OPA

Plans for a change in the Federal regulations to permit more extensive leasing of Indian lands for underground storage of oil and gas were announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The proposal covers both tribally and individually owned lands in Federal trusteeship or restricted status and could include lands which are currently under oil and gas production lease as well as those which are not. Under present regulations storage leases have been possible only for lands not under lease for oil and gas development.

Rentals or storage fees to be paid the Indian owners would be established at a rate considered adequate in each individual case. Safety provisions would also be included, where necessary, in each of the storage leases.

Broadened authority to lease Indian lands for underground oil and gas storage was provided in a congressional enactment of August 1, 1956 (70 Stat. 774).

Interested parties are invited to submit their comments or suggestions to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington 25, D. C., within 30 days after publication of the proposed amendment in the Federal Register.

Award of a $663,330 contract for a major road construction project that will provide the final paved link on Route 3 across the Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Route 3 is the connecting road between Highway 666 in New Mexico and Highway 89 in Arizona.

The contract is the first to be awarded under special legislation enacted last year which authorized appropriation of an additional $20,000,000 for road construction on the Navajo Reservation. This contract covers widening and paving 28.7 miles of Route 3 between Dinnebito Wash and Coal Mine Mesa.

The road will be built to State highway secondary standards specified by the Arizona Highway Department and will eventually be incorporated into the State system for maintenance.

The successful bidder was Northwestern Engineering Company of Denver, Colorado. Fourteen other bids were received ranging from $676,427 to $1,257,136.

The Department also indicated that surveys have been completed and bids will be invited in the near future by the Gallup (New Mexico) Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on portions of another road covered by the special authorizing legislation. This is Route 1 which will ultimately be a paved highway from Tuba City and Route 89 in Arizona through the oil-rich "four corners" area to Highway 666 near Shiprock, New Mexico.

Like Route 3, this will be improved with Federal funds to State highway standards and then taken over by the State of Arizona for maintenance.

The Department of the Interior today invited lease proposals on two tracts of undeveloped Indian land in Nevada with a total shore frontage of nearly 14 miles on Pyramid Lake, an inland body of deep-blue fresh water in a desert-mountain setting.

The lands are on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation about 33 miles north of Reno and offer excellent possibilities for business recreational or residential development.

One of the tracts comprises about 3,880 acres with a frontage of approximately seven miles on the southwest shore on Pyramid Lake. The other consists of approximately 31 200 acres and has about 6.4 miles of frontage on the southeast side of the Lake. They are to be leased separately and bidders interested in both must submit a separate bid for each.

The leases are to be for 25 years with an option for 25-year renewal.

Interested parties are invited to write the Superintendent, Nevada Indian Agency Stewart 1 Nevada. He will provide full details and a copy of the lease form that is to be used. Each bid must be accompanied by the following:

1. A preliminary planned schedule of general development. This is to include proposed annual development expenditures over the first five years of the lease term.

2. A proposal for the payment of a fixed annual ground rental. This is to be submitted as one amount for the entire area and not on a per-acre basis.

3. A proposal for the payment of a percentage of the gross income from commercial and recreational operations. Hotels, motels, apartment buildings and trailer or mobile home tracts should be included with commercial and recreational operations.

4. A proposal for the payment of minimum annual rental for residences apart from those specified in 3 above.

Bids will be received at the Nevada Indian Agency in Stewart until 2 p.m., PDT, June 26, 1959. Each bid must be accompanied by a cashier's check or certified check made payable to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the amount of the bidder's proposed ground rental for the first year.

The award will be made to the highest responsible bidder on each tract, rental and all other factors considered, provided the bid is reasonable and it is to the interest of the Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe, beneficial owner of the property and the United States, as trustee of the property, to accept it.

Offering of the Pyramid Lake lands for long-term leasing was made possible by the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 stat. 539) which authorized leasing of Indian lands for terms up to 25 years with a possibility of a 25-year renewal. Under previous law such leases were generally limited to a five-year term.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today said he will send a representative of his office to Kansas City, Kansas, to participate in a hearing to be held soon by the House Subcommittee on Indian Affairs on bills affecting the future status of the community's controversial Huron Cemetery. The date for the hearing ill be announced later.

Subcommittee Chairman James A. Haley, who will conduct the hearing, invited the Secretary to send a representative.

The 1.9-acre cemetery, located in the heart of Kansas City, is the property of the Wyandotte Indian Tribe of Oklahoma and has long been the subject of controversy. Under a 1956 law providing for termination of Federal trust supervision of Wyandotte tribal property on or before August 1, 1959, the Department may put the cemetery property up for sale if the tribe so wishes.

One of the bills to be considered at the forthcoming hearing would eliminate the Department's authority to sell the cemetery. Another would require the Department to investigate the advisability of establishing the cemetery as a national shrine or monument.

Lewis Sigler, Assistant Legislative Counsel, will represent the Department at the hearing.

Three years ago Secretary Seaton said that before approval of any' plan for sale of the cemetery, a hearing would be held at Kansas City so that interested historical groups might express their views. The Haley Subcommittee hearing, he said, will fulfill that promise.

August 1 has been set as a deadline for removal of Federal trust supervision the Wyandotte tribal property. Therefore, Secretary Seaton said steps are being taken, looking toward disposal of the tribal property in compliance with the provisions of existing law.

First of these steps is a poll by mail of the adult members of the Wyandotte Tribe to learn their wishes on the disposal of the tribal property.

In questionnaires that will be sent out shortly by the Area Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Muskogee, Oklahoma, each tribal member will be asked to express himself for or against three possible methods of disposition.

One would involve the transfer of the cemetery to a private trustee or cemetery association so that the property could be preserved intact. This would mean that the only income to be received by the tribal members would be that realized from sale of one small tract of tribal property located in Oklahoma.

Secondly all of the tribal property might be sold by sealed bids to the highest bidder regardless of proposed future use. This would require removing the bodies from the Huron Cemetery and the purchase of a new cemetery site. Such costs would be deducted from the proceeds of the sale and the net balance would be distributed equally among the members.

Under the third proposal, the members will be asked whether they would approve sale of the cemetery to a civic body or other legal entity at the appraised value less the cost for removing the bodies in the event such an offer should be received. Under this plan the net income from the sale would also be distributed equally among the members.

Before the referendum vote could be initiated, three important steps had to be taken.

One was the compilation of a final roll of the tribal members. This was recently completed and the roll consists of 1,154 individuals--697 adults and 457 minors.

Second was a survey of the Huron Cemetery by the Bureau of land Management. This revealed certain encroachments and unauthorized occupation of certain areas by the municipality and certain private parties.

Third was an appraisal of the cemetery based on the legal description. This was recently completed. The value of the site, with all graves removed, is estimated at $291,000.

Because no accurate records of burials have been kept, only a rough estimate can be made of the costs of reinterment. From the information on hand, the Department indicated that there may be between 800 and 1, 000 interments and the reinterment costs could conceivably be about $130,000. Allowing for the cost of a new site and a monument, this would mean that the share of each Wyandotte member would probably not exceed $130.

In addition to arranging for the referendum among the tribal members, the Muskogee Office of the Indian Bureau is also being directed to (a) start negotiations with the city of Kansas City, Kansas, and abutting property owners on the sale of the areas of encroachment, (b) invite sealed bids from all potential purchasers of the cemetery site, (c) secure contract proposals for removing and reinterring the bodies and for other items incident to such relocation including a suitable site for reinterment, and (d) advertise for sale and solicit sealed bids for the small tract of tribal property in Oklahoma.

Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton today announced the Department, hoping to keep as much of the present Indian estate as possible in Indian hands, has recommended major amendments of S.51, a bill dealing with the sale or leasing of tracts owned by two or more Indians.

One of the most important recommendations asks for a $15,000,000 increase in the Indian Revolving Loan Fund set up to help Indians acquire land, he said.

Under existing law, a tract of trust or restricted Indian land in multiple ownership can be sold or leased under most circumstances only with the consent of all the owners. S. 51 in its present form would change this by authorizing the Department to sell or lease upon request of those owning a majority Indian interest. The Department's report pointed out that this bill, if enacted, would result in more land going out of Indian ownership.

The amendments recommended by the Department, to prevent the loss to Indians of important tracts of heirship lands, would set up two major steps to facilitate Indian purchase of the lands offered for sale. First, each of the Indian owners of a tract offered for sale would be given a preferential right to buyout the interests of the others. Secondly, if none of the co-owners is interested in purchase, the tribe would be given a right to buy the tract either by negotiation at the appraised value, or by meeting the highest sealed offer submitted in competitive bidding, or by participating in an auction.

In recognition of the fact that many Indian tribes lack the funds for making such purchases, the Department recommended special Federal loans for the purpose. The amount needed, the Department said, is difficult to estimate. However, it asked for an increase from $10,000,000 to $25,000,000 in the appropriation authorization for the revolving loan fund of the Bureau of Indian Affairs "until some experience is gained."

Under the Department's proposal, the loans would have to be secured by a mortgage on the land purchased or on other tribal property equal at least to the principal amount of the loan. They would have a term of not more than 25 years and would be made only if the tribe has a plan for using the purchased land which is acceptable to the Secretary.

In a letter to Senator James E. Murray, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, the Department pointed out that it has been criticized in the past for allowing the sale of individually owned Indian lands, "notwithstanding the fact that we ordinarily may act only upon the request of all of the owners and only when we think a sale would benefit the owners." The letter also called attention to (1) a moratorium on all sales of Indian land declared by the Department last year at the request of Senator Murray pending a Senate committee review of the problem and (2) a memorandum from Senator Murray to the committee, after this review, which reflected continued criticism of Indian land sales by the Department, characterizing them as "alarming" and "potentially disastrous."

"It should be clearly understood,” the Department's letter to Senator Murray said, "that if your bill S. 51 is enacted and if the authority in the bill is used effectively, it will result in more land going out of Indian ownership."

The recommended amendments, the Department pointed out, will not only help keep the lands in Indian ownership but will also go a long way toward resolving what is known in Indian circles as the "heirship problem." This is a problem which has developed because many of the Indians who received individual allotments of land on reservations under Federal law--principally in the period from the 1880's to the 1920’s--have died and their interests have passed on to their heirs.

The Department estimates that more than half of the 60,000 allotted tracts, comprising some 13,000,000 acres, are now in multiple ownership and that 2,000 additional estates are being probated each year. In some cases the interests of individual owners have to be expressed by fractions with denominators in the millions. Rentals payable to the Indian owners sometimes amount to only a few pennies a year.

"The present system," the Department letter said, "works to the detriment both of the Indian owners and of the Government. All too often situations develop where the welfare of one or more of the Indian owners requires a sale of land, but a sale cannot be made under existing law because of the absence of one of the joint owners, the whereabouts of an owner is unknown, or one of the owners for no valid reason refuses to agree to a sale.

"There should be some way for each of the individual Indians to protect his own interests. Authority for the owners of a majority interest to sell or lease, with the approval of the Secretary, it seems eminently fair. In the case of non-Indians, anyone of the owners can compel a sale regardless of the wishes of the other owners. These ownership interests are individual property rights, and they should receive reasonable protection.

"It also seems to us obvious that the Federal Government, as trustee, should not be subjected to the exorbitant and extravagant expense of administration that is inherent in the present system, which requires an enormous amount of time to be spent in locating all of the numerous joint owners of a particular tract of land, in getting the concurrence of all of them to the proposed action, in keeping the complicated record system that is required to identify ownership and to distribute income from the land, and in maintaining accounts in which the income of each owner is recorded."

Award of a $235,683.40 contract for construction of 9.511 miles of graded roadway and untreated surface on Indian reservation lands in New Mexico was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The project is located between Torreon and Johnson's Trading Post in the checkerboard section of the eastern Navajo Reservation. The segment being improved serves as a part of an access road from New Mexico Route 44, near Cuba, to Torreon. The New Mexico State Highway Commission has agreed to complete the section from Johnson's Trading Post to Highway 44.

The new road will permit regular scheduling of school buses and promote regular attendance of the approximately 175 Indian children at the public school at Cuba, New Mexico, as provided for by the Bureau of Indian Affairs' educational program. This road will also serve as an outlet for the isolated section in the vicinity of Torreon where the Bureau maintains a boarding school.

In adverse weather during the school term it has been almost impossible to maintain a supply service on a regular schedule and operate buses serving the school facilities.

Funds for this improvement are provided from regular appropriated funds for the improvement of the Navajo Road System.

James Hamilton Construction Company of Grants, New Mexico, submitted the low bid of $235,683.40.

Twelve other bids were received ranging from $238,380.16 to $374,959.72.

The Department of the Interior today announced its endorsement of H. R. 6128, a bill that will permit members of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina to divide their tribal assets and discontinue their special Indian relations with the Federal Government.

The Catawba Indians have requested such legislation and have explicitly approved the provisions of H. R. 6128.

The property to be divided consists of 3,388.8 acres of land under Federal trusteeship in York County, S. C., near Rock Hill; a tribal herd of 120 beef cattle; approximately 6,500,000 board feet of timber; and nearly $5,000 of cash on deposit with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The total estimated net worth of Tribe is slightly over $250,000.

Under provisions of the bill, tribal members who have received an assignment or use right in particular tracts of tribal land will be given the right to select these tracts as part of their distributive shares. The remainder of the tribal assets will be sold and the proceeds distributed. Any property not sold within two years after enactment will be conveyed to a trustee for liquidation and distribution.

The Catawba Indians have received services for many years from the State of South Carolina but have only a relatively short history of special relationships with the Federal Government. Under a 1943 agreement among the Tribe, the State, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the land now held in Federal trusteeship was bought for the Tribe by the State and conveyed to the United States in 1945. In addition, the tribe has had for many years a reservation of one square mile which g held in trust by the State. This will not be affected by H. R. 6128 unless the State Legislature takes action to have it included in the distribution plan.

Last fall the Bureau of Indian Affairs found 62 Catawba families living on the Federal trust land, 21 families living on the "old reservation" under the State, 26 families living in Rock Hill, and 53 families living elsewhere. The total includes 614 Indians in 162 family groups.

In its report the Department pointed out that the Catawbas have advanced economically at a steady pace during the past 14 years and have now reached a position comparable to that of their non-Indian neighbors.

Last December the State of South Carolina appointed a five-man legislative committee to help the Catawbas in negotiating for removal of the Federal trust restrictions from their land. This committee has studied H. R. 6128 and endorsed it.

Award of a $181,400 contract for construction of a new 80-pupil dormitory and additional dining facilities to provide for Indian school children at Ramah, New Mexico, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

Completion of the work will make it possible for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to accommodate additional children at the existing Ramah facility while they attend the local public schools under arrangements worked out with the school district. This will also relieve the present overcrowding.

In addition to the new dormitory and the enlargement of the dining and kitchen facilities, the contract also provides for utilities, employees' quarters and work on the grounds.

The successful bidder was Oehring Construction Co. of Farmington, New Mexico, Four higher bids were received ranging from $188,338 to $240,000.

Award of a $243,427.06 contract for grading, drainage, and crushed gravel surfacing of 15.4 miles of roads on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in Dewey County, South Dakota, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract involves construction of 12.7 miles of road south from U.S. Highway 212. This will be the first section in a project covering approximately 50 miles of all-weather road proposed for construction to serve 40 Indian families who have resettled and are established in stock-raising enterprises in the southeastern section of the Cheyenne River Reservation. Travel in the area is possible at present only during dry weather over unimproved trails.

The contract also includes construction of 2.7 miles of access road to serve 12 Indian families who have relocated from the Oahe Reservoir taking area and are residing in the northeastern section of the Cheyenne River Reservation near the present site of the Moreau Indian Day School.

The successful bidder was Roy Kindt Construction of Winner, South Dakota. Eight other bids were received ranging from $247,874.63 to $311,438.93.

Under Secretary of the Interior Elmer F. Bennett today cautioned against permitting lessees- of Indian lands the privilege of meeting the highest offer when the lands are sold under competitive bidding at the request of the owners.

He said such a provision, admittedly advantageous to the lessees, would in most cases have "an adverse effect on the Indian selling his land.”

The Under Secretary set forth the Department's position in a letter to Chairman James E. Murray of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

Senator Murray, of Montana, recently wrote the Department that a considerable number of lessees on the Crow Reservation in his State "are desirous of participating in the land sales which come up from time to time on that reservation."

Many of them have fairly extensive leases, he continued, adding that he had been requested to ask whether the Department would agree to a procedure permitting lessees of any Indian lands to meet the high bid.

“The lessee who is using the property,” Mr. Bennett replied, "is in a better position than any other prospective bidder to know the actual value of the land. He is acquainted with its potential, and can gauge the capital investment justified on the basis of the returns which he knows the property is capable of yielding. To that extent he has an advantage over other prospective bidders. Yet, if he were given the opportunity of meeting the high bid on the sale of the land, the lessee would need to make only a nominal bid with the knowledge that he had the privilege of meeting, without needing to surpass, the high bid.

“Consequently, competition would be stifled. Individuals who might desire to bid on land would readily recognize that, unless they offered a prohibitive amount in order to get possession, the present lessee could and would merely meet their bid. Thus, in actual practice, there would be no competition for the great majority of Indian land offered for sale."