Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Concerning Termination of Federal Supervision Over the Menominee Indian Tribe

I HAVE TODAY signed H.R. 2828 which provides for the method of terminating Federal supervision over the property and affairs of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin on December 31, 1958. This bill, developed after extensive consultation with the Menominee people over a period of many months, is the first to be enacted into law as an outgrowth of the Congressional policy on Indian affairs which was embodied in House Concurrent Resolution No. 108 adopted last summer. That policy calls for termination of Federal supervision over the affairs of each Indian tribe as soon as it is ready for independent management of its own affairs.

The Menominees have already demonstrated that they are able to manage their assets without supervision and take their place on an equal footing with other citizens of Wisconsin and the Nation. I extend my warmest commendations to the members of the Tribe for the impressive progress they have achieved and for the cooperation they have given the Congress in the development of this legislation. In a real sense, they have opened up a new era in Indian affairs--an era of growing self-reliance which is the logical culmination and fulfillment of more than a hundred years of activity by the Federal Government among the Indian people.

In the four and one-half years which remain before Federal supervision is terminated, the Menominee Tribe has authority to employ any specialists it may need in developing plans for a sound business organization to carry on the tribal enterprises. The Tribe will also have the active assistance of the Department of the Interior and the State of Wisconsin during this important period of preparation for full and final independence.

All of the problems of withdrawal of the Federal Government from the field of Indian administration have not been solved by the enactment of this one bill. Nevertheless, I am sure that it will provide useful and sound guide lines for authorizing other Tribes to realize their full potentialities as productive citizens of the United States whenever they can advantageously assume complete responsibility for the management of their affairs.