PREPARED STATEMENTS Abourezk, Hon. James, Chairman, Senate Select Committee on Indian Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma__ Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota____ Garfield, Alec, Chairman, Tule River Tribal Council, Tule River Tribe... Jourdain, Roger A., chairman, Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians__ Oglala Sioux Tribal Public Safety Commission_. Pungowiyi, Caleb, president, Bering Straits Native Association, and Tiger, Buffalo, Miccosukee Tribe of Florida_ Whitish, Rachel, chairwoman, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe_-_ MATERIAL SUBMITTED 246 442 452 315 350 469 482 249 457 299 423 348 545 Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, letter of May 27, 1977, with attachments____ Association on American Indian Affairs, Inc., memorandum of May 31, 1977 432 438 Bureau of Indian Affairs, answers to questions by the Senate Select 41 Butler, Raymond V., letter to Chairman Abourezk, with attachments Forrest, Erin, president, Pit River Home and Agricultural Cooperative 54 Laselute, Edison, Governor, Pueblo of Zuni, letter to Chairman Abourezk, 464 466 Martin, Phillip, president, National Indian Management Services, Inc., letter to Palmer Mercantonio, Office of Management and Budget, July 1, 1977 Nez Perce Tribe resolution___ 461 463 Pletnikoff, Patrick, executive director, Aleutian/Pribiloff Islands Association, Inc., letter to Hon. Ted Stevens, U.S. Senator from Alaska, June 21, 1977 430 455 Walker, Robert L., assistant chief, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, letter to Warden, Dick, Assistant Secretary for Legislation, Department of Health, Wilcox, Tom, planner/manager, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, letter to 237 460 544 INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 1977 U.S. SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 am. in room 5110, Dirksen Senate Office Building. Senator James Abourezk (chairman of the committee) presiding. Present: Chairman Abourezk and Senator Melcher. Staff present: Ernest Stevens, staff director: Alan Parker, chief counsel; Michael Cox. minority counsel; and Peter Batzle, professional staff member. Chairman ABOUREZK. The Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs will come to order. These are hearings to conduct oversight on the implementation of Public Law 93-638-the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. The purpose of this hearing before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs is to take testimony from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service regarding their progress in implementation of title I of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. Public Law 93-638 was enacted by the Congress on January 4, 1975, and administrative regulations were published by the Interior Department in December of 1975. Special appropriations to implement the grant, technical assistance, and contract support provisions were included in the fiscal 1976 Interior Department budget. In summary, the law has been on the books for 21⁄2 years; implementing regulations have been effective for 12 years; and special appropriations have been available for the same time period. Public Law 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, was passed in response to the desire of Indian peoples for maximum participation of Indian tribes in programs and services conducted by the Federal Government for Indians. The act provides that tribes and Indian groups can contract to provide the services that Government agencies deliver. The committee has been advised of tribal expressions of dissatisfaction with the implementation of the act by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the HEW's Indian Health Service. In addition, a variety of administrative officials have pointed out that the law does not resolve a number of issues which result in obstacles to the accomplishment of its purposes. The oversight hearings will accordingly focus (1) on related levels of policy considerations regarding possible frustration of the intent of Congress. An examination of a range of technical and/or factual issues which have been identified as possibly constituting obstacles to the effective implementation of the law will be made. I now place in the record a copy of Public Law 93-638-the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. [Public Law 93-638 follows:] on related levels of policy considerations regarding possible frustration of the intent of Congress. An examination of a range of technical and/or factual issues which have been identified as possibly constituting obstacles to the effective implementation of the law will be made. I now place in the record a copy of Public Law 93-638-the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. [Public Law 93-638 follows:] |