OPA

The Department of the Interior today announced that in response to a request from the Hopi Indian Tribal Council, it is directing the removal of about 35 Navajo Indians who are illegally residing within the Hopi Reservation in northern Arizona.

Assistant Secretary of Interior Harry R. Anderson instructed the Superintendent of the Hopi Agency, Clyde Pensoneau at Keams Canyon, Arizona, to serve the eviction notices on those Indians who did not comply with previous eviction notices of the Hopi Council.

The new eviction notices advise the Navajos that their failure to move will result in the matter being referred to the Attorney General for appropriate legal action.

The Hopi Reservation is an area to which the Hopi Tribe won undisputed ownership in a lawsuit brought by them against the Navajos. The Supreme Court affirmed the 1962 decision of the special Federal Court which tried the case. The Hopi area is surrounded by the Navajo Reservation.

Mr. Anderson said this action in honoring the Hopi request is in keeping with the Interior Department's trusteeship responsibilities.

"While this action is necessary," he said, "we will make every effort to prevent hardship on anyone. The decision of the Courts must be carried out, and I appeal to everyone concerned to cooperate responsibly in meeting this requirement.”

Assistant Secretary Anderson said the Bureau of Indian Affairs has instructed its Navajo Area Director, Graham Holmes, to organize a team to assist in the temporary relocation of the evicted Navajos. The team, including a social worker, will be present when the eviction notices are served.

The Hopi request to the Interior Department for assistance was contained in a letter signed by the Hopi Tribal Chairman, Dewey Healing, and three other Council members.

Chairman Healing noted that the Council adopted a resolution December 29, 1965, which gave the Navajos until April 1 to voluntarily leave the Hopi Reservation.

"The April 1 date … is now at hand," Healing said, "and few, if any, of the Navajo Indians … have departed. We are particularly anxious that the exercising of our legal rights shall not result in undue ill will or violence. In view of this fact," Healing continued, "we respectfully solicit your aid …"

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today gave the Department's Distinguished Service Award for outstanding records or exceptional contribution to the public service to 43 employees and a Valor Award to another employee for bravery in attempting to save a child's life.

Included among the recipients of certificates for superior Federal service were John M. Kelly, former Assistant Secretary for Mineral Resources, and Dr. Thomas B. Nolan, former Director of the Geological Survey.

The Valor Award was presented to Robert E. Carroll of Anchorage, Alaska, for his attempts to save 5-month-old Ivan Haakensen, who died in a fire in the home of his parents at Kodiak Island, Alaska, February 12, 1965. Mr. Carroll, an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, collapsed from smoke inhalation after entering the blazing dwelling and was rescued by Wilfred Alexanderoff of the Old Harbor Community on Kodiak.

Today's 43 recipients of Distinguished Service Awards represented a total of more than 1,300 years' Government employment, the individual average being more than 30 years. They represented 17 States and the District of Columbia.

Following are those given Distinguished Service Awards:

Washington, D.C.

Dr. Thomas B. Nolan, 41 years, Geological Survey, 2219 California St., N.W.

Mrs. Mary D. O'Connell, 36 years, Bureau of Land Management, 5415 Connecticut .' Ave., N.W.

Mrs. Hildegard Thompson, 33 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 510 21st St., N. W.

Bethesda, Maryland

Charles W. Porter III, 30 years, National Park Service, 5008 Rugby Ave.

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Joseph A. Corgan, Bureau of Mines, 27 years, 5605 Park Street.

Kensington, Maryland

C. Earl Lamson, 31 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 10100 Wildwood Rd.

Silver Spring, Maryland

Rudolph W. Bauss, 29 years, National Park Service, 720 Dartmouth Ave.

Wilbur I. Duvall, 25 years, Bureau of Mines, 10116 Dallas Ave.

Robert F. Kojima, 19 years, Geological Survey, 1713 Lansdowne Way. (posthumously to Mrs. Fumie N. Kojima).

Julius L. Speert, 31 years, Geological Survey, 8201 16th St.

Annandale, Virginia

Howard W. Baker, 35 years, National Park Service, 6803 Algonquin Ct. Harthon L. Bill, 31 years, National Park Service, 5008 Dodson Lane.

Arlington, Virginia

Lansing A. Parker, 27 years, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, 4819 N. 24th St. (posthumously to Mrs. Irene K. Parker).

Fairfax, Virginia

Ignacio J. Castro, 26 years, National Park Service, 708 Colony Rd.

Frank E. Harrison, 27 years, National Park Service, 10910 Orchard St.

Juneau, Alaska

Olive Trower, 41 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, MacKinnon Apartments.

Scottsdale, Arizona

Albert M. Hawley. 33 years. Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7401 E. Belleview

Daly City, California

Percy E. Smith, 36 years, National Park Service, 75 Park Manor Dr.

Kentfield, California

Alfred C. Kuehl, 32 years, National Park Service, 10 Rock Dr.

Tiburon, California

Cecil J. Doty, 31 years, National Park Service. 4 Davis Dr.

Denver, Colorado

Charles W. Thomas, 34 years, Bureau of Reclamation, 3011 S. Madison.

Golden, Colorado

Paul Blake, 36 years, Geological Survey, Route 3. Box 528.

Lakewood, Colorado

Thomas A. Hendricks, 25 years, Geological Survey, 2520 Robb Court.

St. Petersburg, Florida

John M. Wilkinson, 31 years. Office of the Secretary, 376 26th Ave., S. E.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Fred T. Johnston, 38 years, National Park Service, 1455 S. Veretania St.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ancil D. Holloway, 31 years, Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, 2509 Irving Ave., S.

Albert B. Needham, 34 years, Bureau of Mines, 6029 l2tQ Ave., S.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Leola E. Kessler, 30 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 905 Truman, N. E.

Guy C. Williams, 38 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1421 Wellesley Dr., N. E.

Roswell, New Mexico

John M. Kelly, 5 years, Assistant Secretary of the Interior--Mineral Resources, Box 310.

Wahpeton, North Dakota

Esther B. Horne, 36 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 804 N. 4th St

Tulsa, Oklahoma

James V. Alfriend, 31 years, Federal Power Commission and Southwestern Power Administration, 3823 E. 11th Place.

Muskogee, Oklahoma

Mrs. Marie L. Wadley, 39 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2417 Arline St.

Corvallis, Oregon

Alva H. Roberson, 29 years, Bureau of Mines, 3242 Crest Dr.

Portland, Oregon

Everett J. Harrington, 26 years, Bonneville Power Administration, 5934 N. E. Thompson St.

Henderson M. McIntyre, 24 years, Bonneville Power Administration, 3125 N. E. Dekum St.

Travis M. Tyrrell, 35 years, Bureau of Land Management, 9300 N. W. Cornell Rd.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Dr. Robert B. Anderson, 20 years, Bureau of Mines, 230 Baywood Ave.

Dr. Robert A. Friedel, 19 years, Bureau of Mines, 302 Locust Lane.

Aberdeen, South Dakota

Leslie M. Keller, 30 years, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1712 S. Main St.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

John C. Preston, 40 years, National Park Service, P. O. Box 771

Roanoke, Virginia

Samuel P. Weems, 32 years, National Park Service, 2709 Stephenson Ave., S. W.

Morgantown, West Virginia

Sam S. Taylor, 36 years, Bureau of Mines, 680 Killarney Dr.

Mrs. Stewart L. Udall and the District of Columbia Committee for National Library Week, April 17-23, are presenting a dual exhibit of art works, "This Is Our Library," by school children of Metropolitan Washington and displays depicting new trends in library services.

The free exhibit will be in the Interior Department Art Gallery and will be open to the public from April 18 to 28.

A reception and preview celebrating the opening of the exhibit will be held Sunday, April 17, from 3 to 5 o'clock in the Art Gallery for invited guests.

The Gallery is on the 7th Floor, Department of the Interior Building, 18th and C Streets Northwest, Washington. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors to the Gallery during the special exhibition will see hundreds of examples of artwork by children and panels and other material describing "The Library of the Future."

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced the award of a $913,000 contract "for construction of new school facilities on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation at Cibecue, Arizona. Successful bidder was Taylor Construction, Inc., of Tucson, Arizona.

The contract calls for construction of an 8-classroom school building to replace a smaller structure that has become dilapidated and inadequate. The new school will accommodate a total of 240 Indian children, 80 more than formerly were served.

The contract also provides for a new administration building; a multipurpose kitchen building; three 3-bedroom and six 2-bedroom houses for instructional staff and remodeling of existing quarters for four employees; storage, maintenance, and garage buildings; a 60,000 gallon water storage tank; water supply system and sewerage system; drives, walks and other site work.

A total of five bids ranging to $1,068,847 were received.

One little, two little, three little Indians--and 206 more--are brightening the homes and lives of 172 American families, mostly non-Indians, who have taken the Indian waifs as their own.

A total of 209 Indian children have been adopted during the past seven years through the Indian Adoption Project, a cooperative effort of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Child Welfare League of America Adoptions are arranged through customary court procedures.

The rate of Indian adoptions is increasing. There were 49 in 1965, compared to 35 in 1964.

At the time of adoption, the Indian children have ranged in age from birth to 11 years, with more than half under the age of 1 year. Five sets of twins, and a number of other groups from the same families have been adopted.

The 209 Indian adoptees have come from 11 States, with the majority from South Dakota (64) and Arizona (52). Almost all the placements have been in the east and Midwest, with 49 in New York alone.

Parents who have adopted Indian children vary considerably in economic and social backgrounds, but all share the desire to adopt a child who "needs someone", as one couple expressed it. Many of the adoptive parents had not indicated preference as to race or sex. Among the adoptive parents are farmers, small business operators, industrial workers, several teachers, a college president, and a number of newspapermen.

"One problem we don't have to face is that of 'matching' parents and children,” said Director Arnold Lyslo of the Child Welfare League. “Indians and non-Indians generally don't look at all alike, and the question of whether the child is adopted is out in the open from the beginning.”

Reporting to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Lyslo said further: "The Indian Adoption Project has been one of the League‘s most satisfying activities. Gloom mongers forecast that our Indian adoption project wouldn't work, when we started seven years ago. But the close follow-up that we maintain has proved that it does work. Indian children adapt happily to a non-Indian environment in almost all cases--even the older ones. While the adoptive parents have sometimes been overly protective at first, they have soon found out that the Indian youngsters slip easily into family and neighborhood patterns."

The Child Welfare League of America serves as coordinator for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in finding homes for Indian children through licensed public or private adoption agencies. The League's headquarters are at 44 East 23rd Street, New York City.

The Department of the Interior today announced the award of a $3,859,000 contract for construction of a new 18-classroom school facility at Sanostee, on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico.

When completed, the Sanostee school complex will serve 720 Navajo children, ranging from beginners through grade eight. As a result, many area children now spending most of the year away at boarding schools will be able to attend schools nearer their homes, either as day or boarding students. The new construction augments a present school which serves only 243 students, beginners through grade four.

The contract calls for 10 beginners' classrooms; 8 standard classrooms; an instructional materials center; mechanical building; multi-purpose building; three 160-pupil dormitories; a 700-pupil kitchen-dining building; housing and carport facilities for 74 employees; and a building that combines storage and maintenance areas with a fire station and a three-stall bus garage.

Included in the contract are utilities; a 250,000-gallon elevated water storage tank; sewage treatment plant or sewage lagoons; pump house; concrete play areas; street paving; grading and other site improvements.

The contractor is Northeast Construction Company of West Virginia, with home offices in Tiffin, Ohio. Five bids, ranging to $4,605,900, were received.

I have chosen to discuss two subjects today - - Indian development and the development of the natural resources of the West.

It would be an untoward event if any Secretary of the Interior appeared before "an assembled group of Western Governors and did not discuss natural resources. It is, on the other hand, a rare occasion when any Secretary does discuss the future of our Indian people with a gathering of Governors. However, the time has come for all of us to face up to the failure of many of our Indian programs, and I propose that we confront them candidly here today.

What are the facts about America1s Indians in the year 1966? It is not a pleasant picture: the great majority of Indians live in the 19 western States; most reservation Indians in your States are unemployed or semi-employed; America's Indians have been accurately described as most impoverished minority in America; the housing of our Indian people is, without doubt, the least habitable of that enjoyed by any group in our country.

These facts are beyond dispute. To put it bluntly, the Indian programs and policies of the past have fallen far short of success. This is the brutal truth and the time has come to face up to its implications.

President Johnson's work for eradication of poverty sweeps over all reservations. No one thinks we can do it with one stroke but it is a target.

There has been much soul searching on the Indian issue in recent days. Two weeks ago I spent three days in Santa Fe with Congressional leaders and top officials of the Indian Bureau discussing the Indian problem. In my judgment we are at a turning point in Indian policy - - and the States have a very big stake in the decisions which must be made in the months ahead.

Some of you may say to yourselves "Yes, Indian policy has often failed -- and it is all the Federal Government's fault." This, I submit, is a very easy generalization -- as easy as the effort of some to pin all the blame on the Indian Bureau.

To be utterly honest about it, all of us have failed - - and I fear we will not succeed until we re-orient the whole effort and enlist the best efforts of all governments - - and the best brains of private industry as well.

It is true that the Indian Bureau might have done a better job -- but it has been working with outdated tools and outmoded institutions; it is true that the performance of the Interior Department as a whole has not been adequate; it is also true that the Federal Government has failed to marshal all of the resources available to it to aid our Indian people; and, finally, it ma y be likewise true that the Secretary of the Interior himself -- the trustee and outmoded "White Father" -- has failed, up to now, to provide the leadership needed to lead our Indian people out of poverty and into the mainstream of American life.

Having performed this mea culpa, let me quickly add my conviction that the States and local governments of the West have also failed to do their part to make a new day and a new hope possible for their Indian neighbors.

What are the facts in 1966 about the attitude of State and local governments toward the Indian citizens of their States?

I recognize that several States provide school and welfare service on the same basis as for their other citizens -- and some of you may consider my criticism unfair. But to speak in general terms, it has been my experience that many States firmly resist assuming responsibilities for their Indian populations even when these responsibilities rightfully belong to State and local governments; such States consider their Indians "Federal" rather than State citizens and regard Indian advancement as a 98% "Federal problem."

Few States have acted to encourage the development of Indian resources; few States have even recognized -- much less done anything about -- the special education needs of Indian youngsters (in spite of the fact that more than 2/3 of all the Indian children in the country are enrolled in public schools); few States have really encouraged Indians to participate fully in their political life; and many have been indifferent much of the time toward the general welfare of their Indian citizens.

I am not suggesting that all of the Federal Government's responsibilities towards Indians should now be shifted to the States. I am intimating that most of the western States have done too little too late to aid the cause of Indian development.

Some States, worse, have missed what I believe is the main point - - that the economy of every State will be strengthened as the Indians are helped to develop their human and natural resources to the maximum degree possible.

While there is much the Federal Government can and will do, I know very well bringing them into the mainstream of American life will depend more on the Indians themselves, the assistance and encouragement given by their neighbors and the State and local governments in eliminating discrimination and equipping them for modern American life.

In our Federal system almost every function or service provided by government is a cooperative one involving every level of government to some degree. Whatever may be the trends in other areas, Federal responsibility will decrease and State increase as we succeed in moving the Indians into the mainstream.

Today in several States the most valuable tracts of land for city development are owned by Indians. In some States the most valuable undeveloped farm lands, the best stands of timber, and finest outdoor recreation sites (ski slopes, trout streams, lake fronts, and scenic vistas) are owned by Indian tribes. Development of these assets will be good for the Indians -- and good for the States.

During the past year we have sought special legislation to permit the long-term leasing of several Indian reservations which lie at; the edges of major western communities. Such legislation, if enacted, would permit urban industrial development to take place on these large virgin tracts. There can be no doubt about the economic contribution of such development to the general welfare of the communities involved. Yet representatives of State and local governments have objected to the proposed legislation and the development which would follow because the Indian land does not, at present, contribute ad valorem taxes to the State. Such an appraisal ignores the fact that Indian resources move into the State stream of commerce, that industrial development on Indian reservations means a bigger payroll for both Indians and non-Indians, and that Indians pay sales, gasoline, and excise taxes which are now the largest revenue sources of most States. Furthermore, such shortsightedness ignores the fact that so long as Indian reservation lands remain undeveloped, the Indians living on them will be dependent upon the Federal Government and their property will continue to enjoy tax exemption.

I should like, however, to acknowledge that a few States have taken a militant interest in the development of Indian resources. Governor Sawyer, of our host State, has done much to encourage the development of Pyramid Lake, property of the Paiute Indians two members of whose Council are in this room -- and one of America's most beautiful, unspoiled, undeveloped recreation areas, lying only thirty-five minutes from Reno. And certainly the State of Florida has given all possible assistance in developing the resources of the Seminole. There are other exceptions but in the main the States have either resisted the development of Indian property or shown only passive interest in resource development.

The quickest way to bring Indian reservations into a role which is fully contributory to the economic life of the surrounding area is to develop them.

Indian parents want and deserve the best possible education for their children. To provide that quality education the States must recognize and provide for the special needs of the Indian children or they will continue to drop out or be pushed out - - in shocking numbers - - before graduation. Here is an opportunity to assist the Indian people in a most meaningful manner.

The States today enjoy the greatest opportunity in history to recognize and to deal with these special educational needs. P. L. 89-10, providing aid for elementary and secondary education, is an act specifically designed for the special educational needs of disadvantaged youngsters in the American public school system. Some of the western States are receiving large sums of money under this act to provide for Indian youngsters who come from homes where the family income is less than $2, 000 per year. During the months ahead I shall be much interested in observing the extent to which the public schools develop educational programs specifically designed for their disadvantaged Indian children. I know that the members of the Education staff of the BIA are eager to share with the public school districts the things which they have learned about the special educational needs of Indian youngsters and the means of satisfying those needs. I truly hope that P. L. 89-10 will provide the basis for a much closer relationship between the public and Federal schools which serve Indian youngsters.

In the area of economic development there are also Federal programs which point the way toward a greater assumption of responsibility, by States, for their Indian populations. The Economic Development Act established a means by which States can help Indians and others to develop their resources and to improve their economic lot. To the best of my knowledge not a single State thus far has submitted on its own initiative to the EDA a program primarily planned to assist an economically disadvantaged Indian population. Some reservations do qualify as depressed areas in their own right and from these reservations proposals have come but these were Indian originated - - not originated by the States.

Somewhat the same situation prevails with respect to the Community Action Programs of the Office of Economic Opportunity. Wherever Indian reservations are entitled by law to submit their own Community Action Programs, they have done so. However, the small, unorganized Indian communities, both on and off reservation, have seldom been included by State and local governments in their plans for Community Action Programs.

Through the Economic Opportunity Act, the Economic Development Act, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the States have been presented with golden opportunities to contribute to the educational and economic advancement of Indian populations, and I strongly urge you to respond to the opportunities and the challenges involved. I am here today to ask you to join with the Federal Government in reviewing the whole area of Indian need and the spectrum of possibilities which are at hand to alleviate Indian poverty and provide a happier, and more dignified life for the first citizens of this land.

We are at work now in Washington on new foundation legislation designed to strike off the shackles which have restricted Indian development, to permit Indian tribes to use the tools and institutions of modern corporate management, to grant the Indians entry to the many markets of America - - to take a whole series of steps that will enable Indians to move forward, to build viable communities and to enjoy the optimum development of their resources.

I believe that the latter half of the 1960's can be as dynamic a period of development in the field of Indian affairs as has the first half in the field of resource development.

We have worked together on all levels, and since 1960 many dramatic resource development decisions have been made -- many bold new programs have been initiated that are transforming the West.

A quick glance at history reveals the rapid pace of action: in January 1960 the Columbia River Treaty was still in the negotiation stage with our neighbor nation to the north; the bold California water plan advocated by Pat Brown still awaited the decision of the California electorate; the joint Federal-State San Luis Project in the Central Valley of California was yet to be authorized by the Congress; California, Arizona, and Nevada were in the ninth year of their bitter, unproductive lawsuit over the waters of the lower Colorado; the Northwest and Pacific Southwest had the prospect of great gain by interconnecting their power systems, but no plan to carry out an interconnection; the States of the Upper Colorado River Basin were unconnected by heavy electric transmission grid - - indeed, the major electric power systems of the West were regionalized and unintegrated; in the region as a whole - - save for the Bonneville marketing area in Washington and Oregon - - the old public-private power arguments were continuing full sway, in many cases to the detriment of development beneficial to both; and many scenic masterpieces in the West which belonged in our National Park System were unrecognized and unprotected.

Where are we today - - in 1966?

The Columbia is now a chain of lakes from Grand Coulee Dam to Bonneville. The Missouri is tamed. Glen Canyon and Flaming Gorge dams are producing power. Point Reyes and Canyonland National Parks are realities.

Early in 1962, the Department of the Interior concluded its negotiations with the non-Federal utilities in the five-State Colorado River storage project area for a joint Federal and non-Federal utility system for the marketing of Colorado River storage project, with substantial benefits to both the Federal and non-Federal power systems and to their customers.

The Colorado River Storage Project transmission system negotiations set a pattern which brought about the Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest intertie -- the most imaginative electric transmission system conceived by any group of engineers throughout the world.

This intertie system will span the country from the Columbia River to Phoenix, Arizona, and, including two 750,000 volt d. c. lines, will tie together the major Federal, public, and private electric systems in the eleven contiguous western States which, along with Alaska and Hawaii, make up the Western Governors I Conference. The Pacific Northwest-Southwest intertie is, therefore, itself a symbol of the inter-regional cooperation of these States.

The non-Federal utilities in the southwestern area have moved rapidly to build on the foundation provided by the intertie. In September of 1964, they formed a joint planning organization, Western Energy Supply and Transmission Associates, or WEST, as it is called. Negotiations between the Department of the Interior and WEST are under way for the establishment of cooperative coordination and integration arrangements. Under these arrangements the hydro output of the Government‘s Colorado River plants and the steam power produced by the non-Federal utilities will complement each other for mutual benefit.

Within the last two weeks, the Department has reached an historic agreement with the utilities involved that opens the way for the construction of two new coal-burning generating plants in the Colorado River basin. These are the Mohave plant to be located here in Nevada just below Davis Dam, and the Four Corners plant in the Four Corners area of New Mexico near Farmington on the San Juan River. These plants will each produce 1500 megawatts of power -- enough to serve two cities the size of Philadelphia. More than 1850 miles of transmission lines will feed the power from these plants to both the Los Angeles area and El Paso, Texas.

The agreement covers the principles to be followed by the Department in making available water, rights-of-way, the plant sites, and coal from the Navajo and Hopi reservations. The projects will afford important economic opportunities to the Indian tribes from whose reservations the coal will come and upon one of which the Four Corners plant itself is located. The opportunity afforded to utilize Indian coal resources was an important factor in the selection of the location for these two plants. These plants demonstrate not only regional, economic planning at its best, but they also serve to demonstrate what can be accomplished by bold, imaginative joint action by the Federal Government and the utility industry.

We have spelled out in the agreement for the first time measures to abate air and water pollution resulting from the operation of the two steam plants. The inclusion of these conservation stipulations is a concrete step in carrying out President Johnson's instructions that the Federal Government provide an example to the Nation in pollution control. We expect these provisions to serve as the model for similar provisions in future agreements.

The Pacific Northwest-Pacific Southwest intertie is itself but the opening step in large-scale, -inter-regional connections. Studies of extra high voltage intertie between the Bonneville system and the Bureau of Reclamation's Missouri River Basin grid, and between that system and the Southwestern Power Administration are under way. But I do not want to dwell over-long on the electric power aspects of resource development since 1960. We are at new take-off points in water resource development, in recreation, in natural beauty, in cleaning up and protecting our environment, and in the utilization of our public lands.

The organization of the Western States Water Council less than a year ago has brought the Western States together in a new form of cooperative endeavor. The Council has made an auspicious beginning as a clearing house and generator of ideas in western water development.

The Water Resources Planning Act of 1965 represented a major breakthrough in Federal-State water resource planning.

The Water Quality Act of 1965 marked the start of an intensive attack to halt and roll back the ravages of pollution. President Johnson's plan to transfer the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration to the Department of the Interior will, if it becomes effective, as I am confident it will, enable us to coordinate the war on pollution fully with comprehensive water resource programs.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act demonstrated the determination of the Administration and the Congress to make substantial investments to provide for the recreation needs of the American people.

The Wilderness Act of 1964 marked yet another take-off point in resource preservation that was reached in the mid-60's. I am hopeful that it will soon be joined by the Wild Rivers legislation that has passed the Senate and is now before the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

We have tremendous new tools which can be used, if we have the vision and courage to use them wisely, to enrich our national well- being and to improve the quality of our environment; in short, to accelerate the achievement of a better life.

We have seen, particularly in the emerging pattern of regional cooperation in the development of our power resources, the benefits that can flow from large-scale cooperative undertakings.

The question is whether in the latter half of the decade of the 60's we can approach our remaining energy and water problems with similar statesmanship. We are, today, at another turning point. The West faces a choice of a return to the old trenches, to the old battlegrounds of inter-regional strife or it can use the new techniques of compromise and accommodation.

The problems, as I know only too well, are difficult. I refuse, however, to accept the premise that they are insurmountable.

Regional cooperation does not mean that one region of the West should or can be expected to jeopardize its own future prospects for water development.

Regional cooperation does not mean that wasteful or inefficient water use practices can be tolerated.

What regional cooperation does mean, at the mid-point of the 1960’s, is that the process of fact finding and of hard examination of water supply problems and alternative solutions to those problems should begin and begin promptly.

We have developed new patterns of cooperation between States -- and between regions. We have made it plain in our areas that public power and private power can co-exist to mutual advantage. Surely we can build on this base -- and build a new West that is clean and green and bright with promise.

The war on poverty, and our strivings toward a Great Society, have brought the American Indian people into the forefront of the national conscience. There are organizations, such as the Indian Rights Association, which have for years plugged away in behalf of reservation Indians, but the voices have been like whispers under the din of other issues. The voice of the Indian people themselves has not yet been raised in one chorus, although there are signs that this is happening now.

We are therefore at a crossroads in Federal-Indian relations, and I sense that it may be the last cross-road wherein the choices remain wide and good. Let us, therefore, pool our best judgments in order to arrive at the destination all of us seek: A place in contemporary American history in which the Indian people may take as full a part in the affairs of this country as do other American citizens.

A conference on Indian affairs was called by Secretary Udall two weeks ago. Although the locale was Santa Fe, New Mexico, the conference was national in scope. At that time he called for "foundation legislation" -- either in the form of an omnibus measure or a series of measures -- designed to pave the way for solving the hitherto seemingly insoluble questions arising from the trusteeship status of Indian lands.

The Secretary said: "We cannot make policy and implement it on our own, particularly policy requiring appropriations or new laws. The Congress is our partner ….. As far as the Indian people themselves are concerned, I think they have been too content at times to make the Bureau a scapegoat. There has been too much timidity ….. I think that our Indian people must realize that the way to progress in this country is usually that of boldness and taking of risks, not of timidity….. Several States and local governments are also responsible ….. The attitude is "the Indian people are not our problem; let the Federal Government take care of them."

" ….. New waves have washed ashore in the last five years. Our country has moved into an unprecedented period of peacetime prosperity….. The Indian people should be tied into the great things that have been happening….. "

The first thing I intend to do is meet with Indian people -- many of them -- in various parts of the country. We need to have a conference between the Federal administrators of Indian policy and the Indian people who are directly affected by policy decisions. Out of them I expect to come back with more concrete ideas as to how we can deal with the underlying issues.

The subcommittee on Indian affairs of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs earlier this month issued a report which requires a response from us within 90 days. The report raises certain questions, among which are these:

(1) "What is the Federal policy with respect to termination of Federal trusteeship responsibility for Indian lands?" On this point, I should say that the policy remains the same as it has consistently been over the past five years. But the gray area of what constitutes the proper approach is one which the Indian people themselves will have to help us define.

(2) The second issue raised by the Senate also involves trusteeship responsibilities, and deals with the multiplying heirship problem. Indian trust lands that are individually rather than tribally owned have, over the years, become fractionated into many non-economic holdings as the result of inheritances. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is bookkeeper. The bookkeeping is highly costly. The difficulty in solving the heirship problem seems to be in arriving at a consensus. Everyone has a different idea as to how it should be done. Maybe we should think of alternative ways to settle the problem, giving the option to the Indian people.

(3) A third point demanding attention is the status of Federal education programs for Indian people. What are the routes we might best travel to accelerate public school opportunity for all Indian children?

At present, our Federal schools enroll about 50,000 -- or one third -- of the reservation Indian children. The remainder are in public schools, or, in a few instances, parochial or other schools. Our major school construction programs during the past five years have been in areas which are remote from public schools; and we have been concentrating upon elementary school construction. Is it advisable to attempt more of the 'peripheral dormitory' approach -- i.e. establishing dormitories adjacent to public schools so that Indian children from remote areas may attend public schools? This is being done in some cases with respect to teen-agers. But what about the little ones?

An overriding question also still remains: How capable would a public school district be to take on, in sudden influx, a whole classroom full of Indian children? Aside from the physical limitations, there are the other considerations: How skilled are the public school teachers and counselors in providing programs for the non-English-speaking, culturally different children who come from remote areas?

A way through this morass of problems must be found. We Federal administrators cannot find it alone. Satisfactory solutions may be found only with the fullest cooperation among all levels of government, in concert with the Indian people themselves.

(4) Another question raised by the Senate subcommittee was that of industrial-business development of Indian reservation lands versus an all-out effort to encourage migration outward into the centers of job opportunity.

The ultimate answers must be the result of voluntary decisions by the Indian people. By an enlightened program of vocational training and job placement aid -- which we have -- it has been possible during the past decade to help about 50,000 Indian people settle successfully in off-reservation communities. There are some Indian areas that offer very little promise in the way of massive commercialization. These are the areas that are removed geographically from the business and industrial centers. Development for tourist recreational purposes remains a good hope, but not necessarily the whole answer. On the other hand, there are some reservation areas that hold tremendous potential for varied economic development. But, no matter what approaches may seem best as the result of feasibility studies -- and those we have financed in 80 or more instances -- there must be comprehension on the part of the Indian people as to the nature of the national economy and the means they must take to benefit from our continuing economic growth.

These fundamental questions -- and other questions that arise out of them must become the focus of our attention.

The national conscience has been stirred by the plight of reservation Indians. We no longer need to “sell” Indians to the people of this country. What we need now is to draw the Indian people to the conference tables, together with the best minds in education and finance and community development and government administration. The paternalistic approach is good no longer. It has resulted, in its worst manifestations, in a culture of poverty, and even at best it encourages a dependency approach to life.

This is not the way to fulfillment of the American dream. And surely the American dream of the good life, the active life, the life of self-determination, should be the fire to rekindle in the hearts of the first Americans.

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR BIA TEACHER--Mrs. Iva Kingsley, the academic head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs School at Kayenta, Ariz., was recently honored as an Outstanding World Educator. The award was presented by the Society of International Educators, headquartered in London, and recognizes Mrs. Kingsleys skilled service in elementary education. Mrs. Kingsley has been a Bureau teacher for the past 26 years, with the exception of three years spent in teaching military dependent children at Flagstaff, Ariz. She began her career on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1940 and first went to the Navajo Reservation in 1948 as elementary supervisor for the area that includes Chinle and Tuba City, Ariz. She transferred to Kayenta in 1955.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ON WASHINGTON RESERVATION--The Quinault Indians of Western Washington are not going to be left behind when it comes to community planning. Recently begun at Queets Village on their reservation is a pilot project in total redevelopment for a community of about 31 families.

Planning includes new housing, roads, water and sewerage systems, and a variety of community improvements. While major planning is still in progress, the initial steps such as on-site lot surveys and land status determinations are nearly completed.

PHOENIX INDIAN SCHOOL AUDIOVISUAL PROGRAM--A demonstration by students from the Phoenix Indian School and their audiovisual aids teacher attracted much interest and comment at a recent convention in Phoenix of the Arizona Association for Audiovisual Education, attended by nationally known specialists in the field.

The concept of the Indian School's Instructional Materials Center was explained by the teacher, while students demonstrated the production of such study materials as graphic displays, filmstrips, films, slides, transparencies and photographs.

Dr. Mendel Sherman, Professor of Education from Indiana University's Audiovisual Center was among the interested viewers. Dr. Sherman, who heads a study under the National Defense Education Act to determine quantitative standards for audiovisual communications areas, indicated that the Phoenix School is under consideration for a case study.

TURTLE MOUNTAIN INDIANS PLAN TOURIST ATTRACTION-- Chipewyan Authentics, a tribal enterprise of the Turtle Mountain Reservation Indians, has announced plans to construct a replica Chippewa village near the company plant at Belcourt, N. Dak. Ground leveling and other preliminary site work is now in progress.

The village, an authentic model of a Chippewa community of the past, will be planned by Indian employees of the plant and will offer examples of the company's products--replica Indian artifacts such as weapons, games and peace pipes--for sale to visitors. The opening has been tentatively scheduled for June 1st.

The Belcourt plant is about fifteen miles from Peace Arch, the gateway between the United States and Canada through which about 225,000 travelers pass each year.

BIA HELPS ORGANIZE NEW ASSOCIATION--When a national association was recently organized for educators and linguists who teach English as a second language, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was among the founders.

The Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) adopted a constitution and elected officers at a conference held March 17-19 in New York City. A former chief of BIA's Education Branch, Mrs. Hildegarde Thompson, was elected to the Executive Committee.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs will take a special interest in the Association's activities because of the Federal school system it operates for American Indian and Alaska native children where other schools are unavailable or remote.

Many students in BIA schools first encounter the English language when they start to learn their ABC's, The Bureau, therefore, seeks new and effective English teaching methods for its own school system and encourages their adoption by other schools that serve reservation children.

TESOL plans to publish a journal for language teachers and hopes to provide a channel for expanding knowledge and sharing information among interested professional people in the field.

SANTA FE INSTITUTE STUDENTS PURSUE ADVANCED STUDY--A recent survey by the Institute of American Indian Arts at Santa Fe, N. Mex., revealed that many former students engage in advanced studies in art fields at other institutions.

Of 65 former students polled, representing nearly 40 Indian groups, more than half were engaged in advanced work in such Subjects as sculpture, painting, textile design, commercial art and ceramics. They are enrolled in a wide variety of colleges and technical schools, from Central Washington State College at Ellensburg, Wash., to the School for American Craftsmen at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State.

Five graduates in the past two years have won scholarships amounting to one-half of their tuition at the San Francisco Art Institute. Others have been able to continue their education with the aid of grants from tribal scholarship funds or from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Established in 1962, by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the unique Santa Fe institution fosters the talents of budding artists who come from every Indian population area and from Alaska native villages. An accredited high school program with arts electives is offered in combination with a post-high school vocational arts program that prepares the student for employment or for further study.

CHIPPEWAS TO GET ON-THE-JOB TRAINING--The Bureau of Indian Affairs has announced the award of two contracts to provide job training for Chippewa Indians. A $14,300 contract with Habitant Shops, Inc., of Bay City, Mich., will train 61 Chippewas from the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota in occupations that involve processing cedar logs into various kinds of fencing. Training will be conducted in their home State.

A second contract for $3,200, negotiated by the Bureau with Chippewayan Authentics of Belcourt, N. Dak., will provide on-the-job training for eight local Indians in the manufacture of replica Indian artifacts. The company is a tribal enterprise of the Turtle Mountain Chippewas.

INDIAN CLAIMS ACTIONS--The Indian Claims Commission has awarded $2,450,000 to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation. (Dockets Nos. 264; 264-A; and 264-B) The award represents additional payment for an estimated 3,559,000 acres of land in Washington and Oregon, ceded to the United States under the treaty of June 9, 1855; compensation for an estimated 12,000 acres excluded by erroneous survey from the reservation; and damages from the loss of fish and eel runs in the Umatilla River.

In a second case (No. 47567) involving a claim of the Confederated Bands of Ute Indians, the Court of Claims issued an order approving a compromise and awarding $4,479,498 as compensation for misuse of tribal funds.

Indian vocational trainees and their families will begin arriving March 4 at the former Walker Air Force Base, Roswell, N.M., to begin a "family residential training" program that will teach them the skills and experience necessary to live comfortably in an urban setting.

The training program at the new Roswell Employment Training Center will be operated by the Economic Development Operations division of Thiokol Chemical Corp., Ogden, Utah, under a Bureau of Indian Affairs contract, the Department of the Interior announced today. Partial funding is furnished by the Department of Labor.

When the initial enrollment is completed in late April, there will be 65 families, each with an average of 4.5 children; 10 "solo" parents, each with one or two children; and 150 single persons, 75 men and 75 women, living in what was Base housing adjacent to the city of Roswell.

The adults -- usually both husband and wife -- will take vocational training in a field of their choice. They will receive basic educational training reading, writing, math -- related to their job training, plus family life and social skills training in fields such as home and money management, child care, community living, health care and food marketing.

Vocational course offerings include auto mechanics, small engine repair, welding, food processing, clerical skills, baking, nurse's aide work, and warehousing. For those who cannot drive, driver training will be offered. Courses will last from nine to 18 months.

Beyond the vocational instruction will be planned recreation and social activities. Nursery and pre-school care will be available for the young children while their older brothers and sisters attend the Roswell public schools.

Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, said, "There has been an overwhelming response to this program from tribal leaders and members throughout the Southwest. We anticipate there will be far more applications for training than opportunities available. "

He noted that the "family residential training concept is a recent innovation developed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and it is possible that it can be used to help other disadvantaged groups."

"Community leaders in Roswell are also enthusiastic about this project and have assured us of their full support," Bennett said.

A similar program is being operated under a Bureau contract by the Philco Ford Corp. at Madera, Calif.