Introduction (Part 4)

Gerald One Feather

Particulary significant in the life of the Oglala Sioux has been the recent rise of young leadership of the tribe. Of all the plain tribes, the Oglala Sioux have been most highly influenced by their educated young people. In early 1967 the educated youth of the reservation formed the American Indian Leadership Conference, which continues to the present. In 1969 the Conference managed to elect its own candidates in three major tribal elections in South Dakota. The most spectacular climb to prominence was that Gerald One Feather, thirty-one years old: in the Oglala Sioux elections in January 1970 he became the youngest elected tribal leader in the history of the Sioux nation. One Feather promoted a progressive platform and swamped his older opponent by a wide margin, thus indicating that the young Sioux had finally completed the return to prominence forecast by Embree in his delineation of the return of Indian culture.

Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson

The Iroquois also have experienced a great revival since the days of the Depression. Today they are one of the dominant forces in contemporary Indian affairs. Led by such men as Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson, Oren Lyons, and Mike Mitchell, they have spearheaded the movement of Indian tribes back to traditional religion and ancient forms of government. In cooperation with the Hope prophet Tomas Banyaca, these men have traveled across the United States advocating Indian unity on a traditional treaty basis, which would supersede the formal tribal relationships that have grown up during the years the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act.

Today the Iroquois face great dangers. Now Canada rather than the United States poses the threat to their existence. The Canadian government is attempting to sever all of its treaty relationships with Canadian indian tribes. The Iroquois, of course, were allies of the British before the American Revolution; thus they hold the major treaties in Canada and face the most loss of lands and rights because of the new policy. Their lands now occupy the best industrial sites in southern Canada, and there is tremendous pressure on the Iroquois to sell or lease their reservations for industrial purposes.

Oren Lyons

Embree's understanding of the "Soul of a People" as outlined in his last chapter prefigures the meaning of the Indian revival of today. Spurred on by the sudden release from religious bondage, the native religions have shown amazing vitality. Nearly every tribe now celebrates its traditional festivals and ceremonies. The religious traditionalists have rapidly come to the fore as the strongest element in national Indian affairs and now dominate the activities of a number of tribes.  Under the leadership of such men as Oren Lyons of the Onondagas, Tom Porter and Mike Mitchell of the St. Regis Mohawks, Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson of the Tuscaroras, Clifton Hill o the Creeks, Thomas Banyaca of the Hopis, and Alfred Gragne, the National Aboriginal Movement, which aims to reorganize Indian tribes along ancient and traditional forms of government, has made significant impact on the thinking of Indian people everywhere.

Introduction (Part 3)

A number of significant Indian organizations on the national level have been created by Indian people of all tribes in the years since Embree's book was written. In 1944 the National Congress of American Indians was established to consider legislation and legal matters affecting tribes in their relationships with the federal government. The N.C.A.I. has grown to be a large and capable organization. It has several thousand Indian and white members, and 132 Indian tribes hold membership. The National Congress of American Indians has been instrumental in protecting Indian rights over the last two decades and has been responsible for many constructive changes in federal policy.

In 1962 the National Indian Youth Council was formed. By 1970, with a membership of nearly a thousand, it had become the major voice for Indian college students. In 1964 the N.I.Y.C. sponsored the famous Indian "Fish-Ins" in the state of Washington  thus ushering in the era of Indian nationalism and "Red Power. Two members of the N.I.Y.C. have gone on to become Executive Directors of the National Congress of American Indians, indicating the natural process of development of Indian leadership from youth to full tribal responsibilities.

Navajo Tribe

Intertribal councils also have flourished in the time since Embree wrote his book. Today tribes have banded together in sixteen states to form these councils for cooperative work on the state level. In addition, there are nearly thirty regional organizations that provide services in every area of Indian life. All of these developments were beyond the vision of people writing books a generation ago; Embree could hardly have anticipated such development along political lines.

Oglala Sioux

The Indians of Oklahoma have not fared as well as Embree originally anticipated. Land has continued to slip out of Indian hands, and the peoples of the various tribes have largely moved away from their original reservation areas in search of employment. The Navajo tribe of Arizona has increased far beyond Embree's expectations. He listed Navajo population at 45'000 in 1939, and today, thirty-one years later, it is in excess of 132'000 and still rapidly expanding. In 1936 the official total Indian populations was listed as 344'000, and today the federal government claims a reservation population of 380'000, indicating that migration has not reduced reservation population in the interim. today a reasonable estimation of the Indian population would be in excess of one million people. Reservation Indians make up only 400'000 of that total, former reservation residents now dwelling in the urban areas and small towns of the nation something in excess of 500'000 and the surviving groups of Indians east of the Mississippi nearly 100'000. (This contrasts with Embree's original estimate that the eastern seaboard had been practically wiped clear of Indians.)

The chapters on the Oglala Sioux and Iroquois end on a sad note. Embree found that the original cultural basis of these tribes had vanished, traditions were waning, and the people longed for the lonesome life of the plains and woodlands hunting days. The situation is much brighter today. The Oglala Sioux have revived their customs, including the traditional Sun Dance. They have repurchased significant amounts of their original reservation land base and begun a number of progressive projects designed to increase the community life on the reservation. Today they are one of the most aggressive tribes in the nation.