OPA

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has already assigned staff to prepare plans that will provide 5,000 additional school seats for Indian and Eskimo pupils and correct unsafe and obsolete Federal Indian school facilities in line with yesterday’s mandate from President Kennedy, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today.

Swift action was possible, Secretary Udall added, because the Bureau has for some time been formulating long-range plans for expanding and modernizing its nationwide school system for Indian youngsters.

As soon as the plans have been completed, the Secretary said, a specific request for funds will be submitted to Congress. It is expected that Indian Bureau planning to meet the needs will be completed in a week or ten days.

“The most urgent needs, II he continued, "are in the Navajo area of New Mexico and Arizona where we have a shortage of about 3,700 seats and in Alaska where we need roughly 1,000. About 300 additional seats are needed in the Choctaw area of Mississippi and in other scattered locations."

The five-man task force now studying the organization and programs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a series of meetings with Indian tribal representatives at seven key points throughout the western half of the country starting March 20, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today.

The meetings will be held at Oklahoma City on March 20 and 21; at Albuquerque, N. Mex., on March 22 and 23; at Prescott, Ariz., on March 24 and 25; at Pierre, S. Dak., on March 27 and 28; at Duluth, Minn., on March 29 and 30; at Spokane, Wash., on April 10 and 11; and at Reno, Nev., on April 13 and lit.

Indian tribal representatives in the regions around each of these cities are being invited by Secretary Udall to take part in the sessions.

The task force was appointed by Secretary Udall in early February and has been meeting continuously over the past several weeks in Washington, D. C. The chairman is W. W. Keeler, executive vice president of Phillips Petroleum Co. Other members are Philleo Nash, former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin; James Officer, Arizona anthropologist; William Zimmerman, Jr., former Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs; and John O. Crow, present Acting Commissioner of the Indian Bureau.

The task force has been charged with recommending plans for reorganizing the Bureau and for improving its policies and programs.

To have the opportunity to address the group that represents so many of America's first citizens is indeed an honor for the Secretary of the Interior.

It is good to have the opportunity to get away from Washington, D. C. and out in the land, with you - America's first citizens. It is good to join you in celebrating this 25th anniversary of the NCAI.

Through your organization, America's Indians, individually and collectively have made great strides, unfortunately, the NCAI and all of the other Indian groups, for too long have been trying to carve out their niche alone.

Government, in my judgment, has not met its responsibilities in helping you to secure your goals. In this respect, and before I go any further, I want to make one thing crystal clear: This Administration is dedicated to improving -- not destroying -- that special relationship that exists between Government, the Indians, and the land.

We are not a pro-termination Administration. Several weeks ago, I was quoted in the press to the effect that "Hickel is for termination." Let me set the record straight here this afternoon so that there will not be any further misunderstanding. Neither I, nor this Administration, have a pro-termination policy.

Such a policy can only be established by the Indian community itself, through a clear mandate on the part of your people.

Another way of putting it is that I personally, as Secretary of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is under my jurisdiction, do not intend to tell you what to do. Rather, we will listen to you, work with you, and implement the policies which, through mutual understanding, will be designed to further improve your state in life.

I also want you to know that President Nixon agrees with me completely in this line of policy thinking. He put it so well when he said that he will "help the Indian people reach the set goals that they themselves have set and will set."

Not all the publicity surrounding the Secretary's job has been the most favorable as we build this new Administration.

One cartoon I saw showed one Indian saying to another: "If you liked Custer, you'll love Hickel." I hope that such cartoons will soon read: "If you like Indians, you'll love Hickel."

I have searched long and hard to find the right man to represent all of America's Indians as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. In some areas, this delay has caused a rightful concern.

Happily, out of our search, and with your help -- came Louis R. Bruce. He is a man many of you know and have worked with as a founder of this National Congress of American Indians.

And I want to tell all of you that Commissioner. Bruce has my support and my ear.

I have told the Commissioner that I will insist that the American Indians have an important place in determining and making Indian policy, and implement Indian programs.

There will be no plans concerning Indians without having Indians in the planning. There will be no programs for Indians without Indians running the program.

I believed in Indian participation while I was Governor of Alaska, and I had many Indians on the staff in my Administration.

All American Indians can be assured that I have lost none of my beliefs. I know that you have the ability and I intend to utilize your talents.

Let me issue you an invitation to work with us, to begin to take action now for a rewarding future.

In our planning, I have taken two steps. First, I have announced the establishment of an Advisory Committee made up of your chosen representatives and Interior Department representatives.

Second, I have named Morris Thompson, an Alaskan Indian (who is sitting right here), as my Special Advisor on Indian Affairs in Washington. He will remain here in Albuquerque this week and will be available to meet with you.

Only you know who your best spokesmen are. Tell Morris who they are. And tell him what items the Committee should face up to.

When he returns to Washington, Morris, Commissioner Bruce, Assistant Secretary Harrison Loesch and I will sit down and set up a meeting of the Advisory Committee.

We want this first meeting to be soon. And at each meeting we want your chosen representatives telling me the policies you want implemented.

We will also be in constant touch with the Vice President's Council on Indian Opportunity so our programs will be coordinated. I know that Vice President Agnew's aid will be invaluable.

There must be no conflicts with individuals or agencies, no interests greater to Interior than improving the quality of life for the American Indian.

First, there must be a general rise in the quantity and quality of education, and Indians must participate in that rise.

Indians must direct school boards. Indian parents and tribal leaders should be involved in school affairs.

Indian curriculums must be geared to the needs -- both occupational and cultural -- of the Indian.

And, we should remember that education can be both vocational and academic.

Good education is a community effort. And the school must be part of the community. This is being done at Rough Rock. It can be done elsewhere.

Next, we must make sure that unemployment doesn't start when education ends.

It is time to stop thinking merely of "economic development." Lets start thinking in terms of jobs.

For those reservations that don't want industry, we must make other plans.

Together we can develop plans so that Indians themselves contract to provide services in and around the reservations. We can establish more employment for Indians by having them meet the needs of other Indians.

It is important that we build for the future as well as the present. It is important that we build for pride.

Without quality, as well as quantity, there can be no pride in your home. Without challenge and diversity, there can be no pride. Without pride in your home, it is doomed to a life of neglect and disrepair. We must work together to build that house.

As important as jobs and education and housing are, land and water daily affect each and every one of you. But the needs and problems vary from tribe to tribe and area to area.

As trustee for Indian Tribes, I have a duty to protect and defend your rights against all efforts to diminish or destroy them. I will fulfill that duty.

Many of you know that as your Secretary, I have fought hard to get a generous settlement of the Alaskan land claims.

I have worked for legislation to get surplus government lands for the Indian tribes, with favorable legislative reports from our Department on such projects as Cheyenne River, Fort Berthold Laguna, Pueblo, Standing Rock, and Taos Pueblo.

And I have called a hearing at the request of the Fort Mojave Indians. They will be heard.

There are many other concerns in protecting the Indian land rights. I have been greatly troubled by the threat to Pyramid Lake in Nevada. I had opportunity to see the Lake and to meet with the Pyramid Lake Indians prior a meeting with the Governors of California and Nevada concerning the use of water in this basin.

There has been some misunderstanding of this complex matter, but I want you all to know that I am standing firm on providing sufficient water for the preservation of Pyramid Lake and protecting the rights of the Pyramid Lake Tribe.

I want to thank you for the Pyramid Lake Resolution No. 31 that passed last year's NCAI convention and was sent to me. It helped me adopt my policy.

Let me use this meeting to pledge to you that the American Indian will not be the "Forgotten American" in this Administration.

I worked hard as Governor of Alaska to improve native conditions there, now as your Secretary, I have the same will to bring full citizenship to
American Indians.

There are many other needs -- needs for all Indians, needs for just one tribe, needs for just one Indian.

The challenge to meet the needs is ours--yours and mine. I gladly accept that challenge and I know that you do, too.

With your ideas and your trust, we can make words come to life.

I can help. But, in the final analysis, the future of the Indians -- America's First Citizens -- must be shaped by the Indians, for the Indians.

A legal brief strongly supporting Navajo Indian voting rights was filed March 10 by Secretary Stewart L. Udall in the New Mexico election contest between Joseph A. Montoya and seated Lt. Governor Tom Bolack, the Department of the Interior announced today.

Secretary Udall’s brief relied heavily upon the words of his late father, Chief Justice Levi S. Udall of the Arizona Supreme Court, whose 1948 decision confirmed the Indians' right to vote in that State.

Secretary Udall is appearing in the case as a friend of the court. Oral arguments will be heard March 14 in Albuquerque before District Judge John B. McManus.

Secretary Udall has designated Max N. Edwards, Assistant to the Secretary and Legislative Counsel, to represent him at this hearing where arguments will be focused on matters questioning the legal residence of the Navajos and the constitutionality of a New Mexico law prohibiting "Indians not taxed” from voting.

Montoya lost the November election by 287 votes and his suit against Bolack challenges the voting rights of over 29,959 Navajos residing on the New Mexico part of the Navajo Reservation.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today expressed gratification over the selection of Mrs. Clara B. Gonzales, a school principal on the Zuni Indian Reservation in New Mexico, as one of the recipients of Seventh Annual Career Service Awards which are being presented by the National Civil Service League at a Washington banquet ceremony on March 21.

Mrs. Gonzales, Secretary Udall pointed out, is the first woman employee of the Department of the Interior, and the first person from the ranks of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to receive this award over the seven-year period of its history.

A native of Paulina, Louisiana, Mrs. Gonzales has served in the school system on the Zuni Reservation for more than 37 years. Starting as a teacher at a salary of $760 a year, she was given steadily broadening responsibilities over the years until 1955, when she was appointed top administrator of the Indian Bureau's school program on the reservation. For the past year the Bureau has had no direct school operations at Zuni, and Mrs. Gonzales has been serving in a liaison role with the public school authorities.

During her long period of service, Secretary Udall said, Mrs. Gonzales has made outstanding contributions to help Indian adults as well as students broaden their horizons and adjust to the changing world around them. When she came to Zuni in 1923 only a small percentage of the Indian children were enrolled in school. In recent years the rate of enrollment has been generally higher than in nearby non-Indian communities, and is now virtually 100 percent.

Mrs. Gonzales is traveling to Washington with her husband for the award ceremony. Secretary Udall is a member of the Washington sponsorship committee for the awards banquet.

The Department of the Interior today announced a change in the schedule of meetings to be held in March and April by the five-man task force on Indian affairs at key western points.

The locale of the March 24 and 25 meetings has been shifted from Prescott, Ariz., to Phoenix. Otherwise the schedule remain3 as announced in the Department's press release of March 10.

Award of a $288,588 contract for enlargement and improvement of Federal Indian school facilities at Tuba City, Arizona, on the Navajo Reservation was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract provides for construction of a new six-classroom building and 10 two-bedroom houses as well 8S for rehabilitation of an existing dining room kitchen structure.

When complete, the new classroom structure will relieve overcrowding in present classrooms and accommodate Navajo children now being taught in make-shift classrooms in several buildings on the boarding school campus.

The new houses are needed as living quarters for Indian Bureau employees serving at the isolated locality.

The kitchen-dining room remodeling will include new built-in equipment such as sinks, mixers, counters and trayports. Also included in the contract will be some outside utilities and site improvement.

The successful bidder was M. S. Dunlap, General Contractor, Inc. of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Eight higher bids, ranging from $295,607 to $399,832, were received.

The Department of the Interior today announced the results of a recent sale of oil and gas leases on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico, that brought in high bids totaling over $2,400,000. It was the first public sale of such leases on Navajo tribal lands since 1959.

After considering bonus bids submitted on 36 tracts comprising 66,623 acres, the tribal organization decided within the past few days to accept offerings that totaled $2,395,147.97 on 32 of the tracts with a combined area of 57,063 acres.

Of the bids that were accepted, the average amount offered was $41.97 per acre. The offerings that were rejected--on four tracts totaling 9,560 acres--- averaged out to $6.68 per acre.

In addition to the bonus offerings, the Navajo Tribe will receive annual rental of $1.25 per acre on the lands put under lease and royalties of 20 percent on the oil and gas production.

The bids on this sale were opened on February 23 at the agency headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Window Rock, Ariz.

Award of a $139,235 contract for the improvement of utility systems at Haskell Indian Institute, Lawrence, Kansas, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract provides for the replacement, enlargement and extension of the water, sewer and steam distribution systems. These improvements are necessary not only for adequate service to existing buildings but to provide service to the new school building and two new dormitories being constructed under another contract.

Haskell Institute is a vocational training school for approximately 1,000 Indian students in grades 9 through two years of post high school work.

The successful bidder was Kansas Construction Co. of Lawrence, Kansas. Five higher bids were received ranging from $145,000 to $192,689.

The Department of the Interior today announced the establishment of a fishing tackle assembly plant that will provide immediate employment for about 120 Indian workers on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

The new plant, located in the town of Fine Ridge, represents an expansion of the assembly operations of the Wright and McGill Company, Denver, Colorado, one of the largest manufacturers of fishing tackle in the United States.

The company announced that the plant will be used for the assembly of various items of fishing tackle currently being produced in its Denver plant, and explained that certain new products will be added later as the operation develops, The firm manufactures fish hooks, glass rods, reels, lures, spinners, and other fishing tackle products.

An initial work force of 120 Indians is now working on the assembly operations in two reconditioned buildings leased from the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Company officials have already expressed their satisfaction with this new work force and found them capable, enthusiastic, and particularly adapted to skilled hand work, Plans call for an additional 50 workers to be placed on the payroll within the next two or three weeks, with the prospect of more expansion in the future as the operation proves successful.

The new plant is another outgrowth of the Indian Bureau's nationwide industrial development program which encourages the establishment of industrial plants on or near the reservations to provide employment and improve the economic and social status of Indian people.

The employers are taking advantage of the Bureau's on-the-job training program under which the company is reimbursed for the cost of training Indian employees.