APPROPRIATIONS
During
our conference of March 19 with Senator Young, we discussed the possibility of
appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on two questions of
importance to the Tribe. The first of these is the question of re-establishment
of our high school, and the other is the matter of the appropriation for the
construction of roads into the Western Segment. Senator.
Senator Young indicated that when the appropriation hearings are held he
would try to get us an opportunity to appear before the Committee.
CONSTITUTION
Please
refer to Page 5 of our report of December 23 on our previous delegation to
Washington. On that page, we talked about needing a technical amendment to the
tribal constitution in order to permit the Tribe to acquire land in connection
with its general program. At present} the Tribe is not permitted to purchase
allotments that are not in heirship status. We have had considerable
correspondence with the Commissioner in this matter, and the necessary
resolution has now been adopted. During our present visit to Washington, we
conferred with the Commissioner about this matter, and told him about our desire
that the election be held over a two-day period instead of in one day, so that
the necessary minimum 30% of the vote will surely be brought out.
CONTRACT
Another
matter in which we participated during our present trip to Washington was the
investigation of tribal attorney contracts. There seems to be an attempt on the
part of certain Senators to find something sinister about
the
previous activities of our Tribal Attorney. Hearings for that purpose have been
going on now for a couple of months. Councilmen Carl Whitman and Ben Youngbird
were called before the Senate Sub-committee on Indian Attorney Contracts and
required to testify with regard to Mr. Curry's activities at Fort Berthold.
We also talked with the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs about the demand of the "rump delegation” that an attorney be
approved for them by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The Commissioner stated
that he had no intention of approving any attorney for anybody who does not have
authority to represent a tribe. He
pointed
out, however, that any group of people, Indian or white, has a perfect right to
hire its own attorney without asking any permission from the Com- missioner of
Indian Affairs.
DELEGATION
The
delegation arrived in Washington on March 18 as the result of a message received
from Commissioner Myer thru Area Director Cooper and Superintendent Quinn. Mr.
Myer felt, in view of the charges that were made by the rump delegation in
Washington, that the delegation ought to be sent in immediately. Pursuant to
authority previously granted for such emergency purposes, the Chairman appointed
himself, Carl Whitman, Ben Youngbird and Sam Matthews as delegates. It was
impossible to reach Sam Matthews in time for the departure of the delegation,
but the other three delegates proceeded to Washington.
EDUCATION
On
March 19, we conferred with Senator Young about the question of re-establishment
of the high school, and he suggested that we obtain a hearing before the Senate
Appropriations Committee on the question. The Appropriations Bill has just been
reported out and will not come before the Senate Committee probably for several
months. We are planning to request a hearing at the appropriate time"
We
also conferred with Commissioner Myer on this question on the 24th. It was
agreed that there is no question, about re-establishment of the elementary
Indian schools on the Reservation. However, there is a serious question whether
the high school will be re-established.
Commissioner
Myer said that he was working with the Office of Education on a revision of
Public Law 815, which provides for Federal aid to local school authorities where
the school population is increased thru Federal activities. Such an amendment
would make it easier for the Federal Government to make grants and loans to such
local agencies. He said he hoped these amendments to Public Law 815 would solve
the Fort Berthold school question.
Carl
Whitman spoke to the Commissioner about the danger, if Indians go to public
schools, that most of the Indians will be divided among several school districts
and therefore that they will lose control of the schools
where
their children attend. The discussion ended with the delegation and the
Commissioner still in disagreement about the question of re-establishment of our
High School.
Tribal
Business Council
Three
Affiliated Tribes
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