OPA

Assistant Secretary of the' Interior Richard S. Bodman announced today that Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters personnel are now all back at work. Interior Secretary Rogers C. B. Morton vested authority for administrative control of all Indian operations in Bodman, Assistant secretary for Management
and Budget, on December 2.

Mr. Bodman said that the Offices of Planning, Engineering, Community, Services and Economic Development are located at Tempo 8, 3800 Newark Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The Offices of Indian Water Rights, Communications, Legislative Development, Education Programs, Management Systems, Fiscal Plans and Management, Administrative Services and the Director of Southeast Agencies are located at 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.

"We are moving aggressively to insure that services provided to Indian people by the Bureau of Indian Affairs are provided in a timely and effective fashion" Mr. Bodman said.

Among the steps taken by Bodman are: Assignment of duties to his deputies, Charles G. Emley, Richard R. Hite, and William L. Rogers to administer the operation of the day-to-day activities of the BIA; institution of a management reporting system which will furnish feedback on progress and problems of the headquarters and field supervisors of BIA on a weekly basis; assignment of increased responsibility to the 11 area directors in the field to reassign and transfer personnel previously requiring Washington headquarters approval.

"It is essential that we continue to provide the critical and life supporting services to Indians without interruption," Mr. Bodman said.

Competitive bidding for oil and gas leases in the rich Williston Basin field, under supervision of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is bringing higher financial returns to Fort Peck Indians than if direct negotiations with the Indians for the lands were permitted, Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay said today.

Two good illustrations of the value of Bureau supervised sales were revealed this week at a competitive sale on the Fort Peck reservation in eastern Montana.

In one case, Indian heirs owning a two-third's interest in a 40-acre tract were offered $26.50 an acre bonus for a lease. In the sale held by the Bureau, the heirs will receive more than 30 times that amount, or $822.56 an acre. The owners also have good prospects that a well will be drilled on their land in the near future as there is a producing well located on an adjacent tract. Standard Bureau leases require offset drilling to protect leased land from drainage.

The other instance of the value of competitive bidding came to light in the sale, A woman member of the tribe, received an offer of a $19,000 bonus for an oil and gas lease on 320 acres. She had sought a fee patent for the land, but the Bureau, exercising its responsibilities instead, included the land in the recent sale. Under competitive bids she received a bonus of $33,737.60.

In another case a tribesman sought a fee patent after receiving an offer of $17,500 for the outright sale of surface and mineral rights on a 320-acre tract. Believing that the minerals were worth many times that amount, the Bureau included the land in a sale held last March 27. Three times more than the amount offered for outright sale, or $56,807.60 was received, In addition, the owner like all the other Indian lessors, will receive the standard annual rental of $1.25 per acre and a 12 1/2 percent royalty on all oil and gas produced.

Another illustration of the competitive bid system involved a Fort Peck Indian who several months ago sought a fee patent in order to sell his 320-acre tract for $3,520. Acting on the belief that the full market value of the land could be realized only through competitive bidding, the Bureau held and advertised sale of the land. It brought the Indian owner $16,000.

Secretary McKay explained the Department and Bureau have received many urgent requests recently for fee patents and for negotiated oil and gas leases on the Fort Peck Reservation, which is located within the Williston Basin and has been a center of intense oil and gas activity in recent months. In all of the cases cited by the Secretary and many others the Bureau has been functioning in its role as trustee for Indian lands to protect the owners and assure them the greatest possible returns.

Secretary McKay pointed out that the objective of the Department is to terminate Federal responsibility for administering the affairs of individual Indian tribes as rapidly as the circumstances of each tribe will permit. He emphasized, however, that as long as the Bureau continues to have trust responsibilities it will discharge them to the best of its ability and in the best interest of the Indians.

Glenn L. Emmons, Gallup, New Mexico, today nominated by President Eisenhower to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs, is 570 He was born at Atmore, Alabama in 1895. His family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where he attended public school and the University of New Mexico, leaving the University in 1917 for military service. He was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps.

Discharged from the Army in 1929, he went to Gallup, New Mexico, to enter the banking business in which he has continued until now.

He has had extensive contacts with the Indians in that area. There are 75,000 Indians in the Navajo tribe alone, and perhaps another 15,000 in other tribes in the immediate area, Gallup is known as the Indian capital of the southwest. Among the other tribes in that area are the Hopis, Lagunas, Zunis, Apaches, Utes, and Pueblos.

In keeping with President Eisenhower’s campaign pledge to confer with the Indians on the appointment of an Indian Commissioner, Orme Lewis, Assistant Secretary of the Interior has conferred with about 150 different groups of Indians representing about 75% of the Indians with whom the Bureau of Indian Affairs has any business. He has been holding these conferences almost daily for four months.

The selection of Mr. Emmons followed the withdrawal of Alva Simpson, Jr., of Santa Fe State Welfare Director of New Mexico, who asked that his name be not given serious consideration, due to the pressure of his own activities in his own State. Mr. Simpson had been loyally supported by groups of friends in that area. Prior to announcement of Mr. Emmons nomination, Secretary McKay received the following telegram from Gov. Edwin L. Mechem of New Mexico:

"Please stop consideration of Alva Simpson's name as Indian Commissioner. As director of New Mexico's welfare department he has assumed additional important duties and greater responsibility with proportionate salary increase. He is most valuable to New Mexico and we need him here."

Dr. James Raymond Shaw has been assigned from the United States Public Health Service to serve as chief of the Branch of Health of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay announced today.

Dr. Shaw comes to his new assignment from the position of Chief of the Division of Hospitals, Bureau of Medical Services in the PHS. In this position, which he has held for the past year, he has been responsible for the supervision and management of the entire system of PHS hospitals and outpatient clinics.

As chief of the Indian Bureau's Branch of Health, he will assume similar responsibilities for supervising the administration of 59 Indian Service hospitals in 15 States and Alaska. In addition, his responsibilities will include supervision of the public health phases of the Indian Bureau’s health program.

Born in Yale, Michigan in 1908, Dr. Shaw graduated from Michigan State Normal School and was a high school teacher for three years before entering the University of Michigan Medical School in 1932. He served an internship at the New Orleans PHS hospital in 1936 and was admitted to the commissioned corps of the PHS in 1938.

After two years of PHS service in Washington, he was granted a fellowship at the Mayo Clinic for postgraduate study. From 1941 to 1944 he served as chief of the Department of Medicine in San Francisco PHS hospital and subsequently was assigned as district medical officer, Coast Guard, Long Beach, Calif.

In 1945 Dr. Shaw was promoted to senior surgeon and concurrently was elected a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. That same year he was advanced to the position of medical officer in charge of Los Angeles and San Pedro clinics, and remained there until 1949. From 1949 to 1952 he was medical officer in charge of Detroit PHS hospital.

Dr. Shaw succeeds Dr. Fred Foard, another PHS career officer, who retired last October,. Dr. Burnet M. Davis, who has been serving in the interim as acting chief of the Bureau's Branch of Health, was recently reassigned to the PHS’s Division of International Health.

A 36-year career in the Bureau of Indian Affairs ended on July 31 when Leroy D. Arnold, Chief Forest and Range Managemen, retired, Mr,. Arnold who lives at 2110 Hildarose Drive, Silver Spring, Md., began work with the Indian service as a forest fire guard at Warm Springs Indian Agency, Oregon, June 1917. He has served as forest ranger at Warm Springs and Yakima agencies and was deputy forest supervisor at Tulalip Agency, Washington. He also served for a time as superintendent of Klamath Agency, Oregon and since 1941 has been chief of the Bureau's Forest and Range Management branch.

Born in Kansas in 1888, he was educated in local schools and taught school for four years before he was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1917 with a bachelor of science degree in forestry.

Another personnel change in the Bureau was the transfer of Peru Farver, superintendent at Turtle Mountain Consolidated Agency, Belcourt, N. Dak., to the superintendency at Fort Hall Agency, Fort Hall, Idaho. He succeeds Earl Wooldridge who has retired.

Supt. Farver, a Choctaw Indian has been at Turtle Mountain for two years, He entered the Bureau service in 1910 as a teacher at Union Agency, Muskogee, Okla. He has had various assignments in the service including superintendencies at Tomah Agency, S. Dak.; Red Lake, Minn.; and Cheyenne River, S. Dak. No successor has been named at Turtle Mountain.

Transfer of the Southwestern Range and Sheep Breeding Laboratory at Fort Wingate, New Mexico, on August 1, from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, to the Bureau of Animal Industry, Department of Agriculture, was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay. The move fa part of the broad program aimed at narrowing the scope of Indian Bureau operations and transferring responsibilities, wherever possible, to other agencies of Government for to the Indians themselves.

The Fort Wingate Laboratory was established in 1935 for the purpose of producing an improved breed of sheep and a better quality of wool through the crossing of native Navajo stock with high-grade rams. Originally the work was intended primarily for the benefit of the Navajos since sheep raising and the weaving of woolen rugs have been for many years key factors in the Tribe's economy.

The Bureau of Animal Industry, which has cooperated in the laboratory work, is assuming full responsibility under an agreement recently reached between the two bureaus. While emphasis will continue to be placed on the special needs of the southwestern Indians for rug wool, the laboratory will also stress breeding improvements for fleece and mutton production intended to benefit both Indian and non-Indian sheep producers. One of the principal reasons for the transfer was the growing recognition of the results achieved by the laboratory and the realization that its work is beneficial not merely to Navajos but to the whole sheep industry of the Southwest.

Involved in the transfer are 2,439 acres of land along with the buildings, approximately $70,000 of operating funds for the balance of the fiscal year, and the personnel required for the station operations. The director of the laboratory is Stanley L. Smith.

Regulations have been issued to govern distribution of $9.2 million for the Delaware Tribe of Indians and the Absentee Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma, the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs announced
today. The regulations will be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 27.

The new regulations specify procedures to followed by eligible persons in order for them to share in the distribution of judgment funds.

The settlement was made of claims in Indian Claims Commission Dockets 72 and 298 and represents additional payment of $1.4 million for lands in the Delaware Outlet in Kansas. The land was taken in the 1850's and sold under a treaty of 1854. Accumulated interest amounts to $7.8 million.

Pursuant to the Act of Congress signed by President Nixon on October 3, 1972, all persons who meet the following requirements for eligibility are entitled to share in the distribution of funds authorized
by the Act. Eligible persons are those who are citizens of the United States, living on October 3, 1972, whose name, or the name of a lineal ancestor, appears on one of the following rolls:

The Delaware Indian per capita payroll approved by the Secretary of the Interior on April 20, 1906;

The constructed base census roll as of 1940 of the Absentee Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma, approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

In order to share in the distribution of the judgment funds eligible persons must make timely applications to be put on the payment roll. However, applicants for enrollment on the roll of the Delaware Nation of Indians prepared under the Act of September 21, 1968, are not required to apply for enrollment under the 1972 Act as their application under the 1968 Act will also be considered on application under the 1972 Act. Applications from eligible persons who did not apply for enrollment under the 1968 Act must be filed with the Area Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Federal Building, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401; or the Area Director,
Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 368, Anadarko, Oklahoma 73005. Such applications must be postmarked no later than February 28, 1973.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay has announced departmental decisions and clarifications on questions recently raised by a number of South Dakota livestock operators about the sale of grazing privileges at, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the five-year period beginning next November 1.

Following the advertisement for the sale of the grazing privileges at the Pine Ridge Agency in May and early June, four principal questions were raised with the Department. First, it was charged that the minimum rate of $8.75 per head for cattle yearlong for the first year of the permit period was too high in the face of declining livestock prices. Secondly, some of the stockmen objected to the requirement for payment of a tribal tax of three cents per acre for doing business on the reservation. Thirdly, some objected to the provision that no hay shall be cut on the permitted lands without the written approval of the Indian landowners and the agency superintendent. Fourthly, there was objection to the requirement for the development of stock-water facilities on the permitted lands.

On the question of minimum rate for the first year, the Department has determined that the $8.75 figure is equitable as a basis for the first year's grazing fees and should be maintained. Thereafter, fees will be adjusted annually in accordance with the average price of South Dakota beef as reported by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, Department of Agriculture.

In their protests, some of the stockmen had contended that the rate should be $6.25 per head which is the figure established by the Pine Ridge Tribal Council for grazing on the tribal lands of the reservation and recommended by that body for the allotted lands. Under the applicable regulations the Tribal Council has the responsibility for establishing the rates for the tribal land while the Bureau of Indian Affairs is responsible for prescribing the terms and conditions applicable to the allotted lands under grants of authority given to the agency superintendent by the individual Indian owners. Over 90 percent of the grazing area on the Pine Ridge Reservation is allotted land.

After a careful study of the pertinent factors, which included an independent appraisal of grazing values in the area, as well as the recent decline in South Dakota beef prices, the Bureau determined that the $6.25 rate recommended for the allotted lands by the Tribal Council would not be fair to the individual Indian owners and established the rate of $8.75. Subsequently, this rate was also adopted for the tribal lands. At the opening on June 12, it was found that bids on several of the range units where there was competition were considerably higher than this minimum figure.

A subsidiary question raised by some stockmen involved the sliding scale arrangement under which the fees will be adjusted to reflect fluctuations in the market price of South Dakota beef. Their objection was to the minimum rate below which the fees will not be reduced in any event. The department has determined that such a minimum is essential to protect the interests of the Indian landowners.

On the question of the tribal tax, the Department has held that collection of this tax is a responsibility of the Tribe rather than the Bureau and that it should not be included in the stipulations attached to the permits. The Bureau has been instructed to eliminate this requirement from the stipulations.

On the question of hay cutting, the Department has upheld the Bureau's position that the authorizations to issue grazing permits granted by the landowners does not authorize the cutting of hay. Hay cutting permits must, therefore, be obtained from the Indian landowners with the approval of the agency superintendent.

Finally, the Department has determined that the stipulations on stock-water development should be fully clarified for each permittee before the start of the grazing season so that there will be no doubt as to the extent of his obligations. In the event that agreement cannot be reached, the permittee will be allowed to withdraw his bid and his deposit will be refunded. The Bureau has been instructed to take appropriate action on this phase of the stipulation.

Richmond, Virginia’s Junior ROTC Unit of John F. Kennedy High School presented $200 to the Navajo Indians at the U.S. Department of the Interior Building in Washington, D.C. December 27. Accepting the cheek was Interior's Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget Richard S. Bodman. He presently has administrative control of all Indian operations for the Department of the Interior.

In accepting the donation Assistant Secretary Bodman commended the ROTC Unit for their deep interest in helping their fellow Americans who may be less fortunate.

"I know I speak for the Navajo people when I say 'Thank you' and that it will be used in a worthwhile manner indicative of the spirit in which you give it. I am particularly touched by the fact that you went out and
earned this money on your own and then decided to contribute it to such a 'Worthy cause."

Six John F. Kennedy High School ROTC cadets ranging in age from 14 to 17 years-of-age made the presentation. They were led by Sgt. Gerald Clemons, Jr., Junior ROTC Instructor. 'Members of the unit present were Cadet Col. Jerome Ford: Cadet Lt. Col. Melvin Bullock: Cadet Maj. Arthur Gathers, Jr.; Cadet Maj. Thomas Nobles; Cadet Capt. Jerry Owens, and Cadet Capt. Donald Bullock.

In making arrangements for the presentation Clemons pointed out that the decision to raise money for the Indians came after the young people of the ROTC group saw a television documentary that indicated the needs of the Indians. The group held candy sales, cake sales, and other benefits to raise the money they presented to Assistant Secretary Bodman.

Headquarters of the Fort Berthold Indian Agency is being moved from Elbowoods to Newtown, North Dakota, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The move, part of the readjustment and relocation at Fort Berthold made necessary by construction of the Garrison Dam and Reservoir Project of the Missouri River Basin Development, was originally scheduled to take place later. Because of an emergency need to use the agency buildings at Elbowoods for school purposes, however, the move is being undertaken at the present time and should be completed in the next few weeks.