Menominee

<v Host>In 1953, the federal government began a new Indian policy, <v Host>termination. The Menominee Indians of Wisconsin were the first to lose <v Host>almost all of their tribal rights and privileges. <v Host>But the Menominee people would take up the challenge to save their tribe, their <v Host>heritage and their land. [music] <v Host>A long time ago, when we used to go to the councils, the general councils, <v Host>when any time they talked about the land, the old people always asked. <v Host>'What's in it for our young people?

<v Host>What is our young people going to do? <v Host>Where are they going to go if we sell this land?' A white man <v Host>always wanted- wanted this Menominee land. <v Host>One time they said the Menomenees had too much land. <v Host>And the old fellow said, 'We don't have too much land. <v Host>That's all we got.' Save your land, <v Host>don't sell it, because this is all you got. <v Host>Well, that's just a little bit I want to tell you about all this land here <v Host>that you're enjoying right now. <v Host>A long time ago, Nicolet was the first white man that came <v Host>here when he passed through. <v Host>He discovered the Menominee Indians and I think that in 1634. <v Host>[sound of gunfire] <v Host>John Nicolet, dressed like a Chinese Mandarin, leaped to shore with a flourish <v Host>of pistol fire. He'd canoed over 2,000 miles through the Great Lakes <v Host>to find a trade route to the Indies.

<v Host>Now he stood ready to meet the rulers of the Orient. <v Host>To his chagrin, and the shock of those unsure, Nicolet came face to <v Host>face with the natives of northeastern Wisconsin. <v Host>This was the land of the Menominees. <v Host>For centuries they'd lived in villages, moving with the changing seasons. <v Host>To hunt, to fish, to harvest the wild rice from their lakes and rivers. <v Host>Nicolet's encounter with the Menominees was brief. <v Host>He was soon off again in search of China, but this meeting marked <v Host>the beginning of a cultural encounter that would challenge the entire lifestyle <v Host>of the Menominee Indians. <v Host>The first French came to explore. <v Host>The second wave came to exploit. <v Host>French trappers pushed inland, shipping fur pelts back to the European fashion <v Host>market. A period of intense trading began. <v Host>In exchange for pelts, the Menomenees received beads, pots, <v Host>tools, weapons. Traditional skills fell before the ready-made, ready-to-use

<v Host>trade goods. The rifle would soon replace the bow. <v Host>And like other tribes, many Menominees left their villages to settle closer to <v Host>the forts, closer to their supply of trade goods. <v Host>Within two generations, the Indian culture had changed dramatically from <v Host>a subsistence life of hunting and gathering to a fur trading economy. <v Host>But the fur industry began to decline and with it the supply of trade <v Host>goods. The Menominee tribe, now dependent on the fur trade, <v Host>faced a bleak future. <v Host>Then, in 1794, the United States government claimed possession <v Host>of the Menominee land and by the turn of the century, settlement began <v Host>in the years between 1830 and 1850. <v Host>The white population of the newly organized territory of Wisconsin exploded from 4,000 <v Host>to over 300,000. <v Host>The homeland of the Menominees became the land of promise for homeless immigrants.

<v Host>The country was cleared, fenced and claimed in the name of individual <v Host>landownership. In the first half of the 19th century, the U.S. <v Host>government pressured the Menominees into 4 major land sessions. <v Speaker>How much land did the Menominees own when the <v Speaker>white man first discovered him? <v Speaker>He owned 9 million acres. <v Speaker>You know, 9 million acres of Menominee's own. <v Speaker>Now, how much do we have? <v Speaker>Round 230,000 acres we have. <v Speaker>They sold all- I think- I forgot how many thousands of acres <v Speaker>they sold the U.S. <v Speaker>government and they sold it for 6 cents an acre. <v Speaker>Finally, they sold most of their reservation for 17 <v Speaker>cents an acre. <v Speaker>The Menominees were a little nation, and they couldn't argue with the- <v Speaker>what the U.S. government because they'd wipe them out.

<v Host>The American Indian had lost power. <v Host>Now he would lose his land. <v Host>The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was designed to force all tribes <v Host>west of the Mississippi. <v Host>The Menominees were slated for resettlement in Minnesota. <v Host>Chief Reginald Oshkosh carried their plea to Washington. <v Host>His people, he said, had already suffered so much they had harmed no <v Host>one. And all they wanted was to be left in peace. <v Host>In 1858, the final treaty was signed. <v Host>The 2,000 remaining Menominees would take up a sedentary reservation life <v Host>on a small, isolated fragment of their ancestral homeland. <v Host>But the Menominees were not isolated from a new government policy to Americanize <v Host>the Indian and put him on a sound economic base, farming. <v Host>Thousands of settlers were successful as farmers. <v Host>The Menominees could certainly learn.

<v Host>Every treaty contained provisions for the teaching of farming. <v Host>And every effort was made by the Indian and the Indian agents to <v Host>bring about the success of this great cultural experiment. <v Host>Even in the Menominee Indian Fair was organized to stimulate farming through <v Host>competition in the annual exhibits. <v Host>But Menominee farming declined and the fair became largely a carnival. <v Host>[music] <v Host>The experiment designed in Washington was a failure.

<v Host>By 1863, economic conditions were tragic. <v Host>That year, the commissioner of Indian affairs pictured the plight of the Menominees as <v Host>one of abject misery and almost hopeless poverty. <v Host>The land was worthless for farming. <v Host>A forest of pine and hardwood stood against the Menominee farmer. <v Host>But from these same dense woods, the Menominees were to find their future. <v Host>A rapidly growing country needed lumber for homes for cities. <v Host>In 1872, a tribal lumber camp was organized and the harvest of pine <v Host>began. Where farming had failed, logging succeeded. <v Host>The tribal economy began to stabilize and the future looked good. <v Host>But on the horizon came another threat to the Menominees. <v Host>Powerful lumber barons pressured the tribe to sell their land. <v Host>Chief Neopit expressed the opinion of his people. <v Host>'We accepted our present reservation when it was considered of no value by our white <v Host>friends, and all we ask is to be permitted to keep it as a home.'

<v Host>After years of bitter struggle with the lumber barons, the Menominee succeeded in <v Host>developing their own logging industry. <v Host>And by 1905, the Menominee log fund in the US Treasury <v Host>amounted to more than 2 million dollars. <v Host>Three years later, they built their own sawmill. <v Host>It became a major source of income and employment for the Menominee people. <v Host>The mill was managed by the Indian bureau, but not very well. <v Host>The situation deteriorated until 1934, when a mismanagement <v Host>suit was filed against the federal government. <v Host>The court decision finally came 17 years later. <v Sylvia Wilbur>In 1951, the Menominee tribe won a judgment from <v Sylvia Wilbur>the federal government in which we were awarded 8.5 Million dollars, <v Sylvia Wilbur>which swelled our tribal treasury to 10 million dollars. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Our forests were valued at 36 million dollars. <v Sylvia Wilbur>So as a tribe, we were rich. <v Sylvia Wilbur>But individually the Menominees were poor in that we

<v Sylvia Wilbur>were far below any normal norms <v Sylvia Wilbur>which are comparable to outside of- the- <v Sylvia Wilbur>in the white society, so to speak. <v Host>In 1953, to relieve individual poverty, the tribe requested <v Host>from its own funds per capita payments of 15000 dollars. <v Host>The government responded that payment would be granted if the tribe consented <v Host>to termination of federal responsibility on the reservation. <v Host>The Menominee General Council voted in favor of the poorly understood principle <v Host>of termination. But when the implications of termination were understood, <v Host>the council reversed its decision. <v Host>The immediate effect of termination would be the loss of most of the Menominees <v Host>100 year old treaty rights, rights which had been paid for by the cession of millions <v Host>of acres of Menominee land to the federal government. <v Host>The ancient system of tribal land ownership would no longer be valid.

<v Host>Individual Menominees would be forced to buy back title to their own home sites. <v Host>Both individuals and the tribal corporation would lose the right of tax <v Host>exemption. The Board of Indian Affairs would end its health, education <v Host>and utility services, and the tribal roles would be closed. <v Host>Children born to Menominees after termination would be legally deprived <v Host>of their birthright as Menominee Indians. <v Host>They would inherit only their parents portion of the Menominee assets. <v Host>Hunting and fishing rights would be the only treaty rights allowed by the government <v Host>after termination. <v Host>In 1954, the Menominee Termination Act was signed <v Host>and after many unsuccessful attempts to halt termination in 1961, <v Host>the Menominee Indian Reservation became the smallest and poorest county <v Host>in Wisconsin. <v Sylvia Wilbur>At the time of termination, the Menominee tribe was

<v Sylvia Wilbur>one of the 4 most prosperous Indian tribes in the nation. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We were self-sustaining. We had to rely on the <v Sylvia Wilbur>federal government very little for any money to <v Sylvia Wilbur>conduct our tribal affairs. We had our hospital and we had the school. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Uh, we paid for our own services. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Termination created a complete different <v Sylvia Wilbur>situation- uh, county corporate structure, which was quite foreign to <v Sylvia Wilbur>the Menominee people. We then were faced with taxes since our tax <v Sylvia Wilbur>exemption was taken from us. <v Sylvia Wilbur>So the economic situation resulting from termination what <v Sylvia Wilbur>caused extreme economic problems for the Menominee tribe. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We were forced to close the hospital because it did not meet state <v Sylvia Wilbur>standards. We lost the schools <v Sylvia Wilbur>and had to become a part of the Shawano District 8 schools.

<v Sylvia Wilbur>But at the time of termination then, each Menominee received a <v Sylvia Wilbur>1,500 dollar per capita payment and also <v Sylvia Wilbur>100 shares in the tribal cooperation. <v Sylvia Wilbur>But the 1,500 dollars just lasted very <v Sylvia Wilbur>little because of the poor situation that the Menominees were in individually. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Their homes were in bad need of repairs and so much of this was used <v Sylvia Wilbur>up immediately. <v Sylvia Wilbur>And then they were faced with the taxes and the insurances and <v Sylvia Wilbur>the school costs and all the other costs <v Sylvia Wilbur>that we're facing, any other person. <v Host>Termination proved to be an economic and a social disaster. <v Host>The Menominees were confused, angry and afraid. <v Host>Many traditions had passed away, like the belief that the spirit comes <v Host>and goes through the opening on the old ceder graves.

<v Host>In the face of eroding conditions, they fought for their economic life and <v Host>their tribal birthright. <v Host>The Menominee tribe would not die, not by a simple law. <v Host>Menominee Pride would be handed down as long as the old would talk, and <v Host>the young would listen. <v Speaker>We find ourselves at the place where the Great Spirit has brought <v Speaker>us, at the crossroads of life. <v Speaker>Like the situation we Indian people find ourselves losing our sacred <v Speaker>land, losing our heritage, our culture and everything. <v Speaker>Uphold the culture and the heritage and the traditions <v Speaker>of our Indian people. Many of you, I believe you <v Speaker>young people have heard of the vanishing American. <v Speaker>We are not vanishing. The Indian will never vanish. <v Speaker>In fact, the Indian is rising in power. <v Speaker>And I know, the day is coming when the Indian

<v Speaker>is going to come into full power. <v Speaker>He's going to rise up and take up where our forefathers <v Speaker>left off. What they expected this generation to accomplish, <v Speaker>we couldn't accomplish it. <v Speaker>We're getting to old. We're getting to that place where we're getting at the end of the <v Speaker>trail. Now it's up to you young people to take up the way, <v Speaker>the Indian belief that he believed that everything that we see, these trees <v Speaker>they were sacred to him, even the grasses, even the flowers, the weeds, <v Speaker>everything. It's got life, it's alive. <v Speaker>We should be proud that we're Indian. We should not try to marr that Indian figure.

<v Speaker>We should not try to spoil what God has given to each one of us. <v Speaker>No, but we should uphold that and protect the Indian image that <v Speaker>the world might see that we're- they're equal. <v Speaker>I've heard people make this statement. <v Speaker>'Well, I'm a minority. I don't-Nobody will listen to me.' No. <v Speaker>We should just stick our chest out and say, look at me, I'm an Indian. <v Speaker>I'm just as good as you are. Give me a chance to say my piece. <v Host>But for a young Menominee, Indian pride was not easily learned. <v Host>For a long time, the school system did little to encourage the teaching of Menominee <v Host>traditions. Ted Boyd, now vice president of Menominee Enterprises, <v Host>remembers that system. <v Ted Boyd>Well, I think both of these school systems were white oriented <v Ted Boyd>type of, uh school systems. They effectively stripped us <v Ted Boyd>of our culture. <v Ted Boyd>Uh, in the case of the parochial schools,

<v Ted Boyd>it was kind of verboten to display anything <v Ted Boyd>that exhibited or, uh, reflected Indian-ness. <v Ted Boyd>It was more of a process of trying to assimilate the <v Ted Boyd>Indian into the white society. <v Ted Boyd>The same thing continued at the high school level. <v Ted Boyd>I think, though, it was more about, uh, <v Ted Boyd>mental hassle for the student. <v Ted Boyd>And I can say in my particular case that I had a real <v Ted Boyd>problem adjusting to the school system in Shawano and that it was even less <v Ted Boyd>suited for the needs of the Indian. <v Ted Boyd>And it simply did not seem to adjust or want <v Ted Boyd>to adjust to the needs and desires of the Indian. <v Ted Boyd>The Indian was thrown into a situation that he didn't understand. <v Ted Boyd>And he was expected to compete with students who were

<v Ted Boyd>brought up in a different type of school system and were used to the <v Ted Boyd>competition type. <v Host>Glenn Miller, a recent graduate of the school system, still sees problems. <v Glenn Miller>Like, um, the first thing that hit me in there <v Glenn Miller>was I couldn't, um, adjust to the work. <v Glenn Miller>It was kind of a rush thing. <v Glenn Miller>I wasn't used to working at a fast pace. <v Glenn Miller>I had to have my assignments on in a certain time and then plus some <v Glenn Miller>I always got the burden of being on because I'd fall behind. <v Glenn Miller>I'd have an extra amount of homework to do. <v Glenn Miller>tI couldn't catch up. <v Ted Boyd>The direct result was underperformance, demoralization, a feeling of <v Ted Boyd>inferiority. This is- there's no question- this is a direct result of it. <v Host>After termination most Menominee children attended elementary <v Host>schools within Menominee County, schools in which the vast majority of students <v Host>were Indian. But at a vulnerable age when values and methods of dealing

<v Host>with the world and itself are already in a state of flux. <v Host>The Menominee student was bussed out of the county. <v Host>In the Shawano high school, he suddenly became a member of the Indian minority. <v Host>The culture shock was evident in the high rate of Menominee failure, suspension, <v Host>and expulsion. And many Menominee students and parents believe that <v Host>the Shawano school district was doing very little to help the situation. <v Host>Resentment grew, and in 1972, charges of discrimination were <v Host>filed. The Department of Health, Education and Welfare found the <v Host>district in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. <v Host>Everett Jensen is principal of the Lincoln Elementary School and member of the Shawano <v Host>District Committee to respond to the HEW findings. <v Everett Jensen>Well, I think, uh, the things <v Everett Jensen>that we're concerned about and the problems that we have today, we're already in <v Everett Jensen>existence. They've been with us for a long time.

<v Everett Jensen>As a result of the HEW investigation, there were two possible ways we <v Everett Jensen>could go. One would be to fight these allegations in court, and the <v Everett Jensen>other one would be to try to have someone come in and tell us what <v Everett Jensen>was wrong with our system, what we could do. <v Everett Jensen>A lawsuit would be very expensive, and many times they haven't settled anything either. <v Everett Jensen>Eventually somebody wins or somebody loses. <v Everett Jensen>But you really haven't solved the key problem. <v Everett Jensen>So our idea in District 8 was to try <v Everett Jensen>to find out and get a team in here and find out what the problems <v Everett Jensen>were, what it is that we could do about these problems. <v Everett Jensen>And we hoped that way that we maybe would have a better educational system for the <v Everett Jensen>Native American Indians attending our school. <v Host>In the summer of 1973, 35 teachers, principals <v Host>and staff members participated in a pilot program to study Menominee Culture. <v Host>Videotapes were made for use with other district date personnel.

<v Everett Jensen>During the summer, our involvement was more or less not to learn <v Everett Jensen>about minorities from a textbook, but actually to involve the Menominee <v Everett Jensen>people in our program. <v Everett Jensen>And the course more or less- the basis of the course was to have Menominee people <v Everett Jensen>come into Shawano schools and present some <v Everett Jensen>of the things about their culture. <v Everett Jensen>And so we got a by- a cross section of Menominee people- we got some of <v Everett Jensen>the older people, the family people, the younger children. <v Everett Jensen>We got people from the various groups that we have up in Menominee County <v Everett Jensen>and got some of their feelings and ideas. <v Everett Jensen>Then also, we took some trips into Menominee County. <v Everett Jensen>We visited the courthouse. We visited the visitor destination center. <v Everett Jensen>We spoke with Menominees. All of the 34 people who were in this class <v Everett Jensen>or 35, whatever it was, they actually went and walked around <v Everett Jensen>and as they met people, they discussed some of these things with the people.

<v Everett Jensen>So there was Menominee County involvement in the summer course. <v Host>The summer project was followed by a series of teacher in service programs. <v Host>In a daylong session, representatives of the Wisconsin Department of Public <v Host>Instruction raised issues that focused on the Menominee situation. <v Arnold M. Chandler>There are places where in this state where <v Arnold M. Chandler>a minority group, not Indian, but one that which has the same data drop <v Arnold M. Chandler>out, nobody going on to college- all- all the same kind of statistics where they have <v Arnold M. Chandler>gotten representation, where they do have Spanish speaking aides, <v Arnold M. Chandler>where they do have a lot of the things realized that that community <v Arnold M. Chandler>asked for, and <v Arnold M. Chandler>it can be done. <v Arnold M. Chandler>It has been done, and I think the starting point still has to be to <v Arnold M. Chandler>have you express your opinion openly.

<v Speaker>OK. We've asked for communication for a good many years. <v Speaker>We have asked to be represented on the school board for a good many years. <v Speaker>And, uh, the way the school board elections are set up <v Speaker>we do not get representation on the school boards. <v Speaker>You cannot say society decides what is going to be taught in the schools because <v Speaker>we are a part of society and we have never had input in there. <v Speaker>Now, if you're going to start with communication, even on a small group basis, then we <v Speaker>should have an equal say so and our input should be acknowledged and <v Speaker>even listen to and implemented. <v Arnold M. Chandler>Yes, sir. <v Speaker>Well, we're missing the mark on values is the toleration <v Speaker>of those values without getting into <v Speaker>the acceptance of other values that might <v Speaker>be more practical. I am American Indian and last year taught <v Speaker>in predominantly Indian populated school. <v Speaker>But one day we approach a subject like this.

<v Speaker>What is a white man? <v Speaker>A white man is different in definition in the South <v Speaker>that then he would be in the North. <v Speaker>And because of the exchange in cultural views, he <v Speaker>has accumulated a set of practices that <v Speaker>are practical in our society. <v Speaker>And this is good. <v Speaker>And as an Indian wanting to succeed in this world, <v Speaker>I have to analyze this and see <v Speaker>just what is the best for me, how I can survive and make <v Speaker>the best in income, the best way of living, even if <v Speaker>I have to accept some Chinese and Russia ideas which <v Speaker>are not exactly wrong, I may disagree with <v Speaker>communism, but yet there may be some things within their system <v Speaker>that may be good.

<v Arnold M. Chandler>That was in fact, what you're expressing is the original idea of the American melting <v Arnold M. Chandler>pot. That was not to fuse everybody into one model, but to <v Arnold M. Chandler>draw the best from all and try to come up- that was the original attitude <v Arnold M. Chandler>that what- what we can do is take a good idea from here, a good idea <v Arnold M. Chandler>from there. We can live together without- <v Arnold M. Chandler>without conflict if we examine- we keep communication open. <v Arnold M. Chandler>We can examine what's good here, what's bad there, and kind <v Arnold M. Chandler>of draw from the best. <v Host>Communication was the key. <v Host>The Menominees had raised the educational and cultural issue with their lawsuit. <v Host>The Shawano district had made a positive response, but there was still a long <v Host>way to go. <v Host>In the meantime, Indian students would still drop out of school. <v Host>The Menominees again took up the challenge, developing their own community school <v Host>with over 50 former high school dropouts. <v Host>They turned the visitor destination center at Keshena into classrooms.

<v Host>The destination center was originally built with another purpose in mind, as was <v Host>the shopping center that stood nearby. <v Host>They were to be support areas for a grand scheme of tourism and land development <v Host>that was to pull the Menominee people out of the economic disaster <v Host>of termination in Shanno only seven miles away. <v Host>Business was good. There was industrial development and a stable population <v Host>large enough to form a sound economic base. <v Host>In newly formed Menominee County the opposite was true. <v Host>A few small businesses scattered along the main roads, a depressed <v Host>economy, growing welfare rolls and rising unemployment, <v Host>especially among the young. <v Glenn Miller>I think one of the main reasons for the young people not being able to get a job on <v Glenn Miller>year is just that there isn't any- there isn't- just isn't any jobs here for 'em. <v Glenn Miller>There's- as far them being on welfare- going on welfare, there's

<v Glenn Miller>just no other thing you can do. You just can't let them sit out and starve to death. <v Glenn Miller>Like, the girls, I always think are quite fortunate <v Glenn Miller>because they can probably go out and get married and find someone that'll support them on <v Glenn Miller>the outside. But a lot of the young people that live here and do get married <v Glenn Miller>here, most of them end up working in the mill. <v Glenn Miller>[sounds of lumber mill] <v Host>Most of the Menominees employed in the county, worked in some part of the logging <v Host>operation. There just weren't many other jobs around. <v Host>[lumber mill sounds] <v Host>The whole lumber industry was owned and operated by Menominee Enterprises Incorporated,

<v Host>MEI. <v Host>And so was nearly everything else in the county, the land, the lakes and the forest. <v Host>[lumber mill sounds] MEI <v Host>was owned collectively by the Menominee people, at least in theory. <v Host>And the corporation, like its tribal owners, faced grave financial problems. <v Host>The process of termination had all but depleted the tribal treasury. <v Host>There was no capital for repairs, much less expansion. <v Host>Logging could not be increased to bring in more income. <v Host>The tribe had bound itself by law to a method of sustained yield cutting. <v Host>It would pay off in the long run, but not now. <v Host>MEI <v Host>was the principal industry in the county and the principal taxpayer.

<v Host>In the early years, the corporation carried 80 to 90 percent of the county tax burden <v Host>even with special federal relief funds. <v Host>The economy of the county, its people and its industry declined. <v Host>In 1967, studies were conducted by an outside management firm to <v Host>find a solution to the economic problems of the county. <v Host>Its recommendations: to develop recreational resources. <v Host>The MEI board of directors took action and the following year joined into partnership <v Host>with the land development firm. <v Host>A portion of the untouched waters and lake shores would be converted into a profit <v Host>making tourist and homesite operation, complete with a visitor destination <v Host>center. It was called Legend Lake. <v Host>The land was cleared and several lakes were artificially merged.

<v Host>Soon, the sale of land to non-Indians and the construction of seasonal homes <v Host>began at full speed. <v Host>The blessing of termination would finally set the Menominee people free from economic <v Host>depression and only at the cost of about 5,000 acres of Menominee <v Host>land divided into neat, compact individual lots. <v Host>sBut some Menominees voiced their opposition to the actions of the board. <v Host>The loss of more of their land was too great a price to pay. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Indian people entered into treaties and Menominees <v Sylvia Wilbur>did, in particular in 1854, to hold this land as Indian <v Sylvia Wilbur>lands- are held for-forever. <v Sylvia Wilbur>And this meant that as a group we held it, group <v Sylvia Wilbur>feelings that are predominant and not individual feelings <v Sylvia Wilbur>and individual land holdings. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Our land is sacred.

<v Sylvia Wilbur>We feel that this land belongs to all the Menominee and not individual <v Sylvia Wilbur>Menominee. And to see that it's- it's- it's necessary to sell it off <v Sylvia Wilbur>in order to survive. It's just no solution to any problem. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We will feel that eventually we will have no land holding <v Sylvia Wilbur>and we will have to- we'll see the eventual dispersal of all <v Sylvia Wilbur>Menominees from this area. And we will have no tribe. <v Host>To one Menominee, the days of massive land sessions were not forgotten. <v Host>He would fight for his birthright. <v Speaker>[Speaking traditional language] <v Speaker>One thing I want to tell you, Menominee Indians, you own your <v Speaker>waters. <v Speaker>And no one can take them away from you.

<v Speaker>[Speaking traditional language] <v Speaker>I'm asking you Indians to stay and help us fight for our <v Speaker>waters and get the white people off from our- near our waters. <v Host>Opposition to the land sales spread. <v Host>In the spring of 1970, a grass roots organization was formed. <v Host>DRUMS, Determination of Rights and Unity for Menominee shareholders. <v Host>Sylvia Wilbur was a charter member. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Well, I think DRUMS started to emerge <v Sylvia Wilbur>when the Legend Lake project began. <v Sylvia Wilbur>But I think we were at an advantage. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Those of us that started DRUMS or that were the charter members of DRUMS, <v Sylvia Wilbur>we were more of a had an advantage over the

<v Sylvia Wilbur>tribal leaders or those in charge of Menominee Enterprises <v Sylvia Wilbur>at that time. Because we knew we were in the majority. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We visited homes, and we knew much of this talk was going on in the homes <v Sylvia Wilbur>among our friends. <v Sylvia Wilbur>And when we tried to get to the cooperation officials and <v Sylvia Wilbur>tell them, they didn't listen. <v Sylvia Wilbur>They wouldn't hear of us. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We were treated much the same way that we were treated <v Sylvia Wilbur>in in high school, inferior. <v Sylvia Wilbur>And at this point then we were determined to do something. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We had no other choice. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We just felt we couldn't lose. There was nothing to lose. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We were losing everything the way it was. <v Ted Boyd>And I think another thing that really uh impressed <v Ted Boyd>me was the- was the fact that at first when <v Ted Boyd>DRUMS came on the scene, I felt that they were a minority group, some

<v Ted Boyd>dissenters that were not really truly representative <v Ted Boyd>of the Menominee. But after a point in time, it became apparent, <v Ted Boyd>very apparent that the DRUMS <v Ted Boyd>was the- comprised the vast majority of the Menominee people, at <v Ted Boyd>least their philosophy. The vast majority of the Menominee people were <v Ted Boyd>sympathetic. <v Host>The DRUMSs movement face to struggle on two fronts: how to stop the sale <v Host>of land and how to convince the Menominee people they have the power to do <v Host>it. <v Sylvia Wilbur>They felt there was nowhere to turn. Nothing to do. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Everything would be lost. And so this determination we had to build within our <v Sylvia Wilbur>own people, a determination and a drive to move to change the status <v Sylvia Wilbur>that we were in. And so this land, we had to convince <v Sylvia Wilbur>our people that we- we could go <v Sylvia Wilbur>against all the odds that they've always been through.

<v Sylvia Wilbur>Indian people are always pushed aside and never given any consideration <v Sylvia Wilbur>because they are a minority. But together as a group, we could achieve <v Sylvia Wilbur>what we wanted. <v Host>Rallies were held, and once again the Menominee people began to feel the strength in <v Host>unity. On October 2nd, 1971, members of DRUMS <v Host>began a march from Legend Lake to the state capital, Madison. <v Speaker>There have been numerous social welfare and educational problems that have taken place <v Speaker>in Menominee County that have never been given the proper attention of the <v Speaker>public officials and the people that are responsible for the administration of those <v Speaker>affairs in Menominee County. <v Speaker>We have been conducting a nonviolent protest and activities for the last year and a half. <v Speaker>As far as Congress is concerned, it seems to be at a standstill. <v Speaker>And we feel that with the personal intervention of the governor of the state of Wisconsin <v Speaker>into some of these problems, that this needs his attention.

<v Speaker>Our ultimate goal is for the reversal of termination. <v Speaker>However, in the meantime, there are numerous problems in Menominee <v Speaker>County that have to be taken care of. <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>Your journey has been long and arduous. <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>By this deed, by the attention it has generated, you <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>have helped the citizens of the state to understand the serious problems <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>of the Menominee people. <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>I think it is true that the state of Wisconsin could do better in using <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>its resources in solving the problems of its Indian citizens, <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>including the citizens of Menominee County. <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>And I want the state to use its full resources to assist its Indian citizens <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>in obtaining a better life. <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>It is my hope that this day will mark the beginning of <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>a better relationship between the government of the state of Wisconsin <v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>and our Indian citizens. I thank you very much.

<v Governor Patrick J. Lucey>[applause, drumming] <v Host>DRUMs made an all out effort to rally the Menominee people. <v Host>There would soon be an election of the MEI board. <v Host>Each Menominee shareholder could vote, but could DRUMS unite the voters. <v Host>In a substantial victory, they took control of MEI. <v Host>It was viewed as a mandate by the Menominees. <v Host>No more land sales, no more Menominee County. <v Host>A new examination of the Legend Lake development brought to light the real economic <v Host>impact to the Menominee people and MEI. <v Ted Boyd>The intent of the Legend Lake Project was <v Ted Boyd>to try to relieve- relieve the <v Ted Boyd>tremendously heavy property tax burden on the corporation, Menominee Enterprises. <v Ted Boyd>It also was supposed to create some profits for Menominee Enterprises. <v Ted Boyd>I think these basic assumptions, at least to a great <v Ted Boyd>extent, were erroneous. What has happened is that a percentage

<v Ted Boyd>of taxes that Menominee Enterprises pay- pays of the town and county tax <v Ted Boyd>levy has gone down, but only in terms of percentage. <v Ted Boyd>The dollar amount that Menominee Enterprises pays has gone up <v Ted Boyd>consistently over this period of time. <v Ted Boyd>Really, we the profits that we did derive from <v Ted Boyd>land sales were, and I think this can be shown statistically, <v Ted Boyd>offset by the deteriorating financial <v Ted Boyd>situation in the forestry and metals operation. <v Host>The land developers and the new leaders of MEI battled in the courts for a decision <v Host>on the continued sale of land. <v Host>The non-Indian owners and residents of Legend Lake were caught in the middle. <v Host>They were confused about their rights and faced an uncertain future. <v Host>What would be their status if restoration became a real possibility? <v Host>Home construction came to a standstill.

<v Host>Many owners, afraid of the worst, tried to sell out. <v Host>But there were few buyers. <v Host>In the years before termination, the logging industry had been the major means of <v Host>self-support for the Menominee tribe. <v Host>If there were to be no more land sales, the new MEI leadership would have <v Host>to make some decisions about the future of the mill. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Well, Menominee Enterprises was- as it was formed <v Sylvia Wilbur>in 1961, we inherited much obsolete <v Sylvia Wilbur>machinery, rundown mill, and that <v Sylvia Wilbur>deteriorated again with the land sales. <v Sylvia Wilbur>So right now as the Menominees take over we are <v Sylvia Wilbur>working hard within the mill proper after we can get that functioning <v Sylvia Wilbur>properly we're going to diversify. <v Sylvia Wilbur>And it would be most logically to go into a woods related <v Sylvia Wilbur>byproduct to utilize the total lumber area or timber resources that

<v Sylvia Wilbur>we have. But I really, in my own mind, don't think we have to bring <v Sylvia Wilbur>industry in. We have the resources here, <v Sylvia Wilbur>and we can go into related areas. <v Sylvia Wilbur>If given time Menominee Enterprises can take care of <v Sylvia Wilbur>the Menominee Tribe. <v Sylvia Wilbur>At the present time, I think tourism is out.

<v Sylvia Wilbur>I think the Legend Lake episode just killed any chances. <v Sylvia Wilbur>I don't mean to imply that it never will occur, it may. <v Sylvia Wilbur>But I think it's going to take time to heal the wounds of the Menominee people in regard <v Sylvia Wilbur>to tourists and people coming into the county. <v Ted Boyd>One of the bad things about tourism is that if it becomes <v Ted Boyd>too prevalent, too many people coming in. <v Ted Boyd>Then the resources that you have today, the beauty that the Menominee reservation <v Ted Boyd>has today will no longer exist.

<v Ted Boyd>It will simply be overrun. <v Ted Boyd>I think we've done a real good job in preserving our resources. <v Speaker>It is the belief of the Menominees that the Menominee Indians came <v Speaker>from a great white bear. <v Speaker>A bear and his mate went out of the water and miraculously

<v Speaker>they changed it to the Menominee Indian. <v Speaker>That was their belief. <v Speaker>That was their belief a long time ago. <v Host>The DRUMS movement had effectively organized the Menominee people to stop the Legend Lake

<v Host>project. It was a turning point for the tribe and for the individual. <v Host>There was a change in attitude, a change in outlook. <v Sylvia Wilbur>The greatest difference I see, and I think termination helped us in this way <v Sylvia Wilbur>simply because it- it caused us to lose before <v Sylvia Wilbur>this time we were- we followed the tribal leaders. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We didn't question anything that they did. <v Sylvia Wilbur>We felt what they did, you know, was the word. <v Sylvia Wilbur>And we lived by it. <v Sylvia Wilbur>But then when we had the dissipation of our assets and we saw <v Sylvia Wilbur>this threat of no longer existing as a tribe, <v Sylvia Wilbur>we knew that if we didn't do something about it, no one else would. <v Glenn Miller>I've seen now what it was like when we weren't- when we lived- when <v Glenn Miller>we were on reservation. And then when we became a county. <v Glenn Miller>Things dropped down. <v Glenn Miller>There was no economic- no stable economic opportunities <v Glenn Miller>here for the people. The federal government I feel just

<v Glenn Miller>like, uh, dropped us right there. We didn't have no one to turn to. <v Glenn Miller>So we had to put our heads together and work for something. <v Host>Resentment toward termination grew among the Menominee, legend Lake <v Host>had been stopped. But how many more Legend Lakes could the Menominee people withstand? <v Host>The policy of termination had been established by the federal government to encourage <v Host>Indian self-government and assimilation. <v Host>It was an incentive or threat attached to the settlement of many tribal <v Host>requests. The Menominees were told they would not collect their per-capita payments <v Host>without agreeing to termination. <v Host>Other tribes had been terminated. <v Host>But in the 1970s, the policy was unofficially scrapped. <v Host>Not only had it been an economic and social disaster for the terminated tribes. <v Host>It also proved to be a bottomless pit for federal and state funds. <v Sylvia Wilbur>Within the 10 year span in federal aids and state aids, there was <v Sylvia Wilbur>an amount of almost 20 million dollars pumped into the county

<v Sylvia Wilbur>and the cooperation which previous to termination was nothing or <v Sylvia Wilbur>a very minimal amount. And I guess it wasn't the ?Rhodes? <v Sylvia Wilbur>Situation. So we- it will be an advantage money <v Sylvia Wilbur>wise, as well as easing the conscience of the American society <v Sylvia Wilbur>to restore us to being federally recognized as <v Sylvia Wilbur>an Indian tribe again and with trust status. <v Speaker>The Menominees, represented by DRUMS, were more determined than ever to bring about <v Speaker>restoration. Ada Deer was sent to Washington to lead the lobby for <v Speaker>a Menominee restoration bill. <v Speaker>In August 1973, she reported to the Menominee people on the progress <v Speaker>of the bill. <v Ada Deer>It's been a long, hard struggle. <v Ada Deer>And several years ago, people told us that nothing could be done, that <v Ada Deer>we would all have to learn to live with termination, that it was a federal law, <v Ada Deer>and that we would have to accept it.

<v Ada Deer>Several of us got together and said, no, we refuse to accept <v Ada Deer>this. We're going to change it. <v Ada Deer>Estimates as to how long our legislation would take to pass have varied <v Ada Deer>one B.I.A Bureaucrat shook his head sadly and told us it'll take <v Ada Deer>10 years to pass the legislation. <v Ada Deer>And I saw him several weeks later and he said it'll take, you know, five <v Ada Deer>years to pass the legislation. And I told him, well, at least that's a 50 percent <v Ada Deer>improvement from the last time. <v Ada Deer>This point we do not have any major opposition to our legislation. <v Ada Deer>We have our own congressmen and senators supporting this. <v Ada Deer>We have the administration supporting this. <v Ada Deer>We have major members in the Senate supporting this. <v Ada Deer>However, we still have to continue to work hard because oftentimes some <v Ada Deer>changes can be made in legislation and we don't want that to happen at this point. <v Ada Deer>Just to show you how fast things can move when there are people that are <v Ada Deer>committed and concerned enough to take action on our behalf.

<v Ada Deer>Let me remind you that our bill was introduced on May 2nd, on May <v Ada Deer>25th, 26th and 27th, we had our field hearings here. <v Ada Deer>Many of you were here. <v Ada Deer>To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time in the history of the state that <v Ada Deer>there were hearings held on Indian legislation by <v Ada Deer>a congressional committee. <v Ada Deer>Throughout our discussions here, we have emphasized that we want federal protection, <v Ada Deer>not federal domination. And the trustees at our last meeting <v Ada Deer>have not taken some steps to begin planning for this. <v Ada Deer>First of all, we set up three working committees, enrollment, a tribal <v Ada Deer>constitution, and bylaws and stocks and bonds. <v Ada Deer>Chairmen of these committees have been appointed, and they will soon be contacting people <v Ada Deer>in the community about this because there's going to be a lot of work <v Ada Deer>from now on, in all these areas. <v Ada Deer>You know once we get our restoration passed that's going to be the beginning.

<v Ada Deer>And this is where we're going to need, you know, every single person thinking and giving <v Ada Deer>ideas and suggestions and participating on these committees. <v Albert Fowler>Indians nowadays are becoming more and more educated towards this <v Albert Fowler>form of government, and, uh, if handed <v Albert Fowler>to them, I think they'd be much more able to handle now than they would <v Albert Fowler>have in the past. Because they- their language barriers <v Albert Fowler>was picking up a lot more. It's not- the language barrier doesn't hardly exist the way it <v Albert Fowler>did a while back. <v Albert Fowler>So this year was the biggest problem between government <v Albert Fowler>and Indian relationships. <v Albert Fowler>So after that, I don't believe there will be any problem. <v Albert Fowler>I mean, I don't personally have any problems with it myself. <v Albert Fowler>And I think there's a lot of other people who could also handle <v Albert Fowler>positions in tribal government. <v Speaker>Vine Deloria, nationally known author and leader of the Indian Rights Movement,

<v Speaker>spoke about the Menominee's leadership and political involvement. <v Vine Deloria>I look around in Indian country. The brightest spot I see is the Menominees <v Vine Deloria>because you people have put it together. <v Vine Deloria>You've come together in a way that I don't think any Indian tribe ever has. <v Vine Deloria>I think we've got to push not only for restoration, but you've got to now become the <v Vine Deloria>leaders of Indian country. <v Vine Deloria>You've got to help us bring some of these tribes together. <v Vine Deloria>To try and heal the wounds that are in a lot of tribal groups. <v Vine Deloria>You people have put aside small conflicts that you've had in favor <v Vine Deloria>of a greater goal. <v Vine Deloria>You become a magnificent tribe in the process. <v Vine Deloria>And this is what our other tribes across the country have got to do. <v Vine Deloria>I think that we can break the whole logjam of federal legislation <v Vine Deloria>if we get this Menominee restoration bill through as quickly as possible.

<v Vine Deloria>Every place that I've gone I've pushed tribes, <v Vine Deloria>Indian organizations, whatever group I'm with, to put Menominee first <v Vine Deloria>on the agenda. <v Vine Deloria>Because when the restoration bill goes through, that's going to speak more eloquently <v Vine Deloria>than any congressional resolution, any statement by Henry Jackson, <v Vine Deloria>any president's message, any other symbolic gesture <v Vine Deloria>that you could receive that the days of termination are over. <v Vine Deloria>If you look around the country, you have tribes that <v Vine Deloria>I think are really different levels of political involvement with the federal government. <v Vine Deloria>And what we- what, we need to clarify the whole Indian situation. <v Vine Deloria>And is to define one status for all Indian communities and <v Vine Deloria>a definite federal relationship between 'em. And I think the Menominee restoration is <v Vine Deloria>the most important immediate factor in- in

<v Vine Deloria>setting the fact that this is a problem. <v Vine Deloria>What we really have to do nationally is to use the <v Vine Deloria>sophistication that the Menominees have really demonstrated to create <v Vine Deloria>one- one basic relationship with the federal government that all Indian tribes are going <v Vine Deloria>to be in. This- this thing would severely limit <v Vine Deloria>the arbitrary powers the Bureau of Indian Affairs over Indian people. <v Vine Deloria>And in that way of clarify what the what the nature of the relationship is. <v Vine Deloria>I think we can do without an awful lot of things the Bureau's <v Vine Deloria>done, but ask for other things that governments failed to do. <v Vine Deloria>When the Menominee start being included in federal program, <v Vine Deloria>the federal government is going to have to deal with a group of people who really know where <v Vine Deloria>they're going. <v Vine Deloria>And these people have been through enough experiences where they're not going to be <v Vine Deloria>satisfied with a simple bureaucratic answer. <v Vine Deloria>You can't do this or you have to do that or whatever. <v Vine Deloria>They're gonna have the sophistication and knowledge that will really make the federal

<v Vine Deloria>grant program work. Now, we have a few tribes already that have that experience. <v Vine Deloria>By and large, majority tribes don't have that. <v Vine Deloria>And that's, I think, really the issue at Wounded Knee and other places is <v Vine Deloria>how the tribal governments really represent their people. <v Vine Deloria>And I would rank the Menominee situation as one of the highest, <v Vine Deloria>most sophisticated in the country. <v Vine Deloria>When the restoration bill goes through, you people will have reversed American history. <v Vine Deloria>You will have turned everything completely around. <v Vine Deloria>At that point, the Congress, the President, the courts, <v Vine Deloria>everybody is going to have to take a whole new look, not only at Menominee, but every <v Vine Deloria>other Indian tribe. <v Host>On December 22nd, 1973, the Menominee people finally <v Host>achieved restoration. [music]