OPA

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that the Douglas Construction Company of Topeka, Kansas, has been awarded a $3.5 million contract to build new facilities at the Haskell Indian Junior College, Lawrence, Kansas.

The contract calls for the construction of a new learning resource center and a kitchen-dining building.

The learning resource center, with approximately 34,800 square feet of floor area, will house a library and provide facilities for media production and distribution, photography processing, TV studio, offices and classrooms.

The kitchen-dining building will have approximately 26,700 square feet of area. In addition to the dining room, it will contain the kitchen, bakery, storage and related facilities.

This construction is part of an ongoing program to provide needed facilities for the recently established junior college program at Haskell and to replace old or deteriorated buildings.

Haskell, established in 1884, is one of the oldest Government supported schools in the United States. It began as an industrial training school and has evolved through the years. It became an accredited high school in 1927, a post-secondary vocational technical school in 1966 and a junior college in 1970.

Many of today's Indian leaders are former Haskell students.

Proposed regulations for removing persons erroneously included on the roll of Native Alaskans eligible for benefits under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act are being published in the Federal Register, Acting Secretary of the Interior Kent Frizzell announced today.

A roll of eligible Alaska Natives was conditionally approved December 17 1973, subject to correction based upon appeals or other legal determinations of individual eligibility. The proposed regulations establish procedures for the disenrollment, with due process of persons not entitled to the benefits. Under the Act, persons on the roll will share ownership, through stock holding in their regional and village corporations, of 40 million acres of land and cash distributions, over a period of years, of $962.5 million. According to the proposed procedures, when the enrollment coordinator concludes, after investigation, that an individual was improperly enrolled he shall initiate a contest proceeding by filing a complaint with the Office of Hearings and Appeals. An Administrative Law Judge will then be assigned to the case. Copies of the complaint and other pertinent documents must be served upon all parties and hearings are to be held in a location as con­venient as possible for the contestee, the person whose eligibility is being questioned.

Comments on the proposed regulations should be sent, within 30 days of publication, to the Office of the Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C. 20240.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus said today that he was approving "with great satisfaction" a renegotiated coal mining lease between the Navajo Indian Tribe and a partnership composed of the El Paso Natural Gas Company and the Consolidation Coal Company.

Peter MacDonald, Chairman of the Navajo Tribe, and officials of the Department concluded negotiations August 11, 1977 with Consolidation Coal Company and El Paso Natural Gas Company for a coal mining lease covering more than 40,000 acres on the Navajo Reservation.

The new terms include a 12 1/2 percent royalty, a $5.6 million advance bonus payment, and provision for review and adjustment of the royalty terms at the end of five years.

The land involved has actually been under lease since October of 1968 when the Navajo Tribe, Consolidation, and El Paso entered into their first coal mining lease. The original lease contained a primary term of ten years, a preference in employment for Navajos, and a royalty rate of 20 cents per ton for coal mined and used on the reservation.

Beginning in 1973, the Navajo Tribe and the two mining companies began negotiations for amending this original lease. Three years of negotiations culminated in a renegotiated lease calling for a $5.6 million advance royalty, an agreement guaranteeing Navajo training and employment in the mining operation, and a royalty of 8 percent of the value of the coal mined. Chairman MacDonald delivered this renegotiated lease in 1976 to the Secretary for approval.

On June 30, 1977, Andrus asked that the royalty rate be renegotiated in light of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments of 1975 which require a 12 1/2 percent minimum royalty for the sale of coal on federal lands.

Drawing upon the resources of several Interior Department agencies, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Mines, and the U.S. Geological Survey, a financial analysis was completed which indicates that a 12 1/2 percent royalty rate will yield a substantially higher return to the Tribe while providing an adequate return to the companies. As a result of the analysis Chairman MacDonald requested that the Department assist the tribe in securing a substantially higher return for the Navajo Nation.

Both Interior Secretary Andrus and Chairman MacDonald have expressed great satisfaction over the agreement reached.

This agreement represents a "milestone" in Indian minerals development, Secretary Andrus said, "that reflects this Administration's commitment to both the concept of tribal self-determination and the nation's fiduciary responsibilities to Indian tribes and Indian resources. The tribe knew the terms under which it was prepared to accept this massive development, and this Department provided the technical expertise and information necessary for the Navajo Nation to negotiate the top dollar these resources would bring in fair and open dealing."

The agreement reached on August 11 will result in additional revenues of some $5 million to the Navajo Tribe in the first five years alone.

William P. Ragsdale, a Cherokee Indian, has been appointed Superintendent of the Uintah and Ouray Agency, Fort Duchesne, Utah, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

Ragsdale replaces William Streitz who was transferred to the Phoenix Area Office as Indian Trust Protection Officer.

A graduate of Central State College, Edmond, Oklahoma, Ragsdale has been Acting Superintendent at the agency and has been a participant in a Superintendent Intern program at the area office.

A former United States Marine, Ragsdale was a tribal government services specialist at Flagstaff, Arizona and Muskogee, Oklahoma. He has also been a teacher at the Concho Indian School in Oklahoma. He is 31.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has extended the time allowed for comment on proposed procedures governing the determination that an Indian group is a federally recognized Indian tribe.

Because of numerous requests for more time to review these procedures, published in the Federal Register June 16, the new deadline will be September 18, 1977.

Notice of this extension is being published in the Federal Register.

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus said today he has approved, with some modifications, the mining and reclamation plan by Westmoreland Resources to strip mine Crow Indian and state-owned coal from nearly 2,000 acres in Crow Indian Ceded Lands in south-central Montana.

Westmoreland proposed to expand its existing Absaloka Coal Mine by 1,958 acres (792 hectares) in northern Big Horn County just north of the Crow Indian Reservation. The company would remove 190.6 million tons (172.9 million metric tons) of coal over the next 20 years from the expansion area and the remaining 193 unmined acres (78 hectares) of the existing Absaloka Mine area. The Secretary's approval was given following Consultation with Crow tribal leaders.

In approving the Westmoreland proposal, Andrus stipulated that "in addition to specific requirements of existing federal, state, tribal and local laws as applicable, the (U.S. Geological Survey's) area mining supervisor may at any time require reasonable modification of any phase of the approved mining and reclamation plan where he determines it is necessary or desirable for efficient or environmentally sound mining operations."

The Interior Secretary also stipulated that "Westmoreland Resources will monitor on a continuous basis the quantity and the quality of ground and surface water in the area adjacent to the mining area to determine the impact on Sarpy Creek and the hydrology of East Sarpy Basin."

The area to be mined under the plan is part of a 1.1-million-acre (445,000-hectare) tract ceded to the U.S. Government by the Crow Tribe under a 1904 act of Congress. Legislation approved in 1958 restored surface or mineral rights, or both, on parts of the Ceded Area to the Crow Tribe. The tribe now owns coal rights on about 150,000 acres (60,700 hectares) in the Ceded Area, and these rights are held in trust for the tribe and administered by the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Westmoreland owns surface rights and the Crow Indian Tribe the coal rights on 1,644 acres (655 hectares) of the proposed expansion area of the Absaloka Mine. The State of Montana owns both the surface and coal rights on the remaining 314 acres (127 hectares) encompassed by the mining proposal and has leased the coal to Westmoreland. The expansion area is mostly to the east and southeast of the existing mine, which is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) east of Hardin, Mont., and 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Hysham, Mont.

Westmoreland Resources obtained coal leases from the Crow Tribe in 1972 on 30,876 acres (12,500 hectares) in the Ceded Area, and began operating the Absaloka Mine in 1974 under an approved plan for surface mining 410 acres (166 hectares). This plan was covered in an environmental impact statement prepared by the BIA and filed with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in 1974. Subsequent Federal Court orders held that Interior's approval of the Westmoreland leases to mine tribal coal was a "major federal action" that required a comprehensive environmental impact statement as well as individual impact statements for each subsequent mining plan on the lease areas.

The BIA filed with the CEQ on Dec. 15, 1976, a final impact statement on the leases, and the Interior Department approved the leases Jan. 19, 1977. The U.S. Geological Survey filed a final environmental impact statement on the Absaloka Mine expansion proposal with the CEQ May 31, 1977. Andrus considered that statement, as well as written comments and oral comments received at a public hearing Dec. 1, 1976, before deciding to permit Westmoreland to proceed with a modified mining plan.

The Absaloka Mine produced 4 million tons (3.6 million metric tons) of coal in 1976, and production from the existing mine and the expansion area is expected to peak at 10 million tons (9 million metric tons) a year from 1981 through 1995. Westmoreland currently is committed to provide 5 million tons (4.5 million metric tons) of coal per year from the mine for electric power generation in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

Crow Indians have preferential employment rights in the Westmoreland mining operations involving coal owned by the tribe. The Absaloka Mine now employs 110 workers, of which about 60 are Indians. Employment is expected to rise to 210 when full production is reached in 1981, of which 167 are expected to be Indians. The mine payroll, currently more than $2.8 million a year, is expected to reach more than $3.9 million annually by 1981.

Royalty payments to the Crow Tribe are expected to increase from the present $1.5 million a year up to an average $7.5 million a year from 1982 to 1997. The State of Montana is expected to receive more than $21 million a year in severance and resource indemnity taxes a year after 1982. Big Horn County also will receive considerable benefits, with revenues from proceeds and property taxes expected to reach $7 million a year by 1982.

Approximately 785 acres (318 hectares) of the proposed mining area was or is cultivated and 1,365 acres (552 hectares) used for grazing. Westmoreland said it plans to offer the surface lands for purchase to the Crow Tribe after the land is mined and reclaimed, although the reclaimed land is not expected to be suitable for agricultural production or sustained grazing for approximately seven years after mining. In addition, because the two major coal beds that will be mined average as much as 35 feet thick, the reclaimed land surface will be considerably lower than it was originally.

A summary included with the final environmental impact statement also listed the other following environmental impacts of the Westmoreland mining plan:

• The existing land surface, vegetation and all aquifers above the base of the Robinson Coal bed in the proposed mine area will be destroyed.
• Wildlife habitats will be disrupted until disturbed areas are revegetated and human intrusions terminated.
• Ground and surface water quantity and quality, livestock grazing, Oceanic views and open space qualities will be degraded and restricted until revegetation is successfully completed.
• Dust and noise will be increased locally until recontouring and revegetation is successfully completed.
• Livestock and wildlife forage will be reduced until revegetation is successful.
• Employment for the Crow Indians and other citizens of Big Horn County will be increased.
• Tax and royalty income for the Crow Tribe, the State of Montana and Big Horn County will be increased.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced the appointment of Norman L. Tippeconnic as Superintendent of the San Carlos Indian Agency, Arizona. His appointment is effective August 28.

Tippeconnic, a Comanche, has been Superintendent of the Hoopa Agency in California since 1971.

Tippeconnic, 44, attended Oklahoma State University. He came to work for the BIA in 1959 at Gallup, New Mexico. He was the Supply Management Officer at the Bureau's Data Center in Albuquerque before taking the Hoopa job.

Dr. William J. Benham, Jr., Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Indian Education Resources Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico has been selected for a year of special study at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Benham will begin in September a mid-career program "designed to broaden the perspective and increase the professional competence of Federal employees." He will resume his duties in Albuquerque in June, 1978.

Those admitted to the program are nominated by their agency and chosen by the school on the basis of intellectual ability, growth potential for public service and program interests. The nominees are expected to be persons of proven accomplishments whose agencies indicate that they are capable of filling top managerial and policymaking positions in the Federal service.

Benham, a Creek Indian from Holdenville, Oklahoma, in March of this year received the Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award for distinguished achievements and outstanding contributions to Indian education programs.

Benham is a 1950 graduate of East Central Oklahoma University which gave him in 1975 a Distinguished Alumnus Award. He earned his Master's and Doctor's degrees from the University of Oklahoma.

The Secretary of the Interior has disapproved a lease entered into in 1970 between the Tesuque Pueblo and the Sangre de Cristo Development Company.

Under the terms of the 99-year lease Sangre de Cristo planned to develop approximately 5,400 acres of tribal lands north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, for commercial, residential and recreational purposes.

In a letter sent to tribal authorities and company officials, Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph said that the lease was being disapproved because the development of a subdivision of 16,000 non-Indians on the reservation "poses too great a risk of social, economic and political upheaval for the Pueblo inhabitants to be offset by the benefits they might derive."

Joseph said that the presence of so many non-Indians on the reservation could cause "perhaps insurmountable jurisdictional problems" for the 300 member tribe.

Other environmental risks -- water and soil problems -- and the tribe's present opposition to the development were factors in the decision to disapprove the lease.

The lease had originally been approved under delegated authority in May of 1970 by the Area Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Albuquerque.

Subsequently, a court ruling enjoined all activity under the lease, directed that an environmental impact statement be prepared and ordered the Secretary to review the lease in the light of this EIS. The impact statement was completed in July.

Joseph, in his letter, said that the Department was aware of implications of the disapproval decision for investors in the project. He said that serious consideration was being given to the possibilities of trying to provide compensation for no-fault losses. He indicated that a decision on this matter would be made shortly.

The LaPointe Indian Cemetery, burial place of the Chippewa Chief Great Buffalo, has been listed in The National Register of Historic Places, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The cemetery is located on Madeline Island, in Lake Superior off the coast of Wisconsin. The property is held in trust by the United States for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.

Chief Great Buffalo was a principal in the treaty of 1854 in which the Chippewas ceded a large area of land to the United States and which also created the Bad River and Red Cliff Reservations in Northern Wisconsin. He died one year later at the age of 96.

The cemetery, originally Catholic Church property, was used for burials from 1836 through 1948.

The National Register is the official list of the Nation's cultural resources worthy of preservation. The Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, maintains the Register and provides leadership in preserving, restoring and maintaining the historic places.