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Show Fviurray Requests Repeal Of Wheeler - Howard Act, Suggests Substitution C? Original Tribal System Julius Murray, a member of the Uintah band of the Ute tribe j and former chairman of ..the I Ute tribal business committee, ; tossed a hot potato into the. lap j of Senator Arthur V. Watkins, i at the Senator's Monday night clinic session in the Roosevelt Stake tabernacle. Murray discussed problems stemming from the question of. Indian property rights, particularly partic-ularly those in regard to the Wheeler-Howard act, and related re-lated at length the individual difficulties faced by the Uintah, Uncompagre and White River bands of Utes residing on the reservation. After Murray had finished his discussion, Senator Watkins asked ask-ed for a copy of the prepared statement, and promised to take the matter under consideration, without guaranteeing relief. Labelling the Wneeler-How-ard act as in complete disregard of both individual and band rights on the reservation, Murray Mur-ray said, "The Indian is essentially essen-tially individualistic in nature, and can never be regimented into in-to a socialistic existence such as the present administration of Indian affairs under the Wheeler-Howard act forces upon him. "The rank and file of Indians never did and do not now understand un-derstand the workings of the cooperative, where the rights of the separate bands accrue to all three. This leads to endless end-less dispute, bickering and general gen-eral dissatisfaction. The Indiana on the reservation do not rike and do not want the pooling of their resources." Requesting repeal of the Wheeler-Howard act and substitution sub-stitution of the original system of tribal government, Murray expressed the belief that every Indian on the reservation desires de-sires to become a self-sunport-mg citizen of the United States. Under the original system, individual in-dividual Indians were permitted permit-ted a voice in their administration. administra-tion. This freedom was nullified when reorganization was effected effect-ed after passage of the Wheeler-Howard Wheeler-Howard act in 1934. Murray urged restoration of property rights to each of the three bands, and the adoption of a system enabling Indian funds to be more adequately distributed dis-tributed to eliminate poverty among the Utes. |