OPA

Will Rogers, Jr. will join the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a consu1tanton-call, Commissioner Robert L. Bennett announced today.

The actor, who is part Cherokee Indian and a native of Oklahoma, now resides in Beverly Hills, Calif., and calls Tubac, Ariz. his second home. He served one term in the U. S. House of Representatives from the Beverly Hills district in 1942-44.

Rogers will serve as a general adviser in community relations and similar fields. In making the announcement, Commissioner Bennett said, "We are pleased that Mr. Rogers has agreed to lend help whenever we feel his talents can be used. I hope that in the near future we may also bring other prominent Americans into consulting roles."

Rogers will receive no compensation for his services to the Bureau other than costs of transportation and a per diem allowance of $16 when on official duty.

NEW SUPERINTENDENT AT MESCALERO APACHE RESERVATION--Paul H. Clements, assistant superintendent at the Pima Agency in Arizona since 1964, has been named superintendent of the Mescalero Apache Agency in New Mexico. He fills a post vacated by the transfer last May of Kenneth L. Payton to head the United Pueblos Agency. The new assignment became effective June 26. Clements, a native of Port Townsend, Wash., has since 1948 held various BIA administrative posts -- at the Yakima Agency in Washington; the Umatilla Agency in Oregon; and the Flathead Agency in Montana. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry from the University of Washington, at Seattle.

INDIAN WOMAN TO COORDINATE SAFETY EFFORTS--At least one Bureau of Indian Affairs program will receive an infusion of glamour through the recent assignment of Mrs. Fern Thompson Fisher as the first full-time BIA coordinator for tribal and Federal safety programs.

A granddaughter of James Arkeketa, last hereditary chieftain of the Otoe-Missouria tribe, Mrs. Fisher completed a term recently as Secretary to the tribe.

In her new role as accident-prevention coordinator, Mrs. Fisher will work directly with officials of Indian tribes to combat the mounting rate of Indian accidents on the highways, in the homes, in school. These are the leading causes of deaths among Indians and Alaska Natives, according to the Public Health Service's Division of Indian Health. The Indian death rate of 155 deaths per 100,000 population (from all causes) is three times the national rate.

The new safety coordinator is currently studying safety education at American University, Washington, D.C. under a National Education Association scholarship, the first such scholarship awarded to a Department of Interior employee.

INDIAN HOUSING - Since the early 1960's the Public Housing Administration and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have coordinated efforts to improve housing conditions on Indian reservations.

To date, more than 80 housing authorities have been established on the reservations for the purpose of applying for public housing. Some recent developments include:

A 54-unit low-rent housing project, recently completed on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico, was dedicated on May 14.

Water and sewer lines have been completed for 20 mutual self-help housing units on Utah's Uintah and Ouray Reservation. The mutual housing programs permits Indian owners to gain equity in the new home through labor instead of cash. The Uintah and Ouray Indians have applied for 70 additional housing units under the plan.

On the Salt River Reservation in Arizona, 15 homes have been completed under the mutual help plan and an additional 15 are under construction.

On Arizona's Colorado River Reservation, 10 new mutual help homes were dedicated June 5.

Ground has been broken on the Yakima Reservation in Washington for a 30-unit, low-rent housing complex.

A target date of mid-August was established for completion of a 375-unit, low cost, prefabricated housing project on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. The homes will be manufactured in a plant on the reservation, with tribal members employed in manufacturing processes.

FURNITURE PLANT FOR YAKIMAS - The Yakima Tribe of Washington, a California furniture manufacturing company and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have announced plans to establish a manufacturing plant on the Yakima Indian Reservation.

The Tribe will provide an industrial site and construct a 100,000 square foot factory building, to cost an estimated $790,000. The Economic Development Administration will provide a loan for financing machinery and equipment and will guarantee a second loan for working capital, to be obtained from a private financing institution.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs plans to negotiate an on-the-job training contract with the firm, White Swan Industries, Inc. About 175 Yakima Indians will be trained for employment in the new plant, which is expected to be in operation this fall.

INDIAN CLAIMS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES – Kickapoos - An order issued by the Indian Claims Commission April 21, 1966, in Docket No. 145 awarded $11,511 to the Kickapoo Nation. The award represented recovery on an accounting claim.

Puyallup - In Docket No. 203, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians seeks payment for land in Washington ceded under the Medicine Creek Treaty of December 26, 1854, ratified March 3, 1855. The Commission issued an order April 25, 1966 which held that the Tribe had title to an area of land smaller than that claimed and that the United States extinguished Indian title to this land on March 3, 1855. The case now proceeds for determination of the acreage involved, its value and remaining issues.

Yankton Sioux - The United States Court of Claims, in a May 13, 1966 decision reversed the Indian Claims Commission in Docket No. 332-A, a petition of the Yankton Sioux Tribe or Band of Indians. The Indians originally claimed an interest in a 25 million acre tract in southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, ceded by four bands of Mississippi Sioux under treaties of July 23, 1851, and August 5, 1851; however, this claim was dismissed by mutual agreement. They also claimed a portion of a tract in western Missouri, western Iowa and southern Minnesota, ceded under treaties of July 15, 1830, and October 21, 1837. Dismissed by the Indian Claims Commission on January 12, 1962, this second claim now must be reconsidered by the Commission under the Court's recent ruling.

Southern Ute - The Indian Claims Commission issued a May 6 order in Docket No. 328 holding that the Southern Ute Tribe is entitled to compensation for more than 230,547 acres of land on their Colorado Reservation which was disposed of by the United States without tribal consent. The case now proceeds for determination of the dates of land taking and land values at the time.

SEMINAR FOR INDIAN LEADERS -The first in a planned annual series of two-week workshops and training sessions for Indian leaders and tribal representatives was scheduled for the last week of July and first week of August on the campus of Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho.

The workshops were to be jointly sponsored by the Idaho State University, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Arrow, Inc., a private organization dedicated to Indian interests.

Sponsors provide tuition, and room and board to participants designated by their tribal organizations to attend the annual meetings. Transportation expenses are paid by the tribe whenever possible.

Problems common to tribal councils and Indian community leaders were scheduled for consideration at the seminar. At least one session this year will be devoted to problems involved in labelling and certifying Indian-made products.

Those who complete the first workshop meeting receive charter membership certificates in the Association for Progress in Indian Management, established by the sponsors to stimulate Indian leadership training.

STANDING ROCK ACQUIRES LAND - A 2,607 acre tract adjacent to lands of the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas was recently purchased for $130,375 in tribal funds by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The purchase is part of tribal and Bureau efforts to consolidate Indian holdings on the reservation. The area is one in which Indian lands are heavily checker-boarded with lands owned by non-Indians.

ALLIS-CHALMERS ON GILA RIVER - The Gila River Indian community and Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company recently signed a 15-year lease involving 4,860 acres of Indian land for testing and demonstrating heavy machinery. Under the terms of the lease, the Indians will construct a $75,000 industrial plant which will be amortized in 10 years. Allis-Chalmers will rent the building, and pay an annual ground rent of $5,000. The company will develop, according to a phased plan, test sites, water reservoirs, roadways, flow direction and land balancing projects within the leased area. When equipment and time is available the company will also develop water courses, carry on land leveling, clearing, road grading and ditch cleaning projects outside the lease area for the benefit of the tribe.

Equipment operators, mechanics and technicians will be hired and trained locally whenever possible, thus providing an additional employment source for tribal members

BUREAU BOARDING SCHOOL SERVES DEMONSTRATION PROJECT - A contract signed June 28 at Window Rock, Ariz. by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Dine, Inc., gave the corporation control of a new $3.5 million Bureau elementary school on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The school, known as Rough Rock and located 35 miles northwest of Chinle, Ariz., will be operated as a demonstration center to explore new educational concepts and instructional methods.

Dine - from the Navajo word for "people" - comprises a group of Navajo leaders, including Allen Yazzie, Chairman of the Tribal Education Committee; Ned Hatathli, Director of Resources for the Navajo Tribe, and Guy Gorman, a tribal councilman.

To open in September, Rough Rock School will enroll 210 boarding students and 60 day students in beginning classes through sixth grade and will employ several specialists in remedial reading and speech correction, as well as general classroom teachers.

The demonstration will be funded by a grant provided through the Office of Economic Opportunity. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will continue to provide basic operating funds for the school plant.

BIA CONTRACTS FOR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING - A number of companies have recently renewed contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide on-the-job training for Indian employees. Included are:

Ashland Precision Products Corp., of Ashland, Wis., $14,615 to train 21 Chippewas in parts manufacturing for miniaturized subassemblies.

Burnell &Company, Inc., of Pelham Manor, N. Y., $140,250 to train 195 residents of Laguna Pueblo, N. M. in electronics industry vocations.

• Caldak Electronics Corp., Pierre, S. D., $11,700 to train 23 Indians in electronic components assembly.
• Jicarilla Lumber Co., Dulce, N. M., $24,250 to train 29 Apache Indians in the forest products industry.
• Saddlecraft, Inc., Cherokee, N. C., $5,275 to train 15 Cherokees in leather manufacturing.
• U.S. Automatics Corp. of Pewaukee, Wis., $21,200 to train 47 Indians in the manufacture of electronic components and devices.
• The Vassar Corp. of New York, N. Y., $94,075 to train 158 Cherokees in manufacture of hair accessories.
• Winston Container Corp., Louisville, Miss., $16,675 to train 28 Choctaws in manufacturing paper boxes and containers.

A new $36,256 contract with Philco Corporation has also been negotiated to train 16 Indians of various tribes in the company's Palo Alto, Calif., plant. The trainees will acquire vocational skills needed for employment as electronic technicians.

Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, announced today a Washington exhibit of a series of 17 Indian dance paintings by Phyllis H. Kellar of Lead, S.D., and Santa Fe, N.M., together with a display of turn-of the-century photographs, reproduced from original. "negatives" so old they are printed on glass slides.

The showing will be free to the public in the lobby of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Building, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, May 20 through June 7, except for the Memorial Day holiday.

The paintings by Mrs. Kellar include authentic portrayals of dances by the Zuni, Hopi, Sioux, Mohawk, Iroquois and other tribes, and feature the hoop, buffalo, scalp and other traditional dances of the various tribes.

Mrs. Kellar paints many subjects using varied media, but has primarily dedicated herself to the portrayal of Indian culture. Five years ago she began preliminary research and sketches, working closely with the National Museum of History and the Bureau of Ethnology, and drawing from National Geographic and American Heritage research sources.

During the past three winter seasons, at her studio in Santa Fe, she put on canvas the result of her personal observations of the dances, together with the background she had gathered. The work is a continuing one and will include other tribal groups in addition to the Sioux, Five Nations and Southwest Indians included in the present exhibit.

The glass-slide collection which will be shown as a complement to the colorful paintings, was recently discovered among old Department of the Interior files and was turned over to the Smithsonian Institute for identification. Labeled, "Indian Faces; Turn of the Century," the photographs include portraits of Indian chiefs, braves, women and children, as well as graphic portrayals of Indian life.

This will be the first time that either exhibit has been shown to the general public.

New superintendents of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Eastern Navajo Agency, Crownpoint, N.M., and Fort Totten Agency, Fort Totten, N. D., were named today by Commissioner Robert L. Bennett. Both superintendents are of Indian descent.

Edward O. Plummer, Tohatchi, N.M., was names to the superintendence of the Eastern Navajo Agency. He is now realty officer at the Navajo Area Office, Window Rock, Ariz. Plummer is the first Navajo Indian appointed by Commissioner Bennett to be superintendent of an agency in the Navajo area.

Jerome F. Tomhave, Elbowoods, N.D., was appointed superintendent of the Fort Totten Agency from the post of realty officer of the Hoopa Area Field Office, Hoopa, Calif. Tomhave is a Gras Ventre Indian.

Plummer, 40, is a former employee of the Navajo Tribe and has served six years with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Gallup, N.M., Fort Defiance, Ariz., and Window Rock, Ariz. He will replace Kent FitzGerald, superintendent at Crownpoint since October 1960, who was transferred April 21 to the post of community development officer of the Navajo Area Office at Window Rock.

Tomhave, 38, has had 15 years’ service with BIA, serving in progressively responsible positions beginning at the Fort Berthold Agency, Elbowoods, N. D. He also has served with Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies at Belcourt, N.D., Ashland, Wis., Harlem, Mont., Dixon, Mont., and the Aberdeen, S.D., and Minneapolis, Minn. Area offices. He replaces James D. Cornett, who is transferring to the superintendency of the Zuni Agency.

Plummer attended Bacone College, New Mexico Highland University, and the University of New Mexico. He served in the Army, including one year in Japan, and is the father of two daughters.

Tomhave is a graduate of Haskell Institute, the Bureau of Indian Affairs post-high school vocational school at Lawrence, Kan. He also has served in the Army, and is the father of six children.

Opportunities for developers and investors to grow along with America's rapidly expanding recreational industry are being offered by the Cochiti Indian Tribe of New Mexico, which has concession rights on what will be the biggest lake in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area.

When the Cochiti Dam is completed across the Rio Grande, 50 miles north of Albuquerque, in 1970, it will create a 2,300 acre-lake in the midst of some of the Southwest's most scenic and historic country.

The Cochiti Pueblo is offering 1,850 acres of shore land for commercial recreational development under long term leases on Cochiti Lake. The Pueblo will also consider residential or other development proposals on adjacent lands.

Cochiti Lake will be set among the mesas, arroyos, and canyons of the New Mexico high country. It will be surrounded by mountains in an area with a near perfect climate for outdoor living.

Access to the area is provided by the Pan-American Central Highway (Interstate 25). Economic projections indicate that Cochiti Lake will have 850,000 seasonal visits in 1970 with the figure rising to two million by the year 2000.

In addition to its main attractions of boating, camping, fishing and swimming, the lake will be close to the Bandelier National Monument, the atomic city of Los Alamos, Valle Grande -- the Nation's largest extinct volcano--and the Spanish charm and festivity of Santa Fe.

A basic plan for the development of the area has been prepared and endorsed by the Cochiti Pueblo, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Army Corps of Engineers. This plan contains the basic terms and conditions for commercial and public use development and is available from the Superintendent, United Pueblos Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P. O. Box 1667, Albuquerque, N. Mex. 87103.

Solon G. Ayers, a career educator and employment assistance officer with the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, has been named Superintendent of the Albuquerque Indian School in New Mexico, the Bureau announced today.

Ayers has been on detail to the Albuquerque office of the Bureau since June, working with Bureau architects in planning a new structure to replace the century-old Indian boarding high school there.

The new institution will offer postsecondary vocational-technical programs as well as a full range of high school courses. Congress recently approved $700,000 in planning funds for the school.

Ayers also has been working with Bureau education officials and with State and local school authorities in shaping curricula for the new institution, which would not be restricted to Indian enrollment.

Ayers' career with the Bureau started in 1940 as principal of Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kans., one of the largest and oldest Federal schools for Indians. In 1962 he became director of Federal education services for the Bureau's Portland, Ore., Area, which embraces Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In 1963 he became Chief of Employment Assistance in the Bureau's Denver office, where Indians seeking to relocate are aided in acquiring skills and jobs. Before his Bureau service, he held teaching and supervisory positions in public schools and colleges in Texas.

A native of St. John, Kans., Ayers holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Education from the University of Texas.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, announced today that a completely updated "American Indian Calendar" is available for purchase from the Superintendent of Documents in Washington, D.C.

The Calendar, a much-requested booklet, lists important Indian events primarily in the 25 states where there are Indian areas with an official Federal relationship, gives information on pow-wows, rodeos, dances, religious observances, and arts and crafts exhibitions.

Typical listings include: June and July celebration of the Navajo Tribe's Centennial in Arizona and New Mexico; the Cherokee drama, “Unto These Hills," performed from June through Labor Day at Cherokee, N.C.; an August all-tribes pow-wow in Sheridan, Wyo., climaxed by the election of a new Miss Indian America; a Choctaw Indian Fair in mid-August at Philadelphia, Miss.; the late November wild rice harvest at Nett Lake Village, Minn.; the Creek Indian Stick Ball Game throughout the summer, near Holdenville, Okla., and the numerous Pueblo dances and observances throughout the year in New Mexico.

In announcing the booklet, the Bureau noted that many Indian observances depend upon seasonal activities and cannot be pinned down in advance to exact days. Tribal medicine men sometimes choose the day when portents seem best to them. Tourists are advised to check in advance with local Bureau offices and. chambers of commerce for specific dates.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Robert L. Bennett suggested that because of restrictions on foreign travel, many thousands of people this year will turn to Indian reservations for fishing and hunting, hiking and sight-seeing.

"In almost every case, visitors are welcomed by the Indian people," he said. "Each reservation has its own simple rules and they should be honored. The use of liquor is forbidden on most reservations, and the taking of pictures should be carefully checked with local authorities."

Pictures may not be taken of certain religious ceremonies, and it is advisable to ask permission before taking pictures of individuals.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs' "American Indian Calendar" is priced at 30¢ and may be obtained by writing the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

Award of an $894,186 construction contract at historic Fort Sill Indian School, Lawton, Okla., was announced today by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Successful bidder was the V and N Construction Co., Lubbock, Tex. A total of nine bids was received, the highest $1.5 million.

The contract covers two 128-pupi1 dormitories; a service building; and seven 3-bedroom houses and three 2-bedroom houses for school faculty members. The project will include site grading; connections for all utilities; walks, driveways, play areas and related work. The contractor also will demolish an old dormitory.

Fort Sill School, established in 1892 on the site of an earlier Quaker Indian school, is operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a coeducational boarding high school. Students come from several parts of the country. During the 1965-1966 school year 36 tribes were represented in the student body of 270.

New superintendents have been named for two Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies -- the Zuni in New Mexico and the Fort Hall in Idaho -- Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, announced today. Both superintendents are Oklahoma men and transfer from North Dakota agencies.

I James D. Cornett, Superintendent of the Fort Totten, N. D., and Agency has been reassigned to head the Zuni Agency, and William A. Mehojah, Superintendent of the Turtle Mountain Agency, Belcourt, N. D., is to be Superintendent of the Fort Hall Agency.

Cornett succeeds Joseph F. Otero in the Zuni post. Otero transferred to the Department of Commerce to become executive assistant to Orren Beaty, Federal Co-Chairman of the Four Corners Regional Commission. A successor for Cornett at Fort Totten has not been named.

Mehojah succeeds John L. Pappan, who was transferred to be Superintendent of the Osage Agency at Pawhuska, Okla. A successor for Mehojah at Turtle Mountain has not been named.

Cornett, 45, a native of Kaw City, Okla., began his career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a soil scientist and has served at the Fort Peck and Blackfeet agencies, Mont., and the Zuni Agency, N. M. While at the Zuni Agency he served as acting superintendent for a period of 6 months.

Cornett graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in 1952. He served in the Navy during World War II. Cornett is married and has one son.

Mehojan, 51, is a native of Sayre, Okla. Government began in 1939 at the Pawnee Agency years with the Veterans Administration, Mehojah responsible positions with the Bureau of Indian South Dakota, and North Dakota.

His career with the Federal Except for a period of seven has served in progressively Affairs in Oklahoma, Montana, and Of Indian descent, Mehojah was graduated from Haskell Institute and Muskogee Junior College. He served in the Army in the European Theater during World War II. He is the father of a son and daughter.

Cornett's transfer is effective May 19; Mehojan's transfer is effective June 2.

"Three From Santa Fe" is the title of an exhibition of paintings, ceramics and sculpture to be shown May 7 through June 28 in the Department of the Interior Art Gallery, 18th and C Streets, NW, Washington, D.C.

Sponsored by Washington's Center for Arts of Indian America, the three featured artists are employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, working and teaching at the unique Institute of American Indian Arts, at Santa Fe, N. M.

Mrs. Stewart L. Udall, President of the Art Center, noted in announcing the exhibit that all three artists have international, reputations. Other internationally famous artists who have been featured at the Gallery during the past year include Yeffe Kimball, noted for her acrylic paintings, Maria Martinez, potter of San Ildefonso, and her son and grandson, Popovi and Tony Da, potters and artists.

The new group includes Otellie Loloma, a Hopi Indian from Second Mesa, Ariz., who teaches ceramics, painting, cultural studies and traditional dances at the Institute; Fritz Scholder, Mission Indian from California, an instructor in Advanced Painting and Art History; and James McGrath of Tacoma, Wash., the Institute's Director of Arts.

Mrs. Udall said that most of their exhibited works will be offered for sale during the two-month span of the showing.

All three of the artists have had works shown in national as well as international exhibits, including one at Blair House in Washington; the Edinburgh and Berlin Art Festivals; the Alaskan Centennial; Washington's Indian Art Center, and Philbrook Art Center, Tulsa, Okla.

An interesting sidelight of the group showing is that Loloma and Scholder are Indians, while McGrath is non-Indian.

While the Indian artists show some non-Indian influence in their work, there is no doubt that McGrath has become very much involved with the mystical and esoteric aspects of the Pueblo Indian idiom of the Santa Fe area, and shows unusual sensitivity for Indian feelings. His work incorporates such materials as feathers, rawhide, sinew and branches in its execution.

Miss Loloma came into the non-Indian world from a reservation background. After training at the School for American Craftsmen, Rochester, N. Y., she began to merge her new-found technical training with the natural shapes and forms of her Hopi inheritance. Today, although her work has a contemporary feeling, she is very much involved in traditional Hopi philosophy and this gives a spiritual dimension to her creations.

Scholder, although of Mission Indian descent, had little access to his Indian background until he joined the Institute's arts faculty in 1964. He had already received recognition for his paintings, identified with abstract expressionism and pop art. Now, Scholder has combined his former way of painting with Indian subject matter, resulting in a new series of pop or Indian "protest art."

The Gallery will be open to the public for "Three From Santa Fe" from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Admission is free.