Presented by the Richard Nixon foundation carried mr. Johnson president s ands administration is regarded as one of the most proindian of the 20th century. It ushered in a new era of selfgovernment. Native americans found a champion in president nixon. A stance that resulted from his personal history and his consultation with indian leaders who helped shape his view of Indian Affairs. This policy breakthrough took place in an atmosphere of indian activism and even militancy. And in a famous incident, a group of activists took over Alcatraz Island in 1969 reclaiming it as indian land during their occupation. Assertion of cultural identity and land claims, president and advanced a successful proposal to repeal termination and congress acted on his reform. In his special message to congress on july 8, 1970, president and said both as a matter of justice and as a matter of enlightened social policy, we must begin to act on the basis of what the indians themselves have long been telling us. The time has come to break decisively with the past and to create conditions for a new era in which the indian future is determined by indian acts and indian decisions. When president next and returned to the sacred site returned the sacred site to the people of symbolized the fundamental shift in u. S. Government policy towards American Indian people. At the signing of the elder said, an taos a new day begins not only for the American Indian but for all the americans in this country. And indeed, from Richard Nixons administration through the president day, american president s have been disposed to and tribalitizenship selfdetermination as a foundation of u. S. Indian policy. We will here today from our panelists about the key role president nixon and members of administration, contemporary american leaders and others played in implementing this historic move to what president is an a new and balanced relationship between the United States government and the first americans. It is the individuals involved, their motivations and their points of view that make this material particularly rich and absorbing. For history is not just about particularbout people and perspectives. Our speakers, especially those that helped formulate and implement this transformation of the federal governments tribalnship with governments are uniquely situated to explore this fascinating story and bring it vividly to life for us this morning. It is now my privilege to introduce the moderator of this mornings forum. Wallace johnson served as assistant attorney general for land and Natural Resources in the Nixon Administration. During his tenure there, he created the indian rights litigation section. He previously served as special assistant to president next and and on several committee assignments. He also serves as a johnson of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in cody, wyoming which houses the planes indian museum. Please join me in welcoming mr. Johnson. [applause] mr. Johnson i will tell you it is cold in cody. I talked to my wife out there this morning and she said it is 14 degrees at my ranch. I said, im not coming home. [applause] provide an overview for this conversation and introduce the panelists and moderate the conversation. The fact is i am sure that our in ansts will engage active conversation in such a way that you will forget i am around. But i do want to provide an overview of what this is all about. Panels the third discussing essentially the same issue. We had two previous panels at the guilt increase museum intel Gilcrease Museum in tulsa last spring. Basically what we are doing is looking at those president ial papers like historians but we have people who were active in developing the concepts of those documents who actually worked on to sitd or who are able back and interpret what they have meant as we examine the last 40 years looking at the very question that we have posited on the board. 1968 was a turning point. A little bit as a historian even though i am a lawyer. The turning point because a lot of things came together in a very positive way and lots of things that came together in a positive way made a big difference. Differencehat real we want to identify for historians in the future. Now, very much what we are doing theike pulling between apart. Apart. Ing a tulip lots of what we dont know will be brought into better focus this morning but in a way that future historians can examine the tapes of these conversations , the documents that will be developed as part of a Research Guide and begin to get a better sense of the significant of actions that were initiated during president nixons time. Shorts sort of a real explanation of what happened in those first four hours of taping in tulsa. Know thatat we president next and grew up in a very small, quaker enclave in california and then he went to whittier. At whittier there was a person that influenced him significantly called chief newman. Point to the specific actions the president ,ook because of his background his education come his family upbringing . No. Anyone that can do that is way better than we are yet today. Utuit some oft these things. That he oversaw a process with people that developed a pretty meaningful change in historic direction with respect to the former policy of terminating reservations and the future policy of establishing selfdetermination. Going to be challenging some of the lawyers, they are all lawyers, on our panel, to talk about the nature of sovereignty in the constitutional context because the tribes are sovereign and yet they are not. What does that mean . How has that played out in history . What did it mean back then, 40 years ago as this was all under development . So, that is what this panel is all about. The are the foundation from first two discussions. Some of these panels all three of these panelists are the same but others have contributed. All distinguished scholars and public servants. Essentially we are building on that foundation but we will talk a little bit about it too because we need to bring this panel into perspective because we have learned a lot since then. Am honored to be part of this conversation because i am whoing with three panelists are extremely distinguished in their career and i will briefly introduce them. And then i will turn it over to them and their preliminary remarks, i will ask them to explain in greater detail their backgrounds because their resumes are so long you cannot read them. On the far end with Professor Bob anderson. Im only going to say about bob that he is a young scholar who is embedded in the Indian Movement and basically has the ability to look at the elaboration of history in a very nonpartisan, in a way even though he was part of a previous democratic administration. I cannot describe reid chambers. He calls himself a subaltern to me when we were working together back in the 1970s. But the fact of the matter is that this guy is a lawyer, and he has devoted his entire career to. Epresenting tribal interests he is a giant in his field. And, i wont say this is the best or that the last is best that i will guarantee you that i have never seen a person with such passion as bobbie kilberg. She started as a white house fellow. This issue. And has never let it go. And has had a very distinguished career in government to this shey but she is also has also done other things in the Technology Field and i am challenging each to begin their remarks with explaining ,ow they got into this area what they have been doing since and it will give us a context for our conversation. Dr. Lee huebner is not with us. Flu and winter have taken their toll. And there is another fellow that is very instrumental in these panels, jeff shepherd. He is the person that has organized them for the next and foundation and he has a cold and could not come. He lost his voice. In wee not limited wont be limited in our discussion but i want to thank those people who are both not feeling well and cannot be with us this morning. Now, use the podium if you want but when we get to the conversation, we will just sit over here and talk. I want to call on bobbie who will start. [applause] ms. Kilberg good morning. Are threetart, there more people in the audience that need to be recognized. One is sitting over there, cd ward who was chief of staff and had a Critical Role in developing the indian message. The second is president nixons brother. If you will stand up. [applause] ms. Kilberg he is here to keep us all grounded. Can you all hear me . Yes. And the third is tom. Will you please stand up and be recognized . [applause] ms. Kilberg i will, i promise you, get to how i got interested in this as i get through my remarks. My role here is to set the stage on the development of the indian message and give you a flavor for what went on at the white house because i think that is very interesting and relevant to how the message came out in the end. Resident and it since july 8, 1970 message on indian policy was historic. And a definitive break from the past and forcefully committed the United States to a policy of selfdetermination without termination. Two initial important observations. First come i have been asked over and over again in the last 42 years what was the origin and genesis of president and it since interest . On september 27, 19 68 as a candidate, nixon issued a statement to the National Congress of American Indians convention in omaha which laid out significant point that appeared in his july 8, 1970 message. His july message was much stronger and more comprehensive than the nci statement but many of the elements were in that statement. Some commentators say president nixon was influenced by an earlier message from president johnson. Some think he read out into alvins comprehensive josephys memorandum but i think, and this was alluded to, i think there is a simpler and more Accurate Answer which is that president nixon personally held a very strong, moral belief that federal native american policy was destructive, discriminatory, debilitating, and it was not right. Forced assimilation and termination ran against everything in his moral core. As a young white house fellow i did not know the president well but i did get sufficient glimpses of his thought with someto say confidence that he did personalize his bullies and in this case, that personalization related to coach wallace coach wallace norman. Coach Wallace Newman was a member of the la jolla band of the Mission Indian tribe. The coach had a per pound influence on his life and inspired his teammates to never give up. If you go back to those days, the president felt that coach newman had never given up even though he was very much discriminated against. That was a time when native americans and other minorities were not selected as coaches for a major football programs. And with all due respect to the program at whittier, nor were they selected to be major coaches or players. The president believed that coach newman wouldve been an allamerican if it had been a different time and then he wouldve been a coach at a Big Ten School if it had been a different time but that was not possible. Nixon thought it was terribly unfair and i heard him say more than once that he promised that if he ever had a chance, he the wrongs against native americans on behalf of of coach newman. I believe the july 8 message was just part payback for coach newman. It is also consistent with the president s police that you provide opportunity for everyone but you dont force everyone into the same old. His strong federal Financial Support for historically black colleges fit the thing pattern. Selfdetermination an opportunity without forced assimilation. President johnsons 1968 indian message mentioned the message of selfdetermination. A nationalshment of Indian Council opportunity was important. The views on the trust responsibility. The Senate Subcommittee on indian education. New open approach to working with Indian Tribes and communities all provided a context within this framework for the president s message. The second important observation. President nixon had a very topdown management style and John Ehrlichman was head of domestic policy. Period. End of conversation. Everything went up from him and came down from him. We will never know how much of this policy was johns and how much of it were the president s personally that it did not matter because John Ehrlichman had the authority to speak for the president and he did so. Ehrlichmangive john major credit for the president s indian message and policy because he was integral and central to it. Let us turn to how that message came about. 1869, 1969, and it was 7 30 a. M. I attended the senior staff meeting. I was a 23yearold white house fellow. Because i was a white house fellow, i was given the privilege to attend. I normally sat at on the side of the room. That morning, john opened the meeting by saying the president had talked with him and wanted a thorough review of federal indian policy and he was not pleased with the president state of affairs. John also noted that the Vice President had attended ncis convention in albuquerque to set the stage. John looked at everyone in the room and said does anyone have expertise in this area . There was silence. When no one else volunteered, i raised my hand and said i went to yale law school. And that my these says had been thesis had been on indian control. And i had spent my senior year with some of my colleagues working on an education lawsuit against the br day brought bia. That on behalf of the navajo chapter. That was all anyone needed and i was drafted. John asked another to work on the project and instructed all of us to work with sidi ward and the Vice President. And the executive assistant was assigned to work with me. One of the first steps we took was to consult with bob robertson. Ncio had been established by the executive order by president johnson in his march 6, 19 68 message. It was chaired by the Vice President and this is an interesting list of people on the council. Interior,aries of agriculture, commerce, labor. And sixctor of oeo indian leaders. In august, 1970, president nixon expanded the council by executive order to include the attorney general and two other indian leaders. Started already series of age forums on indian issues and programs around the countrys taking reservation and urban indian input and building on president johnsons message. The goal was to prepare a set of recommendations for consideration by the president and we welcomed that input vehicle. On january 26, 1970, the Vice President held a Cabinet Meeting in the west wing of the white house. In attendance were, and this is really relevant, the Vice President , the six indian members of the council, finch, labor secretary schulz, the agriculture secretary, the commerce secretary, hud secretary romney. As well as sidi ward. And Brad Patterson. Robertson and the members of the Indian Council provided their findings and the set of recommendations. From oklahomanche had been chosen to speak on behalf of the indian members and when she spoke it was so moving and powerful and charismatic that the room was literally spellbound. We took the nci draft recommendations and we circulated them normally to each member. As well as the attorney general. And the director of the new office of management and budget. These officials sent recommendations to their Senior Department executives for review and comment. The Vice President through sidi was a big supporter of the initiatives. We held many subsequent meetings to massage and finalize the recommendations. In these recommendations, selfdetermination took enteral stage as did rejecting termination. And further recommendations included the right to control and operate federal programs through contracts, education reform including the right of indian communities to control their own schools, agriculture and permitting longterm tribal leasing for lance. Additional resources for health programs. And the establishment of an independent counsel which in the long term did not pass the congress. The creation of an interior department for Indian Affairs and the return of blue light to people. Pueblo we had major confrontations with over a blue lake. We had support on most issues from the interior secretary who was particularly strong for the need of an independent counsel while the Vice President or for a trust counsel. We also worked closely with don veryeld who was supportive. And we had occasional support from pat moynihan. Had approved support for the return of blue lake in late january and we separated out the alaska native lands claimed which was the other big land issue from the message because of its complexity and sensitivity and it was not ready for prime time. Please note that when president nixon made this decision in 1971, he supported the settlement of 40 million acres of land. Almost 1 billion in crash and the creation of 13 native regional corporations. Forcredit of this this to the president and John Ehrlichman. No cabinet member challenged johns conclusion. Months ofe negotiating within the federal branch and having discussions with the Indian Community both and otherio organizations, we presented the decision memorandum to the president in late april. It was signed by agnew. The process was interesting. John ehrlichman wanted to make sure that when something was ready to go to the president , it was really ready. Memo with me the and sent it back with many comments. Better it back for development of major proposals including the indian right to control and operate programs. As well as the authority and control of indian schools. Ward and i redrafted randum for the president. Again with me. T about a week later, a final memorandum for the president was prepared. It received final approval and sent to president nixon. The initial memo was done under the Vice President s signature and the end one was a cumulative effort. As the above scenario indicates, John Ehrlichman had been the decision broker of every aspect of policy with glenn and sidi ward providing advice and counsel. I had the privilege of being the facilitator. The memo went into the oval office and then john knew it would come out intact and it did. To my knowledge, there never was an actual meeting between president nixon and all the federal government stakeholders on the proposals. Resident nixon worked solely through John Ehrlichman who conveyed back to the working groups the concerns. I remember vividly john telling me that the president was adamant that we would be certain that no one in the Indian Community would view selfdetermination as a disguise for termination or would worry that am how Tribal Authority would be turned over to the state. Of thethe hallmarks nixon presidency was the new federalism. The president made it clear that any application of federalism had to fit within the overarching rubric of adherence to the nations treaty and respect for indian sovereignty. A great deal of work still had to be done. Arguments over specifics continued right up until the release of the president s message on july 8. For example, and this may be addressed later, we released the message without having an indian trust Council Authority bill actually approved. Omb opposed the measure and they it was a don rice that bad idea. We had similar problems with the contracting legislation. That gives you a flavor of where we were and how we got to the message but how it was presented to the American Public is also important. I cannot conclude without describing the blue lake decision to you and how much the emotionallys invested. It is a side of Richard Nixon rarely reported on or chronicled. He was there was a very human and caring side of the character of any of the character of the president. Unfoldedhe decision impacted the president ial message changing it from a fact sheet to a message. Resenting it at a cabinet room of an and providing officials first page coverage in the New York Times with the full message printed inside the paper. The senior white house staff other than John Ehrlichman and thewho understood staff was surprised. President nixon had never received such favorable press. This would never have happened except for blue lake in the white house. In restoring the sacred blue lake and the surrounding watershed lands to the taos pueblo people, president and sin righted a wrong that was 64 years old. It was a defining moment. In march, the president decided to support the return of blue lake and make it part of his indian policy which would be announced at a later date. No prior notification of his support had been made. It is late june. The indian message is scheduled to be released as a fact sheet but not with an accompanying event. There i yam. I am carrying about 100 copies. There were no emails in those days. On literally mimeographed these big machines copies of stuff. I remember spending all fourth of july weekend to my husbands distress copying these things. Down carrying 100 copies an incline into the press briefing room. Out of nowhere i get tackled by the white house director of Senate Relations name to ken blue. I was tackled with such force in thewas knocked down messages flew around outside the press room. Declares the indian message cannot be released. I was a bit incredulous and asked why. And he said the new mexico anderson opposed the return of the lake and was threatening to vote against the antiballistic missile treaty if the president does not remove blue lake from the message. My response was let us go meet with John Ehrlichman. John called the secretary of the president and said he needed to calm to the oval office to discuss an important matter. Proceeded to the oval office. I waited anxiously in the anteroom. What seemed like literally forever but eventually the oval office door opened and honest, i thought the president winked at me which was very unusual to say the least. I looked at John Ehrlichman and ken and asked what happened. John was smiling broadly and ken looked like a bus had run over him. The president had instructed ken to tell senator anderson that his decision stands. Like itnderson did not come he could vote against the abm and and i cant say this, the four letter word himself. We are going to invite the taos pueblo people to the white house to present the message and declare the president strong and firm support to return blue lake. On july 8, president next president nixon did meet with the delegation with the Vice President , the interior and John Ehrlichman. Also included were the president and Vice President of. Meeting in the cabinet room was a unique honor. It is almost exclusively reserved for meetings with a cabinet, governors, congressional leaders and delegations of foreign heads of state. It was the first time the Nixon White House invited others to meet with the president in that room. As a regulation it was a sign from the president of his respect. After president nixons indian message received widespread and featured coverage in the press, the blue lake effort really came front and center with a bipartisan effort led by senator fred harris, oklahoma, his wife, and the republican president. Trioan odd but effective they were and they found help in Democratic Senators edward kennedy, mcgovern. And others. President next and personally lobbied selected members of the senate including the key voter, Barry Goldwater as did John Ehrlichman and others. On december 2, 1970, the Senate Approved blue lake legislation by a 7012 vote. The vote was amazing and the spread was a surprise because legislation had been rejected are the Senate Interior affairs committee. It was a first time that a Senate Committee vote had been overturned by the full senate. Those of you spending time in the senate no that it used to be a place of great to acquire. Sitting in the u. S. Senate gallery to watch the vote were the pueblo governor, the tribal governor, and other tribal leaders including harris, patterson, ward and me. Visitors are never supposed to stand up or make noise in the gallery. Or apply. And i think about can cry when i think about this. Es. Y brought two can and both were to honor the taos pueblo people. They stood up in the Senate Gallery and he held the two entireloft and the gallery stood up. And then all the senators stood up from their chairs and look at the gallery. They began to applaud. The gallery applauded. The entire chamber erupted. Movingan extraordinarily moments. On december 15, 1970, as a 24yearold young lawyer, i was in charge of the blue lake signing ceremony. President nixon sat at the signing table. The room was overflowing with attendees. The president asked him to start with a prayer and the room which was beautifully decorated for the Christmas Holidays became exquisitely silent. Prayer andslated the then he thanked the president for his support and paul translated again. And this went on and on. The remarks went on for a long time and then the president stood and he spoke and he finally sat down. In hand andpen signed the return of blue light to taos pueblo. President event, the invited me to walk with him to his motorcade. Gone overny had schedule and he was late for a speech in front of the employees of hud. I apologized for the serum taking so long. And hesident turned stared directly at me and he put his and said young lady, this ceremony was one of the highlights of my presidency. It was absolutely a beautiful time and i wish it could have lasted longer. Im very proud of what we did today. And i want you to know that i am very proud of president Richard Nixon. Thank you for allowing us to share our reminisces with you today. [applause] bobbie, you are always a hard act to follow but particularly today. I am reid chambers. I served as the indian lawyer at the interior department. 1976. Since then, i have been practicing law here with a Small Law Firm here in washington, d. C. Partner, Doug Anderson, a navajo indian is here today at this meeting. My whole career has been basically involved in indian law and representing tribal interests. Before i joined the interior department, i had been a professor at Ucla Law School and in that capacity i talked indian taught also i federal indian law. I helped bring some of the initial mall reform cases that were brought ready much at the same time as the nixon message. Say i guess i should let me say one other thing. Wally i remarked last week that wallybeen a subaltern to johnson and what i meant by that the assistantwas attorney general in the division of the Justice Department handling indian cases. He had been appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. Associate solicitors did not have to go through that and also my boss at the interior department, the solicitor, the general counsel of the was ament, Kent Frizzell president ial appointment and confirmed by the senate. And i guess together i saw them as the real giants in implementing the nixonindian policy as a legal matter and in that sense i was an assistant to kent. In practicing law in washington i have noticed over the years a lot of policies announced. And a certain amount of fanfare, perhaps almost nothing as dramatic as what bobbie described in this one and then they wither on the vine because they are not implemented. I want to give credit to wally because theyzell really were determined to implement the next in indian policy. And i think the nixon indian policy. And i think it has become the standard for all administrations since, democratic and republican, bipartisan indian policy that has been really sometimes more robustly and sometimes less robustly implemented but has been the basic policy of other president ial orders since then. Is that it was so actively implemented. One thing perhaps in the discussion period there will be a chance for wally to give a personal reflection on why this was an important thing for him. Sou could imagine it is quite frequent that the president announces a policy. The person in that job is more interested in other things. They dont get in the way of the policy. They do not go out and actively kent andt it but wally did. I was to go out and serve exclusively as the lawyer advocate for reasonable legal indian claims within both in terms of bringing litigation and referring cases over to justice of theterms of all conflicts within the interior department. Because there are a lot of agencies and president nixon recognized this in his message. That there are a lot of conflicts between the trust responsibility of the United States to protect the rights to resources of the Indian Tribes, towater, to land, to rights fish and the programs and responsibilities of other bureaus within the interior department. The fish and wildlife service. Protecting and conserving fish and wildlife. The bureau of reclamation which for decades had been building water projects to provide Irrigation Water and municipal water to nonindians. Water the indians had a reasonable claim to. Agencies landholding often having conflicts with indian claims to land. And president nixons message recognized that the indians were frequently the losers when these conflicts arose. Onlycharged me with representing indian interests and not taking into account other issues. And also to bring to his attention and the secretary of the interior by that time was rogers morton, the secretaries attention the secretarys attention where there was conflict and to advocate the indian position. We did that and we began to bring a number of cases protecting indian fishing rights in the state of washington which went to the u. S. Supreme court where the rights were vindicated. Oregon where among other things we supported the hunting and fishing rights of the tribe that had been terminated in the 1950s. And later it was restored to federal indian tribal status. Cases in minnesota and michigan particularly and wisconsin where we were supporting off reservation fishing rights and the rights of indians to exercise hunting and fishing rights without being subject to state regulation. Those cases were largely successful. We sent an increasing number of cases over to wallys division. And two things happened. Twoe may have been one or we did not file but i cannot recall as i sit here now. Oury accepted recommendations. Some of these cases were politically controversial. We were suing thousands of nonindian water users in the pueblo case in new mexico. We were suing on the other side stateshing cases agencies and thousands of sports fishermen and major commercial interests. Invariably filed those cases and not just filed them but prosecuted them energetically. About a year after i was in the job, wally called me and said he was going to establish a separate section in the Justice Department to try those cases where the lawyers would be experts in Indian Affairs and where they would only handle where the United States was suing as a trustee for Indian Tribes. Existst section still today. A Lasting Legacy nearly four decades later. Mentioned the Indian Council. The idea was to take these issues out of the interior and Justice Departments and set up a separate agency that would represent the trust responsibility of the United States. And that legislation was never enacted i think in part because indian leaders became concerned relieving justice and interior of any trust responsibilities was a wise thing to do and worried about setting up a separate agency. That was not established but wallys section in the Justice Department still exists and kents mandate to me to serve within the interior exclusively as a trustee were major accomplishments i think institutionally and i think sets futureate for attorney generals. Bob served in the Clinton Administration that was the chair i sat in as the chief indian lawyer. And i think he will bring forward in his comments the longevity of the nixon policy. Certainly, future solicitors had a model that kent and greg austin come in his successor followed. And greg austin, his successor followed. It serves as a template for future administrations and has served that way. Other to talk about two things on the aspects of this. I guess i have mentioned the separate section in the Justice Department. I want to talk a little about the extraordinarily strong in the three years i served in government from the white house. Ehrlichman was no longer at the white house when i joined the government so i did not get. O work with him i am pleased his son is here today and bobbie has certainly talked about the enormous influence he had on the indian policy and that is what i had understood also from my friends that were tribal attorneys in the seattle area that new John Ehrlichman before he joined the government. Out there whatd had been very controversial issues. But Brad Patterson and len garment and bobbie kilberg, particularly when you came back and became more active in the Ford Administration and dr. Ted levellso were high officials at the white house len was one of the top officials at the white house. They were interested in Indian Affairs and had been involved in doing the indian policy. And when tensions came up, when other agencies of the government did not want to follow the indian policy, they would call meetings and coordinate the policy to make sure it was followed. I think it was somewhat unique in the nixon and ford white houses that he white house had someaff we issues in the Ford Administration about whether it would continue to be adhered to two and i can remember particularly on the split brief policy it was a policy that was unique in the nixon and Ford Administrations but it was not followed. Griffin bell cut it out when he was attorney general. But the policy was that if there was an indian trust issue in a case and the Justice Department was filing a brief on behalf of of the corps of engineers or the Internal Revenue service on that reso going against the lved issue the interior department could file a section in the brief with different views. We filed six split briefs a few of them were done before my time. Won all six cases. It was a strong support of indian rights. There came a time when the assistant attorney did not want to file a split brief in the case and took the matter up with the white house, i think it was with the council with president ford. Bobbie and brad were very supportive of continuing the split reef policy and it was continue to. I think i will close now. That gives the idea of a broad sense of how the policy was implemented during the nixon and the Ford Administrations. And bob, i hope you can bring it up today. Thank you. [applause] mr. Anderson thank you, reid. And thanks to the museum for having us here. It is great to be here. I want to bring some of these themes that have been brought out up to the current time. Many of these issues are still in play and will be for many years. And it is going to be people like me and others who will follow me as well who will have to continue to grapple with some of these issues that fortunately received excellent treatment in the next in administration and really got off to a good start. It really is a legacy to be proud of. As reid mentioned, i served in the Clinton Administration as for associate solicitor Indian Affairs. I got into indian law through my work at the native american orhts fund back in the early mid 80s. I had grown up in northern minnesota as a member of a band of the chippewa tribe of to the canadian border. And i was interested in Indian Affairs as i observed the event int bobbie was involved in the early 1970s. When i met Charles Wilkerson and law school, he encouraged me to eidto work at narf where r had worked. I met Doug Anderson and had the privilege of working with him and other great lawyers there. A dozen years there and then got into the alaskan issue when we opened the alaskan office. I will talk about how good that was in terms of land and money but shortcomings that have been revealed in the modern era. There is always more work to be done. And so after six years working for secretary have it, i found myself secretary abbott, i found myself teaching at the university of washington and i had to harvard to teach indian law a couple of times a year. From aking at it anew broader perspective. I cannot say enough about this new federalism idea of selfdetermination and selfgovernance and what a tremendous impact it has had in terms of tribal governments taking over programs operated previously by the bureau of Indian Affairs and administering level. The tribal sometimes individual tribes exclusively. Sometimes regional consortia. But it has really empowered leaders to have a real sayso and how these programs are thenistered, selfdetermination policy announced by president nixon has programto a block grant in many respects with the selfgovernance program in place today so tribes like states receive federal funds and allocate them as they see fit in accordance with political priorities and needs. And that is a critical and positive component of modern Indian Affairs. In 1968, 1969, we were just coming out of the determination era. There were Many Supreme Court cases from the 19th century and 20th century recognizing that preconstitutional operant status of indian nations but most of the work that congress had done during that time was about asserting control over Indian Affairs and achieving. Essions of indian lands in the 1950s come out determination of the federal tribal relationship. We had a brief respite with the indian reorganization act in the the mostd 1940s but significant aspect of the federal indian policies of a the 1960s had been the suppression of indian tribal governments and efforts at assimilation as well of tribal acquisition lands for dispersal among the moved tod those that the west. And so this reversal and policy was really dramatic and i mentioned the selfdetermination and selfgovernance aspects of it. The notion of returning tribal lands that comes out of the blue lake action has really been tremendous as well and has not been followed consistently as many tribes would like but it has been a major part of legislation involving settlement of water rights cases for example many of which were andenced during the nixon Ford Administrations. Aggressive patterns for federal litigation on behalf of of tribes were developed in that era and hold to this day. I think of reids mention of the pyramid lake case where the government asserted water rights in the 1970s. That legal theory has maintained a status as a centerpiece of every administration that has come since then. Epublican and democratic the United States has filed lawsuits on behalf of of tribes and will continue to do so i have no doubt because of the fact that lawyers for Indian Tribes that have now represented them for many years can point to the fact that this is not a controversial position. Nixonas developed in the years and was adhered to in the reagan years and the carter ands and under both bushes with the clinton and obama years. They have maintained great importance coming forward. Mentionedn that reid and thest counsel conflicts within the department persist to this day. Litigationk koval involving claims by individual has resulted in a three point 4 billion settlement for past accounting claims. The settlement is nearly the currentd administration is looking forward how can how can we avoid the sorts of problems in the future. To that and, the secretary has put me and for others on a National Commission on trust reform. Its amazing to work with bobby and look at these papers from the 1970s and see the great ideas that are there that maybe need to between, viewed in more of a nuanced fashion. But this idea of informing the court that there is an honest between, and within the government on the indian side of a legal issue, and on the corps of engineers or department of isiculture or the position something that courts should be aware of. After all, courts Court Systems are there to do justice. The United States had this internal conflict, courts should be made aware of that. Its a tougher not to crack when you talk about the internal battles within the interior department. You have the park service, fish and wildlife service, sometimes working in concert with the views in positions of the Indian Tribes and the Indian Affairs, sometimes in opposition. Much of that, the resolution of those conflicts depends on the attitude of the solicitor and equally important is whether or those folks feel that somebody yet the white house, who is important in a policymaking capacity, is very interested in these things, and want the issues to turn out in favor of tribal interests whenever possible. I think the Nixon Administration has probably been unrivaled in terms of having key people were are very high up in the administration, very knowledgeable and very concerned about ensuring the positions coming out of other cabinet agencies affecting indian nations come out most often in ways beneficial to, and in concert to tribal issues. Ive got about 500 things on here, but i want to sit down. Us rememberat makes other things about the Nixon Administration is, the environmental statutes passed by congress during that era. Treatment that Indian Tribes have received, maybe not initially, but since then in the statutes. The clean water act and the Clean Air Act have been amended or administratively interpreted at various times to provide for tribes to implement those federal statutes, just as states have the authority to do so. Are truly all environmental laws that congress has passed include provisions equating tribes with the authority that is delegated to other governments, the other sovereign states so that tribes may administer those programs as well, if they choose to do so. The water rights cases that were commenced i mentioned instream flows, but the many others have dragged on for years and years, and now we have had 29 settlements of indian water rights cases approved by congress, and many others in the works. Its because the Justice Department stakeout staked out and aggressive litigation strategy. And the indian resources section, the Justice Department remains very important and key to advocating for tribes within the Justice Department, and working with interior to ensure adequate representation. The native claims settlement act, tremendous in the final decision to provide an recognize, ultimately, 45 million acres of land have passed to alaska native corporations, both regional and village corporations. , manylion in funding amendments to tweak the federal legislation, to assist the corporations in surviving, some are thriving. Others have more troubles, especially the smaller ones, but what was not considered at the with,and adequately dealt was the issue of sovereignty in alaska. You have 220 six tribes that are recognized in alaska. Thatupreme court ruled angst extinguished the Indian Country statuses of those villages when it was passed, although it did not say that on the face of the statute. While tribes of governmental status and power over internal tribal matters like domestic and so on, the powers that we associate with tribes throughout the United States, the routine municipal powers on thatrate lands and people all governments enjoy, are not recognized in alaska. Secondly, the issue of hunting and fishing and gathering rights was not dealt with by the settlement act. Congress expressed a desire that it be dealt with by existing administrative authorities. That did not have been. A statutory substitute, not a native preference but a rural preference was passed in 1980. I know there is a great diligence discussion always in alaska from the native side of the issues about how to repair the damage that was done in those two specific areas. For everyone. Rk the final thing that i will touch on here is sort of a brighter side of the coin. That is the public law to 80 litigation that was brought involving which made it clear that states did not have Regulatory Authority granted to them when this public law, 280, was passed in 1963 and transferred to state, some federal jurisdiction and the authority to have some Civil Authority within Indian Country. The Supreme Court adopted a legal theory adjusted by the Legal Department in the early 1970s and struck down annesotas attempt to tax individuals personal property on a reservation in minnesota. That case was followed by what ,e call the cam is on ban case involving bingo in california, and that led to the indian gaming regulatory act, which has resulted in the gaming industry, which has become a phenomenal Economic Development tool within Indian Country, and allow tremendous Economic Diversification to take place on many reservations, not all. Brians based on this case, this legal theory that was developed. Done. Of great work was much remains to be done. But it really has had a lasting effect, any positive lasting effect that they have now on behalf of Indian Tribes. I will sit down now. [applause] 45 minutes. Ok. Do we have until 12 30 . Yes, 12 30. Ok. Let me add a few comments and turn it over to you three again. They all alluded to some documents. I am talking, for the record into future historian. As ron has pointed out, our job here is basically to provide oral history that will support an analysis of documents in the , and paidrchives researchers in the future. They are documents. That the professor did not have the flu, because he wrote the message. We have been able to develop a chronological presentation about the development of the message. Bobby talked about a memo, these are wonderful documents for researchers. Whoevero be sure that happens to watch this in the future knows about those documents. And bob anderson is going to be doing a Research Guide that will include references to them so that we can tie together the archival material, the oral conversation and the materials in a way that researchers can use to analyze a wet happened then what happened than now. There are three memos for the president. President , onee building on the Vice President , then the third and final one, all of which went through john and then went back out. There were three that researchers should look at, and there are at least three different drafts of the message. Plus, the statements of the president has been the republican candidate, sent to in 1968. Ncia it is a treasure trove of material for historians. Developed since we had the sessions down in tulsa. The second preliminary observation, and then we will let it go in the conversation, i heard bobby say, in tulsa, that the president said to her, words to the effect, do the right thing. Look at the complex relationship that exists within a government, to implement a right, knowing what the thing to do is not a perfectly simple thing. And, i think what president policyid, through his and action, and with the people who developed and then implemented this policy, was to do the right thing. It could have been that moment in history. Hardher words, its very to understand because there are so Many Foundation documents and events that went into developing the message. As i was reminded, listened to the three of you, that what we tried to do was the right thing. I am saying this again for people who may not understand the complexity of our government. The United States department of justice original departments basically treasures its relationship with the courts. When it speaks for the United States, it speaks for the United States. What does that mean . When you explain that to me i will be quite happy. Because, as read and bob pointed out, even deciding within the department what its position and reference will be when it sends a case to the department of justice, is not a simple thing. When i became the assistant toorney general from 1973 1975, basically, the United States code is divided among the various divisions and they all have some part in the United States all. Is, the attorney that may be handling the Land Management or the bureau of indian referral, its the same office. It may little sense to me. And working with the solicitor then, we worked it out so that this office was established that was committed to the right thing. Predicate,that as a but, the bigger issue goes back, i think, and i am now throwing a question to you three to chew on for a while, what was the status of the tribes . We were faced with the situation where, if they were sovereign but they want. Historically, how did we find our way to a point where president nixon and his team were able to reshape the direction of National Policy towards treatment of the sovereign people . I dont care who starts. I will take a crack at it. Absolutere is no sovereignty at all in our system of government. Mean, the United States, of course under the supremacy clause of the constitution, trumps mistakes in any matter with United States has authority but the United States just does not have the authority. , state law can be preempted by federal law, so states dont have absolute sovereignty. Courts have a dependent status. Have the right to have its distinct political society. Think what the nixon message, and it had precursors and the economic of opportunity that body was bobby was talking , administering some federal money and some federal programs got it started. And the indian leadership then begin to exert some power and some pressure. In when you think of matters 1968, as you mentioned as a template, at that time, American Indian tribes really were only beginning with a certain role over the reservations. The had been thwarted over years by states trying to intrude on them, and what bob was mentioning, to regulate matters on indian reservations, to tax indians on reservations because states resented it, competing with separate sovereignties in their borders. I think the nixon message was that tribesnizing should control their own reservations and not federal bureaucrats. There were wellmeaning, nonindian bureaucrats that that they knew better. Nixon rained that in. Reigned that in. We never had to put up with that practicing indian law. Peripherally, of people from the Justice Department talking about establishing an indian independent Indian Council, which will have the ability to sue the United States. We will fund an organization that will sue us. That was a really big hurdle to get over. That is one of the reasons the Vice President decided to go of having the secretary of the interior. That was a revolutionary custom up a time. When it have been wouldnt it have been . It would have been. It could have been reined back in as somebody wanted to when we had the chartered independent press cancel. No one would have reined them back in. What were your thoughts of that with 40 years perspective . I really dont know. It is still a controversial issue. We arementioned it as going around and having these discussions. The interior will just forget about serving indian interest when there is the department of labor and department of agriculture and they know that it could bring a lawsuit. That is a valid concern of people. We go back to the modern assertion of tribal property and development back to the selfdetermination. Once tribes seek programs, they need lawyers to help administer these programs, to help deal with the amount of funds that are available. With the regulations. Once the tribes had their own provided their own funds and they guaranteed the homeland to us. Unless congress explicitly takes it away. Lawyers aggressively lobbied the Justice Department for tribal interest and in the name of the United States. The success of the nixon message went to the nature of the people who were in the administration. For home read worked and for whom i worked, was committed to of a proper implementation the relationship we had. I can remember talking to him, what does this mean, about the trust relationship. Andould work it through, then back on what bobby said, do the right thing. We worked it through to do the right thing. We did not have the message in front of us and we were not reading it and the president never talk to me, and neither did the attorney general i worked for eight of them. They did not talk about this, but we understood the atmosphere in which what we were working. And we worked to do the right thing. The incrediblet conflict that went within making internal government decisions. We structured the government in such a way that they would resolve those differences, but they dont make it easy. Influencesve outside like the attorney who had no in switching towards the implementation of the navys interest. But it is a balancing act and not a simple one. You mentioned the brian kays. I want to come back to that just for a second. That the congress had passed a statute in 1953, during the era in which her was trying to terminate the relationship with Indian Tribes. President truman and president eisenhower basically supported that. Seems nixon message clearly the right policy today, but it has not really been the beforeof any president the johnson message in 1968. And johnson played at the edge of it. It was a good message he had at the end of his administration. It was a good template, correct. What i am thinking what the brian case is when the interior department wanted justice to fire a friend of the court on the indian side, or i wanted them to do that. A meeting and i said, this public law is being much too broadly interpreted to allow states to exercise total authority over indian reservations in their states. We need to cut it back. He actually went and read the statute and said, yeah, but look, it says they cannot do any taxes of a certain kind. Doesnt that mean they could do taxes of another kind . Iremember the meeting and said, well, that is a reasonable position. Maybe the court comes out that way, but another way to read the statute and a reasonable argument is that they intended only to have Court Jurisdiction and only let courts resolve civil disputes. Was thatly, the issue the indians have a reasonable position and we are the trustee for the indians. We have a certain position and let the courts search courts sort it out. That was the standard he had. We sent it over to wally and i guess robert was the solicitor general, and they agreed. They filed a brief in the Supreme Court, we won the case 90, or the indians won the case. It was minnesota legal services. In terms of searching for a standard in your trust commission, i want to commend that kind of standard to you. Used to be, before that, the judge chambers and judge johnson would also there and think what the right answer was in terms of the law and would not take a position unless they were convinced it was right. Judges, weact as acted as a trustee, and that was an important template. Do you have pictures i would be relevant for the record . Was dont know when i speaking if anybody showed pictures, and i dont know how , i dont know how to say it more than this. Penalty q have ever had a picture like this before and the white house. It was extraordinarily moving, and it was the way in which the tribal secretary related to the president and vice versa. It was very personal and i think quite extraordinary. Here is a picture just before the meeting in the old with the president and the Vice President. Here is a picture of the president going around greeting in Tribal Council leaders the cabinet room. As i said, to have this in the cabinet room was an extraordinary honor. Publicen i was head of liaison for Herbert Walker bush, and i was with all the Interest Groups in the country, idled the there was more than one occasion that i was able to put them in the cabinet room with the president. They are a sovereign nation, and indeed they were. They were sovereign, they were nations, and they deserved the same respect, therefore the access to the cabinet room everybody sitting around in the cabinet room. Here was christmas time in the white house and the signing of the message. The president talked about the full indian message and the price the place was packed. Two other things that come to ind, i think i was incorrect that, in addition to the 1 billion, there is also 2 of royalties. How you got to the one billion. Ok. The other thing, just since i have the microphone and there are cameras appear, i want to Say Something about you talked about how progressive this policy was at the time. I watch all the focus on Richard Nixon as a republican president across the board. Everybody knows about china and foreign policy. President reason nixon was in china. But, nobody pays attention to this. Richard nixon, and again, 1969 to 1974, establish the Environmental Protection agency, did clean air and clean water. Established the office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration within the labor department. Laid the groundwork for major pension reform. Plan was thehia first of formative action plan in the construction trade. Affirmative action plan in the construction trade. Funding the arts and humanities. Huge amount of funding. Defining and changing native american policy. Funding historically black colleges. Doing fedor doing revenue share. Health care reform. I am not a big fan of obamacare, at the First Health Care reform came out of Richard Nixon, hmo. Aboutt know a you think hmo these days, but back then that was extraordinary forwardlooking thing. When you take a look at all those different areas, it is quite astounding. Richard nixon was an extraordinary progressive republican president. On that wonderful note, i ite just been informed that is time to wrap it up. A wonderfulas been conversation, it will be a continuing conversation because, as we uncover more information and gain new insight, we intend to have other sessions like this. I think everyone who has been part of it, our host, and the National Archive and the Nixon Foundation for stimulating these conversations. Can i add one more thing. Welfare reform. The welfare reform that president bill clinton eventually passed was essentially Richard Nixons hr one welfare form in 1961. And there you have it. [applause] from George Washington to george w. Bush, every sunday at 8 00 p. M. And midnight eastern, we feature the presidency. A weekly series exploring the president s, their politics, policies and legacy. You are watching American History tv, all weekend, every weekend on cspan3. The president s, from public affairs, a veritable now in paperback and ebook. Presents biographies of every president. Organized by their ranking by noted historians. From best to worst. And features perspectives into the lives of our nations chief executives and leadership styles. Visit our website, cspan. Org the president s. To learn more about each president and order your copy today wherever books and ebooks are sold. Youre watching American History tv. 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