Task Force Reports To Secretary On BI A Reorganization
M em bers of a T ask Force ian Affairs needs to be improv
appointed in December 1977 to ed, “ S ecreta ry of the Interior
prepare recom m endations on Cecil D. Andrus said.
“One of my primary aims as
the restructuring of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs presented their S ecretary of the Interior is to
final report to Secretary of the carry out a fair and vigorous
Interior Cecil D. Andrus earlier program for the b enefit of our
American Indian citizens. This
this month.
The report will be published requires that we provide a firm
in the F ed era l R eg ister and basis for Indian self-determina
distributed to Indian tribes and tion, that tribal governments are
organ ization s for com m ent strengthened, that the trust re
sp o n sib ilities of the F ederal
through June 30, 1978.
After analysis of the report Government are conducted ef
and con sid eration o f the com fe c tiv e ly , and that serv ic e s to
m en ts, S ecretary Andrus will the Indian people are provided
make specific decisions early in efficiently.
“While changes will be insti-
August on the management and
organizational structure of the luted in an orderly fashion and
bureau, together with a schedule every effort w ill be m ade to
for carrying out the changes.
minimize any hardship on BIA
A preliminary report of the employees and upon established
Task F orce w as p resen ted to relationships between the tribes
Under Secretary of the Interior and BIA officials, I am commit-
Jam es A. Joseph on March 31.
ed to the p rin cip le that basic
“ While I h ave not had an im p rovem en t in the Bureau is
opportunity to study the report necessary if we are to help meet
in d etail and h a v e reach ed no the many challenges faced today
conclusions on any of its specific by the American Indian people.”
The p refa ce to the Task
recom m en d ation s, I sh are the
b a s ic . con clu sion of the Task F orce report sta te s that the
Force that the organization and group focused on what it viewed
operation of the Bureau of Ind as the major organizational is
sues and problems.
The recommendations in the
130 page report include the
following:
-T he top level organization
should consist of the Assistant
S ecretary for Indian A ffairs
with three principal Deputies —
for planning and evaluation, for
operations (Commissioner), and
for budget and finance (Comp
troller).
-T o reflect the high level of
commitment to self-determina
tion on the part of the Bureau,
program and policy implement
ation for P .L . 93-638, the Self-
D eterm ination A ct, should be
placed under the Deputy Assist
ant S ecretary — P lanning and
Evaluation.
—C onsideration 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 offic
es.
-T o p m an agem en t should
have the option of utilizing
“Schedule C” appointments to
fill Area Director positions.
Among the areas studied for
improving the BIA were: plan
ning, advocacy, trust protection
services, human resource devel
opment, social service delivery,
personnel and ad m in istrative
services, and consultation.
In addition to twice monthly
meetings in Washington, D.C.,
the Task F orce also held field
h earin gs in P hoenix, Arizona;
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Den
ver, Colorado; P ortland, Ore
gon; and Duluth, Minnesota.
T r ib a l C ouncil
A g en d a
Apr 24 - Tribal Council Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
1. Committee Reports - Quarterly, Water Board
2. Timber Resources: Timber Committee, Range Committee
Fish & Wildlife Committee, Natural Resource Dept.
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - WSFPI Board Meeting, Kah-Nee-Ta
7:00 p.m . - GENERAL COUNCIL,. Agency Longhouse,
Annual Report of WSFPI
Apr 25 - Tribal Council Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
1. 10:00 a.m. - Criminal Justice Facility - Design
2. 2:00 p.m. - Management Reports, Grievance Procedure,
Affirmative Action Program
Apr 26 - Tribal Council Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
1. Kah-Nee-Ta Complex' - M anagem ent, Kah-Nee-Ta
Advisory Committee
Apr 7-8 - Columbia River Basin Fisheries Alliance-Thunderbird,
Astoria
-
NOTE: Interpretation of Budget Amendment to be scheduled
Ullman Requests Funds For Hatcheries, Water Projects
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Oregon
Congressman A1 Ullman, earlier
this m onth, urged the P ublic
Works Appropriations subcom
m ittee to g iv e high priority to
increased power output and im
proved anadromous fish runs in
the Pacific Northwest.
Ullman testified in support
of the Army Corps of Engineers’
$124 million budget request for
construction on M cN ary Lock
and Dam, McNary Second Pow
erhouse and B on n eville Lock
and Dam Second Powerhouse.
“Construction of these facil
itie s w ill help in crea se power
output and mitigate damage to
fish runs,” Ullman said, noting
that one of the few n egative
im p a cts of F ed era l w ater re
source development has been its
impact on fish runs.
The 2nd District Congress-
man also testified in support of
an additional $5.2 million for the
Lower Snake R iver F ish and
Wildlife Compensation Plan.
C onstruction of eig h t an a
dromous fish hatcheries in Ida
ho, Eastern Oregon and Eastern
W ashington w as authorized in
1976 b eca u se of sev e r e red u ct
ions in salm on and steelh ead
runs a s the resu lt of the four
hydroelectric dams on the Low-
er Snake.
Ullman said the $5.2 million
he is requesting would be used to
construct the first hatchery at
M cCall, Idaho and designed
three or four additional hatcher
ies. The McCall h atch ery was
designed last year.
An additional $100,000 is
needed to make the new Warm
Springs F ish H atchery fully
Is C a rter K eep in g H is P ro m ise
To A m erican In d ian s?
NOTE: (When Jim m y Carter was campaigning for the U.S.
Presidency, he made the following promises to American Indians. In
order for us to d eterm in e w hether or not he is liv in g up to those
campaign promises, it is up to us to review them periodically. Now
that Carter has been in office for a while, it is tim e for us to see how
he is m easu rin g up. With this purpose in m ind, Spilyay Tymoo
reprints the following for your review.)
By President-Elect Jim my Carter
I recogn ize the unique relation sh ip betw een the fed eral
government and Native Americans, and I believe that to the greatest
exten t p ossib le p rogram s for Indian trib es should be d esign ed ,
implemented, and managed by Indian tribes. Indian people should be
able to make their own decisions regarding budget priorities, the
operation of Indian schools, the best use of their land, water, and
mineral resources, and the direction of their economic development.
Self-government must mean that the majority of decisions affecting
Indian trib es w ill be m ad e in the T ribal Council room and not in
Washington, D.C.
Today, duplication of effort, waste, and neglect pervade the
administration of programs, while newly enacted legislation is often
bogged down for months awaiting for the bureaucracy to develop
confusing administrative regulations. A large percentage of federal
money is eaten up through the administration overlap and waste.
Federal dollars appropriated for Indian programs are often misspent
and misallocated to programs that are unwanted by and of little use
to Indians.
A s part of m y plan s to réo rg a n ise govern m en t, I intend a
eom pletereview of a ll federal programs» designed-for» Indian people
to be conducted with the full participation of Indian leaders from
tribal, urban and national organizations. This review will determine
the best manner by which the trust responsibility should be assured
and maintained; it will consider how Indian legal interests can be
represented in the future; it will analyze the' administration of Indian
program s and recom m end ch an ges to cut overhead co sts and to
assure that Indian needs are really being served; and it will develop
plans for fuller participation by Indian tribes in the operation of
Indian programs.
Indian fa m ilie s and children, lik e a ll A m erican fa m ilies,
deserve to be protected and supported by government rather than
ignored or destroyed. The rights of Indian fam ilies to raise their
children a s they w ish have not alw a y s been resp ected by
government. Today up to 25 percent of all Indian children are raised
in foster homes or adoptive institutions. Some of these placements
are unw arranted, and m any could be p revented if proper so cia l
services as well as sufficient educational, economic and housing
resources were available to Indians. I intend to insure that Indian
fam ilies are assisted and bolstered by government policies.
Indians have a historic, legal and moral right to a fair share of
a v a ila b le w ater reso u rces. The u ltim a te resolution of con flicts
concerning these rights, and the rights of others in the Southwest,
will alm ost certainly be decided by the courts. In disputes concerning
w ater rig h ts, a ll sid es m ust be a ssu red fu ll and com petent leg a l
representation. Legislation, however, m ay be necessary to speed the
resolution of th ese co n flicts, a s an a ltern ative to protracted
legislation.
Finally, I will not take unilateral action on any issue regarding
Indian affairs or Indian programs without full , consultation with
tribal representatives. Ours will be a government of participation, of
action; p f’program involvement, and of true self-government.
operational, Ullman said. Con
struction of the h atchery w as
completed recently.
In h is testim on y, U llm an
urged the Subcommittee to give
sp ecia l con sid eration to th ese
other Corps projects:
-$500,000 to begin construct
ion of the Willow Creek Dam
Project primarily for flood cont
rol in the Heppner, Ione and
L exington area of northestern
Oregon. The project w as first
authorized in 1965.
-A n additional $61,000 for a
total of $115,000 for the Klamath
Basin study to determine what
can be done to correct the algae
problem s of Upper Klam ath
Lake and Lake Ewauna.
-$125,000 for a study of the
Crooked River Basin to consider
potential water resources devel
opment.
In the Bureau of Reclama
tion budget, Ullman asked for an
additional $300,000 to be used for
a study of the U m atilla, John
D ay, D esch u tes and Grande
Ronde Rivers with the focus on
the improvements necessary to
restore salm on and steeh ead
runs.
U llm an a lso asked that
$389,000 be added to the budget
request for the Central Oregon
Irrigation District, which is re
placing flumes. The additional
m oney w ill not in crea se the
th ree-year cost of the project,
but is needed next year to keep
the project on schedule.
Ullman’s testimony was oh
behalf of budget requests for the
fisc a l y ea r w hich begins in
October.