c. It is constantly involved with internal problems and conflicts which prevent concentrating on Indian problems.

d. The Bureau of Indian Affairs so often seems to act in opposition to the Indians best interest and their trust responsibilities.

III. RECOMMENDED PROCEDURAL REFORM THAT WOULD HELP ELIMINATE CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS AND PROVIDE INDEPENDENT ADVOCACY AND OBJECTIVE DECISIONMAKING RELATING TO INDIAN INTERESTS

1. An independent agency and (independent of the existing government agencies dealing with Indians) under the Supervision of the Executive Branch or Congress should study all existing law and Supreme Court decisions to determine how department regulations can be broadened to do those things which the Indian people need to protect themselves and their resources.

2. A legal organization independent of the Department of Interior must be formed to codify existing law and court decisions and then actively move to strengthen this law and use existing law to protect all Indian rights. This organization must be able to fight the Department of Interior, the States and individuals in any legal action designed to restrict remaining Indian rights and press for court decisions broadening or regaining Indian rights.

3. Completely redesign the Bureau of Indian Affairs to yield it an organization interested in, working for, and responsive to Indians.

A. Simplify its structure, by diminishing Area Offices and Branch Control and place its powers more under the control and influence of the Indian people.

1. Indian tribes should have the power to approve the agency budget. 2. Indians should be able to testify before Congressional committees and the Office of Management and Budget concerning the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget.

3. Have some say over the selection and promotion of the Bureau of Indian Affairs employees.

B. Work with the Civil Service Commission on the design and execution of a program which would yield employees of the redesigned organization more responsive to Indian needs.

Ĉ. The Bureau of Indian Affairs as presently organized has historically shown it has not and cannot give any significant help to solving Indian problems. Therefore, its organizational position must be modified.

D. This modified, Bureau of Indian Affairs organization must, among others, attempt to do the following:

1. Give more operational authority to organized Indian governments and permit those governments to operate or at least influence Bureau of Indian Affairs programs.

2. Increase appropriations in order to develop Indian resources.

3. Reservation agencies should have more discretionary authority over appropriations and their utilization. (Too long have appropriations been inadequate and those limited appropriations that have been available wasted on multi-leveled bureaucracy, administration, unwanted programs, and unnecessary branch limitations.)

E. Utilize appropriations and authorities of other agencies to do the job the Bureau of Indian Affairs hasn't the resources for.

F. Make sure Indians are included in authorizing legislation of other agency programs and utilize the broad spectrum of programs available from other sources. G. Strengthen the legal Tribal governments and reservation organization (the only real protecting agencies of each tribe) by:

a. Appointing tribal members to Agency Superintendencies.

b. Providing funds to Tribal governments to contract with or hire a wide range of expertise that will be responsive to that tribal government.

c. Permit the Indian tribes to operate other Federal programs (a form of revenue sharing.)

I want to express my appreciation for this opportunity to present this statement. Thank you.

(The paper referred to in Mr. Chino's statement follows:)

STATEMENT BY WENDELL CHINO, PRESIDENT, MESCALERO APACHE TRIBE; PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS; CHAIRMAN, NEW MEXICO COMMISSION ON INDIAN AFFAIRS REGARDING INDIAN VIEWS ON ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS DURING THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION

As the President of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the President of the National Congress of American Indians, and the Chairman of the New Mexico Commission on Indian Affairs, I would like to project several personal views and ideas that I have concerning the Federal administration of Indian affairs during the coming and subsequent Administrations.

The appointment of Mr. Robert L. Bennett by President Johnson, as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs has made many positive contributions to the Indian well being! It is to the interest of the coming Administration, the interest of the Country and the interest of the Indian people that Mr. Bennett be retained as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

The creation of the National Council on Indian Opportunity by President Johnson was a milestone in the involvement of Indian people with the administration of this Country, and as such it can be a vital mechanism for Indian involvement in their own progress. There is no other like body which gives the Indian people such vital participation in the discussion and solution of their problems. The National Council on Indian Opportunity must be continued and funds appropriated for its continued operation.

There is no question about the desirability of appointing an Indian of recognized ability to the Indian Claims Commission. This should have a high priority in the coming Administration.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs for a long period of time has handled matters involving Indian people. After a fair consideration of all the issues involved, I believe that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has, in good conscience, attempted to carry out its programs and functions, but I believe that the time has now arrived to take a long and analytical look at this Bureau.

The abolition or dispersal of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and all of its services among other government agencies certainly is not the answer. We believe that the Bureau of Indian Affairs can effectively perform its present duties if the organization is revised. It has the experience and know-how that is required.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs should, by legislation, be made an independent commission or agency. At the present time, the Bureau of Indian Affairs must compete for funds with other agencies and bureaus within the Department of Interior who are also the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior. The Department of Interior is basically a land oriented organization, rather than a human oriented organization. The Department's Budget Managers are also land oriented. They do not have the required empathy regarding basic Indian problems which are human in nature, such as the community problems of education, housing, etc. The Secretary of the Interior often finds himself hamstrung by the Department and other interests which are more interested in other areas. This conflict of interest at the Secretarial level cannot contribute to the fair and impartial administration of Indian Affairs.

The very bureaucratic structure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs insulates the Secretary of the Interior from the Indian people. The Secretary's chief representative of the Indian people, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, is also further insulated from the people by the Area Offices. With these insulations, it is no small wonder that many critics of the Bureau of Indian Affairs claim that the job is not being done, and that top heavy administration results. Limited funds are now being wasted on useless office support, which also breeds excessive red tape and reporting requirements. Direct access to the top administrators is needed. The establishment of an independent Indian Commission will remove most of the bureaucracy that makes it so cumbersome for Indian people to communicate with those who are responsible for Indian Affairs I believe that this proposed Indian Commission will be more responsive to the Indian people and speed the day when full scale development can be implemented in Indian communities

An Associate or Deputy Commissioner should be incorporated into this Indian Commission who should have the prime responsibility for the affairs and problems of the Indians in urban areas. The proper and wholesome adjustment of the urban Indians to an urban environment is most essential if off-Reservation employment is to be encouraged.

I would recommend the establishment of a committee or commission to study the operation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Included in this body should be a broad representation of repsonsible reservation Indian leadership. One of the primary tasks of this body should be a complete study and evaluation of the present Bureau of Indian Affairs budget process. The present process has built-in pitfalls which not only encourage, but promote and nourish the building of empires by bureaucratic Branch Chiefs through their control of funds, promotions, etc. at the Central, Area and Agency levels.

I believe that funds appropriated by the Congress for the benefit of Indians and Indian Tribes should be appropriated with broad discretionary powers for their use given to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and especially to the Agency Superintendent. The present line-item-functional appropriations result in waste for some functions through an over abundance of funds while other necessary functions are curtailed because of fund limitations. The revision of the budget process should also include the approval or the veto power by Tribal governing bodies during the local Agency budget submittal process.

The funds which are now required and presently being utilized to maintain Bureau of Indian Affairs Area Offices should be given to the Tribal governing bodies for use in contracting for specific professional services and technical advice needed on their Reservations. If there funds can not be given to Indain Tribes directly, the funds should be placed under the direct control of the Agency Superintendent to fulfill the same objectives, i.e., contract for private professional services desired by the Tribes and subject to Indian leadership approval.

The Indian Agencies at Reservation level should be reorganized, taking into account local needs and the total Reservation development programs. The present Bureau structure, which calls for an Agency Branch to complement every Washington Branch Chief, whether it is essentially needed or not should be eliminated. The local Agencies should be revamped to include an effective combination of facilities and services urgently and ultimately needed to achieve the human resource, natural resource and economic developments in the Indian Community.

I have some reservations abous Indian Tribes contracting to perform services for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In many cases, Indian Tribes do not have the necessary capital to contract to perform these services. If Indian Tribes are to be encouraged to contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the necessary working capital and equipment must be made available on an outright grant basis to permit the Tribe to function economically. It should be specifically understood that if Indian Tribes are to contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, that a fair return by the tribes is to be expected and that the Tribes should not be expected to pay sub-standard wages to perform these services. Also, the Tribes should be offered not only the dirtiest, smallest and most difficult jobs which the Agency must accomplish, but Tribes should be encouraged to accept major tasks that may require them to develop their own staffs of skilled experts. In many instances, Tribes are offered just those jobs that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has never been able to successfully accomplish, or those which are insignificant, or those which the Bureau of Indian Affairs does not want to be bothered with.

If Indian Tribes with very little capital contract with the Bureau of Indian Affairs this contracting could bankrupt them unless payment procedures by the Bureau are improved. Further, the failure of Congress to give continuity of appropriations for Indian contract programs and developments could leave Indian Contractors with costly, but unusable equipment. Excessive contract supervision and red tape requirements should also be kept in check if Indian Tribes are to be expected to contract successfully.

We have many years to go before the Indian people and their communities reach optimum development; therefore, any thoughts of abolishing or parceling the question at this time. If another Federal agency attempted to take over one of the present functions of the Bureau of Indian Affairs that agency would have to learn the difficult task and would be faced with the same problems which the Bureau of Indian Affairs faces. We suggest that the change of the present AreaAgency system is the most expedient route to take.

If the Bureau of Indian Affairs is abolished or its services fragmented it will again jeopardize, and in many cases it will terminate the present services of the Federal government. It will be termination in disguise. Indian people have never been successful in competing for services through other government agencies, and the services received from these agencies have been very small or practically nil except

for the excellent services now recelved from the Economic Development Administration and the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Politically and socially it is almost impossible for the Indian to compete for services among other Federal agencies. With the huge backlog of services and developments needing to be accomplished, at best, the parceling out of Bureau of Indian Affairs services to other Federal agencies would only be an injustice to these agencies because of their already insurmountable work load. A revamped and revitalized Bureau of Indian Affairs with sufficient funds can and will do a better job!

Those are views and opinions that I have developed during my years of observation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs while in the service of my people on our Mescalero Indian Reservation. I respectfully submit them for your consideration in your deliberations during the coming years.

Senator TUNNEY. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chino. This is an excellent statement and in reading it over I can see you have given a tremendous amount of thought to ways of improving services to Indian tribes in this country by the Federal Government and I congratulate you not only for the extensive thought that you have given to the subject matter but for the very clear cogent way in which you have presented it.

I would like to ask just one question because I think that your statement speaks for itself, it is so clear.

What would you consider to be the best priorities for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to follow over the next few years? Do you think that the protection of the natural resources of the tribe should be a primary concern or do you think that education should be a primary concern, or road construction, or the development of medical facilities?

Would you just give to this committee some idea of what you consider to be the order of priorities for the protection of Indian rights that should be developed by the Bureau?

Mr. CHINO. Very briefly, I think it behooves the Congress of the United States to actively move on the establishment of the Indian trust authority. However, in regard to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, I think that the first priority ought to be the redesign and restructuring of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Without this I think we will continue in the same old rut and we can't do anything.

Senator TUNNEY. So that your first priority is to redesign the organization itself, then the organization will be able to be more responsive? Mr. CHINO. Yes, sir.

Senator TUNNEY. I really appreciate it. Thank you very much. Our next witnesses are Mr. Adrian Fisher, who is chairman of the Colorado River Tribal Council; Frances Stillman, chairman of the Fort Mohave Tribal Council; Fritz Brown, president, Quechan Tribal Council; Ralph Esquerra, chairman of the Chemehuevi Tribal Council; Veronica Murdock, representing Confederation of Lower Colorado River Tribes; Larry Olinger, chairman of the Agua Caliente Tribal Council; and Ray Simpson, attorney.

I might add as a personal note that I am delighted to see a number of old friends at the witness table testifying today in this panel. I don't know who is going to be the lead off witness, how you decided among yourselves. Is it going to be Mr. Adrian Fisher?

STATEMENTS OF ADRIAN FISHER, CHAIRMAN, COLORADO RIVER TRIBAL COUNCIL; FRANCES STILLMAN, CHAIRMAN, FORT MOHAVE TRIBAL COUNCIL; FRITZ BROWN, PRESIDENT, QUECHAN TRIBAL COUNCIL; RALPH ESQUERRA, CHAIRMAN, CHEMEHUEVI TRIBAL COUNCIL; VERONICA MURDOCK, REPRESENTING CONFEDERATION OF LOWER COLORADO RIVER TRIBES; LARRY OLINGER, CHAIRMAN, AGUA CALIENTE TRIBAL COUNCIL; AND RAY SIMPSON, ATTORNEY

Mr. FISHER. I will start off and then I think the rest of us have statements to make that are very short.

Senator TUNNEY. Fine. Please proceed. Do you have a written statement?

Mr. FISHER. Yes, I have.

Senator TUNNEY. Could you give copies to counsel?

Mr. FISHER. I want to thank you for having the opportunity to come up here and talk about our little problem we have along the river.

My name is Adrian Fisher. I am a member of the Colorado River Tribes and chairman of their tribal council. Our reservation is located on the Colorado River with headquarters at Parker, Ariz. My council has directed me to make this trip to these hearings because my people are becoming desperate as they look at the inevitable disaster confronting them unless the United States, as their trustee, immediately initiates action to avert the disaster-the disaster known as "running out of water," and this is no joke. Because of the Eagle River case we may now find that upriver action in Colorado will prevent us from ever receiving the water to which we are entitled, and even if this doesn't happen, the water taken for the central Arizona project could, by itself, preclude future development on our reservation due to the fact that our river is already overappropriated.

CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT

The facts respecting the central Arizona project as it relates to our reservation, which is downstream from the point of diversion of the central Arizona project, involve these factors which could not only defeat our future development but, indeed, result in the taking of our water for lands already developed, either through direct condemnation proceedings for the city of Phoenix and the city of Tucson, or could take those waters by inverse condemnation when it is found there is insufficient water, as we are now informed the case to be, to build the central Arizona project. If there is insufficient water to meet the demands of the central Arizona project, then there is little doubt as to the fact that our water rights will be taken whether they are decreed

or not.

Other factors gravely threaten the Colorado River Indians' rights to the use of water. They are: (1) As stated, the Colorado River is already overappropriated. (2) Even though the Colorado River Tribes have their rights decreed, there is direct competition for their water not only with the central Arizona project, but also with the