Clyde Warrior
The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) emerged from a nucleus of Native men and women involved in the Southwest Regional Indian Youth Council, the Workshop on American Indian Affairs, and the American Indian Chicago Conference. Through the 1960s, its members engaged in consciousness-raising campaigns across Indian Country, supported fishing rights demonstrations in the Pacific Northwest, lobbied against anti-Indian legislation, promoted community self-determination in education, and participated in interracial alliances for economic justice.32 Clyde Warrior (1939–68), a Ponca from Oklahoma and former Workshopper, was one of the organization’s most outspoken figures, and his essay “Which One Are You?” is a classic statement on Indian identity.33 While that piece has been reprinted many times, the following essay, though equally significant, has not. Consider how Warrior situated his response to the criticism that NIYC lacked a “reasonable policy or viewpoint” in larger domestic and international contexts. What does the essay reveal about the state of the Native rights movement in the mid-1960s? And how might Warrior’s words be read as a “radical” example of what political scientist Kevin Bruyneel refers to as postcolonial refusal?34
The National Indian Youth Council has been the victim of undue and unjust criticism from uninformed and irresponsible people both Indian and non-Indian. The harshest criticism coming from prominent Indian leaders. Criticisms have ranged from saying that NIYC consists of ignorant little kids to foolish radicals with no reasonable policy or viewpoint.
The NIYC is very much in favor of Indian self-government, real, not fictional self-government, and self-determination. Also, NIYC feels that the greatest hindrance to the realization of true self-government of Indian tribes is that hard powerful bureaucracy created by Congress to bring about the very self-government that [it] is hindering. Further, NIYC feels that this bureaucracy is actively using all its resources and manipulating powerless tribal governments against their own communities to cause dire social and economic conditions. In none of the social and economic “programs” do Indians have any voice, and implicit in these “programs” is the goal of breaking up the Indian community as a living community of people who are also citizens of this country.
These programs may be carried out with the best of intentions, but they only serve to divide and confuse a helpless people. Even the people of Angola, under the Portuguese, or Zulus of South Africa or the Negroes of Mississippi do not have to suffer this type of discrimination. Segregation and exploitation are enough of a cross to bear, but the Indian is attacked in his own home and community as no other American citizen is. Even the educational system on reservations (over which Indians have no control) is explicitly aimed at breaking up the Indian’s family and community. Furthermore the few rights guaranteed by treaty that the Indian has left, the last sign that he might be able to survive as a people are being eroded away by high-handed action on the part of state governments, and unwittingly, we believe, by unilateral action on the part of Congress.
This system under which Indians live, a horrendous combination of colonialism, segregation, and discrimination has been going on for over 100 years. The result is that Indians are not only uneducated and poverty-stricken, helpless and without hope, divided among themselves, but also confused and threatened beyond belief. NIYC feels that there must be some drastic steps in the way of legislation to ameliorate the current American Indian situation.
NIYC feels that three things must be done:
1. Decision-making power over the lives of people in an Indian community must be legally taken out of the hands of a federal bureau and put where it belongs in the hands of the people, and the community. America cannot afford to continue a system of repressive internal colonialism which parallels the Soviet treatment of its national minorities. This does not mean we are advocating the elimination of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Certainly, the Indians need the advice of competent technical experts as there are in the bureau, but the bureau is needed for technical advice and administrative help, not to rule Indian communities, not to promulgate ineffective education and economic programs implicitly aimed at breaking up Indian communities and which also serve to threaten, confuse, and further divide Indians and compound the problem. Indians need at least the self-determination that other American communities have. Indians must have real self-government.
2. Indians are not large and politically powerful, but NIYC does not feel that this gives state or federal governments the right to disregard and violate existing treaties. These treaties were made by the United States as a small emerging nation and world power to survive in the early days of their struggle upward. Now because the United States is a powerful nation and Indian tribes are weak does not justify the blatant violation of these time-honored agreements. If the United States is to be the moral force in the world which she has aspired to be, morality must begin at home. We only ask the American people to honor their word. Unilateral action by Congress or state governments in regard to Indian treaties is immoral. Indian consent not “consultation” is needed in any restructuring of the relationship, spelled out in treaties and statutes, between the Federal government and Indian tribes.
3. A drastic and revolutionary economic and education program in which Indian communities make the basic decisions with the BIA in an advisory capacity, is needed to amend the century of discrimination which has caused the present conditions of American Indians. The trend must be reversed and Indians must be able to lead a decent life in their own communities. However, under the present discriminatory system any program would only further discrimination. These programs must not once again be used to coerce the Indian community, break up community life and bring discord again into the Indian family and home. The BIA must be in an advisory capacity with the community making the necessary decisions if we are to reverse this downward trend.
If this system continues, the Indian will be destroyed as a people. America cannot unwittingly let this happen. Colonial rule and deception of Indian communities must not be allowed to continue.
The indignity of Indians with hats in their hands pleading to powerful administrations for a few crumbs must be removed from the American scene.
The indignity of a school system which is calculated purposely to turn children against their parents is an aspect of state control as only seen in Nazi Germany, Communist China, and American Indian reservations. This kind of discrimination is an indignity that no other ethnic group has to suffer.
The indignity of a man’s family being turned against him in his home and community, while he is powerless by law to oppose it, or because such opposition would cause him dire economic deprivation and literal starvation is a national disgrace.
Disgrace against the Indian in his own home and community is intolerable. It is inconsistent with American Ideals. The perpetual threat that his treaties will be disregarded and his community broken apart is eroding the Indian character and sapping his very life blood. These indignities must be wiped away and the Indian, like any other American, must be able to lead a decent life in a free community.
The NIYC knows that all well-meaning Americans want to act morally and decently in regard to American Indians. NIYC feels that once the American taxpayer realizes the current situation of the American Indians he will no longer allow his tax dollar to be used to continue such a deplorable situation. This is the position of NIYC and their overall attitudes in respect to ameliorating the current situation of Indian communities.
With respect to our critics and our views on Indian Affairs the members of National Indian Youth Council state: “We as members of NIYC have to ask ourselves constantly and very clearly which are the things in the past which we mean to carry forward in our children’s life and which are those we shall leave behind.”
NIYC is often told we spend too much time talking of the “old days.” But we feel that talking about the past means talking about the future. NIYC has made mistakes. But we were the first to hold our annual meeting in the tradition of our forefathers, the open “council.” Also the first to hold a successful demonstration of protest against abrogation of treaties. Perhaps our mistakes were made in order that they should not be repeated by us and others.
Recently a few members of NIYC were talking with a young Indian student who obviously was not a credit to his forefathers. He said “I’m for helping Indians, but I just don’t have time and besides what good will it do me.” We felt sorry for this misguided young soul. He is like many, he wants his future served to him like breakfast in bed on a silver platter, everything to his liking and perfection; then perhaps he may take a bite.
As members of the NIYC we are trying to make the future better ourselves. Working with limited resources, meeting frustrations, mistakes, successes, but we as Indian people are doing it ourselves. We are proud not to be onlookers but to be taking part with our people in a brave struggle for a better future. As members of NIYC we believe that everything is still ahead for us.
The history of our people is not over.