The Nation - News from March 18, 1985

Former Interior Secretary James G. Watt and his partner have proposed that they manage oil fields of Wind River Reservation tribes in return for 14% of oil and gas royalties, a Shoshone Business Council member said in Fort Washakie, Wyo. Watt and Roy Sampsel, former Bureau of Indian Affairs official, who want to serve as oil and gas development consultants for the Arapaho and Shoshone tribes, spent much of last week on the reservation in central Wyoming pitching an economic development proposal to tribal leaders. Watt, whose law and consulting firm is based in Denver, has said the consulting fee would be paid only if the firm’s proposals paid off.