| OCR Text |
Show Grant Aivordod For Phase III Construction An $895,000 matching grant to help finance Phase III construction at the tribe's Bottle Hollow Resort has been approved by the federal Economic Development Administration, according to Dennis Mower, Tribal Resource director. The grant represents half the financing of the $1.8 million dollar expansion project. The addition will include the construction of an motel, a convention 80-un- it center, restaurant, coffee shop and expansion of the existing Bottle Hollow kitchen. The current dining room and coffee shop will be converted to a lounge area. The addition will more than triple the number of existing motel units and provide convention facilities for 300 to 400 persons. Plans for the project were finalized at a recent meeting of Ute Tribe Business Committee members, staff assistants and EDA officials in Denver. VIEW FROM THE TOP - of Bottle Hollow Resorts Phase HI expansion indicates black tha proposed cenveatiea eeatar raatamut Jrix rided tnwtarej and 80 anit maid structure, Tha convention center will be erected b ed between the preaent aervice atatian and reataaraat. Plaaa caR for the caoveraian el the preaeat raataaraat ta a lavage. Other Phaae HI alteratieaa include moving the preaeat aervice atatian garage to a lecatiaa aaath el the new ante! aaita where it will be converted to laondrjr fadtttiee. lRUii&3Ert Oglala Official Doffeafo AIM Leader : PINE RIDGE, S.D'. -(- AIPA)-- Incumbent Tribal President Richard Wilson won his reelection bid over American Indian Movement leader Russell C. Means here Feb. 7 in a tribal election the whole nation had come to watch, making Wilson the first tribal president in Oglala Sioux history to succeed himself in office. Wilson, 40, topped Means by a total of 179 votes after all ballots were counted in the 23 voting precincts dotting the nine reservation districts. Wilsons total was 1,709 to 1,530 for Means. Wilson and Means in the past year had become bitter and public political enemies as the Wounded Knee occupation occurred on the Oglala Siou Reservation early in 1973. Means declared his candidacy for the presidency in late summer of 1973. The runoff election here Feb. 7 drew larger numbers of voters to the polls despite a light snowfall and temperatures in the twenties and thirties. About 68 percent of the tribal electorate turned out at the polls, as opposed to about 60 percent this Jan. 22 during the primary elections when Means, 34, placed first in a contest of 13 candidates and. Wilson placed second. And in an apparent repudiation of other top tribal officials in sympathy with the Wounded Knee occupation, Tribal Vice President Vernon Long, who had ' given vocal public support to the occupation force, was resoundingly defeated by opponent Joe American Horse. The most cirtical voting district on the reservation was the large precinct of Pine Ridge Village, the reservations administrative center, where Wilson won 520 votes and Means 818 votes. A jubilant Wilson late on election night called the elections an historic occurrence which had taken place 'under the scrutiny of the whole world. Wilson said the central issue of the election was whether the Oglala Sioux Tribe, serving as a weathervane for the whole world, would endorse government by violence, threats and destruction, or whether it would preserve its principles through our imperfect government." On his new administration, Wilson We have allowed the people to said: the ballot box. Our work through speak will continue in accordance with the established laws of our land. There are many things we must do to improve our system, but we will work through that system. I will have no further comment on the details of our specific actions for the immediate future. But you can be assured that thejnear future will see new initiatives by the Oglala Sioux Tribe which will forge a new destiny for American Indians both on the Pine Ridge Reservation and on all other Indian reservations." The American Indian Movement (AIM) itself in a public statement the following - day said it would seek court action to impound the ballot boxes so that national independent observers could be brought in to examine for voting irregularities and other illegal acts by the incument administration. " The AIM statement charged that Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) police, FBI agents and U.S. marshals had prohibited observers and news personnel from watching the polls.' AIM also people includcharged that and had that money whites" voted, ing was being handed out" in an effort to buy votes. It was expected that a foil and Official recount of all ballots would be made, and that the ballots would be checked against lists of reservation residents precinct by precinct. non-eHgib- le Top Officials Brief Tribes, Board Formed Indian participants at the NCAI sponsored Economic Development Seminar met last month with top federal agency officials for briefings on federal programs and pending legislation affecting Indian tribes. Panel discussions, information booths, and luncheons filled the three-da- y meeting at the Ramada Inn East in Phoenix, Ariz. New Indian Commissioner Morris Thompson listed his administration's tribal priorities during a luncheon address. He said, there is nothing as important as economic development to up the lifestyle of Indians. Included as his objectives were' key appointments of Indian people in the central BIA office; strengthening the capabilities of tribal governments as more BIA programs are contracted to tribes; high priority on the examination of Indian water rights; Indian legislation; and promoting the businesses. He growth of Indian-owne- d added, the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the implimenting arm of the federal government toward helping the Indian people. An autonomous national Indian ecosystem of nomics board was incorporated following the three-dasession. The National Indian Economic Development Policy Board was originated in 1972 as a working policy committee within the National Congress of American Indians during a similar meeting in Los Angeles, Calif. It was forced to become independent of NCAI by reason of political pressures brought to bear against the NCAI from within the Nixon administration, according to NCAI Executive Director Charles Trimble. y The general assembly agreed to expand the present policy board from 12 members to 18 and to form independently from NCAI. Six new board members were elected by. regional caucuses and include: -- Northwest Area: Lucy Covingtor. (Colville), Omak, Wash.; Wendell George (Colville), Nespelem, Wash.; Mel Sampson (Yakima), Toppenish, Wash.; Morris Slick poo or Harry Skanen, and-eithe- r whose selection was left, to later balloting; -- Alaska Area: Left for later determination; -- Southwest Area: Joe Herrera Santa Fe., NM; Tom Dressier (Washoe), Reno, Nev.; Henry Rodriguez (Co-chiti-;, Bids are expected to be opened July 20 with July, 1975 set as the projected completion date. Scott, Louis and Browning, a Salt Lake City firm, have been named architects for the project. Tax Counseling Available At Tribal Offices Five tribal employees recently completed a twoday tax course in Salt Lake City and are available to assist tribal members in completing their federal and state income tax reports. Virginia' Slagle, Bea Warden, Mike Quinn, Floyd Wyasket and Everett Cesspooch participated in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service. Those seeking tax assistance may make an appointment by calling Bea Warden at the tribal tresurers office. at NCAI Session (LaJolla), Pauma Valley, Calif.; and Donald Montoya (Pueblo), Bernalillo, N.M.; -- Midwest Area: Francis G. Battese (Potawatomi), Manhattan, Kan.; John Fredericks (Three Affiliated Tribes), Bismarck, N.D.: -- Oklahoma Area: William Quetone (Kiowa), Cache, Okla.; Dan Jennings (Sac & Fox), Shawnee, Okla,; and Clarence Tall Bull (Cheyenne-ArapahoeMidwest City, Okla.; -- Eastern Area: Michael Tiger (Seminole), Hollywood, Fla.; Joseph Watson (Choctaw), Philadelphia, Miss.; .Dean Williams (Seneca), Irving, N.Y.; and Bob Blankenship (Eastern Cherokee), Cherokee, N.C. Representing the Ute Tribe at the conference were Tribal Chairman Homey Secakuku; Elwyn DuShane, business committee member;. Irene C. Cuch, administrative officer and N.C.I.O. member; Clifford Duncan, economic development planner; Wilbur Cuch, community action agency director; Dennis Mower, resource director; Mike Quinn, C.A.M.P.S. director; and Maxine Natchees, public relations director. ), |
