Past News Items

Indians can continue to maintain their tribal organizations and hold their lands in common for as long as they wish after termination of Federal trusteeship over their property and affairs, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons said in a statement released today by the Department of the Interior.

He said widespread misinformation among Indians and the public could be corrected by a further congressional declaration of policy on the matter, and added that he plans to consult members of Congress about it soon.

The text of the Commissioner’s statement follows:

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons today expressed "extreme gratification If over the selection of Fred H. Massey, a Choctaw Indian from Oklahoma and Assistant Commissioner of the Indian Bureau, as the representative of the Department of the Interior to attend a two-week conference for career Government executives being held by the Brookings Institution at Williamsburg, Va., starting December 1.

Ever since I first heard several months ago that a conference on Indian youth was being organized under the auspices of Arrow, Incorporated, I have been looking forward to it with keen anticipation. Arrow is to be heartily commended, it seems to me, for taking the initiative in pulling this meeting together, giving it focus, and inviting the many distinguished Indian and non-Indian people who are taking part.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today called attention to the final roll of the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon which is being published in the Federal Register dated November 2.

The roll, comprising 2,133 names, was compiled under the Klamath Termination Act of 1954 and represents the final listing of tribal members after disposition of all appeals that have been made to the Secretary. Only those people on the roll are entitled under the Termination Act to share in the benefits of tribal property.

Award of a $243,370.50 contract for construction of irrigation works on the Hogback Unit of the Navajo Indian Reservation near Shiprock, New Mexico, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The successful bidder is Daniels Construction Co. of Albuquerque, N. Mex. Two higher bids were also received.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today formally welcomed delegates to a Washington conference on Indian youth being held by Arrow, Incorporated, a nonprofit organization, and read to them a telegram of greeting from President Eisenhower.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons today commended the Navajo Indian Tribe for its “statesmanship” in appropriating tribal funds for projects which the Federal Government would normally carry out.

The appropriations included $545,000 to build major law and order facilities at Tuba City and Chinle, Arizona, and Shiprock, New Mexico, and small detention facilities at Bitter Spring and Lupton, Arizona, and Tohatchi, New Mexico.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today announced he has ordered a thorough reexamination of the Department 1s favorable report on S. 332, a bill to validate existing land titles and liberalize future land sales on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana.

He directed Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst to proceed immediately with the review. Assistant Secretary Ernst supervises the Indian Bureau and three other bureaus in the Department.

It is real pleasure to be back in Oklahoma and meeting once again with so many of the State's fine Indian people and with delegates to the NCAI annual convention. All of us, it seems to me, owe a hearty debt of thanks to our good friend and host, Bill Keeler, for making this gathering possible and bringing us together in such excellent surroundings.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today announced that representatives of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs will meet with Indian tribal representatives in Washington, November 25 and 26 for a national conference on American Indian youth.