o
JULY 1957
KLAMATH TRIBUNE
Page 3
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
FEDERAL PURCHASE
Q. What has happened to the
bill to haVe the Federal Govern
ment buy the Klamath Reserva
tion? A. The hill. S. 2047, was intro
duced in the Senate May 9, 1957
by Senator Neuberjjer of Oregon.
It was sent to the Committee
on Interior and Insular Affairs,
of which the Senator is a mem
ber. Hearings will he held on the
hill, probably after Congress
-Jeaves Washington I). C. next
,ionth. It is expected that the
hearings will be conducted by the
sub-committee on Indian Affairs,
of which Senator Ncuberjjer is
chairman. Some of the hearings
will be held' in Klamath County.
Q. What is the purpose of the
hearings which will be held on
the federal purchase bill?
A. Hearings will be held so
that members of Congress can
find out the facts about the Klam
ath Reservation and about the
progress of P.L. 5X7. Congress
men will then decide whether
or not the federal government
should purchase the property of
the Klamath Tribe.
Q. If the Congress decides that
the federal government should
purchase the Reservation, how
much would the government pay?
A. According to the bill, S.
2017, the government would pay
the "fair market value" for the
assets of the tribe. Just what
this figure would be in dollars
and cents would be decided by
an appraisal board.
Q. Who would make up the
board of appraisers?
A. Three men would be se
lected as the board of appraisers.
One would be chosen by the Sec
retary of the Interior, one by the
Secretary of Agriculture, and one
would be chosen by secret ballot
vote of the adult members of the
Klamath Tribe.
jJQ. If the government should de
cide to Duy ine icscrvuoii,
' would there be any plan for those
who wished to remain in the
tribe?
A. Xo. If S. 2047 is passed,
each member of the tribe would
be paid his share of the money
that is put up by the government
to pay for the tribal property,
and there would then no longer
be a tribe.
Kvervone would thus be treat
ed alike, and there would be no
election to withdraw from or stay
in a tribe. Upon payment of the
purchase price by the govern
ment. Klamaths would cease to
be Indians in so far as govern
ment control over their property
is concerned.
ELECTION
Q. At the present time I do
not have enough information as
to the plan of management for
those who might wish to remain
in the tribe for me to make a
decision between withdrawing
from and staying in the tribe.
When the election ballots are
mailed out by the Management
Specialists will it be possible for
me to return the ballot marked
"unable to make a decision"?
A. Xo. As the law is interpre
ted those who (lo not make a
decision to withdraw are auto
matically regarded as choosing to
remain in the tribe, under the
Management Plan.
APPRAISAL, MGT. PLAN
NOT YET COMPLETED
It is impossible to predict when
the results of the appraisal of
tribal property now bein carried
out under the supervision of the
Management Specialists will be
made known.
The Secretary of the Interior
has requested Western Timber
Services of Areata, California,
which did the appraisal, to make
certain overall revisions in it.
The appraisal was first sent to
the Secretary in May, and alon
with it the Specialists sent a pre
liminary draft of a management
plan for those tribal members
who may wish to remain in a
tribal tfroup rather than take
their share of tribal assets in cash.
The management plan will be
returned to the Specialists by
the Secretary with his sugges
tions for changes sometime be
fore the appraisal is approved.
When the plan is returned, the
Specialists will consult with tin
tribe rearditir the plan, and will
receive suggestions for changes
in the plan from the Klamath
Kxccutivc Committee and from
members of the tribe.
At the July 11 meeting of the
Kxecutive Committee the plan
was the main topic of discussion.
Management Specialist T. 1.
Watters stated at that meeting
that he would call the Secretary
of the Interior in an effort to
speed tip the return of the plan
so that there would be plenty of
time for the tribe to o over the
plan before it was returned to
the Secretary for final approval.
The Specialists' contract calls for
the plan to be approved by t lit
Secretary at the same time the
appraisal is approved.
DISCUSSION GROUP
(Continued from Pnge 1)
of the tribe who saw that the
men quit quarreling and i;ot down
to business.
Mr. Keeler was asked how the
guardianships of the property of
his people were handled, and he
stated that quite frankly in many
cases the Cherokees had been
robbed by the guardians and at
torneys who were supposed to
be protecting their property. Mr.
Keeler stated, however, that he
felt the lesson of ( Hdahoma had
been learned well, and that in
the ease of the Klamath Termin
ation, the guardianships would
be supervised much more closely
than were those nf the Chero
kees. The Cherokee guardianships
were supervised, if at all. hv
judges who were not even law
yers and who had no experience
in such matters. In Oregon,
guardianships must be passed" on
by the Circuit Courts of the coun
ties where the minor or incom
petent lives.
The meeting ended with a dis
cussion of the schools, ami how
well the Klamath children arc
doiiitf u jth their schooling. It was
pointed out by a number of Klam
aths that the Indian child has
trouble feeling that he is accepted
in the schools, but that if he does
stick with school he is much bet
ter able to compete in the world
than if he had inic to an Indian
school.
GROUP MEETS WITH
SPECIALISTS
Another meeting of the Dis
cussion Croup was held Julv 11.
ajso at the Williamson River
Church, with Management Spe
cialists T. M. Walters and Fu;ene
Fa veil as quests. Attain a number
of topics were covered. Much of
the evening was iven over to
an exchange of views as to whe
ther or not an extension of time
is necessarv in which to carry
out PL 5X7.
The Specialists pointed out that
it was their opinion that if they
were to sell enough tribal timber
to carry out PL 5X7 as it now
stands, the tribe would receive
much less for the timber than it
is actually worth. Some members
of the tribe stated that a jood
price could be received for tin
timber because a number of larj;e
companies not now located in the
Klamath I'asin would bid on the
timber, and that to extend the
law would be to force the tribe
to pay for sustained yield for-the
benefit of the lumber operators
now located in the area.
Aain the question of the need
for guardianships for Klamath
children came up, and there was
COUNTY GOVERNMENT:
THE DOG.COMMISSION
The county Io commission is
a three man board appointed by
the county court for an indefinite
term. The chief functions of this
commission are to see that there
is county wide do; control, and
to authorize payment to fowl and
livestock owners whose property
has been destroyed bv strav dos.
! Jo-1; license fees are used to
make such payments and they are
authorized only after the extent
of damages has been determined
by a member of the dojj commis
sion or the county pound master.
A license is required for all dofs
in this county. The yearly fee:
$.UX) for a female and $2W for
a male or spayed female. I )o;
license fees become due on the
first day of January and the do
owner has until the first of March
to pay this fee. A penalty of $1.K)
is added if the license fee is not
paid by March I.
Unlicensed dos that are picked
up by the pound master are taken
to the county do pounjl. In order
to ket the animal back the owner
must pay the license fee and
penalty plus the cost of the
animal's board.
a discussion of the qualifications
of a guardian. It was pointed out
that under Oregon Law a parent
is under Ical duty to support
his or her children. This means
that as Ioiij: as the parent is able
to look after the children, none
of the child's money will he spent
to support the child.
The Specialists were questioned
about the appraisal of tribal prop
erty, but were unable to reveal
anything about it except that it
would be made known to the tribe
as soon as the Secretary of the
Interior approves it, as revised.
It is impossible to tell when this
approval will be 1,'iven, as the
Secretary has requested an over
all revision of the appraisal.
Another item of concern to the
members present was that of the
management plan for those who
may wish to stay in a tribal jjroiip.
The Specialists did not reveal
any of the details of the plan, but
stated that the plan would be out
in plenty of time for it to be c
plained to all tribal members