OPA

The awarding of four contracts totaling more than $5 million for construction projects on the Papago Indian Reservation in southern Arizona was announced today by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson.

A contract for $4,215,636 was awarded to the Lembe Construction Co., Albuquerque, N.H., for the construction of additional school facilities at Santa Rosa, Ariz.

"The job opportunities created by the development of the copper mining industry on the reservation," said Commissioner Thompson, "are bringing Papago families back to the reservation. More families mean more children and, consequently, greater need for schools. We will be doubling the size of the Santa Rosa facility."

The school now crowds in about 400 elementary students, about one quarter of them dormitory residents. The new addition will include 12 classrooms, a gymnasium, instructional materials center and administrative area. The contract, also calls for the construction of 18 housing unit.3 for tead1ers and other state Additional dormitory facilities are planned for future construction.

The other three contracts are for road construction projects.

The Buck Brown Contracting Company of Phoenix, Ariz., received a contract for $589,917 to grade, drain, and surface 14 miles of road between Sells and Big Field. The Papago tribal headquarters are at Sells. The contract includes 1.2 miles of streets in Sells leading to a housing project. Thirteen bids were received, with the highest exceeding $825,000.

The other contracts pertain to work being done on 29 miles of road near the site of a planned future school.

The Arizona Culvert and Manufacturing Company, Tempe, Ariz., was low bidder for the provision of some 15,000 lineal feet of corrugated steel pipe of various sizes and 350 bands of various sizes. The total amount of the contract was $183,603.

Three other bids were received ranging up to $211,746.

A Chandler, Arizona firm, Rain for Rent, Inc., received a $59,648 contract for the rental of a pump, storage tank, booster pump and aluminum pipe fittings.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson has changed the Bureau of Indian Affairs' service structure in the State of Nevada. Official notice of the changes is being published in the Federal Register.

Formerly served by a single agency office, the state will now have an Eastern Nevada Agency at Owyhee and a Western Nevada Agency at Stewart. This change was requested by Indian Tribal and community groups in Western Nevada. Splitting the state into two agency jurisdictions is expected to improve services.

The Stewart Indian School, a boarding high school operated by the Bureau, has been withdrawn from agency jurisdiction and will be under the area office at Phoenix, Arizona. Excluding the large Navajo Reservation, the Phoenix Area includes Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.

The changes in Nevada are effective November.

Ralph F. Keen, a Cherokee Indian from Oklahoma, has been appointed Acting Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Trust
Responsibilities, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson has announced.

In this position, Keen is responsible for the administration of more than 50 million acres of tribal lands held in trust by the United States.

A native of Hominy, Oklahoma, Keen succeeds Martin Seneca who has accepted a position with the Federal Energy Administration
Keen attended the Chilocco Indian High School and graduated from Oklahoma's Northeastern State University at Tahlequah with a B.A.
and a teaching certificate He later completed law studies at the University of Tulsa.

Before going into the practice of law in Tahlequah, Keen was Business Manager of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma 1967-69. He
had previously been Director of the Bureau of Indian Services at the University of Utah and Executive Director of the Inter-Tribal Council
of Nevada. He was for a short period a teacher at the Haskell Indian Institute at Lawrence, Kansas.
Keen, 42, is a member of the American Bar Association and the Oklahoma Bar Association.

Regulations governing the handling of minors' shares of judgment funds awarded to Indian tribes and distributed on a per capita basis are being published in the Federal Register, it was announced by the Bureau of Indian Affairs today.

The regulations establish certain restrictions and requirements designed to preserve and protect the per capita shares of minors and other legally incompetent persons as mandated in the Indian Judgment Funds Act of 1973.

Comments from interested parties on the regulations generally were opposed to any restrictions except those imposed by parents, guardians or tribal governing bodies.

The regulations will become effective 30 days after publication.

A draft environmental impact statement on a proposal to surface mine Crow Indian and State-owned coal from more than 2,000 acres in south central Montana has been prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, and released for public comment.

The statement, filed with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), discusses the environmental effects of a proposed expansion of Westmoreland Resources existing Absaloka Coal Mine to 2,151 acres (870 hectares) in Crow Indian Ceded Lands in northern Big Horn County just north of the Crow Indian Reservation.

Westmoreland proposed to surface mine 190.6 million tons (172.9 million metric tons) of coal by 1997, with a peak production of 10 million tons (9 million metric tons) per year from 1981 through 1995. Westmoreland owns surface rights and the Crow Indian Tribe the coal rights on 1,837 acres (743 hectares) of the tract, with-the State of Montana owning both surface and coal rights on the remaining 314 acres (127 hectares).

The Absaloka Mine is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) east of Hardin, Mont., and 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Hysham, Mont., in the drainage area of Sarpy Creek. The proposed expansion area is mostly to the east and southeast of the existing mine.

The 1.1 million acre (445,000 hectare) Crow Ceded Area was ceded to the U.S. Government by the Crow Tribe under a 1904 act of Congress. Indians then living in the area were either allotted their land or reimbursed for it if they moved south to the Crow Indian Reservation. The land not allotted to Indians was opened to the general public for settlement, but the Federal Government retained coal and other mineral rights. In 1958, Congress restored to tribal ownership all of the vacant and undisposed ceded land, and mineral rights on these lands as well as on settled land were restored to the Crow Tribe.

The Crow Tribe now owns coal rights on about 150,000 acres (60,700 hectares) in the Ceded Area, and these rights are held in trust for the tribe and administered by the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Westmoreland Resources obtained coal leases from the Crow Tribe in 1972 on 30,876 acres (12,500 hectares) in the Ceded Area, and began operating the existing Absaloka Mine in 1974 under an approved plan for surface mining of 410 acres (166 hectares). This plan was covered in an environmental impact statement prepared by the BIA and filed with the CEQ in 1974. Subsequent Federal Court orders required the Interior Department to prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement on the leasing of the Ceded Lands as well as separate environmental impact statements on each mining plan for tracts within those lease areas.

The BIA filed with the CEQ on Aug. 17,1976, a draft impact statement on the leases, and the Secretary of the Interior cannot take action on Westmoreland proposed 20-year mining and reclamation plan for the 2,151-acre tract to expand the Absaloka Mine until the leasing EIS has been completed and appropriate decisions made.

Absaloka Mine produced 4 million tons (3.6 million metric tons) of coal in 1975, and the coal in the approved mine area is expected to be exhausted early in 1977. Westmoreland currently is committed to provide 5 million tons (4.5 million metric tons) of coal per year for electric power generation in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

Westmoreland proposed to reclaim and revegetate the mined areas concurrently as mining activities proceed to new areas, with a maximum of 110.5 acres (44.7 hectares) being disturbed each year.

Two major coal beds and two smaller "stray" beds would be surface mined The Rosebud-McKay coal bed is 30 to 35 feet (9.1 to 10.7 meters) thick and the top of the bed is from 70 to 135 feet (21.3 to 41.1 meters) below the land surface. The Robinson bed-ranges from 17 to 23 feet (5.2 to 7 meters) in thickness and is from 150 to 270 feet (45.7 to 82.3 meters) below the surface. One of the stray beds lies 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 meters) above the Rosebud-McKay coal bed and the other is 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) below the Rosebud-McKay bed. The stray beds are no more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) thick.

Crow Indians have preferential employment rights in the Westmoreland mining operations involving coal owned by the tribe. The Absaloka Mine now employs 110 persons, including 53 Crow Indians. Employment would rise to 210 workers by the time peak production is reached in 1981, and an additional 50 workers would be employed in construction activity in 1977 and 1978.

The draft environmental impact statement prepared by the USGS assesses the impact of the proposed 20-year mining operation on the air quality, noise levels, topography, geology, hydrology, soils, vegetation, fish and wildlife, land use, recreation, visual resources, archaeological and historical values, and socio-economic conditions of the area.

The statement also describes possible alternatives to the proposed mining plan, including modifying it, preventing further development of the entire ease, mining only the state-owned coal.

A summary included with the draft statement listed the following environmental impacts of the proposed mining plan:

• The existing land surface, vegetation and all aquifers above the base of the Robinson coal seam in the proposed line area would be destroyed.
• Wildlife habitats would be disrupted until disturbed areas were revegetated and human intrusions terminated.
• Ground and surface water quantity and quality, livestock grazing scenic views and open space qualities would be degraded and restricted until revegetation was successfully completed.
• Dust and noise would be increased locally until re-contouring and revegetation were successfully completed.
• Livestock and wildlife forage would be reduced until revegetation was successful.
• Employment for Crow Indians and other citizens of Big Horn County would be increased.
• Tax and royalty income for the Crow Tribe, the State of Montana and Big Horn County would increase.

Written comments on the draft statement will be accepted within 45 days from publication of the statement in the Federal Register. All such comments will be considered during preparation of the final environmental impact statement. Written comments should be addressed to the Director, U.S. Geological Survey, 108 National Center, Reston, Va. 22092.

A public hearing on the draft statement has been scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 9, 1976, at the Sun Lodge Motel and Restaurant at Crow Agency, Mont., on the Crow Indian Reservation.

Copies of the draft statement are available for public review at the USGS Public Inquiries Office, Room 1012, Federal Building, 1961 Stout St., Denver, Colo.; USGS Library, Denver West Office Park, Building 3,1526 Cole Blvd., Golden, Colo.; USGS Library, Room 4A100, USGS National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Va.; U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Billings Area Office, 316 North 26th St., Billings, Mont.; Office of the Superintendent, Crow Agency, Mont.; Billings Public Library, 510 N. Broadway, Billings, Mont.; Library, Eastern Montana College, Billings, Mont.; and Big Horn County Library, 419 N. Custer Ave., Hardin, Mont.

A limited number of single copies of the statement are available from the USGS Public Inquiries Office, Room 1012, Federal Building, 1961 Stout St., Denver, Colo. 80202, and from the Director, U.S. Geological Survey, 108 National Center, Reston, Va. 22092.

Proposed regulations for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Housing Improvement Program (HIP) have been published in the Federal Register, it was announced today.

"This Bureau program," commissioner Morris Thompson said, "complements the programs of other Federal housing agencies. Thousands of Indian families are living in substandard homes or homes needing repairs. This program provides assistance when other resources are not available.”

Grants up to $10,000 to finance repairs, renovation or enlargement can be made for dwellings which can economically re brought to standard condition. For dwellings which cannot re brought to standard condition, but need work to reduce safety or health hazards and improve livability, grants up to $2,000 can be made. Repairs to such non-standard housing are made only as a stop-gap measure to carry a family over until standard housing is available.

The program also helps needy Indian families meet housing needs by providing grants to make them eligible for housing loans from tribal, Federal, or other credit sources. These grants ordinarily provide required down payment funds. They are limited to the amount required to secure the loan or $5,000, whichever is less.

Under certain conditions, when there is no prospect of standard housing being financed from other sources, the program can also provide grants for financing for new housing.

Only Indians are eligible for assistance and priority is given to families based on need in relation to income, family size and the unavailability of other housing assistance. Applications for assistance must be approved by the tribe being served.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1975, approximately $10 million has been appropriated. Since the beginning of the program in 1967 about 24,000 housing units have been repaired or renovated and some 3,500 new houses constructed.

The tribal plan for the distribution of almost $5,000,000 awarded to the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California by the Indian Claims Commission were published in the Federal Register November 19, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The award represents payment for 1,500,000 acres of land in California and Nevada taken from the Washoe Tribe more than years ago.

Before use or distribution of the judgment funds could be made, it was necessary to obtain Congressional approval of a plan for the use or distribution of the funds as required by the Act of October 19, 1973, 87 Stat. 466.

The Washoe plan, which became effective September 25, 1974, calls for a per capita distribution of 70 percent of the fund to tribal members. Ten percent of the fund is to be used for a Washoe Ranch Properties Improvement Program and 20 percent for a Washoe Investment Program.

The per capita distribution which sometimes involves lengthy determinations of the eligibility of persons seeking to qualify for a receipt of per capita payments, will be made as soon as possible.

The tribal plan for the distribution of $1,850,000 awarded to the "Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation" of North Dakota by the Indian Claims Commission were published in the Federal Register November 19 Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The award is additional payment for more than 1,750,000 acres of land in northwest North Dakota. The tribes involved, who have recently adopted the "Three Affiliated Tribes" designation, are the Hidatsa, Mandan and the Arikara.

Before use or distribution of the judgment funds could be made, it was necessary to obtain Congressional approval of a plan for the use or distribution of the funds as required by the Act of October 19, 1973, 87 Stat. 466.

The "Three Affiliated Tribes" plan became effective October 2, 1974 and calls for a per capita distribution of 75 percent of the judgment funds to tribal members. The remaining 25 percent is to be used for a land purchase program for the tribe.

The per capita distribution, which sometimes involves lengthy determinations of the eligibility of persons seeking to qualify for receipt of per capita payments, will be made as soon as possible.

The tribal plan for the use and distribution of judgment funds awarded to the Seneca Nation of Indians by the Indian Claims Commission has been published Ii in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

A total of almost $5.5 million was awarded jointly to the Seneca Nation and the Tonawanda Band of Senecas to provide, fair compensation for land sold in the period between 1797 and 1842. Each tribe will receive a proportionate share based on tribal membership. Both are New York tribes.

Before use or distribution of the judgment funds could be made, it was necessary to obtain Congressional approval of a plan for the use or distribution of the funds as required by the Act of October 19, 1973, 87 Stat. 466.

The Seneca plan which became effective on September 26, 1974 calls for a per capita distribution of 80 percent of the funds to tribal members. The remaining 20 percent is to be used for the development of an Old Age Benefit Trust Fund which would begin payments to female tribal members at age 62 and to males at age 65.

The per capita distribution which sometimes involves lengthy determinations of the eligibility of persons seeking to qualify for receipt of per capita payments, will be made as soon as possible.

Members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina will soon be receiving per capita payments as their share of more than $1.8 million awarded to the Band by the Indian Claims Commission in 1972. Tribal officials are concerned, however, that the present address of a significant number of Tribal members is not known and that some individuals eligible for enrollment have not made application to be included in the membership.

Enrollment in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is based primarily on the Act of June 4, 1924, (43 Stat. 376). Since the roll based on this act was prepared, many of the individuals have left the immediate Ii area and have had no further contact with the Tribe. In order for these persons to share in the payment, they will need to advise the Cherokee Tribal Enrollment Office of their whereabouts.

Similarly, some persons eligible for enrollment as a result of being a descendent of individuals on the 1924 roll, and otherwise qualified, have never applied for enrollment. These individuals now have until January 8, 1975 to apply for membership if they are to share in the per capita distribution. Many of the persons in both of the above groups are believed to be residing in Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, or Northern Georgia.

Regulations governing the updating of the membership roll have been published in the Federal Register under the authority granted to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Morris Thompson.

Any individual may obtain an enrollment application form from the Tribal Enrollment Office of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Council House, Cherokee, North Carolina 27819.