OPA

The Department of the Interior said today it has asked Congress to enact legislation to increase by $3 million the authorization for a program of adult vocational training for Indians administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Several identical bills pending in Congress call for raising the annual operating funds from the present $12 million to a new high of $15 million.

The program, which began in 1958, is designed to help increase the employability of Indian men and women. It is open to those between 18 and 35 years old.

The Bureau has contracted with more than 100 public and private vocational education institutions throughout the Nation to provide training in a wide range of occupations for which skilled help is in demand. All expenses of trainees are met by the Bureau during the training period, including costs of moving and maintaining families of those trainees who are family heads. Jobs are found for those who complete training and aid is provided in establishing them in new communities.

Nearly 10,000 Indians have been placed in permanent technical and other skilled work since inception of the program. Over 2,000 now are in training. In addition to institutional education, the program also provides on-the-job training.

In a report to the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, the Department said:

“The funds that have been available for this activity have not been sufficient to furnish vocational training to all of those Indians who are in need of and desire such training. At the present time, there is a backlog of nearly 5,000 applicants, both family heads and individuals.

"Needless to say, more and more of the younger Indian people are completing high school and will become available for these services in the near future. If the present trend continues with respect to requests for services under this program, a further backlog will develop."

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash has expressed concern that the backlog of applications may deter some Indians from persisting in efforts to increase their earning power through occupational training.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced issuance of a new publication of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board which he said gives added dimension to understanding of the unique contribution of the Institute of American Indian Arts.

The cultural heritages of over 80 different Native American groups are being creatively explored today by more than 350 artistically talented Indian, Eskimo and Aleut youth at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico," Secretary Udall said.

The booklet is entitled, "Institute of American Indian Arts."

Founded in 1962 and operated by Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Institute of American Indian Arts is a national training program in virtually every art form, l tailored to meet the special educational needs of artistically gifted Indian, Eskimo and Aleut youth throughout the United States.

To bring the Institute's program and the achievement of its unique student body to the attention of the general public, the publication has been specially compiled by the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, an advisory agency headed by five Commissioners appointed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Containing a foreword by Vincent Price, Chairman of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the publication features an important article, "Cultural Difference as the Basis for Creative Education," by Lloyd New, Director of the Institute, who also serves as a Commissioner of the Board.

Citing the far-reaching accomplishments of the educational programs of the Institute, not in its sixth year of operation, Mr. New states in his 'article, "We have found that by stressing cultural roots as a basis for creative expression and by offering a wide range of media in which to work, Indian students can be inspired to new personal strengths in dimensions heretofore unrealized."

Featuring over BO reproductions, an illustrated section of the publication is devoted to Institute students and their works, highlighting all phases of the diversified training and experience in the arts offered by the Institute, 'from painting, sculpture and the crafts to creative writing, the dance and dramatic productions.

Copies of the booklet, "Institute of American Indian Arts, issued in the Board's Native American Arts series of special titles, are available for 65¢ each from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402.

The Department of the Interior today announced four proposed amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations governing trading with Indians.

Under the proposed rule changes, licensed traders would no longer be required to furnish a penal bond to the United States of up to $10,000. Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs disclose that no effective use has been made of the ongoing procedure, particularly since traders who lease Indian lands are required by land leasing regulations to furnish performance bonds. Compliance with the laws and regulations will instead be assured by the rescinding of licenses for failure to comply, BIA officials said.

Another amendment would conform the licensing period of a trader to the period of his land lease. Non-Indians who lease Indian-owned lands hold land leases for periods of up to 25 years. Present regulations limit the issuance of licenses to trade to one-year periods. The administrative work involved in annual renewal procedures is believed by Bureau officials to divert staff members from other major responsibilities related to economic development of Indian lands.

An additional amendment provides for a $5 license fee, to help pay administrative costs.

Finally, the proposals would require the licensing of itinerant peddlers or purveyors of foodstuffs and other merchandise, since their trade has increased so that it is necessary to designate them as traders. Similar requirements have been in effect on the Navajo Reservation and several other Southwestern reservations since 1957.

A notice of intention to adopt the amended regulations is being published in the Federal Register. Suggested changes and comments should be forwarded to the Bureau of Indian Affairs within thirty days of the date of publication.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today steps are being taken to implement a new law which provides for payment to the Delaware Indians for lands ceded under an 1818 treaty. He announced the amendment of regulations which will permit preparation of p tribal roll.

The Act of September 21, 1968, authorized the distribution of funds derived from a judgment by the Indian Claims Commission, and directed the Secretary to prepare a roll to serve as a basis for paying the money.

The judgment of $1,627,244.64 represents additional payment for almost 4 million acres of Indian land. The Commission found the Delaware Nation had a recognized half interest in the ceded land, this interest having a value of $2,218,925 in 1818.

A sum of $124,674.73 already had been paid to the Indians as compensation for the lands, and the Commission determined there were other offsets and counterclaims allowable in the sum of $467,005.63. This resulted in the award granted.

One amendment changes a section of Code of Federal Regulations to define "lineal ancestor," and another includes requirements for enrollment and establishes a deadline of December 31, 1969, for filing applications for enrollment to share in the funds.

Applications for enrollment must be filed with the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 368, Anadarko, Okla., 73005, or the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Federal Building, Muskogee, Okla., 74401, and must be postmarked no later than December 31, 1969.

Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos who are qualified under the 1906 Alaska Native Allotment Act will find it easier and quicker to obtain land allotments up to 160 acres under liberalized regulations announced today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

He said the new regulations--which recognize that the Natives' mode of life, the Alaska climate and the character of the land are all different from conditions on the homestead States of the West--are in effect a return to the interpretation of the statute regarding use and occupancy of the land in effect prior to 1930.

Since 1906, when the Act was passed, only slightly more than 100 grants of title have been made. Until 1930, a qualified Native had no difficulty in obtaining an allotment if he had used the land as a fishing campsite, hunting or trapping cabin, or for caches, corrals or other seasonal but regular purposes. Hunting, fishing and berry-gathering were also considered as qualifying uses. It was not necessary that permanent improvements be placed on the land, or that it be cultivated.

In 1930, however, interpretation of the 1906 Act changed and the Department's Bureau of Land Management began judging applications for Native allotments on the basis of whether the applicant resided on or cultivated the land. Secretary Udall said that as a result, applications justified by occupation and use of the lands consistent with native life and character of the land and climate, have frequently been rejected because of lack of satisfactory evidence of occupancy as required in the contiguous public land States.

Under Secretary of the Interior John A. Carver, Jr., made an examination of the matter in Alaska and reported to Secretary Udall that more than 800 applications were in the process of being filed, and that a return to the more liberal interpretation was needed to protect the Natives' rights from the rapid encroachment of civilization and competition for the land and its resources.

The 1906 Act did not prescribe what use the Native applicant must make of the land, nor specify that use and occupancy could be shown only by improvements or cultivation, nor require the applicant to state the purpose for which he needs the land.

Secretary Udall said that State officials endorse the desirability of generosity toward the Natives, even though the State is also planning large-scale selection of lands under the Alaska Statehood Act.

The new regulations provide for allotments in regularly shaped lots, not necessarily contiguous, up to the maximum of 160 acres. Secretary Udall said BLM's record keeping will be simplified by avoiding the irregular boundaries of allotments whose size and shape was controlled by the former method of determining proper use and occupancy.

The 1906 Act permits the Secretary to approve allotments to any Indian, Aleut or Eskimo of full or mixed blood who resides in and is a native of Alaska, and who is the head of a family, or is 21 years of age.

The new regulations are effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

The results of a cultural exchange of high school students as far apart as Alaska and Arizona, have turned out to be a happy success.

At the suggestion of a group of Navajo Indian high school students, selected student volunteer from Mt. Edgecumbe, Alaska, High School exchanged classes at the beginning of the school year with their opposite numbers from two Bureau of Indian Affairs high schools in Arizona. The three schools are boarding schools to serve children from isolated homes in Alaska and in Navajo land.

The idea, first advanced by the students and Allen D. Yazzie, Chairman of the Navajo Education Committee, at a Navajo Youth conference held at Many Farms. Ariz., last year, was enthusiastica11y supported by both groups: the Eskimos, Aleuts and Tlingits of Alaska, and the Navajos of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. The Conference is an annual affair sponsored by the Education Committee of the Navajo Tribal Council, made up of Navajo high school and college students attending Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, as well as public and private schools and colleges.

The four students who regularly would attend Mt. Edgecumbe are Margaret Prokopiof, from St" Paul Island, and Effie Vent, from Huslia, both seniors, and Harry Mandregan, St. George Island, and James Shanigan, Pilot Point, both juniors.

The exchange group from the two Arizona schools consists of Marie Holliday, senior from Blanding, Utah, Patrick Platero, sophomore, Holbrook, Ariz., and Melvin Bigthumb, sophomore, Ft. Defiance, Ariz. Marie and Melvin re9ul.arly attend Fort Wingate High School, Window Rock, Ariz.; Patrick attends Holbrook High School in Holbrook, Ariz.

The Arizona boys both say that they like the idea of the Mt. Edgecumbe exchange, reporting that academic standards are similar to those of their regular southwestern schools.

Marie is enthusiastic in her praise of Alaska, a state she has always wanted to see.

According to Yazzie, Navajo youngsters understand the necessity of working within the framework of the BIA schools in order to concentrate on correction of language deficiencies, and similar programs not usually offered in other schools.

"But at the same time," he points out, "it is equally important that they be exposed to the attitudes and interests of other tribes."

After the volunteers have been away from their home territory for one year, they will return to their regular schools and graduate with their class.

Award of a $491,000 contract for the construction of a dormitory and related facilities at the Wahpeton Indian School, Wahpeton, North Dakota, was announced today by the Department of the Interior. The successful bidder was Meide and Son, Inc., of Wahpeton. Eight higher bids ranging to $588,400 were received.

The 160-pupil dormitory for Indian youngsters through grade 2 is a continuation of an expansion and improvement program for the Wahpeton School begun in 1960 to meet the growing needs of the school population. A new classroom building was completed in 1962 and two dormitories in 1964. The current construction project will replace an existing dormitory which is no longer adequate. The improvement program is scheduled for completion within the next 5 years.

Wahpeton School enrolls almost 400 Indian children through grade 8 from the reservations of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana. Most of the children are orphans, while a few come from socially and economically deprived homes. During the summer months, approximately 150 of the children remain at the school for planned education and recreational activities.

The contract includes the installation of a two-stall garage facility, sidewalks, utility connections and other site improvements.

The Department of the Interior has recommended to Congress that legislation be enacted to distribute $2,500,000 in judgment funds to the Klamath Indians of Oregon.

The amount was settled upon by attorneys for the United States and for the Indians and represents redress for insufficient payment for lands ceded to the United States under Treaty in 1864. The case was adjudicated by the Indian Claims Commission last year and funds were appropriated by Congress in June 1964. The additional legislation is now needed to authorize final disposition.

Indians concerned are the Klamath and Modoc Tribes and the Yahooskin Band of the Snake Indians. Federal trust responsibility for their reservation--the Klamath Reservation in southern Oregon--was terminated by a 1954 Act of Congress. When the termination was proposed, the Klamaths were given an opportunity to remain as tribal members or to withdraw from tribal membership. Those who withdrew received sums of money as their share in tribal assets. Those who remained retain joint ownership in the balance of the assets. Both groups retained their interests in future claims awards.

As no further reservation programming is contemplated, distribution of the present judgment funds, and any future awards that result from pending claims, will be made on a per capita basis.

Those whose names appear on the final tribal roll published in 1957 (or their legal heirs) are eligible for per capita payments. There were 2,133 names on the roll, Distribution will be made equally to those who withdrew from tribal membership and those who did not.

In recommending the legislation the Department also proposed an amendment to provide for payment of necessary legal expenses and fees for prosecuting other Klamath claims still pending before the United States Claims Commission.

The Commission, which is independent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of the Interior, was established in 1946 as a special tribunal to consider Indian claims against the United States. Most of these claims are based on past land transactions between tribal groups and the Federal Government.

The Department of the Interior has submitted to Congress proposed legislation for disposition of nearly $5 million in judgment funds held in the United States Treasury for the Miami Indians of Oklahoma and Indiana. Three different awards are involved, resulting from decisions by the Indian Claims Commission.

Largest of the original judgments, netting $4,182,720 exclusive of attorneys' expenses, was appropriated by Congress in May 1963. Interest at the rate of 4 percent per year has meanwhile accrued. Funds will go to descendants of the Miami Tribe or Nation as it existed in 1818.

Today the former Nation consists of two separate and distinct groups: The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and the Miami Indians of Indiana. The judgment was based on a claim by the Indians that they were inadequately compensated for lands ceded to the United States in Ohio and Indiana nearly 150 years ago. The Department's proposal would authorize a per-capita distribution of the judgment, after payment of all expenses, to those meeting eligibility requirements.

In two additional judgments, the Commission awarded a net of $308,572 to the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma and $56,356 to the Miami Indians of Indiana as settlement for lands in Kansas ceded to the Government in 1854. The money was appropriated by Congress in September 1961 and was deposited in the United States Treasury, at 4 percent interest, to the credit of these groups.

Legislation proposed by the Department provides that the governing body of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, subject to approval by the Secretary of the Interior, shall decide precisely how it will program the Tribe's judgment of approximately $308,000.

Since the Miami Tribe of Indiana, on the other hand, is not an organized body, the Department proposes a per-capita distribution of approximately $56,000 among Indian beneficiaries.

Should the Department's proposal become law, qualifications for appearing on the rolls to serve as a basis for distributions would be announced and published in the Federal Register.

The sound of drums and the chant of Indian song will introduce the American Indian Performing Arts Festival April 22-27 in the Department of the Interior Auditorium, 18th and “C” Streets, NW., in Washington, D. C.

The dance performance will be one feature of the first American Indian Festival and Exhibition to be held in Washington under the sponsorship of the Gallery of American Indian Art in the Department of the Interior. Opening concurrently and continuing for several weeks will be a showing of priceless Indian arts and crafts of all periods, on loan from several museums. The exhibition, to be displayed in the seventh-floor Gallery, will be open to the public without charge.

For the theater presentation, ninety American Indians will be brought together through the efforts of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a school operated by Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs. Representing Indian groups from Florida to Alaska, some of the dancers will be Institute students. Under the direction of Lloyd Kiva New and Rolland Meinholz, instructors at the Institute, the performance has been described by them as a “collage of dance and chant, symbolizing birth, life and death.”

The entire presentation, according to the directors, will typify the customs, beliefs and practices of the American Indian, especially in that period before his culture became overlaid with European influences. Through dance and chant, pantomime and poetry, the presentation will symbolize an Indian day of worshipping, working, playing, sorrowing and battling against the enemy.

The show will open with the presentation of a child to the rising sun, followed by ritual preparations for the day and the Hoop Dance and Eagle Dance. The second segment, representing high noon, will consist of legend-telling, games and social dances and here the Rabbit Dance and Fluff Dance of the Senecas, the Seminole Alligator Dance, the Haida Blanket Dance and the Pueblo Buffalo Dance will be performed. With the coming of night, the audience will be the onlookers at a Plains burial ceremony which will be complemented by the Mescalero-Apache Crown Dance and the Navajo Night Chant.

To complement the performing arts production, the Indian arts and crafts exhibition, the most ambitious and comprehensive yet undertaken by the Gallery, has been designed and coordinated by James McGrath of the Institute of American Indian Arts. Traditional--and in many instances ancient--items suggestive of dance, music, legend and myth have been gathered from museums in Denver, Colo.; Tacoma and Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Santa Fe, N.· M.; Anadarko and Ponca City, Okla.; Chicago, Ill., and New York City. The Smithsonian Institution has also opened its showcases and unbolted its garret doors to McGrath in his search for the authentic and unusual.

The setting for the assembled pieces will in itself be a reflection of an Indian day, with piercing light and darkness, reflecting ceiling glass and opaque rugs and animal skins employed in startling counterpoint to create an aura of drama.

The dance performances are scheduled as follows: Evenings - April 22, 23, 26 and 27 at 8:30; and matinees - April 23, 24, and 26 at 2:30. Tickets for children are $1.00 and for adults $2.85 at all performances, and may be purchased through the American Automobile Association.

The Exhibition of arts and crafts will be open April 22 through May 28 and may be seen Mondays through Fridays between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., in the Interior Gallery, which is operated by Government Services, Inc. During the evening performances of the Performing Arts Festival, the Gallery will remain open until 8:00 p.m.