OPA

The San Carlos Apache Tribe has the exclusive rights to manage and develop all recreational facilities, wildlife and fisheries within the San Carlos Reservoir Site, Assistant Secretary Forrest J. Gerard announced today. The Reservoir lies entirely within the exterior boundaries of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and is formed by Coolidge Dam on the Gila River, near Globe, Arizona.

The announcement follows Gerard's January 11 approval of a renewal of the Tribe's Grant of Concession Agreement with the Department of the Interior for the operation of all San Carlos Reservoir Site concessions. In approving the Agreement renewal, the Assistant Secretary emphasized that "the Tribe, in implementing the Agreement, will exercise their jurisdictional powers of self-government: and will manage their own affairs."

"Comprehensive management of these resources will be enhanced

by a single governmental manager system - and the Tribe has a good track record covering the ten year period of the 1968 Agreement," stated Gerard. The Tribe has agreed that charges collected from resource users "shall be reasonable and schedules shall be posted in at least two conspicuous places on the premises."

Over the past ten years, the San Carlos Apache Tribe has been the only water user to actively accommodate the thousands of visitors attracted yearly to this prime scenic site, which is widely known as the best bass-breeding spot in Arizona. Gerard stated that the Bureau of Indian Affairs will provide "all necessary assistance to assure success of the resource management system, and to assure that the rights of all user groups are respected."

Interior Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz has ruled that the State of New Mexico has no authority to tax royalties paid to the .Jicarilla Apache Tribe for and gas production from tribal lands.

The tribe asked for a decision on the question following a 1977 Solicitor's Opinion which said that the State of Montana lacked authority to tax oil and gas leasing royalties paid the Sioux and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Reservation. After that opinion was issued, the Jicarilla Apaches stopped paying royalty taxes to the State of New Mexico. (Taxes on tribal royalties amounted to $116,452 in fiscal 1976, the last full year for which the tribe paid the taxes.)

Krulitz said the 1977 opinion applies equally to reservations created by treaty with Indian tribes, such as Fort Peck, and to reservations created by Executive Order of the President, such as the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. The effect of the expanded ruling is to deny the authority of states to tax tribal royalties from any mineral leases issued under the 1938 Indian Mineral Leasing Act on United States Indian reservations. Krulitz said the exemption applies to lease royalties from coal and other minerals as well as from oil and gas.

The 1938 Act replaced a patchwork of leasing authorities for Indian lands dating back to 1891. Some dealt only with treaty reservations, others only with executive order reservations and some contained state taxing authority.

"It is clear that states cannot tax trust property, reservation Indians or Indian tribes unless Congress has consented," said the Solicitor in the 1977 opinion, noting that the 1938 Act contained no such consent. A 1924 act dealing with mineral leasing on treaty reservations did authorize states to tax mineral production from leases on tribal lands. A 1927 statute authorizing mineral leasing on the tribal lands of reservations created by executive order contained a similar state taxing provisions.

"The 1938 Act replaced the earlier leasing statutes; it did not complement or incorporate them," said Krulitz. "The 1938 Act contained no authorization for state tax provisions nor did it refer to the taxing provisions of the earlier statutes."

While Krulitz said the amended opinion is applicable to other minerals, reservations and states, he cautioned that each case world have to be examined separately. For example, special legislation governs the mineral leases of the so-called Five Civilized Tribes and the Osage Tribe in Oklahoma.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is now examining leases on tribal lands to see which states are collecting taxes on tribal royalty income.

A plan for the distribution and use, of more than $9 million awarded by the Indian Claims Commission to the Lake Superior and Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians is being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today. The award is additional compensation for land in Wisconsin and Minnesota ceded by the Indians in 1837 and 1847.

According to the plan, approved by Congress and made effective February 1, Indians from 14 reservation groups in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan will share in the award. They are descendants of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Chippewas involved in the 1837 and 1847 treaties.

Division of the award among the various beneficiary groups will be based on a historic population formula, using census and annuity rolls for the period 1937 to 1941.

The reservation groups that have adopted plans for the use of their shares will distribute 80 percent to individuals on a per capita basis. The remaining 20 percent will be invested and programmed for tribal and community purposes.

The shares of those groups that have not adopted a utilization plan will be held and invested by the Secretary of the Interior until proposals are adopted.

A series of public hearings on the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 have been scheduled throughout the United States in early March, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The hearings will be conducted by the National American Indian Court Judges Association and the National Congress of American Indians, under contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The purpose of the hearings is to receive comments and views on draft regulations to implement provisions of the Act. Copies of the draft regulations were sent by Gerard to all tribal chairmen, with a note inviting them and members of their tribes to participi3.te in the hearings.

For further information about the hearings contact: Nancy Gale, NAICJA, 1000 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 (202-296-0685) or Marjorie Montgomery, NCAI, 1430 K Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 (202347-9520).

The hearings are scheduled as follows: March 1 -Indian School Auditorium, Phoenix, Arizona, 10: AM to 8: PM; March 5 -State Bank and Trust Building, 225 Franklin Street -, Forum Room -5th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 9: AM to 7: PM; Hilton Airport Motel, 17620 Pacific Highway South, Seattle, Washington, 10: AM to 8: PM; and Window Rock Recreational Hall, Window Rock, Arizona 10: AM to 8: PM.

March 5 and 6 -William Mitchell College of Law, 875 Summit Avenue Auditorium Room Ill, St. Paul, Minnesota, 9: AM to 7: PM; March 6 -Eastern Montane. College, Billings, Montana 10:AM to 8 PM; March 7 -City Hall, 68 Mitchell Street S.W., Atlanta, Georgia, 9: AM to 7: PM.; Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW, Albuquerque, N.M., 9: AM to 7: PM; Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall, Juneau, Alaska, 10: P.M to 8: PM; South Oklahoma City Junior College, 7777 South May Avenue, Room lG5" Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 8:30 AM to 7. PM.

March 8 -Sierra Inn, 2600 Auburn Boulevard, Sacramento, California, 2: PM to 8 PM; and March 9 -Sierra Inn, 2600 Auburn Boulevard, Sacramento California, 8: AM to 12 Noon.

New proposed regulations governing the preparation of a Yurok Indian voting list are being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The establishment of qualifications and standards for such a voting list is the first step toward the election of an interim governing committee and subsequent organization of the Yurok Tribe.

Proposed criteria were originally published December 28, 1918. Comments received in response to this publication, however indicated the need for further explanations about the use of the voting list and other modifications.

The Federal Register notice states that the qualifications here being considered are not standards for membership in the Yurok Tribe… such (tribal) membership, instead, will depend upon meeting the membership criteria set out on a duly adopted and approved Yurok tribal constitution."

The notice also describes as a "misunderstanding" any interpretation of the efforts to help organize a tribal government for the Yuroks as interference in the court case entitled Short. Et al. v. United States.

Written comments on the proposed regulations should be submitted within 30 days of publication to the Director of Indian Services. Bureau of Indian Affairs, 19th and G Streets, N.W., Washington, D"C. 20240.

Several public meetings for discussion of the regulft1ons will be scheduled on the Hoopa Valley Reservation and vicinity. Notices of these meetings will be published in local media and posted in public places at least five days before the meetings.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has scheduled public hearings on proposed regulations dealing with the acquisition of trust land, for Indians. Notice of the hearings is being published in the Federal Register.

The proposed regulations were published in the Federal Register July 26, 1978 for review and comment. A number of persons and organizations requested that hearings be held. They expressed concern about the potential removal of land from tax rolls and jurisdictional problems which might arise on lands placed in trust status for Indians.

Hearings are to be held in Seattle, Wash., on March 28; in Minneapolis, Minn., and Oklahoma City, Okla., on April 3; Spokane, Wash., April 4; Albuquerque, New Mex., and Pierre, So. Dak, April 5; and Billings, Mont., on April 11.

Persons desiring to make a statement at any of title hearings should give prior notice to be placed on the agenda.

For additional information contact Louis White, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 19th and E Sts., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240 (202-343-7574).

For information about time and location of hearings and scheduling of speakers contact the following:

Seattle, Washington -Jack Glasgow, Realty Specialist, Portland Area Office, BIA, P.O. Box 3765, Portland, Ore. 917208 Telephone (503) 251-6714

Oklahoma City, Okla. -William Pruner, Realty Officer, Shawnee Agency, BIA, Federal Building, Shawnee, Okla. 74801 Telephone: (405) 273-0317

Spokane, Wash. Jack Glasgow, Realty Specialist, Portland Area Office, BIA, P.O. Box 9765, Portland, Ore. 97208 Telephone: (503) 251-6714

Pierre, So. Dak. Joseph Brewer, Sr., Realty Officer, Aberdeen Area Office, BIA, 115 4th Avenue, S.E., Aberdeen, S.D. 57401 Telephone: (605) 225-0250 Ext. 393

Albuquerque, N.M. - Raymond W. Jackson, Realty Officer, Phoenix Area Office, BIA, P.O. Box 7007, Phoenix, Ariz. Telephone: (602) 261-4195

Billings, Mont. - Dorothy Vail, Realty Specialist, Billings, Area Office, BIA, 316 N. 26th St., Billings;, Mont. 59101 Telephone: (406) 657-6301

The Interior Department today published the 1979 regulations for fishery conservation on parts of the Klamath and Trinity Rivers in Northern California. The plan includes a ban on Indian commercial fishing on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, effective April 1, 1979. Non-Indian sale of fish taken from the Klamath River is already prohibited by State law.

The regulations allow for Indian subsistence and ceremonial fishing, while specifically disallowing commercial fishing. Biological data indicates that the 1979 plan will result in a significant harvest reduction, in comparison to the 1978 fishing seasons when commercial fishing was authorized.

Drift-net fishing below the Highway 101 Bridge is also disallowed because this method results in the greatest number of fish being caught by the smallest number of fishers. Subsistence fishing with set nets, as well as with drift nets above the Bridge, is authorized seven days per week, with the limitation that only two nets of a combined 100-feet length may be used. Hook-and-line and dip-net fishing are also allowed. Criminal penalties for violations of the regulations are also established, including the: optional use of non-compensatory enhancement work on the Reservation. Prosecutions will occur in the Court of Indian Offenses for the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation.

Under normal situations, Indian tribes regulate their own fishing on their reservations. On the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, however, this has not been possible because the two Tribes have not completed the organization process which is prerequisite to successful self-regulation, resource protection and fishery management. The Hoopa and Yurok Indians of the Reservation are continuing their efforts with Department representatives to overcome this problem. The majority of the Indian people share the Federal and State concern for the current fish-run crisis. The Department has actively encouraged Indian attempts to organize so that the two Tribes can implement a Reservation-wide management system and assume responsibility for future fishing regulations.

In developing the regulations, Department officials met with Indians of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation to address commercial fishing and other resource issues surrounding this year's fishing seasons. Two public hearings were held and many written comments were received on the regulations, which were proposed on February 14, 1979. Many of the new provisions were adopted on the recommendation of Indians participating in the meetings held cover the past three months.

A plan for the use and distribution of $600,000 awarded to the Seneca Nation of Indians by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs said today.

The award fa compensation for leased lands within the Allegany Reservation in New York State. The major portion, of the leased lands are within the boundaries of the City of Salamanca.

According to the plan, approved by Congress and made effective February l, 1979, 80 percent of the award will be distributed on a per capita basis to members of the Seneca Nation.

The remaining 20 percent will be invested and used for social purposes. The income from the invested portion plus ten percent of the principal will be used each year, until depleted, for funding and maintenance of the tribe's Day Care Program, Poormaster Fund and other programs.

Regulations governing the preparation of a roll of lineal descendants of Michigan and Indiana Potawatomi Indians eligible to share in a judgment award of more than $6 million are being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The award, granted by the Indian Claims Commission, is compensation for lands in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan ceded to the United States by the Potawatomi Tribe and Nation of Indians during the treaty making period of 1795 to 1833.

The funds will be shared by members of four organized tribal groups Prairie Band, Citizens Band, Hannahville Indian Community and Forest County Potawatomi Community --and lineal descendants, who are United States citizens, of Michigan and Indiana Potawatomis, including Huron, Pokagon and other bands.

The regulations set forth the procedures for enrollment as a member of this group of lineal descendants. The application deadline is November 15t 1979.

For additional information contact the Superintendent, Michigan Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 884, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, 49783 (906-632-6809).

Over the years, Hoopa Valley Reservation Indians and all inside fishers have criticized the lack of action restricting the ocean take. The Department addressed this point in February when Secretary Cecil D. Andrus cautioned the Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (FIRFM) against a proposal to extend the 1977-78 salmon plan, which has implications for the Klamath River and coastwise fisheries.

The 1979 salmon runs are expected to be dangerously low, due to the impact of the 1976 drought, which has adversely affected fish runs from California to Alaska. In his February 7 letter to the PRFM Council Chairman, Andrus stated that the inside fisheries cannot be expected “to bear the conservation burden for all. Fairness alone requires that the ocean fisheries bear their fair share of the conservation burden.” However, the cutback in ocean fishing voted two weeks ago by the PRFM does not solve the conservation problem, and restrictions on river fisheries are still necessary to achieve conservation goals.

The 1979 regulations will take effect on April 1, when the spring run is expected to begin. The comment period closed on March 16. The regulatory procedures may undergo further alteration throughout the year, based on the spring run experience, all available biological data and continuing consultation.

Further information on the regulations can be obtained from: Joe Weller, Superintendent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Hoopa Agency -P.O. Box 367, Hoopa, California 95546, Telephone (916) 625-4285.

Indian educators will be meeting February 28 to March 2 in Denver, Colo., to review draft regulations required for implementation of Indian sections of the Education Amendments Act of 1978. Title XI of the Act, dealing with Indian education, has a June 27 deadline for publication of some final regulations.

Rick Lavis, Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, said that the steering committee, responsible for implementing Title XI, will also be reporting on the status of task force projects and schedule of future actions.

Title XI mandated major changes in the administration and organization of Indian education programs. It stressed control of these programs at the local level by the Indian community.

The steering committee, which includes tribal education committee members and school board members as well as education administrators and staff, has twelve task forces dealing with such matters as school boards, education personnel, funding formulas, education policies and student rights. There is also a group working on the implementation of the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978.