OPA

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has awarded an $83,305 contract for grading and surfacing 8.25 miles of roadway on the Klamath Indian Reservation in southern Oregon, the Department of the Interior announced today.

The work will be the last involved in a program of more than 80 miles of new and reconstructed roads being built by the Indian Bureau in preparation for final termination of Federal responsibilities on the reservation under the Klamath Termination Act. Under an agreement between the United States and Klamath County, the roads are being built to county standards and will be taken over by the county for maintenance upon completion.

Under the contract announced today, the work will be done on what is known as the Bray Mill-Lone Pine road approximately six miles northeast of Chiloquin, Oregon. The improvement is important to the reservation area for timber access and fire protection as well as for general transportation.

The work will be performed by Beaver Excavating Company, Gresham, Oregon, whose bid was the lowest of four received. Bids ranged to a high of $105,000.

The Department of the Interior favors legislation that would authorize transferring to the Navajo Indian Tribe full title and responsibility for all irrigation projects on the 15,000,000-acre reservation in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton announced today.

Under its terms, the Navajos would permanently assume all operation and maintenance costs, estimated at $200,000 a year. They have borne this cost since January 1, 1958.

In submitting to Congress a proposed bill that would authorize the transfer, the Department pointed out that the Navajo Tribal Council indicated a desire and willingness to take on operational responsibility for the projects in resolutions of September 18, 1957, and February 14, 1958.

The projects involved include 67 units on which the Indian Bureau maintains active records plus an unknown number of others that are inoperative, abandoned or left to management by individual Indians and not carried on the Bureau's books. They were built by the Federal Government over the years since 1884 and have been maintained and operated as a Federal responsibility for the benefit of the Indians. They range in size from 100 to 6,000 acres and embrace a total of nearly 34,000 acres.

Under the legislation proposed by the Department, the Tribe's control over the transferred projects will be unrestricted but the facilities and the income from them will be tax-exempt as long as the facilities continue to be owned by the Tribe or by a legal entity controlled by the Tribe or its members.

Reimbursable construction costs of the projects, amounting to about $5,900,000, will not be affected by the legislation. However, under the Leavitt Act of 1932, these costs will not be assessed against the lands until the lands pass out of Indian ownership.

The Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior announced today the second set of four awards which are made annually “in recognition of long and outstanding services in the preservation, encouragement and development of the arts and crafts of the American Indians."

These awards, consisting of certificates of appreciation, were presented yesterday in Flagstaff, Arizona. Recipients, and the categories for which they won, include:

1. The Museum of Northern Arizona, of Flagstaff, Arizona--Nonprofit organizations.

2. Mr. Henry Claiborne Lockett, Tucson, Arizona--Dealers in arts and crafts.

3. Mr. Fred Kabotie, Oraibi, Arizona--Indian craftsmen.

4. Mrs. Mary Russell-Ferrell Colton, Flagstaff, Arizona--Collectors or patrons of Indian arts and crafts.

Dr. Frederick J. Dockstader, a member of the Board, made the presentation of awards this year. The basis for selection of winners is the long-standing services over and above the normal activities of the recipients in each classification.

The Chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board is Rene d'Harnoncourt, Director of the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. Board members serve without compensation, under appointment by the Secretary of the Interior.

Other members are Vincent Price, actor and Indian art collector, Los Angeles, California, and Erich Kohlberg, dealer in Indian crafts, Denver, Colorado.

Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst announced today that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has contracted with the University of Idaho for a comprehensive survey of the human and physical resources of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in southeastern Idaho.

In commenting on the significance of the contract, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs H. Rex Lee pointed out that for several years the Bureau has been seeking a more effective way to help the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation in improving their economic and social status.

“In this connection,” he said, "we felt the need of having an appraisal of the Reservation resources and population made by a competent agency outside of Government."

On a trip to Idaho during the week of June 8, Mr. Lee explored the possibility of such a survey with officials of the State University and then discussed the proposal with the Indians in a meeting at Fort Hall on June 12. In a resolution adopted that same day the tribes endorsed the proposal and agreed to cooperate in carrying out the study.

Purpose of the study is to provide basic information that can be used by the tribes and the Bureau in developing programs for more effective use of the Indians' lands and other resources as well as .for economic and social advancement of the tribal members.

The survey will be divided into four main parts. Specific projects under these headings will be agreed upon from time to time by the Bureau and the University.

The first part will be a study of the nature and extent of the physical resources of the Reservation and how these can be most effectively used for the Indians' benefit.

Second will be a study of the credit, employment and industrial possibilities, taking into consideration the financial feasibility of projects and the capabilities of individuals.

Third will be a survey of the human resources including such items as family composition, employment skills and preferences, and social conditions of the Indian people.

Fourth will be a study of the attitudes of non-Indians in the local and surrounding communities with suggestions for cooperative undertakings that would benefit both the Indian people and the surrounding communities.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has obligated $60,000 for the total survey. Actual costs, however, will be determined as specific projects are agreed upon by the Bureau and the University. They are expected to run considerably less than the $60,000 maximum.

Acting Commissioner Lee indicated that the survey may take two years and possibly longer.

Award of a $393,202 contract for the construction of about nine miles of highway on Navajo Route 1 in northern Arizona was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The section of road begins at Tuba City, Arizona 1 and extends northeast past the Rare Metals Uranium Mill, towards Kayenta, in the northern part of the Navajo Reservation.

This nine-mile section is the first project on Navajo Route 1 to be constructed or immediate takeover by the State of Arizona after the Bureau of Indian Affairs contract is complete.

Funds for the improvement of Navajo Routes 1 and 3 were authorized under legislation passed by Congress late in the 1958 session.

Extensive interest has been generated throughout the Southwest for the improvement of this important road which crosses the Navajo Reservation and northern Arizona. The rapidly growing Four Corners oil development now borders the route to the north. Indications are that the development area will eventually spread to the south of the highway.

The low bid was submitted by C. R. Davis Contracting Company of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Four other bids were submitted, ranging from $395,670 to $545,850.

Under Secretary of the Interior Elmer F. Bennett today announced approval of Federal regulations governing the enrollment of members of the Rincon, San Luiseno Band of Mission Indians of California. Adoption of such regulations was requested by the band.

Under the regulations, which will be published shortly in the Federal Register, anyone who believes that he or a minor or incompetent should be enrolled is given a period of 90 days after publication to file an application with the Area Field Representative of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Riverside, California.

The regulations provide that the membership roll shall include persons alive on July 21, 1957, who were not enrolled with any other Indian tribe or band and who fall in one of the following four categories:

(1) Indians whose names appear as members of the band on the census roll,

(2) Indians who have received allotments on the Rincon Reservations,

(3) persons descended from Indians in category

(1) and having one-eighth or more San Luiseno Indian blood, and

(4) persons descended from Indians in category

(2) and having one-eighth or more San Luiseno Indian blood.

A notice of intention to adopt these membership regulations was published in the Federal Register on February 14, 1959. In the following 30-day period a number of suggestions for amendment were received and these have been incorporated in the regulations as finally approved.

Full details on the procedure to be followed will be included in the forthcoming Federal Register publication.

The Department of the Interior today announced a proposed revision of Federal regulations to remove restrictions against road construction that have applied for more than 20 years on 310,000 acres on four Indian reservation areas in three States.

The lands that would be affected are the Columbia-San Poil Divide Area of 155,000 acres on the Colville Reservation in Washington, the Mission Range Area of 125,000 acres on the Flathead Reservation in Montana, and the Fort Charlotte Area of 19,000 acres and the Grand Portage Area of 11,000 acres on the Grand Portage Reservation in Minnesota.

The first two were designated as “roadless" areas and the latter two as "wild' areas by administrative action of the Department during the 1930's without consulting the Indians. All four areas consist not of Federal land but of tribally owned property held in trust by the United States. However, about 700 acres of the land on the Grand Portage Reservation is scheduled to be set aside in the near future as the Grand Portage National Monument under legislation enacted last year with the full concurrence of the Indians.

All of the tribal groups involved have requested removal of the restrictions to facilitate economic development of the areas.

Interested parties may submit their comments to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington 25, D. C., within 30 days after publication of the proposed revision in the Federal Register.

The Department of the Interior has submitted to Congress a proposal for legislation that would add nearly 350,000 acres to the land holdings of 18 Indian tribes or communities in 9 States, Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst announced today.

All of the lands affected are located within or adjacent to Indian reservations. All were bought by the Federal Government as “sub marginal lands” during the 1930's to retire them from private ownership and correct maladjustments in their use. Nearly all have been used by the Indians for upwards of 20 years. Under present law, however, the full legal and equitable title is in the United States.

The total original cost of these lands to the Government was over $1,600,000. The present-day value, although not definitely known, is undoubtedly many times this figure.

“These sub marginal lands,” Mr. Ernst said, “are needed by the Indians in order to obtain maximum utilization of their tribal lands and in order to augment their other income. If the lands are not turned over to the Indians, proper utilization will not be possible and the loss of the 'use of such lands would seriously affect the economic standards of· many Indians. If the title is transferred to the Indians, further consolidation into acceptable ranch units for grazing purposes will be possible.”

Because some of the sub marginal lands are in the taking areas of the Fort Randall, Oahe and Big Bend Reservoirs on the Missouri River and will continue to be needed for this purpose, the proposed bill exempts these lands, totaling nearly 3,000 acres, from its provisions. The proposal also reserves to .the Government the right to continue using for military purposes about 6,400 acres of sub marginal land embraced within the Ellsworth Air Force Range on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

Under a 1947 law all receipts from mineral leasing of the sub marginal lands have been deposited in a special fund of the U. S. Treasury pending final congressional action. The fund now amounts to $844,928.33. Under the Department's proposal, all monies accumulated in the special fund prior to enactment would be retained by the United States. Future income from mineral leasing, however, would be the property of the respective tribes.

The Department made no specific recommendations whether the lands should be conveyed to the Indian groups in fee simple title or Federal trust status. Either alternative, Mr. Ernst said, would be acceptable to the Department.

The following tabulation shows the sub marginal land projects proposed for transfer, the reservations affected, the acreages involved, and the original cost of the lands.

1. Includes 650.09 acres located within the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project authorized under acts of December 22, 1944 (58 Stat. 887, 891) and September 2, 1958 (72 Stat. 1762).

2. Includes 495 acres located within the Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir project.

3. Includes 294 acres located within the Fort Randall Dam and Reservoir project.

4. Includes 1509 acres located within the Oahe Dam and Reservoir project.

The Department of the Interior has submitted to Congress a proposal for legislation that would adjust Indian and non-Indian land use on some 266,000 acres near the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New Mexico, Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst announced today.

Jurisdictions of three Federal agencies--the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Forest Service--are involved in the proposal. The basic aim is to eliminate the present confusing and intermingled pattern of jurisdiction in the area and to promote more effective land use and better conservation practices.

The proposal calls for transferring to the Navajo Tribe, in Federal trust, approximately 100,000 acres of public domain, about 3,000 acres of National Forest land, nearly 61,000 acres of sub marginal lands purchased in the 1930's that have been administered for the benefit of the Tribe, and some 80,000 acres of reconvened railroad grant lands that are being administered for the Tribe's benefit under a 1939 Secretarial order pending the enactment of legislation.

In addition, some 17,000 acres held in trust for the Navajo Tribe and about 5,000 acres of sub marginal land administered for its benefit would be transferred to the public domain and approximately 2,000 acres of the sub marginal land would be transferred to the Cibola National Forest.

The minerals in the tribal lands that would be added to the public domain and in the Federal lands transferred to the Tribe would be excluded from the transfers.

This legislative proposal was prepared with the active collaboration of the Navajo Tribe, and it has the Tribe's support.

Enactment of the proposed bill, Mr. Ernst pointed out, will not result in dispossession of any present users of the area. Although some non-Indians are in the area to be consolidated for use by the Navajo Indians, substantially all of the grazing resources of the area are now in Navajo use.

Award of a $1,176,800 contract for construction at the Wingate School at Fort Wingate, New Mexico, to provide facilities that will increase the school's capacity by about 325 Indian students, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The project will greatly expand the Indian Bureau's existing boarding school plant at Fort Wingate, and will include replacement of a dormitory which has been found unsafe for further use. It involves the construction of a school building containing 17 classrooms, construction of three new dormitories and rehabilitation of a fourth, and the remodeling of a kitchen and dining room and student recreation room.

For several months the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been stepping up its school construction program with the aim of providing classroom space for all Indian school-age children who are not already enrolled in public or mission schools.

This project at Fort Wingate, one of the historic outposts of the 19th century Southwest, will make the increase in enrollment possible especially at the high school level during the coming school year.

Necessary rehabilitation work to enlarge and improve kitchen and dining facili­ties and to repair the existing dormitory will be carried out first under the contract. Then construction will begin immediately on the new facilities so that the entire program will be completed and in full operation by December 1.

The new dormitories and classroom building will be of single-story construction.

The successful bidder was George A. Rutherford, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico. Four higher bids were received ranging from $1,189,691 to $1,333,280.