OPA

Robert L. Bennett, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, announced today that he has asked for tribal ratification of a proposal to establish an "American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame," on the campus of Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kans.

"The Hall of Fame," Bennett said, "will not only memorialize the achievements of great Indian athletes but will be a source of inspiration for young Indians seeking to develop rewarding and productive lives in modern America."

A copy of the proposed constitution of the new organization and a list of a 13-member board of trustees has been sent to heads of tribal organizations throughout the Nation, Bennett said.

"We hope to secure ratification of this proposal and be ready to formally organize and select the initial inductees to the Hall of Fame in the fall," Bennett said. "Indians in many areas have already enthusiastically endorsed the Hall of Fame idea," Bennett said, "and I am confident it will receive the wholehearted endorsement of most American Indian and Alaska Native peoples."

Bennett noted that while the Bureau of Indian Affairs served as coordinator the plans to create the Hall of Fame, the organization will not be an official federal activity. "This will be an Indian organization operated by Indians for the benefit of Indians and all America," he said.

Miss Grace Thorpe, daughter of All-America football star Jim Thorpe, was among those Bennett appointed to the special committee which drew up the Hall of Fame constitution and selected its first board of trustees. Other members of the committee were: Tom Wilson, Office of Public Information, BIA, Chairman; Mitchell Bush, president, American Indian Society, Washington, D.C., executive secretary, George p. LaVatta, retired BIA employee, Portland, Ore., member; John O. Crow, associate director of the Bureau of Land Management, member; and Gus Welch, former Carlisle athlete, now of Bedford, Va., honorary chairman.

The members of the first board of trustees are: Harold Schunk, Yankton Sioux, Aberdeen Area; Clarence Tallbull, Cheyenne Arapaho, Anadarko Area; Clarence Acoya, Laguna Pueblo, Albuquerque Area; Walter McDonald, Flathead, Billings Area; Dr. Walter Soboleff, Tlingit, Juneau Area; Roger Jourdain, Red Lake Chippewa, Minneapolis Area; Overton James, Chickasaw, Muskogee Area; Joe Watson, Navajo, Navajo Area; Albert Hawley, Fort Belknap, Phoenix Area; George LaVatta, Shoshone-Bannock, Portland Area; Elijah Smith, Oneida, Sacramento Area; Louis R. Bruce, Jr., Mohawk-Sioux, Northeastern U.S. and Frell Owle, Eastern Cherokee, Southeastern U.S.

The constitution provides that after their initial terms expire board members will be elected by the Indian or Alaska Native peoples in the area they represent.

Miss Indian America, Williamette Belle Youpee, spent four days in Washington this week, climaxing a cross-country personal appearance to Highlighting her stopover were meetings with government officials and a tour of the student exhibit of Indian and Eskimo art currently on display in the Department of the Interior's art gallery.

A Sisseton-Yankton Sioux from Poplar, Montana, she is the eldest of 12 children of William Youpee, chairman of the Ft. Peck Assiniboine-Sioux Tribal Council.

Miss Youpee - "Willi" for short - has already established herself as a leader in Indian youth activities. While attending Montana State College in Bozeman, Montana, where she is now a senior majoring in commerce, she was instrumental in organizing and was the first president of the Council of American Indian Students. In 1962 she was a member of her college's delegation to the National Indian Youth Conference at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. She is a Board Member of the newly-formed Foundation of North American Indian Culture, in Bismarck, North Dakota, with special responsibility for youth work. Among her hobbies is writing children's stories in Indian lore.

The tenth Indian girl to be named Miss Indian America, Willi was crowned last August at the annual All American Indian Day festival in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Miss Pearl “Nugget” Johnson, 18 year old Eskimo girl from Nome, Alaska, came to town on May 3 for a whirlwind schedule of events capped by a visit with Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall and Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash. In the friendly Eskimo tradition, she brought the Interior Department officials gifts of small gold pans reminiscent of Alaska’s prospectors in the early gold rush days.

Pearl is on her way to the New York world’s Fair, where she will represent her State as Miss Alaska Savings bonds in 1964. She was selected for the honor by the Savings bonds Division of the U.S. Treasury on the basis of character, intelligence, personality, appearance, and ability to meet the public.

In addition to winning her title, Miss Johnson also required a new nickname. World’s Fair Official Jack Anderson and Mrs. Helen M. Fischer, Alaska Director of the savings Bonds Division, have dubbed her “Nugget Machutnik” the latter an Eskimo word meaning ‘little darling’. This petite and charming “Machutnik” is a gold nugget as priceless as savings bonds are to the Nation and to the individuals who buy them, according to the Savings Bonds Division. Those who have met her are in complete agreement with this opinion.

“Nugget’s” job for the duration of the Fair will be to sell savings bonds at the Alaska Exhibit. Her transportation and subsistence expense from Anchorage to New York are being paid by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a part of the Bureau’s vocational training and job placement program.

Miss Johnson recently completed a business course at the Anchorage Business College under the adult vocational training program of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The program provides occupational program of Bureau of Indian Affairs. The program provides occupational training opportunities for Indians and Alaskan natives, primarily between the ages of 18 and 35.

Commissioner Mash expressed enthusiasm for “Nugget’s” accomplishments under the program.

“I consider the Bureau’s adult vocational training program one of the best activities we have under way to help young people,” the Commissioner said. “Miss Johnson did fine work in her business courses. She has a good future ahead of her. We are extremely proud of this young lady.”

Miss Johnson will be on salary as a teller in the Savings Bonds booth in the Alaska Exhibit at the world’s Fair, and when the Fair closes for the winter she will return to Anchorage at her own expense to employment as a bank bonds tellers.

Another highlight in the final day of “Nugget’s” visit to Washington included luncheon with members of the Alaskan Congressional delegation.

John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1933 to 1945, has been named to receive the Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor the Department of the Interior can bestow. The award will be presented by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash, acting as the personal emissary of Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, in a ceremony at Mr. Collier's home in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, on May 4, his 80th birthday.

The honor, given in recognition of Mr. Collier's extraordinary leadership in the field of Indian affairs, also commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. He was the chief philosopher and advocate of the Indian Reorganization Act, and its passage was an outstanding accomplishment in his career as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

The 1934 Act is significant in several respects. It brought a quick halt to a process of allotting property to individual Indians which resulted in the permanent loss of much land from Indian ownership. It provided a foundation for tribal economic self-sufficiency by the establishment of chartered corporations, the extension of credit from Federal funds, and the fostering of tribal enterprise. It also brought about home rule through an increased measure of tribal self-government, and established the present-day policies of conservation and development of Indian lands and resources.

The citation to Mr. Collier accompanying the gold medallion reads in part:

"John Collier has always been a vigorous champion of religious freedom, defending the Indians' right to continue their traditional ceremonies and to choose freely among the religions offered them.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Philleo Nash today announced the completion of an agreement between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, and a Pelham, N.Y., electronics company which will lead to the establishment of I a new branch plant providing jobs for at least 200 workers on the Laguna Indian Pueblo west of Albuquerque, N. Mex.

The firm involved is Burnell & Co., Inc., which manufactures electronic filters and related components.

As part of its program to promote greater economic development and fuller job opportunities in Indian communities, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has agreed, subject to the availability of funds, to enter into a contract with Burnell for on-the-job training of Indian workers in the new plant.

"We are delighted to be playing an active role in this most promising enterprise," Commissioner Nash commented, "but major credit for making these jobs available properly belongs to the Laguna Indians. They have taken the initiative in dealing with Burnell and Company and are investing a substantial amount of their own funds in the operation."

Under an agreement between Laguna and Burnell, the Pueblo will furnish a $440,000 building to house the new plant. Construction is expected to begin in 8arly spring.

Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced the assignment of Sidney M. Carney, a career employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to work with "the Seneca Indians of New York on problems resulting from construction of the Kinzua Dam and Reservoir on the Allegheny River.

The Kinzua project is part of a comprehensive plan for flood control in the Ohio River Basin originally authorized by Congress in 1938. It will be built by the Army Corps of Engineers and will require the taking of over 9,000 acres of Seneca land which can be done under the law only by action of Congress. Appropriations committees of both Senate and House heard voluminous testimony for and against the proposed project in connection with the appropriations bills for the fiscal years 1958, 1959, and 1960. Funds for the project were approved by Congress in all three years.

In 1959 the United States Supreme Court declined to hear litigation designed to halt the project and thus confirmed that the action of Congress on the appropriations bills was sufficient authorization for the taking of the Seneca lands.

Following a careful review of the entire matter last year, the Administration decided that construction of the project should proceed. At that time President Kennedy directed the Bureau of Indian Affairs to provide the Senecas with assistance in meeting the problems engendered by the project. Indian Bureau help on these matters was subsequently requested by the Senecas and the Army Corps of Engineers.

As the Bureau's representative in the project area, Carney will be concerned with (1) exploring the possibilities of acquiring lands which could be exchanged for the area to be flooded, (2) reviewing the ways in which the Senecas could share in the benefits resulting from the recreation potential of the reservoir, (3) conducting investigations which will lead to a determination of the special damages to be sustained by the Senecas because a substantial proportion of their land is being taken, and (4) providing special counseling and guidance to Senecas who are required to move from their homes.

Carney, who is of Choctaw and Creek Indian descent, will be the first Indian Bureau employee stationed in New York State since 1949. He will establish headquarters at Salamanca in the near future.

Born at Quinton, Oklahoma, in 1920, Carney joined the Bureau in 1957 as administrative officer at the Fort Defiance Subagency on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. One year later he was promoted to a more responsible post of the same kind at the Jicarilla Agency, Dulce, N. Mex. Since last June he has been serving at the national headquarters of the Bureau in Washington, D. C.

He is a graduate of Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas, and holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from Eastern Oklahoma State University. Before joining Federal service, he worked for this University first as purchasing agent and later on the faculty as head of the accounting department. He also served for about a year as office manager of the Kiamichi Electric Cooperative, Wilburton, Okla.

Award of a $51,000 contract for water catchment-storage units on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in northern Arizona was announced today by the Department of the Interior.

The contract covers construction of six steel stock water tanks with a capacity of 50,000 gallons each, and six catchment areas lined with asphalt mats.

The storage units will make it possible for the Hualapai tribal members to use their range resources more effectively through better distribution of livestock and will also permit an increase in the number of cattle. The project is part of a long-term range water development program for the Hualapai Reservation.

M. J. B. Construction Company of Yuma, Arizona, was awarded the contract. Six higher bids ranging from $53,580 to $72,756 were received

WASHINGTON, DC. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined leaders from the 566 federally recognized tribes and senior government officials today at the White House Tribal Nations Conference hosted by President Obama. The conference, the fourth held during the Obama Administration, continues to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the nation to nation relationship with Indian Country.

Held at the Department of the Interior, the conference also featured remarks from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin, Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.

Secretary Salazar’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:

A Moral Imperative: Building a Strong Foundation for a Prosperous Future for American Indians and Alaska Natives

Good morning.

Thank you all for coming. I know many tribal leaders have traveled across the nation to be at the fourth White House Tribal Nations Conference, and I see many familiar faces in the audience.

From the beginning, President Obama has made it a top priority to help bring real and lasting change in Indian Country and to open a new chapter with the First Americans.

When President Obama took office, he pledged that his Administration would uphold not just a government-to-government relationship with tribes, but a nation-to-nation relationship.

In close consultation with leaders here and across Indian Country, we have done just that.

This Administration has a comprehensive agenda to reform, repair and rebuild federal relations with Indian Country to ensure that American Indians and Alaska Natives get the opportunities they deserve.

This means respecting the inherent sovereignty of tribal nations and making sure the federal government is honoring its commitments.

This means fulfilling our trust responsibilities to tribal nations and trust resources.

This means working cooperatively to build stronger economies and safer communities.

And this means helping fulfill your vision for your nations; helping your communities achieve their promise; helping your cultures flourish.

You’ll be hearing from leaders from across the government today, but I want to spend a few minutes talking about what we’ve done at Interior over the past four years – because the accomplishments are real, and the impacts they will have are meaningful.

We have been lucky to have had Larry Echo Hawk serve as a strong advocate for three years in his role as Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. And we are lucky to see his leadership carried on through Del Laverdure, and now through our newly confirmed Assistant Secretary, Kevin Washburn.

As you know, Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Roberts, and Solicitor Hilary Tompkins are also leading the charge when it comes to important issues that impact Indian Country.

With their help, and with the help of many people in this room – like Jefferson Keel and Jackie Johnson with the National Congress of American Indians – we have seen real results that are helping to build safer, stronger, healthier, and more prosperous Indian communities.

First, we have worked to restore tribal homelands. When we started, there seemed to be a de facto moratorium on trust land applications. In 2007 and 2008, Interior had acquired only 15,000 acres in trust on behalf of tribes.

Thanks to the great work of BIA Director Mike Black and his team, since 2009, Interior broke that logjam and has acquired more than 190,000 acres of land into trust. We’ve processed over 1,000 requests for land acquisitions that will allow for agriculture, energy, infrastructure, health and housing projects to move forward and strengthen tribal economies.

Moreover, Indian County deserves responsive and responsible business practices when it comes to acquiring land into trust and managing funds generated from such lands. That’s why we’ve established a Trust Reform Commission to undertake a forward-looking, comprehensive evaluation of our trust management.

We know that the federal government must be more transparent and customer-friendly in managing Indian funds and assets, and I look forward to receiving the Commission’s recommendations. I am grateful for the leadership that Chairwoman Fawn Sharp and Commissioners Tex Hall, Peterson Zah, Bob Anderson and Stacey Leeds are providing on this important effort.

Of course, one of the most significant developments regarding our trust responsibilities was when President Obama signed the Claims Resolution Act of 2010.

Just last week, the settlement of the Cobell litigation cleared the final legal hurdle. Now, after more than 16 years of contentious litigation that created a great fissure between the United States and American Indians, this painful chapter in our nation’s history is over.

The $3.4 billion Cobell settlement has the potential to profoundly change and improve the lives of American Indians and the administration of American Indian trusts.

At Interior, we will be working to implement the Trust Land Consolidation Program that will free up land for the benefit of tribal communities. We need to work together to solve the fractionation problem that has plagued Indian Country for decades.

I am pleased that, as part of the settlement, Elouise Cobell’s legacy will include the $60 million Scholarship Fund for American Indian and Alaska Native students.

Building on Cobell, the Administration has engaged tribes in nation-to-nation negotiations that have led to 59 additional settlements totaling over $1.1 billion to resolve long-standing trust accounting and trust management claims.

The Cobell settlement – and the work to successfully settle tribal trust cases – marks the beginning of true trust reform and is nothing short of historic.

Second, the Obama administration is working to strengthen tribal economies through the development of water, energy, and infrastructure projects on tribal lands.

This starts with a reenergized commitment to meeting the critical water needs of Native American communities. Water is the lifeblood of communities, and President Obama has signed landmark legislation on six historic water rights settlements.

I have been honored to travel over the past three years across the country to help celebrate the water settlements and projects that will deliver water to these communities – many for the first time. The settlements include: Taos Pueblo and Aamodt case pueblos, including the Pojoaque, Tesuque, San Ildefonso, and Nambe pueblos in New Mexico; as well as the Crow Tribe in Montana; the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona; the Navajo Nation in New Mexico; and the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes in Nevada.

These settlements will provide more than $2 billion to some of the most poverty-stricken regions in the nation. For these communities, the permanent water supply will vastly improve their quality of life and will offer greater economic security both now and in the future.

When it comes to Indian gaming, we have made timely and balanced decisions on applications based on law and regulations. Rather than letting applications languish, we’ve made 23 decisions in 29 months. These projects have the potential to add tens of thousands of jobs in Indian Country.

We are also working to engage tribal governments in the President’s all-of-the-above energy strategy to safely and responsibly expand our nation’s domestic energy resources.

We know that tribal lands hold great capacity for solar, wind and geothermal projects, and we are committed to helping you unlock that potential. In June, we approved the first-ever, utility-scale solar project on tribal lands. The Moapa Band of Paiute Indians of Nevada partnered on this trailblazing effort to develop a 350-megawatt solar energy project that will help power over 100,000 homes and generate 400 jobs at peak construction.

And in October, I was on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota with Chairman Tex Hall, Del Laverdure and Mike Black to approve the Three Affiliated Tribes ‘land-into-trust’ application. The land will be used to build the first new refinery in the United States in more than 30 years - and the only tribally-owned refinery in the lower 48 states.

These two projects are historic in nature, not just for their energy but also for their potential to transform the tribes’ economies. We can, and should, do more of this across the nation.

These same principles of enhancing tribal self-determination and promoting meaningful economic development opportunities were embodied in the HEARTH Act that many worked so hard to enact into law, and which President Obama signed earlier this year.

And this past month, Interior took another step to give tribes and individual Indians greater control over their own lands with the finalization of the most sweeping reform of federal surface leasing regulations in more than 50 years. The new regulations remove bureaucratic red tape and streamline the approval for home ownership, expedite economic development and spur renewable energy.

With the HEARTH Act and the new leasing regulations in place, individuals and tribes will have the ability to do fundamental things, like buy a home or build a business. Third, President Obama is investing in the next generation through our efforts to create educational opportunities in Indian Country.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, along with Bureau of Indian Education Acting Director Brian Drapeaux and national experts, are heavily engaged in developing a national education reform agenda that will better serve Indian children.

Just yesterday, Education and BIE signed an agreement to bolster cooperation and coordination between the two agencies to better support Indian schools and serve Indian children.

And the two agencies have entered into an agreement to strengthen our efforts to bring Native languages and cultures back into the Indian education framework.

We can and must do better by our young people.

Fourth, the Obama administration is working to help build safer communities.

We are combating violence in Indian Country where crime rates far exceed national averages.

President Obama signed the Tribal Law and Order Act, which will allow us to accelerate our focus on safe tribal communities.

We are putting more law enforcement officers in Indian communities, and improving training and equipment.

We are revamping the recruiting process for Bureau of Indian Affairs law officers, increasing the number of applicants for those positions by 500 percent – and overseeing the largest hiring increase in BIA history.

Last year, we completed the first pilot of an intense community policing program on four reservations experiencing high crime rates. We saw promising results – a combined reduction of violent crime of 35% after the first 24 months. Now, 12 months later, we have seen this drop continue to a combined 55% reduction. We have since expanded the program to two additional reservations, where we are starting to see great progress.

Finally, government-to-government consultation is a keystone to our nation-to-nation relationship. Responding to the charge the President gave to us, all Cabinet Secretaries are working to develop a consultation policy to guide their Departments.

With the advice of tribal leaders, Interior released our consultation policy in 2011, which will serve as an enduring, living document that guides everything we do and will more effectively engage tribal leaders in policy development.

This makes for a more predictable and stream-lined process and reflects our heartfelt commitment to an open, comprehensive and effective consultation policy.

We’ll look to this policy when it comes to critical issues, such as identifying and avoiding impacts to the sites that you hold sacred. In fact, today I’m pleased to announce that five government agencies – Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation – have entered into an agreement to bolster our coordination and best management practices when it comes these sacred sites.

These accomplishments are significant. As one tribal chair told me at last year’s White House Tribal Nations Conference, President Obama’s administration has done more on tribal issues in two years than has been accomplished in the last 20.

But there is no doubt that much more needs to be done.

That’s why we’re working with you and the Congress to fix the Carcieri decision to ensure that we can continue to make strong progress on restoring homelands for all tribes.

That’s why we’ll continue our record efforts to resolve trust mismanagement claims in a fair and reasonable way. And that’s why we’ll continue to fight for healthy budgets that will support Indian Country’s priorities.

We all know that the federal government’s history with Indian nations is long and troubled. We live with a somber legacy of injustice and broken promises.

For me, and for this Administration, that memory drives our commitment to do right and to turn a new page in the relationship between our nations. It is nothing short of a moral imperative.

I am proud of what we have done together over the past four years to build a solid foundation – a lasting framework - for a bright, prosperous and more fulfilling future for the First Americans.

Let’s keep up the momentum.

Thank you.

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One thousand prized eagle feathers - highly important to ceremonial costumes of several Southwest Indian tribes - are en route to Indian reservations through the courtesy of the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service to help alleviate a critical shortage of the adornments, the Department reported today.

The feathers were collected at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland and were sent to the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Regional office in Albuquerque, N. Mex., for distribution among the tribes.

The feathers are from eagles found dead in various parts of the country. When a dead eagle is found and can be preserved, it is packed in "dry ice" and flown to the Research Center. At the center, scientists check for diseases, abnormalities, or pesticide residues. When injured or sick birds are found they are nursed back to health, if possible, and are released. Eagles unable to fly are loaned to public zoos.

About six months ago, Larry Merovka, supervisor of Management and Enforcement in the Bureau's Albuquerque office, suggested that the eagle feathers be saved and presented to Indian tribes. Virtually every American Indian tribe holds the eagle in high regard and many of them have songs and dances based on the symbolism of the eagle. The eagle, above nearly all other birds, has a special kinship to Indian history and religion.

Daniel H. Janzen, Director of the Bureau, said Mr. Merovka's suggestion concerning the feathers is a practical conservation measure resulting from the Department's employee suggestion program. The procedure helps meet the needs of the Indians for eagle feathers and helps conserve the eagle population by discouraging illegal taking of the birds.

Since adopting the suggestion by Mr. Merovka, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has salvaged feathers from about twenty eagles, primarily from North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri.

Both varieties of eagles--the golden and the bald--are represented in the feather collection. Golden eagle feathers are brown, with a golden tinge on head and shoulder feathers. The smaller bald eagle, darker with white head and shoulder feathers, is the majestic bird which is the American national emblem, whose image is imprinted on coins. Both are masters of the air currents and soar on motionless wings that have a span up to 7 ½ feet.

At the Wildlife Research Center only the larger, undamaged wing and tail feathers are recovered for use by the Indians. Since the supply is limited, only the most pressing needs of the Indians can be met at this time.

Federal laws safeguard eagles, their feathers, nests, and eggs. None of these may be possessed without a permit from the Secretary of the Interior unless acquired before protective laws were passed. The bald eagle has been protected by Federal law since 1940, and an amendment in October 1962 covered the golden eagle. The Secretary of the Interior can issue possession permits to public museums, scientific associations, and zoological parks for scientific or exhibition purposes only, or to individual Indians for religious purposes.

No eagles or their feathers, nests, or eggs can be transferred to another person except by permit, but Indians may hand them down from generation to generation by tribal or religious custom.

Feathers obtained from the Fish and Wildlife Service under the present arrangement cannot be employed in manufacturing articles for sale, nor can the feathers themselves be sold.

Acting upon the recommendation of a special task force which visited Alaskan native villages this past summer, Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall today announced that the Tsimpshian Indians of the island community of Metlakatla will be permitted to continue using their fish traps during the 1963 fishing season.

Since 1915, by Secretarial regulation, the Metlakatlans have been allowed to fish with traps. Early in 1962, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that an Alaskan law prohibiting traps does not apply to the Annette Island Reservation within which Metlakatla is situated.

In making his announcement, Secretary Udall pointed out that the members of the task force felt it was desirable to hold off changing the 1915 regulations to bring them into harmony with State law until suitable alternatives to the use of traps have been developed, so that Metlakatla can maintain the level of fish production upon which its salmon cannery depends. The cannery is the principal industry in the community, providing employment for Indians during the summer and income with which to finance public works programs which supply jobs for local residents during the remainder of the year.

Secretary Udall remarked that members of his staff will investigate alternatives to trap production of fish, and that he will make a further announcement when their comments are received.

Metlakatla was established in 1887 by an Anglican missionary, Father William Duncan, who led a group of his Indian followers from "Old Metlakatla" in British Columbia to the Annette Islands just south of Ketchikan7 Alaska. In 1891, Congress set the area aside for the Tsimpshians. Since that time, the Indians have developed a progressive community, whose economy is built around the fishing industry and the salmon cannery. In addition to their traps, the Metlakatlans nave a fleet of fishing boats.

The task force on Alaska native affairs included William W. Keeler of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Phillips Petroleum Company; Hugh J. Wade, Secretary of State of Alaska; and James E. Officer, Associate Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Keeler, who headed a similar task force making a broader study of Indian problems early in 1961, was also chairman of the Alaska group.

The complete report of the Alaska task force is in the final stages of preparation and will likely be submitted to Secretary Udall and Governor Egan early in 1963.

First, let me pass on the sincere regrets of Secretary Fred A. Seaton and Commissioner of Indian Affairs Glenn L. Emmons that they were unable to be with you here today. While previous commitments have unfortunately made their attendance impossible, both have asked me to express personal greetings and very best wishes for a most successful and memorable dedication.

Speaking for myself let me say at once that it is both a pleasure and a privilege to be here as your speaker, This is the first chance I have had as under Secretary of the Interior to take part in a ceremony of this kind involving four Indian friends, and I have been looking forward to it eagerly ever since I received the invitation.

One thing that has impressed me particularly about this occasion is the fact that Eagle Butte is this month celebrating its golden jubilee or 50th anniversary. This city is, by my reckoning, a remarkably young community. And yet in another Sense to all of us, regardless of age, the year of Eagle Butte’s founding, 1910, must seem a tremendously long time ago when we measure those years in terms of human progress.

We have to remind ourselves, almost forcibly, that in 1910 there were no rockets or missiles, no atomic energy, no television or even radio. In fact, airplanes were still a curiosity rather than an established mode of travel; automobiles were largely a rich man's plaything; and paved highways were virtually unknown. In almost every way it was a much different kind of world from the one we find ourselves in today--slower-moving, far less complex, perhaps a little closer to the soil.

And so, on an occasion like this, while it is appropriate for us to dip back briefly into the nostalgic past, it seems to me even more pertinent that we should focus our attention chiefly on the evidences of recent progress and on the prospects for the unfolding future.

This progress is reflected in the budget figures for the past 10 years for South Dakota. In 1950, the Indian Bureau was spending $3,157,189 in the State for education and welfare services, and that included almost one million dollars for health programs. In 1960, the Department of the Interior is spending almost five and one-half million dollars in this State for education and welfare. When we consider that the Department of Health, Education, and welfare has allocated an additional sum of more than three and one-half million for South Dakota Indian Health projects, the present-day expenditures are about nine million, or three times the amount of 10 years back.

Ten years ago, the Indian Bureau programmed $722, 699 for resources management. Now we are using $1,944,171 for this work. In 1950, the Bureau had $168,265 for construction in South Dakota. Now it is using $1,480,000. Those figures do not include road construction. The 1950 outlay for road building was $36,997. This year’s road work in South Dakota is going forward with an appropriation of $961,000.

In brief, the Government 10 years ago was spending $4,383,040 in this State for these various programs to benefit our Indian citizens. Today, we are conducting greatly expanded programs, and using $13,581,325, including the expenditures for health.

The $1.3 million figure does not include the rehabilitation and compensation money appropriated for South Dakota because of Congressman Berry’s bills 'which were enacted into law.

Mr. Berry’s legislation assisted by your able Senators, resulted in total rehabilitation and compensation appropriations for, South Dakota reservations of $21 million. These funds are for the sole benefit of the Indian people in your area.

For this reservation alone the money for rehabilitation and compensation for and required for Federal projects amounts to $10.5 million.

In a very real sense, the buildings that we are dedicating here today are a tangible symbol of the progress I have in mind. Taken together, they constitute one of the most modern and finest installations serving an Indian reservation anywhere throughout the Nation.

They represent progress, improvement; and the active policy of our National Government to help the Indian people in building toward a more ample and more rewarding way of life than they have known in the past. And we are certainly all indebted to the Army Engineers for an outstanding job in the planning and supervision of this most excellent project.

But over and beyond the new school facilities, the new hospital, and the other physical structures, we have something which is less tangible but even more basically important. It is the underlying community spirit--the growing sense of tribal and local purpose--which seems to pervade the whole atmosphere of this general area.

Before leaving Washington I did a little checking on the developments that I have been taking place around here during the past several years and I found that they add up to an unusual story of cooperative accomplishment and growth. Let us consider just some of the major highlights.

In the first place; there was the action of Congress in providing the legislative authorization and the necessary funds not only to compensate for properties taken in connection with the Oahe Project but to make possible the relocation of facilities and the launching of a broad rehabilitation program for the benefit of the Cheyenne River Sioux people. As all of you doubtless know, it was not easy to win congressional approval for far--reaching legislation of this kind, It took persistence and skill and dedication of the highest order. But the Cheyenne River Sioux people and the non-Indian people of this area are fortunate enough to be represented in Congress by men who command the wide respect of their colleagues and are thoroughly familiar with the mechanics of legislation, I refer, of course, to your two able Senators Karl E, Mundt and Francis Case, and to your capable member in the House of Representatives, Mr. E, Y, Berry. All of them played a major part in providing the legislative ground work for the tribal rehabilitation program now on the way to impressive reality. All of them are eminently entitled to a special tribute on an occasion such as this and I am particularly happy to extend a word of gratitude to them on behalf of everybody who has benefited from their efforts.

There are, of course, many other persons who deserve credit for their untiring devotion to the needs and interests of the Cheyenne River Sioux and of this general area. While I do not have time to list them all, I would like to mention specifically the late Ralph Case, who served for so many years as the tribal attorney. It is, I believe uncommonly fitting and appropriate that the new hospital which we are dedicating on this occasion should be mimed in his honor.

Once Congress had provided the authorization and funds for the Cheyenne River Sioux rehabilitation program in the next step was up to the Indian people, And I am happy to say that the tribal leaders met this challenge with a rare blend of statesmanship and vision and intelligence. In this effort they concentrated chiefly on long-.range projects and on a thoughtfully planned program designed to be broadly beneficial to the full tribal membership for a great many years to come.

The advances that have been achieved by the tribe since 1956 in the field of education provide an excellent illustration of the constructive programming that has been accomplished, For one thing we have the outstanding consolidated school system which has now been established here at Eagle Butte. Credit for this, of course is due not only to the tribal leaders but also to the local community and particularly those who have the responsibility for the public school operations.

I am told that during this past academic year the Indian children and the non-­Indian youngsters went through their educational paces together without the slightest incident of trouble or unpleasantness. Equally important, I am told that the number of Indian children who reach the stage of high school graduation has been increasing steadily and rather rapidly every year since 1956.

And this, of course, gives special significance to the program of scholarships 'for higher education which the tribe has established. As far back as February of 1959, according to the report I received in Washington, nearly 200 grants had been approved for Cheyenne River youngsters to attend colleges or vocational schools beyond the high school level. Although the program was only two years old at that time, 38 students had already graduated and their average earnings were running approximately $3,350 a year. Today I feel sure that the statistics are even more impressive.

Education has been one of our most overriding concerns in the administration of Indian affairs here in South Dakota. For example, in 1950 there were 7,094 school-age Indian children attending school. In 1959, that figure had increased more than 20 percent, to 8,545, The largest increase was in the public schools, where enrollment went from 1,906 pupils in 1950 to 3,078 in 1959--·a rise of more than 60 percent. The increase in public enrollment was in line with the policy of developing public school opportunities for all Indian children whenever possible.

During this period, some Bureau schools were transferred to public school operation. Several of the smaller schools in the State were consolidated. The 45 federally operated schools in 1950 had shrunk to 32 by 1959, a graphic illustration of how this Administration managed to help more children get an education and at the same time cut down on federally run institutions.

In the past few years we have been encouraged by the response to the adult education program launched in 1956. Adult education units were established on this reservation, as well as at Rosebud, Standing Rock, Sisseton, and Pine Ridge. The programs were designed to meet the needs and interests of adults, and included projects on taxation, citizenship, home improvement, and other aspects of modern life. In 1959, approximately 180 adults were engaged in formal classroom studies, and there was an over-all State-wide total of 260 participating in community or group discussions on self-help community improvement.

Without soil and range conservation there would be little hope of improving the standard of living of those who live on Indian lands in South Dakota.

Back in 1950 the Indian Bureau conducted no soil and range inventory work in South Dakota. But in this year of 1960 a report has been completed on the combined soil and range surveys on the Cheyenne River Reservation, totaling a little over one million acres" Soil and range inventory work furnished basic technical information to assure the highest quality conservation programs, and maximum production of range and farm products. The Bureau has been inventorying the soil and range for the past four years.

Ten years ago the Government did have soil and moisture conservation programs. Now they apply to all Reservations in South Dakota, which was not true in 1950. Back then the Government was spending $62,579 for conservation work in South Dakota, whereas in 1960 we are devoting $441,020 to this work. Lands leased to non-Indians have soil and moisture conservation stipulations in the lease con­tract, requiring the lessee to pursue the recommended program. The acceleration of these programs over the past 10 years has been impressive. Let us look at a few. Land-use plans and soil surveys have been made for nearly twenty times as many acres in 1960 as in 1950. There are 195 ponds today in contrast to the 33 in 1950. These are but examples and a similar picture prevails in the use of fertilizers, tree planting, contouring and all the other techniques of soil conservation.

At this point I suggest that we pursue for a moment and contrast this picture of educational achievement and advancement with the situation that prevailed among the Cheyenne River Sioux when the city of Eagle Butte was first established back in 1910. Certainly all of us have come a long way in the past 50 years. But I personally doubt whether any segment of our population has moved ahead more rapidly or dramatically than this particular tribal group.

Apart from the basically important field of education, the tribe has also moved forward on many other fronts. There has been first-rate progress in the development and utilization of rangelands and other resources for the maximum benefit of the Indian owners. New business enterprises have been established by the tribe at Riverview, Timber Lake and Eagle Butte. And one of the finest developments of all, in my estimation, has been the new housing provided with tribal funds for older members of the tribe. Here we see social justice in action.

But what encourages me most deeply is the thought that these developments which have already taken place are only the beginning. Your superintendent, Mr. Howard Dushane, tells me that the trice "is bursting at the seams with plans." And this is certainly most welcome news to all of us in the Department of the Interior who have any responsibility for the administration of Indian Affairs.

Under the leadership of Secretary Fred A. Seaton, we have followed a consistent policy of encouraging Indian tribal groups to take on increasing responsibility for mapping out their own future plans of development and for carrying through the execution of the programs. This Cheyenne River tribe is one that has not only risen to the challenge but actually gone far beyond our most optimistic expectations. I congratulate all the members of the Tribe for the leadership they have enjoyed over the past several years, and I commend the non-­Indian people of this general area for the cooperation and support they have extended to the tribal group.