Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All USU Press Publications USU Press 1995 Indian Self-Rule Kenneth R. Philp Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons Recommended Citation Philp, K. R., Institute of the American West., & Conference on Indian Self-Rule. (1995). Indian self-rule: First-hand accounts of Indian-white relations from Roosevelt to Reagan. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the USU Press at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All USU Press Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INDIAN SELF-RULE INDIAN SELF-RULE First-Hand Accounts of Indian-White Relations from Roo evelt to Reagan ' DI ED BY KE TH R. PHILP With Forewords by Floyd A. 0 ) eil) Alvin M. JosePhy) Jr. ) and E. Richard Hart LOGA ,UTAH 1995 Copyright © 1986 by the Institute of the American West All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher. published by Utah State University Press - Logan, Utah 1995 Reprinted by arrangement with Howe Brothers LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Indian self-rule: first-hand accounts of Indian-white relations from Roosevelt to Reagan / edited by Kenneth R. Philp p. cm. Originally published: Salt Lake City, Utah: Howe Bros., 1986. Contains papers which evolved from the Conference on Indian Self­ Rule, sponsored by the Institute of the American West and held in Sun Valley, Idaho from Aug. 17-20, 1983. Includes biographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-87421-180-1 1. Indians of North America - Government relations - 1934- 2. Indians of North America - Politics and government. 3. Indians of North America - Social conditions. 4. United States. Indian Reorganization Act. 5. Self-determination, National- United States. I. Philp, Kenneth R., 1941- . II. Conference on Indian Self-Rule (1983: Sun Valley, Idaho) E93.1466 1994 323.1'197073'0904 - dc20 94-36862 CIP Photographs on pages 2, 14,26,27,110, and 261 are by Charlotte Lloyd Walkup (formerly Charlotte Tuttle Westwood). Page 187 is by Benjamin Reifel from Charlotte Lloyd Walkup's collection. Pages 111, 186, and 260 are by E. Reese­ man Fryer. The title page photograph of the Navajo Tribal Council in session at Window Rock, Arizona, is by Milton Snow from E. Reeseman Fryer's collec­ tion. Photographs are courtesy of Ms. Walkup, Mr. Fryer, and the Institute of the American West Collection, Special Collections, University of Utah. Preface This publication evolved from a historic conference that met at the Elkhorn Inn in Sun Valley, Idaho, from August 17 to 20, 1983. The theme of this conference was "Indian Self-Rule: Fifty Years Under the Indian Reorganization Act." Participants came from all over the nation. They included Indian spokesmen, past and present federal policy makers, anthropologists, historians, political scientists, and other scholars. An atmosphere of excitement permeated the conference. An audience of four hundred people listened attentively to keynote addresses and panel sessions that analyzed the h;gacy of the IRA on Indian life. The Conference on Indian Self-Rule provided a rare opportunity for communication between different groups of people. It was the most important gathering of persons to evaluate the Indian Reorganization Act since a symposium sponsored by the American Anthropological Association in 1953. On each day of the conference keynote speakers and panelists carefully examined a different period of federal Indian policy which has affected tribaJ progress toward self-rule: (1) the Indian New Deal, 1928-1945; (2) the Termination Era, 1945-1960; ( 3) the policy of Self-Determination, 1960-1976; and (4) the impact of the IRA on Indian America from 1977 to the present. The Conference on Indian Self-Rule was the ninth in a series of summer conferences sponsored by the Institute of the American West, a non-profit educational institution founded in 1975 as the humani­ ties division of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities. E. Richard Hart, the director of the Institute, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., president of the Institute's National Council, and Vine Deloria, Jr., a nationally-known author, formulated early plans for the 1983 program [v] Preface Vi that commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the Indian Reorganiza­ tion Act. They were assisted by two former Commissioners of Indian Affairs, Louis Bruce and Robert L. Bennett. Members of the National Council that played a major role in organizing the conference were Floyd A. O'Neil, Suzan Shown Harjo, and Alfonso Ortiz. The Institute of the American West obtained financial support for the conference from a variety of sources. The following groups and individuals deserve special thanks and recognition: the Association for the Humanities in Idaho; the Atlantic Richfield Foundation; the Gannett Foundation; KWSU-TV of Pullman, Washington; the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and Humanities. Generous contributions also were received from Mrs. Damaris D. W. Ethridge, numerous individuals, and an anonymous donor. A portfolio of limited edition prints by five distinguished Native American artists was commissioned by the Institute of the American West for the Conference on Indian Self-Rule. It included works by David P. Bradley, N. Scott Momaday, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Darren Vigil, and R. Lee White. Proceeds from the sale of this portfolio helped fund the conference. Financial assistance from the above organizations and individuals made it possible for the Institute of the American West to provide more than one hundred fellowships that enabled people from different parts of the United States to attend the conference. More importantly the Institute was able to bring the conference proceedings to national, regional, and local audiences by circulating a news tabloid on the themes of the conference, promoting radio and television programming, and conducting oral interviews with former government administrators and Indian leaders who played a significant role in the past half-century of federal-Indian relations. Interviewers were Gregory C. Thompson, Kathryn MacKay, Marjane Ambler, and John R. Alley. A complete set of transcribed conference proceedings, including the oral interviews and other materials, have been deposited in the Special Collections Department of the Marriott Library at the Uni­ versity of Utah. These valuable documents will be available for future historical research on federal Indian policy since the New Deal. Cassette copies of the keynote addresses and panel sessions were recorded by the VII Preface National Public Radio affiliate KUER-FM 90 at Salt Lake City. These cassettes can be purchased from the University of Utah. Selma Thomas of Seattle, Washington produced and directed a video for broadcast on Public Broadcasting Service stations. Finally, John R. Alley and the editorial staff at Howe Brothers merit acknowledgement for their assistance in the publication of this book. Contents Foreword Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. 3 E. Richard Hart. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 Introduction Kenneth R. Philp . ................... __ . .. 15 PART ONE: THE INDIAN NEW DEAL 27 1. The Indian New Deal: An Overview Floyd A. O'Neil. .. 30 2. Federal Indian Policy, 1933-1945 Rupert Costo, Benjamin Reifel, Kenneth R. Philp, Dave Warren, Alfonso Ortiz. .. 47 3. Felix Cohen and the Adoption of the IRA Lucy Kramer Cohen, Charlotte Lloyd Walkup, Benjamin Reifel. .. 70 4. Implementing the IRA John Painter, Robert L. Bennett, E. Reeseman Fryer, Graham Holmes . .. 79 5. The IRA and Indian Culture, Religion, and Arts Alfonso Ortiz, Oren Lyons, Dave Warren, Francis McKinley. 92 6. The IRA Record and John Collier Philleo Nash, Wilcomb Washburn, Robert Burnette, Russell Jim, Earl Old Person, LaDonna Harris, Ted Katcheak ....................... 101 PART TWO: TERMINATION 111 1. Termination As Federal Policy: An Overview James E. Officer . ................................... 114 2. Federal Indian Policy, 1945-1960 Philleo Nash, Sol Tax, R. David Edmunds, Gary Orfield, Ada Deer . .......- ..... 129 3. Undoing the IRA Clarence Wesley, Graham Holmes, E. Reeseman Fryer, Robert Burnette . .. 142 4. The Indian Claims Commission Charles F. Wilkinson, W. Roger Buffalohead, E. Richard Hart, Edward C. Johnson. 150 5. Relocation Robert L. Bennett, Philleo Nash, Helen Peterson, Gerald One Feather, LaDonna Harris. .. 161 6. The Legacy of the Termination Era Larry EchoHawk, Mary Ellen Sloan, Russell Jim, Joe De La Cruz, Sol Tax . ... 174 PART THREE: TOWARD SELF-DETERMINATION 187 1. The Era of Indian Self-Determination: An Overview Philip S. Deloria. .. 191 2. Federal Indian Policy, 1960-1976 Robert L. Bennett, Robert Burnette, Alexander (Sandy) MacNabb, Helen M. Schierbeck 208 3. The War on Poverty Alfonso Ortiz, LaDonna Harris, Robert L. Bennett, Robert Burnette . .................... 219 4. Activism and Red Power Lenada James, Ada Deer, Ramona Bennett, Gerald Wilkinson, Hank Adams . ........ 228 5. Traditionalism and the Reassertion of Indianness Oren Lyons, Virginia Beavert, Francis McKinley, Sol Tax . ............ 243 6. Contracting Under the Self-Determination Act Earl Old Person, Russell Jim, Gerald One Feather, Joe De La Cruz . .. 251 PART FOUR: INDIAN SELF-RULE IN THE PAST AND THE FUTURE 261 1. Self-Rule in the Past and the Future: