeler has served as principal chief without compensation for several years.

In the Choctaw balloting held in June, 16,053 ballots were mailed out by the Bureau and 5,244 valid ballots were returned and counted. On the question whether the office of principal chief should be continued beyond June 30, 1954, the proposition was favored by 4,554 voters and opposed by 690. Selection of the principal chief by the Secretary of the Interior without Choctaw balloting was favored by 612 voters and opposed by 4,107. Secret balloting by mail among the Choctaws to select a favorite candidate was favored by 31 572 voters, secret balloting at the polls by 1,492. On the question whether the principal chief should be paid for his services, 4,443 voted yes and 306 no.

Of those favoring compensation, 2,723 voted for a continuation of the present yearly salary of $3,000 and expense allowance of $2,500 paid from tribal funds. Salary of $2,500 and expense allowance of $2,000 was favored by 585. Salary of $1,500 and expense allowance of $1,000 by 451 and other varying annual compensation plans by 84, Daily compensation plans at rates ranging from $10 to $20, combined with a standard expense allowance of $9, were favored by 513.

On the question of length of term, 2,020 voters favored two years while 2,593 expressed a preference for four years.

Among the candidates, Mr. Belvin received 2,502 votes (or 120 less than a majority of the 5,244 counted ballots). Mr. Anderson 52, J. B. Wright 31, Peter Hudson 19, C.V. Thompson 19, James Edwards 14 and 869 votes were cast for candidates receiving less than four votes each.

Since no candidate received a clear majority of all the counted ballots, the decision was made to hold the run-off election. Ballots will be mailed out by the Indian Bureau's Muskogee Area. Office on September 20 and must be returned to that office by midnight October 10. Voters will be given an opportunity not only to choose between the two candidates but also to indicate their preferences for the length of term up to a maximum of four years. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be appointed by the Secretary for a term beginning some time after completion of the balloting.

Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton is in Alaska for an 8-day inspection of areas upon which he soon will make far-reaching decisions.

His itinerary includes visits to the Wrangell Mountains in the southeast; Mount McKinley in central Alaska; the Yukon Flats and Walker Lake areas to the north and west; and the King Sabnon area in Alaska's southwest before returning to the "lower 48."

The chief purpose of his tour will be to obtain more first-hand knowledge on which to base the decisions he must make, under law, by September 18 -- decisions which will affect Alaska's future land-use patterns, natural resource development, and preservation of wild areas.

The Alaska Native C1atms Settlement Act -- signed into law by President Nixon December 18, 1971 requires that the Secretary of the Interior make firm decisions, within nine months after its enactment, on the withdrawal from other uses of up to 80 million acres of Federally-owned land for study purposes for possible additions to national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and wild and scenic rivers.

Initial set-asides were made in mid-March, but final boundaries remain to be fixed in September. After that, the Secretary must advise Congress at six-month intervals of his specific recommendations for use of the withdrawn land areas. Any lands not recommended within two years after December 18, 1971 for designation in one of the "four systems" would become subject to State and Native selection. Congress has five years from the recommendation dates to act before the withdrawals automatically terminate.

Literally hundreds of Interior Department employees and officials, including specialists in dozens of disciplines, are at work this summer on detailed studies for the decisions and the recommendations to be made. They include study teams and work groups from the Department's Bureaus of Land Management, Indian Affairs, Mines, and Outdoor Recreation, and its Geological Survey, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service. The Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and the Department of Transportation also are doing field studies.

The work includes mapping and surveying; delineating areas of mineral potential, water resources, glaciers and earth tremor, identifying; recreation potential as well as present use by visitors; studying social and economic requirements of Alaska's Natives (Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts); analyzing wildlife and fish resources, historical, ecological and wilderness values, timber and grazing, and any related subjects.

The National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service have multi-discipline study teams collecting resource data to be used in preparation of conceptual master plans and potential environmental impact statements for any areas to be recommended to Congress for preservation. A number of large natural areas are being analyzed for their ecosystems and wildlife patterns, including intensive efforts in geology, biology, sociology, archaeology and economics.

Distribution of tribal funds to individual members of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin under Public Law 399, approved June 17, is going forward smoothly and satisfactorily, Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor announced today.

The enactment which establishes a program for terminating Federal supervision over Menominee affairs before the end of 1958, also provides for an immediate payment of $1,500 to each tribal member from Menominee funds on deposit in the United states Treasury.

A late report from Raymond H. Bitney, superintendent of the Menominee Agency at Neopit, indicates that about 65 percent of the 1,597 checks intended for adult members of the tribe have now been distributed. The total amount made available to the Indians is nearly $1,500,000.

Substantial amounts of this money are being used for bank deposits and for the payment of commercial obligations, according to a quick check with major banking and business firms in the nearby community of Shawano. One Shawano bank reported $113,000 of new deposits since the start of the tribal payments. Another estimated $110,000 in new savings accounts, $25,000 deposited in checking accounts, and sales of cashier’s and travelers’ checks in the amount of about $7,000.

One of the local finance companies reported total collections of $21,572 including about $4,000 on accounts previously considered uncollectible. Similar reports, involving somewhat smaller amounts, were received from another finance company, a furniture store, and a general merchandise establishment.

The general impression reported by observers is that, although this distribution of tribal funds is much larger than any previously made at Menominee, the Indians are taking it in stride and with little or no evidence of community disturbance or disruption.

Appointment of Robert J. Trier as chief of the branch of roads, Bureau of Indian Affairs succeeding J. Maughs Brown, who retires August 31, was announced today by Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor.

Mr. Trier, a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, has been assistant chief of the branch for eight years. For 10 years he was assistant district road engineer and district road engineer of the Bureau at Hinl1.eapolis, Minn., and from 1933 to 1936 was road supervisor at the Great Lakes Indian Agency, Ashland, Wis., He attended the public schools of Fond du Lac and was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1925 with a degree in civil engineering.

Mr. Brown, has had 21 years service with the Bureau and has been roads chief since 1941. He joined the Bureau in 1933 as road engineer at Rosebud, S. Dak., and one year later was transferred to Minneapolis where he was district engineer for seven years. Before entering the Bureau service he taught civil engineering for 21 years at the University of South Dakota and was made full professor and head of the Department in 1931. He was born at New Market, Missouri, in 1884 and received his civil engineering degree from New Mexico State College.

Rodney M. Dunlap, supervising highway design engineer at Window Rock, Ariz., for the past four years, succeeds Mr. Trier.

Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor today announced that investigation of the 10-year lease of 860.3 acres on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation by Arthur R. Hubbard, Pocatello, Idaho, reveals no grounds for cancellation.

The investigation was launched several months ago following a complaint by the chairman of the Fort Hall Business Council that the lease, originally negotiated in the spring of 1951, is not in the best interests of the Indians. Under terms of the lease Hubbard is obligated to pay the Indian owners 15 cents per acre for range land and one dollar per acre for cultivated land annually and to make improvements in a total amount of $41,820 for the term of the lease. He has been in continuous occupancy of the land since 1951 and has drilled and cased a well, installed a pump and motor, levelled the land, erected border fencing, and installed irrigation structures. The total estimated cost of these improvements is $14,365.

The major ground for complaint was that higher rentals than those specified in the Hubbard lease were Offered for the land by H. H. Zimmerli, also of Pocatello, in the spring of 1953. On this point the investigator's report indicated that the Zimmerli bid was made after Hubbard had been in occupancy for nearly two years, had made Over $14,000 worth of improvement, and had demonstrated the feasibility of irrigation farming on the land. In view of these facts, the 1953 offer cannot be fairly compared with the original Hubbard bid.

The investigation also revealed that the present terms of the lease are the same as those approved in 1951 by the Indian Bureau's superintendent at Fort Hall and Area Office at Portland with one exception. This exception involved the elimination of Hubbard's option to renew and was required by law

Persons claiming Menominee Indian blood have until September 17 for filing applications to have their names added to the present tribal roll, Acting Secretary Fred G. Aandahl said today. Applications should be filed with the Menominee Tribe, in care of the Superintendent, Neopit, Wisconsin.

Under Public Law 399, approved June 17, the Menominee tribal roll was limited to persons living at midnight of that day and no child born thereafter is eligible for enrollment. Persons believing that their names should be added to the roll, however, are given three months after enactment in which to file applications with the tribe. Following this the tribe is given three months in which to consider these applications. Then individuals whose applications are not approved by the tribe are given an additional three-month period which to file appeals with the Secretary of the Interior.

To be eligible for enrollment on the tribal roll, an applicant must, under a recently adopted Federal regulation, fall into one of the following three categories:

(a) Persons born prior to June 15, 1934 of an enrolled parent or parents residing on the Menominee Reservation at the time of the birth of such person.

(b) Persons possessing one-fourth or more Menominee Indian blood, born on or subsequent to June 15, 1934, of parents residing at the time of the birth of such person upon the Menominee Reservation at least one of whom is an enrolled member of the tribe.

(c) Persons of one-fourth or more Menominee Indian blood, derived from an ancestor other than one who participated in the half-breed payment of 1849, who have been or may be adopted into membership of the tribe.

Only enrolled members of the tribe are eligible under Public Law 399 to participate in benefits from the management or disposition of tribal assets. The law provides for termination of Federal trusteeship over Menominee property and affairs by the end of 1958.

Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton declared today that "God and the courts willing, there will be a trans-Alaska pipeline."

In remarks prepared for delivery in Alaska to the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, Secretary Morton emphasized, "We at Interior and in President Nixon IS administration are proud of the conscientious fashion in which the pipeline decision was made.”

The proposed 789 mile hot oil pipeline linking the North Slope oil fields to a tanker terminal at Valdez "will mean- unprecedented social and economic change for your State,” he said, adding:

"I know that our' decision to proceed with the pipeline is in the best national interests. We have been responsive to national needs for more. Energy; to Alaskans needs for avenues of economic development, and for balanced development of natural resources without jeopardizing the environment.”

The Secretary expressed hope that a court decision on a request to lift injunctions prohibiting construction of the pipeline could come before Labor Day. "No matter who wins there, the case undoubtedly will then go to the Court of Appeals. After that it may well go to the Supreme Court,” he added. "Consequently this litigation could go for as long as a year or 18 months or even more. We must be candid in our understanding of that. "

The Secretary traced progress in implementing the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which was signed by President Nixon last December 18.

"The Interior Department has taken decisive actions toward fulfilling the promises of the Statehood Act,” he said. We have developed a system for a balanced apportionment of land selection based on the common interests of Alaskans, natives and the American people. "

"We are at the beginning of a new age for Alaska, Secretary Morton added, “an age in which conservation is matched with progress, and in which development is matched with equity.”

For many of the years leading up to Alaska's statehood the Federal Government had periodic interest in converting Alaska into a penal colony. The idea seems to have started during Andrew Johnson's Administration and ran out sometime in the 1940's when Harold Ickes was Secretary of the Interior.

It's my impression that a lot of Alaskans suspect that the penal colony view, is still prevalent in Washington. The fact is that this couldn't be farther from the truth. We think of Alaska as you do, not as America’s “last frontier,” but as America’s "great frontier."

I wouldn’t be honest with you unless I told you that I envy you. Each of you is in a unique position to ensure that your state is developed in an ordered preserving the land's vital non-economic values. You are in a position to utilize the most advanced technologies to ensure that economic development is compatible with the magnificence of your environment. You are in a position to create meaningful land use plans that provide not only for orderly growth, but which will preserve the integrity of the delicate Arctic ecology.

The bigness and greatness of your land is also significant to all Americans. They own a large -- very large chunk -- of it: About 350 million acres today are under Federal management.

When President Nixon was inaugurated in 1969 no government body had yet been tasked to develop an environmentally safe plan to utilize North Slope resources. There was a "freeze order" on the leasing of Alaska lands and only five million acres had formally changed hands in fulfillment of the 103-million-acre commitment in the Statehood Act of 1958.

This afternoon I'd like to speak to you about my responsibility as trustee for the public lands in Alaska, and about our programs for Alaska's future. This trusteeship is unique because we act not only in the interest of Alaskans. But in the interest of all Americans.

We are anxious to get on with the development of oil resources on the North Slope. Since May of 1969. When President Nixon established a Federal Task Force on Alaskan Oil Development, we have taken broad and far-reaching action.

We opened the decision-making process to the public and held three significant series of' open hearings. And in this effort we consulted with every element of state and local government.

We developed the strictest environmental and technical stipulations ever drafted and organized surveillance teams to enforce these controls.

We completed a 6-volume environmental impact study in cooperation with over 20 state and federal agencies-- the most, comprehensive study of its kind.

We conducted exhaustive examinations of all feasible alternatives, including Canadian routes and other energy sources.

I have announced my decision to issue the necessary permit, and am convinced that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is one of the most environmentally safe undertakings in American history.

Aside from that, the Pipeline is critical to our national security. It is estimated that by 1985 America will be required to import over half of our oil supply. Without the pipeline this would mean increasing dependence upon the politically unstable oil-rich nations of the Mideast -- it would mean an increased deficit in our "balance of payments – it would mean we would be increasingly subjected to vindictive pricing policies from other oil producing countries.

The Office of Emergency Preparedness, and our State Department strongly feel we must build the Trans-Alaskan. Pipeline to support national security goals, and that we cannot afford a 3 to 5 year delay inherent in the Canadian route.

As you know, the trans-Alaska matter is in the courts. Hopefully the first decision--by the trial court--will be rendered before Labor Day. No matter who wins there, the case undoubtedly will. Then go to the Court of Appeals. After that it may well go to the Supreme Court. Consequently this litigation could go for as long as a year or 18 months or even more. We must be candid in our understanding of that.

Frankly, I know that our decision 'to proceed with the pipeline is in the best national interest of the country.

We have been responsive to national needs for more energy.

We have been responsive to Alaskans' needs for avenues of economic development.

We have been responsive to needs for B balanced development of natural resources without jeopardizing the environment.

You are all aware of the impact the Trans-Alaska Pipeline will have on your state. I think the remarks of your very capable senator, Ted Stevens, before the Joint Economic Committee sum it up well.

"Twenty-two thousand jobs will be created in Alaska in connection with pipeline construction and a gross payroll of $800 million will be generated.”

The Pipeline will mean unprecedented social and economic change for your State and for Alaskans.

I’m here today to tell you that we at Interior and in the Nixon Administration are proud of the conscientious fashion in which the Pipeline decision was made. Let me reaffirm that position: "God and the country willing; there will be a Pipeline."

Another area of concern I would like to distress is that of native claims and land, withdrawals. I know that for many in Alaska these are very difficult issues. The development of the Pipeline and the future economic course of this great State are inter-related to these issues.

President Nixon signed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act last December 18th bringing to an end a conflict which began in 1887.

Since that date we have taken certain actions:

We have set aside some 99 million acres from which Native groups will choose 40 million acres for their villages and regional corporations. The remainder will be made available for state selection and federal classification.

We announced the same day the preliminary withdrawal of an additional 80 million acres to be studied as additions to the national forests, parks, wildlife refuges and wild and scenic river systems. The final withdrawal of these lands will take place by September 18th this year – and we will meet that deadline.

We have withdrawn 1.2 million acres as an addition to the existing transportation and utility corridor. This corridor runs from Prudhoe Bay to the Canadian border and will provide for several utility systems.

In the meantime I have requested recommendations from the Joint Federa1­ State Land Use Planning Commission for Alaska, created by the Alaska Native Claims Act, for the optimum use of those withdrawn lands.

Under the Act, the Commission is to undertake a process of land use planning and make recommendations of areas for Federal retention; Federal and State lands to be made available for disposal and uses of lands remaining in Federal and State ownership. It also is charged with advising on proposed land selection by the State and by Alaska Natives (Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts).

Some 35 million acres of land identified by the State in January of this year are available now for state selections. The Bureau of Land Management is committed to speeding action on all formal applications by the State for these lands.

While all is not yet ready for the State of Alaska to select all the lands that make, up the remainder of the entitlement under the Statehood Act, we have taken vigorous steps toward that goal.

Just last week 17 patents were issued, to the State for 260,000 acres.

To ensure that the land withdrawals, are handled properly the Joint Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission, headed by, Jack Horton, and authorized by the Native Claims Act will report annually to the Congress until 1976.

Your Joint Federal-State Land Use Planning Commission provides Alaskans with a management framework to make recommendations to the State and Federal Governments, regarding the optimum use, disposal and protection of the land. Action by the Congress, actions by the Department of the Interior and future actions by the Commission will provide the foundation for an orderly land use plan for Alaska. A land use plan that will protect the interests, of the State and one that provides opportunity for its future development.

One that will protect the vast and invaluable resources of the State unmatched anywhere in the world.

One that will protect the inalienable and vested interest of the American people.

One that will protect the interests of Alaska's Native people, and their entitlement to a fair share of the land and natural resources.

At last then we are at the beginning of a new age for Alaska; an age in which conservation is matched with, progress; an age in which development is matched with equity.

As Governor Egan said, "This joint approach in planning the future' of Alaska presents an opportunity not utilized in the development of any of the other States of the Nation."

The future of this frontier and of your children will depend upon careful and ordered planning as well a strong leadership at every level in government, in industry, and in your communities.

I would like to conclude with a few remarks directed to Alaska's most pressing problem -- your economy.

I know these last years have not been easy ones, I know that many of you have suffered from natural disasters and that the Pipeline delay has meant a lot to you not just in economic cost but in human cost.

I want to talk to you about your future and about that is happening now in our national economy.

A year ago President Nixon initiated new economic policies. He put a freeze on wages and on prices to halt spiraling inflation as well as to stimulate economic growth. We have had a year to see whether these policies would work. We have had a year to listen to political charges that they could fail, and have listened to skeptics who said America's economy was doomed.

Let us look at the record.' Recent economic reports indicate that inflation has been cut from 6.1 percent in 1969 to 2.9 percent in the last year. Over 82.6 million Americans have jobs today more than ever before. Since May of 1971 alone almost 2 and half million new Jobs have been created. Interest rates are down -- unemployment is down -- and our Gross National Product is solidly on the way up.

In short, the, President’s economic policies are working. More Americans are working and making more money today than at any previous time in American history. But more important, not only are America's workers making more money, but in contrast with any previous time, their money is buying more.

President 'Nixon and this Administration are unequivocally committed to continuing these policies for our economic prosperity.

You are at the threshold of one of the greatest undertakings in the history of our Nation -- the development of Alaska's natural and mineral resources.

It is an awesome task. A task which will provide the greatest challenge to your spirited leadership.

As I stand here before you l am convinced that you have that capacity, I am convinced that you will answer that challenge -- for Alaska's people, areas great as their State

Reaffirming the administration's commitment to what President Nixon described as "a new era in which the future for American Indians is determined by Indian acts and Indian decisions," Secretary of the'" Interior Rogers C. B. Morton highlighted recent accomplishments in achieving Indian self-determination before the National Tribal Chairmen's Association at Eugene, Oregon Monday.

He applauded the efforts of the emerging Indian leadership. "They are leading the American Indian into a self-determined age. America's Indian tribes are awakening and on the move," he said.

Reviewing funding for Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, he noted that BIA funding has doubled from $249 million to over $530 million in just four years. During the same period the number of BIA executive positions filled by Indians has risen dramatically. "The number of Indians serving as BIA area directors has risen from lout of -11 to 7 out: of a possible 12," Norton said.

There have been similar dramatic changes in education, he noted. Funding for Indian college scholarships has risen from $3 million to over $15 million in the last four years and today all 200 BIA schools have an Indian advisory school board or education committee.

Economic development has also been encouraging; he said. Norton cited successes in the reservation industrial development program, noting that there are over 220 plants employing over 6,500 Indians on or near reservations today, and that there have been similar accomplishments through the Indian Business Development fund and Tribal Work Experience Programs.

Morton further noted, that "key portions of desperately needed legislation" in the Congress now should be passed in order to continue the progress of recent years.

Concluding a review of "incredible strides in education, economic development, and the achievement of self-determination," Morton stated that "never at any time in the last half century has the Indian's path for a self-determined future been so clear."