Montana Historical Society
Archives
RS 25_RS 502
Montana. Office of the State
Coordinator of Indian Affairs
Montana Office of the State Coordinator of Indian Affairs
records
1948-1971
5 linear ft
This collection is a subgroup
(Office) of the Montana Office of the Governor records. The Montana Office of
Indian Affairs (formerly named Office of the State Coordinator of Indian Affairs) is
administered through the Governor's Office. Please see the primary finding aid for more
Montana Office of
the Governor records. These Montana Coordinator of Indian Affairs records
(1948-1971) consist of correspondence, subject files, financial records, organizational
materials, reports, and clippings, concerning education, tribal industries, housing,
legislation, statistics, meetings, and more.
17:7-5
English
The Montana Legislature created the Office of Montana State Coordinator of Indian Affairs
in 1951. The Governor appointed the Coordinator from a list of five persons agreed upon by
the tribal councils of the Indian tribes of Montana for a four-year term at a salary of one
dollar per annum. The Coordinator, based in Helena, was originally responsibile for creating
a program designed to establish and place Indian citizens in a position "whereby they will
be able to take their rightful place in society and assume the rights, duties, and
privileges of full citizenship" (H.B. 221, introduced by David Higgins, 1951). The
Coordinator was to accomplish this goal by soliciting rehabilitation loans "for the purpose
of enabling deserving Indians to become self sufficient," to be disbursed through Indian
loan associations; by promoting the welfare of Indians, especially adequate housing; by
acquainting himself with the problems confronting Montana Indians and advising the
legislature and the executive branch of such problems and making recommendations for the
alleviation thereof; and by serving the Montana delegation in the U.S. Congress as an
advisor and intermediary in Indian affairs.
Original duties of the Coordinator included cooperating with federal and state agencies,
and giving reports to the Governor (and Legislative Assembly) on the physical and mental
wellbeing of Montana Indians. In 1967, a law was passed stipulating that the Coordinator's
salary was to be specified by the Montana Legislature. In 1969, several changes were made in
the Coordinator's duties: In addition to soliciting rehabilitation loans, they were to
solicit educational, economic, health, and housing funds, which were to be disbursed through
various federal programs. They were also charged with the duty of promoting sanitation for
Indians, (whether or not they resided on reservations) and was empowered to act, upon
request, as spokesman for representative Indian organizations and groups.
Knute W. Bergan, formerly school principal in Browning for many years, was appointed State
Coordinator in 1951. He served until his death in 1968 when he was replaced by Harold J.
Boyd.
As of 2025, the Office of Indian Affairs continues to operate as a liaison between the
tribes and state government and to “[promote] economic development, environmental
protection, education, support for social services, and enduring good will” (Office of the
Governor, Indian Affairs). Misty Kuhl, an A’aniiih member of the Fort Belknap Indian
Community, is the current Director of Indian Affairs (2021-2025).
This collection is arranged into six series: General Correspondence, Financial Records,
Organizational Materials, Subject Files, Miscellany, and Newspaper Clippings.
The General Correspondence series (1951-1971) discusses education, tribal industries,
housing, legislation, statistics, personal problems of tribal members, meeting, donations to
the tribes, etc. Information about numerous subjects for which a subject file was
established is also found in this series.
The Financial Records series (1965-1970) contains information about the budget of the
Coordinator. The Organizational Materials series (undated) includes a description of the
Coordinator's goals and duties and a criticism of a proposed state Indian commission. The
Subject Files series (1948-1971, undated) comprises the bulk of the collection and includes
information on all the reservations and many Indian organizations and programs. Information
on specific subjects can often be found in the subject files on affected tribes as well as
in the file with the subject heading. For instance, information concerning Indian housing is
found both in the subject file with that title as well as in the subject files on specific
tribes.
The Miscellany series (1951-1970, undated) contains a variety of writings, news releases,
lists, proceedings of conferences of concern to Indians, etc. The Clippings series (1930,
1954-1967) includes clippings on a variety of subjects. Printed material has been
transferred to the Library. Notable persons who appear throughout the collection include Ed
Belgard (Landless Indians), Freda Beazley (Fort Peck), Steve DeMers (Flathead), Walter
McDonald (Flathead), Earl Old Person (Blackfeet), Sister Providencia, Walter Wetzel
(Blackfeet), John Wooden Legs (Northern Cheyenne), and Robert Yellowtail (Crow).
This collection is arranged into six series: General Correspondence, Financial Records,
Organizational Materials, Subject Files, Miscellany, and Newspaper Clippings.
This collection is open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical
Society Libary & Archives. The Library & Archives does not necessarily hold
copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require
additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an
archivist.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Office of the Governor were integrated
under one collection identifier, RS 502, in order to help facilitate access, reduce
redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from the Montana Office of the Governor's various Offices and Programs that
were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 502. Rather than reprocessing over 15 linear feet of
Governor's materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those
collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding
aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over
the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding
aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if
this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers.
Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society
Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places
should search under these terms.
Assiniboine Indians
Atsina Indians
Blackfeet Indians
Cheyenne Indians
Chippewa Indians
Cree Indians
Crow Indians
Dakota Indians
Electric power--Montana
Indians of North America
Indians of North America--Education--Montana
Indians of North America--Government
relations--Montana
Indians of North America--Health and
hygiene--Montana
Indians of North America--Legal status, laws,
etc.--Montana
Indians of North America--Politics and
government--Montana
Indians of North America--Public
welfare--Montana
Indians of North America--Reservations--Montana
Irrigation--Montana
Landless Indians--Montana
Petroleum industry and trade--Montana
Radioactive waste disposal--Montana
Salish Indians
Salish Indians
Scholarships--Montana
Grazing leases--Montana
Blackfeet Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Crow Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Flathead Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Fort Belknap Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Fort Peck Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Kerr Dam (Mont.)
Knowles Dam (Mont.)
Missouri River Watershed
Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation (Mont.)
Yellowtail Dam (Mont.)
Rocky Boys Indian Reservation (Mont.)
St. Ignatius (Mont.)
Wind River Indian Reservation (Wyo.)
Montana
Native Americans
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection
General Correspondence
1 / 1
Miscellaneous (correspondents include Supt. of Public
Instruction, Carling Malouf, North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, R.H. Willcomb,
Alvin Pollock, Glenn O. Lockwood, James X. Brown, Arrow Inc.)
1951-1961
1 / 2
Miscellaneous (correspondents include Crow Indian
Celebration and Rodeo; Montronics Inc.; Robert W. Waugh; Commission on the Rights,
Liberties, and Responsibilities of the American Indian; Rocky Mountain College;
Association of American Indian Affairs; James R. Shaw; Blaine County Board of
Commissioners; St. Labre Indian Mission)
1962
1 / 3
Miscellaneous (correspondents include President John
F. Kennedy circular letter; Association on American Indian Affairs; Northern Montana
College; Montana Inter-Tribal Policy Board; American Jewish Society for Service; S.C.
DeMers re civil rights area meeting; Northern Cheyenne Mennonite Mission; Robert
Yellowtail)
1963
1 / 4
Miscellaneous (correspondents include Montana
Legislative Council; Robert Yellowtail; Idaho Dept. of Education; Association on
American Indian Affairs; U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs; Mental Retardation Planning
Project; John W. Cragun re Turtle Mountain Chippewa; Stephen C. DeMers; Northern
Montana College's program for disabled Indians)
1964-1965
1 / 5
Miscellaneous (correspondents include Association on
American Indian Affairs; University of Montana Foundation Division of Indian Services;
Joy Toineeta; Richard S. McDermott re land interests; State Budget Director; Sonosky
and White re Indian Claims Commission extension; Wilkinson, Cragun and Barker re
various legal issues; Bert Hansen)
1966
1 / 6
Miscellaneous (correspondents include Association on
American Indian Affairs; state colleges and universities enclosing lists of students
attending under Indian Education Scholarships; Robert Yellowtail; Wilkinson, Cragun
and Barker re various legal issues; University of Montana Foundation Division of
Indian Services)
1967
1 / 7
Miscellaneous (correspondents include University of
Montana re alleged discrimination, enclosing list of Indian students; Harold J. Boyd;
Kyi-yo Indian Club; Sister Providencia)
1968-1969
1 / 8
Miscellaneous (correspondents include Governors'
Interstate Indian Council; North American Indian League)
1970-1971
1 / 9
Congressman James Battin (re Knowles Dam, Operation
Bootstrap, Federal Housing Administration, Office of Economic Opportunity)
1961-1967
1 / 10
Blackfeet Indian Reservation (re Indian claims
contracts, oil leases, Jim Peters, grazing leases, tribal elections, Heart Butte
School, school lunch program, educational grants, Industrial Redevelopment Committee,
hunting and fishing, racial discrimination, vocational training)
1951-1962
1 / 11
Blackfeet Indian Reservation (re civil law
jurisdiction, death of Meade Swingley, Arkinson family, termination and relocation,
proposed plastics industry, Starr School, Office of Economic Opportunity, Community
Action Program, conference on Acceleration of Educational Opportunities for Blackfeet
through Full Utilization of Available Resources, National Association of Blackfeet
Indians, guaranteed loan program)
1963-1969
1 / 12
James X. Brown (re Chippewa, Cree, and Blackfeet
history; also includes current political issues including economic development at
Rocky Boy's Reservation, Landless Indians, and family concerns)
1952-1963, undated
1 / 13
Flathead Reservation (re education, economic
development, school lunches, Hot Springs bathhouse, complaints against Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes by Flathead-Kootenai Organization, hydroelectric dams,
termination policy, Head Start programs, Montana Power Company's Kerr Dam)
1951-1970
1 / 14
Governor (re Blaine County Indian health problems,
St. Labre Indian School, need for a Lame Deer High School, jurisdiction issues, Office
of Economic Opportunity Poverty Program)
1962-1971
1 / 15-16
Governors' Interstate Indian Council (re background
of the Council, plans for meetings, common issues, etc.)
1961-1966
1 / 17
David Higgins (Cut Bank farmer re Farmers Home
Administration loan program)
1964-1967
1 / 18
Irrigation and water resources
1967
1 / 19
Knowles Dam (correspondents include Montana Power
Company, Affiliated Tribes of the Northwest, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes,
Indian Rights Association, John Cragun, Hugh Downs of National Broadcasting Company)
1962-1963
1 / 20
Mike Mansfield (re education, jurisdiction, other
issues of federal policy)
1961-1970
1 / 21
Lee Metcalf (re education, jurisdiction, other issues
of federal policy)
1960-1969
1 / 22-23
Montana Inter-Tribal Policy Board
1951-1967
1 / 24
Northern Cheyenne Tribe (re land ownership, health
care, First Americans Inc., St. Labre Mission, economic development, Lame Deer School)
1951-1962
2 / 1
Northern Cheyenne Tribe (re economic development,
housing, Lame Deer School, Northern Cheyenne Arts and Crafts Association, school lunch
program, John Wooden Legs' report on progress during his administration)
1963-1969
2 / 2
Arnold Olsen (re Flathead Reservation schools, health
care, other federal policy issues)
1962-1969
2 / 3
Prison inmates (re parole, commutation of sentences,
etc.)
1952-1961
2 / 4
Rocky Boy's Reservation (re petitions on several
federal bills, economic development, health care, Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky
Boy's Reservation, Lutheran Mission Advisory Committee, Community Action Program)
1950-1969
2 / 5-6
Robert Yellowtail (re termination policy, opposition
to building of Yellowtail Dam, land issues, politics, Indian memorial at Fort
Wadsworth, civil rights legislation, individual economic responsibility, heirship
lands)
1962-1968
Financial Records
2 / 7
Budget
1956-1961
Organization
2 / 8
Description of goals and duties of Coordinator of
Indian Affairs; criticism of a proposed state Indian Commission
circa 1967
Printed Material
2 / 9
List of printed materials transferred to Library
undated
2 / 9a
Legislative bulletin
1963
2 / 9b-9c
Bulletins
1962, 1965
Subject Files
2 / 10
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (includes
constitution, annual convention materials, reports on meetings, resolutions, speeches,
clippings)
1962-1968
2 / 11
Blackfeet Reservation (includes financial statements,
Blackfeet Tribe vs. Dillon S. Myer et al. record, proposed revisions to constitution,
analysis of expenditures of School District 7, donation of land for missile base,
charter of Blackfeet Indian Housing Authority, resolution re compulsory school
attendance, Economic Development Administration planning grant, evaluation of
Community Action Agency, description of sweat lodge)
1952-1969
2 / 12
Compulsory school attendance (primarily re Fort Peck
Reservation; also includes tribal resolutions for each reservation endorsing
compulsory school attendance)
1948-1961
2 / 13-16
Cooperative Area Manpower Planning System [CAMPS]
(includes explanation of program, minutes, descriptions of programs, etc.)
1969-1971
2 / 17
Crow Reservation (includes resolution on sale of land
to individual families, Crow Indian Fair and Rodeo, Crow Tribe vs. Bureau of
Reclamation, evaluation of Head Start program, Community Action Program, "Investment
Opportunities on the Crow Reservation Montana")
1951-1969
2 / 18-19
Federal reimbursement to schools (includes "Montana
Plan for Education Reimbursement to School Districts by the Bureau of Indian Affairs,"
lists of eligible districts, budgets)
1955-1963
2 / 20-22
Flathead Reservation (includes minutes of Tribal
Council of Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes; hearing on Earl Sanders'
activities as chief of police; chronology of health care by Sisters of Charity;
reports; brochures; list of tribal members; financial records)
1951-1970
3 / 1
Flathead Reservation (re federal reimbursements to
schools)
1961-1962
3 / 2
Flathead Reservation (re hydroelectric projects,
including Knowles, Kerr, and Buffalo Rapids dams)
1962-1967
3 / 3
Fort Belknap Reservation (includes correspondence;
resolutions re schools; statement by Richard King [Bob- Tail Horse]; Head Start
Program; report on "Poverty and Promise for the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation,
Montana"; personnel policies)
1951-1967
3 / 4
Fort Peck Reservation (includes correspondence; Head
Start Program; "Fort Peck Caravan: a Study of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation by the
Montana Human Relations Committee"; application for Community Action Program grant;
Neighborhood Youth Corps)
1954-1969
3 / 5-7
Governors' Interstate Indian Council (includes lists
of delegates, programs, resolutions, Robert Yellowtail analysis of Robert L. Bennett
Report, lists of federal programs, minutes, agendas)
1951-1968
3 / 8
Helena Indian Alliance (includes minutes, bulletins)
1968-1969
3 / 9
Housing (re Federal Housing Program for Indian
Reservations, Housing for the Elderly Program)
1961-1962, 1970
3 / 10-11
Indian education (includes letter by Sister
Providencia, circular re Indian scholarships, White House Conference on Children and
Youth report, Indian Affairs Manual, statement by Mary M. Condon, report on children
of Hill 57, "An Analysis of Federal Reimbursement to Heart Butte School District #1",
report on pre-vocational training, multi-state university consortium)
1950-1969
3 / 12
Industrial development (includes correspondence, "The
Future of Montana" by George W. O'Connor)
1957-1963
3 / 13
Industrialization Conference (includes
correspondence, conference program, report on field visitation)
1957-1961
3 / 14
Industry: Montronics, Inc. (re meetings of company
with the various reservations re possible location of plant for communications and
frequency measurement)
1962
3 / 15
Industry: nuclear waste storage (re proposed location
of storage facility for Hanford by-products on Blackfeet Reservation)
1961-1964
3 / 16
Institute on Indian Affairs in Montana (includes
programs)
1955-1958
3 / 17
Kerr Dam (re payments to Confederated Salish and
Kootenai Tribes)
1965-1967
3 / 18-19
Knowles Dam (includes preliminary study, presentation
by Montana Power Company in opposition to dam, hearings, opposition of Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes)
1958-1965
3 / 20-21
Law enforcement (includes correspondence re
compulsory school attendance, drivers licenses, jurisdiction issues, Indian Law and
Order Conference, Indian Law Seminar, testimony re legislation, clippings)
1948-1966
3 / 22-23
Legislation, general
1951-1969
3 / 24
Legislation, Commission on Indian Affairs
1954
3 / 25
Legislation, federal
1965-1967
3 / 26
Legislation, heirship
1961-1966
3 / 26
Legislation, income taxes
1965-1967
4 / 1
Legislation, Indian Resources Development Act
("Omnibus Bill")
1966-1967
4 / 2
Legislation, peyote (re Native American Church,
includes report by Bureau of Indian Affairs)
1956-1966
4 / 3
Legislation, recommendations
1950, undated
4 / 4
Legislation, school transportation
1950-1952, undated
4 / 5
Mental Retardation Planning Project
1964-1968
4 / 6
Montana Conference on Children and Youth
1951
4 / 7
Montana Crime Control Commission
1970
4 / 8-10
Montana Inter-Tribal Policy Board (includes
constitution, bylaws, minutes, and resolutions)
1952-1970
4 / 11
Montana Tourism Conference
1962
4 / 12-13
National Congress of American Indians (includes
constitution, bylaws, minutes, resolutions, reports on legislation, circular letters,
bulletins)
1954-1967
4 / 14
National Congress of American Indians: American
Indian Charter Convention
1960
4 / 15
National Council on Indian Opportunity
1969
4 / 16
Northern Cheyenne (includes tourist center, report re
proposed settlement before Indian Claims Commission, proposed summer college
workshops, Community Action Program)
1962-1967
4 / 17
Northern Cheyenne: housing
1962-1964
4 / 18
Northern Cheyenne: industry (includes report on
resource development plan, correspondence re proposed plastics factory, tannery, Guild
Arts and Crafts Inc.)
1952, 1961-1966
4 / 19
Northern Cheyenne: Lame Deer Schools (includes
proposal by First Americans Inc. to use old school building for factory, proposed high
school)
1957, 1963-1965
4 / 20
Northern Cheyenne: St. Labre Mission (includes
charity appeals by Rev. Emmett Hoffman, newsletter of St. Labre Indian School)
1958-1970
4 / 21
Oil production on tax exempt land: Glacier County
1958-1962
4 / 22
Oil production on tax exempt land: Pondera County
1959-1963
4 / 23
Oil production on tax exempt land: Poplar
1958-1959
4 / 24
Population statistics
1950-1963
4 / 25
President Kennedy's Task Force on Indian Affairs
1961
4 / 26
Rocky Boy's Reservation (includes report on economic
development plan, newsletter, Community Action Program, report on landless Indians)
1951-1967, undated
5 / 1
Rocky Boy's Reservation: education (includes
correspondence with Havre Public Schools, agreement between Havre Public Schools and
Bureau of Indian Affairs, plans for Rocky Boy School, proposed budgets)
1957-1961
5 / 2
Scholarships: John Whitney Hay Foundation (for
advanced study)
1952-1962
5 / 3
Scholarships: Society of Colonial Dames (for nurses'
training)
1951-1961
5 / 4
Scholarships: United Scholarship Service Inc. (for
American Indian or Spanish-American students; includes lists of recipients)
1958-1966
5 / 5
Scholarships: miscellaneous (includes Colorado
College summer program, lists of students attending branches of University of Montana,
Crow Tribal Scholarship Program)
1951-1966
5 / 6
Schools: Babb (includes statistical data, budgets,
applications for federal aid, lists of eligible students)
1959-1964
5 / 7
Schools: East Glacier (includes statistical data,
budgets, applications for federal aid, lists of eligible students)
1959-1963
5 / 8
Schools: Heart Butte (includes statistical data,
budgets, applications for federal aid, lists of eligible students)
1958-1963
5 / 9
Schools: Poplar (includes statistical data, budgets,
applications for federal aid)
1955-1961
5 / 10-11
State jurisdiction on Indian reservations (includes
Great Falls' Hill 57, Indian Self-Help Bill, testimony and resolutions re bills for
state criminal and/or civil jurisdiction, clippings, comparisons with other states)
1957-1975, undated
5 / 12
Termination of federal supervision over tribal lands
(includes Northern Cheyenne proposal to buy back land from individual families)
1959-1965
5 / 13
Tribal Leaders Conference (includes speech by Robert
L. Bennett, and reports on conditions on each Montana reservation)
1966
5 / 14
United States Bureau of Indian Affairs (includes memo
on Indian Social and Economic Improvement, summary of land ownership on reservations,
correspondence, report of Robert L. Bennett, removal of Gilbert Morgan as Fort Belknap
realty assistant, mineral prospecting on Indian reservations, agreement with Montana
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation)
1949-1967
5 / 15
United States Dept. of Health, Education and Welfare
(re tuberculosis)
1957, 1967-1969
5 / 16
United States Office of Economic Opportunity (re War
on Poverty Programs on Montana reservations)
1963-1966
5 / 17
White House Conference on Children and Youth
(includes report of special conference by Arrow Inc. to plan Indian participation in
conference, report of committee on problems of Indian youth)
1959-1960
5 / 18
Work training programs (re "Bill to provide for the
economic development of the resources of individual Indians and Indian tribes, and for
other purposes")
1966-1967
5 / 19
Robert Yellowtail (includes writings)
1963-1967
5 / 20
Yellowtail Dam (includes article by Wilson F. Clark
and Robert Yellowtail, brochures)
1956-1963
Miscellany
5 / 21
Equal Employment Opportunity Seminar proceedings
1970
5 / 22
Governors' Advisory Council meeting on Indian Affairs
proceedings
1951
5 / 23
Helena Indian Conference proceedings
1966
5 / 24
Montana Indian tourism conference proceedings
1965
5 / 25
State organizations for coordination of Indian
affairs questionnaire
1970
5 / 26
Miscellaneous (includes dedication of Henrietta
Crockett Indian Wing of Montana Tuberculosis Sanitarium, party platforms, remarks of
Tim Babcock at dinner honoring Governor Knowles, statistics on Indian highway deaths,
proclamation by Gov. John Bonner, list of Indian dancers, "New Horizons in Indian Arts
and Crafts")
1952-1967, undated
Clippings
5 / 27
Education
1930-1967
5 / 28
Juvenile delinquency
1960-1961
5 / 29
Indian programs, Economic Development Rights
1954-1968
5 / 30
Hill 57, Great Falls
1961
5 / 31
Political philosophy of K.W. Bergen
1961