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University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present University Relations
4-29-1969
Olsen, Reifel to speak at University of Montana Indian conference
University of Montana--Missoula. Office of University Relations
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Recommended Citation University of Montana--Missoula. Office of University Relations, "Olsen, Reifel to speak at University of Montana Indian conference" (1969). University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present. 4647. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/newsreleases/4647
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OLSEN, REIFEL TO SPEAK AT UM INDIAN CONFERENCE
U1ISSOULA, MONT.---
Congressman Arnold Olsen, D-Mont., will be the main speaker at a 6 p.m. banquet Fri
day (May 2) in the ballroom of the new University Center as part of the three-day Kyi-Yo
Indian Days Conference at the University of Montana.
The Western Montana representative is one of the many distinguished guests who will
participate in the conference May 1-3, dates proclaimed as official Indian days on campus
by UM President Robert T. Pantzer.
Also speaking will be Congressman Ben Reifel, R-S.D.; Robert L. Bennett, IJ.S. commis
sioner of Indian affairs; Forrest Gerard, director for Indian progress with the Department
of Health, Education and Welfare; Phileo Nash, former commissioner of Indian affairs, and
Iliff McKay, associate director of the Association of American Indian Affairs.
Providing entertainment for the expected 300-400 young Indian conference participants
will be Jay Silverheels, the legendary Tonto of Lone Ranger fame; Edward Wapp, noted Amer
ican Indian pianist; Thomasine Hill, Miss Indian America for 1968, and a group of Indian
dancers from the Santa Fe Institute of American Indian Art.
Reifel, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, will discuss "The Role of the American
Indian in the Mainstream of American Life." He holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard
University and for 22 years was an administrator in the Bureau of Indian Affairs before
he was elected to Congress in 1960.
Bennett was born on the Oneida Indian Reservation in Wisconsin. He holds a law de
gree from Southeastern University School of Law. After many years with the Bureau of In
dian Affairs, he was appointed denuty commissioner in 1966 and commissioner the same year.
more
* OLSEN, REIFEL PAGE TWO Silverheels, who for many years thrilled youngsters as the sidekick of the "Masked Rider-," was scheduled to bring a troupe of actors from Los Angeles, Calif., but instead will apnear alone and present a dramatic reading. A Comanche and Sac-and-Fox Indian, Wapp has played solo recitals in Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Utah and has performed on television and radio. He studied under Victor Wolfram, Angelica Morales von Sauer and Irving Wassermann. Wanp will provide music at the Friday night banquet. Miss Hill, a Crow-Pawnee Indian from the Crow Agency in Southeastern Montana, won her Miss Indian America title over 36 other contestants. She is a student at Eastern Montana College, Billings, and plans to major in law. The conference, sponsored by the UM Kyi-Yo Indian Club and the Camnus Christian Coun cil, is open to high school and college-age Indians. Registration will be Thursday in the University Center. A social dance will be held that night. A Kyi-Yo Indian Days parade will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday (May 3). Cultural dances, with all tribes invited to participate, will be held Saturday night. The Santa Fe troop will provide some Apache fire dances. The conference also will include panel discussions by high school students, tribal council chairmen and nationally known Indian educators and workers; continuous art and cultural shows; a contest to select a "Kyi-Yo Indian Days Queen," and drama performances by various tribal representatives. ###