Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1955-12-16

get back at this late date in his
That won't be much, becar
Department of the Interior, III
fairs, was acting as guardian"
Of the remaining Iindians-those
not killed off in war or starved to
death on reservations-land, nat
url resources and opportunity
have been grabbed up and locked
away from Indian reach for the
next nifty years. BY then II will be
hard to prove who's Indian and
who isn't.
Lo, The Poor Indian
Bureau OF Indian Affairs Of
ficials have been announcing a
bold new plan" for the assimila-
ton OF the 100000 Indians still
living on or around reservations
in 225 tribal groups. They are be-
ing encouraged to leave group
reservation life, move into cities
or onto farms and become absorb
ed into the rest OF our urban and
rural population.
Superintendent OF Indian areas
are to be responsible for this de-
velopment that is to bring 10, the
poor Indian. into equal citizen
ship" economically, socially and
politically.
IS Years Late
II would be a fine plan IL only
IL would work. II would have
worked II 1t had been applied rs
years ago. Today, after genera
tions OF Federal Government man
agement of Indian Affairs. the
remaining Indians constitute the
most hopelessly exploited, under
prepared minority in American
life-and that includes the Negro
population of South Carolina.
That statement will immediate
ly be disputed by some Of our pro-
fessional weepers who insist that
nobody but nobody in history has
ever suffered as the American Ne
gro is suffering. But they win be
silenced by the statistics--the cold
records on births and deaths and
disease. on income and literacy.
and on ownership and develop
ment Of businesses
The Hard Facts
The authoritive statistics say
that reservation Indians as
whole die earlier. suffer more
from killing disease, have less ed
ucation and income, and are far
Their behind in financial and econ
omic development than Negroes,
Puerto Ricans or any other nom
alien group in these United
States. And by not-so- curious
coincidence. they are the only
group that has had the special
guardianship" Of the Govern
ment 81 the United States --
guardianship supposedly guaran-
tecd in acknowledgement treaties.
enaE
Concentration Camps
The coincidence is neither cur
ious nor accidental. II was
practically double-insured from
the moment that our military de-
feated the last Of the hated In
dian tribes. rammed them away
in concentration camps that were
called reservations" and stood
guard while civilian supertntend-
ents Of reservations were sent out
from Washington.
These superintendents were for
the most part no more interested
in Indian welfare than Simon Le-
gree was in the health and vel
fare Of Uncle Tom. The Indian
Bureau became a paradise for
profiteers: IL remained 10 until
far into the 2oth century. when
htful public protest among the
more civilized Of the American
people inspired half-hearted clean
ups In the bureau.
Even the few good commits
sionsrs OF the bureau. however.
couldn't make training place Of
a concentration camp. Neither
could they protect completely I'M
prepared people against ssploita-
ton under a system that bred
such exploitation and had been
originally designed for that pur-
pose
Can Make start
Now. after all this time. the
Federal Government and the gov
errors Of rs western states have
gotten together on this new plan
already thousands Of Indians have
moved into cities In an effort 10
become -intsgrsred Thus far
they have Jared very much az
their Negro cousins who have
been escaping from the southern
plantations and moving eity-vArd
In ques; Of that same Indignation
Tn. Indians Iong-range prob
lem isn't as serious a. the Ne
Kro's Now that he has escaped
the fAtai handicap Of Eovsrnnen.