OPA

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced the appointment of Harwood Keaton, Okmulgee, Oklahoma, effective July 18, as assistant area director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Born in Gibson County, Tenn., and educated in the schools of that State, Mr. Keaton moved to Oklahoma at an early age and has been in the oil and gas business there for more than 40 years. During much of this time he was self-employed and gained wide experience in negotiating leases with landowners and financial institutions, and in supervising actual field development of production. From 1943 to 1948 he was in charge of the oil and gas business of Sells Petroleum, Inc.

In his new post Mr. Keaton will assist Paul L. Fickinger, Area Director, in connection with Indian lands and mineral rights and will be responsible for direction of these activities for the Bureau in the eastern Oklahoma area.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced the Bureau of Indian Affairs has contracted with Cornell University Medical College, New York City, for the services of a physician specializing in diseases of the chest as a full-time staff member at the Navajo Medical Center, Fort Defiance, Arizona.

Dr. Avrum B. Organick has been assigned to Fort Defiance under the contract, which is for one year and subject to renewal. It is the first in a series of similar contracts, which the Bureau plans to negotiate with outstanding medical schools as part of a broad program to strengthen the staffs of its major medical centers, provide for better professional in-service training, and improve the quality of medical service to the Indian people.

The new chest specialist, who is already on duty at the Navajo Medical Center, will serve in several capacities. In addition to directing the care of tuberculous patients at Fort Defiance, he will advise and assist doctors at the other three Navajo hospitals in diseases of the chest, will take part in the Bureau's preventive medicine program on the Reservation, and will serve as a clinical teacher under the now in-service professional training program.

Under terms of the contract Dr. Organick will have direct access to the staff and laboratories of Cornell University Medical College and will thus be able to use these extensive technical resources in enriching the Navajo medical program.

A similar contract with Cornell providing for the services of a chief of surgery, fully trained and certified by the American Board of Surgery, is planned to be effective September 1. Additional contracts with a number of medical schools are planned to staff key clinical positions in such specialties as internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, radiology and pathology.

Once this staff pattern has been established, the Bureau will undertake a plan of rotating internships and residencies in both medicine and surgery as the final step in converting the Fort Defiance Hospital into an institution of high standards and effective service to the Navajo people.

Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today announced four personnel changes, effective September 1, in agency superintendent positions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Guy Robertson, superintendent of the Blackfeet Agency, Browning, Mont., will be transferred to the superintendency at Rosebud, S. Dak., replacing Will J. Pitner, recently assigned as Bureau area director at Anadarko, Oklahoma.

Charles S. Spencer, superintendent at Standing Rock Agency, Fort Yates, N. Dak., succeeds Robertson.

Joseph W. Wellington, superintendent of Fort Belknap Agency, Harlem, Mont., replaces Spencer.

Darrell Fleming, accountant in the Bureau's area office at Billings, Mont., will succeed Wellington.

Mr. Robertson, who has been at Blackfeet Agency since 1950, entered the Government service in 19/4.2 with the War Relocation Authority at Heart Mountain, Wyoming. In 1946, he became Wyoming district manager for the United States Department of Commerce. After one year, he became property supervisor for the Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc., for two years and then was general manager of the Noble Hotel, Landor, Wyoming, for several months before he joined the Indian Bureau. Prior to his Government employment he was in business in Wyoming, Texas and Nevada, He was born in Quincy, Mo., in 1890, was educated in the public schools of Wheatland, Mo., and is a graduate of Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Business College.

Mr. Spencer has been with the Bureau since 1931 when he was appointed farm agent at Crow Agency, Mont. After four years he worked for seven years as extension agent at Western Shoshone Agency, Owyhee, Nev., and for ten years as soil conservationist at Wind River Agency, Port Washakie, Wyo. He was named superintendent at Rosebud in 1952. He is a native of Victor, Idaho, and was graduated from University of Idaho with a B.S. degree in agriculture in 1929.

Mr. Wellington has been superintendent at Fort Belknap since 1947. He was employed by the Bureau in 1940 as a teacher at Carson Indian School, Stewart, Nev., and was appointed head of the school's agricultural department, which post he held in 1942. He remained for two years when he was named supervisor of Indian education for livestock raising and dairying. He was attached for three years to the Bureau's office at Muskogee, Oklahoma and then served.one year in the wartime Central Office at Chicago before his appointment at Fort Belknap. He was born at Lewistown, Mont., in 1907 and studied agricultural education and animal husbandry at Montana State College.

Mr. Fleming joined the Bureau in 1933 as a clerk at Crow Agency, Montana, For 19 years he served in a variety of clerical and financial positions in the Bureau. He was appointed finance specialist at the Billings Area Office in 1952 and moved to his present position as accountant in that office one year later. Born at Bernice, Okla., in 1911 of Cherokee Indian descent, he attended the Haskell Indian Institute, Lawrence, Kans. He was in the Navy for two years during World War II.

Action by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to clear up a 49-year-old injustice against a full blood Idaho Indian was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay.

The Indian is James J. Miles, a 70-year-old member of the Nez Perce Tribe and

Deacon of the Presbyterian Church, The Bureau's action, taken by Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons on July 29, was approval of an application filed by Miles about a year ago for a patent-in-fee or unrestricted title to a 114-acre tract near Orofino,

Idaho, which is the site of a State mental hospital. Lying behind the action is a story that goes back for almost 60 years.

In 1895, the United States allotted the 114 acres to Louise J. Adams, a Nez Perce Indian, who was then five years old. Ten years later the State of Idaho acquired the land as a hospital site through condemnation proceedings in a district court of the State. Compensation of $2,600 was paid by the State to Charles Adams, father of the allottee, who was appointed her guardian in this particular case by court decree.

Although no question was raised about the matter at the time, the State's acquisition of the land was apparently invalid since Federal law requires that condemnation actions involving Indian trust allotments must be initiated in a Federal court and that the United States, as trustee, must be a party to the proceedings. Neither requirement was met in this particular case.

In 1930, the Department of the Interior asked the Department of Justice to go into court and challenge the validity of the 1905 condemnation. The purpose was either to have the land awarded to the United States, as trustee for the Indian beneficiary, or to require payment by the State covering the 1905 value of the land together with interest for the 25-year period. No action was taken at that time with regard to the prosecution of the suit. However, a careful examination of the records of the Department of the Interior shows clearly that the land was in a trust status in 1905 and remained in trust until July 30, 1954.

When the allottee, born Louise J. Adams, died in 1950 at the age of 59, her sole heir under the terms of her will was her husband, James J. Miles. In July 1953, Miles filed an application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a patent-in-fee giving him unrestricted title to his deceased wife’s allotment. Subsequent investigation by the Bureau showed that Miles is wholly competent to manage his own affairs and thus clearly entitled to the fee patent.

Because of the State facilities which have been located on the tract for many years, the Bureau in its capacity as trustee urged the desirability of negotiations in order to effect an equitable settlement between Miles and the State of Idaho as an alternative to the issuance of a fee patent. However, when it became apparent tl1at such negotiations were unlikely to be held, Commissioner Emmons approved the Miles application on July 29 and the patent was issued by the Bureau of Land Management on the following day.

The Bureau's action, of course, does not finally settle the issue between Miles and the State of Idaho. However, it does put him in position, as the federally recognized owner of the tract, to deal directly with the State either through negotiation or litigation.

Three separate actions affecting the office of principal chief of the Choctaw, Seminole and Cherokee Indian Tribes of Oklahoma, were announced today by Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor.

A run-off election will be held by the Bureau of Indian Affairs between September 20 and October 10 so that members of the Choctaw Tribe many express their preferences between Harry J. W. Belvin and Hampton w. Anderson, who received the highest number of votes in the balloting held last June. Mr. Belvin has been principal chief of the tribe for the past several years.

Because of disagreement among members of the Seminole Tribe concerning the office of principal chief, the Department has decided to fill the office through appointment only for temporary periods when the services of a chief are actually needed in connection with certain types of land transactions.

The term of office of William W. Keeler, principal chief of the Cherokees, has been extended for an indefinite period. Mr. Keeler has served as principal chief without compensation for several years.

In the Choctaw balloting held in June, 16,053 ballots were mailed out by the Bureau and 5,244 valid ballots were returned and counted. On the question whether the office of principal chief should be continued beyond June 30, 1954, the proposition was favored by 4,554 voters and opposed by 690. Selection of the principal chief by the Secretary of the Interior without Choctaw balloting was favored by 612 voters and opposed by 4,107. Secret balloting by mail among the Choctaws to select a favorite candidate was favored by 31 572 voters, secret balloting at the polls by 1,492. On the question whether the principal chief should be paid for his services, 4,443 voted yes and 306 no.

Of those favoring compensation, 2,723 voted for a continuation of the present yearly salary of $3,000 and expense allowance of $2,500 paid from tribal funds. Salary of $2,500 and expense allowance of $2,000 was favored by 585. Salary of $1,500 and expense allowance of $1,000 by 451 and other varying annual compensation plans by 84, Daily compensation plans at rates ranging from $10 to $20, combined with a standard expense allowance of $9, were favored by 513.

On the question of length of term, 2,020 voters favored two years while 2,593 expressed a preference for four years.

Among the candidates, Mr. Belvin received 2,502 votes (or 120 less than a majority of the 5,244 counted ballots). Mr. Anderson 52, J. B. Wright 31, Peter Hudson 19, C.V. Thompson 19, James Edwards 14 and 869 votes were cast for candidates receiving less than four votes each.

Since no candidate received a clear majority of all the counted ballots, the decision was made to hold the run-off election. Ballots will be mailed out by the Indian Bureau's Muskogee Area. Office on September 20 and must be returned to that office by midnight October 10. Voters will be given an opportunity not only to choose between the two candidates but also to indicate their preferences for the length of term up to a maximum of four years. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be appointed by the Secretary for a term beginning some time after completion of the balloting.

Distribution of tribal funds to individual members of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin under Public Law 399, approved June 17, is going forward smoothly and satisfactorily, Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor announced today.

The enactment which establishes a program for terminating Federal supervision over Menominee affairs before the end of 1958, also provides for an immediate payment of $1,500 to each tribal member from Menominee funds on deposit in the United states Treasury.

A late report from Raymond H. Bitney, superintendent of the Menominee Agency at Neopit, indicates that about 65 percent of the 1,597 checks intended for adult members of the tribe have now been distributed. The total amount made available to the Indians is nearly $1,500,000.

Substantial amounts of this money are being used for bank deposits and for the payment of commercial obligations, according to a quick check with major banking and business firms in the nearby community of Shawano. One Shawano bank reported $113,000 of new deposits since the start of the tribal payments. Another estimated $110,000 in new savings accounts, $25,000 deposited in checking accounts, and sales of cashier’s and travelers’ checks in the amount of about $7,000.

One of the local finance companies reported total collections of $21,572 including about $4,000 on accounts previously considered uncollectible. Similar reports, involving somewhat smaller amounts, were received from another finance company, a furniture store, and a general merchandise establishment.

The general impression reported by observers is that, although this distribution of tribal funds is much larger than any previously made at Menominee, the Indians are taking it in stride and with little or no evidence of community disturbance or disruption.

Appointment of Robert J. Trier as chief of the branch of roads, Bureau of Indian Affairs succeeding J. Maughs Brown, who retires August 31, was announced today by Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor.

Mr. Trier, a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, has been assistant chief of the branch for eight years. For 10 years he was assistant district road engineer and district road engineer of the Bureau at Hinl1.eapolis, Minn., and from 1933 to 1936 was road supervisor at the Great Lakes Indian Agency, Ashland, Wis., He attended the public schools of Fond du Lac and was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1925 with a degree in civil engineering.

Mr. Brown, has had 21 years service with the Bureau and has been roads chief since 1941. He joined the Bureau in 1933 as road engineer at Rosebud, S. Dak., and one year later was transferred to Minneapolis where he was district engineer for seven years. Before entering the Bureau service he taught civil engineering for 21 years at the University of South Dakota and was made full professor and head of the Department in 1931. He was born at New Market, Missouri, in 1884 and received his civil engineering degree from New Mexico State College.

Rodney M. Dunlap, supervising highway design engineer at Window Rock, Ariz., for the past four years, succeeds Mr. Trier.

Acting Secretary of the Interior Ralph A. Tudor today announced that investigation of the 10-year lease of 860.3 acres on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation by Arthur R. Hubbard, Pocatello, Idaho, reveals no grounds for cancellation.

The investigation was launched several months ago following a complaint by the chairman of the Fort Hall Business Council that the lease, originally negotiated in the spring of 1951, is not in the best interests of the Indians. Under terms of the lease Hubbard is obligated to pay the Indian owners 15 cents per acre for range land and one dollar per acre for cultivated land annually and to make improvements in a total amount of $41,820 for the term of the lease. He has been in continuous occupancy of the land since 1951 and has drilled and cased a well, installed a pump and motor, levelled the land, erected border fencing, and installed irrigation structures. The total estimated cost of these improvements is $14,365.

The major ground for complaint was that higher rentals than those specified in the Hubbard lease were Offered for the land by H. H. Zimmerli, also of Pocatello, in the spring of 1953. On this point the investigator's report indicated that the Zimmerli bid was made after Hubbard had been in occupancy for nearly two years, had made Over $14,000 worth of improvement, and had demonstrated the feasibility of irrigation farming on the land. In view of these facts, the 1953 offer cannot be fairly compared with the original Hubbard bid.

The investigation also revealed that the present terms of the lease are the same as those approved in 1951 by the Indian Bureau's superintendent at Fort Hall and Area Office at Portland with one exception. This exception involved the elimination of Hubbard's option to renew and was required by law

Persons claiming Menominee Indian blood have until September 17 for filing applications to have their names added to the present tribal roll, Acting Secretary Fred G. Aandahl said today. Applications should be filed with the Menominee Tribe, in care of the Superintendent, Neopit, Wisconsin.

Under Public Law 399, approved June 17, the Menominee tribal roll was limited to persons living at midnight of that day and no child born thereafter is eligible for enrollment. Persons believing that their names should be added to the roll, however, are given three months after enactment in which to file applications with the tribe. Following this the tribe is given three months in which to consider these applications. Then individuals whose applications are not approved by the tribe are given an additional three-month period which to file appeals with the Secretary of the Interior.

To be eligible for enrollment on the tribal roll, an applicant must, under a recently adopted Federal regulation, fall into one of the following three categories:

(a) Persons born prior to June 15, 1934 of an enrolled parent or parents residing on the Menominee Reservation at the time of the birth of such person.

(b) Persons possessing one-fourth or more Menominee Indian blood, born on or subsequent to June 15, 1934, of parents residing at the time of the birth of such person upon the Menominee Reservation at least one of whom is an enrolled member of the tribe.

(c) Persons of one-fourth or more Menominee Indian blood, derived from an ancestor other than one who participated in the half-breed payment of 1849, who have been or may be adopted into membership of the tribe.

Only enrolled members of the tribe are eligible under Public Law 399 to participate in benefits from the management or disposition of tribal assets. The law provides for termination of Federal trusteeship over Menominee property and affairs by the end of 1958.

A $3,000,000 program of public school expansion to accommodate nearly 3,000 Navajo Indian children by September 1955, in communities of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado bordering the Navajo Reservation was announced today by Acting Secretary of the Interior Fred G. Aandahl.

Funds for the program, which is to be administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, were included in the supplemental appropriation act approved by President Eisenhower on August 26. Grants will be made to the local school districts, on an estimated cost basis of $1,000 per Navajo student, to finance new construction, remodeling of present facilities, and purchase of equipment.

The 3,000 Navajo enrollees include about 1,000 to be enrolled this fall in existing facilities and another 2,000 to be accommodated by the fall of 1955 through the expansion program. Board and room for the children while they are attending the public schools will be provided in the border communities by the Indian Bureau. Only children of the fourth grade and above will be included.

The communities participating in the program are Flagstaff, Holbrook, Winslow and Snowflake in Arizona; Gallup, Farmington and Aztec in New Mexico; Richfield, Utah; and Cortez, Colo.

All work under the program must meet State standards for school construction and the facilities are to be available to Navajo students on an unsegregated basis.

The public school expansion is part of the Indian Bureau’s broad program aimed at providing educational opportunities for all 27,000 of the Navajo children now of school age by the fall of 1955. Only a little over 14,000 of these were enrolled in school during the term which ended last June. Plans now under way will provide for an additional 8,000 in the fall of 1954.

In approving the $3,000,000 item, the congressional conferees made the following statement: "This program is authorized under the Navajo-Hopi Rehabilitation Act (25 U. S. C. 631) which was enacted to meet a special situation due to the large number of Navajo children for which no school facilities have been provided in accordance with the treaties made with these tribes. No statutory authority exists for this type of program for Indians other than Navajo and Hopi Tribes, therefore no precedent is established by this action."