OPA

Interior's Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest J. Gerard has extended the November 28 deadline during which the Crow Tribe was to establish a coal negotiating committee and has directed Bureau of Indian Affairs officials in Montana to continue efforts to help the Crow Tribe to establish a committee that would be supported by the major interest groups of the tribe.

In a memorandum to the Billings Area Director and the Crow Agency Superintendent, Gerard said: "It is encouraging to note that there is under consideration the creation of a negotiating committee through the election of representatives from each of the (reservation) districts." He said that he hoped that this approach might be given consideration at the tribe's next council meeting January 14.

The tribal council, the governing body of the tribe, is made up of all adult members of the tribe.

In supporting the efforts currently underway, Gerard said today that settlement of the problem must come from within the tribe, that he and the BIA must maintain a "position of neutrality, respectful of the tribe's powers of self-government."

There are an estimated 5-7 billion tons of strippable coal on the Crow tribal lands.

Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph announced today the appointment of a task force to develop recommendations for the Secretary on the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"Secretary Andrus wants to insure that the trust responsibilities of the Federal Government are carried out effectively, that services to Native American people are provided efficiently and that tribal governments are strengthened," Joseph said.

"As part of a continuing effort to meet this objective a Task Force on the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been established to formulate and present recommendations to the Secretary for immediately improving the management, organization and practices of the Bureau."

Under Secretary Joseph said the study is to be comprehensive and the changes will be fundamental--not just cosmetic. He emphasized that the changes will be instituted in an orderly fashion to minimize any hardship on BIA employees and upon established relationships between the tribes and BIA offices.

The 11-member task force includes representatives of the National Congress of American Indians and the National Tribal Chairmen's Association; two representatives of the BIA named by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard; Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy, Budget and Administration Larry Meierotto; and six public members. The public members include Stewart L. Udall, former Secretary of the Interior.

Assistant Secretary Gerard is an ex-officio member. The task force director is Jack Rushing, a member of the Under Secretary's staff.

The task force will hold its first meeting on December 21, 1977. Subsequent meetings will be held at least twice a month. The task force will present its recommendations to Secretary Andrus at the beginning of April 1978.

Recommendations of the American Indian Policy Review Commission and other studies of the Bureau and its responsibilities will be considered. Among the areas for improving the performance of BIA which will be studied are: planning, advocacy, trust protection services, human resource development, natural resource development, social service delivery, personnel and administrative services, and consultation.

Members of the task force are: Robert J. Hampton, vice president, ATE Management, Arlington, Va.; Willie Hensley, executive vice president, NANA Regional Corp., Inc., Kotzebue, Ak..; Ted Marston, vice president, Cummins Engine Company, Columbus, In.; Larry Meierotto, acting assistant secretary policy, budget, and administration, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.

Also Lorraine Misiaszek, acting director, Advocates for Indian Education, Spokane, Wa.; Jim Sansaver, reservation program office, Billings area office, Billings, Mt.; Dr. Thomas Sawyer, director, ARIES Consulting Corp., Provo, Ut.; Ronald Toya, reservation program office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southern Pueblo Agency, Albuquerque, N.M.

Also Ray Goetting, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, D.C.; Stewart L. Udall, of counsel, Duncan, Brown, Weinberg & Palmer, Washington, D.C.; William Youpee, executive director, National Tribal Chairmen's Association, Washington, D. C.

Secretary Andrus has also invited the Departments of Energy, Transportation Commerce, Labor, Health, Education and Welfare, .Justice and Agriculture to designate representatives to participate in Task Force meetings as observers because of the responsibilities of these Departments for administering certain Indian programs. The same invitation was extended by the Secretary to Rep. Teno Roncalio, chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs and Public Lands of the House Interior Committee and Senator. James Abourezk chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs.

A plan for the distribution and use of more than $550,000 awarded by the Indian Claims Commission to the Fort Mojave Tribe of Indians is being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The funds are additional compensation for reservation lands taken as a result of the construction of the Parker Dam in 1940. The Fort Mojave Reservation lies at the juncture of the southern tip of Nevada with California and Arizona, and includes lands in all three states.

According to the plan, approved by Congress and effective November 12, 75 percent of the funds will be distributed to tribal members on a per capita basis. The tribe will use 17 percent of the award to partially repay a Federal Housing Authority loan and three percent for development of the tribal farm. Five percent of the award will be held in escrow to provide per capita payment for successful membership appellants, with any remainder to be used for tribal purposes.

A plan for the distribution and use of more than $8 million awarded to Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River Chippewa Indians is being published in the Federal Register, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard announced today.

The judgment award, granted by the Indian Claims Commission, is additional compensation for more than seven million acres of land in Michigan ceded by the Indians to the United States by the treaty of September 24, 1819.

The funds will be shared by members of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, an organized tribal group with headquarters at Mount Pleasant, Michigan and other descendants of the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River bands. The Secretary of the Interior will publish rules to govern the enrollment of these eligible descendants.

The tribal group will distribute 80 percent of their share to members on a per capita basis, retaining the balance for future tribal programs. All of the descendant-group's portion will be distributed per capita.

This plan was approved by Congress and made effective November 12.

Persons wanting additional information should contact the Michigan Indian Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 49783

Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus announced today approval an agreement between the Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and the Kennecott Copper Corp. to settle a long-standing dispute over water rights in Arizona's Gila River watershed.

Under the agreement, the Indians consent to Kennecott's continued use of water from Mineral Creek, a tributary of the Gila River, in its mining operation upstream from the Indian Reservation.

In return, Kennecott agrees to pay the Indians $1.5 million for past use of the water and to replace or pay for water it uses from that source in the future. The mining firm has committed itself to seeking an allocation of Central Arizona Project (CAP) water to exchange with the tribe for Gila River water. Until that is available, Kennecott will pay the Indians $70 per acre foot of water used.

The provision for payment for Mineral Creek water expires when the CAP is completed or in 1990 with the possibility of a 10-year extension. Kennecott agrees to relinquish its claims to Mineral Creek water in 1990. The settlement also resolves a dispute over water Kennecott pumps from four deep wells in the area and the effect of that pumping on Gila River flows. Under the agreement, the Indians consent to the pumping until the year 2075; Kennecott agrees to pay $70 an acre foot for a portion of the water it pumps.

''Anyone who has followed Western water disputes--particularly in the desert southwest--can only view this agreement as a major achievement," said Andrus. "I certainly commend both parties for reaching a sensible, mutually beneficial resolution without costly, time-consuming court suits which might also have seriously disrupted the state's economy.

"While both sides were willing to litigate their claims if necessary, they agreed that would work to everyone's disadvantage. The Indians' prime concern is water, but they were reluctant to disrupt Kennecott's mining operations, a major force in Arizona's economy. Under the agreement, Kennecott will have the water so critical to its mining operations. The Indians have taken steps to ensure future water supplies to the reservation."

Although the parties pledge in the agreement not to sue each other over the disputed water rights, neither party abandons its claims, Andrus said.

Kennecott claims it is using water it is entitled to under the 1935 Gila Decree or water from tributaries which were expressly excluded from the scope of that decree. The Indians counter that they were not a party to the decree, that it is not binding upon them and that, in any case, it does not settle the water rights to which they are entitled under the Winters Doctrine. The doctrine, developed by the courts over the years, holds that Indians are entitled to enough water to serve the purposes for which their reservations were created. The doctrine establishes a priority water right dated no later than the creation of the reservation.

The Gila River Indians have the longest history of irrigated farming in the nation through their Hohokam ancestors who used an extensive system of canals to irrigate the Gila River Valley lands. The reservation was established in 1859 and has been expanded since to its present 372,000 acres.

While Kennecott and the Indian Community are considered to be the major claimants in the watershed, they are not the only ones. Andrus said his approval of the agreement as trustee for Indian water rights implies no position on any water rights within the Gila River drainage, including those of the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage Dist., a major agricultural user downstream of the water sources involved in the agreement.

In a letter to the Secretary, Alexander Lewis, Sr., Governor of the Indian Community, termed the approval of the agreement "a historic occasion.

"The agreement recognizes that we have always befriended non-Indians within the area, and we wish to regain the use of our water with as little adverse effect: on others as possible," Governor Lewis wrote. "This agreement allows a major industry in our nation to continue its operations in Arizona and assures return of some of our water to our reservation. We believe that with trust and cooperation other non-Indians can also agree with us for our mutual benefit."

Because of illness, Governor Lewis was unable to attend the brief ceremony December 20 in the Secretary's office. Representing the tribe were Lt. Governor Donald R. Antone, Sr., and Council Member Arnold Juan. Herman H. Kremer, President of Kennecott's Metal Mining Division, represented the corporation.

Department of the interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulits has asked the Justice Department to appeal a Federal District Court decision against the Government and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada, which seeks Truckee River water rights to maintain a fishery on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation.

Judge J. Blaine Anderson ruled on December 12 in Reno that the Indians are barred from seeking water for their fishery. He said all rights to Truckee River water were settled finally in a 1944 decree. He ruled that the Indians were adequately represented in that settlement and have been adequately compensated for any fishery losses.

In a suit filed on their behalf by the Justice Department, the United States and the Indians asked for a water right under the Winters Doctrine, which holds that Indians are entitled to enough water to fulfill the purposes for which their reservations were established, Specifically, the Paiute Indians want enough flow from the Truckee into Pyramid Lake to allow two species of fish to spawn naturally in the river and the lake. The lake is the home of the threatened Lahontan Cutthroat trout and the cui-ui sucker, an endangered species.

"The water level of the lake has fallen by 70 feet since Truckee River water was diverted for the Newlands Reclamation Project," said Krulitz. "It is our contention that the tribe's rights were ignored during drafting of the 1944 decree because Government attorneys were more concerned with securing water for the reclamation project.

"The question of reserved water rights for the tribe is at the very heart of the case. Because the thrust of the Government's position is that the United States failed to pursue tribal rights in the first place, I think it is vital that we appeal the decision."

Krulitz said another aspect of the decision could have broad implications unless the case is appealed. That is the judge's holding that "Executive Order" Indian reservations - those such as the Pyramid Lake Reservation, withdrawn by the President rather than reserved by a treaty or an Act of Congress -- may be treated differently from the others in the application of Federal Reclamation laws.

"That has never been the policy of this Department," the Solicitor said. "If that part of the decision were allowed to stand unchallenged, it could result in serious impacts on all "Executive Order" reservations in the U.S."

The water right at stake in the suit, Krulitz said, is important not only to the Indians. The Paiute Tribe has made the lake available in perpetuity for public recreational use and that has become a major contributor to the economy of the surrounding area as well as the Tribe. In addition, the Secretary of the Interior has a responsibility to preserve the habitat of species which, like the Pyramid Lake trout and suckers, are threatened.

Without the water right, Krulitz said, both recreational use and the fish habitat will be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain.

Ben Reifel, a former South Dakota Congressman and an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has accepted a "recess appointment" as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

President Ford announced the appointment of Reifel December 7 following a recommendation by Secretary of the Interior Thomas S. Kleppe. Reifel succeeds Morris Thompson who left the post November 3 to return to Alaska as Vice President of the Alcan Pipeline Co.

Reifel will take the oath of office in a ceremony in Secretary Kleppe's office at 3:30 p.m. today.

Reifel, 70, worked 22 years with the Bureau of Indian Affairs before beginning five terms in Congress in 1960. He started with BIA as a Farm Agent on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He later was Agency Superintendent at Pine Ridge and at the Fort Berthold Agency in North Dakota. He was, from 1955-60, Director of the Bureau's Aberdeen Area, which includes North and South Dakota and Nebraska.

A World War II Army veteran, Reifel is a graduate of South Dakota State College. He received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Harvard in 1949. A John Hay Whitney Foundation Opportunity Fellowship enabled him to continue at Harvard for a Doctorate awarded in 1952. He has received honorary doctorates from both the South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota.

Reifel served without compensation as an Assistant for Indian Affairs to the Director of the National Park Service from 1971 to 1974. He was Director of the American Indian National Bank when it was organized in 1973 and served as Chairman of the Board from March 1974 until he retired from that position in March, 1976.

He is president of Arrow, Inc., an Indian service organization, a member of the National Advisory Council of the Boy Scouts of America and on the Board of Trustees of the Freedom Foundation, Valley Forge, Pa. He is a member of the National Advisory Council for the Education of Disadvantaged Children and has been chairman of the National Capitol Planning Commission. He has been active on a number of other civic commissions and task forces.

Reifel was born on the Rosebud Reservation in 1906. His mother was a full-blood Indian and his father a German-American.

Secretary of the Interior Thomas s. Kleppe has signed a decision on coal leases and options to lease on the Crow Indian reservation which he said he, hoped would result in the discontinuance of a lawsuit filed by the Crow Tribe challenged the validity of the leases.

In his decision, Kleppe directed Shell Oil Company and American Metals Clim s (AMAX) to reduce their leaseholds to 2,560 acres each or clearly demonstrate a need for a waiver of the Department regulation concerning acreage limitations. In the case of Peabody and Gulf Oil, the Secretary decided that the Billings Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, was correct in his decision the terms of their permits did not support a request for leases of more that 2,560 acres.

He also said any larger lease must be negotiated with the Crow Tribe, subject to the approval of the BIA. He also said no final department approval will be forthcoming on any leases until environmental impact statements have been completed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

Kleppe said he hoped that, in light of his decision, "the Crow Tribe and the companies involved in this litigation will attempt at once to resolve their differences in a more cooperative forum in order that the development, in which all parties have expressed repeated interest, may proceed in an orderly manner."

The Secretary’s decision was consistent with the June 4, 1974, decision of then-Secretary Morton in acting on a petition submitted by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and raising similar issues arising from similar circumstances.

The Department of the Interior today gave copies of final draft litigation reports on the land claims of the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Indian tribes in the State of Maine to the Attorney General of that State and attorneys for the tribes. The draft report was delivered earlier in the week to the Justice I Department.

Interior Solicitor H. Gregory Austin said that these draft reports do not represent the final decision of the Department of Interior regarding the tribal claims. He said that because of the important nature of the controversy, his successor in the Carter administration should have the opportunity to review the research which has been done and make his own decision.

Austin said he agrees with the views stated in a Justice Department memorandum filed today in Maine Federal court that the serious consequences of the Indian claims to the non-Indian citizens of Maine may be alleviated only by means of legislation enacted by the United States Congress. In the meantime, the Interior and Justice Departments must act as trustees for the tribes in accordance with the order of a federal appeals court.

The final environmental impact statement for the Westmoreland Resources
Crow Ceded Area coal leases, pertaining to more than 30,000 acres of land in
Bighorn County, Montana, is now available to the public, Commissioner of
Indian Affairs Ben Reifel announced today.

According to the official notice published in the Federal Register, copies of the statement may be obtained from the Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 316 N. 26th Street, Billings, Montana 59101. Copies of the statement will also be available for inspection at the Crow Agency, the Area Office and the BIA Central Office in Washington, D.C.

This statement will serve as a primary documentary basis upon which the
Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with a District Court Order, must reconsider his approval of two leases in favor of Westmoreland Resources executed by the Crow Tribe in November of 1974.

Westmoreland Resources has submitted plans for expansion of its present
mining operations to include 2,151 acres and approximately 190.6 million tons
of coal. Action on these plans cannot be taken, however, until the leasing
issue has been decided.