The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1955-12-30
Indian Bureau Sits On $24o, 600

| 4
great need. In its efforts to meet tn
emergency, the Tribal Council recoe
nized the needs of all Rocky Bo
Indians. Not only those living on tn
reservation but those in Havre wer
fed from the tribes pitifully shor
financial resources. AS its policy state
ment shows, the Indian Bureau re
jects aid to off-reservation Indians.
AN EXAMPLE OF WHY INDIANS
PRESENT PLIGHT
An indication as to why the indians
are in their present plight can bt
seen from the story of Joe Standing
Rock who has six children in his fam.
lily in addition to his wife. He hac
three weeks of work last summer
picking potatoes, a job he had to GO
all the way to Idaho to find. He made
500 clear after paying expenses. Of
that amount $21 went for school
clothes for the children. The family
lived on the remainder until the mid
die of November.
The Rocky Boy reservation has
an enrolled population of some
5000 with about 1000 residing
there. Many of the remainder are
scattered in Helena, Great Falls,
Box Elder, Big Sandy and Havre.
In Great Falls, they reside on dis
NAL Hill 81. In Havre, some live
on the city dumps.
Mos.
tions are farming and grazing. About
46 of the families are more or less
self-sustaining. The others must look
elsewhere for work. Reports are that
during the summer many of them
look all over the state for employ
ment with most of what they find
being seasonal and very irregular
work at low wages and includes pick
ing rocks, building fence, haying,
picking potatoes and so on. At best,
cash resources are extremely small.
When winter comes many of them
need assistance.
AS compared with those who are
cut adrift, the reservation Indians
are better off even under their scanty
resources. This conclusion is borne
put by these statistics gathered by the
College of Great Falls: Of IS fami-
les on Hill 81, only 6 of them or
Der cent are self-sustaining; the other
70 per cent are being aided this
winter by local unsupported well
are. Of lac families on the Rocky
Boy reservation, 46 of them or 81
,er cent are self-sustaining.
The management of the resources
f the Rocky Boy reservation is in
he hands of the Tribal Council under |
he supervision of the federal gov
The tribe borrowed $95, 900 |
n 1884 under the authority of the
indian Reorganization Act and uses
he money for carrying on tribal bust
ess, making loans to Indian mem
ers for farming and productive pur-
oses. The financing is on revolving
,an basis and to date $4,000 has
cen repaid as result of cash collec-
ons from the Indian loan clients.
his shows that Indians do pay their
In addition to their farm
g and grazing lands the tribe owns
couple of townships of timberland
Id realizes some income from oil
,ploration rights. One reliable re-
ort has it that large corporation
Is recently been conducting sound
gs for uranium on the reservation.
airing at the Tribal Council right
wv, however, is a payment on the I
lbal revolving fund loan of $4,000 :
lie Dec. 81, 1866.
Threatening Indian agricultural OPP :
ations is the gathering farm depres- !,
IN now also being felt by other :.
rmers. When the tribe takes operat- r
2 capital as was done recently to :
Up it's own needy families, it further =
imps its business future. =
1CALLS ADMINISTRATIONS Fl
POLICY
1t is well known that the present h
in Washington has W
en- promoting a program to liqui- Al
tie the Indian reservations of the ii
tion and throw the responsibility of e
ring for the "freed" people onto W
al communities. After the setting W
rec" of the Klamaths, the Menomi-