1959-05-01 Char-Koosta News

              What Sanitation Means To Me
By John Lozeau, Sanitarian
The personnel of Health District 2 at Poison is now in a better position to serve your needs and offer guidance than they have ever been in the past. With the excellent cooperation we have received from the Council and from the people we have worked with, I am sure we can and will make greater progress than ever before.
One of the fundamentals to health and happiness is control of the environment First in control of the environment is sanitation; we have had to start where we felt the need was greatest. We are at present making a clean-up campaign at St. Ignatius, but this is just the first step toward a complete Reservation clean-up. Not only among the Indians but among all people in the community.
Along with our other activities we are conducting a complete home survey of every Indian home on the Reservation. The card we fill out for each home is held in strict confidence and used by the doctors and public health nurses in their work. It is also used as a guide for the sanitarians to tell the progress we are making toward a higher standard of living for you.
We can help with your problems only if we know what they are, and only through your cooperation and aid can we know what they arc—Let us know and let us help you. ,
One of the problems we now face is the unauthorized dumping of garbage on just about all parts of the Reservation. This is not an Indian problem alone but a problem of all of the people in the United States today and with a little effort we can keep them that way. When we go fishing let's just go for a holiday and not take the garbage along.
CHAR-KOOSTA
PUBLISHED BY CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBES, FLATHEAD AGENCY. MONT.
Vol 3 — No. 6
May, 1959
Indian Bureau Land Policy Is Stated by Asst. Secretary
Within the last year the Indian Bureau Land Policy has caused much concern as to land purchases because of the fact that some of our negotiated deals, members between members, have kicked back unless the land be taken in fee status. In most cases it would be a Tribal Loan deal. We on the Tribal Council have felt the Flathead's are being discriminated • against as a result of an Inter-Policy Board meeting last February in Helena, when it was brought out by some of the Reservation's Representatives that the policy did not exist on their respective reservations.
The statement has been made by Officials of the Indian Bureau that the heirship problem is a major one. Many of us feel that if the restrictions were slackened up a little more where more members would be able to purchase heirship lands in trust the prublem would help solve itself. The land deals on the Flathead are self-explanatory—a lot more land goes on the tax rolls from supervised land sale and patent-in-fee than are taken in trust by the tribe or by the individuals.
The following memorandum was sent to the Commissioner Bureau of Indian Affairs March 31, 1959 from the Assist-
Change In Land Policy Discussed by Tribe's Attorneys
The following letter has been re-received from Wilkinson, Cragun & Barker, tribal attorneys in Washington, D. C.
Through the office of Senator Murray of Montana, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, we have obtained a statement of policy dated March 31, 1959, announced by Assistant Secretary of Interior Roger Ernst and directed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This rather drastically revises the policies being applied by the Indian Office respecting the title to lands acquired by tribes; for now (if within the reservation, as most acquitsitions for our clients are) title will be taken in trust without question.
The statement of policy also makes a slight concession respecting the title to lands taken for individuals; for under the policy lands are to be taken in trust when necessary "to provide protection and service to those Indians who are in need of it". And it is stated "that our
policies are intended to help the tribes and the individuals acquire and keep additional lands when they need such help."
Less reassuring is the statement that additional land will not be taken in trust for an individual where he has the ability to manage his own affairs; and the Secretary sees no reason in such circumstances why the individual should "receive a variety of free real estate services and tax exemption for his newly acquired land." It is easy to see that this will produce extremely spotty administration, depending upon the whims and prejudices of the particular administrators who determine what constitutes ability on the part of an Indian to manage his own affairs. Much worse, the policy in this respect takes no account of those situations where Indians are systematically excluded from the benefits purchased by tax moneys quite without respect to whether or not they are taxpayers.
ant Secretary of the Interior Roger Ernst:
Subject: Acquisition of land by Indians in trust and in fee status.
From time to time questions arise concerning our policies on when Indians may acquire additional land in a trust status and when they will be required to acquire their additional lands in fee status. I am writing this memorandum in an effort to clarify our policies in this field.
It should be understood that in setting down any general policy guidelines there will have to be some exceptions because of the great variety of situations. Moreover, these policy guidelines are for situations where we have administrative discretion and are subject to limitations found in various statutes or appropriation acts.
General Objective
It seems to me, our guiding principle can be stated quite simply.
We will take lands in trust to provide protection and service to those Indians who are in need of it. It should be made clear to the Indian people that our policies are intended to help the tribes and the individuals acquire and keep additional lands when they need such help.
Conversely, we will not take additional land in trust for Indians who now have the ability to manage their own affairs. I see no reason why an Indian quite able to successfully manage his own affairs should be permitted to aquire additional land in trust and receive a variety of free real estate services and tax exemption for his newly acquired land. It would be far better for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be able to concentrate its efforts on assisting those genuinely in need of assistance and be relieved of providing protection and help to those Indians wanting more land who are highly successful through their own efforts in a business or a profession or as a farmer or cattleman with large holdings.
Tribal Lands
When a tribe is being given or otherwise acquiring Federally-owned land by special legislation, a decision as to whether or not the tribe should receive the lands in trust is a matter for Congress to determine and we will ordinarily make no recommendations.
When the land is being acquired by the tribe without special legislation, if it is within the reservation boundary, the land will be taken in a trust status if the
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