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The amount of individual loans for support purposes ranged from $35 to Kan The average for the 114 loans made would be about $113.

Language change.-Effective July 1, 1935, the six separate Navajo jurisdicties were consolidated into one general agency. The Navajo Tribe has not accepted the Indian Reorganization Act. The limitation of $25,000 applied to the Nava ̧a population of 47,000 will not permit sufficient aid to this group of Indians.

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Statement of expenditures, collections, cancelations, losses, and outstanding balances for the fiscal years 1928 to 1936, inclusive

Expenditures

Other credits

July 1, 1932

Loss of property

Total cancelations, losses, and collections, June 30, 1936

Outstanding

Cash repayments

From 1928 to 1935, inclusive

Cancelations under act

Blackfeet.

$608, 55

$141, 484. 92

$142, 093. 47

$15, 398. 49

$14,628. 57

Carson.

Walker River

8, 371.26 19, 562. 32

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Statement of e perofit area, collection ®, cancelations, losses, and outstanding balances for the fiscal years 1928 to 1936, inclusire- Continued

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Disposition of sheep and goats, Navajo Reservation, $225,000.-At the present time the range land of the Navajo Reservation is seriously overstocked and is being depleted at a rapid rate.__ The Indians living on this reservation are existing on a bare subsistence basis. Due to the poor quality of the livestock and their impoverished condition owing to the scarcity of nutritious forage on the depleted range, a large proportion of the natural increase is unsalable and therefore retained by the Indian further to increase the stocking, and to accelerate still further the rate of range depletion. Because of increased range impoverishment the remaining animals become proportionally less marketable.

It has been proven beyond reasonable doubt that continued operation through normal commercial channels will not correct the present situation. Experience has also shown that straight purchase and slaughter of surplus stock by the Government will not solve the problem. What is needed is a mechanism whereby the necessary removal may be made regardless of market demand. This mechanism must be effective until range rehabilitation and stock improvement have progressed to the point where the reservation livestock products will meet the market demand as to weight, classes, and quality.

The range revegetation, soil conservation, and livestock improvement program will be at a standstill until such a time as livestock adjustment can be made to the carrying capacity of the range. The Government has already an investment of over 10 millions of dollars in range improvement and conservation work on this reservation. This investment will become largely ineffective and lost unless proper steps are taken to correct the overstocking due largely to the production of unmarketable livestock. Furthermore, the 50,000 Indians, now dependent principally upon these range resources, will eventually fall on direct relief unless this reservation is placed under a sound system of range management. If range degeneration is permitted to a point where it is necessary to place these Indians on a dole, the cost to the Government will be about two millions of dollars annually. The amount requested will be in the nature of an insurance policy to assure an outlet year by year for otherwise unmarketable stock and prevent the eventuality of a dole; it will protect the tremendous investment of the Government in land improvement already made; it will assure the stocking of the ranges to their estimated carrying capacity; it will be of tremendous educational value to the Navajo tribe in that it will teach them to utilize to the fullest extent possible their own agricultural products in the marketing and feeding of lambs.

It is estimated that there is an annual unmarketable surplus of sheep alone on the Navajo Reservation of approximately 50,000 lambs. It is on a basis of this number that the appropriation is requested. The approximate break-down for this expenditure follows:

50,000 lambs (40 pounds each) at $0.05 per pound... Feeding cost plus labor at $1.70 per head...

Freight and incidental cost....

Total...

$100, 000

85,000

40, 000

225,000

Complete plans have not been formulated, but it has been proposed that all lands on the Rock Point and Fruitland Irrigation Projects on which the Navajos refuse to accept assignment prior to February 1, 1937, be planted to alfalfa and corn, with reimbursable funds, and this land be operated for a tribal feeding enterprise for fattening lambs which otherwise would be unmarketable and for animals purchased from livestock owners affected by stock adjustment or reduction requirements.

Land on these two projects could be planted to alfalfa and corn for the purpose of growing hay, ensilage, and concentrates necessary to fatten immature and peewee lambs. Feeding corrals could be established at Farmington, possibly at Rock Point and at a point adjacent to Gallup. Then, after all commercial purchases by traders and others have been completed the tribe, through its revolving fund, could purchase unmarketable lambs remaining on the range and these lambs could be concentrated at the points mentioned for feeding and fattening. Approximately 150 days feeding will be required to bring the weight of a lamb purchased at 40 pounds up to 80 pounds. On the basis of a purchase price of 5 cents per pound and a selling price of 8 cents a pound there should result a net profit to the tribe of $1.90 per head.

To raise the amount of corn and alfalfa necessary for this feeding operation, we estimate that 5,100 acres of land will be required. This is a little more than half the total irrigable area of both the Fruitland and Rock Point projects. With a decrease of wage income there will be a growing need for land by nonstock owning amilies for subsistence purposes. Therefore, it is believed that this land should

not be maintained as a tribal operation indefinitely. It is believed that it w. possible over a period of a few years to develop this tribal feeding operata * 5. point where it will be possible to buy feed from Indians, assigned on t: is project, and still maintain the principal of the revolving fund.

In any feeding operation it will be found that many so-called pre-wee or d ev lambs will not fatten to a point where they can be marketed profita‚y 1: a buying operation which is considering large numbers of such stock t'ere as an obvious need for a local outlet. Therefore, it is proposed that this class of be slaughtered and sold locally to boarding schools and hospitals

It might be found that profitable arrangements can be made with t'e F Reservation and shipments of unmarketable lambs made to that pot for ing and shipment to the Denver or Kansas City livestock market. Teste early development of the Parker project on the Colorado River wil fart, at excellent outlet for this and other classes of stock. For these reasons ar ing funds appropriated for the use of the Navajo should be kept as

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in order to meet market changes, take advantage of possible less expensive tex outlets and for the employment of personnel as needed.

It has been suggested that a slaughter and cold-storage house be constr. adjacent to the Santa Fe Railroad where fat and other Navajo lan ng i slaughtered for storage and distribution to boarding schools ard 1 spitals and other reservations. Such a plant, if constructed, presents great paste not only for packing, storage, and distribution of meats through these oʻtarter also through regular commercial channels. A feeding operation of twel would develop fat and highly marketable lambs at a season of the year, M when there is a great demand for lambs. Such a plant would, of exitwe, competition with private enterprise. Since it would be a tribal operation, h ever, it is doubtful whether much criticism would result. A rather e investigation of the amount of money required to start on a comparat small scale such a plant indicates a need for approximately $50,000 of this kind which contemplated shipment of fat lambs to bearding se1× other Indian reservations, to be successful, would require that such twari schools have cold-storage facilities adequate to accept meat shipmer tlots. It is doubtful whether any of the boarding schools have such fac might be possible in many cases for them to utilize and make arrangemer te the storage of meat in local or nearby cold-storage plants. If this is trie, të the lack of storage facilities at the boarding school proper, in many case, ME. not be a great obstacle.

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The above proposals are no doubt incomplete and will bear a much el analysis in order to be perfected. We know that at the present time there produced on the Navajo Reservation approximately 30,000 ur-mark-take which are unmarketable largely because they are underweight If pure s their present condition they would not be salable; in order to be so lambs must be made marketable; they cannot be marketed until they are tened; in order to be fattened they must be fed; therefore feeding onerat some kind are necessary On the reservation we have only two projects offer such an opportunity, namely the Rock Point and the Frutia: 1; Therefore, the proposal is made that they be utilized and operated for tre of the Navajo Tribe rather than for individuals in order to remove from. overburdened ranges of the Navajo surplus stock which cannot otherwise disposed of

The problem of d so „tron of tow urn arketable stock on the Z ad. Acon a Reservations is sin lar to that which we are facing or f'e There is no reason, as we see it, why a revolving find even though antropriated for the Navs o, co i'd not be used to buy unmarketa fattering from flum tribes If so used a revolving furd of ths à - ! w or's benett 300000 Nava o Ind ans but world, in ad it on, ber e fit Indars who are facing thich the same problem and whose ranges are Lad's depleted as those of the Navajo,

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Mr JOHNSON. May I ask if the Indians are availing themselves of the opportunity, and are using this fund?

Mr. Dopp. They are.

Mr JOHNSON Are you having more applications from worty Indian youths than you have funds?

Mr. Dopp. No; I do not believe so, in connection with this a;:priation. We have later on an item for educational loans, especial to those Indians who have accepted the Indian Reorganization Act.

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