OPA

The 1978 calendar of Indian fairs, exhibits, ceremonials, dances, feasts and other celebrations is now available, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

Most of the events in the state-by-state listings occur in the summer or fall months and are open to tourists and other visitors. The pocket-size booklet lists more than 500 items, giving the nature of the activity, dates and locations.

The booklet also contains some summary information about Indians in the United States and the addresses of Bureau of Indian Affairs field offices.

The calendar may be obtained for $2.25 from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 The stock number is 024-002-00062-4.

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus announced today that a task force has been named to develop a proposed legislative settlement for the Catawba Indian Tribe's South Carolina land claim.

The three-member task force will include Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz; James Moorman, Assistant Attorney General; and Eliot R. Cutler, Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget. Krulitz and Cutler were also members of the Maine Indian Claims task force which developed the proposed settlement of the Passamaquoddy-Penobscot land claims announced in February.

"The Catawba task force will work closely with the tribe, state officials, the South Carolina congressional delegation and others to work out the fairest possible settlement plan consistent with the Catawbas' rights to the land," said Andrus.

The Interior Department recommended last August that the Justice Department begin legal action on behalf of the tribe to recover its 140,000- acre reservation. The 15-mile square area surrounds the town of Rock Hill in the state's north­ central section.

In announcing the legal recommendation last summer, Krulitz noted that the tribe has sought federal help in asserting its claim since 1904. He said the U.S. has a long-neglected duty under the Non-Intercourse Act to nullify the 1840 Treaty with South Carolina.

The tribe occupied a much larger area before 1763 when it relinquished claim to Great Britain on the assurance that possession of the 15 mile square would be secure. After the Revolutionary War, the new U.S. government did not break the 1763 Catawba Treaty, the Solicitor said. The tribe thus claims a vested right in its reservation.

In 1840, after non-Indians had overrun the reservation despite Catawba protests, the tribe finally purported to convey by treaty its remaining title and interest in the 140,000 acres to the State of South Carolina. But the federal government was not involved in negotiations and never consented to the treaty. Under the Non-Intercourse Act, such treaties are void without federal consent.

"We would much prefer a negotiated settlement to lengthy and disruptive litigation," said Andrus. "We hope the task force can accomplish that."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has published a study of Indian tribal courts done by the National American Indian Court Judges Association.

The 200-page book, Indian Courts and the Future, provides basic information about reservation judicial systems, considers the role of the courts under the current policy of Indian self-determination and discusses future needs.

As current issues the book deals with state jurisdiction, the Indian Civil Rights Act, comity/full faith and credit, jurisdiction over non-Indians (prior to the recent Supreme Court decision), and prosecution of major crimes in Indian country. An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in the present court systems is included, together with model standards and a five year plan for support of Indian courts.

The BIA plans to distribute copies of the book to appropriate tribal and Federal officials. A limited number of copies will be available for attorneys and others who may have special interest in the tribal courts.

Requests should be addressed to Bureau of Indian Affairs, Attn: Judicial Services Officer, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20245

Proposed regulations governing the preparation of a roll of lineal descendants of the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River Bands of Chippewa Indians to share in the distribution of funds awarded by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The proposed regulations establish the requirements for enrollment and a deadline for filing applications.

Written comments on the regulations should be sent within 30 days to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Tribal Government Services, 1951 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20245.

For further information call Mitchell L. Bush, Jr., 202-343-6921.

A new director of Bureau of Indian Affairs activities in Eastern Oklahoma was named today. Commissioner, Morris Thompson announced the appointment of Thomas J. Ellison as Muskogee Area Director. Ellison, an Oklahoma Choctaw has been the Acting Area Director since the retirement of Virgil Harrington.

The Muskogee Area, one of the Bureau's 12 field jurisdictions is the second largest in Indian population and the smallest in geographic area. It includes 40 counties in Eastern Oklahoma with approximately 63,000 Indian residents. Most of the other jurisdictions are multi-state. The Area Director has responsibility, directly under the Commissioner, for all Bureau programs and services in the jurisdiction.

Ellison has worked for the Bureau for almost 24 years. A 1950 graduate of Colorado State University, with a major in agriculture, he began his career with the Bureau as a Soil Conservationist. He has held positions as a Loan Examiner, Finance Specialist, Tribal Economics Development Officer and Area Office Loan Specialist. In 1967 he was named Superintendent of the Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota. He was appointed Tribal Operations Officer for the Muskogee Area in December of 1968 and became Deputy Area Director in March of 1972.

Ellison was born in Choctaw County, Oklahoma, in 1924. He received his high school education at the Bureau’s Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kans. He is married to the former Carolyn Fry of Apache, Oklahoma and has two daughters, Glenna, a sophomore at Oklahoma Central State University, and Susan, a high school senior.

Ellison is a World War II veteran.

A plan for the use and distribution of more than $9 million awarded to the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

The award is compensation for reservation land taken by the United States in the early part of this century. The reservation is in North Dakota.

The plan, approved by Congress and made effective March 13, 1978 calls for a per capita distribution of 80 percent of the fund to enrolled members of the Three Affiliated Tribes (the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Tribes).

The remaining 20 percent of the fund will be used for tribal programs, including a land purchase program, legal contingencies, community development and educational scholarships.

Regulations governing Interior Department recognition of assignments by Regional Corporations of future interests in the Alaska Native Fund are being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The regulations will implement Section 31 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended November 15, 1977, which gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to recognize validly executed assignments made by Regional Corporations of their rights to receive payments from the Alaska Native Fund.

The purpose of this provision is to make it possible for the Regional Corporations to give assignees a secured interest in the future distributions from the Fund. This, in turn, enables the Regional Corporations to borrow necessary capital for development projects at reduced interest rates.

The Secretary, under Section 31, may recognize Regional Corporation assignments only to the extent that they do not interfere with required redistributions of certain percentages of the Fund receipts to the Village Corporations in the region and to certain stockholders.

The rules require that a regional corporation provide evidence that the corporation's board of directors has authorized an assignment and that it specifically intended that the Secretary recognize that assignment.

The regulations are to be effective on the date of publication.

Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today that: he is initiating action to help the Oneida Indians of New York resolve internal governmental problems.

Since 1975 the tribe has had no recognized governing body to handle tribal affairs, including negotiations of two large tribal land claims in the state. They had previously functioned under a consensus form of leadership.

Gerard has previously appealed to competing leadership groups to resolve their differences. In January he invited the various leaders; to meet with him to negotiate an internal compromise but only one of the competing groups attended the meeting. Other efforts to have general membership meetings in New York also failed.

Gerard said that his first step toward resolving the governmental impasse would be to complete and certify a roll of tribal members. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Gerard said, has assigned a specialist to complete this task as expeditiously as possible.

This roll would be used to identify persons eligible for BIA services and any settlements from the current claims. It would also establish the eligible participants for choosing a governing system for the tribe.

Gerard said that the Federal Government deeply respects the tribe's right to manage its internal affairs, He added, however, that "as trustee for the Oneidas I have concluded that the importance of the current land claims demands that I involve myself and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in attempting to bring about an equitable solution." I will continue to work with the Oneida people to achieve a working government for the tribe.

Representatives of the Interior Department, other, U.S. agencies, and Alaskan Eskimos met last weekend and reached an understanding on the identification and counting of endangered bowhead whales in an effort to avoid exceeding the Eskimo quota for this year.

The International Whaling Commission last year fixed a quota of 12 bowheads landed, or 18 struck, whichever occurs first. Within the overall quota the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission allocated small quotas for each of the Arctic villages which traditionally rely on the rare whales as a source of food and to perpetuate their ancient culture.

During the past week there have been reports from official sources that one village exceeded its sub-quota. Eskimos contended that some of the landings consisted of another subspecies of right whales, of which bowheads are one group.

Interior officials said this week that following the meeting, Eskimo villages had withdrawn most or all of their whaling crews from the Arctic ice­pack, now undergoing its spring breakup. To date, nine whales have been reported taken by the Eskimos overall.

Last Friday, Interior cautioned the Eskimos about possible quota violations in a message signed by Under Secretary James A. Joseph. It was addressed to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission and to Eben Hopson, mayor of Alaska's North Slope Borough. The text follows:

"I am concerned about reports that some of the Eskimo whaling villages are continuing to hunt bowhead whales when they have already reached and surpassed their quota. These quotas were set by the AEWC and incorporated into U.S. law to comply with the decision of the International Whaling Commission.

"The Department of the Interior provided strong support for the Eskimo positions on whaling and self-enforcement of quotas and regulations set by the AEWC. If the reports of whaling in violation of U.S. law and the AEWC regula­tions are true, I strongly urge the Eskimos to take firm actions now to implement their self-enforcement measures to stop any whaling which violates the village quotas.

"I clearly understand the feelings of the Eskimos who have hunted the bowhead as an integral part of their culture for centuries. Throughout the United States struggle on this issue I have maintained that both the Eskimo culture and the bowhead whale must be protected. In doing so I have considered the ramifications of my position from the international level down to the whaling villages, and have been particularly mindful of our special responsibilities to Alaska Natives. Neither the scientists nor this Department, nor the AEWC until this time, have made the subtle distinction of type of whale within the basic species to which the bowhead belongs, and a justification of continued whaling based upon such a fine distinction raises a question of the sincerity and straightforwardness of Eskimo representations in our effort to obtain adequate hunting provisions this year.

"The United States through the National Marine Fisheries Service is now conducting several scientific studies to determine how many bowhead whales exist. The United States intends to use this information, and information from this Department's cultural/ nutritional study to try to obtain a more adequate provision for the hunting of bowheads by Eskimos. For this to succeed it is essential that regulation and research on bowheads continue in cooperation between the United States Agencies and the Eskimos.

"The Alaskan Eskimo Whaling Commission agreed in March to abide by the quota, on a village-by-village basis. This is an excellent opportunity for Eskimos to prove their ability to self-enforce, and I call upon the Eskimos to act under the AEWC regulatory scheme to continue to respect that quota."

Franklin L. Annette, a Chippewa Indian, has been appointed Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Technical Assistance Center in Denver, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Annette in his new position will be responsible for the administration of programs designed to help Indian tribes and individuals to develop capabilities to construct, maintain, operate and manage tribal facilities and businesses.

He has worked in the BIA's Aberdeen, South Dakota, Area Office since 1973. He was Enrollment and Indian Rights Officer and then Director of Tribal Government and Indian Rights.

A 1968 graduate of the Moorhead, Minnesota State University Annette earned a Master's degree in education counseling from North Dakota State in 1973. He was an instructor and director of Indian programs at North Dakota while completing his studies there.

Annette, 37, has previously worked for the Lutheran Social Service of North Dakota and for the Department of Employment at St. Paul, Minnesota. He served in the United States Marine Corps 1961-1964.