OPA

Appointment of Kenneth F. Lee and Dr. Ebbe Curtis Hoff, both of Richmond, Va., as members of the Indian Bureau's special commission to study alcoholism in selected Indian areas of the Southwest was announced today by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons.

Mr. Lee, who is Director of the Division of Alcohol Studies and Rehabilitation of the Virginia Department of Health, and Dr. Hoff, Medical Director of the same Division, will join Rev. David A. Works, North Conway, N.H., the commission chairman, and Ernest A. Shepherd, Avon Park, Fla,., whose appointments to the study commission were announced Feb,. 2. Former Missouri Congressman O.K. Armstrong, whose appointment was also announced Feb. 2, has subsequently indicated that pressure of personal affairs will make it impossible for him to serve.

Mr. Lee has been in his present position since 1948. Before that he served for over 18 years with the Virginia State Department of Education, first as district supervisor of physical education and health, later as assistant director of adult education, and from 1936 to 1948 as area supervisor of vocational rehabilitation. For a period of several months in 1933 and 1934 he was superintendent of a CCC camp for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A native of Richmond, he received a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond in 1927 and a master’s degree from New York University in 1933,

Dr. Hoff, like Mr. Lee, has been in his present assignment for the past eight years. His career before that time included teaching positions at Oxford University in England, Yale University School of Medicine, Sarah Lawrence College, and the Medical College of Virginia. In 1939 and 1940 he was assigned to a number of hospitals in the defense area of London, England. From 1940 to 1943 he was a research assistant in aviation medicine with the National Research Council attached to the department of physiology at the Yale School of Medicine, From 1943 to 1946 he served in the medical corps of the United States Naval Reserve, first as lieutenant commander and later as commander. He was born at Rexford, Kansas in 1906 and was graduated from the University of Washington with highest honors in 1928. He holds numerous degrees from Oxford University including a doctorate in medicine and a doctorate in philosophy.

Appointment of Charles B. Rovin as Chief, Branch of Welfare, Bureau of Indian Affairs, succeeding Robert W. Beasley, who resigned effective March 1, was announced today by Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons.

Mr. Rovin, a trained social worker, first came with the Indian Bureau in 1950 as placement officer in the area office at Muskogee, Oklahoma. After one year in this assignment he was transferred to relocation work in the Washington office and eventually became assistant chief of the Branch of Relocation. Since last August he has been detailed to the United States Public Health Service to participate in a survey of Indian health and related matters. His career before joining the Bureau included work with the Bureau of Public Assistance of the Social Security

Board, the International Refugee Organization, the Office of Military Government for Bavaria, the Chicago Relief Administration, and the American Red Cross. He is a native of St. Louis, Mo., and has degrees from the University of Missouri and the University of Chicago.

Mr. Beasley came with the Bureau in early 1952 as a program officer and later that same year was named head of the Welfare Branch. Previously he had about 16 years' experience with the Social Security Board and also several years of earlier experience with State and local relief agencies in Illinois, Colorado, and Wyoming. He was born in Linton, Indiana, and is a graduate of Washington State College and the University of Chicago.

The White Mountain Apache Indian Tribe of Arizona and the Hale Adams family group from the Hopi Reservation, also in Arizona, have been honored by the Department of the Interior with Conservation Service Awards, it was announced by Secretary Douglas McKay today.

The White Mountain Apaches were cited for their excellent work in juniper eradication, and the Hale Adams family group for adopting more productive farming methods and promoting them among their Hopi neighbors.

The White Mountain story goes back 16 years to 1940, when the tribe realized that juniper was cutting down on the productivity of their grazing lands. During these past 16 years, the tribe has spent more than $410,000 in ridding their range of this nuisance, and eight cattle associations among the Indians have added another $70,000, by digging out the juniper with axes and hoes and fire, the tribe has cleared about 72,000 acres and has greatly improved the grazing conditions.

The Hale Adams family group, comprised of Mr. and Mrs. Hale Adams, five daughters, two sons, three sons-in-law, and two daughters-in-law, received an award for improving their land usage during the past ten years to gain high agronomic and cattle production. The family group has 15,360 acres of grazing land and 60 acres of farmland.

The Secretary stated his pleasure at the family’s fine exhibits at the 4-H Achievement Day on the Hopi Reservation, at the Navajo County Fair and the Navajo Tribal Fair. Members of the Adams family have also fostered better grazing and farming techniques among their fellow Indians.

Letters of congratulations have been sent to Lester Oliver, chairman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe at Whiteriver, Ariz., and Mr. Hale Adams at Polacca, Ariz., by Secretary McKay and Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons. The Outstanding Indian conservationists will receive certificates from the Department of the Interior at appropriate ceremonies in the near future.

Regulations to govern the leasing of unassigned land on the Colorado River Indian Reservation in western Arizona until August 14, 1957, were announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay.

The regulations were promulgated under authority of a law enacted last August 14 which covers leasing of these particular lands for a two-year period. Under the regulations the duration of leases for nonagricultural (public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business) purposes will be determined in each case by the requirements for amortization of the capital to be invested. Where circumstances justify, such leases may be made for as long as 25 years and renewals for not more than an additional 25 years may be made with the consent of both parties.

Agricultural leases, however, are limited to 10 years except in cases where the production of specialized crops or the development of soil or water resources would require substantial investments which would, in the judgment of the Secretary or his authorized representative, justify longer leases up to a maximum of 25 years. Because the beneficial ownership of the lands on the Colorado River Reservation is involved in a claim now pending before the Indian Claims Commission, the law and regulations set up special procedures governing the disposition of rental income from these lands.

All income received prior to August 14, 1957, and prior to determination of beneficial ownership of the lands, from land in the so-called "northern reserve" and on the California side of the Colorado River may be expended for the benefit of the Colorado River (Mohave and Chemhuevi) Tribes and their members.

During this same period income from land in the so-called "southern reserve” may be expended for the improvement and development of these lands.

Income received after August 14, 1957 is to be held in a special account until beneficial ownership of the lands is determined.

Income received after this determination has been made is to be held in trust or the beneficial owners of the land from which the income was derived and is to be expended as otherwise authorized by law.

Retirement of John M. Cooper on March 31 from the position of area director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Billings, Mont., was announced today by Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons.

In making the announcement Commissioner Emmons paid tribute to Mr. Cooper's record of service with the Bureau over the past 21 years. This included two years as area director at Billings, three years and six months in comparable positions at Aberdeen, S. Dak., and Anadarko, Oklahoma, and one as director of Indian Bureau participation in Missouri River Basin Investigations.

Prior to 1950 he had assignments as director of the Bureau's Southwest Range and Sheep Breeding Laboratory, Fort Wingate, N. Mex.; assistant superintendent of the Navajo Agency, Window Rock, Arizona; and superintendent of the Wind River Agency, Fort Washakie, Wyo. Before joining the Bureau, he worked with the United States Department of Agriculture for 14 years on sheep breeding and allied research programs, He was born in 1899 at Canyon, Texas, and is a graduate in animal husbandry from the University of California,

After March 31, Milton A. Johnson, who has been a member of the Billings staff for the past 13 years and assistant area director since 1954, will serve as acting area director until further notice

A new set of regulations on the leasing of Indian lands held in trust by the Federal Government, which will permit leasing in some cases up to 25 years, in line with a Congressional law enacted last August, was announced today by Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay.

Under the old law, Secretary McKay explained, most leases of Indian land were limited to a five-year period although longer leases were permitted in some cases.

“Because of this limitation," he continued, “there has been for many years little or no interest in leasing Indian lands for business, recreational or other purposes involving substantial investments which can be amortized only over a comparatively long period. As a result, many Indian landowners have been deprived of valuable rental income on properties which are well situated for long-term leasing. The enactment of last August and the new regulations are designed to correct this inequitable situation and permit the leasing of Indian lands for their highest and best purposes."

The duration of leases for nonagricultural (public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business) purposes will be determined in each case by the requirements for amortization of the capital to be invested. Where circumstances justify, such leases may be made for as long as 25 years and renewals for not more than an additional 25 years may be made with the consent of both parties.

Agricultural leases, however, are limited to 10 years except in cases where the production of specialized crops or the development of soil or water resources would require substantial investments which would, in the judgment of the Secretary or his authorized representative, justify longer leases up to a maximum of 25 years.

Grazing leases may be executed for as long as 10 years where substantial developments or improvements are involved.

Apart from the matter of term, the only other major change from the old leasing regulations is a restriction against the payment of rentals more than one year in advance of the lease's effective date. Exceptions to this requirement may be authorized in unusual cases by the Indian Bureau’s area directors.

Nearly 500 “mixed blood" members of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in northern Utah have withdrawn from the tribe and are now in the process of setting up their own organization, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons announced today.

The action was taken under Public Law 671 of the 83d Congress which provides for a division of tribal assets between "mixed blood" and "full blood" members and for termination of Federal trusteeship over the property and affairs of the “mixed blood" group by August 27, 1961.

Under the law a tribal member with one half or less Ute blood is automatically classified as a "mixed blood". Members having more than half Ute blood, however, were given the option of affiliating with either group. In the final roll published in the Federal Register on April 5 there were 490 "mixed bloods" and 1,314 "full bloods".

A proposed constitution and bylaws have already been drafted by the "mixed blood" group and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Under the law they will go into effect when ratified by a majority of the adult "mixed blood" members voting in a special election held for that purpose. Superintendent John O. Crow of the Uintah and Ouray Agency at Fort Duchesne has been instructed to make arrangements for holding such an election sometime between May 5 and June 4.

The organization proposed by the "mixed blood" group would be a corporation under Utah law with authority to hold and manage the group's proportionate share of tribal assets and to receive income belonging to "mixed blood" members from assets which are not immediately susceptible to equitable or practicable division.

The “full blood" members, who live chiefly in the extreme northern and southern sections of the reservation, are now putting the final touches on a proposed development program aimed at making the Tribe and its members eventually self-supporting and independent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The program would include family planning, improvement in resource utilization, health activities, both juvenile and adult education, and recreation.

The Indian Bureau's adult education program, now getting under way in five tribal areas from Florida to Idaho, will be extended "to meet the broader needs of Indians as funds permit and as the interests of the Indians indicate," Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons indicated today.

Mr. Emmons’ comment was made in response to a resolution adopted February 25, by the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona representing 11 tribal groups of that State. In the resolution the intertribal group urged that the Bureau “be respectfully requested to plan, and the Congress of the United States be respectfully urged to appropriate special funds for the support of, adult education programs for all Arizona tribes."

In a letter of April 12, 1956 addressed to Clarence Wesley, San Carlos Apache president of the Arizona Council, Commissioner Emmons outlined the current status of the adult education program which is under way among the Seminoles of Florida, Rosebud Sioux of South Dakota, Papago of Arizona, Turtle Mountain Chippewa of North Dakota, and Shoshone-Bannock of Idaho.

The full text of the letter follows:

“Dear Mr. Wesley:

“I am pleased to learn from resolution that was passed on February 25, 1956 that the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona is interested in having the Adult Education Program, recently undertaken by the Bureau, extended to all the tribes in Arizona.

"This, as you know, is a new program and at the present time the Bureau is initiating a pilot program at five different agencies, including the Papago in Arizona, to test the techniques that we think should be used in conducting the program, the types of written materials that we think will be most valuable and several other things that we think we should know about before we launch a big program.

"We think that by beginning the program on a small scale we can give special training to the teachers who will work in the program and we can test the materials we have prepared. We also think that this pilot program will give us a better opportunity to learn about the types of training adult Indians want and how best to work with them. We shall have to learn which hours of the day and which days of the week the adults can attend classes, whether teaching should be done in classes, in family groups, or on an individual basis and a lot more. We would not be able to learn these things ahead of time if we were to try to launch a big program immediately. Then, too, funds are not yet available for a big program.

"A representative of this office will probably be in Arizona some time within the next three or four weeks. He will get in touch with you during his visit to tell you more about the program and to answer any question you may have. Perhaps arrangements for him to meet with the Inter-Tribal Council can be made if after talking to him you feel that a meeting would be helpful. In the meantime I want to assure you that as programs are proposed for additional Indian groups the members of the groups will be given an opportunity to assist in the planning of the program. I also want to assure you that the Adult Education Program will be extended to meet the broader needs of Indian groups as funds permit and as the interests of the Indians indicate.

"Thank you for sending me a copy of the resolution passed by the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona. It is very gratifying to me and the members of my staff to know that you wish the Adult Education Program extended to all the tribes in Arizona.

Appointment of Joseph E. Noyes as Chief, Branch of Realty, Bureau of Indian Affairs, was announced today by Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons.

George W. Mathis, who has been serving as Acting Chief of the Branch since the retirement of Harry M. Critchfield last June, is being named to a new position as chief appraiser of the Bureau,

Mr. Noyes, a native of Washington, D. c., has been for the past five years supervisory real property officer with the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Department of the Army. His earlier experience with the Corps of Engineers included three years as real estate analyst, two as administrative officer, two as administrative assistant, and several months as statistician. Before joining the Corps, he served for eight years in land acquisition work with the United States Forest Service.

He attended Catholic University in Washington and had two years' service with the Marine Corps in the early 1930's.

Competitive bidding for mineral leases (other than oil and gas) on restricted lands belonging to individual Indians will be the rule rather than the exception under new Federal regulations announced today by Acting Secretary of the Interior Clarence A. Davis.

Under the regulations previously in effect, potential lessees frequently negotiated mineral leases with individual. Indian landowners after obtaining permission to do so from the local superintendent of the Indian Bureau. The new regulations require competitive bidding except where the Commissioner of Indian Affairs determines that a negotiated lease would be especially advantageous to the Indian owner.

In recommending the change in regulations, Commissioner Glenn L. Emmons pointed out that “in view of the increased mining activity on Indian lands, the best interests of the Indians will be served by requiring that leases be advertised for bids and that negotiations be the exception."