Television Interview with Oliver La Farge Transcript (Module 7) Narrator: It’s time for the Longines Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A presentation of the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company, maker of Longines, the world’s most honored watch, and Wittnauer, distinguished companion to the world honored Longines. Frank Knight: Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our coeditors for this edition of the Longines Chronoscope; Larry Lucere from the CBS television news staff and John Oats from the editorial board of the New York Times. Our distinguished guest for this evening is Oliver La Farge, president of the Association on American Indian Affairs. Larry Lucere: It may not be generally known, but a new crisis has arisen over the American Indian. Standing before congress are a number of bills which would remove federal protection from about 60 million Indians in about a dozen states. Now our guest tonight, a prize-winning novelist, Pulitzer prize winning novelist has long made a study of the American Indian, so we’d like to ask, Mr. La Farge, just how the Indians themselves feel about this removal of federal protection. Oliver La Farge: Uh, we’ve heard from all but seventy tribes to date and the voice has been absolutely unanimous. We have never heard so much resistance on the part of the Indians to any move as is to this so-called “termination” of Indian status. John Oats: Well, just what does federal protection consist of? Oliver La Farge: It consists of several things. In the first place, the ownership of tax exempt land held in trust for the Indians by the United States as trustee, which we call reservations. Then is the right of the Indians to a guarantee of education, health service, extension service, industrial aid, and a number of other services that we ordinarily enjoy from our municipalities, counties and states, on the part of the federal government. Plus, the very important and basic right deriving from their ancient positions as sovereign tribes to have home ruled, municipal government by themselves, within the boundaries of their reservations. Larry Lucere: Well, Mr. La Farge, why have the Indians isolated themselves from the rest of the community? Why haven’t they assimilated themselves like the rest of us, more recent immigrants? Oliver La Farge: I wouldn’t say that they have isolated themselves. I would say that we more recent immigrants pouring in in large numbers have isolated them. We came upon them when they were totally unprepared for our way of life, we conquered them rather brutally and violently, we have shown a very marked racial discrimination against them, we have not prepared them for our manner of operation. When they leave their reservations and they leave their tribes, they usually have extremely unhappy experiences, and above all we have never offered them a reasonable education. Larry Lucere: Well don’t they get the same educational privileges that the rest of us do? Oliver La Farge: In theory they do. In practice, they have not been offered anything approaching the education offered to an ordinary American boy until the last twenty or twenty five years. And even now you have tribes like the Navajos where 50% of your children of school age cannot receive any school facilities. John Oats: Well, if the federal government gave up its protection of them, why couldn’t the states step in and assume them? Oliver La Farge: Most of the Indians are in western states. The western states are, on the whole, not rich. If the western states had to pick up the burden of these services to the Indians, it would be financially impossible for most of them to handle it. All the Indians would do would be to drag down the level of the services states are now able to render to their own citizens, which are below the level of the services to which you’re accustomed, let’s say here in New York State. Larry Lucere: Well, President Eisenhower, I remember, said that these bills would be another step in removing the second-class citizenship status of the Indians, although he did express a desire that the bills be reconsidered and possibly amended. Now what was he referring to there? Oliver La Farge: I don’t know what he was referring to except that he was ill-informed. The Indian is not a second-class citizen. The Indians have all the rights and all the responsibilities that the rest of us have. By that I mean the Indians have the vote, they are liable to military service and they render military service the same as all the rest of us, and by the way they do it magnificently. They are free to go anywhere they wish, to engage in any business in which they are capable of engaging or which they wish to attempt, to marry anyone they wish to marry. There is no limitation upon the freedom of an Indian, other than one limitation; that the land that is held for him in trust, like any trust, is a trust he can’t break. Larry Lucere: The states can’t actually cease this land now, you say? Oliver La Forge: No. If this termination legislation goes through, then the protection exists on these lands and their exemption would terminate. John Oats: You, as the president of the Association of American Indian Affairs… you said two or three months ago I believe, that the Indians are threatened with the greatest betrayal in the last hundred years. Now could you explain just what that betrayal consists of? Oliver La Farge: Uh… yes, I can try to. We have had, in the past, legislation to open the way to stripping the property and the rights as Indians from a great number of tribes, outstandingly the Allotment Act of 1887. But never have we had, in congress, blanket legislation, that the um… not only the bills to terminate some 70,000… the status of some 70,000 Indians… Larry Lucere: You mean end all federal protection…? Oliver La Farge: End all federal… all federal status…but… Larry Lucere: Can you give me a… it’d be like the Cherokee… that the white man in his run in and take over the reservation and… That wouldn’t be the case would it? Oliver La Farge: …Uh it would be the result. And because in addition to those bills for specific Indians there are bills pending which would, in the long run, strip every living Indian, whether he spoke English, was literate, illiterate, or not, of any vestige of federal protection. When you add all those up together, you have the most serious attack on the rights of the Indians that has occurred, literally, since the founding of the John Oats: Now if the Indians don’t want it, what’s behind it? Who does want it? Oliver La Farge: Well um… it’s… you feel a little uncertain in trying to say, partly… a lot of people are impatient with the failure we have made, and think that perhaps we could do better if we merely cut these people loose. A lot of people are deceived by this talk about first-class citizenship and equality, not realizing what rights the Indians now have, and what good citizens… what free citizens they now are. But, on a lot of Indian land today there’s oil. On a lot of Indian land that used to be thought to be desert there is uranium. The Indians own a lot of very valuable timber. In Alaska where Indian title has never been settled and the boundaries have never been drawn, the Indians have a claim to the best salmon fishing country and the best timer in the territory. There is a lot of reason why aren’t we very convenient to liberate these people so that they had no protection and nobody to defend their rights. John Oats: You mean they wouldn’t be able to sell these properties if they remain under federal jurisdiction. Oliver La Farge: They couldn’t sell them or lease them except with competent advice, and advice of counsel and under very strict rules. We have an example that came up, and is up in the state of Utah, in a bill to terminate a small group. It came out in that bill, in the hearings on it that the oil structures under that land that there is an oil company that has been trying to lease the land without going through the statutory controls requiring open bidding and the best possible terms for Indians. If those Indians are “liberated” or “terminated”, why then that Oil Company can move in on these people who are very poor and semiliterate, and probably drive a magnificent bargain. Larry Lucere: Mr. La Farge, does this mean the end of the Indian Bureau in Washington if these laws are passed? I’ve often heard the Indians complain about the Indian Bureau in Washington and… Oliver La Farge: It would probably end up… end the Indian Bureau, along with the Indians. The Indians complain about the Indian Bureau, yes, they do. Larry Lucere: Mr. La Farge, may I ask you as a final question? What do you think the Indians actually want to make them into full, first-class citizens in the United States? Oliver La Farge: Education. General education, and help to establish themselves in economic competence, to where they can earn their own livings in the same manners that all the rest of us do, and acceptance… the knowledge and the economic background, and the acceptance to be able to go out… like any other American citizen, or stay on their land like any other American citizen, and be respected and prove themselves equals. Larry Lucere: You think that these laws, if they were passed on to the states would not provide them with these opportunities? Oliver La Farge: They offer no provision whatsoever. They merely deprive them of what chance they have. Larry Lucere: So to be a first-class citizen, the Indian must have the protection of the federal government, you feel? Oliver La Farge: Must have the protection of the federal government until his first classness can be innate, in himself. It does not derive from legal status, it must derive from his own knowledge. Larry Lucere: Thank you very much, Mr. La Farge. It was very interesting to have you here tonight. Narrator: The opinions expressed on the Longine Chronoscope were those of the speakers. HTYSSC-110HM XXXX XXXX Assignment 7 Part I What events led to Ishi being the last survivor of his entire tribe? What adjustments did Ishi need to make in order to live in a twentieth-century California city? Why were researchers so interested in learning and writing down his language? What valuable information other than language did Ishi provide for researchers that they would not have otherwise been able to obtain? How does Ishi’s story refute Commissioner of Indian Affairs Dillon Myer’s statement that “Indians possessed no ‘legitimate culture’ of their own?” (First Americans, 524) Part II In addition to information from Chapter 16 of the textbook, review the article and video below to learn about issues related to “Termination.” How does the information in the textbook, in the video, and the readings about the plight of the Menominee people illustrate the problems with the government’s consideration of a termination policy? Menominee Termination Act (1954): ARTICLE BELOW 2 Menominee Termination Act (1954) “Termination” – denial of tribal sovereignty and the ending of all aspects of the U.S. federal government’s special relationships with Indians – was the primary U.S. policy from the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s. The goal was to facilitate complete assimilation.However, the Menominee of Wisconsin and the Klamath in Oregon were the only two tribes that were ever actually terminated, both in 1954. The Bureau of Indian Affairs had long identified these tribes as among the most acculturated. The Menominee benefitted from a highly profitable timber operation on their reservation, so federal officials assumed they would quickly gain economic self-sufficiency. The Menominee tribal council was coerced into voting in favor of termination: the tribe had recently won a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the federal government for mismanagement of the tribe’s forestry resources, and they were told the money would not be disbersed until the tribe agreed to termination. Termination quickly proved to be an economic and socio-cultural disaster for the Menominee. After years of intense lobbying by Menominee activists, the policy was reversed: the tribe was “restored” in 1973. [Source:Public Law 399, Chapter 303.June 17, 1954 | [H. R. 2828] 68 Stat. 250; Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties.Vol. VI, Laws. Compiled from February 10, 1939 to January 13, 1971.(Washington : Government Printing Office), pp. 620-622.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the purpose of this Act is to provide for orderly termination of Federal supervision over the property and members of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin. SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act– (a) “Tribe” means the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin; (b) “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 3. At midnight of the date of enactment of this Act the roll of the tribe maintained pursuant to the Act of June 15, 1934 (48 Stat. 965), as amended by the Act of July 14, 1939 (53 Stat. 1003), shall be closed and no child born thereafter shall be eligible for 3 enrollment: Provided, That applicants for enrollment in the tribe shall have three months from the date the roll is closed in which to submit applications for enrollment: Provided further, That the tribe shall have three months thereafter in which to approve or disapprove any application for enrollment: Provided further, That any applicant whose application is not approved by the tribe within six months from the date of enactment of this Act may, within three months thereafter, file with the Secretary an appeal from the failure of the tribe to approve his application or from the disapproval of his application, as the case may be. The decision of the Secretary on such appeal shall be final and conclusive. When the Secretary has made decisions on all appeals, he shall issue and publish in the Federal Register a Proclamation of Final Closure of the roll of the tribe and the final roll of the members. Effective upon the date of such proclamation, the rights or beneficial interests of such person whose name appears on the roll shall constitute personal property and shall be evidenced by a certificate of beneficial interest which shall be issued by the tribe. Such interests shall be distributable in accordance with the laws of the State of Wisconsin. Such interests shall be alienable only in accordance with such regulations as may be adopted by the tribe. SEC. 4. Section 6 of the Act of June 14, 1934 (48 Stat. 965, 966) is hereby repealed. SEC. 5. The Secretary is authorized and directed, as soon as practicable after the passage of this Act, to pay from such funds as are deposited to the credit of the tribe in the Treasury of the United States $1,500 to each member of the tribe on the rolls of the tribe on the date of this Act. Any other person whose application for enrollment on the rolls of the tribe is subsequently approved, pursuant to the terms of section 3 hereof, shall, after enrollment, be paid a like sum of $1,500: Provided, That such payments shall be made first from any funds on deposit in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Menominee Indian Tribe drawing interest at the rate of 5 per centum, and thereafter from the Menominee judgment fund, symbol 14X7142. SEC. 6. The tribe is authorized to select and retain the services of qualified management specialists, including tax consultants, for the purpose of studying industrial programs on the Menominee Reservation and making such reports or recommendations, including appraisals of Menominee tribal property, as may be desired by the tribe, and to make other studies and reports as may be deemed necessary and desirable by the tribe in connection with the termination of Federal supervision as provided for 4 hereinafter. Such reports shall be completed not later than December 31, 1957. Such specialists are to be retained under contracts entered into between them and authorized representatives of the tribe, subject to approval by the Secretary. Such amounts of Menominee tribal funds as may be required for this purpose shall be made available by the Secretary. SEC. 7. The tribe shall formulate and submit to the Secretary a plan or plans for the future control of the tribal property and service functions now conducted by or under the supervision of the United States, including, but not limited to, services in the fields of health, education, welfare, credit, roads, and law and order. The Secretary is authorized to provide such reasonable assistance as may be requested by officials of the tribe in the formulation of the plan or plans heretofore referred to, including necessary consultations with representatives of Federal departments and agencies, officials of the State of Wisconsin and political subdivisions thereof, and members of the tribe: Provided, That the responsibility of the United States to furnish all such supervision and services to the tribe and to the members thereof, because of their status as Indians, shall cease on December 31, 1958, or on such earlier date as may be agreed upon by the tribe and the Secretary. SEC. 8. The Secretary is hereby authorized and directed to transfer to the tribe, on December 31, 1958, or on such earlier date as may be agreed upon by the tribe and the Secretary, the title to all property, real and personal, held in trust by the United States for the tribe: Provided, however, That if the tribe obtains a charter for a corporation or otherwise organizes under the laws of a State or of the District of Columbia for the purpose, among any others, of taking title to all tribal lands and assets and enterprises owned by the tribe or held in trust by the United States for the tribe, and requests such transfer to be made to such corporation or organization, the Secretary shall make such transfer to such corporation or organization. SEC. 9. No distribution of the assets made under the provisions of this Act shall be subject to any Federal or State income tax: Provided, That so much of any cash distribution made hereunder as consists of a share of any interest earned on funds deposited in the Treasury of the United States pursuant to the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1952 (65 Stat. 736, 754), shall not by virtue of this Act be exempt from individual income tax in the hands of the recipients for the year in which paid. Following any 5 distribution of assets made under the provisions of this Act, such assets and any income derived therefrom in the hands of any individual, or any corporation or organization as provided in section 8 of this Act, shall be subject to the same taxes, State and Federal, as in the case of non-Indians, except that any valuation for purposes of Federal income tax on gains or losses shall take as the basis of the particular taxpayer the value of the property on the date title is transferred by the United States pursuant to section 8 of this Act. SEC. 10. When title to the property of the tribe has been transferred, as provided in section 8 of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register an appropriate proclamation of that fact. Thereafter individual members of the tribe shall not be entitled to any of the services performed by the United States for Indians because of their status as Indians, all statutes of the United States which affect Indians because of their status as Indians shall no longer be applicable to the members of the tribe, and the laws of the several States shall apply to the tribe and its members in the same manner as they apply to other citizens or persons within their jurisdiction.