STANDING BOCK RESERVATION

Senator BURDICK. Mr. Chairman, the reason we are here is ostensibly to justify the inclusion of $70,000 for planning funds for the construction of a hospital on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. This matter was considered by the House and, as Mr. Nestingen has just testified, the budget justifications did not specify the location of the hospital. For that reason, no one appeared at the House committee hearings. No one got the arguments in favor of leaving the hospital where it has been for so many years.

HOUSE EARMARKING SURPRISING

How the House committee happened to earmark this for McLaughlin came as a distinct shock and surprise to us. It came as a surprise because the overriding arguments, as I will point out to you, I think justify the retention of the hospital where it has been for many, many

years.

In the first place, Fort Yates is a Federal community. Located at Fort Yates is the agency where the law and order requirements are taken care of, educational requirements, and management of the trust lands. It is all done at Fort Yates. The schools are there, the churches are there. It is completely an Indian community.

Now there are several factors which I think we should consider. One is what do the Indians themselves think?

RESERVATION IN TWO STATES

Now this reservation happens to lie in both North Dakota and South Dakota. The Sioux Tribe of the Standing Rock Indians overlaps in both areas.

Senator MUNDT. How many members of the tribe are there all together?

Senator BURDICK. You will see that on the table that is found on the back of the page there. I have not totaled them. I will get to the population, Senator, in a minute too. It is shown on the first addition in the back.

REFERENDUM

In October 1958, the Indians had a referendum on this question and, by approximately a 3 to 1 vote, they chose their own home, Fort Yates.

In September, 2 years later, September 1960, being a member of the Interior Committee and being interested in Indians, a meeting was held at my suggestion at the auditorium at Fort Yates which was attended by about 300 people, Indians and delegates of Indians. Also in attendance was the Division of Indian Health, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the tribal council and Indian hospital employees. All Indians were represented either in person or by delegate and they came from all the districts. There are seven districts.

At that meeting where I was in attendance there was only one Indian that indicated a preference for McLaughlin.

As Senator Young has just advised you, yesterday a referendum was held, a secret ballot was held, and you will find the results of that ballot on the back page. It was held in each of the seven districts and the

results are as has been announced to you by Senator Young as being 743 to 261.

Now this is a 3-year history of the desires and the wishes of the Indians themselves.

INDIAN VOTE BY STATES

Senator BIBLE. I notice, if I might comment there, Mr. Chairman, in reading this vote that I suppose it follows a natural pattern that the Indians in North Dakota voted for the North Dakota site and the Indians in South Dakota voted for the South Dakota site with the exception

Senator BURDICK. On the contrary, there are four South Dakota districts and two voted for North Dakota.

Senator BIBLE. I noticed that that is by a vote of 67 to 42 and 64 to 14. I am glad to have that cleared up. I was reading it quickly here. I see that.

Senator BURDICK. And, of course, all North Dakota districts voted overwhelmingly for Fort Yates.

MILEAGE FROM M'LAUGHLIN

Senator BIBLE. Correct. And is the Little Eagle, S. Dak., one, which was the great preponderance for McLaughlin, right at McLaughlin?

Senator BURDICK. In the mileage chart you will see that it is 11 miles from McLaughlin.

Senator BIBLE. According to a map that I secured from Dr. Shaw, McLaughlin is in this area marked "Little Eagle."

Senator BURDICK. In the sheet just ahead of that you will find the mileage. You will see that Little Eagle is 11 miles from McLaughlin. Senator BIBLE. And 39 miles to Yates.

Senator BURDICK. That is right. I think the wishes of the Indians are certainly factors to consider in the case and I think there is no question, having had two referendums and one mass meeting, that their preferences as a whole are for their home at Fort Yates.

Through the years this hospital has been there and the medical personnel.

VALUE OF REAL PROPERTY

In checking the real property report of June 30 of the Health, Education, and Welfare Department, we find that the estimated cost of health facilities outside of the hospital at that time were $153,000. Since June 1960, there have been authorized and appropriations made for, as I recall, three 3-bedroom homes and four 2-bedroom homes for Indian Health personnel at a cost of $180,700. In other words, there is a total of $333,000 in housing and facilities for the staff and nurses and doctors there now which will be a repeated item if the hospital is moved to McLaughlin.

I might say also that the nurses all have their homes there and, if the hospital moves to McLaughlin, the Indians would have to, of course, construct or find some sort of living quarters for them after they got down there.

So that the health facilities are established with a considerable investment right now at Fort Yates.

SCHOOLS AT FORT YATES

Now as to schools, all the high school students go to Fort Yates. All the junior high school students go to Fort Yates. All those above the sixth grade go to Fort Yates. With the exception of three districts which are Bullhead, Little Eagle, and Wakpala, all the gradeschool children up to the sixth grade also go to Fort Yates, so that there you have during 9 months of every year the schoolchildren right at the hospital site at the present time.

By the way, there are dormitories, and many of them live there. There is not only an Indian school there but a parochial school, so that you have the high school, junior high school, and the grade schools and a parochial school all located at Fort Yates and all would be available and ready to use the hospital in case of emergency right there on the spot, rather than to be taken 28 miles down to McLaughlin.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

It was stated I believe in the record that McLaughlin was the center of the geography, or some such statement as that. I do not recall the exact statement but that was the meaning of it. I believe that perhaps that is the question that Senator Mundt had. We had then a breakdown on the location of these districts and their miles to be traveled and you will find that on the first enclosure in the back and this is taken from the Missouri River Basin investigation report, Report 151, table 2, page 11, as to the number of residents. The committee can take judicial notice of the mileage, I am sure. When you add up the number of Indians and the miles they had to travel we find that 1,629 of the Indians reside closer to Fort Yates; 1,408 Indians live closer to McLaughlin, so that you have the weight of the population living closer to Fort Yates.

REHABILITATION OF INDIANS

One of the things that we in Government, particularly those of us on the Interior Committee, are interested in, is rehabilitation of Indians. We want something for them to do.

Here is an Indian community. McLaughlin, by and large, is a nonIndian community. They have their homes, their houses in Fort Yates, the nurses and the rest of the medical personnel. If this hospital were moved to McLaughlin into a non-Indian community, it is reasonable to assume that many of the Indians would not be employed because, first of all, economics plays a part. They would have to buy

houses to move down there.

This hospital provides employment for nurses, for janitors, superintendents and the like, which means something in an Indian community.

As long as we are thinking about trying to help Indians, I think they should have a part in any employment that might be available. through their own institutions such as an Indian hospital.

For all these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I submit, in the interest of the Indians and the interest of the taxpayers and particularly in the added costs that would accrue if we had to move this institution, that I earnestly solicit that the funds now be earmarked in this committee for Fort Yates.

As I said before, we did not believe that the House would earmark it, but, that it would be within the discretion of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare has now stated its official position and we submit that it is correct and trust that you will give consideration to earmarking this for Fort Yates.

HOUSE REQUEST

Chairman HAYDEN. The House committee report reads:

The amount provided includes $70,000 for planning the construction of a general hospital at McLaughlin, S. Dak., to replace the existing hospital for the Standing Rock service unit. The committee was advised by the Chief of the Division of Indian Health that McLaughlin was the logical location, being located on a railroad and highway, the center of the land mass and population base to be served, and the location of the tribal industries.

As I understand it, on reconsideration the Division of Public Health Service concludes that it should be located in North Dakota.

BACKGROUND OF TESTIMONY BEFORE HOUSE

Mr. NESTINGEN. The background on that, Mr. Chairman, is generally this. Dr. Shaw is present with us if you would like to raise any questions of him. Generally, at the outset, the tentative thinking was that McLaughlin was the better location and the record shows that.

Dr. Shaw stated, with respect to this matter of location, in the committee report:

That is a very hot issue, sir, with the Indians concerned at present. We have studied this very carefully, and I have again asked the tribe themselves to submit any additional information they may have before I make a final decision. However, from all of the information available at present, McLaughlin would be the logical place for it because McLaughlin is the center of the land mass to be served, it is the center of the population base to be served, it has the railroad, it has the highway, it is in a community. The tribal land purchase programs surrounds the area of McLaughlin, and the tribal industries which the tribe is building up and supporting are located in McLaughlin.

That was his testimony before the committee and additional information was requested.

Chairman HAYDEN. He indicated that it was not a final conclusion. Mr. NESTINGEN. That is the point, sir.

REBUTTAL OF REPORT

Senator BURDICK. Mr. Chairman, since that has been stated, I would like to rebut some of the arguments contained in that report. The fact that McLaughlin is on a railroad, to me, is not material for this reason: If that was an industry where you were shipping goods in and out it might have some substance but this is a hospital where supplies only come in occasionally and supplies have been coming in for 50 years without any difficulty whatever.

As far as being the center of the population, I think the Government figures indicate that the greater weight of the population is in the North Dakota area.

Senator YOUNG. Mr. Chairman, I have a statement prepared which is much along the line of the testimony given by my colleague, Senator Burdick.

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I would like to have my statement made a part of the record.
Chairman HAYDEN. That will be done.

(The statement referred to follows:)

STATEMENT BY SENATOR MILTON R. YOUNG REGARDING THE PROPOSED HOSPITAL FOR THE STANDING ROCK SIOUX INDIAN RESERVATION

Mr. Chairman, a heated controversy has taken place as to the best possible location for the proposed hospital for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The members of the tribe have shown by two referendums that they want the hospital located at Fort Yates, N. Dak., and I certainly support that position. Just yesterday the second of the referendums was held to give the tribal members another opportunity to express their wishes as to the best site for this much needed facility, and I am pleased to tell you that Fort Yates, N. Dak., received some 743 votes to McLaughlin, S. Dak's., 261 votes. Those are unofficial totals, Mr. Chairman, but they certainly show the way the people at Standing Rock feel. That was the largest turnout those people have ever had at a tribal or any election, and is a fine indication of their keen interest in the affairs of government.

One of the reason for the controversy, Mr. Chairman, was the report of the subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives dated April 14, 1961. They agreed that there was an actual need for a new hospital on the Standing Rock Reservation, as do all interested parties; however, they specified that such construction should be at McLaughlin, S. Dak., after listening to testimony by Dr. James R. Shaw, Chief, Division of Indian Health. Mr. Chairman, on April 14, 1961, the same day the House committee report was issued, Dr. Shaw wrote to the tribal chairman, Mr. Agard, stating that the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare had reviewed the matter and the hospital should be built at Fort Yates. I fully subscribe to the Department's position. There are many reasons why Fort Yates is the best location. It just wouldn't make sense to move the hospital after completing eight new homes for the staff at a cost of some $140.000. Those homes are being used by the doctors, nurses, and hospital administrator, and were built as part of the initial phase of the project.

Fort Yates has been the center of tribal activity for many years. Tribal offices have been at that city. The existing, inadequate hospital is there. Tribal gatherings of all types have historically been held in Fort Yates. There cannot be any valid reason for considering making a move from Fort Yates which would only wind up as an unnecessary expense to the taxpayers. I hope, Mr. Chairman, the committee will agree with the tribe that the logical place for the Standing Rock Hospital is at Fort Yates, N. Dak.

VOTE OF STANDING ROCK PEOPLE ON MAY 1, 1961-HEAVY TURNOUT AT POLLS Following is breakdown by district showing State (uncertified):

Senator MUNDT. Mr. Chairman, I ask that my statement appear immediately after Senator Young's statement.

Chairman HAYDEN. That may be done.