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90TH CONGRESS 2d Session

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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REPORT No. 1872

DIRECTING A PER CAPITA DISTRIBUTION OF $550 FROM FUNDS ARISING FROM A JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE COLVILLE RESERVATION

SEPTEMBER 10, 1968.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HALEY, from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.R. 16947]

The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 16947) to direct a per capita distribution of $550 from funds arising from a judgment in favor of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Page 2, lines 6 through 9: Strike out "may be used, advanced, expended, deposited, invested, or reinvested for any purposes that are authorized by the tribal governing body and approved by the Secretary of the Interior." and insert in lieu thereof:

shall be combined and distributed with any other tribal
funds that may hereafter become available for per capita
distribution.

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 16947, introduced by Mr. Foley, is to direct a $550 per capita distribution from a claims judgment against the United States recovered by the Confederated Colville Tribes in Indian Claims Commission dockets 181-A and 181-B. The judgment was for $3,500,000. The money was appropriated by the act of June 19, 1968.

NEED

The Secretary of the Interior has adequate authority to make the proposed $550 per capita distribution. Although the annual appropriation acts for the Department of the Interior prohibit the use of any

Indian claims judgment until after legislation has been enacted that sets forth the purposes for which the money may be used, such legislation has been enacted in the case of this particular judgment. The act of September 26, 1961 (75 Stat. 639), specifically authorizes the judgment recovered in Indian Claims Commission dockets 181-A and 181-B to be used for any purpose authorized by the tribe and approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

Although the Secretary is authorized to make the $550 per capita distribution, he is not obligated to do so, and he has not indicated that he is willing to do so. He has siad only that he has no objection to a statutory direction to do so.

The tribal business council, which is the governing body of the tribe, has by resolution requested the $550 per capita. Three different plans for terminating Federal supervision over the affairs of the Colville Indians are now under active consideration. All of them will involve a substantial liquidation of the reservation assets. About 74 percent of the adult members who responded to a poll favor such liquidation. In view of this attitude, there is little interest in programing the use of judgment funds for reservation or community development.

The bill exempts the per capita from Federal and State income taxes. This is a standard provision carried in all legislation of this kind.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

A $550 per capita distribution will use about $2,827,000 of the judgment, and leave a balance of about $329,000. The bill does not require this balance to be combined and distributed with any other tribal funds that may hereafter become available for per capita distribution. The committee amendment requires this to be done, and the amendment was requested by the tribe. The tribe makes periodic per capita distributions of tribal income from forest and other resources.

COST

The enactment of the bill will involve no Federal cost.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs recommends that H.R. 16947, as amended, be enacted.

DEPARTMENTAL REPORT

The report of the Department of the Interior follows:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
Washington, D.C., July 19, 1968.

Hon. WAYNE N. ASPINALL,

Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your committee has requested this department's views on H.R. 16947, a bill to authorize a per capita distribution of $550 from funds arising from a judgment in favor of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The bill would direct that funds deposited in the Treasury to satisfy a 1967 judgment of the Indian Claims Commission (docket Nos. 181-A and 181-B), including interest thereon, shall be credited, after the payment of attorney's fees and expenses to the account of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The bill also directs the Secretary of the Interior to make a per capita payment of up to $550 to members of the tribe. The payees are to be restricted to each person born on or prior to and living on the date of the act who meets the requirements for membership in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The balance of the judgment funds and accumulated interest thereon may be used, advanced, expended, deposited, invested, or reinvested for any purpose that is authorized by the tribal governing body and approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Per capita distributions to members of the confederated tribes are not to be subject to Federal or State income tax.

At a meeting of the general membership of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation held August 19, 1967, at which 252 members were in attendance, the tribal business council was directed to seek legislation authorizing the distribution of all the judgment funds. Thereafter by the adoption of Resolution 1967-352, the Colville Business Council unanimously urged the "complete distribution of judgment funds arising out of claims dockets Nos. 177, 181-A and 181-B in the form of a per capita payment to all members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Wash., when the funds in said dockets are deposited and credited to the account of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in the U.S. Treasury, and further that said distribution be made without restriction as to the withholding of the shares of minors." Recently, however, the business council adopted another resolution (Resolution 1968-128) requesting a $550 per capita payment be made to each member of the confederated tribes from the judgment funds. There were 5,111 persons on the tribal rolls of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation as of March 31, 1968.

Three different plans for termination of Federal supervision over the affairs and assets of the confederated tribes are now under discussion among the membership. There are four bills now pending before the Congress (H.R. 1029, H.R. 7566, H.R. 3051, and S. 282) which, if enacted, would result in such termination. Similar bills have been introduced in past Congresses. In a recent public opinion poll of 1,800 adult tribal members, with about half of the tribal membership residing off the reservation, approximately 74 percent favored liquidation of the tribal assets. Because of the strong interest in distribution of the tribal assets and possibility of some such distribution occurring within the reasonable future, there is little interest in programing for the development of the reservation.

In view of the apparent decision of the Congress to require specific legislation to distribute all claims awards, we offer no objections to the enactment of the subject bill.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the administration's program.

Sincerely yours,

HARRY R. ANDERSON, Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

FACT SHEET

AWARD IN DOCKET NOS. 181-A AND 181-B COLVILLE RESERVATION

Funds awarded and appropriated.-Appropriated by act of June 19, 1968, Public Law 90-352, $3,500,000.

Attorney fees.-$344,000.

Location of reservation.-Ferry and Okanogan Counties, State of Washington.

Original land area.-2,885,086 acres.

Current land area.-1,029,266.79 acres (932,172.19 acres tribal; 97,085.52 acres alotted; 8.48 acres Federal). Undivided non-Indian interests on reservation: 637; interests in Colville allotments owned by Indians from other reservations: 1,773. About 150 Colville tribal members have inherited interests on other reservations, principally Yakima Reservation.

Current land use categories.-819,190 acres of timber land; 595,951 acres grazing land used by Indians; 436,451 acres grazing land used by non-Indians; 2,353 acres irrigated land used by Indians; 1,261 acres irrigated land used by non-Indians.

Population.-2,940 Indians within reservation service area, which includes adjacent towns; 2,037 Indians living away from reservation service area.

Tribal membership.-5,111, as of March 31, 1968. Updated every 6 months.

Tribal administration and income

Tribe is non-IRA. Tribal constitution approved April 19, 1938. Governing body is 14-member council, which selects its own officers. Tribal income predominantly from timber sales ($1,869,113 in 1966). Treasury balance as of June 1, 1967, was $472,886, all in the general fund.

Individual income

Nine families with incomes under $1,000; 210 families between $1,000-$3,000; 253 families between $3,000-$6,000; 60 families over $6,000. Average family income is $4,385, but a few families making from $7,200 to over $40,000 tend to distort average income figure upward. Two hundred eighty-one families make less than $3,600 annually including dividend payments of approximately $1,600 a year. For the past 3 years dividend payments averaged $325 per individual. Employment.-Approximately 156 members are self-employed and 596 members are permanently employed in wage work (46 by Federal agencies); 911 members between the ages of 14 and 65 are not employed (666 females, 245 males). Figure includes 298 students in school, leaving 514 unemployed females (many housewives) and 99 unemployed males. Employment opportunities are predominantly in timber industries; 144 members have received vocational training; 22 were training as of June 1, 1967, with 15 applicants on waiting list. Welfare.-BIA has no financial assistance program on reservation, but does provide social services. As of June 19, 1966, 137 persons received public assistance (old-age assistance, aid to dependent children, etc.). In addition, State furnishes general assistance and child welfare services on reservation and administers commodity program. No tribal welfare program on reservation.

Education.-500 adults under eighth grade level; 650 between ninth to 12th grade; 250 above 12th grade. Figures do not include vocational training. No non-English-speaking members.

As of February 1967, there were 1,981 tribal members between the ages of 5 and 20. Of this number, 1,168 were known to be enrolled in school. 815 of these were 5 to 14 years of age; 353 were between the ages of 14 to 20. Dropout rate is 2 percent for elementary, 15 percent for junior high; and 10 percent for high school.

State furnishes most education facilities. BI A has no special facilities on reservation, but does have a number of Colville children in boarding schools.

Housing. No housing authority on reservation, no federally sponsored housing construction scheduled or underway on reservation. Last complete housing survey of reservation made in 1958 by Division of Indian Health, USPHS. Eighty-two of a total of 625 houses met standards set by Sanitary Engineers of Division of Indian Health; 122 were unfit for habitation; 161 required major repairs; 260 needed minor repairs. Random survey in 1963 indicated 50 percent of the homes were in good repair but did not indicate overcrowding or other inadequacies; 36 percent were in fair condition; 14 percent considered quite inadequate. One hundred and forty-three homes' loans totaling $457,000 made by the tribe in last 7 years. Additional 75 to 80 homes have been built, bought, or substantially improved in that period.

Health.-USPHS clinics and emergency hospital services available at two locations, private hospitals available at five locations. Available facilities reasonably inadequate to meet needs and reasonably used by Indians.

Major health problems include maternal and infant morbidity, respiratory ailments, diabetes.

Claims awards. Since January 1, 1946, the Colville Tribes have shares in or received judgments in:

Docket 180-A-14 percent share of $3 million awarded to Nez
Perce Indians on July 7, 1960, appropriated September 30, 1961.
Docket 181-$1 million awarded March 1, 1960, appropriated
April 13, 1960.

Dockets 222, 224 and 161-$3,446,700 awarded April 5, 1965,
appropriated April 30, 1965, shared by Colville and Yakima
Indians.

Dockets 181-A and 181-B-$3.5 million awarded September 7
1967, not appropriated as of June 20, 1968.
Other claims are still pending.

Readiness to manage own affairs.-Three bills are now pending before Congress (H.R. 1029, H.R. 7566, and S. 282), which, if enacted, would terminate Federal supervision over affairs and assets of Confederated Tribes on Colville Reservation. Similar bills have been introduced in past Congresses. In a recent public opinion poll of 1,800 adult tribal members, with about half of tribal membership residing off the reservation, approximately 74 percent favored liquidation of tribal assets within a reasonable period (4 years as proposed in S. 282). Two minority groups do not favor liquidation of tribal assets, but only one feels there should continue to be a reservation under Federal trusteeship.

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