VIII. COORDINATION OF FEDERAL SERVICES

It is recommended that the U.S. Department of Interior review the activities of the agencies within their department in an effort to provide services to California Tribes.

For example, the California Tribes receive limited technical assistance and service from the Fisheries Division, but not enough assistance to develop their own fisheries program.

Additionally, a representative should be named to coordinate activities of other governmental agencies providing assistance to Indians.

In closing, the California Tribal Chairmans Association sincerely urges that Congress take a very close look at the diversified nature of the problems confronting the Indian Tribes and groups in California.

Mr. MASTEN. That concludes the prepared part of our testimony and you were interested in some comments on legislation.

We mentioned one and I think there would have to be a procedure to make checks and make the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Interior answerable to someone and we support that bill.

Senate Resolution 133, the American Indian Policy Review Study, we also support that bill. We would like, however, to recommend, if at all possible, that a representative to that Commission be a representative from a small reservation. I think one of the things, after you analyze the prepared statement today, is that we do have small reservations and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, various agencies of the Federal Government, find it very difficult to deal with small reservations. Those reservations do not have the resources and, as we said in our statement, we have different problems because of the very nature and size of our reservations.

The Indian Trust Council Authority, we also support that and I think this statement earlier of seven attorneys, you might say would be a waste of money.

Senator ABOUREZK. How many lawyers are in the California Legal Service?

Mr. MASTEN. Nineteen, sir.

Senator ABOUREZK. For the number of people they represent, and I assume there is pretty broad representation, with very few of the trust matters that are involved in what the Justice Department and Interior are supposed to be representing, in other words, the caseload would be lighter, there are 19 lawyers representing that particular situation and only 7 lawyers proposed for a nationwide trust responsibility. I guess you can see how ridiculous it is. It isn't even worth doing because it would do away with the Justice Department's responsibility.

You know they have testified they want the trust council authority established so they can get out of the Indian trust business.

Well, 7 attorneys couldn't even administer the office work, let alone the trial work and 225 cases that are on the docket right now.

So, until such time, Mr. Masten, as the administration decides to be realistic, and I would hope we could all push them into getting realistic in a big hurry, there isn't much we can do with the trust council. Mr. MASTEN. I agree with you, Mr. Chairman. I think also it has been mentioned earlier and I think you mentioned it, that we have had numerous studies done through the years on Indians. I think that possibly and hopefully, under your leadership, we can do all of the studies that we have done through the years, but I think it is going to be the responsibility of your subcommittee and your full committee

under Senator Jackson, that there is going to have to be some understanding that once these recommendations come out from this committee and subsequently the full committee, that there is undoubtedly going to be some recommendations regarding funds. I think there has to be some understanding and support for these committees that Congress is going to provide the money to correct the situation.

I hope that you can provide that leadership to accomplish that. Senator ABOUREZK. The money will be, of course, a major part of it. Not only additional money, if it is recommended, but the use of existing money. I think a lot of it is misused and misdirected at this point.

There was a charge made recently at a hearing we had in Washington that 90 percent of money appropriated to the Bureau of Indian Affairs went to administration, 10 percent went to the Indian people. We are having that checked out. If that is anywhere near true, that has to be changed immediately. There is no reason for that.

Mr. MASTEN. In this packet again, I think you will find a lot of information that will be helpful to you.

I might also at this time ask Mr. Colegrove if he has any comments to make on any Indian legislation?

Mr. COLEGROVE. Yes, we are particularly interested in some of the Indian legislation coming out now regarding special revenue sharing for Indian tribes. I am just going to speak in general on this because I think there are many bills being introduced at this time regarding Indian tribes.

When they break up the California Indian tribes, the amount of money which is available to them we find that it comes to very little. One of the things that they don't take into consideration when they regard California tribes is the catchup factor. The catchup factor being that the California tribes have participated very little in Federal programs through the years.

Many of the tribes are in development program stages, training moneys and so on and so forth, but at this time the revenue sharing it will just not be categorized for California Indians. We need that money for catchup factors. This locks us in with professional poverty. I think this committee should take a long, hard look at this revenue sharing process as it regards Indians, particularly California where the development process has just started.

We also support the McGovern-Jackson bill in regard to the public employment project. I think we testified earlier we thought it was one of the best projects ever coming to the State. When they have the distribution to California they should take into consideration the catchup factors in that type of bill.

Senator ABOUREZK. I should mention that we have already moved out of this committee and passed through the Senate the Indian financing bill. Are you aware of that?

Mr. COLEGROVE. Yes.

Senator ABOUREZK. It is over in the House now and hopefully they will dispose of that in a big hurry so that program can get underway. Mr. MASTEN. Senator, that concludes our testimony. I would like to say one more thing, at any time, Mr. Gerard or Mr. Broadhead, any information that you feel that you need that the California Tribal Chairman's Association can provide to you or myself as a tribal chair

man, please do not hesitate to call on us and we will make every effort to provide you with any information that we can.

Senator ABOUREZK. All right, we will and we want to thank you both very much. We appreciate the chart presentation and your other testimony. It has been very good and very helpful to us.

The next panel of witnesses-we are going to have to change this around a little bit. There is a group of people from southern California and Arizona that have to catch an airplane, so we will move them up at this point, the Agua Calienta Band of Mission Indians from Palm Springs, Calif., represented by Mr. Ray Patencio, chairman and Mr. Elmer Savilla, president of the Quechan Tribe, Yuma, Ariz.

I wonder if I might ask the people in the hearing room if I can have a little more quiet. There are side conversations going on and it makes it difficult to conduct, the hearing. I would appreciate it very much if you would remove yourselves from the room for the duration of your conversations. Then when you have finished talking, come on back in. We would appreciate that very much, it would help expedite the hearings.

All right, please go ahead, we are very happy to have you here.

STATEMENT OF RAY PATENCIO, CHAIRMAN, AGUA CALIENTA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS, PALM SPRINGS, CALIF., ACCOMPANIED BY RAYMOND SIMPSON, ATTORNEY, AND ELMER SAVILLA, PRESIDENT, QUECHAN TRIBE, YUMA, ARIZ.

Mr. SIMPSON. I am Raymond Simpson, the attorney that represents the tribe you mentioned, the Agua Calienta in Palm Springs. Mr. Patencio could not make it and asked me to transmit a thought they had.

Also, the Fort Mojave Tribe. Mr. Broadhead and I discussed this, and they have not had an opportunity to get to this meeting and as a result no one is here. But we do have the president of the Quechan Tribal Council, Mr. Savilla, and I believe it would be best to proceed by having him state their particular position in his prepared testimony, since I also represent them, and after the conclusion of his entation I, with your consent, will add a comment or two and also refer to two problems the other tribe not appearing did ask me to comment on.

pres

STATEMENT OF ELMER SAVILLA, PRESIDENT, QUECHAN TRIBE, YUMA, ARIZ.

Mr. SAVILLA. My testimony this morning will involve a few of the things which the Quechan Tribe has run into throughout the years. We are situated in the very southeast corner of the State of California. Part of the land does lie in Arizona, although we are a California tribe basically, we are served by the Phoenix area office.

I am greatly honored to be allowed to address you this morning. I bring you greetings from the Quechan Tribe of Fort Yuma, Calif. They wish you good health and happiness.

40-787 - 74-4

The Quechan Indians, often referred to as the Yumas, have resided from aboriginal times along the banks of the Colorado River near the present city of Yuma, Ariz.

The Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Reservation was established and the boundaries described by Presidential Executive order on January 9, 1893. The area included approximately 40,000 acres, more or less. Less now. In 1893 an agreement was entered into between the Quechan Indians and the United States. It is the contention of the Quechan Indians that this agreement was obtained through fraud, deception and misrepresentation. This 1893 agreement was accepted and ratified by act of Congress on August 15, 1894.

We have claimed for many years that this agreement has no force because of (a) a lack of consideration and nonperformance by the United States, and (b) Indian signatures on the agreement were forced, coerced, or secured by misrepresentation.

It is also claimed to be nugatory because U.S. agents misled the Quechan Indians into believing they would have free water for their lands in perpetuity and otherwise misled them as to the meaning of provisions of the agreement. The interpreter was incompetent. The Quechans were ignorant of the English language, and the Quechan language contained no comparable words for some of the terms used. The Quechans were without legal advice at the time.

The United States unilaterally altered the agreement several times. Once by the act of August 15, 1894, allowing certain expenses to be deducted from tribal funds, and again by granting a right-of-way across the reservation to the Southern Pacific Railroad. Another alteration occurred on March 3, 1911, when irrigable lands within the reservation reclaimed by diversion of the Colorado River were declared to be within the public domain. All of these changes in the agreement were never submitted to the Quechan Tribe for approval and no compensation has ever been paid.

Our lands have been taken in violation of the fifth amendment of the Constitution and for which recovery is authorized in section 1 and section 2(4) of the Claims Act. But the Quechan are not seeking monetary damages. We hold the ownership of the land to be the highest value.

The Quechan Tribe, through its attorneys, has for many years asked the Secretary of the Interior to review our case and take action in our favor for the return of our land. We have eyewitness testimony of the activities surrounding the signing of the infamous 1893 agreement. All Federal agencies have from 1904 up to the present time recognized the original 1884 reservation boundaries as still existing as indicated by their letters of correspondence.

I submit for your review a copy of the eyewitness testimony of the 1893 agreement events and a file of documents supporting our land claim.

Senator ABOUREZK. These are copies of the original documents, is that correct?

Mr. SAVILLA. Yes.

Senator ABOUREZK. They will be admitted to the file of the hearing. [The material referred to above follows:]

AN ACCOUNT OF THE 1893 AGREEMENT AS RELATED BY THE QUECHAN
INDIAN EYE WITNESSES

(Written in 1935)

It is now going on to forty-three years since the so-called Agreement of 1893, between Commissioners Houston, Gorman, and Brady for the United States: Bill Mojave and others for the Yuma Indians, was forced through. This is a matter usually spoken of now with much bitterness by the Quechan Indians, since this is considered one of the many big steals pulled off on the Indians, and for the further reason that we, the descendants of the handful of Indians who were tricked and forced to sign that agreement, are feeling the effects of.

In order to fully understand the true situation of affairs with the Yumas, at the time the agreement was made, we will in the way of prelude say that the year 1893 started out to be a troublesome year for the Yumas, as the Agency authorities and the headmen of the Reservation had been antagonistic to each other during the winter of 1892 over the inhuman punishments meted out by the nuns, who were in charge of the Fort Yuma School since 1886.

In these protests to the Indian Office, the Yumas were not successful, instead of remedying the disciplinary methods used by the nuns, the Inspector sent out to investigate the disturbances, with the aid of some disgruntled Indians in Yuma Valley, Arizona, deposed the Chief (Miguel) and his Advisors. In Miguel's place was proclaimed Joe Palma, chief of the Yumas. The new chief's advisors were those disgruntled Indians from Arizona, who previous to their ascension into power, were most antagonistic to the Agency and Reservation authorities. Captain Jose (Ami-leev-ow), the head of that band became the power behind the throne in the new Indian Government which took effect March 17, 1893.

Following the change of reservation rulers, we find the Indians divided. The Arizona group employed by the notorious Bill Mojave as their interpreter, while the Yumas of the reservation proper still clung to the less famous interpreters, Walter Scott and Joseph Homer. From the day of the overthrow of Chief Miguel to the end of September 1893, the fight was waged on mostly by the interpreters of the opposing sides. It was a match of wits, indulged in by Supt. Mary O'Neil, and the Agency Physician Dr. Heffernan.

During the summer of 1893, Bill Mojave went to his home at Needles, California for a vacation and while there seven letters were said to have been written by Walter Scott to Mesa-hi-ya-ow, a Mojave Indian, a relative of Bill Mojave. These letters of Mr. Scott's were said to have contained threats and other improper language. These letters were turned over to Bill Mojave and he in turn gave them to the Government authorities at Yuma when he returned.

Along with this coming storm was the deliberate neglect of the new Chief to call an annual meeting of the Indians to notify them of the opening of the school term. The consequence of this neglect was that about two-thirds of the school children were missing when school opened that fall. This was done to create an impression that the deposed Chief was withholding the children from attending school.

Toward the last of September the Indian Police, six in number, surrounded Scott's house and took him prisoner. The charge of violating the postal laws was not known to Scott's friends. They were of the impression that it was done to intimidate them and proceeded to even up matters by taking Bill Mojave into custody. In this, the indignant friends of Scott were discouraged by Chief Miguel, who believed in letting the law take its own course. After several days meetings, three of Scott's friends refused to be delayed further in their intentions, broke loose from the majority of the Indians and headed for the agency office where Miss Mary O'Neil, Supt. of the school, was in conference with Chief Jose Palma and his Indian advisors. The three Indians were followed by others, some to support them and others for mere curiosity. They reached the Supt's office, opened the door and entered rather unceremoniously, and attempted to drag out Bill Mojave. A struggle ensued while Supt. O'Neil flew out of the door and gave an alarm to the effect that Miguel and his band had attacked the school and agency authorities. Mr. P. I. Martin, instructor in shoe-making, was sent to notify the Sheriff of Yuma County, Arizona across the Colorado River. Mr. Martin's story to the sheriff was that the nuns had been massacred. The sheriff with a posse came over and placed six Indians under arrest and took them to his jail on the Arizona side. Ignorant of all that was going on across the river, Chief Miguel and Maggie Scott were in Yuma that morning to consult with Attorney George M. Knight over Walter Scott's case; but as Miguel stepped out of the lawyer's office