OPA

Sidney L. Mills, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, has been named Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Albuquerque area, Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today. Mills was formerly Executive Assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Gerard also announced the appointment of Roland Johnson as Deputy Director of the Albuquerque area. Johnson, a former tribal operations officer in the area office, has been on leave from BIA to serve as the Governor of the Pueblo of Laguna.

The Albuquerque area, one of 12 regional jurisdictions for the Bureau, includes most of New Mexico and Colorado. It includes three agencies serving Pueblo Indian groups, and five other agencies serving the Jicarilla Apaches, Mescalero Apaches, Ramah Navajos, Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes.

A Navy veteran, Mills, 52, entered Federal service in 1973 in the Aberdeen, South Dakota Area Office. He was the Supply and Contract Officer and, for almost a year, the Acting Deputy Area Director before transferring to Washington, D.C, in August 1975.

Mills had been Purchasing Manager for the Great Western Sugar Company; Merchandise Control Manager, Creative Merchandising Inc.; and Purchasing Manager for Sundstrand Aviation, all in Denver, Colo.

A native of Porcupine, South Dakota, Mills attended the Santa Fe Indian High School and completed numerous courses in management, marketing, and other subjects at Colorado, Arizona, Stanford, Denver and Harvard Universities.

Johnson, a full-blooded member of the Laguna Pueblo, has been Governor of the Pueblo since January, 1975. Prior to becoming Tribal Operations Officer in 1971 in the Albuquerque office, he was Chief Staffing Specialist and Servicing Personnel Officer in the BIA's Central Office in Washington, D.C.

An alumnus of New Mexico State University, Johnson, 39, began his career with BIA in 1965. He worked in personnel and employee relations in both the Navajo and Albuquerque area offices. He graduated from the Albuquerque Indian High School and completed Interior's Departmental Management Training Program in 1970.

Johnson received New Mexico's Distinguished Public Service Award in 1975.

Proposed rules, revising and updating regulations implementing a section of Public Law 93-638 concerning the construction of public schools on or near Indian reservations, are being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) authorized the Secretary of the Interior to contract with state education agencies or school districts for the construction or renovation of public school facilities serving reservation Indian students.

The proposed rules incorporate recommendations obtained in consultations Indian tribes and organizations since the original regulations were made effective in December, 1975. In both 1976 and 1977 Indian groups were asked to comment on the regulations and suggest changes.

The proposed rules also reflect a memorandum of agreement between the U. S. Office of Education and the Bureau of Indian Affairs on procedures for implementation and funding of the construction contracts.

Comments on the proposed rules should be sent within 30 days after publication to the Indian Self-Determination Staff, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 18th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20245.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that proposed revisions in the regulations governing contracts and grants under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) were published in the Federal Register March 28.

The Self-Determination Act regulations require that the Bureau annually consult with Indian tribes and organizations about the need to revise the regulations. These proposed changes are the result of the consultation with Indian tribes and organizations.

Probably the most significant change being proposed is the addition of procedures to deal with the situation in which a contract proposal is adequate but the Bureau does not have sufficient funds to fund it. Comments on the proposed regulations should be sent within 30 days of publication to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Code l06t 18th and C Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20245

Fred Thompson, Jr., has been made Assistant Area Director, Community Services, in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Navajo Area Office, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Thompson, a member of the Navajo Tribe, has been the Housing Development Officer in the area office since August, 1976.

After serving as Assistant Executive Director of the Navajo Housing Authority, Thompson, 34, became Housing Development Officer at the Fort Defiance Agency in 1971. He transferred to the area office in 1974.

An alumnus of the University of New Mexico, Thompson was a field director with the Navajo Office of Economic Opportunity and has held other jobs with the tribe.

Wilfred Brown, a Navajo, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' agency at Fort Defiance, Arizona Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The Fort Defiance agency is one of five serving the huge Navajo Reservation.

Brown, 38, has been Administrative Manager and Program Officer at the agency. He previously worked for the Navajo Tribe as a planning assistant and economic planner.

An Army veteran, Brown earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering and Industrial Design at Arizona State University.

Frederick S, Bigjim, an Eskimo, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs agency at Bethel, Alaska, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Bigjim, who has a Master's degree in education from Harvard, has been an administrator and instructor at the Kuskokwim Community College at Bethel.

A graduate of the University of Alaska, Bigjim was Executive Officer for that university's Rural Education Affairs Division in Anchorage in 1975-76. He has also served as Director of Alaska Methodist University’s Intercultural Studies program.

Born in Nome in 1941, Bigjim was a member of the Bank Street School of Education team which completed an extensive study of early childhood education needs in the Indian community. He was also part of a national Indian team evaluating the Chemawa Indian School at Salem, Oregon.

From 1969 to 1972 Bigjim worked for the Alaska Federation of Native’s, administering a state-wide job training and education program.

Bigjim is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Haskell Indian Junior College at Lawrence, Kansas. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Indian School Board of Regents. He is active in many Alaskan organizations.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs has drafted proposed rules for its revised program to remove from the roll of Alaska Natives the names of those ineligible under terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The proposed rules will be published this week in the Federal Register.

The Settlement Act directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare within two years of passage of the act an official roll to be used to determine distribution of land and funds. The huge task was not completed by the deadline because administrative appeals were still pending. The roll was certified subject to change due to future legal determinations.

By 1974, it became clear that the roll might contain names of people ineligible for enrollment under the act. The Bureau of Indian Affairs began a program to eliminate ineligible individuals.

The Alaska Native Corporations approved the idea of such a program, but objected to the way in which it was implemented, a BIA spokesman said. Natives claimed the procedures were so complex that most people could not understand them. Native leaders also feared default judgements might be entered against natives who failed to answer complaints. They also charged the eligibility of many natives was challenged without adequate investigation.

In response to the criticism, Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus called for a full review of the program. Andrus determined that failure to finalize the roll was interfering with the process of conveying land to Native Corporations. In order to finalize the roll promptly, he has directed that the disenrollment program be limited to those names now being contested because of:

--Death before or birth after December 18, 1971, the date the act was passed.

--Enrollment as of April 1, 1970, to the Metlakatla Indian Community

--No native ancestry and lack of U.S. citizenship either by birth or naturalization.

The proposed rules will not alter the current deadline for contesting enrollments and will not allow the filing of any new or additional challenges.

Written comments on the proposed regulations must be received within 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Comments may be addressed to Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20245.

Members of a Task Force appointed in December 1977 to prepare recommendations on the restructuring of the Bureau of Indian Affairs presented their final report to Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today.

The report will be published in the Federal Register and distributed to Indian tribes and organizations for connect through June 30, 1978.

After analysis of the report and consideration of the comments, Secretary Andrus will make specific decisions early in August on the management and organizational structure of the bureau, together with a schedule for carrying out the changes.

A preliminary report of the Task Force was presented to Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph on March 31.

"While I have not had an opportunity to study the report in detail and have reached no conclusions on any of its specific recommendations, I share the basic conclusion of the Task Force that the organization and operation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs needs to be improved," Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus said today.

"One of my primary aims as Secretary of the Interior is to carry out a fair and vigorous program for the benefit of our American Indian citizens. This requires that we provide a firm basis for Indian self-determination, that tribal governments are strengthened, that the trust responsibilities of the Federal Government are conducted effectively, and that services to the Indian people are provided efficiently.

"While changes will be instituted in an orderly fashion and every effort will be made to minimize any hardship on BIA employees and upon established relationships between the tribes and BIA officials, I am committed to the principle that basic improvement in the Bureau is necessary if we are to help meet the many challenges faced today by the American Indian people."

The preface to the Task Force report states that the group focused on what it viewed as the major organizational issues and problems.

The recommendations in the 130 page report include the following:

--The top level organization should consist of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs with three principal Deputies--for planning and evaluation, for operations (Commissioner), and for budget and finance (Comptroller).

--To reflect the high level of commitment to self-determination on the part of the Bureau, program and policy implementation for P.L. 93-638, the Self-Determination Act, should be placed under the Deputy Assistant Secretary --Planning and Evaluation.

--Consideration should be given to the location of field offices, there should be a review of each Area Office on a case-by-case basis to consider the need to retain or combine these offices.

--Top management should have the option of utilizing "Schedule C" appointments to fill Area Director Positions.

Among the areas studied for improving the BIA were: planning, advocacy, trust protection services, human resource development, natural resource development, social service delivery, personnel and administrative services, and consultation.

In addition to twice monthly meetings in Washington, D.C., the Task Force also held field hearings in Phoenix, Arizona; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; and Duluth, Minnesota.

The 11-member Task Force included representatives of the National Congress of American Indians and the National Tribal Chairmen's Association; two repre­sentatives of the BIA named by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard; a representative of Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy, Budget and Administration Larry Meierotto; and six public members. The public members included Stewart L. Udall, former Secretary of the Interior.

Members of Task Force were: Robert D. Hampton, vice president, ATE Management, Arlington, Va.; Willie Hensley, executive vice president, NANA Regional Corp., Inc., Kotzebue, Ak.; Ted Marston, vice president, Cummins Engine Company, Columbus, In.; Dave Ushio, special assistant in office of policy, budget, and administration, Department of the Interior, Washington: D. C.

Also Lorraine Misiaszek, acting director, Advocates for Indian Education, Spokane, Wa.; Jim Sansaver, resources development office, Billings area office, Billings, Mt.; Dr. Thomas Sawyer, director, ARIES Consulting Corp., Provo, Ut.; Ronald Toya, reservation program office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southern Pueblo Agency, Albuquerque, N.M.

Also Ray Goetting, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, D. C.; Stewart L. Udall, of counsel, Duncan, Brown, Weinberg & Palmer, Washington, D. C.; Earl Old Person, National Tribal Chairmen's Association, Washington, D. C.

A plan for the distribution and use of more than $6 million awarded to the Potawatomi Nation is being published in the Federal Register, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

The judgment award, granted by the Indian Claims Commission, is compensation for lands in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan ceded to the United States by the Indians during the treaty making period of 1795 to 1833.

The funds will be shared by members of the Prairie Band Citizens Band, Hannahville Indian Community, Forest County Potawatomi Community, and lineal descendants, who are United States Citizens, of Michigan and Indiana Potawatomis, including Huron, Pokagon and other Bands. The Secretary of the Interior will publish rules to govern the enrollment of these eligible descendants.

The tribal groups will distribute 80 percent of their share to members on a per capita basis, except for the Hannahville Indian Community which will distribute 40 percent. The balance will be retained for future tribal programs. All of the descendant group's portion will be distributed per capita.

This plan was approved by Congress and made effective March 6, 1978.

Persons wanting additional information should contact the Anadarko Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Anadarko, Oklahoma, 73005, or the Minneapolis Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402.

A recent Supreme Court decision that Indian tribes have no inherent criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians does not leave a void in criminal law enforcement on reservations, Interior Department Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz said in an opinion released today

"The purpose of the opinion is to emphasize that the Supreme Court decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe--while very explicit in the narrow area it covers--does not call into question other clearly established principles of law regarding Indians," Krulitz said. "We do not have to ask ourselves, 'If tribes have no criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians for acts committed on reservations, who does'? The answer is clear and unchanged: the federal government does."

Krulitz said the Supreme Court has reiterated the conclusion that the United States has jurisdiction over crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians or their property. That jurisdiction is exclusive, Kru1itz said, citing a 1946 Supreme Court ruling that, while state courts may have jurisdiction over offenses committed by non-Indians against non-Indians, the laws and courts of the U.S. have jurisdiction over offenses against Indians by non-Indians. As recently as 1976, the Solicitor said, a federal appellate court held that offenses committed by non-Indians against Indians may not be prosecuted under state law.

"Except where a state has acquired, by Act of Congress, jurisdiction over Indian country within its borders, Bureau of Indian Affairs police and tribal police commissioned by the federal government may arrest non-Indians for offenses committed against Indians or their property in Indian country," said Krulitz.

"We are not merely talking about specific offenses described in federal statutes, either. Under the Assimilative Crimes Act, state laws are often adopted as federal law for federal enclaves. Offenses under these laws are punishable according to the law of the state in which the enclave is located. II

Krulitz pointed out that prosecution for such crimes must be by the Department of Justice before a federal district court judge or a federal magistrate. He advised the Bureau of Indian Affairs to work closely with the Justice Department to set up procedures to ensure cooperation.

Here are other major points in the opinion:

--BIA or tribal police who carry state commissions may also arrest non-Indians for violations of state law, even when no Indians or Indian property is involved. Non-Indians arrested for those crimes may be tried only in state courts.

--The U.S. continues to have jurisdiction over Indians and non-Indians alike who violate federal laws applying across the nation or who violate substantive criminal laws applicable only to Indian country, such as Indian liquor laws or bans on hunting or fishing on Indian lands without permission.