The Select Committee on Indian Affairs met July 29, 1981 to hear testimony concerning S. 792, a bill to provide for the establishment of a national institute to preserve, revitalize, and disseminate Indian art and culture. Bill S. 792 was endorsed by senators from Oregon and Hawaii and, with certain reservations, by representatives of eight Indian Tribes, Pueblos, and Associations. Indian representatives wanted Indian control on the Institute's Board of Trustees to insure sensitivity to Indian religious and cultural concerns for policy direction, the exhibition of Indian arts and crafts, and compliance with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. There was support for the concept of developing regional institutions rather than a national institute. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs opposed the enactment of S. 792 because the bill proposed to remove the Indian Arts and Crafts Board and the Institute of American Indian Arts from the Department. Statements from nine Pueblo leaders in New Mexico who opposed S. 2166 (a bill to establish a National Institute of Native American Culture and Arts Development) and various correspondence were entered into the record. (CM)