document resume ed 050 872 rc 005 304 institution pub … · welcome, greetings. a. charles j....

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 050 872 RC 005 304

TITLE Proceedings: The Nevada Inter-tribal IndianConference (University of Nevada, May 1-2, 1964).

INSTITUTION Nevada Univ., Reno. Center for Western NorthAmerican Studies.

PUB DATE 10 Apr 65NOTE 100p.

EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29DESCRIPTORS American Indian Culture, *American Indians,

Attitudes, *Education, History, Intercommunication,*Legal Problems, *Political Issues, *Social Attitudes

IDENTIFIERS *Nevada

ABSTRACTThe conference report of the 1964 Nevada

Inter-tribal Indian Conference, designed to encourage cooperation andcommunication between Indians and non-Indians, deals with (a) Indiansand opportunity, (b) Indians and the community, and (c) Indians andlegislation. The document also records narration reflecting theattitudes of Indians in Nevada toward their life situation.Additionally, emphasis is given to the claims cases of such tribes asthe Washoe, the Western Shoshone, and the Northern Paiute. Thismaterial "should prove valuable to those who are interested in Indianaffairs, Nevada history and anthropology, social work and Indianeducation." (MB)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATIONS. WELFARE

OFFICE OF EDUCATIONVHS DOCUMENT HAS SEEN REPRODUCEDEXACTLY AS RECEIVED FRO M THE PERSON ORORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT. POINTS OFVIEW OR OPINIONS STATEO DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY.

THE NEVADA INTERTRIBAL INDIAN CONFERENCE

PRESENTED MAY 1 and 2, 1964, by

THE UNIVERSITY O NEVADAStatewide Services

and

THE INTERTRIBAL COUNCIL OF NEVADA

PROCEEDINGS

Edited and Published by the

CENTER FOR WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN STUDIESDESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTEUNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO

A

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADARENO, NEVADA 89507

CENTER FOR WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN STUDIES,DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE

April 10, 1965

The Center for Western North American Studies is very pleasedto make the proceedings of this significant Conference available to thepublic and to the participants.

The ideas contained in these proceedings should prove valuableto all who are interested in Indian affairs, Nevada history and anthro-pology, social work, and Indian education, among other fields.

Dr. Jack r ForbesActing Dii ,etorCenter for Western North

American Studies

THE NEVADA INTER-TRIBAL INDIAN CONFERENCEUniversity of Nevada, Reno

May 1 and 2, 1964

INDEX

I. WELCOME, GREETINGS 1

A. Charles J. Armstrong, 1President, University of NevadaMay 1, Luncheon Meeting

B. Grant S. Sawyer,Governor of the State of NevadaMay 2, All-Conference Session

C. Senator Alan Bible, Senator Howard Cannon,.and Congressman Walter Baring

II. INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE

A. John Dressler,Chairman, Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada

B. Nellie Harnar,Gun-le Teacher, Stewart Indian School

2

2

3

C. Edw.: d Johnson,8

ChaLiman, Conference Welcoming Committee

D. Warren d'Azevedo, 8Associate Professor of Anthropology

E. Edward Hinckley, 9Education Specialist, Public Health ServiceIndian Hospital

F. Martin Levine, 9Moderator of the All-Conference Sessions

III. ALL-CONFERENCE SESSIONS (May 1 and 2) 10

A. Indians and Opportunity 10

.1. Reports by small group session 10representatives

a. Alvin: James, May 1b. Alyce Williams, May 1c. Alvin James, May 2d. Alyce Williams,. May 2

. Discussion, May 1 and 2 15

(Index, Continued)

3. Summary by C. H. Poehlman, ...... 18Recorder for the small group session

B. Indians and the Community 19

1. Reports by small group session 19representatives

a. Syble Rupert, May 1b. JoAnn Aleck, May 1c. Robert Bauer, May 2d. Syble Rupert, May 2

2. Discussion, May 1 and 2 21

C. Indians and Legislation 31

1. Reports by small group sessicl 31representatives

Ia. Dewey Sampson, May 1b. Donald Wade, May 1c. Dewey Sampson, May 2

I2. Discussion, May 1 and 2 33

a. Background of the Claims Cases . 33

(1) The Washoe Case 33(2) The Western Shoshone Case . . . 33

George WrightJudge Milton Badt

(3) The Northern Paiute Case . 36Robert Leland

b. Area III Settlement, Northern Paiute. . 39Claims Case

c. Docket 87A, Northern Paiute 42Claims Case

d. Appeal. 45

e. Distribution of the Judgment Funds 48

f. .Effectof.the Claims Caseson the Status of the Indians'Land and Rights

g. Communication Between TribalCouncils and Members .....

53

57

. 60

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(Index, Continued)

i. Communications from the Attorneys . . . 65

j. Attorneys' and Experts' Fees 69

k. Other Legislative Matters 70

IV. BANQUET (May 1) Speech by Mrs. Ruth M. Bronson. 71

V. CONCLUDING REMARKS (May 2) 73

A. John Dressler 73

B. Melvin Thom 73

C. John Dressler 79


May 1 and 2, 1964

I. WELCOME, GREETINGS

A. Charles J. Armstrong, President, University of Nevada(May 1, Luncheon Meeting)

It is a pleasure to welcome all of you to the. campustoday. I understand the Nevada Inter-Tribal Council nowhas representation from six tribal councils in the State.I hope the Council will grow in that representation, andgrow in its strength and ability to serve you and yourneeds in the future. Certainly, if the University canhelp in any way by cooperating in conferences of thiskind, or in a more concrete way, we stand ready. I'msure that your discussions will be productive and fruit-ful. We are very, very pleased to have you here. Thankyou very much for being with us.

B. Grant S. Sawyer, Governor of the State of Nevada(May 2, All-Conference Session)

I'm very happy to have the opportunity to come byjust a moment to say hello. I've been hearing for sometime about this Conference and,'along with you, have beenvery excited about it. There are a great many things weneed to do in Nevada. 1 think this may be the beginningof a fruitful kind of discussion. I have followed yourdeliberations, and it seems to me that they're on thehighest kind of level. I saw in the paper yesterdaywhat some of you had to say, and it appears to me thatthis is exactly the kind of thing that we should havebeen doing a long time ago. 'I hope that thiS will bea very prodUctive session for yoU. But I hope even morethat this will be just the beginning; that this will bethe start of an annual conference:in which all of us canjoin. Yesterday' you were talking about communications.I agree that. if we can talk. with one. another and exchangeideas and establish strong lines of Communication, manyof the problems that-we all have will disappear. So, Iwant to extend toyou my congratulations and my very bestwishes. I hope that next year you will do the same thing,and that I will be able to join you., Thank you very much.

. .

(On May 1, Governor Sawyer was represented byWalter WileOn;.Director,,NevadaDepartment of Commerce.)

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C. Senator Alan Bible, Senator Howard Cannon, andCongressman Walter Baring sent their best wishesfor a successful meeting and their regrets atbeing unable to attend.

II. INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE

A. John Dressler, Chairman, Nevada Inter-TribalCouncil of Nevada

The purpose .of our conference today is to encouragecooperation and .communication between the non-Indiansand the Indians of the State of Nevada, for better under-standing between the two peoples. Lack of communicationhas been one cause of the Indian's slow progress in thefield of education and other endeavors. I'm gratifiedto see so many people here interested in our problems,and to know that we may call upon you for your suggestionsand your cooperation.

The Inter-Tribal Council feels it can be a source ofinformation. By improving communication we feel we canhelp our people, in many ways. ,We'll try to formulatepurposes for our Indian people, and give them the feelingthat they, oan help solve their own problems. We aregrateful for your cooperation for this progress.

We were a little pessimistic about the outcome ofour conference, but today.that is gone. I'm certainlyglad to see so, many people here. We mant our EpPeople tofeel that they can come with confidence to you to theInter-Tribal Council; and to the state agencies for aidor information. We ,want to work together to accomplisha common'goal.

Our:Meetings of the Inter-.Tribal Council are open toanyone. We weloome'suggestions and ideas. We hope thatin time our people will take the initiative in programmingtheir ideas for pxogreSS in education and other endeavors.We feel that'Our people.,are willing to cooperate andcommunicate.

Many of our Indians are located in remote parts ofthe State. Many of, them have not been getting the infor-mation that they.should. The Inter-Tribal Council can givethem this ihformation. We haVe published a newsletter,sponsored and financed by the Inter-Tribal Council, to

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(John Dressler, Continued)

pass on to these remote areas and to anyone elseinterested in the information that we have gathered topromote our welfare. The results of these newslettershave been wonderful. We know we are reaching people.Eventually we hope to put the newsletter out by sub-scription on an individual basis. We feel that wouldbe of benefit to our people.

We feel that education among our Indian people isstill inadequate. There are many dropouts. We feel thatthrough the newsletter we can help educate our own peopleto the great need for higher education and stimulate ouryoung children to continue in school.

It is hoped that the non-Indians will give us supportin many ways as we request it. The Inter-Tribal Councilalso needs the cooperation of the Indian people for pro-gress toward our common goals. After the conference, weexpect to follow up with smaller conferences in variouscommunities to bring about a better understanding amongthe non-Indians and the Indians. In that way, in thatparticular community, there will be a better relationship.I wish to thank you for your attendance again and forbetter progress and a continueu good relationship. Thankyou.

B. Nellie Harnar, Guidance Teacher, Stewart Indian School

I chose to talk on the history of Indian educationin Nevada. On Fremont's second trip through Nevada,Truckee and some Paintes went with him to California.One of the great impressions the Indians received wasthe schools for the young whites. Before Truckee'sdeath he obtained a promise that his granddaughters,Sarah Winnemucca and her sister, would be taken to afriend in California where the girls would be schooled.

Later, Indian leaders asked the Governor of NevadaTerritory and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, JamesW. Nye, if schools could be available to their children.He recommended,that the Indians be taught reading,writing, farming, spinning, weaving, preserving meatsand gkain. He felt the schools were a necessity to theIndians. Agent Frederick Dodge agreed with the Governor.Agent Wasson made a flowery tribute to the Indian people

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(Nellie Harnar, Continued)

in his recommendations for the schools.

Later, however, Agent Bateman reported on September30, 1871, that he thought food was far.more importantthan the schools that the Indians were demanding fortheir children. Finally, in 1878, the Secretary of theInterior reported that schools were being establishedon the Indian reservations in the United States and thatthe raglish language would be used to impart elementaryand practical knowledge.

On March 1, 1878, the first Federal school in Nevadawas opened at the Pyramid Lake Reservation with 18 stu-dents attending. Other children who were not in schoolwere helping their parents and relatives to obtain food.Then Agent Barnes recommended that the students be givensubsistence so they could attend school. The day schoolstarted on. September 1, 1879, 52 students were enrolled.School was held in a large room of the agency buildingat Pyramid Lake. The students who attended regularlyshowed much improvement and the agent reported that yearthat there was no difference in capacity for learningbetween, the Caucasian and the Indian children.

In 1880, Agent W. M. Garvey recommended that aboarding school be held at Pyramid Lake instead of theday school because of the irregular attendance of thestudents. In 1882,.the boarding school opened withvocational training added. When the children startedthe farm, the parents helped by taking their teams tohaul.Supplies and lumber. They. cleared.the brush o'the selected farm site.and they leveled and fenced -t.

Agent McMaster said the children were eager to learn,but sometimes the learning was hard. In 1886, the Nevadaagent reported to the Commissioner that in two years therewere no occasions for, whipping or slapping.the students.On page 195 of that report he said, '.'Unlike white chil-dren, it is seldom that they quarrel,among themselves.They never fight., and, froM school age up it is a rarething to hear one ory." In 1887, the Pyramid LakeBoarding SChool, was filled' to capaCity, and ten boyswent to Grand junction, dolorado,,to further theireducation. Later the agent regretted he boys had leftbecause the parents mourned them as though they were dead.

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It is true that there was a need for an advanced schoolfor Indians in the State.

In this centennial year, it is nice to rememberthat the Thirteenth Legislature of Nevada passed an actin 1887.to establish an Indian School with the proceedsof a $10,000 bond isre. An Indian school commissionwas created to purchase land and to start the school.The 240 acres of land purchased were about 3 miles southof Carson City. This school was called Clear CreekIndian School. It was an industrial school where thegirls learned home economics and related subjects, andthe boys learned the trade subjects.

In 1890, the Federal Government bought the newschool property from the State. United States SenatorStewart was instrumental in this purchase. Childrenfrom all Nevada tribes were eligible to attend thisschool, then known as Carson Indian School. At first,some Paiute parents objected to sending their childrento the school located in Washoe territory. Later theywere less reluctant after admonishing their children-the older ones--"Don't get too interested in the Washoeboys and girls. Don't marry them, they're too mean."The children replied, "Don't worry, the Washoes say thesame things to their children. They say the Paiutesare mean."

The school patterned after the Army with drills,bugle calls to meals and to school and the soundingof bedtime taps. During the week there were drillsbefore breakfast, and on Sunday there were inspectionsfor both boys and girls. Church attendance was requiredof all students. All students attended Sunday Schoolclasses in the morning and the evening service. Thus,Carson Indian School educated the Nevada Indians.

The employees had the pioneer spirit. They workedlong hours for small pay. Teaching the Indian childrenin a second language was not easy. Only the elementarygrades were caught. Then in the early 20's some grad-uates commuced to Carson City with the employees' childrento attend the city's high school. They finished and wentto schools of higher learning, and then worked in vocationsthat they had trained for.

; .

10

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(Nellie Harnar,Continued)

After this experience the Federal officials recommendedCarson Indian School expand its grades through the highschool. So in 1\328, the expansion was started until thefull 12 grades were taught. Carson Indian School rankedhigh in the nation's Indian schools; educationally, insportsmanship, and in the beauty of its campus. Ithelped to banish all tribal prejudices. It extended thestudents into state schools and on to colleges. It gavestudents competition in the sports with other schools ofthe State and, in general, contibuted a civilizing elementfor the Indians of Nevada. (Today Stewart Indian Schoolhas over 600 students. Most of these are from other states,principally Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Very few arefrom Nevada.)

Throughout the.State there were Federal day schoolsin the Indian communities and emphasis was placed on neweducational concepts regarding Indian children. TheIndian children.were capable of dOing the regular schoolschedule of the Nevada curriculum and learning variationsas non-Indian children. The Indian children were inte-grated then into the Nevada Public Schools. The NevadaState - Department of Education feels that the assimilationof the Indian children into the State's public 'schoolscould be rated as the highest in the West. And I believethey have reason to be proud.

Now since your children are integrated into the publicschools, perhaps some of you are wondering about post-highschools. There are several avenues for .your children whowish to go on. There are-the Federal schools ( HaskellInstitute. in Kansas, Chilocco in-Oklahoma) which are avail-able.to.Indian students and the only requisites are thatthe students furnish their own transportation and theirown clothing. The Indian School of Practical Nursingat Albuquerque, New Mexico, offers training for one year;books, room, board,; laundry, are offered. (The CapitolBranch, American AsSociation of'University Women, CarsonCity, in alternate years, gives an award of $100 to aStewart High School girl graduate who is furthering hereducation. This year Charlotte Graham, Shoshone, ofDuckwater, Nevada,. received this award. Charlotte isgoing.to the.school ofPracticaI.Nursing.) The Instituteof American Indian Arts,. Bureau of Indian Affairs atSanta Fe, New Mexico, is available to those specifically

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interested. in the arts. A Dental Assistant trainingprogram of the Division of Indian Health, Public Healthservice at Brigham City, Utah, has a nine-month courseavailable to girls eligible for a working scholarshipat the Federal Boarding School, here room and boardare available for some work do: iy the students afterschool hours.

Tribal grants have been awarded at the Pyramid LakeReservation and the Shoshone-Paiute tribes of the DuckValley Reservation, Idaho and Nevada; these are supple-ments to federal grants of $1,000 per year. Federalloans and grants are available to Indian students ofone-fourth Indian blood. More details for these may besecured from Mr. William Whipple, who is our ReservationPrincipal at Stewart. Several colleges and universitiesoffer scholarships to students of Indian blood who arematriculated in their colleges. Social and fraternalorganizations also offer scholarships to outstandingstudents in their localities. The Fleischmann Scholar-ship in Nevada is offered to Indian students who are intheir second, third, or fourth years of college, whenthe grades of the students show they are sincere andsteady.

Now, I wish to say something about parental schoolresponsibility, Please do not think I'm presumptous totell you how to raise your children. In my thirty-fouryears as a teacher, I've found them well-behaved, kind,considerate, courageous, and hard working. But I wishto emphasize, however, that Nevada Indian parents todayall have been schooled. So they can read to their youngchildren. That is one of the things you must do. Readthem good books, get them interested in reading, helpselect good books for them, have newspapers, somethingthey can read to keep up with today's activities.

In this day and age with the world moving so fast,you and I and your children need to know what is goingon. The schools, the counties and the State have lib-raries from which your children can obtain books toread. Help the children to maintain regular attendancein school. And you must see that there is time set asidefor a study period. Now it isn't like going to CarsonIndian School, where the employees took all the responsi-bility of giving a study period, and supervising, and so

12'

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forth. Now it's up to the parents in their own homesto give the children the opportunities to progress withmuch study, and it isn't just because they are Indiansthat the children need to study, the white children needlots of study, too.

There are churches available in most communities.Children should round their education with a religiousoutlook on life. Living today and tomorrow needs astress of brotherly love of all humanity.

C. Edward Johnson, Chairman, Conference WelcomingCommittee, introduced the members of the welcomingcommittee.

D. Warren d'Azevedo, Associate Professor of Anthropology

Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Chairman Dressler, Mrs. Harnar,Wa-pa-shone singers, and guests--greetings. I think itis most appropriate that this conference is held duringthe centennial year in the State, of Nevada. And thoughthe campus is very noisy today and the best behaviorisn't being presented, it may be especially appropriatethat this conference is taking place during the studentMackay Day celebration at the University of Nevada.During the centennial year the citizens of Nevada givespecial recognition to. their particular traditions andexpress a pride in their. community. . It seems to mespvially-important that part of this activity be directedto the traditions and interests of that portion of theNevada communitysome 8,000 strong - -who once inhabitedthe regionprior to-thc of a rather large andincreasing crowd of unili,ited guests. The early.settlersin NeVada in the 1850's and.60's are like the man whocame to dinner, who :invited himself.and then stayed onand on and on, later bringing his family, his distantrelatives. and all of his friends. and acquaintances.

Today, the students here. at the-University arecelebrating a tradition-of their ownftiedvery closelyto the syMbols of the. history of those early guests whocame to stay for dinner and stayed on and on and on.Their dress, their behavior and their,pistols are perhapsnot too different-from the dress, behavior, and the pistolsof some of those early guests. I was a bit relieved to

14

LUNCHEON MEETING, May 1

Upper Right: John Dressler,Chairman of the Inter-TribalCouncil of Nevada, welcomesparticipants to the firstNevada Inter-Tribal IndianConference. On his left areSyble Rupert, Secretary ofthe Inter-Tribal Council andEdward Johnson, Chairman ofthe Welcoming Committee.

Lower Right: Nellie Harnar,Guidance Teacher, StewartIndian School, reviews thehistory of Indian educationin Nevada. Delbert Howard,Inter-Tribal Council Dele-gate from the WinnemuccaColony, and Syble Rupert,Carson Colony,also pictured.

Below Right: Jeannette Allan e%V

presents a sign language Vinterpretation of the Lord'sPrayer with the Wa-Pa-ShoneGlee Club, lead by Mrs. LeahManning,Social Worker,Bureau A

of Indian Affairs (Owyhee).The Indian chorus presenteda group of twelve Shoshone,Paiute and Washoe songs,eluding handgame songs, puberty ceremonial songs and social rounddance songs. Members of the Glee Club are Jeannette Allan,GloriaThomas, Vera Thomas, Gladys Johnny, Velta Cleveland, Fay McDade,Clarissa Caseres, Winona Manning, Tena Manning, and Freda Smokey.Some visitors, including Mrs. Harrison Frazier, joined the chorusfor the day.

'tt

Below Left: Some of the participants during the luncheon at theJot Travis Union.

=

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(Warren d'Azevedo, Continued)

see that the symbolism of the day is not entirelyone-sided. One young man was walking about the campuswith an arrow stuck through his ten-gallon hat.

It's very gratifying to be able to take part inthis conference in which there will be an opportunityfor a full exchange of views and a new step in the di-rection of increased understanding between Indians andnon-indians in the State of Nevada. I was impressedby Mrs. Syble Rupert's phrasing of the intention ofthis conference when she stated during a televisioninterview the other day the following. She said thatthe whites and Indians of Nevada have been on eitherside of a sagebrush curtain and it is time for thatcurtain to be torn down so that there can be a moreproductive and cooperative relationship in the future.I think that those of us who are not Indians here atthe conference stand to learn a great deal, and thatthis may be considered one of the important purposes ofthis gathering. I think that as guests in the house whohave to ccme to stay for dinner, and who have stayed onand on ani on, that we might keep in mind that theShoshone, the Paiutes, and the Washoe people of thisregion are possibly descendents of peoples who haveinhabited this house, not merely for a hundred years(which the centennial commemorates) but for many, manythousands of years. And we should be reminded that theygot on very well over those thousands of years, despitethe deserts, despite the scarcity of water, and despitethe conditions which might try the hardiest survivalgroup or training crew of the Army or any Eagle BoyScout. They can teach the rest of us many things weneed to learn. One thing we recent visitors can learn,for example, is how to become a welcome and cooperativeguest in a crowded house.

E. Edward Hinckley, Education Specialist, PHS IndianHospital, Schurz, Nevada, explained the procedurefor the small group sessions.

F. Martin Levine, Moderator of the All ConferenceSessions, urged the small group session moderatorsand the participants to encourage a free exchangeof ideas.

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III. ALL CONFERENCE SESSIONS (May 1 and May 2)

A. Indians and Opportunity

1. Reports by small group session representatives,Indians and Opportunity

a. Alvin James (May 1)

I would like to outline what we are reallytrying to talk about. We have the people onone hand, and the goals on the other. In orderto bridge this gap, we need opportunities. Wecame up with some general conclusions.

In general, the problems facing the Indiansare no different from those of the white commu-nities, except that in addition, Indians have acultural disadvantage and a language barrier, ifthey spoke their native tongue when they weresmaller.

It was pretty will agreed by everyone thateducation is the thing that we're lacking. Wecame up with the following ideas."

It was pointed out that professional as wellas vocational education should be encouraged.The professional people would work with theirtribal communities and set up counseling servicesfor the young people, all the way through theireducation.

-The.Indian is. primarily geared to the tradeschool, and is interested in a man's kind ofwork, with his hands-There is a lack of communi-cation between children and their parents. Ouruniversity students said they need counseling,.even at theilevel. If they had counseling atthe start, they would have gotten along a lotbetter. It was also brought out by one of theanthropologists that the status,of people trainedinthe. trades is now very similar.to that oftechnicians and professionals.

The non-Indian is also involved and, in closecooperation with these non-IndianSmho have' the

',"1 16

(Alvin James, Continued)

very same problem, Indians could get a tradeschool established in Nevada, By cooperating,both groups would be much stronger in seekingfunds and the other things that are needed.

b. Alyce Williams (May 1)

We didn't come up with anything definitebecause this group is not able to make any leg-islation. All we can do is talk about ourproblems and bring them before the public. Oneof the men from Churchill County High Schoolsaid he thought some kind of committee could beformed to make sure that all of our children haveable counseling from the time they're in the eighthgrade through high school, and even into orIllege ifthey need it.

There was one other important thing broughtout in our group discussion and this was, whyare so many of our people ashamed of being Indian?They just don't like the idea of being Indian.Someone came up with this idea. Why not teachour Indian people more about their heritage?Maybe some of our, own Indian people would beinterested in becoming anthropologists and findingout about our Indian heritage, and how good itwas, and. then give it back to our Indian people,because this is the only way we're going to bestrong as a people, by being proud of ourselves.

Martin Levine: Was there any statement thatthis shame interferred with taking advantage ofopportunities available?

Alyce Williams: Yes, after getting an edu-'cation,. Indians are ashamed to come back totheir people...

Martin Levine: Do people use the educationthen?

AlyceWilliams: They use their education,,but only to their own advantage, and not tohelp all of the Indian population.

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(Alyce Williams, Continued)

Martin Levine: As you point out, you'renot solving a problem, you're bringing it up.The type of opportunity Indians need is nodifferent from the typs needed by the non-Indian. I don't know if this is the first timethis has been said by Indians or not, but cer-tainly it's been said here.

c. Alvin James (May 2)

In our discussion today, the definite needfor information was pointed out. We dealt pri-marily with the need to disseminate information.

We talked about the problem of stimulationfrom the home, to get the younger Indian peopleto have the same drive as the non-Indian. Whatis the reason for this lack of drive, and thistendency to hang back?

We talked about Indians defining their goals.What do they want out of life? We found thatIndians are frequently influenced by their olderpeople, who don't have the full grasp of whatcompetition is. But that's what non-Indiansociety is--competition. You've got to be ableto do things better than the other guy or you'regoing to be out of a job.

We. agreed that the Indian is the same as thenon-Indian in Ability to learn, and also in abi-lity to disagree. It was brought out by ourmoderator that the IQ tests are aimed at thewhite middle class. The Indian might fail oneaspect Of-those tests. But if you give anIndian a test on something.he knows somethingabout, things that occur in his life on thereservation, he may far surpass the non-Indianin this area. So there is no really true test

. of potential.

In this line, it was asked, "What is normalfor the Indian?" They know what is normal forthe white people - -to compete and to try to getahead. But becauSe of the difference in cultural

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background, this hasn't been instilled'in manyIndians.

It's good to have opinions, but when youget into suspicions and undermine the opponentin.the wrong way, that is wrong. The word"stereotype" was mentioned. When he sees anIndian or hears someone mention an Indian, whatdoes the white man think about? Does he see aguy walking down Commercial Row? Does he thinkabout a person sitting in front of his hut,weaving baskets?

The non-Indians are stereotyped, too. Indianstalk about white people, but what kind of whitepeople do we mean? We agreed we have to breakthis problem down into recognizable units, tostratify it. We have to say what kind of personwe're talking about. This is a person thatdoesn't have an education. This is a person thatis a dropout. This is a person that had no stim-ulation from home. This is a person that grew upill a white community.

It was said that a lot of times an Indianjust learns to be a white man, and that isn'tgood. Indians think the white man, again thisis the white man in general, is taught to cheatother people. This is how competition looks toIndians sometimes. The old Indians didn't tryto cheat the other guy. It was decided that weshould hold on to such things. This is a valueof the Indian culture.

The older Indian people talk in terms of theirown ex:zerience. The younger people hear this.Then they go to school and are taught differentvalues. This confuses them. One person said weshould look forward and think backward, or lookforward and hold on to the good old things wehad in the pest.

We went on to disCuss vocational opportunities..,Again it 'was brought out very strongly the needforan indUstrial school.' Everyone can't be a

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college graduate. Some can't even completehigh school, for that matter.

This idea of the trade school frequentlyappeared. It was brought out that maybe weshould have a trade and business school, sothat we could have a place for our dropouts,and a school for our people who graduate fromhigh school who aren't ready to go to theUniversity. They could get the first twoyears and get a real good start. We felt alocal school like this would recognize theNevada peoples needs. If you have a devel-opment going up, and you want to train yourpeople toward certain specialized jobs, maybethat could be provided by such a school. Itwas brought up that Haskell is crowded. Alot of.times applications are turned down.A local school would eliminate the cost oftransportation. It would also help preserveour. Indian heritage right here in Nevada.We've got a lot of things to be proud of.Even though we didn't drive the buffaloaround or spear them, or dramatic things likethat, we've done a lot of things, too.

It was brought out that young Indians arediscouraged.by delay in hearing about oppor-tunities, by bureaucracy and red tape. It wasbrought out that we need easier and quickerways of getting information to them.

It was also brought out that Indians withmore education should go back and help their

. people as much as:they can,-

So wetried to.talkabout the recognizableparts of the problems,.and I think we did.

d. Alyce Williams (May 2)

13ecause,my.friend.did such a fine job, I'mgoing to. be very brief.: We talked of opportunityas being something.weshould grasp if we wantedit. We talked about seeing a little paper boy

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at five.o'clock in the morning and he happenedto be a non-Indian boy. We recognized thatmaybe the white person was more aggressive ingetting some opportunities. As my friendsuggested, we stereotype people and say, "Theseare Indians and these are white people". Mr.Abraham said he knew quite a few white peoplewho didn't wear shoes, and we agreed with this.We said we were afraid to grasp an opportunity;afraid it had strings to it. And we had beenconditioned. We were promised something and itdidn't come, or it came and something else washitched to it. We recognized the Legislatureis sometimes like the archeologists and Paiutes.We don't all speak with one voice. We had a verytouching testimonial from Mr. Harry Sampson, whois 72, and went to Stewart. By his courage andby his example he showed us that there wereIndian people that could go ahead and grasp asituation. My own personal opinion is thatMr. Sampson is still an Indian, but he has takenadvantage of much of the white opportunity offered.We concluded that we hoped we could meet again.Personally, I would like to express my apprecia-tion for being here and being informed as I havebeen informed by my Indian friends. Thank you.

2. Dis.cussion (May 1 and 2), Indians and Opportunitz

Unidentified. Participant: What do you mean byvocational education? Now the educator has onedefinition of it. I don't know what yours is.

Alvin James: What I think they were talking aboutwas the trade school type: mechanics, bakers,cooks, carpenters, plumbers. Everyone should bea plumber, you get six dollars an hour.

Unidentified Participant: I don't know muchabout the labor set -up in the State of Nevada.However,.in Arizona, several years ago, in ameeting at the Papago Reservation, the represent-atives of several labor unions, especially those

Of21

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(Unidentified Participant, Continued)

connected with the building trades, expressedthe fact that they were not interested inapplicants who were manually trained. Theysaid they wanted applicants who were academicallytrained--those who had a high school diploma orits equivalent. They said they had their ownapprenticeship program in which they would traintheir own members in the building trades. I

don't know how this effects. your statement, butto me there is only one concluSion.

Ray Mills: Well, back in the12012 when I wentto school we had what we called the vocationalhigh school, and you could come out of there soyou had enough credits to go on to college, andif you wanted to, you could learn a trade, too.You could have both. But they stopped that.

Ed Johnson: I think the problem in Nevada isthat we don't have a trade high school, likethey have in California, where the people canget a high school diploma and a trade, foreverybody, white and Indian alike.

Unidentified Participant: like to informMr. Mills that all trade schools have not beenclosed to Indian students. We have HaskellIndian School that still has trade trainingfor their Indian students, there is a practicalnursing school in Albuquerqueiithey have theschool in Santa Fe, and then there are grantsgiVen out to.students that wislLto. go'on fortraining in mechanics, auto bodyi'and differenttraining programs that they would like to getinto.

Mark Young: I feel compelled to..add my voiceto this discussior of vocational high schoOls.We see a terrific need.for.the boy who may notbe able to grasp some of the educational con-cepts which train for college to have a trade,and to have some of the education which goeswith .that trade. Go get 'em.

Nick Jackson: One of the things brought upwas the fact that the people attending the

2.

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(Nick Jackson, Continued)

meeting didn't feel the level of education inthe Indian schools was equal to the level ofeducation in the white schools. They feltupgrading the school systems within the Indianschools might be invaluable. They felt thata graduating Indian couldn't go into the nextgrade without further education.

Martin Levine: Is this the opinion that every-body held?

Alyce Williams: Yes. Especially those residingon reservations found that when the childrengraduate from the eighth grade and go in tohigh school, they find it hard to catch up andbe on the same level with the other studentswho have gone through the regular public schoolsin town.

Martin Levine: I just want to remind everyonehere EN one of the purposes of this conferenceis to set up an exchange of opinion, so the impor-tant thing is not so much that we're going toget a vocational school, but that people expressthemselves on the idea of opportunity, bothIndian and non-Indian. So by all means you'reall welcome. Get up and speak your piece andlet your voice be heard. I think this is farmore important than the ultimate solutions thatwe are shooting for, such as a vocational trainingschool or counseling.

Actually there are many other things here thatare important, that are more basic. For instancethis matter of shame. And the matter of shamemay account for the fact that people here don'tspeak up. The important thing is the feeling wedevelop in this matter of communications bytalking to one another in a meaningful andintelligent way.

Et3

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3. Summary, by C. H. Poehlman, Recorder for thesmall group session on Indians and Opportunity

At the Nevada Inter-Tribal Council held inReno on May 1 and 2, 1964, it was agreed thatopportunity is the bridge between people andgoals, and that opportunities are limited byindividual training and skills. Education isthe most important means of opening up oppor-tunities. At the present time, in the Renoarea, there are many opportunities for Indianpeople, based on their qualifications or skills,regardless of the fact that they may be Indian.

One of the greatest difficulties Indians havein finding employment is due to not being pre-pared. Job opportunities have declined sincethe Stewart Indian School changed its policyin regard to vocational training. Indianchildren should get vocational training aftercompleting high school, and qualified studentsshould specialize in advanced training: anthro-pology or linguistics, where they could changeboth white and Indian attitudes. One of thegreat blocks to opportunity is the non-Indian'sstereotyped thinking of an Indian and theIndian's stereotyped thinking of a non-Indian.The level of education of the parent does notnecessarily become a restriction for the levelof education of the children.

"Successful" Indians and "educated" Indians donot resort to the use of alcohol in excess.Too many Indians sit back and wait for oppor-tunity to come to them instead of going outand seeking it. Parents do not tell childrenof opportunities and do not push their children.It is the parents' responsibility for the edu-cation of the children: the older ones shouldguide the younger students toward the meaningof education. Parents should realize thingsare constantly changing and what was right forparents is not necessarily right for theirchildren. Direction, of training of skillsshould be geared to the next ten years.

ti

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(C. H. Poehlman, Continued)

A tribal education committee would be a linkbetween parents and schools. In many instancesIndian children and parents are not aware ofthe scholarship and grant opportunities forIndian students. Indian children will nottake advantage of vocational training if it istoo far away from home.

Many Indians still have the attitude, "What isthe white man going to cheat us out of next?".

B. Indians and the Community

1. Reports by small group session representatives,Indians and the Community

a. Syble Rupert (May 1)

We talked about the opportunities forIndians in their communities. There seem tobe a number of opportunities to improve relation-ships between Indians and the non-Indian community,like joining the PTA and taking an interest in allthe school activities. Even if you have to siton the football field and half freeze to death,it's a way of communicating. You can join dif-ferent organizations. This will not only helpthe individual that is participating, but itwill help your children and your neighbors'children, Indian and non-Indian. Invite yournon-Indian neighbors into your meetings, toyour tea parties, to your cake sales, and getto know one another. That's the only way we'regoing to break through the barrier.

b, JoAnn Aleck (May 1)

In our group discussion about the Indian andthe community, several questions were put to thegroup. What do you feel are your' responsibilitiesas citizens.of,the State of. Nevada? The first onepointed out was the responsibility of registering

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(JoAnn Aleck, Continued)

to vote. Each individual must register, knowthe candidateshe.is voting for, and to investi-gate his political viewpoint:' Another pointbrought out was active participation in organi-zations like the PTA and service .clubs.

c. Robert Bauer (May 2)

Since I am fairly new to the problems ofthe Indian community in thiState, I shouldlike to give just a few highlights that becamevery apparent to me as I listened to the discus-sion. Many Indians' appear; to...feel a kind ofpowerlessness with respect to some of their mosturgent problems. It was brought up that a tribalcouncil has powers very similat.to a federallychartered municipal corporation, and acts as agoverning body. ,:Yet there is frequently nocommunication between the council and the peopleof the tribe. Frequently, the councilmen them-selves do nothave a full and clear idea whattheir function should be, much less how toinvolve the whole community in the planning andthe legislation of the council. Here is one ofthe great gaps of Indian community life. Itmight well be necessary to establish much morecommunication. Then we found, as far as Indianland and ownership and assignment of land toindividuals and their heirs are concerned, thereis a great deal of.powerlessness again, becausefaced on the one hand with very complex legisla-tion, and on the other hand with'tribal customs,it is too easy to feel hete..is something wecannot and maybe 'need not do anything about.

d. Syble Rupert (May 2)

In our Indians and the Community group wediscuSsed the.tribal-bbunbilS and members ofthe cOmMUnity,:andfeltthat.if the tribalcouncils.:Wouldidnvite-their people .to the tribalCouncil' meetings,' and 'asks people for their

--opinions end:'ideas'on'mhatcan-be'done to help,the tribal council would have a better chanceof helping their people. But if the councils

I

I

I

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(Syble Rupert, Continued)

don't work with their people, they don't knowwhat's going on, and they have no idea of whatthe council expects of them. So, if you caninvolve the people and the members of yourcommunity, both Indian and non-Indian, withyour councils, I believe you will have a betterchance of working out a lot of your own problems.

2. Discussion (May 1 and 2), Indians and theCommunity

Erma Foster: In our community (Walker River),we're not active. We continue fighting. Thereare a lot of white people here that are veryinterested in Indian problems. If there areany of you from around Yerington, Fallon andHawthorne that would help us there at Schurz,it would be better.

Syble Rupert: Throw a few parties. Invite yournon-Indian neighbors.

Erma Foster: But we need a little help.

Syble Rupert: You have to figure out a way toget your peoples together. Have your tribalcouncil invite the non-Indians to their meetings.

Ray Mills: That can work in reverse, too. I'velived here in town for years and I belong tothree organizations: the Sierra Club, the NevadaConservation Society and one of the Rock Clubs.I'm the only Indian in those clubs. White peoplecan work the same way by inviting the Indians tojoin their organizations and work with them. AnIndian has to be invited. He isn't going tobarge in on people, unwanted.

Daisey Bird: Like you say, let's tear thatsagebrush curtain down. In my opinion, weIndians sitting here in this room, all over theState of.Nevada, in fact all over the UnitedStates, we -ought to be glad that we're Indians,and that our forefathers walked this United°States before the white man. But still, we have

fl* 27

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(Daisey Bird, Continued)

to go along with the white man's law because hegives us education, and that's what we're callingfor--education. Do you agree with me?

Syble Rupert: Yes.

Daisey Bird: If we educate our children they'llbe more free. And we can't say the white man istaking our rights away from us.

Syble Rupert: The way I feel al-cut it is, we'llhave to educate ourselves. The people go tomeetings, but they don't get up and talk. Wefind that in our own tribal councils. We'llhave a crowd, but we ask a question and we get

no response. That's where it's got to begin,in our own tribal councils. If you can getthe people to get up and talk in your own tribalmeetings, it's going to be much easier for themto get up and talk in a PTA meeting or othermeeting. It has to start someplace.

Nick Jackson: I think something rather amusingwas brought up just a second ago, and that's theIndian right to vote. You people represent some8,000 people within the State; enough to electa Senator or not to elect a Senator, or kick himout of office. I don't suggest that you use thisas a political organization, but you could have atremendous lobby within the State.

Donal O'Callaghan: A little while ago, someonesaid he didn't know what the truth was. I havea file that thick in my office. The ideas area little bit different all through this file.I found one way of finding out what the truthwas. I contacted people like Stannard Frankand people like this, and I found out that theonly consistency among all the correspondencewas from the Indians themselves. The Indianshave something to say. When you go out on thereservations and talk with them or have them inyour own home, you find out that they have agreat deal to say. I was in a group this after-noon, and in an hour only four Indians spoke up.

usP8

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(Donal O'Callaghan, Continued)

The Indians weren't talking. This afternoon inhere, in a bigger group, they have spoken up.I hope they do the same thing in the individualgroups tomorrow, because you can do even morein a small group. If discussion would continueas it has for the last hour, people like myselfwould learn something.

Martin Levine: I think the major point raisedis do express yourselves. The only way we'regoing to get to know the situation better, berealistic about it, or arrive at any kind ofagreement or sense of community or effectiveness,is to have both Indian and non-Indian say hispiece. The mere people who say it, the betteroff we are. And, as Mr. O'Callaghan says, theway you talk at home is the way to talk here.

Ray Mills: The Indians always had a strongorganization years back, and they had a goodcommunications system. Today that communicationssystem exists, but not the organization. In orderto get it to the Indian himself, they're knockingon the Indian's head, and trying to ram thingsdown his throat. Now I think that's the wrongapproach.

There's another well-known approach that mostof us Indians know, and that's from the Indianhimself. Right from the source, right wherewe're trying to hit--the Indian himself.

Now the Indians should organize themselves.I think that the Indian Bureau should notinterfere with the organization of Indiangroups. The Indians themselves should do it.And once they get that, then I think from thereon you can get a little bit better communication.When that happens, I think the Indian can meetanybody halfway, and he'll be receptive toanybodrs views.

Now there are Indians right here in town that Iknow of that are capable of doing a lot of thesethings. I think once that is done, the Indians

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(Ray Mills, Continued)

will bring :heir problems out, and you can dealwith them from there on. But our efforts atorganizing some of these people have been ham-pered; I mean both through the Indian Serviceand within the peop.Le themselves sometimeJ,because there is a doubt. Now whenever thereis any element of suspicion you'll never beable to get anything done. And I think theway to break that element of suspicion is tostart from the Indian himself. Let him do thosethings himself. The way we've been approachingthis, I believe, is from the top, when we shouldstart from the bottom and come up from there.And I think that will break the barrier

Unidentified Participant: The speaker juststated that the Indians have a communicationssystem, but lack organization. Would you careto describe this communications system? I'munaware of it.

Ray Mills: You may know it as a grapevine, andthe Indians have other words for it. When thereis a meeting in Austin or Battle Mountain orsomeplace and the Indians decide on it, threeor four days later they all know about it, I don'tknow how it happens. We've put ads in the paperand over television, and we don't get any response,but the other way you can get them there.

Daisey Bird: We can select our delegates, wecan send them. How do we know what this delegateis supposed to say? From my opinion, I think allthe groups, no matter who they may be representing,Paiutes, Washoe, Shoshone, must make up their mindson their own. But on the other hand we've got toexplain things in our own tongue, I think in thatmanner we can get along. We represent them, butwe don't know what's on their minds. So we haveto cooperate with our own people, sit down andtalk to them and give them understanding. I

think that's the way we have to work this matterout, from my opinion. Thank you.

Warren d'Azevedo: There is one comment thatMr. Mills made that interested me very much.

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(Warren d'Azevedo, Continued)

I think he pointed out earlier that one of theproblems has to do with communication. As hesaid, there is an Indian grapevine which isextremely effective, as I'm sure many of usknow. There is also a kind of grapevine amongthe non-Indians. I think one of the things thisconference has pointed out is that there is dis-sension among non-Indians as well as Indians.But it would seem to me that Indians might liketo think about actual factionalism and differ-ences of opinion among the whites. Its veryeasy to think about the dominant, non-Indianauthority as monolithic, that is, that they allagree. I think this conference has demonstratedthat this is not true. I have my own opinionsand I'm sure everybody else feels that way, too.That, I think, is one of the basic kinds oflearning about communicaLion that conferenceslike this offer. And I hope, to answer Mr. Mills,that various Indian groups will realize that theyhave just as much opportunity to manipulate non-Indians as non-Indians have had for 100 or moreyears to manipulate Indians.

Unidentified Participant: Earlier in the sessionI understood Mr. Mills to say that the Inter-Tribal Newsletter printed reports that were avail-able to the tribal councils and its members. Ishe now saying that he prefers the grapevine tothis kind of reporting?

Ray Mills: No, I believe that the Indian shouldhave a right to say what he wants in the Inter-Tribal Newsletter.

Robert Bauer: In context with Dr. d'Azevedo'sremarks, I should like to bring before thisgroup a comment by a newspaper reporter, Mr.Wilson. He has attended our session, and hasattended many, many city council and other simi-lar meetings. He pointed out that if the sessionsof tribal councils were attended by interestedmembers of, the community, the Indian communitywould be that much further ahead of the whites,who never seem to attend their own, council meetings.

r.

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Martin Levine: I wonder if part of the problemis that we're trying to break into these grape-vines. These are inner, rather than intercommunications. Perhaps the grapevine ciestesa lot of mystery and misunderstanding for thegroup not included in the system. I thinkcuriosity doesn't help understanding, and itmakes for a lot of conjecture. So, I thinkwhat we're trying to do here is bring thegrapevine out into the open, then talk it over,and try to decide something about it. Once Ihear about problems, I am not only interestedbut involved. I think this is true of many people.

Wayne Suttles: While I'm an outsider to Nevada,I've spent the last 12 years in British Columbiawhere I am fairly well acquainted with theIndian situation. It appeared to me after someperiod of observation that there the reserves,the band councils, chiefs, etc., are in fact offi-cial units imposed from the outside by the govern-ment, and that there is in addition a differentkind of social organization, one which theIndians themselves are only partly aware of,non-Indians wholly unaware of. Now I wonder ifMr. Mills' reference to the grapevine doesn'trefer to the same kind of a situation here. Ifit does, I suggest that this social organization,which is apart from the reservation system, shouldbe explored and exploited by the Indians themselves,I suppose, as a basis for some kind of action.

Ray Mills: That has been going on for about 100years. If nothing has been done in that time, whyexploit it any more, especially by the Indiansthemselves?

Wayne Suttles: Well, I'm agreeing with you.You're saying, I think, that the grapevine issomething that can be depended apon.

Ray Mills: I think it's dependable.

Wayne Suttles: Well, I suggest that the grape-Tine is only one aspect of something which couldbe used by Indians.

32

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Ray Mills: What should be exploited is thegrapevine itself, not what they have been tryingto force on the Indians for 100 years.

Daisey Bird: I disagree. I think Indian peopleshould stay away from the grapevine and go totheir meetings and know for themselves whatwe're discussing.

Dewey Sampson: Many of the councils don't goalong with what the members of the reservationsor colonies want. They've taken matters intheir own hands, and that's been hurting ourpeople. Instead of going along with the ideasthat have been brought up by the members ofthose reservations, they go along in a differentchannel, which makes a lot of difference, notonly in communication but in everything else.What are delegates supposed to con'y to thesevarious meetings? Some of the delegates to theInter-Tribal Council were not even appoin...ed oraccredited by their people. Now our peo:rle wantto know a little bit more about this Inter-Tribal Council; how it was organized, and who'ssupposed to be represented. I think there's nobetter place to find out exactly where we stand.I think those things ought to be thrashed outbefore we make any decision this afternoonabout making any resolution or any comment fromthis conference. We know that we need such aconference, but it should be a conference madeof Indians themselves--Indian representatives,that's what we want. Then I believe we can goa long ways, we can be free to face anyone. I

don't know how our colony has been dragged intothe thing. And those things I think we oughtto get thrashed out.

Delbert Howard: Mr. Chairman, I wish to makesome points clear concerning the Inter-TribalCouncil. My name is Delbert Howard. I'm fromWinnemucca. Throughout 1963, interest wassparked in an informal meeting of the representa-tives of some of the Nevada Indian groups. Aseries of meetings was held: in Stewart inSeptember, Schurz in November, and Winnemuccain December. Most Indian groups applauded the

33

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(Delbert Howard, Continued)

idea for an Inter-Tribal Council for Nevada.Some groups were not represented at all of ourmeetings, but someone from all the major tribesand colonies attended at least one of thesemeetings. Therefore, we believe that everyonehad a chance to be heard, to express their views.

The Constitutional Convention met at Winnemuccaon December 7.

The formation of the Inter-Tribal Council inother states, such a:3 Arizona, New Mexico andIdaho, etc., has been of direct benefit to theparticipating tribes. For example, in Arizonathe Inter-Tribal Council has brought a problemof common concern to the attention of the ArizonaCongressional Delegation. This has resulted infavorable legislation for Indians. One of ourproposed projects in Nevada is to initiate avoter education program, which will make Indiancitizens aware of the power of their votes atlocal, state and national levels.

We believe thoroughly that only through coopera-tive, factual prc.grams of mutual understandingwith the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with state,county and municipal governments, can we realizeoverall achievements for our programs for thebenefit of all Nevada Indians. It is with thisin mind that the Inter-Tribal Council ExecutiveCommittee has voted to incorporate within thelaws of the State of Nevada.

For those who do not know, these are the purposesand the goals that the Inter-Tribal Council hasset: 1) to secure for our people the rights andbenefits which should adhere to them pursuant totreaties and all legal and moral and equitableundertakings of the U. S. Government; 2) to pre-serve and protect Indian cultural values andheritage, and at the same time increase theunderstanding of our people and secure theirfuller participation in the institutions offree government in the state and communities in

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(Delbert Howard, Continued)

the state and communities in which they live;3) to secure and promote the general welfareand education of our people, and their fullemployment, and the excercise of all theprivileges of citizenship in the United States;4) to hasten and improve the education of ourpeople, and equality of instruction and facil-ities with other citizens, and; 5) to enlightenthe public with respect to Indian affairs, andto promote a better understanding between theIndians and their fellow citizens of Nevada andthe United States.

It is with these facts in mind that I urge allpeople to explore for themselves the standpointsand the viewpoints of the Inter-Tribal Council,and its most vital concern with respect toNevada Indians. And with this, I close. I

hope that some of you people here today havea new outlook concerning the Inter-TribalCouncil.

John Dressler: I'm the chairman of the Inter-Tribal Council in the State of Nevada. I'mfrom the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, as a goodmany of you know. We have urged the Reno-SparksIndian Colony to join the Inter-Tribal Council.For lack of interest or perhaps from persuasionby some other people, they are not members ofthe Inter-Tribal Council. Perhaps I should nothave been listed as a representative of theReno-Sparks Indian Colony, but only as aninterested person of Reno. But nevertheless,I feel like wholeheartedly supporting mypeople. I felt I had a duty to do. I sub-mitted my ability, what little I have, in supportof the Inter-Tribal organization. I have triedto get the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony to supportthis Inter-Tribal Council. I was selected astemporary chairman, and I felt I should go alongwith been in the organization fromthe very beginning. Thanks for your time.

Dewey Sampson: Is there any fee that you haveto pay? An informative statement that was made

35

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(Dewey Sampson, Continued)

in one of the meetings was that some Indiangroups didn't have enough money to join.Also, they've had a lot of other problemsconfronting them, and they didn't feel theywanted to be involved in any other organiza-tion until all these other serious matters hadnot only come before our local colonies, butthe Paiute Indians of the State. We feel thatuntil thoEc things are solved, then we can't goonto something like this.

I'm not objecting to an Indian organizationthat would hold its head up high and reallywork for their people. I know what it en-tails: a lot of thinking, fearing that youmight make the wrong move, that your statementswill backfire.

Paisey Bird: We felt that J(..nn Dressler wasdoing the best he could for our people; that'swhy we elected him Chairman.

Martin Levine: I think part of this brings outthat there are some matters that are entirelyIndian in nature. Maybe some of this has to becleared up first by the Indians.

Syble Ruk)ert: The fee for membership in theInter-Tribal Council is $25 per year for eachorganization that wishes to join. That doesnot mean per head--that means per organization.

Gus Garity: I've been a delegate to the IdahoInter-Tribal Council for some years. Theirfee is $60. The organization has a lot of

1responsibilities financially--correspondence,and typewriters and things like that. I thinkyour $25 isn't going to hurt anybody. It's forthe benefit of the organization to transacttheir business, and pay for stamps, correspondence,paper and all office facilities. So I'm justreporting that we have to pay $60, and we don'tgripe about it.

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C. Indians and Legislation

1. Reports by small group session representatives,Indians and Legislation

a. Dewey Sampson (May 1)

Our discussion was about Indian claims.We didn't accomplish too much because we hadquite a controversy in there. We co,Aldn't cometo any conclusion. There are many importantmatters to decide before we can make any recom-mendations. More of you people who are interestedshould come to the discussion tomorrow. Thenmaybe we could make up a resolution or somethingto this effect.

b. Donald Wade (May 1)

I'll have a few words to say to my people.I didn't make notations of anything becausethat's beyond my knowledge. I'm one of theWashoe tribe. This is my first time to talkover a microphone like this. I'm glad to behere to talk to you people, I know you areone kind. Were all one kind, white andIndian. In our discussion we talked about theIndian claims. Some of the people from thereservation have misunderstood the Court ofClaims rules. They thought that as soon asthey were paid off, they were to be terminated;that they would have to pay taxes on theirproperty. But we learn that it isn't so, itdoesn't take any termination at all. We canstill hold our reservations and allotments andtrust land, and so far they can be tax exempt,which I have learned today. I believe weWashoes know what's going on and our attorneyalways brings good news to us.

That's something to be seen yet, if therewere a good judgment some day, that we mighthave a little money', sufficient to do something.It might not be so. We don't know until it'sbeen paid--until we get our judgment, becausewe don't know how much we're going to get. Butwe hope that we get something some day. And I

37-`

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(Donald Wade, Continued)

believe there is a limitation to that too; theycan't hold the Court forever for us to presentour Court of Claims. There must be a deadlinesomewhere along there. We're supposed to makesome kind of resolution tomorrow.

One thing, the State of Nevada has a goodlaw. The Indians of Nevada have a fishing andhunting free license. So that's one thingNevada Indians should hang on to, that's theirright. It's a lot of help to people that havefamilies that cannot afford to buy licenses.So along that line we will have to draw upsome kind of resolution and talk to our repre-sentatives, our State Legislators to protectour right. If we don't speak up, why it mightnot be known. We might not be on the map.But we are still on the map. Like I say, Iam one of the Washoe tribe. This county isnamed after the Washoe. Along this line hereI know nearly all the Washoe people in my ter-ritory, because there are just a handful ofthem. And I was one of the enrolling committeeto enroll our people. We still enroll them,newly-born children. Those that pass on, we takethem off the roll. We discuss this and make aresolution to approve, by the Council. We knowour people, who they are. If the Governmentenrolling agents come out here, they are goingto ask the Indian anyway, "Who is that?". Weknow who they are by their grandfather and parents'name. There are a few cases that we couldn'tsolve. There are a few of them that we don'tknow the name, they were Indians from outsideNevada or California from distant areas. Wedon't know the names. Every Indian group orcommunity should enroll their own people becausethey know one another. They know who they are.The agent or whoever is appointed by the Govern-ment is going to ask us anyway who the peopleare, so if we do the enrolling ourselves, wewould be better off, because we know our people,who they are.

.,;r. 38

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c. Dewey Sampson (May 2)

The Committee on Legislation did not comeup with any resolution. However, we felt thatthe knowledge gained here today would be takenhome by those participating, and have them thrashout those things, and take it up with their re-spective councils, and inform the members oftheir reservation what has taken place.

2, Discussion (May 1 and 2), Indians and Legislation

a. Background of the Claims Cases

(1) The Washoe Case

George Wright: A judgment of theGovernment's liability was rendered in 1960.Last spring the case was tried in Washingtonon the issua of damages. The Washingtonattorneys are now briefing the case. TheGovernment will submit its brief by July 1,it is hoped. Then the Claims Commissionwill decide the case.

(2) The Western Shoshone Case

George Wright: The judgment of theGovernment's liability was issued in 1962, andthe appraisers have submitted bids for esti-mating the damages, or value of the land.In about a year, a trial will be held onthe question of the amount of the Government'sliability.

Judge Milton Badt: I am lust auditingthis meeting. I wanted to attend yesterdaybut our court was in session and it was im-possible for me to attend. What I am sayingnow is probably only of historical interest.I would like to trace a little bit of theShoshone litigation. We're a year beyondthe centennial of the 1863 Shoshone treaties.Now I don't say that I was involved in thatlitigation for all 100 years, but I was init for about half of that 100 years, andthat's a long time. That was long before

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(Judge Milton Badt, Continued)

the establishment by Congress of theIndian Claims Commission. In those dayswe had to attempt to get Congress to passwhat was known as a. jurisdictional act topermit, a suit against the United States.In pursuing that course for a great numberof years, we acted through our representa-tives in Congress. That goes back toCongressman Scrugham, Senator Oddie and menlike that. You can see it goes back a long,long time.

Well, we did accomplish a lot in those:days, but we didn't get through before theIndian Claims Commission was organized andauthorized by Congress. But we got to thepoint of recognition by the Bureau of IndianAffairs (which was helping us and sometimeshurting us, all through this embryo effortto get something done) that our causes ofaction, the Western Shoshone treaties, werenot treaties of cession, but merely treatiesof peace and friendship, and that theShoshones had never ceded their lands to theGovernment. So then we proceeded from there.We had a lot of incidental, introductory andiundamental things to establish first.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs insisted(in accordance with other acts and otherdeterminations by the U. S. Supreme Courtconfirming or overruling the Court of Claims)that full compensation must be made to theIndians. We were killed with kindness, asit were, because the Bureau of Indian Affairsinsisted that full compensation meant inter-est, and this was interest from the time oftaking. Now you can see that would have morethan doubled the claim, and Congress wouldnever pass a bill of that kind, unless theylimited interest to the period of the statuteof limitations. So there we were. Finally,however, the Indian Claims Commission wasformed, and the Shoshone claims were pre-sented to that Commission.

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Now comes the question of whether theattorneys failed to communicate the progressof that litigation. I was in it for a goodmany years. When I went to -Lae bench,naturally I couldn't act as colmsel anymore,and I stepped out of it. So for the last17 years this litigation has been handledby other counsels, mainly Wilkinson, Cragunand Barker. Finally, it has progressed tothe point where the briefs have been accepted,and findings of fact and conclusions of lawmade to the effect that the Indians are en-titled to compensation for the lands theGovernment took, comprising 24 million acresof land.

Now that took a long time to get tothat. The claim of exclusive right to these24 million acres was a long, hard road toprove, and the identification of the terri-tory was a long, hard road.

I remember at one time I was called toWashington. They said the only thing leftwas to identify this land with a modern map.Finally, through the efforts of Wilkinson,Cragun and Barker, the original Doty map thataccompanied all these treaties was found inthe archivist's office in Washington, D. C.

The location of the following placeswas established by the map: Po-ho-no-be(the east boundary of the Shoshone country,also referred to in the treaty as SteptoeValley and the Great Salt Lake Valley);Wong-goga-da (the Wong-goga-da Mountainsformed the north boundary); Wi-tua-gua;Su-non-to-yah (the name given to the SmithCreekMotntains, the western boundary); andWi-co-bah (defining the Colorado desert asthe south botndary).

The date of the taking of the Shoshonelands, and the'value of the land at thetime of the.,taking are the only two issues

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left to be determined. When the amount ofcompensation is determined, it isn't thefunction of the attorneys to say how thatcompensation is to be paid. That is withCongress and with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

It has been said that lack of communicationpromotes suspicion. That's so true. And ifthat communication has not been made, thenour attorneys, our successors, have been atfault. But it should be understood thatfrom that point on it is up to Congress andto the Bureau of Indian Affairs to determine.

It may be land, it may be monies goingto the council, it may be monies going toindividuals--that is not within the functionof the attorneys to determine, but simplyhow much compensation is to be paid by theU. S. for taking these lands.

I think that Wilkinson, Cragun andBarker have sent a message, because I gota copy, of it, to the various councils. Thatis .the situation of the Western Shoshones.I've been out of it for 17 years, so as Isay, this was.merely historical. Thank you.

Martin Levine: I do want to pointout that lack o2 crmmunication promotessuspicion, but suspicion also promotes lackof communication.

You talk. You win your stand. Butthe element of 'suspicion prevents you fromarriving at any.agreement. The perpetuationof factionalism has its roots in a lot of illfeeling, and this ill feeling is at the bottomof_the lack of communications. The elementof suspicion is there. It has to be workedwith all .the time. I hope that this Conferencereduces suspicion to some extent. After theConference we plan to publish a record ofwhat happened here. Perhaps this will helpto dnformpeople of the issues and allaysuspicion.

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(3) The Northern Paiute Case

Robert Leland: The Northern Paiutesare suing the Government for the value oflands and other things taken away withoutjust compensation years ago. The suit wasbrought under the Indian Claims Commissionlaw by six Northern Paiute tribes and anumber of individual Northern Paiutes.

This law allows Indians to sue theGovernment for specific things. It doesnot allow them to sue for the return ofthe land. It provides that the Indiansbe paid the value of the property at thetime it was taken, not present-day value.Although the property was taken away nearly100 years ago, the law does not allow pay-ment of interest on the value since thattime.

The Government did not have to passthis law. Conquering nations rarely com-pensate a conquered people for lands takenaway. However, the people of the UnitedStates, through their Congressional repre-sentatives, decided to make this partialrestitution to Indians. No one pretendsthat the judgments under the ClaimsCommission compensate the Indians 100% forwhat was taken away from them.

The area for which the Northern Paiutesare seeking compensation is partly inwestern Nevada, partly in southern Oregonand partly in eastern California.

The attorneys for the Northern Paiutesargued that 55 million acres had been takenaway from these Indians. The Governmentargued that a much smaller area had beentaken. After hearing testimony from bothsides, the Commission decided that theNorthern Paiutes should be paid for about25 million acres.

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(Robert Leland, Continued)

The Commission divided the land areainto three separate sections. The boundariesof the three areas do not touch. The Commis-sion felt there was insufficient evidence ofexclusive use by the Northern Paiutes toestablish that they should be compensatedfor the lands in between the three areas.

Thus, in the Northern Paiute lase, theissue of the Government's liability alreadyhas been settled. In addition, the valueof one of the three areas (the Snake Tract)has been establiCled, and the money has beenappropriated by Congress. This will bediscussed in more detail later.

The value of the other two areas(the Paviotso and Mono Tracts) has not yetbeen established.

The Northern Paiute case is in manyways more complicated than the Washoe case,for'example. Instead of one tribe and onetribal council, a great many separate groupsare involved. In addition to the organizedtribes, there are many Northern Paiutes whono longer live on reservations, or have any.ties there. It is difficult to get agree-ment among these diverse groups. Many ofthe'differences of opinion which resultfrom the Varied viewpoints of those involvedhave come out during our discussions.

Area III:. ThiS is the northernmostbf the three areas. It sometimes isreferred'to as the "Snake Tract". FortBidwell and Cedarville, California; andSummit Lake and Fort McDermitt, Nevada,are included in this tract.

The attorneys for the Northern Paiutesand those for the Government negotiated asettlement, which was approved by the origi-nal petitioners, and the Claims Commission.In 1961, Congress appropriated $3,650,000

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to pay for Area III. The money was depositedin the U. S. Treasury, where it is drawinginterest at 4%. The interest earned so farhas been just about equal to the fees paidto the attorneys for their 15 years work,and the amount paid the appraisers. Soyou still have $3,650,000, and the amountwill grow each year it is on deposit. Thenext step is for the Indians involved toagree on a plan for the disbursement anduse of the money. This will be proposedto Congress. Then the money can be spent.

Area II: This area is called the"Paviotso Tract", and includes a large areain the center of Nevada. The acreage forwhicn compensation is to be ,aid already hasbeen settled, with the approval of the peti-tioners. The amount to be paid for the landhas riot yet been settled.

Unlike Area III, a settlement on thevalue of the land could not be negotiated.A decision from the Claims Commission isrequired. The attorneys for the NorthernPaiutes say the Indians should be paid forthe value of minerals of the Comstock Lode.The Government df.sagrees. Therefore, thedifference between the two estimates ofvalue is too great to be compromised.

The Claims Commission probably willreach a decision on the value of this areain 1965.

Area I: This is the southern part ofthe Case around Owens Valley, and is calledthe "Mono Tract". The situation here is thesame as in Area II, except that there stillis some possibility that a settlement canbe negotiated.

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b. Area III Settlement, Northern PaiuteClaims Case

Dewey Sampson: Why was the Northern PaiuteArea divided into three parts? We were all onepeople.

Robert Leland: The Claims Commission foundfrom the testimony that the value of the landdiffered greatly among the three areas. Themain reason for this was the issue of the valu-able minerals of the Comstock Lode, which madeArea II potentially more valuable than theothers. TI".i Commission decided a separateappraisal was required for each area. Therefore,for convenience in settling the value of thelands, the Commission considered each one sepa-rately.

Dewey Sampson: Why did they. leave out thosestretches of land between the three areas? Ifthis land didn't belong to the Indians beforethe white man came, who did it belong to?

Robert Leland: Under the law which allowedyou to sue, it is not enough to show that thelands in question belonged to Indians. Obviously,all the land in the United States once belongedto Indians. The narticular group bringing suithas to prove that it had exclusive use and occu-pancy. In the case of the so-called "no man'slands" between the three areas of the NorthernPaiute case, the Court found there was insuffi-cient,evidence to prove exclusive use by theNorthern Paiutes. Other Indian groups usedthe same land, the Court found after weighingthe contradictory testimony. Therefore, underthe law, the Northern Paiutes could not becompensated for this land.

Ray Mills: It 'doesn't seem fair to decidethat since more than one tribe used an area, itdidn't belong to any of them. All should sharein the compensation for the land.

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Johnnie Lundy: The land should be evaluatedand the money should be divided between thetribes involved.

Harry Sampson: We are involved in thePaiute suit. I'm one of the plaintiffs. Now,you talk about these anthropologists. We wantto question these anthropologists if they evercome out here. We want to find out who's theirinformant. Because I find out that they pickso and so that do not know the characteristicsof our people, our environments. They say weown certain land here in Washoe County. Theseanthropologists think that we used to get themedicinal plants on the desert, so there theycut the line. They don't know that theseSierra Nevada Mountains contain the food thatour ancestors gathered. They think the foodthat we get grows out in the desert.

Robert Leland: Whether it is right or not,the Commission has decided the Northern Paiutesshould not 1e paid for these lands. Theseareas in between were not the only lands dis-allowed by ':he courts. Some lands around theedge, which your attorneys claimed had beenyours, were judged by the Court not to havebelonged exclusively to the Northern Paiutes.Your expert witness claimed 55 million acreswere taken from you. The Commission ruled thatonly 25 million had been exclusively used andoccupied by Northern Paiutes.

The Northern Paiute petitioners agreed toaccept the decisions of the Commission. It istoo bad you didn't get all you asked for, butit is too late to argue that part of it. Someof the people who now complain about this deci-sion actually signed the acceptance. Theattorneys met with the tribes, explained theoffer made by the Government, and the tribesdecided to accept.

This settlement was a compromise. If yousue someone for running into your car, you mayask for $10,000. The court may give you only$5,000. You don't think it's enough. The man

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you sue thinks it's too much. Even though youaren't completely satisfied, you may decide you'drather take the $5,000 than have the trouble andexpense'of appealing the decision to a highercourt. Or you may decide to appeal, if youthink the court was wrong and you have a chanceof getting more byappealing than the appealwould cost, you..

In this case, the Government probably thinksthe CommisSion agreed to compensate you for toomuch land. You think you are being compensatedfor too little. In court cases, the ClaimsCommission is. just another court, neither partyis ever fully satisfied. But a good manyNortbern Paiutes decided they would be betteroff, to accept the decision than to appeal.

Dewey Sampson: There's a lot of peoplewho never knew how the compromise in Area IIIcame about. They say there are several thousandNorthern Paiutes. They should have a chance tosay whether they, like this decision or not.

Robert Leland: It would be ideal if allNbrthern Paiutes could participate in thesedecisions. But it doesn't work out that way.Look at the non-Indians. How many of themactually take an active part in their govern -ment? A few active people take the initiative.If they didn't, nothing would happen. On theother hand, they usually get criticized. Younever get 10.0% agreement from a large group ofpeOple:

Six tribes and a number of individualsfiled the suit. If they had not, there wouldbe'no Claims case.. They had the foresight tofind but about the law, hire attorneys, andwork hard to-get.the suit going. Naturally,since they are the Ones who filed suit, theattorneys asked their-opinion. However, inthis:Cage,;a11 Nbrthern Paiutes were welcome toat.,teild.tle:meetng to discUss the Government'sQ0et.. ;And-Many of them did--at least 400 as

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I recall. That was the time to protest, ifyou didn't like the decision. If you were notat the meeting, or if you were there and didn'tspeak your mind, it's your own fault if you'renot satisfied now.

It is quite true that personal invitationswere not issued to all the individual NorthernPaiutes to attend the meeting. We don't evenknow who they are yet. The Court could notwait two years for the Northern Paiutes to rundown all the individuals and ask their opinionto find out whether or not the Northern Paiutesaccepted or rejected the Government's offer.Invitations were issued to all the organizedgroups involved. It was their responsibilityto advise their members to attend. It is alsotrue that the non-reservation Indians were notorganized, so there was no way to notify them.

Unidentified Participant: If the Governmentalready has paid for Area III, why haven't theIndians got the money yet?

John Pappan: The Claims Commission hasawarded $3,650,000 for Area III. No programfor distribution of that money has been agreedupon as yet. The Bureau of Indian Affairs isthinking of drafting proposed legislation con-cerning eligibility and method of distribution.Meetings will be held with the groups involvedto decide what is desirable.

c. Docket 87A, Northern Paiute Claims Case

Alyce Williams: They told us there was aDocket 87A in the offing. Well, there is noDocket 87A. We sold our land. We can't goback now and ask for payment for our mineralsor hunting rights or anything else. In thatFinal Findings of Fact from Washington it saysfrom here on out, you have lost all rights withthis piece of paper--all of your rights aregone as Indians. I think our Indians should beaware of this.

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Robert Leland: Unfortunately, a lot ofmisinformation is circulated among Indian peopleby Indian people. Mrs. Williams states thatthere is "no such thing as Docket 87A". Thisis simply untrue. It is not a question ofopinion, but of fact. If a person wants to findout whether or not there is such a case, hedoesn't have to believe the attorneys or theBureau of Indian Affairs. He can ask the ClaimsCommission. He will find out that Docket 87Awas filed in 1957. I have copies of it. I

have offered to give copies to Mrs. Williamsand to others who say there is no such case.

Many of you are probably wondering whatthis case, 87A, is all about. In addition tolosing lands, Indians have suffered other wrongs.When the white people took over, the Indians inmany cases lost their water rights, their fishingand hunting rights, the value of minerals and(in some cases) timber, and other things.

In many of the claims cases, such as theWashoe, the Indians have sued for compensationfor these things and the land in the same case.In the Northern Paiute case, the attorneysthought it would be more advantageous to theIndian people to separate the two. Docket 87is the suit for the value of the land. Inaddition, there is Docket 87A, in which we askfor compensation for the many wrongs they havesuffered in addition to the loss of their land.

I think I know where Mrs. Williams gets theidea that there is no such thing as Docket 87A.I would like to read a section from the Area IIIsettlement.

"Entry of final judgment of this basis shallfinally dispose' of all rights, claims ordemands which said petitioners or any of them,or any .group or groups thereof, have assertedwith respect to said tract {Area III] described'in Finding 23, and also with respect to anyOther tract of land north c`. the forty-firstparallel andlatitude; and said petitioners,and each of them, and each group thereof,

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shall be barred thereby from asserting anysuch rights, claims or demands againstdefendant in any other or future action oractions."

"The petitioner, Fort McDermitt Paiute andShoshone Tribe of the Fort McDermitt IndianReservation, and the other petitioners inDocket No. 87, agree to, and do herebyeliminate from their suit in said DocLetany and all claims which they or any ofthem, or any group or groups thereof, haveor may have for compensation with respectto the tract of land described in Section 2of the Act of Congress of April 4, 1960,Public Law 96-401, 86th Congress; and, inanyevent renounce any and all claims whichthey or any of them, or any group or groupsthereof, have or may have for compensationwith respect to said tract."

This says that after accepting payment forthe land in Area III, the Indians can't make anyfurther claim for payment for it. There is nothingunusual about this. The purpose of going to courtis -to settle a case. If you accept the offeredsettlement, naturally you can't go back next yearand sue again for payment for the same thing.

But, acceptance of settlement for the land inArea III in no way interferes with the separatesuit (Docket 87A) for payment for the other thingsthe Northern Paiutes, including Area III, lost, asproved by the fact that the claim for compensationfor these things is on file. This is a matter ofpublic record which anyone can verify for himself.

As soon as the land case is settled forAreas II and I, the attorneys will go forwardwith the other case, Docket 87A.

Dewey Sampson: Do I understand you to saythat they are going to settle 87A first?

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Robert Leland: No, I said just the opposite.

Dewey Sampson: Does 87A pertain to Area III?

Robert Leland: It pertains to the whole claim.

d. Appeal

John Eckert: If the Indians are not satisfiedwith the settlement, is it binding, or can theamount be raised if there are inequities?

George Wright: As I understand it, theNorthern Paiutes have accepted the settlementfor Area III. So this can not be appealed.Now, when the Government offers a settlement forArea II and Area I, if the Indians aren't satis-fied they can appeal to the U. S. Court ofClaims and then to the U. S. Supreme Court.The appeal would have to be based on the writtenrecord, not on new evidence.

Enos Francisco: If the Papago are notsatisfied with the award and should decide toappeal, would they have to wait as long for theappeal trial as they have had to wait for thefirst one? Would there be danger that it wouldnever be considered?

George Wright: You would have to wait yourturn, and it probably would take quite a while.

Warren d'Azevedo: Does the Washoe case,as it is now constituted, allow for reopeningof fishing and other matters, after the presentcase is settled?

George Wright: No. In the Washoe case,the land and the other claims are all coveredin one case, Dockett 288. The fishing right::and all those things are coming up together.We have asked special damages for loss offishing, hunting, minerals, timber and otherresources along with the land. We are handlingthis as one unified claim. The attorneys forthe Northern Paiutes have handled these thingsseparately. Those for the Washoe have not.

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Warren d'Azevedo: So settlement of theWashoe case precludes any further raising ofissues with regard to rights.

George Wright: Yes. As in any lawsuit,when you've settled an issue, and don't appeal,it becomes final. There must be an end to liti-gation someday. But, as in the Northern Paiutecase, if you have two different cases pendingfor different kinds of things, and one case isheld in abeyance to await the decision of theother case, settlement of the first case forthe lands wouldn't have any effect on the other.However, in the Washoe case, we have taken itup as one case.

Warren d'Azevedo: I am asking if newevidence could cause certain aspects of thecase to be reopened.

George Wright: It would be an unusual casewhere additional evidence would be considered.The only basis would be a broad issue, that thecase wasn't tried right, or fraud.

Robert Leland: I would like to point outsome things that might be helpful to the Indianpeople in reaching a decision on whether or notto appeal.

When the trial is over the claims attorneyswill meet with the tribes to discuss the settle-ment that is offered. If, after these discussionsand careful thought, you decide not to accept,the judgment can be appealel.

The decision on whether or not to appeal isa very difficulZ: one. You have to decide whatyou risk losing, and weigh it against what youstand to gain. If you appeal, you run thefollowing risks:

(1) The court might decide it made amistake in the first'decision and gave youcredit for too much. Thus, you could end upbeing awarded compensation for less than youwere given by the first decision.

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(2) The cost of the appeal might begreater than the additional amount, if any,you receive. To appeal takes time and timecosts money. The original cases have taken15 years to try. You might eventually get abetter decision from the court, but in the mean-time you lose the use of the money. You allknow what interest is. And you know what in-flation is.

As soon as the case is settled and themoney is put in the Treasury, you start to earninterest. Or, you may invest in tribal orindividual enterprises from which you would geta return on the money.

When you appeal, you put off the day whenyou will get the money. If you were very lucky,your appeal might be settled in one year (thatis very unlikely). You might be awarded 4% morethan you were offered in the first place. Youmight think that is pretty good. But is it?If you had taken the money first offered, youwould have earned 4% on it in the same amountof time, and without the additional expensesof the appeal. Also, there is the chance ifyou had taken the first offer and invested itwisely, you might have earned 5% or 6%.

The attorneys are paid a percentage ofthe'award. Naturally, after 15 years, theyare anxious to be paid for their work. However,you can be sure that if they believed there wereany chance for the Indian people (and consequentlythemselves) to gain substantially by an appeal,they would recommend that you do so. But theywould have to be convinced the appeal wouldresult-in a .let gain. In the Area III matter,your attorneys evaluated the situation. Theydid not believe you had been awarded damages forall the land which once was rightfully yours.Nevertheless, they thought you would come outbetterin the long run if you decided to acceptthe amount offered, than you would if youappealed.. The question was presented to the

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tribes, and they agreed to accept the offer.(The Sampsons were among those who agreed.)

In the Northern Paiute case, there are twothings on which you have agreed in the settle-ment and can no longer appeal: the amount ofland taken from you, and the value of Area III.You will still face the decision on whether ornot to accept the offer made for the value ofArea II and Area I.

e. Distribution of the Judgement Funds

Unidentified Participant: How will themoney be distributed?

George Wright: The different tribes havehandled the funds in different ways. It shouldbe primarily for the Indians themselves to deter-mine exactly how the money should be disbursed.After the amount of the Government's liabilityhas been determined, Congress appropriates themoney. The money is held in the U S. Treasury,while the tribes and the Bureau work out a pro-gram for its use. This is proposed as legisla-tion and an Act of Congress is t'aen passedgoverning use of the money. Some Indians wantthe money paid to individuals. Some tribes wantto handle the money as a trust fund. Others areconsidering a combination of the two.

If you people will take care of your moneythe Government will turn it over to you and youcan have more control over it. But I don'timagine the Government likes to see the Indiansdissipate the money. So I think that youIndians are going to have to get together inyour meetings and show that you are able totake care of the money, and that you have someprojects for it. The more you do along thoselines, and show stability, the more controlyou're going to have over your funds.

Ray Mills: How many Indians will share inthe Northern Paiuce case?

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John Pappan: This information has not yetbeen gathered. The rules for eligibility mustbe worked out before it can be determined whois entitled to share.

George Wright: It is estimated that from1700 to 2000 Washoes will share in the Washoejudgment.

Ray Mills: Who determines what percent ofIndian blood is required for eligibility toshare in the judgment?

George Wright: In the Washoe case, theWashoes themselves are making a recommendationon this, and the Bureau of Indian Affair.; willconsider it in drafting legislation. In reality,the individual Indian hasn't much to say aboutit, except as he makes his opinion known to hiscouncil.

Ray Mills: What about children who areborn off the reservation?

George Wright: If the parents are members,it shouldn't matter whether the child is bornon or off the r!servation.

Stannard Frank: You mean, whether you areborn on or off the reservation, you can sharein the clain?

George Wright: That is the general opinionof the Washoe, but it is for each group torecommend the rules for their own cases.

Donald Wade: The Washoe enrolled the Washopeople no matter where they live. They know whotheir own people are. All those who are 1/4 ormore Washoe are eligible. People off the reserva-tion were enrolled, as well as those who livethere. A deadline was set.

Ray-Mills: Will the Washoe have their ownelections on the claims case, or will the Bureaurule on who can vote?

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George Wright: The general rule is thatthe Indian councils make their recommendationsin the form of resolutions and send them to theBureau.

Dewey Sampson: Over in California, theelection wasn't left up to the Indians. Theywere asked to make a decision 15 minutes afterthe lawyers got there. People didn't knowwhat they were voting on, and the Bureau was incharge of the election. Even the Chairman wasfrom the Bureau. Indians didn't get a chanceto interpret for their people. People wereshoved off the_ platform.

George Wright: I think you're going tohave to have meetings of the Council and theIndians to determine what you're going to do,make resolutions and recommendations to theBureau of Indian Affairs, which will reviewthe matter and send a recommendation toCongress for a special act. The Paiutes shouldarrange an annual picnic to discuss thesethings, as the Washoe do.

John Eckert: What happens to the individualIndian who has no reservation? What representa-tion has he?

George Wright: If he no longer lives onthe reservation, he should find out through hisfriends and the Council what is going on. Theyshould not be left out of the recovery becausethey are unable to attend tribal meetings.

Ray Mills: There are Indians who are notrecognized as members of tribes by the tribesthemselves, yet they are Indians. There is noone for them to go to. These Indians havenothing to say about the outcome of the case.It is not just P. question of not living on thereservation. They are not members of any organ-ized group, yet they are Northern Paiutes. We'vetried to get these people organized. The Indiansdon't want the Bureau of Indian Affairs to inter-fere. It must let the people do it themselves.

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Harvey Cracker: Some McDermitt people aredescendants of Malheur people. Can they sharein the Malheur claim, and in the Paiute claim,and the others, too? I have relations inOregon, Idaho, Wyoming and California.

George Wright: In discussions with peoplein Washington, (the attorneys, the Bureau ofIndian Affairs) and with the Nevada IndianAgency, it is the consensus that you can notshare in all the different judgments.

John Eckert: Can the Indians choose whichgroup they want to go with?

George Wright: No rules have been workedout on this point.

John Pappan: It is my understanding thatwhenever there is a distribution of claims awards,the legislation will indicate the rules of eligi-bility and this will dictate who can share. TheClaims Commission itself, in the judgment onArea III in the Paiute case,excluded certainIndians in the Oregon area, which are beinghandled separately. Affiliation with those bandswould rule you out, if you had no connection withother bands.

Ross Hardin: This is an important problem.At McDermitt there are people involved in theCalifornia case, the Malheur case, Area III,and the other Paiute areas, and the Shoshone caseThe people. at Fort McDermitt would like to havethe rules of eligibility discussed with theeffected groups. How will they know which oneto choose?

Robert Leland: There are several thingswrong with this discuccion.

The Northern Paiutes have been unfavorablycompareA to the Washoe, who are said to be incomplete agreement on all the issues their casebrings up. You have been advised to work through"your council ".. Unlike the Washoe, you have inthe. Northern Paiute group a very large number of

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orgarvizecl. tribes and colonies involved; you haveIndians who have no contact with tribes, who notonly live off the reservations, but are not mem-bers of the tribes. You haw: strong groups andweak ones; rural groups and city ones. Youhave informed people, and uninformed people.It is all very well to advise you to get together,and I agree that you should. But that is nosimple matter. You are going to have to workhard to inform yourselves, and :then to agree onwhat is best for you. I'm afraid it is far toocomplicated to settle at an annual picnic.

So, the tesk is hard enough at best. Butit is made much more difficult when people,whether deliberately or from ignorance, don'tget the facts straight.

All the foregoing discussion has assumedthat the claims money should be paid out toindividual Indians. This certainly is not theonly alternative. A trust fund is anuther pos-sible solution. Some of the Indian peoplethink the money should be invested for the bene-fit of future generations. It is mere chancethat this particular generation of Indians isthe one to receive payment for the land takenfrom your ancestors. It might as easily havehappened after you are dead. Since it happensto come to you, instead of to your children ortheirs, don't you feel some obligation to shareit with future generations? Also, some tribeswant to invest some of the money in economicdevelopment programs on their reservations.You should think about all these alternatives,and their effect on you and your children.The decisions are difficult. They requirestudy. However, if the Indian people don'tcome to a reasonable understanding with eachother on their own, they can be sure theproblem will be solved by the Bureau of IndianAffairs. If you can, difficult as it is, workout your own solution, it probably will becloser to what you want.

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f. Effect of the Claims Cases on the Statusof the Indians' Land and Rights

Harvey Cracker: The young people now don'tunderstand what they are doing. What willhappen to the children when the Indians selloff their land?

Stanley Smart: Why is it that the peoplewants to abolish all of their rights and stillwants to be an Indian? How are they going togo about that? There's a lot of people herethat feels if they abolish all of our rights,where are we going to go from, there? Whereare their children going to go? That is thereason that I am speaking for my tribe.

Dewey Sampson: In the auditorium when thatmatter was discussed about the compromise settle-ment, we had an individual boy there that day whoasked our lawyers what the Indians would standto lose if they signed the compromise [NorthernPaiute Case, Area III Settlement]. There wasno answer given to our people. Now we findout what we lost.

'Robert Leland: What did you lose? Onething, .only By accepting the settlement forArea III you lost the chance that you mighthave gotten a little more money for it if youhad appealed.

,Dewey Sampson: We lost'more than that.It wasn't a matter of d011ars.what we lost.We lost all these lands that. was indicated herethat's in betWeen these three areas. Those arevaluable lands. The Tndians at that time neverknew-that that was included in the compromise,The fact the GoVernment is willing to pay forthe land proVes the Indians still have equityin it. If we don't settle, the Governmentwon't have clear title to theland.

Robert Leland: That is a pipe dream. TheGovernment already-owns the lands in question,and haS%for 100' years. It, owns the land whetherit pays the Indithl's for it or not. The United

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States believes the Indians should have beenpaid for it, so it is offering to do so now.But if an Indian thinks by not accepting pay-ment for it he will someday get possession ofthe land, he is living in a fool's paradise.

By accepting what informed people considerto be a fair settlement you have everything togain and nothing to lose. You already lost theland. Your choice is whether or not you wouldlike to be paid something for it or not.

It is also unrealistic to contend that thesettlement is unacceptable unless it pays youfor the present value of the land. The lawwhich allows you to sue says you can be paidthe value at the time of taking, not the presentvalue. The chances of getting this law changedare, in my opinion, zero.

Alyce Williams: We do have it in writingthat termination is very definitely in the offingfor all of us, as soon as they finish with ourclaims cases. We know this. And we can't seewhy our people can't seem to understand this.The white man is not going to give us somethingfor nothing. It's very hard for a lot of ourpeople to understand that. They say, well whyare we making these long-range programs then,50-year leases and all this and that. Well,the minute the Government decides to do awaywith any government agency, regardless of whatit might be, when they say close down, theyclose down.; There's not a darn thing the people

. can do about it. Not unless our Indian peoplestart fighting something like that now. AtMcDermitt, they signed away all their rights.We have the paper work, which a good many ofyou have seen. What it boils down to is theIndian Commission is out for extermination ofthe Indian people, as a people. Because once:we lose our'reservations, we lose contact withone. another. .

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Edward. Hinckley: I'm here to get educated,and I didn't understand what you said aboutMcDermitt being terminated.

AlkCe Williams: I didn't say tomorrow, Isaid in the future, in'the offing.

Edward Hinckley: 'I understood you to saythey already had,been terminated.

Robert eland:' There is no connectionbetween the claims cases and termination.If we could get this point clear, we wouldhave come a long way.

No land presently held by Indians isgiven up,because a claims settlement is accepted.Many tribes have accepted settlements, and inSpite of what some Indian people say, they havenot been terminated. They still have the servicesof the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Public HealthService, etc. Their land is still owned by them.

This whole issue is confused by the fact4-..hat'dtking the same period when some tribeswere receiving land claims settlements, otherswere being terminated. But these two thingswere'entirely separate.

During' the Eisenhower adtinistration therewas a strong move to'terminate Indians. Thisis not true of,the preSent.administration. Itis quite.true, as Indians well know, that thenext .adtiniStration'may.make an abrupt changein its policies on Indian.affairs. It is quitetrue they might Start-another termination drive.It is-inevitable that someday Indian people willbe treated exactly like.any other Americans.They:will not haVe'Special rights forever.

NeverthelesS.,' thiS.qUestion of terminationthe he claims questions.

. , .

There'is one indiredt connection. If atribe should accept-its money. and should handle'it so wisely that it becomes-very rich, it mightvery. well decide for itself that it has had enough.

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(Roert Leland, Continued)

red tape and can do for itself all the thingsthe Government now does for it, more quickly,better. If this should happen, the tribe hasthe right to ask for termination, if it wantsto

Nevertheless, accepting the money does notdirectly result in termination.

Unidentified Participant: Can the Indiansfish and hunt without a license until the claimis settled?

George Wright: The outcome of the claimscase does not effect present rules on huntingand fishing.

Donald Wade: The Nevada law allowinghunting and fishing rights to the Indian isthe best thing for the Indian. I'm fromCalifornia, and I don't get that. I pay mylicense, not only me but all California Indians.

Akyoe Williams: Is that because you'reterminated?

Donald Wade: No, we are not terminated.I still live on an Indian allotment, which istax exempt, and I don't pay tax on my place asyet, and I hope not to.

jqyce Williams: But it will happen. Ifyou are going to put in a resolution tomorrowabout the claims, you should make darn surethat you put in it there that you reserve therights for your minerals, for your hunting,your fishing;-that you reserve the right foreverything. The attorney is right when hesays you are being paid for nothing but past'damages clone to your old people. It shouldstay that way, and the white man should notadd any rider6 saying that because we accepteda few measley dollars we will lose all of ourrights,

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Unidentified Participant: Did your groupconsider how far you may be from becoming justnormal Amexir.an citizens without any specialIndian privilege? IS it 50 years from now?Is it 100 years from now?

Alice Williams: This is our country. Weare a different people. It is our country,regardless of if we even take a penny for it.It's our heritage. The only thing wrong isthat they tell us so many stories and confuseus.

Robert Leland: I have been attendingdiscussions of the cases for over two years.If all the words which have been said duringthose meetings had been confined to the realissues involved, rather than wrangling overmatters which can be determined on the basis offact. which are part of the public record, thenwe would be much closer to distribution of themoney, alteady in the Treasury for a part ofthe Northern Paiute case, which could right nowbe being used to benefit Indians, instead ofmoulding in the Treasury. Indians.have anobligation to each other to get down to thereal issues, and to stop.talking about questionswhich are not questions at all. Discussions asto whether or not accepting the claims settle-ment will lead to termination are absolutelymeaningless. There is no connection between thetwo.. It is too bad to waste time hearing thingsover and over again that are not true, when thereare facts on reword to establish what is true.There are so many other questions to discuss,real questions of philosophy where more than onepoint of view is possible and should be consideredthat it is. a shame to waste time refuting thesame (5.1d untruths concerning ascertainable facts.'Meeting's like this give people a good opportunityto discuss . the real issues; I urge you to getdown to the real decisions which must be made.

g. COmmUnication Between Tribal Councils andMembers

Ray Mills: If the people don't have goodrepresentatives on their councils, they are outof luck..

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George Wright: This is true. However,counzlil members are elected, and there is plentyof opportunity to get good representation. Ifthere is dissension among the Indians themselves,they will carry less weight in the final deci-sions.

Dewey Sampson: Individual Indians, ratherthan councils, should be able to vote on whetheror not to accept the settlement.

George Wright: You should have a generalmeeting and a vote of the Indian group. Thefinal resolution would have to come from thecouncils, but it in .:urn should abide by thedecision of a majority of its members.

Harry Sampson: You talk about communica-tions. Do yoL know where the communicationsstop? At the door of the community hall. Ourold people don't understand what's being carriedon in our Council meetings.

I have been the chairman of the Reno-SparksColony a good many times, and I have been secre-tary, and I know these things. I've been askedoutside the council hall about various questionsthat confront our Indians. 1 tried to explain.But the councils don't get our communicationsto our older people. Same thing exists atPyramid Lake. I've talked to some old peoplethere and said, "You people know what's goingon?". "Well, we just hear abo,t those things,there's nothing we can do about it." Same thingexists on this Reno-Sparks Colony.

If I was to speak in my tongue here, whymost of you people wouldn't know what I wassaying. Most of you--even my own people- -can't speak my language. ThaL's funny. Soyou talk about communication.

. I think each tribe should, be involved inits own business, and let other tribes take.care of their own. Everybody should know what'sgoing on. They should have good interpreters.Thank you.

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Stanley Smart: The old man there was talkingabout the people not knowing what the councilsare doing. I agree with him. I will read youwhat our Council in McDermitt did:

"The McDermitt Indians have a great interestin our program. They are conservative,honest and fair in their opinion of whateveris required before they become self-supporting,and attain a standard of living equal to thatof their white neighbors. They favor payingtaxes on their personal property and desireto become more active and accept citizenship,so to speak. There are approximately 32,000acres of tribal land on the reservation. TheIndians of Fort McDermitt Reservation arewilling to deed their individual allotmentsto the tribe. This project is now under con-sideration and expected to start in 1944,when all the land on this reservation willbe in tribal status."

My people don't want tease things. Like theold man there was saying, there's a lot of peopledon"; understand English, and they don't speakwhatever they think and how they feel about thisclaim case. After they did find out, there's alot of people that is in my tribe there atMcDermitt, that is backing out on it. They'refighting among each other because they do notunderstand this communications you're talkingabout.

So, I'm representing them here.

I ask the adult education specialist, eventhe councilmen,to come there and explain thisclaim to them. We'd have an interpreter in thelanguage of the Paiute, so they could all under-stand and enroll in this claim. They do notunderstand it. I feel sorry for my people thatdo not understand. I have spoke with my peopleand they also told me to come to this conferencemeeting here at this time. I hope that youunderstand hat I'm saying. This is the firsttime I ever spoke over a mike. So thank you.

(166

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Ross Hardin: Referring to that statement'ma::t made there, that was way back in 1944.Mr. Galvin was Superintendent then. He madean overall plan for all the reservations ina book form, and that's where Smart got that.The present Council 11,,d nothing to do with that.That was way back. I do not know who was onthe Council then. come of the oldCouncil members recal that meeting when thiswas brought up. None of the Council membersseemed to approve of it at that time. Itwasn't passed as a resolution or anything atall. This was gotten up by SuperintendentGalvin at that time.

Melvin Thom: I would just like to say atthis time that all of us, Indians and non-Indians,should be tolerant of eacn other's opinions. Weknow that we have got all kinds of factions,groups, within our own tribal organizations. Ourgoal should be to be tolerant and listen to whatthe other people have to say. I would like tosay to the non-Indians that we have reasons, goodreasons, to gripe; and that they, too, must betolerant. Cooperation among our communities issomething new to us.

h. Offsets

Clarence McDade: I understand the Governmentis paying the Indians for land that was takenaway from them, but then the Government takesback some of that money. What is that all about?

Robert Leland: These charges are called"offsets" to the claim. The Government has kepttrack of certain types of expenditures made onbehalf of the Indian groups involved in thatparticular, case.

The Government submits a list of theseoffsets to the attorneys in the case. Theattorneys examine them to see if they are justi-fj.ed under the rules of the Commission and theprecedents set by other cases. The attorneystry to get the Government to eliminate or reduceas many of these offsets as possible. If the

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Government and the attorneys, with the approvalof the tribes, can agree on the amount of theoffsets, then they submit this to the Commission,which probably will.apprOve the compromise. Ifthey can not agree, the evidence must be submittedto the COmmission, and it will decide the amount.

Dewey Sampson: In the California cases, theoffsets were large, and took a lot of the judg-ment. money. Will.it be that way in the NorthernPaiute case?

Robert Leland: The offsets for Area III havebeen settled. Thanks to your attorneys, therewere no offsets for this part of the case.Furthermore, your attorneys have obtained theGovernment's agreement to reduce the proved off-sets for Areas II and I by 40%, no matter howmuch they are. And you can be sure the attorneyswill get the offsets reduced as much as possiblein the first place, before the 40% is deductedfrom them. The offsets in this case will not belarge, compared to the total award.

George Wright: The Weissbrodt firm has askedthe Government to make its claim for offsets inAreas II and I before the damages have beensettled.

Robert Leland: This gives the attorneys moreleverage, aria-(Tadance on what settlement shouldbe accepted. It is good to get this informationbefore the.value of the land has been established;otherwise, the Government can adjust its offsetclaim according to the amount of the award.

George Wright: In the Washoe case, theoffset settlement will be the third phase, after

the amount due the Indians has been settled.

Ray Mills; The Indians are concerned aboutthese offsets. What is included? The Governmenthas spent a lot of xpney for Indian education,hospitalizatio;vand reservation improvements overthe years., Will charges for these things bededucted?

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George Wright: If an individual Indian hasboarded at Stewart Indian School, or has beenfurnished money to go to another school, if theCommission follows prior decisions, such paymentswould .not be proper offsets, and cannot be chargedagainst the Government.

Now in some cases, where colonies have beenestablished for the benefit of the tribe, andthe Government has bought this land for them,I would say those charges should be proper off-sets. These are moneys that have been furnishedto the tribes as a whole. But until the Govern-ment has listed the offsets in your case, youwon't know just what they are trying to include.Until your attorneys get this information, thereis nothing they can tell you about them, no wayto estimate what they will be. Anyway, therules on these things are pretty well set bydecisions in past cases. But your attorneysdon't expect the offsets to be large in eitherthe Northern Paiute or the Washoe case.

Robert Leland: Another type of offsetoccurs in cases where the Government made somepayment for the land at the time it was taken

' away, under a treaty. The Government may havegiven a tribe 150 blankets and $1,000 a year for50 years, let's say. Now, this was not a fairprice,'but it was some payment. Therefore, whenthe Commission decides what the land was worth,the partial payment under the treaty is deductedfrom what the Indians receive. The amount isusually small. Since the Northern Paiutes hadno treaty, this type of.offset doesn't figurein that case.

Clarence McDade: Indians who have land intheir own names can't sell it, so what good isit? Why can't they have the land like otherpeople do?

Robert Leland: That is a good question, buthas, nothing to do with the claims case. Thislaw was set up.to protect Indians; to make ithard for people to cheat them. Now many Indiansare perfectly able to protect themselves, and

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perhaps this law should bechanged. However,then you would have.topay taxes on the land.I notice in these discussions, that few Indianpeople want to giVe up their special rights.That is probably why the land is still held intrust for the Indians by the Government.

Dewey Sampson: Why was it in the Californiacase that the Government awarded the Indians$.47 an acre for the land taken from them, butcharged $1.25 as offsets for the land boughtfor the Indians?

George Wright: Now there are differenttypes of Indian reservations. Some were estab-lished and the Indians located on them at anearly date. As I understand it, those acresare excluded from offsets.

Other lands were purchased for the Indianslater on--purchased back from the states. Wehave some of these in the Washoe case--threeranches, and in the Shoshone case.

Dewey .Sampson: Well, I'M speaking of thelands that:were involved in the unratifiedtreaties,. which were charged as offsets at $1.25an acre in .the_California case.

George Wright: Now, you 'see we are gettingfar afield. I'm not too. well acquainted withthe California case. In the Nevada cases, asI understand.itt.PyraMid.Lake was establishedin. the earlydays and the.IndianS located onthat land. I'm not sure; but I doubt that therewould be any offsets.for.the land on that.

9n the otherhandthe,South Fork landswerepurchased fOrShoShonesabout 1940. Thatwould.be an offset, and would'probably be chargedback, at,the:pricepaid for it. This may be whathappened,in the; Calif case. You have tolook,at,the facts:ineach case to know what off-

. .

sets may,be,.chakged,

1

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Ray Mills: On these offsets, that wouldinclude the roads and schools because that wouldbenefit the tribes. Is that right?

George Wright: That is my understanding.

Ray Mills: Now on the reservations orcolonies that were established, is there a datewhere the offsets begin? I mean, what yeardetermines the early from the late reservations?Was there anything established on that?

George Wright: The Commission has ruledthat if the Government settled the Indians onthe land, the cost of the land is not chargedas an offset against the Indians. But if theland was purchased at a later date, these aretreated as offsets.

Ray Mills: Now that doesn't quite answerthe question. What date? What date is a "laterdate"? I was under the impression the 1934Reorganization Act determined that.

George Wright: You've got to check intothose things pertaining to each case. Forexample, certain lands were purchased under theHoward Act. And under the Howard Act there isa question whether the lands purchased arechargeable as, offsets. In the Washoe Area weare going to object to it. We have a resolutionalready adopted against it, because these landswere purchased to encourage the Indians toincrease their status, to become better educated,to encourage them in their operation of a ranch,and to help teach them operation and management.

I think you should present that to yourattorney who can look into it and determinewhether or not there is a possibility to adoptthe same procedure for your particular tribe,if such lands are involved. Is that clear? Doyou understand what I mean?

Robert Leland: I think Mr. Mills still maybe wondering why the Indians get paid 1853 pricesfor the lands that were taken, and get charged

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for offsets at later prices. None of theseprices make any real sense. Anyway, it is use-less to speculate about the offsets in thesecases until the GoVernment makes its claim.Then there will be something to talk about.Now we are' just.guessing, and wasting our time.

i. Communications from the Attorneys

Dewey Sampson: Information on the Paiutecase should come from our attorneys inWashington. They, should: bring these things tothe Paiutes and discuss. them.

George.Wright: A recent report from yourattorneys has been sent to the tribes and isbeing printed in the Inter-Tribal Newsletter.

Dewex_Sampson: The Shoshone informationhas been .out for a year, but I haven't bee'.able to get it from the attorneys.

George Wright: The Weissbrodt firm doesnot Endle the Shoshone case.

The attorneYS have proVided informationtothe councils,. who in turn must take theresponsibility for informing the individualIndians. If the attorneys dealt with individ-uals, they would spend all their time on that,and none:on thecase. The Washoe attorneyshave had annUalMeetings with.the people for thelast couple ofyears, This enables the attorneystoget.information both to.the tribal governmentand to interested

Robert.teland: The attorneys for the NorthernPaiute paSe.have reported to the tribal councilsIsYhen there was something to If individ-

. .

iuals have not received, this nformation and wishit, they should leave their names with theRecorder. (None were left).

'AlV0eHWiiliams:7.:Agood%number of our'Inaan-peOpie had this 'gripe, that we wrote to

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our attorneys a number of times, and we askedfor information. Well, they'd reply, sometimes.Other times they wouldn't bother. But theirreplies never said anything.

To us this claim means everything. To theIndian people it means life, really, on thereservation. So they should give us moreinformation.

We saw what happened to the CaliforniaIndians, and it was really bad. I've neverseen anything done like this. I didn't thinkthings like that could be done in this day andage. I wish this entire group could have justsat in on one California Indian meeting to seethe way the attorneys ramrodded through theclaims settlement.

This is too important for just a few peopleto sit around and draw up a resolution. Actually,it is too important to consider it until theattorneys finally kick in with all of the informa-tion that we should have, and then maybe we'llbe able to come up with something that would makesense. But until we know for sure what they havein mind for us, then we shouldn't do anythingabout it at all, in writing.

Ray Mills: I agree with Alyde on.that. Wediscussed that in our small group session a bit,too, 'about not getting information. How do yougo about trying to get information? We came outof the whole thing more confused and knowing less.

George Wright: At first the attorneys forthe WashOe.were neglectful in giving informationto the Council. Then we realized they were en-titled,to information. The last three years,as.I73aid, we haVe had annual picnics. Theeppraisers were' there,.and the attorneys haveappeared and tried to keep the Washoes fullyadvised.' not trying to say this is a modelcase. at pli,:.-or.how the other cases should beTun But attorneys get busy and sometimes they

.6 73

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(George Wright, Continued) .

don't give you,.as much information as you'dlike, especially, when the attorneys are backEast. I think we have adopted a good system inthe Washoe case. Work out something like thaton the other claims. it will probably help.'You'll get better results.

Daisey Birth We.had a meeting with Mr.Barker some time ago, and I was there. He madea wonderful statement which I thought was infavor of the Shoshone people. He said, "Yourclaim, we have won ". And he said, "There willbe no terminat :.on ". I don't know where peopleget that idea after the compensation is dividedthat we will be terminated. Further ore, ontaxation, some people have said tha- this claimthey are getting is going to be tax.d. ButMr. Barker said it will be tax free. Now I don'tknow where these other people get that idea thatthey will tax that compensation and they won'tget nothing.a4- all. I heard this from Mr. Barker,myself,: and I was there at the meeting. And itwas a fair meeting. Now, be fair, you Indianpeople. deal with your lawyers andattorneys in fair way, or you will never win.That is all.

Alyce. Williams: May I answer Daisey'sstatement? We attended a number of the Californiameetings. Barker.and some of the other fellowswho are working on the California,claim were there.Mr. Barker said that he was even thinking aboutpaying out of his.own pocket all of the expensesof their -long trips up and down-theCalifornia; So we went down to Yuma to the finalmeeting and Mr. Barker told the Yuma people (theIQueOhan and Yuman-tribe) that there had baen$500,000 appropriated. from the.remainder.of theCalifornia Indian mOneTtopay-for. their expensesupand down the State of California, as well asto print_thatfancy little.,booklet.that theypassed out.tO all the Indian people and expectedthem_to:read and understand in the space of twohours', and listen to them talk, at the same timeand.thenvote, 'And,they didn't give our Indian

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people a chance to get up and say one word onour position. We saw this happen.

Mr. Barker also said in Sacramento thathe worked real hard for 17 years; he told us(and this is just how he said it) every eveninghe took home a brief of the California case.He had no time for his family. ha didn't evenget to spend Christmas day with them, becauseof the case.

I asked him what he was doing for theShoshones, then. (He's their attorney, too.)

So, they tell you all kinds of stories.If you believe it, if you go along with it, thisis fine. But don't hurt all the people by someof your beliefs, because they're not in theinterests of the Indian people.

Syble Rupert: I think the Washoe peoplewill agree with me tha, they've been pretty wellpleased with the attorney they have, Mr. GeorgeWright.

Robert Leland: I have discussed the matterof communication with the Weissbrodts. Theysay they get letter after letter from individualsasking such things as, "How much will our offsetsbe, how much money will we get, how many peoplewill share the money?". They answer, explainingthat these are things we simply can't know yet,until the case is farther along. I suppose afterthey answer the same thing to the same peopleseveral times they don't feel it's necessary toanswer again. Some of you may not understandjust how the cases work. There isn't a newdevelopment every day. There are long periodswhen the Government's brief is being awaited,or while the attorneys are preparing the nextphase of the case. Step by step, each time thereis a development on the case they have prepareda written report to the tribes. That is allthey can do. In the .meantime, when you don'thear from them, nothing is'happening. They

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can't answer questions that are not answerableyet, and they can't make up news when there isnone. I, myself, have offered to give peoplecopies of documents. The very people who saythey don't understand the case and can't getinformation are the ones who haven't botheredto get these documents from me. The Weissbrodtshave asked me to help them by serving as alocal representative to get the information toyou people. I have talked to countless individ-uals. I have spoken to every tribe or othergroup that has asked me. I don't know whatmore can be done.

j. Attorneys' and Experts' Fees

Ed Johnson: Who pays the attorneys? Isit the Tribal Council? If so, I think it wouldbe easy for the Council to put pressure on themto get information.

Robert Leland:. In most cases, the attorneysdon't receive any pay until the case is settled.They receive a percentage of the judgment, andthat percentage is established by the. ClaimsCommission. In many cases, the attorneys havebeen working more than 15 years with no pay.They have financed.the expenses themselves.If the case is not won, they get nothing. Ifit is won, they are paid from the proceeds,but in no event:more than 10 %. The appraisers'fees also.have been.paid from the proceeds.

George Wright:. The Washoe Tribe didn'thave any money formitnesses, transportation,or paying attorneys. But we took the case,anyway. I..have dug down in my own pocket andspent $25000, plus paying the experts. I'vepaid my own transportation, and got nothing formytime,.so far.: I have given you folks the

-,benefit ofwhat_little-knowledge I had. Congress. now:has paSsed.anact to put $800,000 in a re-volving credit fund.so_the tribes can borrow the:money to hire,the experts they need to get the.best - possible job done. We didn't have the

416

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(George Wright, Continued)

benefit of this financing in the earlier days.Even so, we believe we did get the job done, anda good one.

Alex Simirenko: [In the Area III settlementof the Northern Paiute case] how much money wasleft after deductions?

John Pappan: The award was $3,650,000. Theattorneys were paid $367,000 for their fees andexpenses, and the appraisers were paid $27,000.However, since the money was deposited in theU. S. Treasury, the interest accrued already hascovered these payments, so the total now ondeposit is about the same as the original judgment.

k. Other Legislative Matters

George Wright: I would like to suggestsome other topics for discussion by the group:grazing on public lands; fishing and huntingrights; national, state and local electidns,and other matters pertaining to national, state,county and municipal groups.

The price of beef has dropped 6 to 8 apound in the past year. The group might considera resolution favoring the limitation of beefimports and establishing quotas. Many Indianshave cattle.

Stannard Frank: The individual livestockassociations are better informed about thisand can take their own action.

Dewey Sampson: The livestock matter wasbrought up unexpectedly. The Indians who areinformed on such matters are not present. Ifit had been known the issue were to be raised,some of the stockmen would have come. Thepeople who are not informed do not wish to takeaction without their advice.

Lawrence Jacobsen: It is very apparent thatIndian problems 'require federal and state actionof some sort, yet it appears from the talk today

1)77

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(Lawrence Jacobsen, Continued)

that none of them are going to be solved by talk.Government representatives have left the dooropen to the Indians. The Indians should tellthem what they want done for them. You won'taccomplish much by sitting here and talking.As one person, you have little influence toaccomplish a job. As a group, if you directedyour representatives, you would accomplish alot more. I serve as a member of the Federal,Indian and Military Affairs Committee of theAssembly. I don't remember ever being asked byan Indian to do anything. There are few billsapplying to Indians. You should get togetherand fight for what you want, or you won't getit. It is thc obligation of Indian people asAmericans to consolidate their thinking.

Martin Levine: I wonder if this processof open discussion at this Conference won'thelp accomplish this. A Conference like thisseems to be aimed in the right direction.

IV. BANQUET (May 1) Speech by Mrs. Ruth M. Bronson*

Since this Conference is mainly concerned with theorganization of an Inter-Tribal Council for Nevada, andsince most of the 35 or more years of my working lifehave been devoted to helping Indian leadership grow anddevelop, I want to address most of my remarks here tonightto the subject of Nevada Indian leadership and some of thetasks ahead for you and for those leaders who will comeafter you

What is a leader? Who of you here are leaders, andwhy? How can we improve our leadership qualities? Putin its most simple terms, I would say that any one ofyou here who influences another person to any kind ofaction is in a limited sense a leader. The power anddegree of that leadership will vary in proportion to thenumber of people who are induced to follow' the ideas and:pellets of the individual who has them.

In every society and in every age there have been goodand bad leaders, and civilizations have thrived or fallenbecause of.them. Thirty or so years ago, when I firstbegan attending meetings.where Indians controlled theprogram, again and again, ,in speech after speech, Indian

Summary prepared by Mrs. Ruth Bronson, April, 1965. TheBanquet Session. was not tape-recorded.

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Left to Right:Marilyn Stewart,Benjie Aleck,Henrietta Tobey.

Other partici-pants were:Alvin Chavez,Carol Cypher,Tom Dressler,Joy Johnson,Rose Mackea,Donna Malone,Allen Melendez,Carol O'Daye,assisted byMr. Max Coffey.

A Skit by Members of the Baptist Youth Fellowship

BANQUET, May 1

The participants were entertained by students from StewartIndian Schooltand mambers of the Baptist Youth Fellowship,Colony Baptist Church, Reno. Allen Aleck, Treasurer of theInter-Tribal Council,was Master of CPremonies. The speakerwas Mrs. Ruth Bronson, Community Development Foundation ofthe Save the Children Federation.

Banquet at the Jot Travis Union Apache Dancers, Stewart Indian School

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(MrA. Ruth M. Bronson, Continued)

speakers would dwell on the tribal tragedies of the past,on how badly the Indians had been treated by the new-comers who settled this continent. The emphasis then wasalways on how tribal holdings had been destroyed, howIndian life had disintegrated until, it seemed to me then,that the men and women who ought to have been tacklingthe problems of today were so haunted by their past.history that they could not move beyond those early tra-gic years into the complicated, demanding, challengingpresent day.

Then, over the years, I have seen a change come inIndian leadership with whom the Indian past assumed itsproper place7-not as the only focus of attention, butrather as background to explain in part why things'areas they are today, simply as a base from which to moveforward. Last week i attended a conference of triballeaders in Arizona, at which only Indians held thespeakers platform. Not one Indian speaker talked aboutpast wrongs or past history. Every speaker was aimingat tomorrow, planning ahead for the tribal groups whomust meet the problems which confront their communitiesin 1964 and 1965 and the years after 1965. This kind ofthinking spells out my measure of Indian growth. Thisis the kind of progress I hope will result from yourorganization of this Inter-Tribal Council for Nevada.

I have listened to your discussions here at thisConference, and I have been saddened by the number ofIndians who talk from the floor who have been concernedonly to dwell on the old wrongs. These are important,I grant you, and there, are plenty of old wrongs to remem-ber, but they belong to yesterday, and yesterday hasgone by. There are grave and compelling problems con-fronting Nevada Indians today. We need to be thinkingabout how we can solve those problems with the tools wehave today. How can we sharpen those tools, even findnew tools to help us find sound solutions? What are wegoing to do about the disintegration of Indian familylife that is destroying our Indian communities today?What are we going to do about this slow death of NevadaIndian communities? What are we going to do about ouryoung'people whowill not stay in school long enough toprepare themselves for a decent, self-sufficient liveli-hood? What about the .growing problem of'alcoholism inIndian communities? Can We sit back and wait for someoneelse to Solve'these very serious and present needs of

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(Mrs. Ruth M. Bronson, Continued)

Nevada Indians? Who knows what Nevada Indian needsreally are? Some outsider who comes in and looks youover, or yourselves, who must live out these experiencesday after day? Only you, who live through these situa-tions, can know what your real needs are, and only you,working together, can meet those needs.

Unfortunately, .I was not able to stay many weeks inNevada, but during the month and a half that I workedhere I discovered that Nevada Indians have many friendsin the State who would help you if only they knew whatyou would like to have them do in your behalf. You mustinterpret your needs to these friends; you must point theway toward the solution of your problems. No one reallyknows but you. That is why this organization of an InteTribal Council holds such hope, in my opinion. Insteadof disagreement and bickering among the various groups ofIndians in Nevada, through this Council, you will be workingtogether in areas in which you will agree; and you will besurprised at how many such areas there are. You will mobi-lize those forces friendly to your cause, so that you can'get the State legislation or national legislation you willneed to help. you. I am sure you have found at this Con-fereace that you do not stand alone, and this is a greatand glorious discovery to make. Secure in this knowledge,you can. move' ahead into, a new day.

V. CONCLUDING REMARKS (M.?1, 2)

A. John Dressler

. The .featured speaker today is a man well-known to manyof yoU.. He has traveled a good part of the country, andhe has seen..how Indian people work. Hehas put his heartand soul into helPing our Indian people. A local NevadaIndian, Mel Thom.

B. Melvin Thom

Than%,you,.Mr. Dressler. Delegates to the Nevada Inter-Tribal Indian Conference, guests,' and ladies and gentlemen.We are gathered here for a common. purpose: to find ways and.means of promotingunderstanding and cooperation betweenour helping agenCies' and, Indian.people. For only through1Inderstanding will the` of,Indian.people be realized.Indianemust.be'underatood if their real.needs are to beserved: between,Indians, our helping agenciesand the general public. is an important concept at this timein Indian history. Understanding through good communicationwill serve to educate all of us no matter what level.

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(Melvi:, Thom, Continued)

The theme of this Conference--Communication forOpportunities--is well chosen. Indian people of thisState and throughout the country all have something tosay. It is important now that we tve our say, espe-cially when the country's governmL . and citizens areconcerned with racial problems and questions of govern-ment control. It is not easy for Indian people to getup and say, "We want such and such a program, we wantsuch and such a policy". For we have long been deniedthe opportunity to make decisions for ourselves.

I hope the time is nearing when Indian people canhave more say over policies and programs which willdirectly effect us. This denial to make our own choiceshas not been social discrimination. Rather than socialdiscrimination, we are victims of a long chain of policiesand programs whose functions have been to break up theIndian social structure, and replace it with so-calledup-to-date ways of living. This has all been done withthe best intentions of serving Indian people. But alongthe way, our Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairsforgot to ask if the Indians would like to share in theplanning of their future.

The decline in Indian political integrity began inthe early 1800's when this country undertook to civilizethe so-called savages. By that Act in 1871, Congressmenno longer dealt with Indian tribes as nations. The con-cept of equality then disappeared. We no longer enteredinto agreements with this country on the basis of equalparties. We then assumed a wardship status.

Through the.General Allotment Act of.1887, we lost muchof our reserve lands and a new concept of private owner-ship was forced upon us. These were acts of good faithto help Indians, but they tore down Indian integrity andtook away a life that had meaning. I sometimes think ofwhat the old people meant when they said, "Go and learnthe ways of the white man " I'm sure that they weretoo wise to mean that we should change ourselves towhite men. They meant that we should find.new ways ofproviding ourselves a way of living, in that we had tolive with what was there.at that time, and what is heretoday. They did not mean that the Indian was to bedestroyed because his ways were bad.

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(Melvin Thom, Continued)

We're not living in the past when we refer to theold ways. We, too, want to share the material wealthand privileges of a modern progressive America. Butwe must look back to know who and what we are. If weforget the past, we'll be cutting ourselves adriftfurther into the lower levels of American life. Weneed to take into consideration our Indian socialstructure to build a better life for ourselves. Wewant our lands and our homes. We want our lands andour homes to exist in Indian hands forever. We have gotto have a place which we can call our own. This is onlyright.

We need help, we need a lot of help. This countryagreed to give Indians general welfare in the way ofhospitals, schools and technical assistance. This isin exchange for this very land upon which the greatestcountry in the world is founded. The assistance givento Indians is not charity. Our rights as Indian peopleare property rights. They are inherited from our fore-fathers. We should all work to remove the popularthinking that Indian people are just a burden upon thiscountry's government. If we are burdens and are con-sidered as such, I say that we are the most deservingof burdensome aid given by this government.

We spend a lot of time talking about cooperation.Cooperation with Indians and our benevolent agencieshas not been worked to the best benefit of the Indians.In the first place, with the wardship, status that wehave, we cannot cooperate when we are not treated withan equal say. The Bureau of Tndian Affairs, the SoilConservation Service, and many other agencies and peopleare concerned on.the reservations. It's easy for themto propose actions that our governing bodies should take.These are prepared for us and they are brought to ourgoverning bodies for acceptance. The Indian is not givena full chance to have his complete say.

Now this is not the fault, complete fault, of theBureau or other. people who are trying to help Indians.It is just, as much our fault aeIndian people. We havegot to take responsibility to manage our own councilsand our. own gelf-goVernment. This is the means bywhich we are going to improve the standard of living of

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our people, make our people aware, and provide a homefor Indian generations which are to follow.

In the way of education it's been said over andover that Indians must become educated. We hear itwhenever we talk at an Indian conference. I think weshould push our talk of education just a little bitfurther. The important thing for Indians is that therebe motivation for an education; that there be purposefor education. We can't just go up and 'ell our youngIndian people to get educated. They ask you what for."What's it going to do for me, what's it going to dofor my people? Is it going to destroy us?" And thisis where education is going to require a lot of meaningwith Indians; when we know that we have a place to putour education to work, and when our educated people comeback to help the rest of our Indian people (who need allthe educated people that we can find to help improvewhat we have, to make a happier life for our Indiancommunities) .

We Indian people did not get to write our ownhistory. No one, especially in our Nevada history,tells too much about what happened to any Indian tribe.Pictures always pointed out that the Indian was sortof a bad guy. And when young Indian children see theirkind on TV, or read about them as being bad, that justcauses conflict right among our own Indian homes. Thereare two ways in which we can try to improve this situa-tion. First, we should broaden our educational scopeso that our young Indian people will be better informedas to who they were and what they did. Second, andmost important (in that it comes right back to our ownhomes) is the responsibility of parents and the responsi-bility of our governing bodies to improve education asto what we are, right in our own communities.

We need to make the public aware of what we are andwhat we need. This is not easy. To appear in the press,on radio, over TV,a thing has to be sensational. Theyexaggerate things and the Indians are sometimes ashamedof what comes out. The American public does not wantto hear about some poor, misunderstood, deprived Indians.And it is not easy for our older people to go and tellthem that this is wrong. It's not even easy for young

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people. It's a matter of understanding our news mediaand how they operate and how we can make our Indianstories, our Indian gripes and grievances, heard.

This is very important at this time, especiallywhen there are considerations of racial discriminationand racial differences, to let the American public knowthat the Indian people are the most conservative of allpeople, they're the most patriotic of all people; thatthey want to remain Indians, remain what we are, andalso we want to share in the privileges and the materialthings that this country has to offer for us; that thiscountry has obligations, and we are not completelycharity recipients.

In political action, the "Indian people could be one ofthe most effective minorities if they could ever gettogether. The image of the Indian is good. He is animage of nobility. Even in the city of Reno, you can'tdrive two miles without seeing a picture of an Indian.(We should charge them for that.)

In many of our communities the. Indian population isnot a majority. However, it's a sizable number thatcan make a difference in political action. We mustimpress upon Indian.people that we should take advantageof voting.in our state and national elections; and evenmore, we should encourage Indian people to take part invoting in our own tribal elections; For this is thevery basis by which Indian tribes can exist and build.We need, too, to make our people aware that our tribalgovernments are founded upon a federal corporation.It's a very effective instrument in that we can enterinto agreements and that we can have solidity in thesame way that any other. municipality has, except ourswill be under a federal charter. There's no reasonwhy the WalkerRiver Tribe could not be as effectivea political or municipal body as the city of Yeringtonor the city of Fallon, and this is what it's set up for.It's a-matter 'of us "having to use this.

I'm a member of the.National Indian Youth Council,president of the or4anietiOn, and I'd like to say thatwe would like:tO'find ways in whiCh we can mobilize the-Indian Peopie, and.it'a not easy. It's very discouraging.

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Nobody, especially the Indians, wants to hear Indians'crying stories. You go out and say, "I'm going to makesome changes or I'm going to see if I can have a voicein Indian affairs". Well, you don't get very far. AndI think many of us who have tried realize this.

Indian people are not capable of devising strategy- -I'm not talking about devious strategy, but politicalstrategy in which our Indiqft.,organizations and ourIndian people can become more effective in taking action.Now this is what our younger people, and the older peopleneed at this time. They need to be given confidence, andour young people need to be given some courage to speakout.

I'm sure that the time is nearing when this is goingto come about. When it does come about I hope it's theright action that will benefit Indian people the most.Indian people have been held down and in some ways notcompletely informed. This is a dangerous thing. Beci..aseonce people become informed, and once they know whathappened, there is a tendency to become angry. I haveobserved this in the tribes throughout the country,especially in the Indians with treaty rights. Theythought this was just a gift. When they found out thatthis was law, and that they had been deprived, there wasanger. I guess it's the same thing that started revolu-tions in other countries. However, I'm not speakingrevolutionary talk, but these are terms which people canunderstand.

It's very difficult to speak in terms in which allpeople can underStand. Now, some people may be eloquentspeakers that non-Indians can understand real well, butthey can't talk to Indians. This goes back to a matterof strategy in which we have to think and work out waysand means in which we can eventually get our messageacross.

In closing, I'd like to say that I'm encouraged bythe participation that I see here. It's our firstInter-Tribal Conference, and I'm sure that a lot ofgood things came out of it; maybe not right here, butin the messages we take home, the talk and thinkingthat's going to be stirred up. I thank you for thisopportunity to be able to talk.

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C. John Dressler

Thank you, very much,to have Mr. Thom with usConference in expressingbeen going on throughout

Mel. Were especially gladtoday speaking in behalf of thehis views after seeing what hasthe country.

Much has been said here. We feel a record of itshould be compiled for future reference and conferences.We would like .a continuation of these conferences, onebig annual affair, and thereafter small conferences incommunities where Indians are living. When you gethome, talk this over with the local people. TAle wouldlike for you to send. back a report with your thoughtson these subjects. Keep in mind that we want to continuethis affair.

I have a list of participants here which you may beinterested in. People have come from far and wide. It'squite impressive. The total attendance over the Conferenceperiod is 228. 'Very good attendance. We expected 100people at the most at the Conference. This exceeds allexpectations. We're sure thankful for your attendance.

Once again, I would like to thank the WelcomingCommittee.. They have done a great job at the Conference.And I wish.to extend my wholehearted thanks to Dr. WayneMartin of the University of Nevada, who has helped somuch in arranging the Conference. And I want to thankthe Planning Committee, which has worked hard and longand given a lot of their time in planning this Conference.An6 I wish to extend our appreciation to the Universityof Nevada for the use of its facilities.

Now, I would like to officially close the Conference.

fill

BANQUET, May 1

STEWART INDIAN SCHOOL STUDENTS

Top: (Left to right) FranklinStanley, Tom Coochyumptewa,Alonzo Dili, Sarah leveland.

Center:The Valiants Dance Band(Left to right) Larry Philips,Whitman Cassadores, Ron Kinneyand Karl Kinney.

Bottom: (Left to right) TomCoochyumptewa, Alonzo Dili,Manuel Honeyumptewa, VirginiaZeena.

Other participants were:Charlotte Dean, Harold Harney,Frances Hinton,Graham Johnson,Rufus Johnson, Benedict Key,Fernando Pechuli, JonathanVictor (Dancers); and FlorenceToney (Vocalist).

88

!,!. ;I;.1 p

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P 1

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4 1 7

NEVADA INTER-TRIBAL INDIAN CONFERENCE

PROGRAM

Friday, May 1

10:00 A.M. - REGISTRATION Jot Travis Union

12:30 P.M. - LUNCHEON Jot Travis Union Lounge

The Wa-pa-shone Glee Club

Presented by: Mrs. Leah ManningSocial Worker,Bureau of Indian Affairs

Welcoming Remarks: Dr. Charles J. ArmstrongPresident, University of Nevada

1:00 P.M. - INTRODUCTION TO THE CONFERENCE

Moderator: Mr. John Dressler, ChairmanInter-Tribal Council of Nevada

The History of Indian Education in Nevada

Address: Mrs. Nellie HarnarGuidance Teacher, Stewart Indian School

1:30 P.M. - CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION

Mr. Edward JohnsonChairman, Welcoming Committee

Dr. Warren d'AzevedoAssociate Professor of Anthropology

Mr. Edward HinckleyEducation SpecialistPHS Indian Hospital, Schurz, Nevada

Dr. Martin LevineSupervisor, State Bureau of Mental Health

2:00 P.M. - SMALL GROUP SESSIONS

I. "Indians and Opportunity"Moderator: Mr. George RomanceRecorder: Mr. Charles Poehlman

II. "Indians and the Community"Moderator: Mr. Delbert HowardRecorder: Mr. Charles White

89

III. "Indians and Legislation"Moderator: Mr. George WrightRecorder: Mrs. Robert Leland

3:30 P.M. - ALL-CONFERENCE SESSION Oot Travis Union Lounge

Reports from small group session representativesDiscussionModerator: Dr. Martin Levine

6:45 P.M. - BANQUET Jot Travis Union Lounge

Master of Ceremonies: Mr. Allen Aleck

Speaker: Mrs. Ruth M. BronsonCommunity Development FoundationSave the Children Federation

8:15 P.M. - ENTERTAINMENT

Reno-Sparks Colony Youth GroupThe Stewart Indian Dancers

* it * * * * * * * * * * *Saturday, May 2 (As Revised May 2, 1964)

9:00 A.M. - ALL-CONFERENCE SESSION Jot Travis Union Lounge

9:30 A.M. - SMALL GROUP SESSIONS

11:00 A.M. - ALL-CONFERENCE SESSION

Greetings: Governor Grant S. Sawyer

12:00 Noon - LUNCHEON Jot Travis Union Loung.t

Speaker: Mr. Melvin Thom, ChairmanNational Indian Youth Council

Summary Reports and Recommendations: Discussion

ADJOURNMENT

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May 1 and 2, 1964

PLANNING COMMITTEE:

Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada:

John Dressler, ChairmanSyble Rupert, SecretaryAllen Aleck, TreasurerEdward Johnson, Newsletter EditorDelbert Howard

University of Nevada:

Warren d'Azevedo, Department of Sociology-AnthropologyJoy Leland, Center for Western North American Studies,

Desert Research InstituteWayne Martin, Statewide Services

Public Health Service, Division of Indian Health:

Edward Hinckley, Schurz Indian HospitalGeorge Romance, Schurz Indian Hospital

Nevada Department of Education:

Charles Poehlman, Indian Education Division

Nevada Department of Health and Welfare, Health Division:

Martin Levine, Bureau of Mental Health

Colony Christian Center:

Clyde H. Mathews, Jr., Minister

Bureau of Indian Affairs:

Charles White, Nevada Indian Agency

OTHER CCOeERATING AGENCIES:

State Bar Association of NevadaNevada Council of ChurchesNevada State Medical AssociationNevada State Museum

WELCOMING COMMITTEE (University of Nevada Students):

George S. BryanMarvin Victor GarityBob Lawrence HunterEdward Charles Johnson

Al

Larry M. ManningTim ThompsonShirley Ann WilliamsHarold Wyatt

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THE NEVADA INTER-TRIBAL INDIAN CONFERENCEUniversity of Nevada, Reno..

May Land 2, 1964

PARTICIPANTS

Ablon, JoanBerkeley, California

Abraham, A. R.Nixon, Nevada

Aleck, AlbertNixon, Nevada

Aleck, Allen L.Nixon, Nevada

Aleck, JoAnn AlidaCarson City, Nevada

Allan, Jeannette

Ammerman, MortReno Police Dept.Reno, Nevada

Anderson, Fred M.University of Nevada RegentReno, Nevada

Anderson, Mary W.Area Medical Social ConsultantDiv. of Indian Health, PHSPhoenix, Arizona

Arold, Mary Helen, R. N.Clark County Health Dept.Las Vegas, Nevada

Austin, Eva and George

Autajay, Leonard C. (Rev.)Methodist Indian MissionSchurz, Nevada

Badt, Milton B., JudgeSupreme Court of NevadaCarson City, Nevada

Baldwin, Dale M.SuperintendentNevada Indian AgencyStewart, Nevada

92

Bauer, Robert W.Nevada State Division of WelfareCarson City, Nevada

Baur, Cyril. J. (Rev.) O.F.M.Franciscan OrderSan Solano MissionTopawa, Arizona

Bird, Daisey AustinShoshone TribeReno, Nevada

Boice, AnitaCarson Indian ColonyCarson City, Nevada

Bowden, William GeorgeE.O. Vaughn Jr. High SchoolReno, Nevada

Bravence, BenAssistant Training OfficerPhoenix Indian Health Area OfficePhoenix, Arizona

Bronson, Ruth M.Save the Children FederationTucson, Arizona

Brown, Doretta JeanneSchurz, Nevada

Brown, Frank R.State Dept. of EducationSupervisor, Guidance ServicesCarson City, Nevada

Brown, Robert LorenService Unit DirectorPublic Health ServiceIndian HospitalSchurz, Nevada

Bryan, Sullivan Mr. and Mrs.Carson City, Nevada

Burns, Frank Mr. and Mrs.Carson City, Nevada

(Participants, Continued)

Burton, SarahFallon, Nevada

Bushman, John W.Criminal InvestigatorNevada AgencyBureau of Indian AffairsStewart, Nevada

Cardwell, WarrenAssistant Tribal Affairs OfficerDiviSion Indian HealthWashington, D. C.

Carlson, Maribeth JeanNevada Indian Agency(Branch of Welfare)Stewart, Nevada

Casares, Clarissa

Christensen, Wilson R.Laboratory TechnicianPublic Health ServiceIndian HospitalSchurz, Nevada

Christensen, L. ClairUniversity of NevadaRural Area DevelopmentSparks, Nevada

Christy, LeRoyReno, Nevada

Clark, LucilleCounselorNye County School Dist.Tonqpah, Nevada

Cleveland, Velta

Coffey, BillReno-Sparks Colony .

Reno, Nevada

Coffey, MarleneReno, Nevada

Coffey, WilliamReno, Nevada

Cook, Tom Wm. Mr. and Mrs.Agricultural Extension ServiceFernley, Nevada

Cooper, Barbara JeanReno, Nevada

Cracker, HarveyFt. McDermitt Indian ReservationMcDermitt, Nevada

Crawford, Kenneth S.Principal, Owyhee SchoolsOwyhee, Nevada

Cunning, PeteWashoe TribeWoodfords, California

Davis, Wilbur ArthurUniversity of NevadaReno, Nevada

Davis, John W.Tribal Affairs OfficerPhoenix Indian Health Area OfficePhoenix, Arizona

d'Azevedo, Kathleen and WarrenUniversity of NevadaReno, Nevada

Dexter, Grace L.Washoe TribeDresslerville, Nevada

Doka, HaroldTrainee-Phoenix Area OfficePhoenix, Arizona

Dressler, John H. Jr. and MazieReno, Nevada

Dressler, John H. Sr. Mr. and Mrs.Inter-Tribal Council of NevadaReno, Nevada.

Dunn, EarlNixon, Nevada

Dyer, JensonFallon Paiute and Shoshone TribeFallon, Nevada

II


Eagle, FredWood fords, California

Eben, TellivanReno-Sparks, ChairmanReno, Nevada

Eckert, John FredReno, Nevada

Elliott, Michelle RobertaReno, Nevada

Emm, WarrenYerington Paiute TribeFernley, Nevada

Enos Raymond J. Mr. and Mrs.Commission Indian AffairsPhoenix, Arizona

Evans, LaVilleCarson Indian ColonyCarson City, Nevada

Flores, EdithSparks, Nevada

Foster, Erma CypherSchurz, Nevada

Frank, BernitaSchurz, Nevada

Frank, JohnCarson Colony ChairmanCarson City, Nevada

Frank, MarieCarson ColonyCarson City, Nevada

Frank, Stannard JohnWalker River Tribe, ChairmanSchurz, Nevada

Francisco, EnosArizona Commission ofIndian AffairsPhoenix, Arizona

Frazier, Gordon L.Nixon, Nevada

9

Garcia, Sheila R.Reno, Nevada

Garity, Beutla HarneyShoshone-Paiute TribeOwyhee, Nevada

Garity, Gus SheldonVice-ChairmanShoshone Paiute Tribal CouncilOwyhee, Nevada

Greene, Howard Z.Bureau of Indian AffairsNevada Indian Housing OfficerStewart, Nevada

Griffin, Margaret M.State Dept. of EducationSupervisor, Dept. of AgricultureFood Dist. and School Lunch Programs

Gritzner, Charles F.Executive SecretaryArizona Commission of Indian AffairsPhoenix, Arizona

Hackett, E. IrvingElko County Extension ServiceOwyhee, Nevada

Hammer, William P.Churchill County SchoolsDirector, Pupil Personnel ServicFallon, Nevada

Hannifan, John JosephStudentReno, Nevada

Hansen, PeteWhite Pine County, California

Hardin, Ross E.Ft. McDermitt Tribal CouncilMcDermitt, Nevada

Harnar, Nellie ShawGuidance TeacherStewart Indian SchoolStewart, Nevada


Harry, Bridget and OliverSchurz, Nevada

Harvey, John F.Ormsby County School Dist.Carson City, Nevada

Hicks, DelbertSchurz, Nevada

Hinckley, Edward C.Education SpecialistPublic Health ServiceIndian HospitalSchurz, Nevada

Howard, Delbert C.Vice-Chairman Inter-Tribal Coun.Winnemucca Indian CommunityWinnemucca, Nevada

Hoyer, PhilHealth EducatorNevada State Health Div.Reno, Nevada

Hueftle, KeeneGuidance CounselorOwyhee Public SchoolOwyhee, Nevada

Jackson, LouellaReno, Nevada

Jackson, Nicholas DeLangeReno, Nevada

Jacobsen, Lawrence EdwinAssemblyman, Douglas Co.Minden, Nevada

James, Alvin R.Pyramid Lake TribeWadsworth, Nevada

James, Amy WashoeReno, Nevada

James, EarlWashoes of California and NevadaGardnerville, Nevada

95

James, Lana LeeReno, Nevada

Johnny, George Mr. and Mrs.Fallon, Nevada

Johnny, Gladys

Jones, Dorothy J. Mrs.Agricultural Extension ServiceHome Agent for Indian ProgramsFernley, Nevada

Jones, EdnaSchurz, Nevada

Jones, Verna LeeOwyhee, Nevada

Jones, WallaceOwyhee, Nevada

Jones, WillieTribal CouncilSchurz, Nevada

Keiper, FredDeputy Sheriff, Washoe CountyReno, Nevada

Keneally, Henry JohnArea Health EducatorPublic Health ServiceDivision of Indian HealthPhoenix, Arizona

King, AnneUniversity of Nevada StudentReno, Nevada

Leland, Joy Mrs.Center for Western NorthAmerican StudiesDesert Research InstituteUniversity of NevadaReno, Nevada

Leland, RobertAttorney,Pyramid Lake TribeReno, Nevada


Levine, Martin S. Dr.Bureau of Mental HealthReno, Nevada

Long, James W.Bureau of Land OperationsNevada AgencyCarson City, Nevada

Loomis, Norman C.Bureau of Indian AffairsStewart, Nevada

Lundy, JohnnieColeville, California

Manning, Arthur T.Western Shoshone-PaiuteOwyhee, Nevada

Manning, Leah K.Bureau of Indian A.,:fairsOwyhee, Nevada

Manning, Tena

Manning, Winona

Mastroianni, Silvio D.State Health DepartmentRpno, Nevada

Mathews, H. Clyde Jr.Colony Ch-,istian CenterReno, Nevada

McCallion, Mildred ClaudineWomens Civic ClubReno, Nevada

McCready, Katherine Joan.Reno, Nevada.

McDade, Clarence B.Elko, Nevada

McDade, Fay

McKinnon, Juanita EdithReno, Nevada

McNicoll, Jean,R.Public Health ServiceIndian School Health CenterStewart, Nevada 10

Megahan, Roy GeraldAssociated PressReno, Nevada

Mills, Ray D.Reno, Nevada

Miller, Richard G. Dr.Foresta InstituteCarson City, Nevada

Mitchell, NedCarson City, Nevada

Molino, Connie RaeSparks, Nevada

Moore, Brenda LoisCarson City, Nevada

Moore, ElizabethCarson City, Nevada

Moore, John J.Washoe ColonyFallon, Nevada

Moose, WillisReno-Sparks Indian ColonyReno, Nevada

Mordy, BrookeReno, Nevada

Neff, Nelson B.Executive Secretary, NevadaState Medical Assoc:iationReno, Nevada

Nelson, Dwight A.Washoe Co. Juvinile Probation Dept.Reno, Nevada

Nevers, JohnWashoe TribeBaron, Nevada

Nutting, B. GlennPrincipal,McDermitt Combined SchoolsMcDermitt, Nevada

O'Brien III, Willaim A. M.D.President, Nev. State Medical Assn'Reno, Nevada


O'Callaghan, Donal N.Director,Department Health and WelfareCarson City, Nevada

Olson, Walter 0.Area Tribal Operations OfficerPhoenix Area OfficeBureau of Indian AffairsTempe, Arizona

Ornstein, Samuel L.Special Children's ClinicReno, Nevada

Palmer, Arthur Judson Jr.Legislative Counsel BureauResearch DivisionCarson City, Nevada

Pancho, MargaretReno, Nevada

Pappan, John L.Tribal Operations OfficerBureau of Indian AffairsStewart, Nevada

Parks, MurielLas Vegas, Nevada

Paul, Phyllis C.Bureau of Indian AffairsStewart, Nevada

Pawson, PansySocial Welfare DirectorBureau of Indian AffairsStewart, Nevada

Payne, Mary G.Association on AmericanIndian Affairs, Inc.New York, New York

Piersall, Claude E.Reno, Nevada

Poehlman, Charles H.Supervispr.'.State Dept.pf. Education,Indian Education DiviSionCarson City.,:_Nevada

Quartz, Vira GeorgineReno, Nevada

Quintero, JennieSchurz, Nevada

Quintero, RoselynSchurz, Nevada

Quirk, Virginia CastlePrincipal, Orvis Ring SchoolReno, Nevada

Reed, Edward C. Jr.Nevada State Bar AssociationReno, Nevada

Reiff, Fred MillerPHS Sanitary EngineerReno, Nevada

Rendall, Doris L. Mrs.Carson City, Nevada

Rettig, HeinzNational Conference ofChristians and JewsLas Vegas, Nevada

Roberts, LesterPublic Health ServiceAdministrative Officer,Indian HospitalSchurz, Nevada

Robinson, Archie E.Supervisor,Nevada State Dept. of EducationVocational Education MDTACarson City, Nevada

Romance, George L.Clinical Social WorkerPublic Health ServiceIndian HospitalSchurz, Nevada

Rupert, John Mr. and Mrs.Carson City, Nevada

Rupert, Syble C.Inter-Tribal Council of NevadaCarson City, Nevada

Li


Russell, Ruth AsburyCarson City, Nevada

Sadovszky, Otto JosephForeign. Language Dept.University of NevadaReno, Nevada

Sam, Lila M.Elko, Nevada

Sampson, Dewey EdmondUnited Paiutes, Inc.Reno, Nevada

Sampson, HarryReno, Nevada

Savoy, Barbara E.Reno, Nevada

Scudder, Florence C.Reno, Nevada

Siegfried, Ernest C. M. D.Public Health ServiceDeputy Indian HealthArea DirectorPhoenix, Arizona

Simirenko, AlexSociology DepartmentUniversity of NevadaReno, Nevada

Smart, Stanley and JaniceFort McDermittMcDermitt, Nevada

Smith, Philip DoddDepartment of EducationDivision of InstructionCarson City, Nevada

Smith, Rev. Ronald 0.DRACO Foundation Trust of Calif.United Presbyterian Church USALone Pine, California

Smokey, CarnegieWashoe TribeGardnerville, Nevada

Smokey, FloraGardnerville, Nevada

Smokey, Freda

Starkweather, Virginia E.Nevada State Welfare DivisionReno, Nevada

Steele, Isaac

Sutton, Louis and EvelynMaxwell, California

Stone, Wilfred Mr. and Mrs.Fallon, Nevada

Streeter, DickColeville, California

Suttles, WayneAnthropology DepartmentUniversity of NevadaReno, Nevada

Taylor, Wendell F.Employment Security DepartmentMDT CoordinatorCarson City, Nevada

Teacott, Beatrice and LewisWashoe TribeWoodfords, California

Thayer, Beatrice VivienneReno ColonyReno, Nevada

Thelen, EtheldaNevada State Health DivisionDirector of Public Health NursingReno, Nevada

Thom, DelbertSchurz, Nevada

Thom, JoAnn.Schurz, Nevada

Thom, LauraSchurz, Nevada


Thom, Melvin D.President,National Indian Youth CouncilBurlingame, California

Thom, SullivanVice-Chairman, Walker RiverTribal CouncilSchurz, Nevada

Thomas, Vera

Thompson, Joe AllenDepartment of HistoryUniversity of NevadaReno, Nevada

Thompson, Roberta A.Bureau of Indian AffairsStewart, Nevada

Voorhees, WalterTribal SecretaryWalker RiverSchurz, Nevada

Wade, DonaldGardnerville, Nevada

Walker, Harold and MaryleneMarkleeville, California

Ward, John D.Stewart Community ChurchStewart, Nevada

Wesley, Clarence Mr. and Mrs.Bureau of Indian AffairsPhoenix, Arizona

Whipple', William C.Bureau of Indian AffairsReservation PrincipalStewart, Nevada

White, Charles BaileyBureau of Indian AffairsNevada Indian Agency 'Tribal Enrollment OfficerStewart, Nevada

Williams, AlvinUnited Paiutes, Inc.Reno, Nevada

99

Williams; Alyce T.United Paiutes, Inc.Reno, Nevada

Williams, Florine Mrs.Carson City, Nevada

Williams, Mary W.Nevada State Health DivisionPublic Health Nursing SupervisorReno, Nevada

Wilson, Walter C.Dixector, Department of CommerceRepresenting Governor SawyerCarson City, Nevada

Winne, Burchard A.Nevada State Health DepartmentState Medical ServiceReno, Nevada

Winnemucca, AveryPyramid Lake Paiute TribeNixon, Nevada

Wright, George F.Attorney for Washoe Tribes ofNevada and California on Claim vsUnited StatesElko, Nevada

Wright, Helen JohnExtension ServiceOwyhee, Nevada

Yasmer, Maynard R.Division of RehabilitationSparks. Nevada

Young, Mark G.Nevada Youth Training CenterParole CounselorReno, Nevada

-Martgan, WesleyStewart Indian SchoolStewart, Nevada

CENTER FOR WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN STUDIES,DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADARENO, NEVADA 89507

EDITOR'S NOTE

April 10, 1965

The transcription of the tape-recordings of the Conferencehas been rearranged by subject, and has been condensed consider-ably for this publication. For the sake of clarity and conciseness,chronological order and the speakers' individual styles frequentlyhave been sacrificed.

The unedited transcript has been preserved and is availablefor study by anyone who prefers to use the material in its originalform.

The original '.ranscript was prepared by Statewide Services,University of Nevada. The material then was edited and preparedfor publication by the Center for Western North American Studies.The photographs were supplied by the U. S. Public Health Service.

Joy LelandAdministrative Assistant

100

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