Feb 26, 1970 Indian scholar quotes

Indian scholars assess common goals

1970, Feb 26. The Santa Fe New Mexican. 

      Princeton, NJ – In the first such fathering in their history, American Indian scholars will assemble for an assessment of common leadership goals and challenges in a four-day Convocation to be held at Princeton University… 

      Representing many tribes and from all parts of the US Mexico, Canada and South America, the scholars will consider a wide range of topics bearing upon the American Indian today – from preservation of his rich cultural heritage to the 1969 Civil Rights Act… 

      Chairing the pioneering meetings is Dr Alfonso A. Ortiz, assistant professor of anthropology at Princeton, who was raised at the San Juan Pueblo near Santa Fe. He views the convocation as an opportunity to demonstrate “that we are not the inarticulate masses about whom so much benevolent concerns has been voiced in the past.” 

      “Quite simply,” says Ortiz, “we wish to inform modern America that there are significant numbers of Indians who combine lives of scholarship or personal accomplishment with activism in the cause of Indian advancement and that we should be permitted to take the lead in matters affecting our people’s welfare and future.” 

      Among the distinguished Indian writers, artists, and educators scheduled to participant in the meeting are: Professor N. Scott Momaday of the University of California at Berkeley who won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction; Vince [Vine]  Deloria Jr, former executive director of the National Congress of American Indians and author of “Custer Died For Your Sins;” dancer Maria Tallchief; folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie; Professor Edward Dozier, chairman of the American Indian Studies Department, University of Minnesota; and Rupert Costo, president of the American Indian Historical Society.

      Scheduled to be considered at the meetings are such topics as: tribal government, Indian studies programs, “Red Power,” white-Indian relations, Indian languages and literatures, and economic development on Indian reservations. 

      In addition to the scholars, the convocation will also be attended by Indian students, tribal leaders and non-Indian friends – in all, some 200 persons are expected to participate. …

1970, Feb 26. The Santa Fe New Mexican.