Many Feathers and Much Paint Don't Make an Indian

Seeks to Improve Image of Indian By James E. Walters 1969 March 16 The Kokomo Tribune Los Angeles – A gentle uprising against the stereotype picture of the American Indian as 1) a bloodthirsty savage or 2) a slovenly, lazy drunk is being launched nationwide by the Indians themselves. “We feel the Indian is intelligent enough to compete at all levels,” says Earl Old Person head chief of the Blackfeet. Old Person and a dozen other chiefs came here.. for the kickoff of a campaign-sponsored by the National Congress of American Indians – to improve the image of the American. When the group finds something it considers derogatory – in a TV commercial, say, or a newspaper story, or a motion picture – it plans to send an official written complaint. “Nothing violent, nothing pressure-group, just a polite mention of what we regard as offensive,” explained John Belindo, a Kiowa who is executive director of the Indian congress. In keeping with t

1969: Indians lobbying to improve image - National Congress of American Indians

1969 March 15 The Oshkosh Northwestern 1969 March 16 Lubbock Avalanche Journal

1969: “We feel the American Indian has a contribution he can make to American society, with his philosophy, his value system, his appreciation and reverence for nature. " - Joe Belindo, NCAI.

Indian image improvement campaign 1969 March 15. Arizona Republic National Congress for American Indians launches a campaign to improve the image of the American Indian to the American public. Joe Belindo, executive director, said the group plans to use billboards and public service announcements “in an effort to present a new and true picture.” “We feel the American Indian has a contribution he can make to American society, with his philosophy, his value system, his appreciation and reverence for nature. The Indian doesn’t want to become too mixed with the mainstream of society, but he has identifiable traits to be presented to the people,” Belindo said. He said his group objected to “harmful publicity” about the Indian, such as a television commercial for a television manufacturer showing a white woman being chased by Indians. “The pitch is that this television set gives you the right skin color. The television industry should be more sophisticated than

1969: The Do-Gooder opportunists and the so-called Indian Experts are vanishing into inaudible whispers, while the booming voices of the young Indians themselves – The Truly Expert Indians – are beginning to shake the rivers and hills

To the Editor: ..... “All over the country the Indian people are beginning to stir and awake to a new awareness of their own precious identity. The THUNDER and LIGHTNING names are beginning to appear in the major areas of this great country. Dreams and predictions of Indian leaders are beginning reality and people throughout the world are looking with admiration and awe at the Indians speakers as they project the truth about the problems of the Indian people and their solutions to them. The Do-Gooder opportunists and the so-called Indian Experts are vanishing into inaudible whispers, while the booming voices of the young Indians themselves – The Truly Expert Indians – are beginning to shake the rivers and hills and Bureaucratic Government Agencies are beginning to stagger and change their policies. ….. “The old, worn-out stereotype images of the Indians as savage, drunk, shiftless drifter are giving way to images of majestic pride and cultural dignity. Feathers and Beads

1969: “There is no reason why an Indian could not teach an Indian dance class in the public schools.”

“I found out that Indians had pride, courage, and a desire to excel,” said Dr. William E. Davis, president of Idaho State University. He also said “There is no reason why an Indian could not teach an Indian dance class in the public schools.” 1969 Oct 22 Idaho State Journal

1969: “the wrongs the Indians have endured make a lurid and bloody story of ruthless exploitation of a subject race.” - John Hamilton

Plight of American Indians Described by Tribes' Sachem 1969 Oct 2 Hartford Courant " The time has come when Congress and the people of this country should be told the truth about the shameful way in which our American Indians are still treated by our own government," John Hamilton of New London, grand sachem of the Mohegan and Pequot tribes and president of the National American Indian Defense Assn. He also said “ the wrongs the Indians have endured make a lurid and bloody story of ruthless exploitation of a subject race .” 1969 Oct 2 Hartford Courant

1969: “most history books do not give us a sense of pride at being Indian. We were a very civilized culture, not savages, during the early part of American history.” - Thomasine Ruth Hill

Miss (Indian) America Tries to Erase the Warpaint Image by Arleen Von Breens 1969 April 21 The Los Angeles Times "I was afraid of Indians until I met you," a child said to this year's Miss (Indian) America, Thomasine Ruth Hill. Spreading the word that today's 600,000 American Indians have more than tomahawks and war paint, 21-year-old Miss Hill has crossed the country nine times and to Europe once since she was crowned... ....."Miss Indian America must be dedicated to her own people as well as all other races; she must be of good character, she must have reached a high level of educational achievement and I think she has to be physically strong," said this year's winner. …… “most history books do not give us a sense of pride at being Indian. We were a very civilized culture, not savages, during the early part of American history.” 1969 April 21 The Los Angeles Times

1968: National Congress of American Indians Registers Complaint Against Media Stereotypes

Image Complaint - 1968 Sept 25, Press and Sun Bulletin --- Omaha, Neb - A group of Indian leaders said yesterday at the National Congress of American Indians convention that movies and television have given the public a false impression of the American Indian. 1968 Sept 25, Press and Sun Bulletin Indians Register Complaint - 1968 March 23. The Ithaca Journal - New York - A spokesman for the National Congress of American Indians says perpetuation of an Indian stereotype in mass media adversely affects employment and educational opportunities. 1968 March 23. The Ithaca Journal

1968: "What is the effect upon a student when he learns from his textbooks that one race, and one alone, is the most, the best, the greatest; when he learns that Indians were mere parts of the landscape and wilderness, which had to be cleared out to make way for the great movement of white population.."

The Indian Story 1968 April 18 Feather River Bulletin "Every part of this country is sacred to my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove has some memory of my tribe." - So spoke Chief Seathl of the Dwamish Tribe to Issac Stephens, governor of the Oregon Territory; and it is not difficult to imagine Stephens saying Yeah, sure... now just sign this treaty on this line right here," or whatever the 1855 version of the shrug-off might have been. "What is the effect upon a student when he learns from his textbooks that one race, and one alone, is the most, the best, the greatest; when he learns that Indians were mere parts of the landscape and wilderness, which had to be cleared out to make way for the great movement of white population across the land; and when he learns that Indians were killed and forcibly removed from their ancient homelands to make way for adventurers (pioneering goldminers), for landgrabbers (settlers), and for ille

1968: “the teaching of Indian history in our schoolrooms is less than pathetic."... Certainly, this educational failure has helped immensely to bolster the white prejudice against the Indian. …

Teaching the True Indian History 1968 Nov 30 Green Bay Press Gazette Amid the considerable publicity about the plight of minority groups in the United States, there has generally been a lack of interest in the fact that the American Indian is in such a group. But there is some progress both in raising standards of living on some Indian reservations and in trying to assimilate the Indian into urban life. …. The major problem has been the disgraceful neglect of the Indian over the years by most white Americans. Today, it may be that our guilt over what was really almost genocide and the appalling conditions on reservations encourages us to pretend that the problem does not exist. As [Robert] Rietz [heads the American Indian Center of Chicago] points out, “the teaching of Indian history in our schoolrooms is less than pathetic. The entire Indian removal policy of federal administrations during the 19th century is unmentioned. Nowhere do young people really learn about

1968: The typical Western show continued the “nation’s history of skins” perpetrated by whites against Indians.

TV Westerns Distort History of Indians 1968 June 24 Dixon Evening Telegraph All decent Americans ought to switch off television sets when Westerns are shown because these distort and dishonor image of the Indians. This is the exhortation of a leading TV critic who oftentimes has high praise for the broadcast industry. The typical Western show continued the “nation’s history of skins” perpetrated by whites against Indians. This is not simply a matter of an untrue depiction of a people in the realm of entertainment, but a factor which contributes measurably to the economic distress and a profound inner collapse of Indians as individuals. Official reports bring out the massive school dropout rate, social dislocation, high suicide rate, illiteracy and personality disintegration among Indians in the United States. The average Indian child slips continuously as he advances through grade school classes – and in the main, the longer he stay

1968: "Indians are always portrayed on TV as the villain, and it was a long time before we could get the kids to accept the idea they were Indians. They always wanted to hide from the Indians when they saw them on TV." - Frank Timbimboo, Shoshoni. Utah

1968 May 19. Detroit American There has never been a definitive history of the American Indian written by an Indian. But such an effort is under way. The University of Utah's Western History Center, in co-operation with several other universities, is currently interviewing hundreds of American Indians for their views on their own history and their attitudes toward the white man. "The Indian has been traditionally regarded by the white man as a person of little consequence," says C. Gregory Crampton, director of the center. "So the Indian stereotype still persists. He is still the villain on the movie or television screen. He is still the half-naked, feathered savage who should be shot by the cavalry or saved by the missionaries. Mr Crampton and his staff have, in a year's work so far, collected and transcribed more than 3000 pages of taped interviews - on reservations, in towns, at colleges where Indians are students. Indian elders re

1968 It was a shameful era in American history....

when the only good Indian was a dead Indian and the mythical savagery of the red men faded before the brutality of their white conquerors. 1968 Dec 15 The Salina Journal

1968: There is humor as well as irony in the fact that New Mexico Indians are making special trips from the reservation to Santa Fe to see what a "hippie" looks like.

1968 July 3 The Los Angeles Times Hippies and Indians: There is humor as well as irony in the fact that New Mexico Indians are making special trips from the reservation to Santa Fe to see what a "hippie" looks like. Nor could we blame the Indians for more than a little chuckling over the white man's dispute whether Christopher Columbus or Lief Ericson should be honored as the "discoverer" of the United States of America. --- 1968 Sep 29 The Los Angles Times 1968 Sep 29 The Los Angles Times

1968: I was surprised to see Indians in traditional costumes eating hot dogs and hamburgers and people playing the age-old stick game with curlers in their hair.. because I had built an untrue picture of the Indian in my mind.

Honest Picture of Today's Indians Needed 1968 July 26 Great Falls Tribune To the Editor: I am unhappy to see Blackfeet people offended by what we've said,especially since they were so hospitable to us. I think there is a lesson to be learned from what has occurred. I was surprised to see Indians in traditional costumes eating hot dogs and hamburgers and people playing the age-old stick game with curlers in their hair, smoking cigarettes, wearing nylon jackets because I had built an untrue picture of the Indian in my mind. I had never been given ample information about the reservation and Indians of today. Shami Waldman, from Israel, expected to see a primitive people because this is what he had been led to believe through movies and books. When we saw a few hundred people crowding around the Indian dancer with cameras and tape recorders, heard an announcer continuously welcome us over a loud speaker and saw handicrafts being sold everywhere we w

1968: Basically we want to stop the government's trend toward making Indians with no Indian-ness in them. - Tom Porter, Mohawk

June 30, 1968, The Democrat and Chronicle published an in-depth article about Red Power, written by Talis Bergmanis. From that piece, which will be covered in 2018 when this blog moves towards building a Civil Rights Timeline, I've pulled out a few quotes that follow the theme of this year - identity, image and cultural appropriation. Tom Porter, then 24, Mohawk living in Rochester, NY, said of the 'red power' movement: "Basically we want to stop the government's trend toward making Indians with no Indian-ness in them. We want to be traditional... and that's not synonymous with 'backward.' We want to be 20th Century Mohawks, Senecas, or Tuscaroras, not 20th Century white men."

1968: “The young Indian, in a struggle with his own identity,” said George Mitchell, 34, a Chippewa

Young Indians Are 'Finding Themselves" 1968 June 27, Star Tribune “ The young Indian, in a struggle with his own identity ,” said George Mitchell, 34, a Chippewa, “ must find himself before he can relate to an alien society and its institutions. Too often this relationship has been a forced attempt by non-Indians. Things have been done for the Indian and he has never been allowed to try and fail. “This would probably be too hard for us to let happen, but if we remember that the other end of the spectrum of failure is success and is also accessible, we should now let the Indian try his ideas .” Harold Good Sky, 27, says the Indian is tired of being a “scapegoat” for the white society tired of being “dusted off and put back on the shelf,” tired of promises never fulfilled. “Another is Ronald Libertus, 30, who explains, “ What the [indigenous] kids have done is for the first time they have gotten together in a large group. They are doing things together. It is

1968: Indian Youths: Destroying Themselves?

On Indian-ness.. “Before I moved here, I didn’t look at myself as an Indian, but not as a white either. Where I lived before, there were not too many people who cared for Indians. They were not really abusive, but they didn’t seem to think they were human. In school, the kids put me down, made me feel that being an Indian was something to be ashamed of. Then I got to know Indians. You feel at ease with them. You find there is nothing wrong with being an Indian.” 1968, June 24 Star Tribune 1968, June 24 Star Tribune

1968: “But people try to make them assimilate. Social workers try to make them over. They do not take them for what they are. So they die mentally and spiritually, too.” - George Mitchell, Chippewa