Page 4
THE NAVAJO TIMES November 7, 1963
ft
MRS. ELINOR ARVISO addresses
Dalton Pass people while Master
of Ceremonies and Interpreter
Carl Beyal takes notes at Chapter
Dedication.
Files Raided
(Continued from Page I)
questions posed by Nakai.
A raid on McCabe’s Office, ob
servers say, would be natural be
cause McCabe, as the tribe's paid
executive for 12 years, ha: worked
closely with Littell. The general
counsel heads a staff of six law
yers budgeted last May by the tri
bal council for $184,000 this fis
cal year.
Littell, a former assistant at
torney general who has won not
able legal victories for the Nava
jos, was the only one of the six
lawyers su pended. He has four
years more to go on a 10-year
contract with the tribe.
In a telegram to Chairman
James A. Haley, D-l-la. of the
House subcommittee on Indian af
fairs, two Navajo leaders pleaded
for hearings before the subcom
mittee f>e< ause of “this outrageous
action by federal per; onnel.”
Mrs. Annie VVauneka, recipient
of the presidential medal of Free
dom last summer and Howard W.
Gorman signed the telegram.
They charged tfiat Stanley Zim
merman. a special investigator
from Washington for the Intel lor
Department, Tribal Chairman
Raymond Nakai and their aides
“conducted an unprecedented
search” of the office of the tribe’s
executive secretary, Maurice Mc-
Cabe. Afterward, said the tele
gram. the same group ransacked
the tribal records office in the
most rude and discourteous man
ner.”
Records ‘lmpounded’
Despite protests, the telegram
continued, records were “im
pounded” in the garage of Nakai’s
home.
Among those who took part in
-•the search, said the telegram,
were the Indian affairs bureau’s
area director, Fred Haverland,
and his assistant, Robert Young,
both of Gallup. N.M and the re
servation superintendent Glenn
Landbloorn and his assistant,
Chester Wilson, plus a represen
tative of the solicitor’s office.
The telegram said the raiders
never identified themselves. It
asked: “For what purpose were
the records confiscated? Why sei
zure tactics similar tonon-demo
cratic governments? For whom
were these individuals acting and
by what authority ?”
The telegram also noted the
records were public and ‘‘avail
able on request to Nakai.”
Udall, who must routinely ap
prove Navajo disbursements, has
held up Littell’s pay since August
though as late as Oct. 11. Udall
proposed a “compromise” where
by Littell would keep the difficult
claims work and give up his
$35,000 -a - year general coun
sel’s post.
Question Fees
Nakai’s Aug. 22 letter to Udall
questioned Littell's basis for fees
in claims cases, an amendment to
Littell’s contract and use of tribal
lawyers on claims cases.
Interior Solicitor Frank Barry
supported Nakai.
1 Littell believes that his sus
pension is strictly political that
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THREE RESPECTED men were honored at the Dalton Pass Chapter
Dedication Saturday. These were the first Indian Agent of the Eastern
Navajo Jurisdiction S. F. Stacker, former Tribal Chairman, J. C.
Morgan and former Chapter President Silas Morgan. Their portraits
will be displayed in The Chapter House. Above left, son Wilbur Morgan
holds portrait of J. C. Morgan, center is Charles Morgan who delivered
the tribute and right is son Herbert Stacker holding portrait of S. F.
Stacker.
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SOME OF THE GUEST Speakers at the Dalton Pass Chapter Dedication
were left to right Samuel Billison, Public Services Director; Superin
tendent of Navajo Police, Pat Nelson; John Kilgore, Head of Design
and Construction, and, Russell Kilgore of the Navajo Agency.
Engagement
Announced
Mr. 6 Mrs. Robert Bowman
of Tohatchi, New Mexico, an
nounced the engagement of their
daughter Dorothy Ann Bowman,
Tuesday, november sth. to Ed
ward Cowboy, Jr., the son of Mr.
G Mrs. Cowboy of Crownpoint, New
Mexico.
Miss Bov/man is working for
Resources Division as a Secretary
to Larry Cooper.
Edward Cowboy, Jr., is pre
sently in the Marine Corps and is
stationed at Twenty Nine Palms,
California He will be discharged
in December, and they are plan
ning to let the wedding bells ring
sometime in 1964.
his opponents want to loc k up the
Navajos' votes, their SBO million
in assets and their enormous po
tential for the Democrats in 1964.
Littell contends .such Udall
friends as Barry Deßose, Globe,
Ariz. attorney, would get the
Navajo business. Only last month,
says Littell, Deßose met at the
Navajos’ window Rock, Ariz., air
port, with two prominent Santa Fe
lawyers, Fred Standley and Wal
ter Kegel to discuss Navajo busi
ness.
Government Sued
Littell maintains that for the
Interior secretary to handpick,
through the bureau of Indian af
fairs, a private lawyer for the
Navajos would be to destroy the
advantage of the Indians having
a lawyer. Much of a Navajo law
yer’s time is spent suing the
government.
On the other hand, the law
makes the interior secretary
trustee of the tribe.
■ ■
Dorothy Ami Bowman
Littell Objects
(Continued from Page 1)
June 25, and at various other
times. It has now become apparent
that they have declined to meet
with ine for these purposes, but
have joined in further attacks made
upon the undersigned without any
regard to truth or falsity. It is
clearly evident that further at
tacks may be anticipated. This is
to advise you both that if additional
attacks with false and malicious
information are published, thereby
misleading members of the Navajo
Tribal Council and the Navajo
people, you may be held respon
sible in criminal libel proceed
ings.”
Briefly, clearly, interestingly,
THE NAVAJO TIMES tells you' what
is going on on the Navajo reser
vation and what it means.
TRIBE INVESTIGATION
CONSIDERED UNLIKELY
Chairman Wayne A spinall of the
House Interior Committee Monday
afternoon virtually ruled out the
possibility of a congressional
hearing on the Navajo Reservation
by his Indian affairs subcommit
tee.
“Nobody is going to use my
committee to air a controversy
between two factions of the Navajo
tribe,” the Colorado Democrat
said.
His decision will come as a
blow to the “Old Guard” suppor
ters of Navajo General Counsel
Norman Littell, whose “personal
performance” was suspended Fri
day by Secretary of the Interior
Stewart Udall.
The legislative branch has nei
ther executive nor judicial du
ties,” he noted, adding that “we
are not going to try alleged crimi
nal charges before a committee
of Congress.”
Might Be Interested
He added that “if it turns out
that procedures set out by Con
gress for protection of Indians
have been violated, thenw would
be interested.
‘1 have not seen anything yet
to indicate this is true,” he said.
Indian Commissioner Philleo
Nash said that “the action taken
w'as that of the solicitor ot the
department (of Interior) pursuant
to requests ana complaints that
Mr. Nakai sent in last summer.”
“In order to determine the
facts, representatives of the so
licitor, in the presence ol Mr.
Nakai. iade certain ;■ at certain
tribal records would be-preserved
intact and would be availablet ( all
parties,’ Commissioner Nash
added.
He said Nakai was present “at
all time. ” and the records are
still in the custody of the tribe.
Nash said nothing he- re
ceived ill re-ports from his rep
resentatives lead him to believe
that the- action could be des
cribed as “ransacking” the
records of the tribe.
He- said his representatives,
present in a departmental, rather
than a bureau capacity, told him
the details of the action.
Sen. Anderson, in a brief state
ment Monday, took issue with a
statement by his colleague, Sen.
Edwin L. Mechem, that Secretary
of Interior Stewart Udall had no
business interfering with the
tribe’s selection ol general coun
sel.
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“As a matter of fact, the sec
retary of interior has very definite
business in anything that pertain
to an indian tribe,” Sen. Anderson
said, adding that “if the secretary
is persuaded that there has been
some mishandling, it’s his duty to
act as guardian of Indian affairs.”
Solicitor Frank Barry has ruled
that Healing vs. Jones is not a
claims case, thus reversing the
last of two rulings by a predeces
sor.
Under the terms of Littell*s
contract, he is paid a fixed fee
for all general counsel cases and
is to receive a 10 per cent fee
on settlement of all claims cases.
1! Healing vs. Jones isaclaims
case, Litteil will receive no addi
tional compensation as genera!
counsel and must pay the attor
neys in his office who worked on
the case out of his own pocket.
There are reports that 10 per
cent of the recovery figure in
Healing vs. Jones, on the other
hand, could range as high as $1
million.
Littell has maintained Secre
tary Udall has no authority or
precedent for his action in sus
pending Littell’s personal per
formance. However, Solicitor
Barry last week referred to an
unnamed case in which the general
counsel of a tube was suspended.
The action was later reversed
in court, but according to Barry,
tin right of the department to
takt such an action was not con
to-sled. and the reversal was on
factual grounds, instead.
Meanwhile, former chairman
Paul Jones said Secretary of In
terior Udall's move came as a
complete surprise, ‘‘because
we had had that contract approved
by the Interior Department before
it was accepted. It was a mistake
on his part to come bark now
saying there was something ir
regular about it.”
He pointed out that under his
administration, the Tribal Coun
cil had renewed Littell's contract
twice, and that one of the renewals
included the claims work on which
Udall based his decision to suspend
Littell.
Udall’s announcement had said
Littell was not entitled to receive
compensation for his claims work
and that he, not the tribe should
pay for attorneys who assisted him
on the claims cases.