Treaties between the United States and American Indian nations. This Panel Discussion from the symposium was titled great nations keep their word. This is about an hour and a half. Delorea from phil the university of michigan and i am on the board of trustees. I want to welcome you to this session today. This is the final session in the symposium. The session speaks in part or of the exhibit which you shall see shortly which follows historical chronology, some case study examples, some for maddock analysis including some things that might resonate with the panel that we just had. The final section of the exhibit and this final session in our panel seeks to sum up and pull together, sort of congeal the insights of the exhibit and the day we have had today. Part of what we are about is reclaiming history. That, the easy part, is about making invisible stories visible. This is the task in native American History and has been for so long. It is a fundamental rule of this great museum. Another part of dealing with history is harder and its harder because we live in a largely a historical time. As in the story and this bothers me greatly. My students on a culture that shapes them tend to focus on the new, the now, the future. As if time begins at this moment right now or maybe yesterday or perhaps last week or at best last year. That means that problems may have a history but that history as thet really matter students i work with try to figure out solutions to problems developed with little reference to the past. That is why too often i sometimes were here claims sure, treaties were broken and we feel badly about it. We like to feel badly about it but once they were broken, then they became kind of nonfunctional. Can we just move on . Very future Oriented Approach to not thinking about the past and that is the other problem with history, this claim that somehow the peer and simple passage of rendersstory, actually that thing we call history obsolete. This exhibit n symposium demonstrates that nothing could be farther from the truth. The nation to nation is an eternal, critical part of the fabric of United States itself. Its not only about history, its also about our shared future. I would like to introduce our panelists. N has served bria on the Indian Senate since 1985 and served as the chairman. Excuse me president of the National Congress of American Indians and present of the association of washington tribes and executive board member of the washington gaming association. Be matthewim will fletcher, a professor of law at Michigan StateUniversity College of law, director of the universitys indigenous law center. He is an appellate judge for various tribes. It will be followed by director ofin gover, the director this museum, a former professor of law at the Sandra Day Oconnor college of law at arizona State University from 19972001. Assistant secretary for Indian Affairs and the u. S. Department of the interior. I think the person who we all me to always keep in mind when we think about the book or read the book or the exhibit and think about these things is our good friend suzanne shoharjo. She is a writer, curator, policy advocate who has helped native nations recover sacred places. Ofmore than one million acres of land since 1975, she has developed key indian law and clipping most Important National policy laws for the protection of native american ancestors, arts, culture and religious freedom as the founder of the museum of the American Indian and served of the guest carrier of this project is not as well as other projects. I think she is something of a National Treasure and i want to say how honored i am to be here with you. [applause] we will go until about 5 15 p. M. Are three, there wonderful things waiting for you. The first is a book signing in the second is a preview of the exhibit and the third is a delightful reception for those of you who know, there is always a treat and the food is fantastic and the company is great. I would encourage you to be there. I would like to close by reading something suzanne wrote as we think about considering the negative stuff that comes with treaty but also the possibilities in treaties. Suzanne, these are your words the preservation and restoration of treaty rights can be the foundation of a harmonious and moral relationship between and among the native nations and the United States, a relationship in which each party is committed not only to the redemption of its own interest but also the wellbeing and progress of the other. The final chapter of the story has not been written and it is hoped it will never be. That is how it is when great nations keep their word. I will turn it over to the panel. Yes, you guys are free to use the podium whenever you want. [laughter] im leaving. [laughter] good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. I know its that time of day after lunch so we will try to liven it up a little around here. S my name isppepods. Im only here because of the grace of god. He allows me to have the greatest job in the world and i will leg wrestle anyone who things that a better job than me. I have had the, opportunity in 30 years to work with some awesome role models. There has been not a person in my life that has stood out more than this man who passed away this last year. Billy frank junior. The meetingsagine and opportunities on the travels and trips i have had to spend with billy and those are priceless. We have a video would want to start out with first so we can get our it people to roll that, well start out with a short video of billy frank junior. This is a continued story of the u. S. Versus washington, the the boldn decision which came in february of 1974 and it was a continued part of the u. S. Versus washington on shellfish. Argumentaving a legal on our rights of the shellfish in puget sound. They asked me as one of the Expert Witnesses to come up to the federal court this day and testify in front of the federal court and judge to tell the creation of the raven and the clam and the story of who we are and how we got here. I walked into the courtroom that of theh this carving raven and the clam and our people. No one knew what i was going to do but nobody objected to what i was going to do so when i was i set this to stand, carving right in front of the up on thethen i got stand to testify. Testify about the creation of us indian people throughout the Pacific Coast and along our shores here in puget sound and on the watershed. I continued to tell my story of how the creation began. Day, a realummer beautiful day, down on her beaches here in puget sound and along the coast. Andbirds were flying everything was talking to each other, all the animals. There was a lot of killer wells out there that day and seals and ,ea lions and all of our clams you know, and life was plentiful out on puget sound. Beautiful white sand was on both sides and sunshine and they were looking and they were talking to each other and they said, we are still empty. Our people and our life is empty. So, we need some life here. Soon, the raven came over and he sat on this clam right here, a big giant clam, on the beach. Uptty soon, the clam opened and our people come out. As you can see right here. Our people came out, little children came out running and grandma and dad and mom and uncles and aunts. They all came out and they would start running down the beach. The beach was so beautiful. All of a sudden, all of the clams at the beach started spurting up from down below and it was beautiful. Everything came to life. All of our children and all of our grandpas and grandmas and uncles and aunts were all along the beach. This is what we need. We need our life, we need our happiness and so we arewhole now. Our animalss whole, and the killer well was out there and all his family. The seals and the sea lions and all ofir families everything that swims out there, the salmon was jumping and everything and the mouth of the river. Day story that i told that there was not a lot of questions asked about how the story came about. This is the story that was handed down to us and our people. The creation story is different along the Pacific Coast and and othercoastline tribes have Creation Stories about the eagles and the other animals. Storiesjust one of our of how it all happened and how we are here today and how we protect our Natural World and our resource, all of our animals, and all of our clam beds and all of our oyster beds and everything that is down in that beautiful land under the city that nobody sees. There is a forest under there, a live forest of life. And is what we all forget we have to continue to protect that because this story is very important to the indian people. [applause] thank you come its great to be here with you today. I want to thank the National Museum of American Indians for sponsoring this fantastic event. What a day it has been in this beautiful facility. Kevin, thank you for hosting us, you and your staff do amazing work here. For the nation and for the world. I want to take a slightly different approach to the topic we are discussing today. It is true that great nations keep their word. Then i think we have to start by questioning whether we can consider the United States to be a great nation. I dont say that lightly. Clearly, at least when it comes to native people, the United States has not kept its word. The colonies did not keep their word when they drove our eastern cousins from their lands in prerevolutionary war days. Our first president did not keep , George Washington promised the senecas that he would not let any state or person purchase their lands. He promised he would protect them and all their rights. The United States could not or did not protect the muskogee and the citizens of georgia wanted their lands two years after they signed the treaty in 1790. 40 years later, they were sadly sent west on Andrew Jacksons forced march to oklahoma. The United States declared oklahoma to be indian territory. Until the nonindians decided they wanted it. Raced to stake claims for those indian lands. From the eastern seaboard through the south and midwest and across the plains to the coast, the growing nation went crazy for one thing after ld, lumber, for, the buffalo, you name it. At each step along the way, promises were made and promises were broken. There are literally hundreds of examples. The horse creek treaty signed in 1851 promised eternal peace but prevented war for only three years. Potawatamee signed treaties to stay in their homelands. Their leaders were defrauded, bribed, cheated, and filled with takeol, whatever it would to get them to sign away their lands. The u. S. Government used every tactic in the book. I could go on for hours. Every tribe, every Indian Nation and Alaska Village could tell you a story or many stories about how they were cheated out of or ripped from their lands. Even my homeland in the pacific northwest, my father is still alive and is 81 years old. He is the greatgrandfather to my children. My grandchildren, i mean. Calcalsutt. Ame is calculsettrandfather signed the point elliott treaty for our people in 1855. Treaty, itned that said that we could take fish as we always had. We had to sue the state of washington all the way to the Supreme Court multiple times in order to get that provision and forced. Generations of tribal leaders and tribal fishermen were harassed, rested, shot at and maligned for believing Governor Stevens word. Said no whiteo man is specifically calls out the white man im not making that up it said no white man could live on our reservation without our permission. Apparently, white women were ok. [laughter] the chinese were ok. And theanics were ok blacks were ok but it specifically said no white man. If you visit our checkerboard reservation someday, you will see how well that promise was kept. The map that identified the swinimish reservation showed down recent around a certain peninsula on an island in the sea. 18 years after we signed the treaty, president grant signed an illegal executive order that took away half of our reservation. The constitution i dont know how many know this but yesterday was constitution day. The constitution says that only congress can amend or revise a treaty. Our tribe has never and will never recognize that executive order is legitimate. Just last summer, we bought back the land that contained that original boundary. 140 years later to the day that president Ulysses S Grant signed that illegal executive order that my counsel signed the document to get back our historic boundary. Not atell you, there was dry eye in that room. The men, the women, the staff, they all had tears coming down their cheeks because of the significance and we did not even know until my attorney googled that illegal executive order that Ulysses S Grant signed 140 years to the day before. To think howng generations of our elected hoped thatswinimosh they would come. Now we just have to get back all the rest of the property within our original boundary. How many of the tribal people here have a story about land taken illegally from your tribe by the United States government . I bet it is everyone here today. We all know this history and we know what happened to our children as they were taken to boarding schools, to our land that was broken up, to our resources that were raped and exploited, to our women who were not protected and to our traditions that have been under constant assault. Do not have nations to keep their words or the United States is not a great nation. Which is it . I, like so many indian people, am incredibly patriotic. Thoughtwhat our people and died in the armed forces defending this country in greater percentages than any other ethnic group. Grandfather, world war i, two great uncles, world war ii, father, korea, two uncles vietnam. We fought for this country before it even accepted us as citizens. Believed inr and this country before we were given the right to vote. Thinky, in many ways, i indians sometimes believe in this country more than most americans. Maybe thats just because we were here first because we loved this land first, because the blood and bones of our ancestors are deep within the soil. Patriotic just because we love fireworks. Celebratelly want to independence day, you just need to go to an indian reservation. [laughter] in your lifetime. Indiansss the celebrating. You tribal members here know what i mean. We really know how to celebrate independence day. Are fun,ebrations maybe a little unsafe and insane [laughter] but they also show that indian people believe that the United States is a great nation. You can see it in our cemeteries dayeterans day or memorial when the flags are flying at half staff and the cemetery is full. Of those american flags. You can see it in the results of our native vote efforts when we get disproportionately high voter turnout and we determine the outcome of important elections from the local level to the county level to the state level could, to the federal level. I think you even see it when our children ask to have our history taught as a component of the United States history. They know that their history is bound up in the story of how this great nation came to be. We love this country. Known that we were a part of it since time immemorial. It was before some nonindians or other governments around us knew it. We can love this country despite the incredible, painful history, despite all the broken promises, despite the words not kept because we have believed in the idea of the United States even when the United States could not live up to that idea. We have believed in the idea of the United States before it was the fathers who founded the United States looked for a governing structure that truthssupport the t that they thought were self evident, they looked to the air quite nation. Without Indian Nations living together in harmony, even when we disagree, the promise of america might not have come together. We come back here year after year, sometimes for me its week after week, because even when all of the pundits and maybe all the evidence say that the president cannot do anything and the Congress Wont do anything, we still believe in the constitution that says treaties are the supreme law of the land. Sometimes i think indians believe in our constitution more than anybody else. In a way, by continuing to believe that what the constitution says is true and acting to show that the words in our treaties matter, by calling this great nation to keep its word, we refute all the skeptics. We answer the question i posed at the beginning is the United States a great nation . Is that while our history in this nation might be brutally painful, when the wrong done to our people are real, that history is not the end of the story. We believe that even though the United States is not has not kept its word thus far, it might. Its getting better. If you look through the exhibition that brought us here today, you will see dozens of pictures of tribal leaders going back to before they were photographs coming here to this town, to that