1 CHAPTER 1: AMERICAN INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND ...

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On May 11, the Council on Indian Affairs put on a reception at the Capitol building. This allowed delegates to meet one-on-one with lawmakers and their staffers and to acquaint them with the deleterious social and economic conditions that were all-too-common in Indian Country. 81 At least some of the recommendations made to the politicians and their aides at the reception came from the findings and recommendations of a series of Council on Indian Affairs working groups. The working groups met during the conference to discuss a variety of areas, including health, housing, education, and employment. Like the Declaration of Indian Purpose, the groups advocated increased federal assistance in all of those areas. The participants also echoed the Declaration's call for self-determination in their recommendations for self-administration, a rejection of paternalism, and preserving distinctive Native societies and cultures. The education work group, for example, urged that "all education programs be planned by the Indian group involved" and that they incorporate "traditional tribal values." The health group wanted health care personnel "who understand the American Indian." The housing group called on the federal government to defer to the wishes of tribal housing authorities in terms of project sites. Both the housing and employment groups opposed tribes having to go 81 Clarkin, Federal Indian Policy, 114; "Hubert Humphrey to be Keynote Speaker," 9-12 May 1964. 38
through states to access funds and programs; instead, tribes should be able to work directly with the federal government. 82 The emphasis on self-determination and connection with the Declaration also could be seen in a statement made by delegate Melvin Thom (Northern Paiute), the President of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC). He explained that [w]e do want to live under better conditions but we want to remember that we are Indians. . . . We want this country to know that our Indian lands and homes are precious to us. . . . [W]e do not want to be freed from our special relationship with the Federal Government. We only want our relationship between Indian Tribes and the Government to be one of [a] good working relationship. . . . For any program or policy to work we must be involved at the grassroots level. The responsibility to make decisions for ourselves must be placed in Indian hands. 83 Burnette observed that the Conference made an impact in terms of highlighting Native American issues and concerns. Not only did the New York Times and the Washington Post cover the event, but key policymakers like Humphrey and Udall took 82 "American Indian Capital Conference on Poverty: Findings," 9-12 May 1964, 2, 7, 9-10. Members of the working groups included Honorary Conference Chairman and NCAI President Walter Wetzel (Blackfeet), Navajo Tribal Chairman Raymond Nakai (Navajo), Paschal Sherman (Colville), Francis McKinley (Uintah and Ouray Ute), Ruth Bronson (Cherokee), Marvin Mull (San Carlos Apache), Irving Santiago (Laguna Pueblo), and Pauline Tyndall (Omaha). "Senator Humphrey to be Keynote Speaker," 9-12 May 1964. 83 Thom's speech is reprinted in "American Indian Capital Conference on Poverty: Findings," 9-12 May 1964, 14-17. 39
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Page 3 and 4: Anthropologists Sol Tax and Nancy L
Page 5 and 6: Nevertheless, the Declaration ident
Page 7 and 8: Such sovereignty was often recogniz
Page 9 and 10: While tribes possessed an inherent
Page 11 and 12: in exchange for Indians ceding thei
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Page 15 and 16: cultures was necessary for tribal g
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Page 19 and 20: communities on trust lands were not
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Page 23 and 24: By the late 1950s and during the 19
Page 25 and 26: activist protests in the 1960s and
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Page 29 and 30: constituted an important part of Pr
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Page 35 and 36: the economic and social conditions
Page 37: address by Hubert H. Humphrey, a De
Page 41 and 42: fight against termination in the 19
Page 43 and 44: Access to and control over such fun
Page 45: y moving the government in the dire

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