Navajo times. [volume] (Window Rock, Ariz.) 1960-1984, 1961-07-26
CommissionerCroW
Continued from page 3

clude the question of civil and
criminal jurisdiction on Indian
lands, the termination of special
Indian relations with the Federal
Government, eligibility for SER
vices from the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, and the faCtional cleav-
ages which have developed within
the ranks Of a considerable num-
Der of Indian tribes or groups.
Let me pr mt some OF my
thoughts on each of these items in
the order | have listed them.
On the question of economic and
educ ational opportunities, IbelieVe
all fair-minded people would agree
that the needs of the Indians must
rank exceptionally high on any list
of priorities competing for national
attention. A large proportion of the
Indians, as you know, live in areas
where the chances for making a de-
cent living are extremely limited.
Those who live on reservations all
TOO often are finding their already
limited resources becoming less
and less adequate because of the
steadily increasing local popula-
ton and the growing need for lar
ger acreages to compete success
fully in present-day farming or
livestock production. On top of this
the situationis further complicated
in some areas by shrinkage in
the Indian land base itself. For
many years in the past sea sonal
work on farms or ranches near
the reservations provided an out
let of at least some adequacy for
large numbers Of Indians unable
TO make a tolerable living on the
reservation lands. More recent
ly, however, these opportunities
have been drying up and growing
increasingly scarce because OF
the marked and mounting trend
towa d agricultural mechanization.
AS have already intimated,
these problems are not unique
burden Of the Indian people but are
making themselves felt TO greater
or less degree in many other rural
areas all over the country. 1t is
fast becoming evident that new
skillS must be acquired by peo-
pie WHO not SO long ago could de-
pend on a easonab bic chance to
make a living without specialized
training. Better education is, Of
course, a large part of the answer
to this problem and its impor-
lance 10 the future welfare of In
dian people cannot be empha sized
TOO strongly or too often. This is
particularly true because the aver
age number of years Of schooling
which adult Indians have hadis con-
siderably less than the average
educ ational Background of their
non-lndian fellow citizens. In fact,
the ratio is about two to one III
favor OF the non-Indian population.
However, am happy TO report
thar this gap is rapidly being mar
roWed and that We are making stea-
ny HI w CO III I4ieiIdli -At&N - tAS4i-
progress which both encouraging
and impressive. And this, il seems
TO me, provides US with an excel
lent illustration Of the importance
of that three-sided goldfish bowl
| mentioned a while back. Good
progress has been made in In
dian education primarily, | be-
lieve, because ali three of the
components | referred to have
played full part in attacking the
basic problem. The Indians clear
ly want eduCationfor their children
and have made their wishes known
both through word and through &C
ton: Congress has expressed its
concern by approving increased
appropriations for construction
and operation of additional In