OPA

Washington -- Acting Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Aurene Martin announced today that Riverside Indian School, Anadarko, Okla., has been chosen for a pilot program, sponsored by NASA and presented by the Busey Group. The grant is for the purpose of promoting careers in the math, science, IT and healthcare area with special emphasis in the space industry.

"The effort to prepare American Indian students for careers in science and technology is very important to the economic development efforts of tribal nations," the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs said. "My congratulations to the staff and students of Riverside Indian School."

Riverside Indian School was chosen for this pilot project because its student population is 100% American Indian Students come from rural and urban areas of the country. A major project for the students will be the design a space station that combines American Indian culture with modern technology.

The grant will be used to provide a field trip on May 6, 2003, for 120 students to travel to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, to visit the distance learning lab and Safford Museum. The students will meet Bernard Harris, the first African-American astronaut and will participate with Mr. Harris in a direct link-up using telecommunications technology with John Harrington, a Chickasaw tribal member and first American Indian astronaut. A follow-up trip for 60 students to travel to Southwestern Oklahoma State University is planned for May 27, 2003. Also, a field trip for 30 students and 10 chaperones will travel on May 30, 2003, to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The school will hold an Indian Taco luncheon on May 15, 2003, for tribal leaders, who will judge the American Indian themed space stations made by the students. A special request from NASA has been made to have the students' Native American Space Station sent to the Johnson Space Center to be put on display. It will be displayed with artifacts donated by various tribes. Mrs. Luann Williams, high school science teacher, will serve as project director and will participate in the NASA's teacher training program during that time.

Established in 1871, Riverside Indian School is a federally operated off-reservation boarding school located at Anadarko, Okla. It has an enrollment of 600 students in grades 4 through 12, and is accredited by the state of Oklahoma and the North Central Accreditation Association.

For specific information on the project call Don Sims, Riverside Indian School at: 405-247-6670.

--DOI--

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior (DOI) is continuing its schedule of presentations to employees of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) on the reorganization of both agencies. This week, employees of the Great Plains Regional Office in Aberdeen, S.D., will be visited on June 24 and Eastern Oklahoma Regional Office employees will be briefed on June 25 in Muskogee, Okla. The Department is seeking to increase accountability and efficiency in its trust management functions by reorganizing the agencies that manage Indian trust funds and assets. Presentations have been held this month at the Bureau’s 12 regional offices and other locations around the nation.

Employees will be briefed on the Department’s plan for reorganization of the BIA and OST, and on the Comprehensive Trust Management Plan (CTMP) at morning sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday. The CTMP describes how the new BIA and OST organizational structures will improve the delivery of trust services when the reorganization is completed. Tribal leaders from each region will also be briefed on the reorganization effort in subsequent sessions.

In 2002, the Department and the Tribes together undertook an ambitious effort to change the way the BIA and OST deliver trust and non-trust services to Tribes, tribal service populations and trust beneficiaries. The Plan is based on agreements reached with the Joint Tribal Leaders/DOI Task Force established by Secretary Gale Norton to examine and recommend proposals for improving service delivery to recipients and beneficiaries.

CREDENTIALS: Press registration will be provided. Please bring your sanctioned media credentials and if possible, wear on your shirt collar or around your neck for easy viewing. This will assist our staff. Press seating will be provided.

-DOI-

WASHINGTON – President Bush has proposed a $2.2 billion budget for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for Fiscal Year 2007. The budget reflects the President’s emphasis on fiscal discipline while continuing the Interior Department’s commitment to trust reform, greater accountability at BIA-funded schools, economic development, public safety and tribal self-determination. The President’s proposal increases funding for trust management, education management, tribal energy development, law enforcement programs and support costs for contracting Tribes.

“The President’s 2007 budget request focuses on the BIA’s core mission areas – trust and education – while continuing to support tribal self-determination,” said Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason. “We have worked in consultation with tribal leaders to develop a BIA budget that more accurately reflects their needs and priorities.”

The Fiscal Year 2007 budget request for Operation of Indian Programs (OIP) is $1.97 billion, an increase of $4.4 million over the Fiscal Year 2006 enacted amount.

To improve trust management, the Fiscal Year 2007 budget request includes an increase of $11.5 million for BIA to meet the requirements outlined in the Department’s Fiduciary Trust Model (FTM) while continuing to implement trust reform initiatives. The increase includes $3.0 million critical to reducing the probate caseload of just over 24,000 cases and $6.5 million to implement recommendations of the FTM to eliminate cadastral survey backlogs and reduce survey costs. Funding will support a Certified Federal Surveyor program to train BIA employees to become certified surveyors and maintain the Public Lands Survey system.

This also includes $2.0 million for Indian energy resource development as outlined in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 comprised of $1.4 million for grants to Indian Tribes for energy development activities, such as inventorying energy resources, conducting development feasibility studies, establishing tribal energy resource agreements, providing training and developing tribal energy codes and $600,000 for BIA oversight in approving tribal energy resource agreements and providing technical assistance.

As part of the on-going effort to implement trust reform, the Department will consult with Tribes this spring and propose regulations and legislation addressing needed technical corrections and administrative improvements for implementing trust reform, which will continue to improve services to Indian trust beneficiaries.

The Fiscal Year 2007 budget request proposes an increase of $19.0 million to fully fund indirect support costs for contracting Tribes to encourage tribal contracting and promote progress in achieving Indian self-determination.

The request for elementary and secondary school operations for Fiscal Year 2007 is $536.0 million to support 184 BIA-funded schools and dormitories serving almost 48,000 students and resident-only boarders. The request represents a continued commitment to the future of American Indian youth and supports the President’s commitment to “leave no child behind.”

Included is an increase of $2.5 million to meet the objectives of a program improvement and accountability plan developed by the BIA with Tribes and tribal school boards to improve the effectiveness of the education services provided by the BIA school system. This plan is designed to help schools meet their adequate yearly progress requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The increase will support the realignment of education offices in the field and in headquarters to a more centrally coordinated organization to provide the oversight capacity necessary to promote progress in student achievement and strengthen accountability in all schools.

The budget request also includes an increase of $630,000 for education programs for juveniles temporarily detained in BIA-funded juvenile detention centers to reduce recidivism by enabling them to stay current with their academic instruction.

The Fiscal Year 2007 budget request for post-secondary education totals $103.2 million and includes funding for grants to 24 tribal colleges and universities and two BIA owned and operated institutions – Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. The request continues funding for tribal and BIA scholarships and for operating grants to 24 tribally operated colleges and universities at the 2006 enacted levels.

The OIP request includes $213.7 million for public safety and justice in Indian country, including increases of $1.8 million to expand law enforcement programs in areas where violent crime is most severe and $2.7 million for operating costs at detention facilities built with U.S. Department of Justice funds which will be certified for occupancy in 2007.

The Fiscal Year 2007 budget request for Construction is $215.0 million.

The 2007 budget request for school construction and repair is $157.4 million. While $49.3 million below the 2006 enacted level, the budget funds new projects while allowing the program to focus on completion of schools already funded. The request proposes $36.5 million for replacement school construction to complete funding for the Muckleshoot Tribal School in Washington State and fully fund the Dennehotso Boarding School in Arizona, schools next in priority on the Replacement School Construction Priority List.

In addition, the 2007 budget request proposes $26.9 million for a new budget subactivity, Replacement Facility Construction, to fund replacement of individual buildings on school campuses when entire new school facilities are not needed. This new subactivity is established in response to the recommendations of the Interior Department Inspector General’s report on the use of Facility Improvement and Repair (FI&R) funds. The 2007 request will fund the replacement of four buildings.

In September 2004, the Inspector General issued its report documenting poor conditions at BIA owned detention facilities. The Bureau responded to the IG’s report by expanding its detention center construction program. The Fiscal Year 2007 budget request continues improvement of detention facility conditions by maintaining a budget of $8.1 million for detention center facility and repair. This will fund four major and several smaller FI&R projects to bring Indian detention centers up to national standards.

The 2007 budget request for Indian Land and Water Claim Settlements is $33.9 million and includes $22.3 million for two new settlements. The Snake River Water Rights Act of 2004 requires that the Interior Department provide the Nez Perce Tribe and the State of Idaho $170.9 million over seven years to fund water supply, habitat restoration and other purposes. The BIA portion of the settlement is $95.8 million over seven years. The 2007 BIA budget request includes $14.8 million for payments to the Nez Perce Tribe Water and Fisheries Fund, Nez Perce Tribe Salmon and Clearwater River Basins Habitat Account and Nez Perce Tribe Domestic Water Supply Fund.

The settlement request also includes $7.5 million for the first of two payments for the Rocky Boy’s Water Systems Operation, Maintenance, and Replacement Trust Fund. The total authorization of the trust fund is $15.0 million. Reductions for the Colorado Ute, Zuni, and Quinault Indian Nation land and water settlements, which will be completed or almost completed in 2006, total $23.1 million, offsetting the increase requested for the new settlements.

The BIA 2007 budget request reflects the President’s commitment to fiscal discipline by including reductions in programs in consideration of several critical factors, such as a lack of performance accountability, duplication of other Federal or State programs and implementation of management efficiencies or program priority reassessments. These reductions include the endangered species program ($984,000), agriculture-noxious weeds program ($1.1 million), Johnson-O’Malley grants ($16.4 million), welfare assistance ($11.0 million), road maintenance ($2.6 million), community fire protection ($1.2 million) and water management and planning ($1.9 million).

-DOI-

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s historic commitment to ensure that all students attending Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-funded schools receive a world class education, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced that six federally recognized tribes have been awarded $1.2 million in Sovereignty in Indian Education (SIE) enhancement funds to promote tribal control and operation of BIE-funded schools on their reservations. The funds implement a recommendation contained in the Blueprint for Reform of the Bureau of Indian Education issued on June 13, 2014, by the American Indian Education Study Group convened by Secretary Jewell and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

“Increasing tribal control over BIE-funded schools not only promotes tribal self-determination, but also provides greater tribal discretion in determining what American Indian children should learn, increasing accountability throughout the school system,” Secretary Jewell said. “With school management authority, these communities will have more power to create lessons with tribal cultural values and Native languages, both of which can ensure their children stay connected to their heritage and help them to succeed in the future. These enhancement funds can make the difference in an effective, relevant and rigorous education for American Indian children.”

“The Sovereignty in Indian Education Enhancement Initiative furthers President Obama’s commitment to tribal sovereignty in education by empowering tribes to assume greater control over their schools and their children’s education,” said Assistant Secretary Washburn. “Teaching culture, tradition and language in schools is crucial to engaging Indian students and preserving tribal identities. Tribes have a comparative advantage over a federal agency in prioritizing these important subjects, which are different for each tribe, but they need federal support in building their capacities. This initiative will provide that support.”

“With the Sovereignty in Indian Education Enhancement funding, the Bureau of Indian Education begins its transformation into a school improvement agency that provides support to tribes as they begin to create tribally managed school systems through self-determination,” said BIE Director Dr. Charles ‘Monty’ Roessel. “We will continue working to implement the recommendations.”

The purpose of the Sovereignty in Indian Education Enhancement Initiative is to provide funds to federally recognized tribes and their tribal education departments to create tribally managed school systems. The six tribes announced today will each receive an award amount of $200,000 for researching, assessing and developing an implementation plan to establish a tribally managed school system. Tribes will conduct a comprehensive analysis and an aligned implementation plan of their tribal education departments and school systems in four areas of school reform: Finance, Academics, Governance, and Human Resources. The following tribes will receive enhancement funding:

• Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, Arizona
• Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Fort Yates, North Dakota
• Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Belcourt, North Dakota
• Tohono O’Odham Nation, Sells, Arizona
• Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona
• Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, South Dakota

The Sovereignty in Indian Education enhancement funds respond to the findings and recommendations of the American Indian Education Study Group for improving how federal education services and resources are delivered in Indian Country. Secretary Jewell and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan convened the Study Group in 2013 under the White House Council on Native American Affairs to propose a comprehensive reform plan to ensure that all students attending BIE-funded schools receive a quality education.

Increasing tribal control over BIE schools recognizes the sovereign status of federally recognized tribes, provides them greater discretion in determining what their children should learn, and helps increase accountability throughout the BIE-funded school system. Tribal control of federally funded government programs often improves local service delivery because tribal governments better understand the needs of their communities, are more responsive and better able to be flexible to changes in those needs, and are more accountable for results by their constituents.

###

Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus announced today that a task force has been named to develop a proposed legislative settlement for the Catawba Indian Tribe's South Carolina land claim.

The three-member task force will include Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz; James Moorman, Assistant Attorney General; and Eliot R. Cutler, Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget. Krulitz and Cutler were also members of the Maine Indian Claims task force which developed the proposed settlement of the Passamaquoddy-Penobscot land claims announced in February.

"The Catawba task force will work closely with the tribe, state officials, the South Carolina congressional delegation and others to work out the fairest possible settlement plan consistent with the Catawbas' rights to the land," said Andrus.

The Interior Department recommended last August that the Justice Department begin legal action on behalf of the tribe to recover its 140,000- acre reservation. The 15-mile square area surrounds the town of Rock Hill in the state's north­ central section.

In announcing the legal recommendation last summer, Krulitz noted that the tribe has sought federal help in asserting its claim since 1904. He said the U.S. has a long-neglected duty under the Non-Intercourse Act to nullify the 1840 Treaty with South Carolina.

The tribe occupied a much larger area before 1763 when it relinquished claim to Great Britain on the assurance that possession of the 15 mile square would be secure. After the Revolutionary War, the new U.S. government did not break the 1763 Catawba Treaty, the Solicitor said. The tribe thus claims a vested right in its reservation.

In 1840, after non-Indians had overrun the reservation despite Catawba protests, the tribe finally purported to convey by treaty its remaining title and interest in the 140,000 acres to the State of South Carolina. But the federal government was not involved in negotiations and never consented to the treaty. Under the Non-Intercourse Act, such treaties are void without federal consent.

"We would much prefer a negotiated settlement to lengthy and disruptive litigation," said Andrus. "We hope the task force can accomplish that."

Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel will bestow the Department’s valor award on eight employees June 30 at ceremonies in Washington, D.C.’s Constitution Hall. The event also will honor 94 Interior employees for distinguished service.

The Department’s gold valor award will go to the following:

Dennis A. Long (to be awarded posthumously), Marquette, Mich., a National Park Service employee, who lost his life August 6, 1969, after saving a young woman from drowning in the rough waters of Lake Superior at Isle Royale National Park, Michigan. The rescue efforts tired Long and he was swept away by strong currents. Long resided at 355 E. Hewitt Ave., Marquette.

Lane J. Bouman, 640 Livingston Ave., Missoula, Mont., a Bureau of Land Management Natural resource specialist, who risked his life to rescue a 10-year old boy from swift-flowing, icy waters of the Blackfoot River, east of Missoula, July 4, 1968.

Roger B. Griffith, Route 2, West Alexander, Pa., who made a perilous night time ascent of Mount Huascaran peak in the Peruvian Andes, August 20-21 1969, in futile efforts to rescue John Hudson, a Brooklyn, N.Y., climber, killed in a 600-foot plunge down a glacier. Griffith, on a vacation from his job as a biologist with the Federal Water Quality Administration Offices in Wheeling, W. Va.. spent a total of 23 hours on the mountain in the rescue attempt.

Leonard J. Schmitt, Jr., 45 S. Dover St., Lakewood, Colo., and Douglas O. McKeever, 3210 N. 29th St., Tacoma, Wash., Geological Survey employees, who braved the threat of exploding fuel from a helicopter in rescuing a fatally injured pilot, Gerlad W. Bills, III. Bills had taken the two survey men to the remote Salmon river breaks primitive area in north-central Idaho July 23, 1968. The helicopter went out of control after Schmitt and McKeever alighted. It flipped over, pinning the pilot. Although the aircraft was afire, Schmitt and McKeever freed Bills and pulled him to safety. Moments later the entire craft was engulfed in flames. Bills died shortly after being rescued.

Eddie B. Robertson, 501 Ottawa St., Graylin , Mich., a Geological Survey employee, who rescued a 7-year-old boy from the flood-swollen Pigeon River at Afton, Mich., July 30, 1969. Robertson was making a stream measurement from a nearby bridge just as a canoe carrying two boys and their father crashed into a tree, throwing them into the torrential stream, Robertson plunged into the river Bod brought the younger boy safely to shore and helped the other boy out of the water at the river’s edge.

Ray Nasetoynewa, a Hopi Indian employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tuba City, Ariz., who manned a bulldozer many hours in the snow-laden Gray Mountain region of Arizona to reach four Navajo children, trapped several days in a hogan. They were without food, and fuel supplies were low. Nasetoynewa Started the hazardous trip the night of December 18, 1967. And reached the snowbound children the following day.

Louis W. Robinson, 1902 Powhatan Rd West Hyattsville. Md., a private in the United States Park Police Force, who risked his life to aid Sgt. Robert L. House holder, Metropolitan Police Department, Washington. D. C. Householder was disabled by a shotgun blast from a man under siege in a Washington residence February 21. 1969. Private Robinson, assisted by Pvt. Lawrence Pasco of the Metropolitan Police, maneuver a patrol wagon between Sergeant Householder and the residence. Using the vehicle and his own body as a shield. Robinson then helped Sergeant Householder to a place of safety. 'The gunman, who had killed two persons, finally took his own life.

Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton today announced a fiscal year 1973 spending program $2.6 billion. Over $2.3 of this is included in the annual appropriation request to Congress, with the remainder coming from various permanent appropriations and trust funds.

Morton said: “We have revamped priorities for the coming fiscal year to enable us to use funds for those new missions and requirements that these times have bequeathed to the Department of the Interior.

“Ours is truly a department of natural resources...with a necessary concern for the human aspects of resources development,” he continued. “New program thrusts will improve environmental quality controls in resources development. They will also help provide us with the capacity to meet our increasing responsibilities in mine health and safety, recreation development, and education and economic development for Indians and people of the Territories.”

He further pointed out thatrevenue8 from sales and leasing of public lands are estimated to exceed Interior's budget requests by about a billion dollars in the fiscal year 1973. “The major increase is due to a recent court decision (involving the State of Louisiana and the U. S.) Releasing funds in escrow. Moreover, about $68 million will go to the Federal Treasury from sales of the Federal hunting stamps and collections for exercise taxes on ammunition, sports firearms and small handguns--all of which will used fish and wildlife programs.

Largest Increases for Indians and Reclamation

The Bureau of Indian Affairs, with a request of $521.8 million, presents the largest of the Interior bureau budgets. Fifty million dollars of this total is for the 1973 payment authorized under the Alaska Native Claims Act (signed by the President in December 1971). The budget also proposes a $12. 5 million supplemental appropriation in 1972 to comply with the requirement in the Act which authorizes this amount to be appropriated the year in which the Act becomes effective.

The funds for Native Claims would represent the first of a series of payments authorized, in landmark legislation that settles land claims of Alaska Natives dating back to the purchase of Alaska in 1867.

Major BIA program directions call for $174. 8 million for elementary, secondary and higher education; more than$42 million for adult employment training and placement services; and $45 million for the first phase of a new push for reservation road construction. (A list of school construction and other projects is available on request.) The overall program emphasizes BlA’s newly announced policy of reservation-by-reservation development.

The Navajo Irrigation Project, funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and constructed by the Reclamation Bureau, will receive $10.5 million for this vitally needed development--$1.5 million more than in 1972.

The largest increase in program development funds requests is for the Bureau of Reclamation, which seeking $115 million more than its current is funding. The thrust is upon a construction program that will help stimulate economies by speeding up construction of several major ongoing projects, as well as starting new ones.

A portion of the Reclamation increase is earmarked for the Colorado River Basin Project and tile Upper Colorado River Basin Fund. The added funds would also permit Reclamation to accelerate work on the Central Valley Project, California; the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, Colorado; the Palmetto Bend Project, Texas; the Mountain Park Project, Oklahoma; the Garrison Diversion Unit, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, in North, and South Dakota; the Central Utah Project, Bonneville Unit, in Utah; and the Central Arizona Project.

New water project starts are also built into the 1973 Reclamation budget request. They include the Oahe Unit in South Dakota, the Riverton Extension Unit in Wyoming, segments of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program" as well as four new loan program projects. The loan programs are: Graham-Curtis Project, Arizona; Kanawha Water District, California; Roy Water Conservancy Sub district, Utah and, San Luis Water District, California.

In the field of water resources research, the Department of the Interior is continuing its present level of activities in saline water conversion experiments and, in aid to research institutions for work in the-field of critical water problems. A Federal-State cooperative program is at present supporting more than 800 separate research projects and is providing training for 2, 000 scholars in water resources planning and protection studies. Fiscal Year '1973 requests for the Office of Saline Water are '$26. 8 million; and the Office of Water Resources Research $14. 2 million.

New Clean Energy Studies

"Clean energy" research receives' major emphasis under activities of the Bureau of Mines and the Office of Coal Research.

Mine health and safety programs, including $13 million for construction of a training academy for mine inspectors (to be located at Beckley, West Va.) account for most of the increases requested in fiscal 1973 for the Bureau of Mines. Additionally, funds are earmarked for training to establish a complement of 1,350 inspectors.

The Mines Bureau is also asking for about $1.5 million for research into removal of sulfur dioxide from smelter gases. Another $4.5 million additional over current appropriations is earmarked for construction of a pilot plant for production of pipeline quality gas from coal.

Coal gasification research will be boosted by increases requested for the Office of Coal Research (OCR). In keeping with the President's Clean Energy Message of June 1971, OCR will proceed with research in which high sulfur coals will be converted to low BTU fuel gas for gas-turbine/steam turbine electric generation. The requested fund increases will also intensify research into conversion of coal into clean liquid fuels, as well as hydrogasification development. OCR is seeking $45 million, up nearly 50% from present levels.

Earth Studies to Preserve Environment

Natural environmental frailties, and methods to counteract them, are the focus of much of Geological Survey's planned activities for the Fiscal Year 1973. Survey is requesting nearly $15 million more than its 1972 adjusted appropriations, for a total of $145. 6 million.

Earthquake hazards reduction for which $8.6 million, an increase of $7 million, is sought--will focus on identification and mapping of high risk regions and earthquake prediction and control. It is expected that zoning criteria, building codes and structural designs will be increasingly influenced by data derived from the earthquake hazards reduction program.

Offshore geologic investigations, particularly of areas with high oil and gas production potential, would be augmented by nearly $2 million additional funding, doubling the present level for this activity. The program would include marine engineering studies and studies of trace element movements in estuary areas, as well as analysis and mapping of offshore conditions.

Geothermal areas would be classified, evaluated, environmental effects of geothermal developments under a greatly expanded geothermal resources program planned by Geological Survey. The program for fiscal year 1973 calls for $2.5 million, an increase of $1.8 million over the fiscal year be classified, evaluated, and monitored for environmental effects of geothermal developments under a greatly expanded geothermal resources program planned by Geological Survey. The program for fiscal year 1973 calls for $2.5 million, an increase of $1.8 million over the fiscal 1972 appropriation.

Nearly $5 million more, for a total of $10.6 million, is being sought for support of satellite monitoring and mapping, and critical research in the field of remote sensing. This is the EROS program--Earth Resources Observation Systems.

Water pollution abatement and intensified investigations into environmental impacts of water resource programs upon fish and wildlife appear as major thrusts for fiscal 1973 in the budget requested by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. Expansion of fish hatcheries (including those on Indian reservations), fish culture research and development, wildlife research, and improved visitor information centers are planned under a program that calls for '$4 million above the 1972 appropriation of $84 million.

In cooperation with the Electric Research Council, the Department of the Interior is endeavoring to improve technology and reduce/costs of placing high-voltage electrical lines underground. A budget of $1 million is proposed for fiscal year 1973.

American Heritage Focus for Parks and Recreation

Gearing up for the Bicentennial Era, the National Park Service is asking for an increase of more than $30 million for improved operations, and upkeep of national parks. NPS is also planning a construction program that includes air and water pollution control projects, the start of activities related to the Bicentennial celebration, and expansion of urban park capacities.

This massive new building and "improvement effort is designed to meet the requirements of growing millions of visitors to our national parks and historic areas. (A listing of park areas scheduled for significant design and construction activity appears in the narrative analysis for the National Park Service budget material available upon request.)

Although the bureau of Outdoor Recreation request for, Fiscal Year 1973 indicates a reduction of $61 million below funds appropriated for current fiscal year operations, the decrease does not reflect declining effort under the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

In 1971 the authorization for the fund was increased from $200 to $300 million. However, it was not until 1972 that appropriations were requested for the additional amount authorized; Therefore, 1972 was a "catch-up" appropriation. The request of $300 million in 1973 is for the full annual authorization. It will provide for Federal and State acquisition of lands for recreational use, particularly in areas with large population concentrations.

Leasing -- Controls and Revenues

Fund increases requested by the Bureau of Land Management--$13.7 million over the current fiscal year's appropriations-- are primarily for the following activities: stepped-up inventorying and environmental analyses; upgrading fire protection; environmental safeguards in concert with outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing schedules; surface resources protection of lands under mineral exploration; a new program of cataloging land office records for the Eastern States; and a new program to implement land, minerals and survey work in support of the Alaska Native Claims Act of 1971.

Expenditures by the Bureau of Land Management are invariably offset by substantial revenues to the U. S. Treasury and to State and county governments from mineral leasing, timber sales, grazing fees and land sales. Against a total requested appropriation of approximately $92.3 million, BLM estimates receipts of $3. 3 billion. About $98 million of these receipts will go to States and counties, and nearly $17 million will be credited to the Oregon and California Grant Land Fund.

NOTE:

Attached is a bureau- by-bureau summary of amounts requested for Fiscal Year 1973, commencing July 1, 1972.

Also attached is a list of individuals available to answer detailed inquiries relating to each bureau or office budget request.

Key people to 'call for additional information regarding Department of the Interior's 1973 FY Budget Requests.

Budget Synopsis

Fiscal Year 1973

(In thousand of dollars)

Fiscal Year 1973

A budget of $521, 853,000 is proposed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for fiscal year 1973. The amount is a net increase $102,322,000 over funding for the current fiscal year.

The increases' indicated in the new budget are designed to boost the momentum of the major goals set forth by the Administration of providing the American Indian with the opportunity and assistance to live in prosperity, dignity, and honor; and opening the way to total Indian involvement. A new thrust in fiscal year 1973 to Indian involvement is to assist those tribes which have or are developing comprehensive development plans.

Approximately $10 million of' the increase would go for, education of Indian children. The total education program will provide for the enrollment of additional Indian children in Federal schools and a more adequate level of funding for these schools. They will permit scholarship assistance for additional Indian college students and allow funding for -these students at a higher level. The program will encourage increased parental support for school programs, improved school attend­ance, tutoring of students, etc. These funds will also provide for increased Indian enrollment and increased operating costs in public school districts educating reservation Indian children.

The construction program in fiscal year 19173 includes funds for new classrooms, new buildings, project design drawings for future school projects, and the purchase of equipment for schools now under construction.

Resources management programs would be used to improve the production of natural resources, which, together with commercial and industrial development, will create many Indian employment opportunities on or near reservations. At the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, an office of Indian Water Rights has been established with the responsibility to direct all aspects of the Department's effort to protect the water rights of the American Indians; the budget request includes $1. 7 million for the water rights activities.

Indian Education

In fiscal year 1973, $174.8 million is requested.

Among other efforts it would provide program assistance for an additional 2,700 Indian students who will be attending public schools. Monies are needed to offset advances in the cost of living as well as to provide for special educational projects such as special English language teachers, bicultural classes, kindergartens, and school home coordinators. Approximately 81,000 elementary and secondary children attending public schools will benefit from this program.

Indian students are enrolling in colleges and universities in greater number each year. During fiscal year 1973, scholarship grants will be provided for 10,500 Indian men and women. The majority of students receiving assistance through the Bureau's higher education program come from homes with income below today's poverty level.

In keeping with the new thrusts, tribal Organizations are encouraged and assisted to assume the operational control of the educational programs which affect them. It is estimated that tribal groups will assume operation of three dormitories and all or part of the education program at twenty-one schools. Enrollment in Federal schools is expected to increase approximately 4,000 students for an anticipated, enrollment of 59,300. Funds being requested for Federal schools are to provide for maintenance of the current program and not for program expansion.

A new program relating to early childhood education is being initiated. This program, operating on a pilot basis, will provide parent-child centers for preschool children. The basic strategy of the program will be to capitalize on the cultural heritage of the child and it as a base for the development of a comprehensive early childhood education program. The program would focus on the entire family and would provide a continuance of education, health, and nutrition and social services.

Indian Community Services

There are about 300,000 Indian people on 82 reservations in 15 States where the local authorities have not assumed civil and/or criminal jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to provide for the safety and protection of these communities. An increase of $0.4 million is required to keep the program operating at the fiscal year 1972 level. An additional $0.5 million will be utilized to operate and staff with trained community members, two “community treatment centers scheduled to open during fiscal year 1973.

Emphasis at these centers will be directed at development of programs designed to prevent adult and juvenile delinquent behavior as well as to provide rehabilitative services to offenders.

The proposed increase of $4.8 million in welfare assistance funds reflects the continuous rise in caseload and a small increase in unit cost. An additional 500 employable assistance recipients be enrolled in the Tribal Work Experience program during fiscal year 1973.

The Bureau’s budget calls for a total of $9.7 million for Indian housing assistance. While the bulk of new home construction on reservations is handled by the Department of Housing and Urban Development under a separate appropriation, Bureau of Indian Affairs funded programs will account for 530 new homes and 5,100 renovations.

The adult education and community development budget of $2.6 million will provide adult education and community development programs to help inadequately prepared adults obtain the educational skills necessary to improve both their employment opportunities and their abilities to contribute to the self-government of their communities. The funds will also help tribes to assume management over and responsibilities for programs) services and municipal functions which in the part have been provided for them.

To combat the problem of the chronically high unemployment rate-­ now about 40 percent with an additional 20 percent underemployed-- this budget proposes $17.3 million in funding for direct employment which would provide direct job placement efforts to over 4,080 placements in fiscal year 1973. This program is being redirected to provide training, and job opportunities on or near reservations as emphasis is placed on reservation development - assisting tribes to develop their own businesses and to bring industry to the reservations. Expansion of job development near the reservations to establish work commuting situations is also being given emphasis. To become employable many Indians need job training either school training or on-the-Job training. The 1973 budget would continue funds for these programs at $24.8 million resulting in over 6,000 job placements in that year.

Working hand-in-hand with the training and job placement programs is the new concept involving Indians called the Indian Action Team program. The general structure of the Indian Action Team program is designed to accommodate tribally developed solutions to local tribal problems in. construction and manpower training areas. Each tribe, acting through its various standing committees, may decide upon construction and training programs that meet the need of its community.

Included in the budget request is approximately $1.6 million operating costs for the preparation and coordination of the Alaska Native rolls and the increased workload for real estate services resulting from the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act., (The Alaska Native Claims Act, enacted December 18, 1971, authorizes the appropriation of $12.5 million in fiscal year 1972 and $50.0 million in fiscal year'1973.)

The Natural Resources

The natural resources, timber, land and water are the Indians most prized possession and must be adequately protected while at the same time providing the maximum benefit to the Indian landowners.

To achieve this goal the Bureau has sought to provide progressive management services to the Indian people. In 1973, professional and sub professional services in the fields of forest and range management and soil conservation will be provided. The establishment of the water inventory and water rights protection office will fill a much needed function to insure that loss of this valuable natural resource natural their will not continue.

Plans are that all efforts, will be directed to conserve the resources through proper management, to receive maximum benefits for the landowners, and to assist the, Indian people to increase use of own natural resources.

Road Construction on Indian Reservations

In fiscal year 1973, Bureau of Indian Affairs will emphasize the needs of developing adequately road systems on Indian reservations. The Bureau is requesting appropriations of $45 million in fiscal year 1973 and increase of $19.4 million. The development of Indian reservations is dependent on adequate road systems. Economic and social development, improved Indian education and health are all dependent upon roads and without them, Indians are destined for continual dependency.

Buildings and Utilities Construction Program Fiscal Year 1973

Summary of Projects

Irrigation Construction Summary Projects

A field study program in American Indian culture, language, art, history and contemporary life will be offered this summer in the heart of the Southwest's "Indian country" by the non-profit American Forum for International Study in cooperation with the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The four-week program, July 5 through August 1, 1970, is designed for teachers, advanced college students and those whose professions require an understanding of American Indian groups.

The program opens at Navajo Community College in the center of the Navajo Reservation, at Many Farms, Ariz., for two weeks of formal class and demonstration sessions on Indian cultures of the Southwest, Indian education, economic development, tribal government and contemporary Indian affairs.

The program will then move to the Bureau's Institute of American Indian Arts at Santa Fe, N.M., for a series of lectures, demonstration sessions and discussions in the visual, written and performing arts.

At both Many Farms and Santa Fe, participants will meet with Indian people, take field trips to Indian communities, see Indian dances, historic, prehistoric and scenic sites, and visit schools, trading posts, and other areas of interest.

Complete details on the program are available from the American Forum for International Study, 1725 K Street, N.W, Washington DC 20006.

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D, Andrus said the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, scheduled to be signed into law late today by President Carter will be the basis for 1 growth and progress for all citizens of the Pine Tree State

"This Act is the result of a cooperative endeavor over almost a decade involving the members of the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseets tribes, other State citizens, the courts, State officials .and legislators, the Congress and the Carter Administration," Andrus said.

"It is obvious that everyone involved worked with a real concern to restore equity to the three tribes in a way that promotes the common good and provides a base for economic growth and development," he said.

Interior Department officials will begin at once planning for the purchase of the more than 300,000 acres of Maine woodlands for the tribes as provided for in the Act, Andrus said. At the same time, work will begin on the establishment of a $27 million trust fund which Interior will administer for the benefit of the tribes.

The Act followed a Federal Court ruling in 1975 which held that more than 12 million acres had been taken from Maine Indians in violation of the Non-Intercourse Act of 1790. It provides $54 million for land purchases for tribal use and for the tribal trust fund in exchange for the tribal relinquishment of aboriginal title to the rest of the lands in question.

Andrus noted that the Act removes a cloud over land titles for about 350,000 persons living in Maliseets" which will not only help them plan for the future but should help them sleep better at night too."

A total of 300,000 acres to be purchased will be divided between the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes whose 4,000 members live on three small reservations in northern Maine. An additional 5,000 acres will be purchased for the 600 members of the Houlton Band of Maliseets, Maine members of a largely Canadian tribe.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton will participate in a swearing-in ceremony this week at the inaugural board meeting of an independent foundation chartered by Congress to accept financial and other contributions for Indian students attending Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools.

The board of directors of the Foundation for the Advancement of American Indian Education (FAAIE) will be welcomed on Thursday, March 6 by Secretary Norton, acting Assistant Director - Indian Affairs Aurene M. Martin, and FAAIE Founding Director Lorraine P. Edmo.

CREDENTIALS: Admittance to the Main Interior Building will be through the C Street entrance, limited to media representatives and crews holding sanctioned media credentials. The Rachel Carson Room is on the building's basement level, adjoining the building's cafeteria. A multi-box will be available and you are advised to be in place by 1 :50 p.m. with the brief program beginning at 2. Newly seated board members will be available for individual interviews following the prepared program.

Secretary Norton and Assistant Secretary Martin will serve as ex-officio members of the board alongside these founding board members:

• Dave Anderson of Edina, Minnesota, a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Ojibwa and Founder and President of Famous Dave's Barbecue Restaurants franchise. Anderson was awarded the Bush Leadership Fellowship in 1985 and received a Masters Degree from Harvard University in 1986.
• Dr. David Beaulieu of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe - White Earth Reservation and the first Electa Quinney professor of American Indian education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Education. He served as Director of the Department of Education's Office of Indian Education from 1997 to 2001.
• Sharon K. Darling of Louisville, Kentucky, Founder and President of the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and an internationally recognized leader in the field of family literacy. She is an active member of several boards and serves on the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.
• John Guevremont, a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut and Director of the Tribe's National Government Affairs Office located in Washington, D.C. He has held several positions within Mashantucket Pequot tribal government and is a retired major of the U.S. Marine Corps (1975 to 1995).
• Daniel Lewis of Phoenix, Arizona, a member of the Navajo Nation and Senior Vice President and Director of the Office of Native American Financial Services for Bank of America. Lewis is currently chairman of the National Native American Advisory Committee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
• Nick Lowery of Tempe, Arizona, President of the Nick Lowery Foundation and Co-Founder of "Nation Building for Native Youth." A former professional football player with the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets, Lowery has worked for President Bush in the first Office of National Service.
• Joanne Stately of St. Paul, Minnesota, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and Senior Program Officer of the St. Paul Foundation. She was recently elected President of Native Americans in Philanthropy, a national non-profit association of American Indian and Alaska Native fundraisers.
• Dr. Linda Sue Warner of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a member of the Comanche Tribe of Oklahoma is Research Associate Professor, Truman Center for Public Policy, University of Missouri - Columbia and recently served as CEO for the Indian Community School of Milwaukee, Inc. Dr. Warner has extensive teaching experience in public and BIA schools.
• Della Warrior of Santa Fe, New Mexico, a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma and President of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) where she also served as Interim President and, prior to becoming president, as Development Director. She has a Masters Degree in Education from Harvard University.

FAAIE founding director Lorraine Edmo, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, Idaho, previously served in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of lndian Education (OIE). From 1993 to 1999, she served as executive director of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), the country's oldest and largest non-profit Indian education organization. From 1983 to 1992, she served as Executive Director of the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC) in Albuquerque, N.M., a non-profit scholarship organization for American Indian and Alaska Native graduate students. Edmo has a Bachelors Degree from the University of Montana and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico.

- DOl -