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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Wassaja Story",
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        "Bradley H. Patterson Files (Ford Administration)",
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        "Indians of North America"
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        "logicalDate": "1976-09-01",
        "month": 9,
        "year": 1976
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 6, folder \"Wassaja Story\" of the Bradley H.\nPatterson Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nAMERICAN INDIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY\nFOUNDED AND DIRECTED BY AMERICAN INSTAN SCHOLARS\nThe Chautauqua House,\nSan Francisco, Ca. 94117\n1451 Masonic Avenue\nTelephone (415) 626-5235\nSeptember 7, 1976\nPresident Gerald Ford\nThe White House\nWashington, D.C.\nDear Mr. President:\nThis Society is an Honor society, with representation from every\ntribe in the United States, active for more than twenty years in\nIndian affairs. We publish a newspaper, Wassaja; a quarterly\nperiodical, The Indian Historian, and a children's magazine, The\nWeewish Tree, in addition to many books.\nBy the very nature of our society, we operate quietly, but have\na great influence upon grass roots Indian opinion.\nA front page spread is being prepared in our newspaper for the\nOctober issue, concerning the forthcoming elections, reaching\nmore than 100,000 readers including Indians and their friends.\nWe earnestly request you to respond to the enclosed questions, to\nreveal your position on issues of critical importance to the\nIndian people. Your response should reach us at the latest by\nthe end of September.\nIndian affairs has been a critical issue in every administration,\nfor two hundred years. It will not go away, and it promises to\nbecome even more critical in the coming four years. This is due\nmainly because of the energy situation and the demand for Indian\nresources from their reservations. While there are something\nmore than one million Indians today, our influence is very great,\nas can be seen from events during the past five years.\nWe urge you to respond.\nRupert Yours cordially Costo\nRupert Costo, a Cahuilla man\nPresident\nFORD & LIBRARY 078870\nMAINTAINS A LIBRARY AND PUBLISHES THE INDIAN HISTORIAN, THE WEEWISH TREE, WASSAJA\nINDEX TO LITERATURE ON THE AMERICAN INDIAN\nDigitized from Box 6 of the Bradley H. Patterson Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nTO:\nPresident Gerald Ford\nRE:\nPosition on American Indian Affairs\nDo you favor the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Indian\nAffairs?\nYou have proposed the consolidation of health care programs. How\n2.\nwould this affect the Indian Health Service?\n3.\nYou have stated your opposition to termination of the federal-Indian\ntrustee relationship. Does this mean you will support the Retrocession\nBill, which makes it possible for Indians to remove state and local\nauthority over reservations?\n4\nYou have stressed the need for this nation to achieve energy\nindependence. This can be accomplished, you state, by eliminating\nthe strict regulations over coal and energy companies. You have\nupheld this position by vetoing two strip-mining bills that would\nhave required preservation of the environment. The following questions\nnow arise:\nc)\n1: What is your administration's position concerning possible\nconflicts of interest arising from the need of coal companies\nfor water and Indian water rights?\nb)\n2: Do you envision a conflict of interest with the Interior\nSecretary promoting increased energy production on one hand\nand maintaining his legal responsibility to protect Indian rights?\nc)\n3: What is your opinion of the Council of Energy Resources Tribes?\n5.\nYou have proposed the establishment of another Hoover Commission to\nexamine the structure of the federal government. Can you be more\nspecific about the goals of such a commission? Would zero-based budgeting be\nconsidered by this commission?\n6.\nWhat is your position on S.1 (Criminal Justice Codification Revision and\nReform Act), which contains provisions depriving Indians of rights?\n7.\nIn a press conference you said the budget for fiscal year 1977 would\n\"cut roughly $28 billion out.\" Where would this money be cut, and more\nspecifically, would you attempt to save money by curbing government funds for\nIndians through program cutbacks, termination, reorganization, such\nas is expressed in the Borgstrom memo of OMB?\nJimmy Carter has called for the doubling of the Comprehensive Education\nTraining Act (CETA). What is your position on the future of CETA\nprograms?\n9.\nWhat program does your administration have to reduce the present 30 to\n65 percent unemployment rate on reservations?\n10.\nWhat is your position on the future of programs funded through the\nBureau of Indian Affairs? Do you favor turning over programs affecting\nIndians to state and local governments, as the Borgstrom memo suggests?\nIS\nto you envision an increase in government funding for educational\nprograms for Indians? A decrease?\nRepublican administrations, beginning with the statement by Richard\nNixon in 1970, have exposed the conflict of interest existing between\nthe Department of Interior and the Department of Justice, in relation\nto the trustee responsibility of the United States to the Indians.\nThese two governmental agencies act as adversaries in Indian court\ncases (such as water rights) in protecting the big landowners, oil\nand mining companies, while they are bound by treaties and federal\nresponsibility to faithfully and relentlessly protect Indian treaties.\nHow would you resolve this conflict?\nOur newspaper, Wassaja, has a circulation of 80,000. We are pre-\nparing a front page article concerning the forthcoming elections,\nand urge you to send your response before the end of September.\n1. So level Department of Indian Affairs\nI would keep an open mind about such a proposal. If but nly\ni. the vast sajority of the Indian community and the responsible\nImal Indian organizations (like the NTCA and the NCAI and others)\n(which of course would mean altering the locati 1. of BIA)\n3\nwith one voice in favor of such an idea, Twould give it\nSuch an agency\nsympathatic consideration. should not b elong in the Executive\nOffice of the President nor should it be administered by other than\ndirectly\nan Adm nistrator or a Secretary reporting, as do all the others, to the\nalso\nPresident. hat I would want to see from the Indian community\ncurrent\nis an agreed position about which elements of the Indian service\nproposed\noffices would be CO bined into the new agency. The Congress of course\nwill\nhavethe last word as to the C reation of a new federal agency\n2. Effect of Consolidation of XMMXXX Health Care programs on the\nIndian Health Service\nMy consolidation proposal does not affect the Indian Health\nexcept that\nIndian\nService,\nThe funds of the National Institute on\nAlcholol XMX Abuse and Alcoholism would in fa be transferred\ninto the Indian Health Service\n3. A Retrocession Bill\nBefore supporting the specific language of any retrocession\ntuke alare\nbill, I wish to have further consultation WXZMZ on the difficult\nand sensitive jurisdiction issue with the NCAI (which will be\nwith\ndiscussing this matter at its Salt Lake City Convention), AM NTCA\nand with other concerned groups such as governors, county officials\nand private citizens. All American citizens, Indians and -Indians\nprovided with\nalike must be Mananteed effective law-enforcement and court systems\nand must be guaranteed the rights vouchsafed to them in the United\nStates Constitution.\nhergy destions\n(a) Coal companies and Indian Water Rights\nIndian trust rights, including water rights, and have\nb on vigorously asserted and defended in such cases as Eyranid\nLake and US V Washington. If coal companies need Indian water,\nthey should negotiate to lease or buy those rights, and Indian\npeople should make their own decisions about those\nnegotiations, benefitting financially (if they chose) from any\nleases or purchases.\n(b) Conflicts of Interest within Interior\nI envisage no conflicts which cannot be settled through\nadministrative, legislative or court action -- and in any of these\nactions I shall continue to ensure that the voice of the Federal\nGo ernment as trustee for Indian natural resources\nrights, will be clearly asserted. I continue to hope that the\nCongress will smoots enact the measure creating an Indian Trust\nCounsel Authority.\n(c) The Council of Energy Resources Tribes\nI would wish to ensure that all affected tribes, including\nfederal\nthose in the Council, are consulted prior to any actions\nwhich affect their interests.\n5. Government restructuring\nInsofar as any reorganiati n affecting Indian\naffairs is concerned, I would want most of all to have the prior\nviews of Indian tribes and the national Indian organizations.\nI would not favor any zerp-based budgeting applications which\nwould\nimply\na term nationist philosophy.\nThe term nation\nidea is dead and will not be recusitated under any Administration\nof mine.\nresition on S-1\nThe original 3-1 provisions of course have beon changed in\nresponse to concerns expressed by tribes.\nWhen\nSTOR\n51\nThe August, 1975 provisionsz version of S-1 contains some parts\naffectin g jurisdiction and, as my answer to the qust retrocession que:\ntion, above, indicated, I desire to have further consultations take place\nbefore\ndeciding on what jurisdiction language to support in the Congre\n7. \"Curbing Government Funds for Indians\"\nThe record of the Republican administration\nfor Indian programs is right here for all to see: KNMZBZKZ\nto $764 millions\nsince FY 1969 BIA funds up almost 300% Indian Health budget up\nto $425.6 milbons\nto $27.7 millions\nalmost 400% Commerce's EDA up 160% Labor's LEZA C TA funds up (since\n1973) up 433% to $75 millions. I am not going to turn downward\ntowards termination and no officer of my\nExecutive Branch\nhas any intention of doing SO either.\n8. Future of CETA\nI believe the CETA Act is an excellent example of the shift\nof decisi onemaking responsibility away from the Washington bureaucracy\nand into responsible, elected local bodies, including Indian\nTribal Councils. I will support continuation and improvement of\nthe CETA program for Indian manpower training.\n9. Severe Indian Enameployment\njust\nUnder regulations and guidelines promul ated\nby the Department of Commerce for the new Public Works Act,\nIndian\n705 of the funds are reserved for projects where there is 2 loca 1\nunemployment rate in excess of the national rate. Indian\nReservations will clearly qualify for YKX this priority category.\nIndian\nalso\nThe C TA A program itself is targeted at Reservations of\ngreatest need and CETA funds are now going to 157 Indian prime\nsponsors.\n10. BIA Funds to State and Local Governments\nI do not favor changin; the route of any\nBIA missions and to\nfunds. Such funds now go almost entirely tortribes and\ntriba\norganizations and that is their proper\ndestination. No one in my Execut ife Branch is Am suggeting\nanything else and the \"memo !! to which the question refers\nmakes no such recommendations. What I support particularly\nwhich 1 signed in January of 1975 and\nstrongly is the Indian Self-Determination Act/which provides for\n(and nonies)\nmore anD more of BIA and Indian Health functions to be\ncontracted to tribes directly.\n11. Money for Indian Education\nThe Office of Education's mondies for Indian Education have\nrisen from $18 millions in FY 1973 to $42 millions today. I\nwill continue my record of strong support for\nthe education of Indian children and for giving\nthemselves\ntribes and Indian parents more say in how this education\nmoney is used.\n12. Interior and Justice as Zanz as \"adversaries in Indian Court\ncases\nContrary to the implication in the question, the Departments of\nInterior and Justice in the last several years have been in the\nforefront XX to defend and protect Indian trust rights in Court.\nThey have won landmark vistories in such CHZES well-known cases\nas McClahahan, Washington, Mancari, Mazurie, Brvan and Stewens\nand are arguing forcefully in such pending cases as Pyramid Lake.\nsecond\nWIRE Inmy administrati n they will continue to\none of the\nassert and defend Indian natural resou ces rights. but\nbest\nways to resolve any conflicts is for the Congress to enact the\nIndian Trust Counsel Authority which we proposed six years ago.\nACTION REQUESTED\nSeptember 19, 1976\nMEMORANDUM FOR:\nBRAD PATTERSON\nFROM:\nFRED SLIGHT FWS\nSUBJECT:\nArticle Request\nThe President has been requested to submit his views on\nissues concerning American Indians for publication in\nthe American Indian Historical Society's newspaper,\nthe Wassaja (attached at Tab A).\nAs many of the concerns expressed in the Society's\nquestions were answered in the article attached at Tab B\nentitled \"President Ford's Policies for American Indian\nPeople,\" I would like your opinion as to the appropriateness\nof sending this article to the Society in lieu of a\npersonalized article response.\nIf you concur with sending the attached article, I would\nalso appreciate your advice as to what other Presidential\nstatements, speeches or messages might be included for\nthe Society's use.\nAs the deadline for the Society's publication is the end\nof September, I would appreciate your comments by c.o.b.\nWednesday, September 22.\nThank you for your continuing assistance.\nAttachments\nICRD\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nSeptember 21, 1976\nMEMORANDUM FOR:\nFRED SLIGHT\nFROM:\nBRADLEY PATTERSON, JR\nWith respect to your note of yesterday, I believe we should\nrespond to the Wassaja invitation, but do not think that\nthe generalized piece we did for the Association of American\nIndian Affairs will do the trick here. I think we should\ntake a crack at answers to the specific questions which\nWassaja has put to us.\nSo I have done this in a draft which is attached.\nPlease circulate it (together with the questions) for\nclearances and invite any readers to discuss the draft\nwith me so we can shape it up quickly. Please include\nMrs. Kilberg on your list for clearance on this one.\nI am sending it to you in rough draft form, partly to\nsave time.\nFORD\nSeptember 217 1976\nMEMORANDUM FOR:\nFRED SLIGHT\nFROM:\nBRADLEY PATTERSON, JR.\nWith respect to your note of yesterday, I believe we should\nrespond to the Wassaja invitation, but do not think that\nthe generalized piece we did for the Association of American\nIndian Affairs will do the trick here. I think we should\ntake a crack at answers to the specific questions which\nWassaja has put to us.\nSo I have done this in a draft which is attached.\nPlease circulate it (together with the questions) for\nclearances and invite any readers to discuss the draft\nwith me so we can shape it up quickly. Please include\nMrs. Kilberg on your list for clearance on this one.\nI am sending it to you in rough draft form, partly to\nsave time.\nFORD LIBRER"
}