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Show I Reservation News - - I $ Aboul The 5 ft) UINTAH-OURAY INDIAN RESERVATION j? I A series of articles are being anticipated for circulation among planning boards of the Indian reservations, dealing with the long-range planning-program planning-program now under operation on the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation. Res-ervation. The first one considered by the division officials deals with education. j The three-year program as set up locally, was designed to include the operation of the Uintah Boarding School at Whiterocks through May, 1954. However, the enrollment was reduced by the government for the? 1951-52 term to 53 students which were eligible for instruction. instruc-tion. Therefore, it was decided to close the boarding school, June 30, 1953. Action of closing the school was recommended by the government gov-ernment social worker and su-! su-! perintendent, and concurred in by the planning board, and approved ap-proved by the Ute Tribal committee com-mittee in April, 1952. The school building, heating plant, three garages, two' cot tages, kitchen and dining-room werre transferred to Uintah County School District on revocable re-vocable permit. The equipment was also included in the permit transfer. The gymnasium, barns, corrals, cor-rals, beef herd and farming equipment were sold to the Ute Tribe at an appraisal value. The two dormitories, shop, warehouse, ware-house, and? duplex located on the campus proper were sold to individuals for demolition or removal from the premises. The former boarding school plant is now operated by Uintah County as a public school for all of the children in the White-rocks White-rocks . Tridell area. The school employs six teachers with an enrollment of 200 students, 96 Indians and 104 non-Indians. The closing of the boarding school also brought about large Indian I enrollment in Alterra and Ava-lon. Ava-lon. According to the scholastic enumeration for 1953-54 school term, there are 547 students of school age, of this number 505 are enrolled ,m schools, either here in the Basin or elsewhere. One hundred and one are attending at-tending high school; 404 are enrolled in the elementary schools; 21 are in non-reservation schools. There are 42 not in any school, with 7 being physically phy-sically unable; 25 married and 10 out for other reasons. Only children 6 to 18 inclusive, in-clusive, one-quarter degree or more of Indian blood were enumerated with the above groups. The average daily attendance for the 1952-53 school year was about 86 per cent. However, that does not include those that withdrew before the end of the term. The per cent of attendance for non-Indians was 93 for thel corresponding period. The 1953-54 budget includes aid to the public schools in Uintah Uin-tah County, $29,273; Duchesne County, $7,000, and administration, adminis-tration, supervision and guidance, guid-ance, $10,640. The aid to public schools is financed by the Federal Government Gov-ernment to compensate for the loss of revenue because of the large amount of non-taxable Indian lands in Uintah and Duchesne Du-chesne Counties. The amount of aid to public schools is determined deter-mined by the number of Indian children involved and the per capita cost to the school district. The payment of aid to' public schools will have to continue until other plans are developed and will increase as more Indian In-dian children enter public schools. The aid to public schools will be paid by (1) the Indian Bureau, (2) the Ute Tribe or (3) taxation. A total of seventeen problems are listed in the bulletin on education, ed-ucation, which will be important import-ant to the development of an intelligent educational program among the Indian people on the I reservation. Following are the nrohlems as outlined: 1. Late enrollment in school; 2. Withdrawal after enrollment; 3. Irregular attendance; 4. Too much spending' money; 5. Failure Fail-ure to. purchase books, supplies and other items necessary to the program; 6. Lack of application applica-tion (does not study or meet class requirements); 7. Failure to dress and bathe for physical educatkm or athletics; 8. Failure Fail-ure to pay activity fees. 9. Lack of a suitable place in' the home for the children to j read and study; 10. Elimination! of empetigo and vermin, especially espec-ially in the elementary grades; 11. Juvenile delinquency, various var-ious forms; 12. Parents fail to realize the necessity of regular attendance in school; 13. Child marriage; 14. Enforcement of school attendance laws: 15. Children in need of glasses; 16. Children in need of dental care; 17. Traffic violations. High School Graduates The bulletin recommends that thought should be given to the future needs of additional class rooms and teachers as it applies to the entire program. Eighteen Ute Indian girls and boys from the Uintah and Ouray Ou-ray Agency graduated from various var-ious high schools in May, 1953. Seven of them have enrolled in colleges or institutions of higher learning; one has entered enter-ed the army; two have accepted employment following trades learned in school; three girls have married; two girls have entered nurses aid training'; and definite information is not avail- j able on the remaining 3. Thirty children completed the , eighth grade. Forty-seven 6-i 6-i year-old children entered local public schools for the first time in September. Educational Loans Seven educational loans were granted for the attendance of students in institutions of higher high-er learning for the 1953-54 school term. In addition to education ed-ucation loans, limited scholarships scholar-ships are recommended for outstanding out-standing high school graduates. Eighteen students dropped out of high school during the 1952-1953 1952-1953 school term. Seven of that number were the product of Indian Boarding Schools and eleven had no' boarding school I experience. Eighteen students graduated I from high school in May, 1953, ten were the product of board-i board-i ing school and eight had no boarding school experience. College Graduates The records show that five Ute Indians have graduated from colleges and universities and one is a graduate nurse, R. N. Only one of the college grad. uates has had boarding school experience. The education staff at the present time consists of an education ed-ucation field agent and a clerk-stenographer. clerk-stenographer. They are charged with the responsibility for the education program, including adults as well as youth, and work closely with other related agencies. R-N TRIBAL PLANNING In order to formulate plans for the expenditure of the remainder re-mainder of the judgment fund on deposit in the U. S. Treasury, the Ute Tribal Business Committee Com-mittee has asked that the various var-ious groups of Indians throughout through-out the reservation organize into in-to planning boards. These boards are to' select officers and draw up their recommendations for continuing and improving the current short range "three-year" program. Last Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Fort Duchesne group met and selected the following officers of-ficers to preside over their meetings: meet-ings: Albert Harris, chairman; Connor Chapoose, vice - chairman; chair-man; Elizabeth C. Baumgarner, secretary. During the course of the meet, ing, committees were selected to investigate the various departments de-partments at the Uintah and Ouray Agency and submit their recommendations for improvement improve-ment or changes within these departments. Also committees to check on welfare, health, finance, fi-nance, and recreation resources were established. Another meeting meet-ing has been called wherein these various committees will report. Their reports will be summarized and those points re ceiving the approval of the majority ma-jority of the people will be accepted ac-cepted and -presented to the final planning board. The final program emerging from this series of meetings will be summarized and presented pre-sented to' the Tribal Business 1 Committee for their approval, thence it will go to Washington for congressional acceptance and approval. R-N NEWS BRIEFS Mr. and Mrs. Casper Pooweg-up Pooweg-up have moved to their new home located eight miles north of Whiterocks on the East Side Loop. It is a six-room house, completely modern in every respect, re-spect, including running water, electricity and a heating unit. They have purchased some new furniture to equip the new home and plan to purchase more as funds become available. They have three children attending school, one at Union and two at Whiterocks, Mr. and Mrs. Poowegup have waited a long time for a new home and are now very happy to be permanently perman-ently located. Mrs. Kate Smith, social work, er fftr the Uintah and Ouray Indian In-dian Agency at Fort Duchesne for the past eighteen months, received word this week that she will be transfered to the Winnebego Agency in Nebraska, effective January 1, 1954. Mrs. Smith will leave Ft. Duchesne on December 29 so as to arrive at the new assignment in time to enter on jduty at the beginning begin-ning of the new year. In the short time she has been at the agency she has made many friends who regret to see her leave. In a conference at Whiterocks last Friday morning the domestic domes-tic water users elected Arthur Allen, chairman; Floyd Wheeler, vice-chairman; Julius Murray, H. LeRoy Morrill, Gilbert El-lingsf El-lingsf ord and Howard Montes members. The purpose of this committee is to maintain and operate the water and sewer systems formerly operated nnd maintained by the Uintah Indian In-dian School. E. M. Axten, irrigation irri-gation engineer, will supervise the repair work and provide technical assistance as needed. r-N ' LEGION NEWS Uintah and Ouray Post No. 126, of the American Legion announced an-nounced today that another bingo' bin-go' party was to be held in the recreation hall in Ft. Duchesne on the night of Dec. 18. The Legion Barracks is about completed com-pleted and it is anticipated that the actual dedication of the hall will be made shortly after the new year. A program is being arranged to dediate the hall and make awards to the Korea veterans vet-erans within the area covered by the Post. Complete plans will be announced in a later issue of the Standard. Memorial services will be |