An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States

and operates under a racist and immortal and paternalistic and
colonialistic system. There is no way to improve racism, immorality,
and colonialism. It can only be done away with. 37
Adams explained how Native people were treated, and he also demanded
that it be rectified. But his statement in some ways differed from even those
who advocated tribal sovereignty. He argued that the entire system needed
to be “done away with.” It seems that Adams suggested, at least in this
moment, that US democracy needed to be abolished, and, perhaps in some
ways, so did the limited idea of tribal sovereignty. 38
To be clear, not every Native person or tribe was enthusiastic about the
Poor People’s Campaign. The criticisms were either anti-Black in that they
adopted racist beliefs about Black people from the media, or they believed
that their issues—the fight for tribal sovereignty—were different from
Black issues. 39 Solidarity did not always work in their favor. However, for
those who attended, it was an opportunity to coalesce with their comrades
and demand justice, economic and otherwise.
We don’t have room to delve into the details of the Poor People’s
Campaign, but it’s clear that while both Black and Native people fought to
end their economic subjugation, Native folks often felt that their issues
were not always central, which is a challenge for any coalition. Even Ralph
Abernathy couldn’t cease the constant marginalization of Indigenous
activists during the event. Many felt that they were disrespected by Black
militants, and weren’t truly shown the solidarity that Dr. King had promised
when he was organizing. Fred Connors, Mad Bear, and Beeman Logan, as
well as Clifton Hill, were upset how they were treated as organizers.
Connors, echoing the ninety-five supporters who agreed with him,
remarked, “We have yet to have a say in what is planned or in our place in
the Poor People’s campaign and they voted unanimously to support” the
chiefs. 40 Though Indigenous leaders weren’t meaningfully included in the
campaign’s activities—another reason is perhaps that they were organizing
on two different planes, one for civil rights and belonging in the US nationstate
and the other for the guarantee of a simple respect for treaties—people
like Ralph Abernathy did demonstrate some good faith, even if they
misunderstood the problem.
On May 27, 1968, Native activists, including Adams and Tillie Walker,
went to Washington, DC, to show support for Puyallup and Nisquallies as