OPA

The Department of the Interior has submitted to Congress a proposal for legislation that would donate 640 acres in Sandoval County, New Mexico, to the Indian Pueblos of Zia and Jemez, Assistant Secretary Roger Ernst announced today.

The land to be donated is part of a much larger area known as the Ojo del Espiritu Santo Grant which was purchased by the Federal Government as submarginal land in 1935. Under a 1956 law about 42,000 acres of the grant was turned over in Federal trusteeship to the Zia Pueblo and an additional 36,000 acres to the Pueblo of Jemez. The 640-acre area, however, was reserved by the Federal Government as a headquarters site for range personnel of the U. S. Forest Service.

Subsequently this acreage was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management by Executive Order of November 6, 1958. It is now excess to the needs of that Bureau.

In submitting the proposed legislation, the Department pointed out that the Indians of the two pueblos have a need for the site in connection with their livestock operations on the rest of the Ojo del Espiritu Santa Grant that was given to them. The two pueblos, Mr. Ernst added, have been using the area jointly and this arrangement has worked to the satisfaction of both parties.

Legislation to lift mineral lease limitations that have hampered the development of Indian tribal lands has been submitted to Congress by the Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary Roger C. Ernst announced today.

Specifically, the proposed legislation would remove the 10-year limit on nonproducing leases which, Assistant Secretary Ernst said, prevents tribes in some cases from realizing the full benefit of their mineral assets.

Under present law, the la-year limit applies to all tribal lands except those of the Five Civilized Tribes, the Osage Tribe and the Quapaw Tribe, all of Oklahoma. No such limitation is imposed on lands of individual Indians or on the holdings on non-Indian individual’s or groups.

Mr. Ernst said that the present restrictions are "discriminatory” and place all but the three exempted tribes at a disadvantage by subjecting them to a restriction not applicable to other Indians or non-Indians having mineral assets.

"In the case of unproven areas where extended exp1C'ration is necessary, a prospective lessee may be unwilling to incur the necessary expenses if he is required to get into production within 10 years or risk loss of his lease," Mr. Ernst said.

Mr. Ernst said that there was also definite need for authority to permit a lessee to shut down operations for a limited time without forfeiting his lease. A tribe can protect itself fr0m unnecessary delays by including in the lease a requirement for an annual minimum royalty in lieu of production, he pointed out.

Besides removing the 10-year limitation, the recommended legislation would also permit the inclusion of Indian tribal lands in unitization agreements covering all types of mineral development.

Another change embraced in the Department-sponsored amendment is the removal of a specific restriction applying to the tribally reserved mineral assets in lands on the Crow Reservation in Montana where the surface was allotted years ago to individual tribal members. The restriction, which would be eliminated, now provides that leases for development of these tribally reserved minerals may not extend beyond June 3, 1970, which is the expiration date for tribal ownership of the assets. This limitation, the Department pointed out, is making it difficult for the Tribe to find any lessees at all.

In addition, the Department’s proposal would make a number of minor changes to clarify the present law that governs mineral leases of tribal lands.

The President today has declared the Zuni Indian Reservation in New Mexico to be an acute distress area because of drought conditions last summer and unusually severe weather conditions this winter and in making this declaration he is putting into effect the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1949, as amended by section 301 of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, to make emergency livestock feed available to the members of the reservation. The Zuni tribal council does not have the funds to provide the necessary emergency feed to the 4,300 cattle that are on the reservation so the President, taking advantage of the law, or putting the law into effect, is making available from the Commodity Credit Corporation six hundred fifty thousand pounds of feed for livestock which it is estimated will take care of that livestock until April 15 when the range feed should become available. This feed will be furnished free of cost at the railroad siding on the reservation to the members of the Zuni Tribal Council They have had very heavy snows this winter and as of yesterday it is still snowing very heavily on the reservation. It is located at an elevation of about 65 hundred feet (They went on to talk about what kind of feed it was)

(NOTE: This is from transcript of pic statement by Hagerty - not duplicated)

A proposed new set of Federal regulations under which the commercial rights of the Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts of Alaska may be exercised, if they choose to utilize such rights, as announced today by Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton.

The proposal is being forwarded to the Federal Register for publication in the near future. Comments are invited from interested parties for a period of 30 days after the date of publication.

The department’s sale purpose in proposing the regulations, Secretary Seaton emphasized, is to permit the Alaska natives to use these fishing rights which were preserved for the natives by Section 4 of the Alaska Statehood Let, if they choose to do so.

Secretary Seaton pointed out that when the Alaska Statehood Act was being considered by the Congress, the Department of Justice informed the Congress that the inclusion of a reference to “fishing rights” could well result in Braising an implication that there is a ‘right or title’ to fishing rights in the natives of Alaska despite prior court holdings to the contrary.

“The Supreme Court,” the Secretary stated, “has already enjoined the 3tate of Alaska from interfering with native fish traps until it is determined whether these traps involve native fishing rights protected by the Statehood Act.

“The best legal advice I have been able to obtain from the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior,” of the Secretary said, has been to the effect that these fish traps are ‘fishing rights’ protected by the Statehood Act. Under the circumstances, I have no alternative but to permit these natives to operate these traps if they choose to do so.

"Congress created these rights and we cannot, by arbitrary or capricious action, abolish them. If the legal conclusions of lawyers in the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior are correct--as reflected in the position taken in the Supreme Court--them only Congress could abolish the right created by the Congress for these natives to operate fish traps if they so chose. I am further advised that such action by the Congress might also raise questions of just compensation.

"As recently as 1952, 334 fish traps were operated in Alaska waters under regulations issued by Secretary Oscar L. Chapman. The Eisenhower Administration has complied with the wishes of the Alaskan electorate and eliminated all fish traps but these native traps, which I am advised I cannot eliminate," the Secretary stated

“Furthermore," Secretary Seaton said. “I would not eliminate the rights of any native by administrative action without giving him his day in court. These native people have taken their cause to the highest court in our land and I am not going to act so as to deny them the very rights they seek to protect.

“The major difference between the existing State regulations and the proposed new Federal rules relates to the use of commercial fish traps by the native people. No provision for the use of such traps is made by the State regulations. The Federal proposal limits the native people to the "traps used in the 1959 season.

The regulations also describe the location of 21 trap sites of the Angoon community Association, the organized village of Kake and the Metlakatla Indian Community, which have been used at various times in the past by the three native communities.

The proposed regulation provides that during the 1960 fishing season and until otherwise authorized the villages may operate only 11 traps, the same number as were authorized in 1959 in accordance with the Department’s position that the intent of the Alaska Statehood legislation was to retain in “status quo” the rights of the natives.

Prior to the 1959 fishing season the native communities brought legal action to enjoin the state of Alaska from interfering with the exercise of the fishing rights which were preserved for them by the Statehood Act. A temporary injunction was granted by the United states Supreme Court and will remain in effect until the Court issues a final decision in the case.

Under protection of the temporary injunction the native villages operated 11 fish traps during the 1959 season--four at Metlakatla, four at Kake, and three at Angoon.

The sole purpose of the proposed regulations is to spell out certain fishing rights which were secured to the Alaska natives under Federal law. In this connection, Secretary Seaton explained, any fishing activities by the natives in violation of both the Federal and the State regulations would be subject to penalties imposed by state law; however, encroachment of the native’s rights may result in the utilization of penalties provided by Federal law.

The Department of the Interior today announced a proposed revision of Federal regulations to remove restrictions against read construction that have applied for more than 20 years on 283,000 acres of Indian reservation land in Arizona and Washington.

The lands that would be affected are the Goat Rocks Area of 105,000 acres and the Mount Adams Area of 48,000 acres, both on the Yakima Reservation in Washington, and the Mount Thomas Area of 130,000 acres on the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona.

The Mount Adams acreage was designated as a "wild” area and the other two as “road less" areas by administrative action of the Department during the 1930 l s without consulting the Indians. All three areas consist not of Federal land but of tribally owned property held in trust by the United States.

Both the Yakima and Fort Apache tribal councils have requested removal of the restrictions to facilitate economic development of the areas" Interested parties may submit their comments to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Washington 25, D. C., within 30 days after publication of the proposed revision in the federal Register.

In a personal letter to a young American Indian who recently won a prize in a national essay contest, Secretary of the Interior Fred- A. Seaton called him a "shining example not only for other young Indian people but for all youthful Americans throughout the country."

The prize winner is Eddie Palmanteer, 27, now living in Salem, Oreg. In his essay he described his dissatisfaction with the sawmill job he formerly held on the Colville Indian Reservation near Nespelem, Washington, and explained why he decided to improve his prospects by enrolling in an accounting course at the Merritt-Davis School of Commerce in Salem. The opportunity to take the course was provided to Mr. Palmanteer by the Bureau of Indian Affairs through its adult vocational training program.

The essay contest was sponsored by an advertising agency representing private business schools.

The full text of Secretary Seaton's letter to Mr. Palmanteer follows:

"Having just read your prize-winning essay, which was brought to my attention by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I want to express to you at once my heartiest congratulations and my deeply-felt admiration.

"Like many other young people of American Indian descent, you have shown a commendable eagerness to develop your capabilities, acquire new skills, and improve your prospects for leading a fuller and more productive kind of life. Speaking both for myself and on behalf of the Department of the Interior, I am particularly pleased to learn that you took advantage of the opportunities offered by the Indian Bureau's adult vocational training program and entered the course in accounting in a Salem school of commerce which I understand you have now finished.

"It is a source of real gratification to me that the Department of Government which I represent was able to provide you with this training as it has similarly aided many hundreds of other young Indian men and women during the past few years. But the far more important point is the personal initiative you have displayed and the shining example you have set not only for other young Indian people but for all youthful Americans throughout the country.

"For this, I salute you and wish you the very best of good fortune in your newly-chosen profession."

A majority of the 215 adult Indians of the Catawba Tribe of South Carolina have now indicated their agreement to a division of the tribal assets among themselves as provided in a law enacted last September and a notice of this fact will be published in the Federal Register shortly, Secretary of the Interior Fred A, Seaton announced today.

Upon publication of the notice, Secretary Seaton added, the membership roll of the tribe will be closed at midnight thereafter and the pr0visions of Public Law 86-322 will go into effect.

The property to be divided among the tribal members has been estimated to have a value of about $250,000. It consists of 3,388.8 acres of land under Federal trusteeship in York County, S. C., near Rock Hill; a tribal herd of 85 beef cattle; approximately 6,500,000 1'oard feet of timber; and nearly $5,000 of cash on deposit with the United States Treasury.

Public Law 86-322, approved September 21, 1959, was so drafted that it becomes effective on publication of a Secretarial notice that a majority of the adult tribal members, according to the most reliable information regarding membership available to the Secretary of the Interior, have indicated their agreement to the property division.

The best information the Department has on tribal membership, Secretary Seaton said, is based on a roll prepared by the State of South Carolina dated July 1, 1943. Using this roll as a base, the Department has found that there were 215 adult Catawbas on February 2, 1960, Of this number, 127 have filed with the Department witnessed individual statements accepting the provisions of Public Law 86-322 and 117 of these signatures have been verified either by notarization or through a mail recheck with the signers.

Under the law the tribal council is authorized to designate any part of the tribe’s land that is to be set aside for church, park, cemetery or playground purposes and to select trustees or agencies 1.Jho will hold such tracts for the benefit of the group. All other property will be appraised by the Department and the share of each member will be determined by dividing the number of enrolled members into the total appraisal Members who have received an assignment or use right in a particular tract of tribal land may apply their distributive shares to the acquisition of the tract on the basis of its current appraised value. Tribal lands not distributed in this way may be selected and acquired by other tribal members in the same manner.

All tribal lands in Federal trusteeship not disposed of under this procedure and all other tribal assets are to be sold by the Department and the proceeds distributed to the members in accordance with their respective shares.

Secretary Seaton indicated that a special administrator will be appointed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the near future to work directly with the Catawba people in carrying out the provisions of Public Law 86-322. As authorized in the law, a special program of education and training will be undertaken to help the tribal members in preparing to conduct their own affairs and assume their responsibilities as citizens without special services because of their status as Indians.

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, d 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 is held in trust by the State. This is not affected by Public Law 86-322 unless the State Legislature takes action to have it included in the distribution plan. So far no such action has been taken.

Award of a $176,195 contract for improvement of approximately 27 miles of road from U. S. Highway 18 north to Sharps on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota, was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

When completed, the project will provide a bituminous surfaced road to communities at Wounded Knee, Porcupine, and Sharps and serve approximately one thousand Indian residents of the central section of the Pine Ridge Reservation for school bus, mail route, and farm to market travel.

Summit Construction Company of Rapid City, South Dakota, was the successful bidder. Six other bids were received ranging from $180,520 to $243,000.

Persons who are not enrolled members of the present-day Omaha Indian Tribe of Nebraska but are descendants of the Aboriginal Omaha Tribe and Nation should be permitted to share in the judgment fund recovered by the Tribe before the Indian Claims Commission last February, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst said today.

Mr. Ernst expressed this opinion in making known the views of the Department of the Interior on H. R. 11782, a bill providing for disposition of the judgment fund. The judgment was based on a "stipulation of settlement" between the Indians and the Department of Justice. While the stipulated amount was $2,900,000, this has been reduced by the payment of attorney’s fees and expenses to $2,655,205.

The Department's position was based on a finding by the Claims Commission that the Tribe, in presenting its claim, was acting both on its own behalf and in a representative capacity on behalf of the descendants of the Aboriginal Tribe and Nation. The Commission further found that some descendants of the aboriginal group are not members of the present-day tribe but are entitled to share in the judgment.

For this reason, the Department recommended that the judgment fund should not be wholly placed under control of the Omaha tribal council as provided by H. R. 11782. Instead, it proposed (1) that the Department be directed to prepare a roll of persons who have one-eighth or more Omaha Indian blood and are living on the date of the act, (2) that the cost of preparing this roll be paid out of the judgment fund, and (3) that the balance of the fund be divided between the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and the persons on the roll who are not members of the Tribe, proportionately according to the relative number of persons in the two groups.

The Department also recommended a change in the language of the bill which now provides that $250,000 of the judgment fund must be spent on community development projects proposed by the tribal organization.

The Tribe, Mr. Ernst pointed out, has prepared a $500,000 community development program and proposes to provide half of the financing from the judgment money and the other half through a loan from the Federal Government.

"We believe, II he added, "That the entire cost of the community development program should be financed out of the portion of the judgment fund that is allocable to the members of the Tribe, and that no Federal loan funds should be provided. We believe that it would be unwise to allow a tribe that has recovered a substantial judgment against the United States to borrow from the general revolving loan fund and thereby deprive needy tribes and Indians of access to the limited loan fund. In other words, if the Tribe wants a community development program it should not pay its judgment funds out on a per capita basis and then expect to borrow additional money from the United States."

In order to give the Tribe “clear notice" on this point, the Department recommended the inclusion of language in the bill requiring a referendum of the tribal membership to determine “whether $500,000 or any other sum shall be used for the community development program which the Tribal Council has planned." The Department's amendment would also make the Tribe explicitly ineligible to borrow from the general revolving loan fund of the Indian Bureau for the financing of this program.

Under the Department's proposal, the portion of the judgment allocated to persons who are not tribal members would be paid out directly to them on a per capita basis.

Award of a $31,740 contract for development of approximately 320 acres of land on the Sandia Pueblo Grant under the jurisdiction of the United Pueblo Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

This is a part of the rehabilitation program for Indian lands of the Middle to Grande Pueblos authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1948 and 1950, and will provide additional developed land for use of tribal members.

Morgan Construction Company, of Monte Vista, Colorado, was the successful bidder for the contract. Four higher bids, ranging from $32,040 to $49,350, were received.