OPA

Proposed regulations governing the assignment by regional corporations of future interests in the Alaska Native Fund were published March 2 in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The regulations are designed to implement Section 31 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended November 1!5, 1977, which gives the Secretary of the Interior the authority to recognize validly executed assignments made by Regional Corporations of their rights to receive payments from the Alaska Native Fund.

Implementation of this provision makes it possible for the regional corporations to give assignees a secured interest in the future distributions from the Fund. This, in turn, enables the regional corporations to borrow necessary capital for development projects at reduced interest rates.

The Secretary, under Section 31, may recognize regional corporation assignments only to the extent that they do not interfere with required redistributions of certain percentages of the fund receipts to the village corporations in the region and to certain stockholders.

The proposed rules require that a regional corporation provide evidence that the corporation's board of directors has authorized an assignment and that it specifically intended that the Secretary recognize that assignment.

Written comments on the proposed rules should be sent within thirty days after publication to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Director of Financial Management, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today that proposed revisions in the regulations governing contracts and grants under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (P.L. 93-638) were published in the Federal Register March 28.

The Self-Determination Act regulations require that the Bureau annually consult with Indian tribes and organizations about the need to revise the regulations. These proposed changes are the result of the consultation with Indian tribes and organizations.

Probably the most significant change being proposed is the addition of procedures to deal with the situation in which a contract proposal is adequate but the Bureau does not have sufficient funds to fund it. Comments on the proposed regulations should be sent within 30 days of publication to the Bureau of Indian Affairs Code l06t 18th and C Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20245

Fred Thompson, Jr., has been made Assistant Area Director, Community Services, in the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Navajo Area Office, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Thompson, a member of the Navajo Tribe, has been the Housing Development Officer in the area office since August, 1976.

After serving as Assistant Executive Director of the Navajo Housing Authority, Thompson, 34, became Housing Development Officer at the Fort Defiance Agency in 1971. He transferred to the area office in 1974.

An alumnus of the University of New Mexico, Thompson was a field director with the Navajo Office of Economic Opportunity and has held other jobs with the tribe.

Wilfred Brown, a Navajo, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' agency at Fort Defiance, Arizona Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The Fort Defiance agency is one of five serving the huge Navajo Reservation.

Brown, 38, has been Administrative Manager and Program Officer at the agency. He previously worked for the Navajo Tribe as a planning assistant and economic planner.

An Army veteran, Brown earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering and Industrial Design at Arizona State University.

Members of a Task Force appointed in December 1977 to prepare recommendations on the restructuring of the Bureau of Indian Affairs presented their final report to Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus today.

The report will be published in the Federal Register and distributed to Indian tribes and organizations for connect through June 30, 1978.

After analysis of the report and consideration of the comments, Secretary Andrus will make specific decisions early in August on the management and organizational structure of the bureau, together with a schedule for carrying out the changes.

A preliminary report of the Task Force was presented to Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph on March 31.

"While I have not had an opportunity to study the report in detail and have reached no conclusions on any of its specific recommendations, I share the basic conclusion of the Task Force that the organization and operation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs needs to be improved," Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus said today.

"One of my primary aims as Secretary of the Interior is to carry out a fair and vigorous program for the benefit of our American Indian citizens. This requires that we provide a firm basis for Indian self-determination, that tribal governments are strengthened, that the trust responsibilities of the Federal Government are conducted effectively, and that services to the Indian people are provided efficiently.

"While changes will be instituted in an orderly fashion and every effort will be made to minimize any hardship on BIA employees and upon established relationships between the tribes and BIA officials, I am committed to the principle that basic improvement in the Bureau is necessary if we are to help meet the many challenges faced today by the American Indian people."

The preface to the Task Force report states that the group focused on what it viewed as the major organizational issues and problems.

The recommendations in the 130 page report include the following:

--The top level organization should consist of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs with three principal Deputies--for planning and evaluation, for operations (Commissioner), and for budget and finance (Comptroller).

--To reflect the high level of commitment to self-determination on the part of the Bureau, program and policy implementation for P.L. 93-638, the Self-Determination Act, should be placed under the Deputy Assistant Secretary --Planning and Evaluation.

--Consideration should be given to the location of field offices, there should be a review of each Area Office on a case-by-case basis to consider the need to retain or combine these offices.

--Top management should have the option of utilizing "Schedule C" appointments to fill Area Director Positions.

Among the areas studied for improving the BIA were: planning, advocacy, trust protection services, human resource development, natural resource development, social service delivery, personnel and administrative services, and consultation.

In addition to twice monthly meetings in Washington, D.C., the Task Force also held field hearings in Phoenix, Arizona; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; and Duluth, Minnesota.

The 11-member Task Force included representatives of the National Congress of American Indians and the National Tribal Chairmen's Association; two repre­sentatives of the BIA named by Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Forrest Gerard; a representative of Acting Assistant Secretary for Policy, Budget and Administration Larry Meierotto; and six public members. The public members included Stewart L. Udall, former Secretary of the Interior.

Members of Task Force were: Robert D. Hampton, vice president, ATE Management, Arlington, Va.; Willie Hensley, executive vice president, NANA Regional Corp., Inc., Kotzebue, Ak.; Ted Marston, vice president, Cummins Engine Company, Columbus, In.; Dave Ushio, special assistant in office of policy, budget, and administration, Department of the Interior, Washington: D. C.

Also Lorraine Misiaszek, acting director, Advocates for Indian Education, Spokane, Wa.; Jim Sansaver, resources development office, Billings area office, Billings, Mt.; Dr. Thomas Sawyer, director, ARIES Consulting Corp., Provo, Ut.; Ronald Toya, reservation program office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southern Pueblo Agency, Albuquerque, N.M.

Also Ray Goetting, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, D. C.; Stewart L. Udall, of counsel, Duncan, Brown, Weinberg & Palmer, Washington, D. C.; Earl Old Person, National Tribal Chairmen's Association, Washington, D. C.

A recent Supreme Court decision that Indian tribes have no inherent criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians does not leave a void in criminal law enforcement on reservations, Interior Department Solicitor Leo M. Krulitz said in an opinion released today

"The purpose of the opinion is to emphasize that the Supreme Court decision in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe--while very explicit in the narrow area it covers--does not call into question other clearly established principles of law regarding Indians," Krulitz said. "We do not have to ask ourselves, 'If tribes have no criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians for acts committed on reservations, who does'? The answer is clear and unchanged: the federal government does."

Krulitz said the Supreme Court has reiterated the conclusion that the United States has jurisdiction over crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians or their property. That jurisdiction is exclusive, Kru1itz said, citing a 1946 Supreme Court ruling that, while state courts may have jurisdiction over offenses committed by non-Indians against non-Indians, the laws and courts of the U.S. have jurisdiction over offenses against Indians by non-Indians. As recently as 1976, the Solicitor said, a federal appellate court held that offenses committed by non-Indians against Indians may not be prosecuted under state law.

"Except where a state has acquired, by Act of Congress, jurisdiction over Indian country within its borders, Bureau of Indian Affairs police and tribal police commissioned by the federal government may arrest non-Indians for offenses committed against Indians or their property in Indian country," said Krulitz.

"We are not merely talking about specific offenses described in federal statutes, either. Under the Assimilative Crimes Act, state laws are often adopted as federal law for federal enclaves. Offenses under these laws are punishable according to the law of the state in which the enclave is located. II

Krulitz pointed out that prosecution for such crimes must be by the Department of Justice before a federal district court judge or a federal magistrate. He advised the Bureau of Indian Affairs to work closely with the Justice Department to set up procedures to ensure cooperation.

Here are other major points in the opinion:

--BIA or tribal police who carry state commissions may also arrest non-Indians for violations of state law, even when no Indians or Indian property is involved. Non-Indians arrested for those crimes may be tried only in state courts.

--The U.S. continues to have jurisdiction over Indians and non-Indians alike who violate federal laws applying across the nation or who violate substantive criminal laws applicable only to Indian country, such as Indian liquor laws or bans on hunting or fishing on Indian lands without permission.

Proposed regulations governing the preparation of a roll of lineal descendants of the Saginaw, Swan Creek and Black River Bands of Chippewa Indians to share in the distribution of funds awarded by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

The proposed regulations establish the requirements for enrollment and a deadline for filing applications.

Written comments on the regulations should be sent within 30 days to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Division of Tribal Government Services, 1951 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20245.

For further information call Mitchell L. Bush, Jr., 202-343-6921.

Frederick S, Bigjim, an Eskimo, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs agency at Bethel, Alaska, Interior Assistant Secretary Forrest Gerard announced today.

Bigjim, who has a Master's degree in education from Harvard, has been an administrator and instructor at the Kuskokwim Community College at Bethel.

A graduate of the University of Alaska, Bigjim was Executive Officer for that university's Rural Education Affairs Division in Anchorage in 1975-76. He has also served as Director of Alaska Methodist University’s Intercultural Studies program.

Born in Nome in 1941, Bigjim was a member of the Bank Street School of Education team which completed an extensive study of early childhood education needs in the Indian community. He was also part of a national Indian team evaluating the Chemawa Indian School at Salem, Oregon.

From 1969 to 1972 Bigjim worked for the Alaska Federation of Native’s, administering a state-wide job training and education program.

Bigjim is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Haskell Indian Junior College at Lawrence, Kansas. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Indian School Board of Regents. He is active in many Alaskan organizations.

The Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs has drafted proposed rules for its revised program to remove from the roll of Alaska Natives the names of those ineligible under terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The proposed rules will be published this week in the Federal Register.

The Settlement Act directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare within two years of passage of the act an official roll to be used to determine distribution of land and funds. The huge task was not completed by the deadline because administrative appeals were still pending. The roll was certified subject to change due to future legal determinations.

By 1974, it became clear that the roll might contain names of people ineligible for enrollment under the act. The Bureau of Indian Affairs began a program to eliminate ineligible individuals.

The Alaska Native Corporations approved the idea of such a program, but objected to the way in which it was implemented, a BIA spokesman said. Natives claimed the procedures were so complex that most people could not understand them. Native leaders also feared default judgements might be entered against natives who failed to answer complaints. They also charged the eligibility of many natives was challenged without adequate investigation.

In response to the criticism, Interior Secretary Cecil D. Andrus called for a full review of the program. Andrus determined that failure to finalize the roll was interfering with the process of conveying land to Native Corporations. In order to finalize the roll promptly, he has directed that the disenrollment program be limited to those names now being contested because of:

--Death before or birth after December 18, 1971, the date the act was passed.

--Enrollment as of April 1, 1970, to the Metlakatla Indian Community

--No native ancestry and lack of U.S. citizenship either by birth or naturalization.

The proposed rules will not alter the current deadline for contesting enrollments and will not allow the filing of any new or additional challenges.

Written comments on the proposed regulations must be received within 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Comments may be addressed to Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D. C. 20245.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has published a study of Indian tribal courts done by the National American Indian Court Judges Association.

The 200-page book, Indian Courts and the Future, provides basic information about reservation judicial systems, considers the role of the courts under the current policy of Indian self-determination and discusses future needs.

As current issues the book deals with state jurisdiction, the Indian Civil Rights Act, comity/full faith and credit, jurisdiction over non-Indians (prior to the recent Supreme Court decision), and prosecution of major crimes in Indian country. An evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses in the present court systems is included, together with model standards and a five year plan for support of Indian courts.

The BIA plans to distribute copies of the book to appropriate tribal and Federal officials. A limited number of copies will be available for attorneys and others who may have special interest in the tribal courts.

Requests should be addressed to Bureau of Indian Affairs, Attn: Judicial Services Officer, 1951 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20245