Show Navajos May Find Break in Oil Firms Firm's Offer History may be repeated on the Navajo reservation in n the Four Corners area on the basis of offers made to the tribe by the Taylor Delhi Oil all company for drilling rights on the Indian lands It was not many years ago that the standard story of the jokesters jokesters joke- joke were tales built around the Oklahoma Indian who suddenly started driving high powered automobiles on the harvest reap from oil wells planted on tribal lands in the Sooner boom days The American Indian was pushed into a corner in the early history of the nation then shunted onto lands that had all the appearances appearances appearances ap ap- of being worthless wasteland It offered little in the way way of crops and everybody seemed happy with the arrangement except except the Indian Seeds wouldn't grow at normal depth so men began to dig below that level and went deep enough to find a wealth that far outstripped that of the average farm crop in a deep buried wealth of flowing g gold ld in fn the form of rich oil deposits f I Like all great ventures into the field of mineral mineraI extraction from the ground the oil business has always been one of a com corn competitive nature Open bidding for choice lands has been a key keynote keynote keynote note of the oil business The offer by Taylor Delhi-Taylor the Murchison oil Interests claim its foes leaked out this week and brought a cry of protest from several other major companies operating in the Four Corners area and brought the deal to light It also brought an Interview with the chief legal counsel of the tribe In hi an Associated Press article from Washington In this interview it was denied that the contract had been signed with Delhi Taylor Delhi Taylor but it also admitted that the offer had been made and that it was the best offer that the Navajos had ever been given and It was twice that offered by the companies raising the greatest great great- est cry of protest The counsel also pointed out that the proposed contract was perfectly legal in no way hurt competitive exploration and leasing and on the surface at least looks like a great step in giving the Navajo Indian a long overdue break for the betterment of their standards of living on oa lands Americans didn't want |