OPA

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus announced today that amended interim regulations governing off-reservation treaty fishing rights by Michigan tribes in the waters of Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron and connecting waters will be published in the Federal Register this week. The regulations will be effective immediately upon publication, Andrus said, and will govern fishing during the 1980 season pending preparation of final regulations. The Secretary said he has asked Michigan Governor William Milliken to join him in calling a conference in Michigan in early May to develop final regulations and enforcement methods that "will protect the Great Lakes fishery resource and establish equilibrium among all those who use it." The interim regulations amend / Interior Department regulations published in November 1979 after a Federal district court ruled that under terms of an 1836 treaty the State of Michigan lacked authority to regulate Indian treaty fishing rights. Both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources were consulted before publication of the regulations. Two days of public hearings on the regulations were held in Michigan last February and the Department received public comment on them through March 3, 1980. Andrus noted that the regulations were still in an interim mode because the extensive discussions among Interior, State and tribal officials failed to produce agreement on necessary conservation measures for the 1980 season. "I am pleased to note that these regulations reflect a strong tribal commitment to conserve the fishing resource in the Great Lakes," Andrus said.

"Certain areas of Lake Michigan will be closed to treaty fishing for any purpose provided that the State of Michigan also closes these areas to fishermen under its jurisdiction. The goal of this action is to allow naturally reproduced lake trout to increase to 50 percent of the adult lake trout population." The regulations also establish a total allowable catch for whitefish and bloater chub in each district and provide for a 30-day reduction, in the interestz3.of conservation, in the number of lake trout--caught during target fishing for other species--that may be retained by tribal fisherman. The limits were recommended by an Ad Hoc Technical Working Group made up of Federal, State and tribal representatives. "The conference I have suggested for May is extremely important to bring together tribal, State and Federal representatives to develop more permanent regulations which would maintain the lower catch limits voluntarily adopted by the tribes, at my suggestion, for the 30-day period," Andrus said. "I have been impressed with the willingness by all concerned to discuss these issues and hope that our common goal of a pr0tected future for all who use the resource will help us reach agreement on these critical issues, "he said. Written comments on the amended interim regulations may be submitted for30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Comments should be send to the Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has published eligibility criteria and application procedures for Indian tribes interested in participating in the Tribal Managers Corps program, Commissioner of Indian Affairs William E. Hallett said today.

The Federal Register notice of June 16 also briefly describes the nature of the program, which offers tribes the opportunity to obtain the assistance of professional managers and administrators who will assist them in their management needs and help develop the tribes' capabilities for self-determination According to the notice, initial selections of tribes eligible for the program will be made by September 1 and the first placement of managers will be completed by October 15, 1980.

The eligibility criteria require that the tribe have an updated comprehensive reservation development plan, that the tribal council formally express its desire to participate in the program and that the tribe have a plan to continue the position/ program once the assignment of the tribal manager is completed.

The professional managers to be made available to the tribes for one year assignments will be volunteers from private industry and Federal, State and local government agencies. For further information contact Leroy Fair, Tribal Managers Corps, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 18th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20245, (202/343-3163)

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus today commended the nomination by President Carter of Thomas W. Fredericks to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs.

"We are pleased that Tom Fredericks will be returning to Interior, this time as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs," Andrus said. "This is an extremely important position to the Indian community and the Nation as a whole. He is among the Nation's most qualified Indians and will handle matters of great importance to Native Americans

Fredericks, 37, previously was Associate Solicitor for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior from July 1977 to November 1979, when he resigned to head his own law firm in Boulder, Colorado. At Interior he was the chief legal officer on all legal matters involving American Indians.

Born March 3, 1943, at Elbowoods, North Dakota, Fredericks is a member of the Mandan-Hidatsa Tribe. He graduated from North Dakota's Minot State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1965 and from the University of Colorado Law School in 1972.

One of the original founders of the Native American Rights Fund, Fredericks was associated with the Fund from 1971 to 1977. During the period the Fund represented a number of Indian tribes on major issues. From June '1975 to July 1977 he was chief executive officer of the Fund, supervising a staff of 60 at Boulder, Colorado.

He was a management consultant: for several Indian tribes between 1970 and 1974. From 1966 to 1969 he was administrator of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe at Fort Yates North Dakota, and taught high school at Bowbells, North Dakota, in 1965·66.

A member of the Colorado State Bar, North Dakota State Bar, and the American Indian Lawyers Association, Fredericks is married and has two children. He was president of the American Indian Lawyers Association in 1973.

Interior under Secretary James A. Joseph said today that the Institute of American Indian Art will continue its operations at its campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

However, Joseph said that responsibility for the Institute will be transferred from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

"This Institute is a unique and valuable cultural asset--not just to Native Americans but to all Americans,” said Joseph." It must not only survive; it must expand and grow. While there have been problems over the years--problems of management, guidance and attendant declining enrollment-- I believe these can be overcome and I have directed an intensive effort to that end." Meanwhile,

Joseph said, Grades 10, 11 and 12 from the Albuquerque Indian School will continue to use a portion of the Institute's campus until facilities at the Albuquerque school can be renovated and are again suitable for their use. The three grades were allowed to move to the Institute last fall because space was available there and some of the buildings in Albuquerque were considered unsafe for use. The joint use of the campus has caused considerable tension among the students, faculty and administrations of both schools. Founded as a high school level art school in 1962, the Institute now provides a two year post high school curriculum for. Indian students. The Albuquerque Indian School was founded as a Presbyterian sponsored school in 1881, taken over by the U.S. Government in 1886 and operated as an Indian boarding school for 90 years. It is-now managed by the All-Indian Pueblo Council under the provision of the Indian Self-Determination Act.

Joseph said he has directed the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to develop interim plans for the two schools to share the facilities in Santa Fe while developing plans and schedules -for the rehabilitation of the Albuquerque campus. "At the same time I have asked the Assistant Secretary to develop plans for the efficient .management of the Institute with substantial input from the Native American Council of Regents working toward the goal of eventually establishing Native American administration of the facility."

The BIA's Office of Indian Education Programs has appointed new chiefs for four of its six Central Office Divisions, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs Sidney Mills announced today.

Dr. Noah Allen has been named Chief of Elementary and Secondary Education; Leroy Falling, Chief of Post-Secondary Education; Carmen Taylor, Chief of Student Support Services; and Dr. Charles Cordova Chief of Exceptional Education. Student

Support Services and Exceptional Education are new divisions created in compliance with Title XI of PL 95-561, the Education Amendments of 1978.

Dr. Earl Barlow, Director of the Office of Indian Education Programs/, said “the filling of these key positions enable us to move ahead rapidly in implementing Public Law 95-561 and in providing a more relevant and quality education for Indian people.”

Allen, a member of the Euchee (Creek) tribe, now heads the division that Dr. Gabe Paxton, Acting Deputy Director of the Office, described as the heart of BIA education programs. The Division provides funding and direction for a Federal Indian school system of 224 schools that enrolls more than 43,000 Indian students. It also administers funds for special programs for more than Indian students attending public schools.

Allen has been an educator and a student of education for 28 years. The Haskell graduate received an M.A. in education from Kansas State College and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. From 1950 to 1957 he served as a teacher and a coach in public schools of Kansas and Oklahoma. He has been on staff of five universities as an athletic coach, professor, and from 1970 to 1974 he was coach, athletic director, and chairman of the Life Division at Haskell Indian Junior College at Lawrence, Kansas.

Leroy Falling, Cherokee, is in charge of the Bureau's grant assistance program for more than 20,000 Indian college students. His division administers the three Bureau post-secondary institutions and works with Indian tribally controlled community colleges.

Falling has worked in education programs of the BIA 24 years, striving to bring greater educational opportunities to Indians. His special concern is for those who have had little opportunity for education but really want to learn.

After receiving his B.A. from Anderson College in l950, Falling received an M.S. from Northern Arizona University as a prelude to doctoral studies. Warner Pacific College, where he received an A.A. in 1948, recently awarded falling an honorary doctorate of Human Letters for "contributions to the educational needs of Native Americans" through "energetic and responsible leadership within the BIA."

Carmen Taylor, a member of the Flathead Tribe, directs the new Division of Student Support Services created to improve student education outside of the classroom. This encompasses dormitory living, counseling and career guidance, testing, and activities and recreation. Taylor will be working to implement dormitory living standards and students rights regulations mandated in PL 95-561

Taylor received a B.A. from the University of Montana in 1971 and an M.E. from Montana State University in 1979. From 1971 to 1974 she was a counselor, assistant director, and director for the University of Montana's Upward Bound and Special Services Program for disadvantaged students. She has also been an education consultant for Montana's Department of Education in equal learning and opportunities.

Dr. Charles Cordova's new Division of Exceptional Education is assisting handicapped Indian students between the ages of three and21 enrolled in BIA operated or funded schools. The division is in the initial phase of implementing comprehensive special education programs in compliance with PL 95-561 and PL 94-142, the Education for all Handicapped Children Act. After receiving a B.S. in biology and chemistry and an M.S. in learning disabilities, Cordova earned a Ph.D. from the University of Northern Colorado. Cordova was assistant professor of special education at Northern Colorado University in 1973 and director of public education for the public schools in Pueblo, Colorado from 1974 to 1976. Since then he has been a state planning officer in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The other Central Office Divisions in the Office of Indian Education Programs are the Division of Planning and Program Development, headed by Jerry Waddell, and the Division of Management Support, with Edward Marich serving as Acting Chief.

Albert D. Kahklen, an Alaska Native born at Haines, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Anchorage Agency in Alaska, Commissioner of Indian Affairs William E. Hallett announced today

Kahklen has been a regional development chief for the Alaska Area Native Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, in Anchorage since 1975. His appointment as the BIA Superintendent was effective July 13.

A former Equal Employment Opportunity Officer in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) in Anchorage, Kahklen, 41, worked at .the BIA Anchorage Agency in 1971-72 as an employment and vocational guidance specialist.

Kahklen is a graduate of the Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. He earned a B.S. degree in 1970 and a M.A. in psychology in 1971.

Final 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 purpose of the revisions, which incorporate suggestions offered by interested persons as well as by the tribes concerned, is to improve procedures for the administration of the statutes and to simplify and reduce language in the regulations.

Proposed revisions to the regulations were published in the Federal Register on October 9, 1979 (44 FR 57948) and the public was given until January 24, 1980, to comment on the proposals. In light of the comments received, several changes to the proposed revisions were made in drafting the final regulations. The major changes are:

1. Fair market valuation of property purchased by a tribe is to be determined as of the date of decedent's death rather than as of the date of taking by the tribe. As a result of this change, a second appraisal report is no longer necessary and its requirement has been removed.
2. There is now only one 60-day period after issuance of the probate decision in which: (a) a party aggrieved by the probate decision can file a petition for rehearing; (b) a tribe can purchase available interests; and (c) a party aggrieved by the exercise of the tribal option or the valuation of the interests purchased can file a demand for hearing; provided, however, that an aggrieved party will have at least 20 days from the date the tribe exercises its option to purchase available interests to file such a demand.
3. A tribe no longer has to deposit 10 percent of the value when it elects to purchase available interests, paying off balance plus interest within 1 year from the date of election. Instead a tribe now has 2 years from the date of decedents or 1 year from the date of election, whichever is later, to pay free the full fair market value of the property purchased. The procedure for payment, default and damages in the event of default, because they are substantive matters, are not to be determined by an Administrative Law Judge.

Proposed regulations governing mining and mineral development on Indian lands are being published in the Federal Register, Deputy Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Thomas W. Fredericks said today.

The proposed regulations are designed to enable Indian mineral owners, both tribal and individual, to exercise greater responsibility in the development and management of their minerals and other natural resources. They permit the Indian owners to attempt to maximize the economic return on mineral development and to minimize the adverse effects of such development on Indian culture and the environment.

Coal mining operations on Indian lands are governed by separate regulations and are not included under these proposed regulations.

Comments on the regulations should be sent within 60 days of publication to the Office of Trust Responsibilities, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Washington, D.C. 20245. For additional information contact Tom Riggs at the above, address, 202/343-3722 or David Jones, Office of the Solicitor, Department of the Interior 202/343-9331.

Henry A. Dodge, a member of the Navajo Tribe, has been appointed Superintendent- of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Fort Apache Agency at Whiteriver, Arizona, Commissioner of Indian Affairs William E. Hallett said today.

Dodge has been the Supervisory General Engineer, Branch of Land Operations, in the Phoenix Area Office since 1977. He was the BIA Natural Resource Manager at the Chinle Agency on the Navajo Reservation 1972-76 and worked as Civil Engineer for the Bureau at Fort Defiance, Arizona, for more than 10 years.

A graduate of the University of New Mexico in Civil Engineering, Dodge also attended Manhattan College in New York and, in 1976-77 participated in the Interior Department's Manager Development Program.

Proposed regulations to govern the preparation of three separate rolls of Delaware Indians eligible to share in the distribution of $4 million in Indian Claims Commission awards are being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs William E. Hallett said today.

On August 1, 1980, President Carter signed legislation (P.L. 96-38) setting forth provisions for the distribution of the judgment funds among four Delaware groups: the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma, Cherokee Delawares, Kansas Delawares and Idaho Delawares.

The law provides compensation to the Kansas and Idaho Delawares for their exclusion from an earlier award divided among the Cherokee Delawares and the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma and then directs that 17 percent of the balance be apportioned to the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma, with the remainder divided on a per capita basis among the Cherokee, Kansas and Idaho Delawares.

The three rolls of Delawares to be prepared are: 1) a tribal membership roll of the Delaware Indians of Western Oklahoma; 2) a descendancy roll of Kansas and Idaho Delawares excluded from the earlier award; and 3) a descendancy roll of Cherokee, Kansas and Idaho Delawares. Comments on the proposed regulations should be sent within 30 days of publication to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Tribal Government Services 1951 Constitution Avenue, N. W., Washington, D. C. 20245. For further information, call Kathleen Slover at 703/235-8276.