OPA

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has awarded the first negotiated contract for the supplying of equipment which had been earmarked for an area of substantial labor surplus, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall announced today.

The contract is for three motor graders which will be used by the Bureau's Branch of Roads in the Aberdeen, South Dakota and Phoenix, Arizona areas. It was awarded to The Galion Iron Works and Mfg. Co., Galion, Ohio, for the sum of $36,033.

The set-aside procedure was ordered by Secretary Udall as a means of assisting the economy of areas having a substantial labor surplus, in accordance with existing regulations which allow set-asides for negotiated awards to firms in depressed areas. The motor graders to be supplied by The Galion Iron Works and Mfg. Co. will come from Galion, Ohio.

The Galion Iron Works and Mfg. Co. had previously submitted a low bid of $36,033 for the advertised portion, and was awarded the contract for three motor graders for the Billings, Montana and Portland, Oregon areas. Under the procedures adopted, the unit prices on the negotiated and competitive contracts are the same.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced he has instructed the Bureau of Indian Affairs to examine into the rights of approximately 35 Indian groups in western Washington who have complained to him about asserted encroachments.

He took note of tribal apprehensions generated by Congressional proposals in past years for the termination of Federal protection and services for Indians, and the transfer of criminal and civil jurisdiction over Indian land to State and local governments.

Secretary Udall asked the Bureau to identify the Indians’ legal and treaty rights, and how they can be protected. Subject matters of the controversy include hunting and fishing rights, rights to tidelands, clarification of Indian title to various properties, resource development, and tribal government and law and order questions.

Beginning in late July, each of the Indian groups in the western portion of the State will be consulted.

The staff assigned to the study includes: Robert Holtz, Portland, Oregon, area director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; James Officer, assistant to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs; Rex Quinn, the Bureau’s Tribal Relations Officer; William Benge, head of the Bureau's Branch of Law and Order; and Newton Edwards, staff assistant to Assistant Secretary John A. Carver, Jr.

Appointment of Martin P. Mangan, Alexandria, Va., as Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in charge of legislative work was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

In his new post, Mangan will have prime responsibility for planning and coordinating the legislative program and legislative recommendations of the Bureau.

Mangan, 40, has been with the central office of the Bureau in Washington, D.C., since 1951, and is assuming the duties of H. Rex Lee, recently appointed as Governor of American Samoa.

He joined the staff as an analyst in the Branch of Economic Development and two years later was appointed program officer in the Program Division. In 1957 he was promoted to chief of the program planning and coordination section in the Branch of Tribal Programs. Since February of this year, he has been on special and roving assignments for Acting Commissioner John O. Crow.

A native of Binghamton, N. Y., he was graduated from public schools there and held several industrial jobs in that city. He was awarded a State legislative scholarship in political science at the University of Wisconsin where, following World War II, combat service in the Marine Corps, he received his A.B. degree with honors in 1947. He also did graduate work at Harvard University.

In 1949, he was appointed to the staff of the War Claims Commission and served with that agency until he joined the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

A "new trail" for Indians leading to equal citizenship, maximum self-sufficiency, and full participation in American life was endorsed today by Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall.

Secretary Udall endorsed the "new trail" approach in announcing the completion of a 77-page report by a Task Force on Indian Affairs which he appointed earlier in February.

"Preparing the new trail will require the collaboration of the Indians, State and local governments, and the American people," Secretary Udall said.

"We plan to place emphasis on Indian development rather than on termination in the belief that this approach will win the cooperative response from our Indian citizens which is the keystone of a successful program," he said.

The Task Force report which Secretary Udall released today states that "placing greater emphasis on termination than on Indian development impairs Indian morale and produces a hostile or apathetic response which greatly limits the effectiveness of the Federal Indian program."

The report cites, however, the beneficial nature of Federal programs which treat Indians and other Americans the same, such as the Social Security Act, the Area Redevelopment Act, and Public Laws 815 and 874 of the 81st Congress, which provide Federal aid to public school districts in federally-impacted areas.

The Task Force report also urges that eligibility for special Federal service be withdrawn from "Indians with substantial incomes and superior educational experience, who are as competent as most non-Indians to look after their own affairs."

Calling attention to the serious shortage of employment opportunities for Indians, the report recommends development of Indian-owned resources, more vigorous efforts to attract industries to reservation areas, and an expanded program of vocational training and placement. It also calls for the creation of a special Reservation Development loan Fund and expansion of the present Revolving Loan Fund maintained by "The Bureau of Indian Affairs".

The Task Force notes that in some areas, reservation development is complicated by the fact that Indian land allotments have many owners who either cannot be located or will not agree on how the property is to be used. It recommends transferring these fractionated holdings to the tribe and permitting the latter to compensate the owners through some system of deferred payment. In cases where such lands can produce income through timber leasing, the Task Force recommends that the Secretary of the Interior seek authority from Congress to negotiate leases and distribute the proceeds among the Indian owners, without having first to obtain their consent.

The report emphasizes the need for securing the aid of Indian communities in connection with reservation development and comments that "Indians can retain their tribal identities and much of their culture while working toward a greater adjustment."

“lt is in our best interest to encourage them to do so," the report adds.

The Task Force asks the Federal Government to accelerate its negotiations with States and counties, and resort to the courts where necessary, to make certain that off-reservation Indians are accorded the same rights and privileges as other citizens of their areas. With respect to the complex problem of legal jurisdiction over reservation Indians, the Task Force recommends negotiation among the states, the Indians and the Federal Government to make certain that the interests of all are protected. It advocates piecemeal, rather than total, transfer of jurisdiction to the States and comments that such transfer might be effected immediately in such areas as juvenile affairs, institutional commitments and domestic relations.

The report urges the Bureau to work with the States and the tribes toward the end of bringing tribal law and order codes into conformity with those of the various States and counties in which reservations are located. However, it calls attention to the serious differences which exist between Indians and a number of States over such matters as water rights and hunting and fishing rights. These, the report says, must be adjudicated before a complete transfer of law and order responsibility is feasible.

Citing the continuing need for more classroom space for Indian children, the Task Force recommends that consideration be given to keeping schools in operation the year round. Also suggested is the use of school facilities for summertime programs which will help Indian youngsters make constructive use of their leisure time.

As a step toward transferring the responsibility for Indian education to local school districts, the report urges the renovation of present buildings, the construction of new school plants, and improvements in reservation roads so that children can be bussed to school, rather than housed in dormitories. "The Bureau must make a greater effort to involve Indian parents in school planning,” the report continues, “and wherever parent-teacher groups have not been formed, they should be established as rapidly as possible."

The Task Force places great emphasis on the public relations responsibilities of the Bureau. These are described as crucial for informing the general public of the role it must play in Indian development. Field personnel of the Bureau are encouraged to create opportunities for discussing their programs with non-Indians in .the areas where they work, and the Bureau Information Office is urged to build up a reservoir of materials which depict "the modern Indian, the history and present status of his problems, and the programs which the Federal Government and other agencies have instituted in his behalf."

The Department is asked to consider requesting Congress for a statute authorizing the creation of an Advisory Board on Indian Affairs to include persons conversant with Indian problems and interested in finding solutions for them. Members of the board would be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and would serve him directly.

Included in the Task Force report are a number of suggestions for the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Among these, is listed the need for establishing a Division of Economic Development, which would be concerned with resource surveys, tribal enterprises, attracting industry to Indian country, and the promotion of tourism on Indian reservations. Also recommended is the maximum delegation of authority from Washington to the area offices and the superintendencies.

The Task Force urges the Bureau of Indian Affairs to work with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to develop eligibility criteria which will be consistent for the programs of both agencies. It suggests that those Indians who can afford to pay for health services be required to do so, and calls upon the Secretary of the Interior to lend his support to H.E.W.'s request for an increased appropriation to provide water and sewage disposal systems on Indian reservations.

The Chairman of the Indian Affairs Task Force is W. W. Keeler of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, who is the Executive Vice-President of the Phillips Petroleum Company and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Other members are Philleo Nash, former Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin; William Zimmerman, Jr., former Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs; and James E. Officer, University of Arizona anthropologist. Acting Commissioner John O. Crow consulted with the Task Force and accompanied it on field trips.

The group began its study in late February. In the succeeding months, it traveled throughout Indian country conferring with tribal leaders, and held discussions in Washington with representatives of Indian organizations, personnel from the Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other Government agencies, and with members of Congress.

Award of a $777,777 Bureau of Reclamation contract for the clearing of approximately 15,600 acres of land along the border of New Mexico and Colorado, to be inundated by the waters of Navajo Reservoir, was announced by the Department of the Interior today.

The contract went to Universal Grading Company, Incorporated, of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

At the bid opening on May 18, the apparent low bid for this work under Bureau Specifications 400C-163 was the $237,000 offer of Edman &Company of 2070 Willow Lane, Denver, Colorado. However, after opening of the bids, but before award, the low bidder notified the Bureau's contracting officer that it had made a mistake in computation. The question was submitted to the Comptroller General and it was ruled that the Bureau could not permit a change in the bid after the time fixed for opening, Therefore, the Edman bid was disregarded in making the award to the New Mexico firm, second lowest of the nine bidders, said Assistant Commissioner N. B. Bennett.

The contract calls for clearance of 15,600 acres of reservoir land in San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties, New Mexico, and Archuleta County, Colorado. All trees, brush, stumps and other woody plants, all buildings, fences and other structures will be removed from approximately 9,800 acres behind Navajo Dam, from an elevation of 5,965 feet to an elevation of 6,085 feet. Selective removal and topping is permitted at lower elevations, according to the terms of the contract. Completion is required within 400 days.

Navajo Dam and Reservoir, a major storage unit of the five-State Colorado River Storage Project, is scheduled for completion in December 1962. Initial filling will begin early in 1962.

The 405-foot-high earth and rock fill dam, under construction on the San Juan River, approximately 39 miles east of Farmington, New Mexico, will be the second largest earth dam constructed by the Bureau. The 1,709,000 acre-foot Navajo Reservoir will store flows of the San Juan River for the 110,630-acre Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, now before the Congress for authorization. It will also provide important fish and wildlife, recreation, and flood control benefits.

Total estimated cost of the project, exclusive of recreational and fish and wildlife facilities, is $39,372,000.

Thomas H. St. Clair, industrial development specialist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Portland, Oregon, has been appointed superintendent of the Papago Indian Agency, Sells, Ariz., the Department of the Interior announced today.

The new superintendent will take office July 23. He succeeds Harry W. Gilmore who has been in charge at Papago since 1955 and now moves into a position as program officer in the Indian Bureau's area office at Phoenix.

Born at Steilacoom, Wash., in 1915, St. Clair first came with the Bureau in 1956 as relocation officer at the Northern Idaho Agency, Lapwai, Idaho. After one year he was promoted to relocation officer in the Bureau's field relocation office at Los Angeles and a year later was transferred to the industrial development position at Portland. Before joining the Bureau, he served eight years with the Employment Security Department of the State of Washington and eight years with the United States Army, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. He graduated from high school in Tacoma, Wash., and later attended the College of Puget Sound in that city.

In line with a recommendation recently made by his task Force on Indian Affairs, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L, Udall has proposed to Congress the enactment of legislation to establish an Advisory Board on Indian Affairs.

The Board would consist of not more than 15 members and would include both Indian and non-Indian leaders in such fields as tribal government, State and local government, national civic organizations, religious organizations, industry, labor, education, forestry, mining, grazing, wildlife and recreation. Its function would be to advise the Department on existing and contemplated programs and policies in the field of Indian affairs.

Such a Board, Secretary Udall said, would serve much the same purpose as the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments, established under a law enacted in 1935. The Parks Board, he added, has proved "of great value and service to the Department and the country.”

Under the proposed bill members of the Indian Advisory Board would serve without salary but would be reimbursed for travel and expenses when on official duty. Annual cost to the Government is estimated at not more than $20,000.

Promotion of Otto K, Weaver, an II-year veteran of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to superintendent of the Crow Agency in Montana, effective August 6, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

He succeeds Clyde W. Hobbs who was recently transferred as superintendent to the Wind River Agency, Fort Washakie, Wyoming.

Weaver has been serving for the past four years as land operations officer of the Uintah-Ouray Agency in Utah. Prior to this he had seven years of service in soil conservation and land operations work at the Hopi Agency in Arizona. He was born at Sayre, Okla., in 1918 and graduated from Utah State Agricultural College in 1950, Before enrolling in college he was privately employed for eight years in Arvin, Calif. and Astoria, Oregon.

Job opportunities for American Indians in careers involving the land and its resources are discussed in "Careers for Indians in
Agriculture," a new eight-page leaflet just published by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Aimed primarily at interesting high school students in furthering their education, the leaflet may be obtained from the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20242 or any Indian agency without cost.

The leaflet notes that, while many of the old traditional farm jobs are dwindling, new opportunities are being created in more
sophisticated areas of natural resource management such as water resource development, range and forest management and use, wildlife
conservation, and others.

Among the occupations described are: Farm and ranch operator, veterinary medicine, agricultural technician, agricultural research,
resource management, agriculture business and teaching.

A conference was held July 6-7 at Lake Tahoe on the California-Nevada border to discuss water needs of the area, including Lake Tahoe, the Truckee Carson River Irrigation District, and the water requirements of the Pyramid Lake Indians.

Joining Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel in the conference were Gov. Ronald Reagan of California; Gov. Paul Laxalt of Nevada; Representatives from the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation; Norman B. Livermore, Jr. Administrator, California Resources Agency; Roland ,B. Westergard, Nevada State Division of Water Resources; Elmo DeRicco, Director of the Nevada Conservation Department; and Mitchell Melich, Solicitor for the Department of the Interior.

At the conclusion of the conference July 7, and again in a statement issued today, Secretary of the Interior Walter J. Hickel stressed that at no time has the Department of the Interior intended to raise the level of Lake Tahoe above the elevation of 6,229.1 feet, and "only in the event of an extreme emergency or an act of God would the Lake level be raised above that elevation."

The Secretary said this policy was reasserted "forcefully" in his consultation with the two Governors.

The Secretary also said today that "with respect to the water compact being considered between California and Nevada, I informed both Governors, and I again say, that my initial objections to it were based on my responsibility to protect the water rights of the Pyramid Lake Indians, and to work out a just solution to stabilize the level of Pyramid Lake.

Secretary Hickel and Governor Laxalt will appoint a task force to resolve the Pyramid Lake problem and to stabilize it in a manner that will "absolutely" protect the rights of the Pyramid Lake Indians.

"If the Department and Nevada agree to this we see no reason why the California Legislature should not approve the compact," the Secretary added.

The Secretary suggested that if the California Assembly approves the compact during its present session, the compact not be submitted to Congress for ratification until the Department of the Interior and the State of Nevada agree upon a plan for stabilization of the level of Pyramid
Lake.

The Nevada Legislature and the California Senate have approved the compact. It is presently being considered by the California Assembly.

The Secretary said the Governors agreed that discussions should be held as soon as possible and should incorporate a plan which would stabilize the level of Pyramid Lake. At present the lake is receding at a natural rate of approximately one foot a year.