The National Council on Indian Opportunity (NCIO) was established by Executive Order 11399 of March 6, 1968, and amended by an act of November 26, 1969 (83 Stat. 220; 25 U.S.C. prec. 1 note), Executive Order 11511 of August 11, 1970 and Executive Order 11688 of December 1, 1972. The mission of the Council was to encourage and coordinate the rise of Federal programs to benefit the American Indian population, appraise the impact and progress of such programs and to suggest ways to improve the programs to meet the needs and desires of the Indian population. The Council was terminated on November 26, 1974, under the provisions of section 2 of the act.
Frequent correspondents in the files include President Richard Nixon, NCIO Chairman Vice President Spiro Agnew and his staff members C. D. Ward and Stanley Blair, NCIO Executive Director Robert Robertson, Arthur Burns, John Ehrlichman, Tod Hullin, Kenneth Cole, Norman Ross, Jr., Leonard Garment, Bradley Patterson, Jr., William Timmons, Charles Wilkinson and Frank Zarb. The Executive file category includes correspondence of the President, Vice President Agnew, Robert Robertson and other Administration officials concerning Indian policies and the role, membership appointments and termination of the Council. The General file category includes correspondence of Administration and NCIO staff members concerning various federal government programs relating to Indians, appointment requests, replies to Indian groups, and the Council's termination. The files subdivided (/A) indicate job appointments. Related materials may be found in the White House Special Files, Staff Member and Office Files of John Dean and Egil Krogh, the White House Central Files, Staff Member and Office Files of Charles Clapp and Bradley Patterson and in the following subject categories:
FG 19-9 Bureau of Indian Affairs
FG 23 U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
FG 23-6 Office of Education
FG 38 President of the Senate - Vice President of the United States
FG 142 Indian Claims Commission
FG 221 Task Forces
FG 999 Proposed Departments, Agencies, Boards and Commissions
HU 3-1 Civil Disturbances - Riots
IN Indian Affairs
FG 173 NATIONAL COUNCIL ON INDIAN OPPORTUNITY
The materials in these files include correspondence, memoranda and press releases concerning job appointments, the proposed NCIO termination and assignment of responsibilities to the Domestic Council, a proposed Presidential Task Force on Indian Affairs, and the San Francisco Bay Area Urban Indian problems. Among the Indian correspondence and organizations found in these files are Mrs. La Donna Harris, the American Indian Historical Society, the National Congress of American Indians, the National Tribal Chairman's Association, the Idaho Inter-Tribal Policy Board, Inc. and Dr. Henry Hendrick of the American Indian Hour. Federal government projects mentioned in the files include the proposed reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, an NCIO study of the Indian Education Act, a study by the Council of Urban Affairs concerning recommendations by the White House Conference on Food and Nutrition, and programs by the Water Resources Council, National Credit Union Administration and the Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance.
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