3 Indian Officials Ousted in Shakeup
3 Indian Officials Ousted in Shakeup
The three federal officials primarily responsible for the government's dealing with Indians were relieved of their duties yesterday by Interior Secretary Rogers C. B. Morton.
Morton said he was taking personal command of an effort to "put Indian operations back to work" as the three deposed officials bickered among themselves following the takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs building here last month.
"Removed from all present authority for Indian affairs" by the action were Harrison Loesch, assistant secretary of Interior; Louis R. Bruce Jr., BIA commissioner, and John O. Crow, deputy commissioner.
The three men were not fired, however, and will be available to "counsel" the secretary.
Named to carry out Morton's orders was Richard S. Bodman, assistant secretary for management and budget. Morton and Bodman will "assume immediate administrative control" of Interior's Indian operations.
The action occurred as the House Subcommittee on Indian Affairs prepared to open three days of hearings Monday into the government's dealings with protesters who occupied the BIA building for six days.
Among the demands of the demonstrators were the removal of Loesch and Crow from positions of authority. Bruce attempted to negotiate with the demonstrators, who did not seek his removal.
Hank Adams, principal negotiator for the demonstrators, who called themselves the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan, said yesterday that "although Morton's action is a good, interim arrangement, I hope the President will take more decisive steps."
Morton acted with the full support of the White House, a spokesman said. Loesch and Bruce are presidential appointees. Crow, a career Interior employee, has been elevated to deputy commissioner by Morton.
Loesch said yesterday that he recommended Morton's action "when I got back and found what had happened." The assistant secretary, who is responsible for the BIA and public land management, said he was out of town when Crow publicly charged that Bruce was an incompetent administrator and said "one of us must go."
"When there is polarization within the bureau such as that," Loesch said, "there is no way to go except to get everybody out of the act who now is in it."
Bruce said he has "complete confidence in the Secretary's judgment." He and key staff members "will continue to work on a reorganization plan which I hope to have available soon."
Crow was in Sioux Falls, Neb., yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Morton's statement did not say whether the action would eventually lead to the dismissal of the three men.
Loesch insisted he had "no signal" about the future but said the action was "very interim." Both Loesch and Bruce have submitted proforma resignations as the President prepares for a second term, and could easily be let go.
Crow said Friday that he wouldn't be surprised if both he and Bruce were dismissed.
A White House spokesman called Morton's action "temporary" but said the Secretary could "hardly do anything else" as the in-fighting escalated.
Bodman said, "I'm quarter-backing all operations for an undetermined period." He has asked about a dozen BIA officials "just below the rank of deputy commissioner" to meet with him today "to make certain there is no interruption of services in the process of changing commands."
The BIA, which is charged with providing services to the nation's federally protected Indians, has been in a shambles since the occupation of the building began Nov. 3.
Loesch put Crow in charge of getting the bureau back to normal, a process which included directing a massive clean up of the building. But little was done for more than two weeks as Interior Department officials showed off the $2 million plus damage to visitors.
Bruce has operated in semi-seclusion, working with a few close aides on a long-range plan to change the method of delivering services to the nation's Indians.
Bodman said yesterday that "it is essential to provide these critical and life supporting services without interruption regardless of existing controversy and unresolved issues.
"I am concerned that with all the controversy, we may have lost sight that we are here for the benefit of Indian people," he said.
Bodman, 34, came to Interior with Morton. He had been a management consultant in San Francisco. A certified public accountant, Bodman holds degrees from Princeton and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A native of Detroit, he lived here while his father, Henry T. Bodman, was director of the Reconstruction Finance Corp.
A White House spokesman said the President is committed to "consultations with Indian leaders" before making long-range decisions about the BIA. The aide said personnel actions are "mid-range" action, however.
One administrative source speculated that the commissioner's job might be eliminated in a reorganization which could place supervision of Indian affairs directly under an assistant secretary, perhaps in a different or new department of government.