FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1969
THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
PAGE
"A loss of ethnic pride engendered by historical events, . . . an over-dependency on
the U.S. government bureaucracy and a sense of powerlessness is the heritage of Indian
youth." Pine Ridge Research Bulletin -
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cGovern: BIA needs vigor
Sen. George McGovern
Sen. George McGovern, D., S.D., has become
nationally known as one of the nation's most out
spoken social critics as well as being opposed to
United States policy in Vietnam.
McGovern was thrust into national promi
nence during the 1968 Pemocratic Presidential
race when he gathered the support of many of Sen.
Robert Kennedy's primary delegates in a late
blooming bid for the nomination as a "peace can
didate." After serving in President John F. Kennedy's
administration as head of the Agency for Inter
national Development, McGovern was elected to
the Senate in 1962. He was re-eleetd last Novm
ber. Most recently, McGovern has been engaged
in a Senate probe of United States hunger pockets
as chairman of the Senate hunger committee.
As chairman of the Senate subcommittee on
Indian affairs, he has been an advocate of broad
legislative reform to raise the standard of living
of the American Indian. One basis of his concern
is the fact that his home state of South Dakota
contains the Pine Ridge Reservation, the second
largest Indian reservation in America.
Jim Pedersen, Nebraskan staff writer, inter
viewed McGovern and asked him, first of all, his
opinion of the federal government's controversial
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Daily Nebraskan Ralph Nader in an article in
the New Republic, called the Bureau of Indian Affairs
"organizational dry rot" and added that any ad
ministration attempting to solve the Indian problems
would first have to deal with the BIA. What should
be done about the BIA? Should all Indian affairs be
placed under different cabinet departments?
McGovern I wouldn't favor breaking up the
BIA. It does need to be revitalized, however. We do
need an agency to which we can give major responsibility
of the Indian problem. To say that the BIA has fallen
short of what it ought to do is not, in my judgment,
to suggest that we ought to end the BIA. We ought
to improve it. We shouldn't scrap it.
Dally Nebraskan You stated that the BIA should
be reformed or revitalized. Can you give any specific
ideas that you might have?
McGovern Right now I can't. I want to make
It clear that I don't have any reorganization plan in
mind. What I was suggesting is that there is need
for greater vigor in the BIA. There is a need for greater
determination to deal with the problems of Indian peo
ple. I am not singling out any one aspect or person
of the Indian bureau for criticism, but I think that
it is quite clear that we haven't made the progress
that we should have in the past 75 years. Something
needs to be done to put more energy and dedication
into the BIA.
Dally Nebraskan In his report on the American
Indian, former President Lyndon Johnson created a Na
tional Council on Indian Affairs made up of six depart
ment heads and the director of the Office of Economic
Opportunity. Did Johnson, in doing this, take a step
towards dismantling the BIA or at least transferring
authority to individual departments?
McGovern I don't know what the President had
in mind in making that move. But from what I could
gather at the time, he was trying to draw in the services
of other parts of the government to help with the Indian
problem. I don't think that plan has worked out very
well.
My own view of what we need is a clear national
mandate in the Congress and in the executive to end
the neglect of our Indian people. They are the most
neglected minority in the country. There is no question
about that. The poverty and disease, the bad housing
and lack of job opportunities in the Indian community
is worse than in any other minority group.
I would prefer that we would move along the lines of
a resolution I sponsored in Congress which called for
a broad effort by Congress and the executive to lift
Indian standards of living all across the board. More
job training and job opportunities, better education, bet
ter housing, industrial development, better health: a
wide range of projects which could lift their whole
standard of life.
I don't think you do this by abolishing the BIA
or creating a council. You do it by developing sound
programs in the Congress and then giving the BIA
a clear mandate to carry them out.
I do think that Indian people need to be brought
in on these programs. A program which does not involve
self-help on the part of the Indians and some self-direction
in helping to both structure the programs and ad
minister them, won't work very well.
Dally Nebraskan In his report on the Indian,
Johnson asked for $500 million for Indian affairs for
fiscal 1969. Has this proven to be a sufficient amount
of funds to handle some of the Indian problems?
McGovern I don't really know if I am in a
position to pass judgement on whether that is the proper
amount or not. All I am saying is that we need to do
enough to bring Indian educational, health and housing
standards up to the level of the rest of the country. I am
not prepared to give you any exaot figures of what
it would take to accomplish that.
BIA commissioner presents Indian plight
by Jim Pedersen
Nebraskan Staff Writer
The basis of the Indian problem is the failure of
Indians to adjust their way of life to that of white
society.
"The country is moving much faster than Indians
are moving or care to move," Robert Bennett, com
missioner of the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, said
Tuesday in an interview with the Dully Nebraskan.
"Their way , of life is quite conservative while the
world around them Is moving very rapidly," he added,
'it is a case of the gap between their social and economic
level and that of the rest of society being greater than
It was a few years ago."
BENNETT, AN Oneida Indian from Wisconsin, is
' strongly opposed to "paternalism" by the federal
government. He instead favors "self-determinism" for
Indians.
"The theory of self-dcterminlsm for Indians Is ef
fective because Indians know what their problems are,
and they know in what areas they need assistance,"
he said.
But they want to be the ones to decido when they
need assistance; what kind of assistance, and on what
terms they are to get it, Bennett continued. Indians
t don't want someone outside of the Indian community
J; to decide that they have problems and then rush in
" with assistance.
"Once the Indian people decide for themselves how
they are going to go about achieving their goals and
solving their problems," according to Bennett, "they
will reach the solutions sooner."
IF THE INDIANS assume a role of leadership, they
will strive with continuity towards goals they really want
to reach, Bennett said. This is better than the government
or outside society setting goals for the' Indians, goals
to which they really may not care to aspire.
Hie appointment of Bennett by former President Lyn
don Johnson as commissioner of the BIA In 19GG marked
the first time since 1871 that an Indian held the highest
post in the BIA. , .
"When I was sworn in as commissioner, the Presi
dent told me that the committment of the federal
government to the Indians included much more than
just the BIA," Bennett added. "I would say that the
contributions from other government agencies towards
solving the Indian problem amounts to a third of our
expenditures compared to five per cent two years ago.
Asked if the BIA should be dissolved or changed
In any way, Bennett said, "I don't think the BIA should
be dismantled or reorganized. The Indian people don't
think so either."
Everytime there is any disctisson about the BIA,
people want to revamp it, according to Bennett. But
no one ever wants to give the bureau the money it
takes to do the Job it ought to do.
"AS FAR BEHIND as we are in the building of
roads and the construction of schools, just changing
the organization of the bureau isn't going to get the
job done," he continued. "It simply takes more
money."
However, if the Indian people wanted to dismantle
the bureau, Congress would do so, Bennett said. The
wishes of the Indian people would carry a great deal
of weight with Congress.
The BIA working with other federal agencies is
now engaged In vocational and adult educational pro
grams to train Indians for skilled labor positions.
"We want to provide industry with a trained labor
force so that non-agricultural industries will locate near
reservations," Bennett said.
Last year 52 per cent of the job trainees found
employment In the state of their residence, he added.
This is a big change from a few years ago when trained
Indians migrated to Los Angeles or Chicago.
.
"FOR MANY YEARS there was a policy of forced
Integration of Indians with white society by the BIA,"
Bennett said. "Now we are trying to prepare the Indian
for any eventuality and leave the choice of integration
up to the Indian."
Although most minority groups have been Increas
ingly vocal in recent years and Black Power has been
the cry of many Negroes, little has been heard from
Indians in the form of "Red Power."
According to Bennett, this is so because Indians
prefer to work through established agencies.
"They are very vocal to us in the BIA. This is
the route they choose to follow," he added. "However,
they are very realistic."
Bennett feels that the BIA will never be made into
a cabinet level agency because of the already existing
National Council on Indian Affairs which consists of
six cabinet heads and the director of the Office of
Economic Opportunity. , , ,
MANY OF THE charges often voiced against the
BIA are that the bueau is overly bureaucratic: it is
staffed by people who are unwilling to work in a highly
competitive society, and its officials are sometimes
unsympathetic with the Indian problems.
To these criticisms, Bennett said, "All people in
the BIA must meet the same standards of the civil
service that every other federal agency requires."
BIA staff workers must meet competitive re
quirements, he continued. The only exception is that
Indians can be hired even if they don't meet all re
quirements. "It is significant that over 50 per cent of BIA
employees are Indians," Bennett added.
Bennett also commented on two other Indian pro
blems: drinking and hunger.
"Congress repealed a law 12 years ago that stated
Indians could neither possess nor drink liquor," he said.
"It is now up to the Individual tribes what ordinances
they want to enact concerning drinking policy."
The Food Commodities program, which involves
surplus food distributed to the needy by the Department
of Agriculture, Is used heavily by Indians, according
to Bennett.
"This program makes a real contribution to the
welfare of the families involved," he continued. "It
is not considered Income, and therefore doesn't cut into
their welfare under the BIA."
Daily Nebrakan There has hpfn a hill inf rnAnnaA
in the House to provide tax incentives for industrial
development of Indian reservations. Is private enterprise
in this form of industrial development the answer to
eradicating the economic poverty and unemployment
on the reservation?
McGovern I think it is one answer, and I would
favor proposals of that kind. I have introduced a
measure on the Senate side which would provide special
incentives for industry to locate in any sparsely populated
area whether Indian areas or non-Indian areas.
But it would have the effect of benefiting the Indian
because most of the Indians live in the sparsely populated
areas of the country. I think this is a fine possibility
and one which we should look at carefully. I am sym
pathetic to this approach.
Daily Nebraskan What did you have in mind
when you introduced a bill in the Senate to establish
corporate entities for the economic development of Indian
tribes?
McGovern This was an administration bill which
I co-sponsored which would make it easier for Indian
tribes to operate their own business. It is designed
to remove some of the bottlenecks which make it difficult
for Indians to use funds they might have. This is for
either tribal funds or funds which individuals might
have for business development purposes.
Daily Nebraskan In an editorial in Parent
magazine Sen. Robert Kennedy said that educaton lies
at the heart of the Indian problem. He said that much
of the problem is that Indians have been taught implicity
and openly that their cultural difference from the white
man meant cultural inferiority. Is this the real basis
of the Indian problem? Is it something more than federal
funds can make up for?
McGovern That is a very crucial pail of the
Indian problem. There is a desperate need to upgrade
the education of the Indians as well as other minority
groups, but especially the Indian. I think that in my
state, for example, a general improvement in education
all across the board, not just in vocational training,
but education for the pre-scliool child right on through
to higher education is really a key factor in determining
the future of the American Indian.
Daily Nebraskan Nearly all the recent civil rights
legislation seems to have been aimed at aiding the
black. Has discrimination for the Indian been as bad
as it has for the black? ;
McGovern It has not been as sharp as it has
been with the black. Although the Indian has been greatly
neglected in our society, 1 don't think that prejudice
has run as deeply against the Indian as it has against
the black. I think there have been avenues open to
Indians which have been closed to blacks.
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Robert lieimt-tt
Federal aid maintains Indians; dependency belittles manhood
The 300,000 Indians who live on United States
reservations today are virtually dependent on a myriad
of federal agencies and cabinet departments for their
, very livelihood.
Although the Bureau of Indian Affairs is primarily
responsible for administering assistance to the Indian,
the Departments of Labor, Agriculture, and Health,
Education, and Welfare along with the Office of
Economic Opportunity aid the Indian in numerous
ways.
The budget for the BIA in 1968 was $241 million
or about one-half of all monies marked for Indian
assistance. At the Omaha-Wlnnebago reservations In
northeastern Nebraska, the allocation was $80,000 for
the 2,500 Indians.
"THAT St'M is sufficient," according to G. R.
Branchaud, administrative official of the BIA la Win
nebago. "They can Ret by."
According to Branchaud. unemployment assistance
Is available only to the unemployable: those who are
handicapped or receiving treatment In the hospital.
The bureau also provides vocational training for
Indians to that they can qualify as welders, carpenters,
and machinery workers, Branchaud said. Other agencies
provide on-the-job training and help the Individual with
funds until the first pay check comes through. ,
Although unemployment still ranks high on the list
of Indian problems, over 61.000 Indians have been helped
toward direct employment by these programs In the
past 15 years, according to Bureau publications.
The efforts of the Winnebago BIA are rewarded
with little praise from the Omaha Indians in neighboring
Macy.
"The BIA is not doing what it should." according
to Clement Mitchell, a member of the tribal council
In Macy. "The people in Winnebago are laying down
on the job. They Ignore us."
THE WHITE MAN merely creates a job for himself
through the BIA. Mitchell added. By the time allotted
money gets down to the tribe there Is nothing.
"Mr. Branchaud has done nothing that I could give
him credit for." he said.
Where the BIA has failed in the eyes of many
Indians, the Oflice of Economic Opportunity has suc
ceeded. "What is keeping many people working is the OEO
program," Sterling Snake, treasurer of the Winnebago
tribal council, said. "If those programs are ever
withdrawn, we will have a lot of people unemployed."
THE OEO funded $32 million towards Indian pro
grams in 1967. The majority of the funds went to combat
such problems as poor health, Inadequate education,
unemployment, and dilapidated housing.
At the Rosebud Reservation near Porcupine. S.D.,
the OEO is the major Industry employing over 300 In
dians. Eight Job Corps Conservation Centers are located
on Indian reservations throughout the U.S. Head Start
programs concentrate on the education of pre-school
children.
VISTA VOLUNTEERS also work on Indian reserva
tions. In Pine Ridge, S.D., Kate Delaney explained a
program by which VISTA Associates train local residents
to go to homes and teach Indians English and reading
so that they may qualify for high school equivalency
certificates.
Health problems among Indians are especially
prevalent. Infectious and communicable diseases appear
more often among Indians than non-Indians. Tuberculosis
is six times more likely to occur in an Indian than
in a non-Indian. The average Indian dies 10 years before
the average non-Indian.
"OUR HOSPITAL is adequately staffed and has good
equipment." Schefsky said of the hospital at Winnebago.
"It is as good or better than any of the area community
hospitals."
There has been a big gap in the education of the
Indian as to what he should do medically, Schefsky
added. He hasn't been taught why he needs immunization
shots or why his pregnant wife should come in for
pre-natal examinations.
.
INDIAN EDUCATION is subsidized through the
Johnson-O'Malley federal program of Indian education.
Drop-out rate's remain high for Indian children,
however. In the Johnson-O'Malley districts the range
of attendance is from 83 Indians in the first grade
to 21 in the twelfth.
Although It is decreasing, Schlinder estimated that
the drop-out rate for Indians may be as high as 45
t per cent.
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