Compilation of Raw Footage for Report on American Indian Movement take over of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation on Navajo Nation.
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Compilation of Raw Footage for Report on American Indian Movement take over
of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation on Navajo Nation.](/thumbs/AUDIO.png)
- Transcript
All right, this is cut number one from March 5th. It's Mercer Curtis from Fairchild talking about the damages to the plant by the Indians. Okay, what exactly are the damages? Well, there's been some severe damages to the office area, and almost every desk in the building has been broken into. Some bright open along with cabinets, and there are many personal items missing from the people in the plant that have gone out of the plant apparently. And there's some damage to the ceilings in terms of the ceilings have been broken through in certain areas of the front part of the plant. There's quite a bit of damage to chairs and furniture, and the cafeteria was quite a shambles, and each of the vending machines are broken into, and all the contents taken out of the vending machines and the money taken out of, and much of the petty cash we had lying around as well gone. Well, it wasn't that way before then before the Indians came in.
Of course there wasn't. Okay, it's hard just asking. Should you ask a question like that, John? Sure. Can you ask a question like that? Okay, let's splice it off in. Can we see, did they do anything to the Krypton 85 in that store room or anything? No, they didn't do anything to that. Krypton 85. Right. So how much do you estimate the cost of all this be? Well, I don't really have any estimate right now at all. The fact is, when we've done it, we've brought in a work crew. A lot of the people in here are listing the damages to find out how much damage was done so that our insurance suggests just go ahead and total up the damages and come back with a number to us. Right, so what do you plan to do then sue aim or what action you're going to take about it? No, at this moment, our legal counsel is looking at what action we should be taking and no decisions that made yet. Right.
Well, so can you tell me, are you going to close down Fairchild now? Definitely. I don't know that decision. The plan is efficient, effectively closed right now. And what we're doing at is looking at whether we should reopen or not. I see. And are you aware of the charges that aim is made against Fairchild? And I just wonder if you had any comment about that where they said that you were misusing federal funds and all the rest of it as well? No, I think in that case, there's an incredible checking done on that. And they'll find that that is not the case. But we're entitled those things and through the BIA and that's part of the job contract, contract that we have and it's perfectly the way it should be. Okay, thank you, Mr. Curtis. Okay, good enough, Josh. Bye-bye. This is going to be caught too with Dave Taylor, KGMM News Director. He's talking about the Congressional Investigation he's asked for into the beating of the two KGMM Newsmen. Congressional delegation to have a look at it because, first of all, we wanted them to know what?
Well, we called upon the Congressional Investigation to have a look at it because, first of all, we wanted them to know what happened from our point of view. There are several questions involved. One is the question of the attack reporter civil rights. It's just a clean-cut question beyond that. There is an infringement of our First Amendment rights by aim, which the last I understood, did not hold ratification judgment over anyone's First Amendment right. I was at that press conference with Trudeau the other day and some of you reports are there. And they said, the Indian said that as the Newsmen were warned, plenty of times in advance, not to take pictures down there, and that's primarily the reason that they got slugged. Do you want to comment about that?
Well, Mr. Trudeau said at his news conference that my reporter was refused to turn over the film when it was requested. I don't know whether Mr. Trudeau was on the scene, but what happened was that my reporters were confronted. Virtually, as soon as they got out of the car, they had shot no more than ten feet of film, and the Indians approached them using abrasive, abusive language, and attacked them. There was no question of whether my men resisted. It was simply an attack. Taylor was then asked if he was going to investigate the charges the Indians made against Fairchild. That really is not my concern. I will let that be handled through other processes. My concern in this incident is one to make it known to aim and any other interest group that they do not hold ratification powers over the First Amendment,
to prevent an assault on a man's civil rights, such as a reporter Jim Tarazas, in this case. It's cut three George Roberts' aim-spokesman about March 13th or 14th. This is a portion of a letter which is addressed to Mars Thompson, Bureau of Indian Affairs Washington, D.C. The employment situation in the Navajo Nation is a disgrace and an indictment of the U.S. government's management of Indian Affairs. We cannot, should not, force Fairchild to reopen the plant to continue illegal subsidy payments, which liken the performance to one of Fairchild's overseas operations. Instead, the Bureau and the tribe have an unusual opportunity. Currently, there are 1700 trained assembly workers at Shiprock. The tribe owns the land, building, and fixtures. Fairchild may own some equipment, but much may have been supplied G.F.E. under Department of Defense and Government contracts. We feel that the plant should be reopened by the tribe with the government's direct assistance in providing management consultants to train Indian management personnel.
All Department of Defense or government contracts with Fairchild should be redirected to the Navajo plant immediately, thereby opening a direct economic base for plant operation. Failure to take the initiative in this urgent situation will only answer the suffering of the Navajo people. Okay, this is a true-dell press conference. It was about a day or two after the Indians left the Fairchild plant. But we have to have issues with the reporting box. We have to have objective journalism against this issue. We don't have to have a press for just to save the haven't implemented it. We can't avoid the image and the stereotype of the American Indian people. We're not talking about stereotype. We're talking about issues. We didn't go into Fairchild because we were a bunch of militants. We went into the Fairchild Corporation because the Fairchild Corporation has been exploiting its Navajo employees and the Navajo tribe in general. We can prove it.
All right? There are officials, there are people that have documents in their hands at this time that are going to take action on it. All the coverage I see on this whole thing at this point is aim gets amnesty. Well, let's clear this. Aim did not ask for him. This was never one of our issues or one of our demands. The issues were at the beginning and they remained Fairchild and the exploitation of the Navajo tribe. You need some specifics. Check into the on-the-job training contracts. Start from there. And the legality of Fairchild's little job there. And I don't need to stop with going and asking for their reply because that's not getting it either. All the time we have to defend ourselves and justify ourselves to you because you're the ones that carry the message out into the white community. Well, our intention is, you know, is that we feel that we should be respected and then maybe you will be respected. And maybe these incidents that happen out there won't be happening. It was unfortunate that the dude got his nose broken. But maybe if he would have been doing some research and analyzing of Fairchild's corrupt practices, he wouldn't have got his nose broken.
Everybody's there to take pictures of the Indians. So what we want to see is we want to see some objective journalism. And if you don't like us while we're sorry about that, you know, that's just the way light goes. Because we feel that the Indian community is entitled to as much respect as anyone else is. How many reporters have had their heads cracked open by police? And how much of you responded to that? Did you attack us from the same objective that you're attacking what happened here on the ground on the other day? You know? People keep telling us that keep trying to assure the Indian community that racism isn't the problem in this country. But two types of language, you know, and we check them both out. One is the language of rhetoric and the one of action. And we hear a lot of rhetoric about no racism. And we see a lot of actions that make that rhetoric a lie. And that whole tribal council agreed to a federal audit to getting a federal audit of all the contracts.
The Fairchild has with the federal government. We have a council agreed to bring in civil rights investigations of all employees of Fairchild. Past and present. And let me explain something to you. Fairchild was getting on the job training contract, which means that federal government will pay one half of the employee of the training salary. Fairchild keeps complaining about a high turnover of that Navajo personnel. The oddity of this is that the high turnover personnel is after Fairchild assumes full responsibility for paying the wages. After they become permanent employees, they are no longer trainees. And as these employees leave for one reason or another, incomes a new batch of trainees. Which perpetuates the cycle of on-the-job training.
Which perpetuates Fairchild's federal subsidies. Not only in that program, but in its defense department contracts and others the other way to get its training. Man, poverty, balance that. Now this maybe doesn't grab a lot of sensationalism, you know. But that's the kind of thing that was going on there. And we feel that Navajo employees, some are in area 1300 that might have a nice little story to tell about their treatment there. Fairchild runs its plan on the merit system. They get 18 points. You can lose three points for getting sick and going to see your foreman and getting an okay to take the rest of the day off. You lose points just for getting sick. Getting them go to the bathroom without asking permission. If you take authorized lead without pain, you lose points. Now you run it. You run it into that kind of a little set up.
Tells two things. One is not very respectful of the employee's rights. Fairchild was also found guilty of interviewing and interfering in union elections. Fairchild management. So we feel a lot of people, you know, maybe they deserve some answers to Fairchild. And that's what the issue was when our people went in there. That's what the issue remained when our people come out. And that's what the issue will stay. We will now be sidetracked by shots of by by rumors reports of shots of random violence. And aim was going to do this and aim was going to do that. And we're just we're just letting you know we're a little tired of the name called. It's time, you know, that maybe some people start understanding that Indians are going to treat people the way that they are treated. And maybe people can relate to that. I don't know, you know, they seem to have an easy time manipulating people's thoughts. Yes?
You say you don't need to press, but it was your people that called the press after you took over the plant. You invited the press to come up there and they came forward and said, answered any question, any of our questions that were asked voluntarily. Then all of a sudden two guys were attacked. Yeah, it's just exactly how it happened to him. I mean, tell you something, working with people that working with existing agencies, all right, is a reality. You look at the reality of America that press is an existing agency. They know to find, don't try to tell you why we were in there. All right? And if that's objectible to the press, then we won't do it anymore. But then after the press fulfilled your purposes. No, the press didn't fulfill our purpose. The press came in and said that we were there. And then the press came and started asking questions. What do you think about Peter McDonald, blah, blah, blah? The press didn't come in and start asking and checking in to the fair child.
Well, the local press did not. Well, it did not. Some of the national press may have a crew and he hit into this kind of a thing. But I don't even know how well they picked up on it. And I don't really care. You see, because it's what the Indian community understands. It's what the Indian community knows. And when you guys come out there and put the distortions out, it affects them also. So from that concept, my personal feelings is national chairman of the American Indian Movement. All right? I'll put it that way. All right, that the press are not God's. They should be treated like people just like the people should be treated. All right? And we won't call you. Leave your name or station or whatever. And we'll make it a point never to get in touch with you. Do you can go and what happened up there? I don't condone a lot of things, but I can't change it. I don't condone poverty. And I don't condone people ripping off land through illegal trees. Do you? One thing one of your people said they were attacked because they didn't ask permission of aim to shoot film.
That's rumored here, Steve. That's not rumored here, Steve. Bring me the person excited. I can bring you the report as I said. I want the person told him that. I can bring it to you tonight. I want the person that told him that. Let's play court. Oh, I don't know how we have that. No, this person says that land. This is how we have to answer the rumor here. So you ever been in court? You ever been on trial? Well, we are. We're always on trial. This is what this went up for. We're totally recording. I think those pictures were inside the plant outside the plant. People generally touch you because they use the same pictures against them in court. You guys do it. Let me explain it this way. I don't. You're trying to make us justify one little incident. No, let's look at the whole situation. Tensions run high. How many different rumors did you hear going on? How many different stories did you hear about what was happening? So sometimes, tensions get a little high.
Unfortunately, things do happen. And it happens to both sides. We can't fix those. You know, you can't change what's been done. Get any way from feeding up a couple of reporters. Rock, rock, and everything was aimed due to objectives and cheating. We feel that they were. Because let's look, but we started out with nothing. What we ended up with is at least negotiations are going to take place for the 140, 000,000 employees to get fired. And at least now, attempts are being made to get federal audits. So to show the people how these corporations operate on their reservations. So that the people can understand what's going on. Those objectives were met. And one thing that there were no fair child employees. Current employees involved in the people with that plant whatsoever. And the reason for that is reprisals.
And the simple is that these people did not do what we can to help because they're doing what they can. They supported. And it was always a lot of a questionable doubt about the amount of support that we had there. And I think if anyone would have really taken the time and went to the chapter meetings and listened and tried to understand what was going on, they would have found that we had a lot of support. We had more support than anybody else did. Would the takeover ever have been necessary for that of them to try to take advantage of what they should have been? Sometimes tribal councils are caught in this bind. They handle all the business of the tribe. Sometimes there's not enough council members to really get into the understanding every detail of it. You see what I'd say that the number one blame goes there. I'd say tribal council wasn't watching them. They were a weak net in their duty in watching them.
You know, being watched off. The BIA is the one that I think should have accepted a little bit of responsibility here because they were the ones who tracks and got the money. What do they do? I mean, I mean, I think it was supposed to be the helpers, you know, while they're letting all things like this slide through. When these negotiations on the contracts directly and only exclusively would take advantage of. Right. The tribal council know they would ever have. When we think of a name, they would think of the name of the council. See, I read a lot of names, you know, right? Some of them I don't fully know because I'm not. You mean under that, which you found? Yeah, on the documents that I found. But there's a man of all that who works with to try the agency. I don't remember a mark, I think it's his name. I don't know if he's with the council, but the BIA, all right, but he's with the bureau. There's a man by the name of Daniel McDonald. He's with interior of the bureau. I think he's in the seat. I think how they know. Do you think we should go to the agency that they're passionate about the agency?
Yes. They should be able to be involved. They should know all the documents. I mean, you know, all right, maybe not documents, but they should know the workings of all the contracts. They should know all of them. I mean, understand what the program is about if they're going to represent their people. And then they won't be manipulating into a position of having to fight against us on an issue. They know that we're right. Because that happens. Is this information kept from the tribe? I imagine it's a tribe while the tribe can get it. I don't know. You know, it's like public information act about one of the Indian people from the Navajo community want to go up and find out about it. And then when I'm asked for people to get run around by getting rid of public information that they would be entitled to. So it's the same kind of thing that you have. John, in regards to obtaining information, say that is available to your everyday ordinary community, which is available to say like these people.
Yes. They're just going to tell them, you know, they're just going to come around. They're telling you people, well, we don't have that here. We have to go such and such a place to get it. And after that, ordinarily, I have to, someone at six information after the second or third, second or third, turn down their own facility further. But the law complies with every way. That the law complies with every last has to give you the information. There's a lot of injection and rumors that the fair child will use this takeover. Now it's a good excuse to close their plant down. Will you accept any of the responsibility for the remaining Indian workers that were there? There's their jobs. If they do that close their plant down? Well, I don't see how we can accept responsibility. The fire of people when we're not considered the fire. Well, it's not about, you know, they'll close the plant down.
About them closing the plant down. I think that this is what we're talking about. Those are on the job training contracts. We saw written verbal threats to reduce the employee of the employment force in ship rock. If the money's didn't keep coming in on those contracts, when the legality of it was brought up by that McDonald's in Washington. We have seen in the documents how they keep comparing the cost of this ship rock operation to its offshore plants overseas, specifically the Korean plant. In their documents, they said that the Korean plant operated much cheaper than this, and they used this as a wedge in contract negotiations when they're on the job training contracts. Fair child has approximately a half a dozen little outlets in the United States. Not one time did they ever compare the ship rock to its domestic outlets. The show that ship rock could operate at a cheaper rate. They came in January 15th. This year, a member of Memo sent out through their things here. Evaluating their soonest possible option to terminate leases without penalties.
And they had written documents they had. They were telling the bureau that Mountain View Management at Mountain View, California was making decisions. This was in my last June that management was making decisions that were going to affect the entire ship rock situation. This is about the same time Fair child that had the higher federal minimum wage work law, and that they were notified with information that the on-the-job training contracts are going to have to be stopped. That they could no longer justify Fair child getting it, and that word came out, it would be embarrassing both to the company, to the bureau, to their own words. So the plant was going to become a much more expensive operation for Fair child, so they were going to leave. We're sure of it. Because in their lease, they have the option as to what they want to stay or go. It comes up every two years. Now if they intended to stick around and really helped them out, to try and into development, why would they write that into their lease clause?
Why would they ask to try and to build the building if they really intended to stay to make a working program out of it, what they're just coming for the ride to see how it works. Everything leads up to something, and it leads up to the fact that Fair child is getting ready to dump this reservation. What about some of the other big employers on the reservation? These good power plants, so on. The huge guys are checking them to them. There's anybody checking them to them that are going to impact them. Yeah, there's some more being done on that. I don't remember the name specifically one of them. I don't remember which name because of the power plants. Because there's tools in here, right? Well, anyway, it works being done on that, checking that out. It's all the same. We don't know what's going to happen. We just check things out. It's how it responds.
It's like we're talking. People get down because you've got to take to the street some time. But what else do you do when you go and you work with the system? People are just, you find that the agencies are shutting the doors in the face and the press is living quite an image, you know, that the net with butt line had created with his dime dollars. And the image has just changed clothes. And all Indians don't wear a war paint anymore. It's just now the image has changed clothes. We dress like militants, but it's the same concept. So everybody keeps shutting doors in our face. You know, we're just talking about some little, little thing called justice. Personally, I don't have to think anybody in America anymore is getting into justice. Speaking for the anymore organization, we know we're entitled to it. Are you concerned with the possibility that because of this reason incident and the corporations might be the plary to set up the plant?
I'm not done. I don't try to see it from the corporation's point of view. All right. So I don't have a thought about that. But let me put it this way. This is what I'm concerned about. All right. I'm concerned about corporations coming in into reservations and exploiting the land and being disrespectful and exploiting the people. And sometimes you know maybe we're going to have to sit down and evaluate. Is it worth it to get a few people through jobs? Is this going to reflect on the credibility of the whole malleable nation? Got to think about these things. No use of prosecuting new people, you know, just to get a job. If it needs, you're going to get any human respect. There isn't a job in America that's worth that. Cost of people or an individual that respect. No way. That's what we're concerned about. You know, but corporations might think, well, that's, you know, that's their the way they are. We're the way we are.
And we've got a right to exist here just as much as anybody else. And we've got a right to exist under good terms. Considering that this land belongs to some people a long time ago, we're not being treated like animals. When you mentioned that a fair child was found guilty about the National Labor Relations Board. It happened within the last six months, right? It was just a little side thing. We come across. You know, on a strange thing, they weren't planning to lead, all right? We come across and then we'll ship our plant progress report. A fair child, semi-conductor company, private. And it's a monthly progress report.
And in June, Shiprock said that we're going to have to keep an eye on AIM, the American Indian movement. The DNA and US Commission on Civil Rights. Regarding the termination policies of the recent termination policies. And anyway, this is a corporate mumble jumble about movement of indirects to directs. And special types, special type jobs, to bonding, etc. You see now, if this 140 that just got laid off was due to the recession. This recession that they laid them off for, amen. Everybody was talking about it. Everything was going to be wonderful last June. The government was putting out a story that the recession was avoidable. Nixon was the problem last June. The recession wasn't. So how come Fairchild's laying out some plans here to get rid of some people? How come they knew about the recession?
That's why we think that they're ready to pull out. Free ride, you know? Fairchild is a subsidiary of the Polaroid Company. They have questionable job hiring practices and they have questionable ways of treating people in the Union South Africa. Now, I'm not going to call them racist, but I will say that maybe they have found it is quite profitable to exploit people when people and these people have no rights. And they do it for the rationalization of, to maximize profit potential. Very nicely internal rhetoric they have. Give us a break and get off our case and check out Fairchild for a while. We haven't done anything wrong. In coin throughout Indian country, you find the so-called Fairchild set up the same as on other Indian reservations.
From what I've been on the whole set up in so far as businesses and businesses are in, you find that common throughout Indian country. That seems to be the story. See, at one point, the tribes, the tribal councils got blamed for it. But we must remember about tribal councils. There's this organization called the Bureau of Indian Affairs that does all the paperwork. The councils are the fall guides. They're out in front, you know? They get them the only time anybody listening to a council member is when they're going to have a conference somewhere. They'll fly in and pay a little bit of attention on a sending home in order to leave again. And that's about basically how it goes. And I'm not saying that the council members aren't conscientious, hardworking people, but the Bureau just withholds certain facts from them. Council members, your average council members come from the people in the beginning. I don't know if some of them don't always stay there, but they come from the people.
They don't have a working relationship with knowledge as a law and little bit of fine print handwriting on contracts. They go, they rely on what the Bureau tells them. And sure it happens, it happens all over this country. You know, I mean, you know, one part of the country, the corporate philosophy, you know, it's one. No matter what the names of the corporations are, it's one. Maximize, profit, potential. You know, you do a little thinking about it. They talk about the economy and the gas and the oil shortage. You guys are all involved in the news. How many of you know how much profit, uh, exonomy or golf or standard oil of California, how much money did they make last year? They sell oil and there was an oil shortage. They've had some of them made 200 more percent profit than they made the year before. It happens to you too, you know, just because we're Indians don't mean it just happens to us, but it happens to everybody.
But you see, we know that you, you in general, you won't do anything about it when it happens to us. Because I heard an editorial on the station last night about the press was always there at the first to bring out the cause for the Indians. It's right, the press was always there. And they were always describing us the same way. This is what really, you know, I think kind of sets him tempers off here. Everywhere the press comes in, always five years ago, they were saying, uh, what do you think about this other Indian over here? And they were saying justify your relative action. And then when we would get, get around attempting to justify our action, they'd already set themselves up on the rest of the garbage. That's the problem we've had. That you take any violent measures that you do take further that view.
Hey, I don't take no violent measures. Well, damn sure happened myself. No, you wait just a minute now. I'll protect myself. Yes. And sometimes, you know, think of it this way. I'm impressed people want to wander around inside a camp of Indians. There's a lot of Indians here, maybe they don't want their picture taken. And maybe they got a lot of reasons for it. Maybe they don't believe in it. You know, maybe it's religious, maybe it's got some other social connotation. And maybe, uh, maybe that should be respected. The press has rights. That's right. But so do the people. I don't think in the case of these reporters that got beat up. I don't think they got a chance. Let me tell you about getting beat up, getting beat up, getting your ass kicked, man. That means getting worked over and clubbed and gassed. It means having three or four goons jump on you at once. That's getting beat up. Somebody that found him offensive hit him in the nose.
The only thing that that shows is the man that hit him in the nose is very strong. That's all that it showed. He didn't get beat up. We know about beating up. Whatever you choose to call him. He got hit. It was unfortunate. Well, that's what I'm trying to point out. He wasn't given the chance to respect somebody's view. He was told. I know he was told. They asked him to give him a film. That's right. And if you want him, you know, he didn't give the film first. He tried to resist. No, they tried to get the camera to break it, and he was going to give him a film. I got my information. Well, anyway, see, everybody's got their information. Well, that's not the point. It was unfortunate. Right. Well, that's not the way it wasn't. All right. There. There. That was there. Oh, you was there.
You wanted to report it? You didn't get beat up. I don't know. Because when we had talked to you, it seemed like you would be the first target that was out to beat people up. Because I'm talking about attitudes. I can talk to you. You want to talk? You seem to be wanting to nitpick things here. Hey, I'm sorry. There you go. No, that's right. There's one other room that ought to be squelts. They talked about an exchange of gunfire. Aim, high tail, but over the fence. It was one shot fired in this exchange of gunfire. It was a cross-defense. It wasn't even inside the factory. It was an arm that went off accident that we found out this. Now the police didn't know what happened. So they took off. Because if something happened, they were sitting ducks. I mean, yeah, I don't blame them. Okay. So there was one shot fired off. And all of a sudden, we hear that we high tail it out of there. We stayed. Until we found out what happened. When it was all over, we left. Let me ask you one question. It doesn't concern anything.
It happened. So what's your opinion of the BIA and the way they handle this? I think the BIA tried to sit back. They didn't want to get involved in a strange thing about the BIA. All right. All so-called militant activities and connotations, Alcatraz. The BIA took no position. Gordon and the brass could be I. He took no position. All right. Wounded knee. BIA did not take any position. I mean, they took one in their actions. They took a military offensive position with their actions. Propriation contracts were dealt with defense, but already in place up there in South Dakota. All right. But that was no one, no reaction out front. The people are going to see that they're going to expound on anything. The only time we got a reaction from the BIA was when we went in and were stayed in the BIA for about a week. Then they took a position. But in the other hand, Dakota. No, this was enough. This was in Nixon's election. Nixon won by the largest landslide ever.
I'm sorry. So then they had to take a position. This is why I also, I don't think they're guilty. Because they're involved. Every confrontation ever took place. The BIA was involved. And they stayed quiet as they came. Quiet as a mouse. See, if these kind of things were looked at, and at least analyzed, you know, then I think there would be a better working relationship amongst everybody. Was there any action taken from BIA to the takeover where you might say you brought these effects up there to McDonald or was there any type of... In other words, did you try to get an investigation of this thing before the takeover or did you decide this would be the best way to bring it out? I'll put it this way. McDonald knew about this reduction in client force. I know he knew for quite some time, all right? And when 140 were laid off, all right? And no action was taken, you know. You can tell which way everybody's heads out.
That they just don't care. What's going to happen now with the whole plant thing? I don't know why it seems to me. Well, I'm reopening that plant. But what I'm getting, all right, so in practical terms, the plant could be operating by the end of the week at the very latest. All right? That's for them taking them to work. Not to replace anything because nothing was taken. I put them to take inventory, and that plant can be operating this week if Fairchild sold chose to do. And how come if Fairchild plans on sticking around and treating the people just? How come they made this massive a decision that affects their whole operating plant and affects their whole corporation structure? They didn't just make that decision to close this plant down in a week. They have been making that decision for a long time because they wouldn't close it down the way they did and shut it off indefinitely. If they didn't know what the immediate consequences were going to be, because that's called corporate management.
You see, so the employees at this point are Fairchild responsibility, because if Fairchild had been treating them fairly in the first place and had been honoring the law in the first place, they would have been no incident. Couldn't have tried themselves. Pick up Fairchild if they violated their dream. See, I didn't, I didn't better tack than that. Better than kicking Fairchild. I couldn't figure. No, yeah, I imagine they could. But better than that, Doc. It's happens off any problems either. You know, it just changes in the immediate situation. But other than that, they could hold Fairchild to its 40-year lease. And it could manage me to that company, because it could become more tribal-oriented. Well, if there's that one to five months, I don't know what the tribe wants. I'm just saying that that's something that could have done. I'm just saying that that's something that could have done. You were there to help the tribe. See, what the tribe wants at this point, they want their jobs back. The workers want their jobs. They're not working conditions.
That's right. That's right. I had no better treatment, better all around. I'd say, wouldn't that be a part of it? Well, I think that's what the tribe wants. That's right. Yes, I'm a strategic question, but I think that's what the tribe wants. I think the tribe wants Fairchild to honor that lease. And I think they only want to keep her, Charlie. Sure they do. Why would they have made the barbons to bring them in? Why would they have built the building for them, and gave them the most attractive lease anybody's going to ever get? Well, that's a climate practice in small towns to bring in a company to give them certain... Well, let's relate it in dollars and cents. Let's relate it in dollars and cents. I know the word structure would love that. Now, let's look at it in dollars and cents. All right. Why would the tribe want Fairchild's lease? They've got too much money invested in Fairchild. Through loans at the tribe, loans that the tribe got to build these buildings. All right? So tribe would want to leave for that. You know, those lease payments, that's what's going to be loaned at. All right, from that end of it.
And then you look at the money that the Indian community in general has invested in it. Through the on-the-job training, you kind of contract federal grants that lead. They've got 10 years worth of it invested in training Navajo employees, and it tells you that training is an annual job. What I'm saying is... So I would imagine that the tribe wants them to stay. The people want justice, man. They want their treatment. What the tribe, it's official position is I couldn't even begin to tell them. As far as Ames and Obama and the situation at Fairchild goes, are you done with it? Or are you going to continue? Well, Zia was aimed at, uh... I don't know, you'd have to speak with Larry Anderson about that. Larry's local, all right? And he's the one that's involved in that. You know, he knows all of it. So that's up to, you know, however he, whatever his decision is. That's what Larry is a national officer. It's not outside influence.
What it is, it just helped. But it was brought about by the Navajo people, so we heard that all this outside influence coming, and it wasn't. Tell you about outsiders. Here. The biggest outside influence trip happened 500 years ago. You know, that's when it happened. Is there anything other than anything that's not? Just people trying to get together. We don't allow, we don't like outside influence even. Good morning, everybody else. So I guess that's about it now. But I'm with a crypt on any farm. It's still in their nice savings queue. What's that? No. We're trying to make sure nothing would happen to you. You know, we tell you that. That's scary. There is a lid. Nobody is dealing here. No. We weren't buying it if they did. There we go. Let me tell you about that. Oh, you know, and it's something here. I think that on a level of crypt on any farm situation, that's a radioactive gas.
It's very dangerous to you, all right? Because I mean, it don't explode on your, blow you up or anything, but it gets into the air and people breathe. It causes leukemia. You know, all right, now that the real issue to be raised on that, you see, they have 200 curies of that stuff there. Now, did the council know that that kind of radioactivity was said right through on the reservation? Did the community shiprock know about that? Because if they brought radioactivity equipment like that into a middle-class community, they would know about it. Because it's in awe, because they would have a save, and they would be either or not. What about your convention engine? Oh, that's right on. Is this essentially going to have any effect on it? On your wing allowed to have it in farming. Yeah, we're going to have it in farming. Now, I can't say what kind of effect it will have on our people. You know, I'm being on the farm activity. But on the farm issue, it will allow it. On the farming can officials? Yeah, I think they probably have some effect on them.
You know, this little incident going on on the reservation, they mobilized their state police in farming to, you know, kind of looks like they're trying to get ready to agitate. Everybody else press. Everybody was here. It was a tribal matter, you know. You're just farming can army up. Yeah, that's it. Getting ready to attack. Yeah, their newspapers were saying it was a tribal matter. That was one of the room options going around to the wasn't really a rumor that we were ready to move in, but we felt it's gone. It's very impactable. But if that situation would have happened, we would rather have fucked them than never. Yes, anyway. We didn't want to fight the Netherlands. But we would have defended ourselves in this way we could. Thank you all for coming.
- Producing Organization
- KUNM
- Contributing Organization
- WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-207-483j9qpk
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- Description
- Raw Footage Description
- Compilation of raw footage of interviews with various parties involved in, or affected by the American Indian Movement's take over of the Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation on the Navajo Nation. They were protesting the layoff and treatment of Navajo workers.
- Created Date
- 1975-06-18
- Asset type
- Raw Footage
- Genres
- Unedited
- News Report
- Topics
- News
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:44:58.032
- Credits
-
-
Producing Organization: KUNM
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WGBH
Identifier: cpb-aacip-3c11202440f (Filename)
Format: Betacam
Generation: Original
Duration: 01:00:00
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- Citations
- Chicago: “ Compilation of Raw Footage for Report on American Indian Movement take over of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation on Navajo Nation. ,” 1975-06-18, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed April 26, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-207-483j9qpk.
- MLA: “ Compilation of Raw Footage for Report on American Indian Movement take over of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation on Navajo Nation. .” 1975-06-18. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. April 26, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-207-483j9qpk>.
- APA: Compilation of Raw Footage for Report on American Indian Movement take over of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation on Navajo Nation. . Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-207-483j9qpk