Ruffled feathers: The Dakota Sioux; ICAP: A key to the future?

This program was produced and was going to be radio at the University of South Dakota. This is a father's Lakota Sioux in transition. This is the 13th than last in a series of programs dealing with the Dakota or Sioux Indians in South Dakota during the past 12 weeks various facets of the COTA life have been explored. The conclusion that we have come to is that the Dakota people are having a difficult time adjusting to a different way of life because of the difference in the Indian and non-Indian cultures. We've also seen that most government legislation and government policies have been for the most part ineffectual to some degree. The two major legislative acts dealing with the Indians that were discussed on earlier programs with the Dawes Act of

1887 and the Indian Reorganization Act or wheeler Howard Act of 1934. As far as the Dakota Indian is concerned a recent act of Congress is going to a tremendously the progress of the Dakota people that act as the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was passed by Congress for the purpose of opening to everyone the opportunity for education and training the opportunity to work and the opportunity to live decently and with dignity. Title 2 of the act is to stimulate and create incentive for urban and rural communities to mobilize their resources to combat poverty through community action programs community action is a particularly significant program for the Indian people because of the government's Guardian relationship to Indian beneficiaries. This is another unique Indian conditions resulted in an OIO decision to provide Indian groups with direct access to Ojo in Washington direct access to the OIO decision

making level is viewed by many Indian people as the most meaningful indication of the government's desire to respond quickly to Indian needs and aspirations. The Indian people of South Dakota have great faith in and respect for the Indian Community Action Program. I have observed this over the last year and a half while dealing with the people of the Dakota reservations while on the Rosebud Reservation I talked with a number of people including the local Indian Community Action Program Director about the purpose of the program. The system is supposed to be programs. That the people long desired programs to help themselves help help themselves. Mr Lobo is the director of the Community Action Program at Rosebud for the Rosebud Reservation. His organization provides a unique service for the Indian people. Many people consider it a service it is a service in a sense but it's really supposed to we're supposed to work right along with the people helping the

people and not necessarily perform a service for them. There's a guy who is really supposed to provide technical services to the people and for them see the approach taken by the Community Action Program is different from the Bureau of Indian Affairs approaches Mr Lubow pointed out the bureau provides technical services for the people while the Community Action Program is an integral part of community action. The Community Action Program provides a wealth of opportunities for the people it serves. I think the general idea of the whole thing. Now I think we take these people that don't have any training and we have a great number on a reservation itself. It's going to take time we're not going to do it in a year maybe even 10 years. But we've got to start now and. I think that over a period of time when these people can go in after they get training they can go out and actually compete with the rest of people. Then we have a chance. We've talked about some of the kids or some of the people here that do have educations

and are capable of doing things but they too ready the reservation whether there is some instances of this is true I mean it is true. But here again we have a lot more people that aren't trained and like I said through these programs it wants to get our training where they're once able to get out and compete and make a living for their own lot. Nationally the program will have succeeded. The primary objective of the Community Action Program is to meet the needs of the individual and family through community planning and community implementation of programs based upon a request from the tribal government the Office of Economic Opportunity can provide funds to set up administration of various programs there are a number of areas that have been requested on the various reservations and many of the requested programs are now unfortunately our preschool projects. Education workers component health and rehabilitation program. Now slimming approach. Brown study center component neighborhood service project red star

credit union that's what 12 projects altogether. While providing training the ICAP programs also provide a job and income for the trainee. We have jobs under the. Office while under the Oyo program the Office of Economic Opportunity and we've been been able to employ and train a great number of people not as many did like to but and we have been able to take some you know that. Were previously employed maybe in farm work or seasonal work and put them under full time jobs. We have some health aides and teachers aides and Study Center City supervisors and of course we have our staff in the station part of the action program different components. We have now I think we have 12 12 components under the Office of Economic Opportunity for the Community Action Program here locally seems to be doing real well.

Need I said before a lot of these people that haven't had jobs before do have know the work that is performed in the training that is provided for in the various components does not differ significantly from one reservation to another doing a bow I coude director drills but explains some of the various programs starting with a head start in preschool programs. Head Start is for the. The four year olds some 3 year olds preschool program is for the 5 year olds and the preschool program has operated year long project Headstart is going to summer. The Head Start programs and preschool programs have been widely accepted on the reservation just as they have been accepted in many communities across the country. Another education oriented program is the teacher's aid program. Every teacher we have aides and they're primarily involved in just being around and able to help the teacher. And the other thing would be one in areas where the children don't speak English language. They're there as interpreters to be able to help get to get the children to communicate with the teachers and vice versa.

The teachers aides are very important in the schools where students sometimes speak their native language better than English. Since the Dakota language is occasionally difficult to translate into meaningful English and vice a versa the teachers aides are very important. The reservation communities are also encouraging reading and studying in community study so we have five centers located throughout the reservation for. Providing facilities for the people both adults and children to have some place where they can go and sit down and read and. To do some studying if they want to the plays are supervised. We also call in tutors if any of the students needed. And we work this pretty closely with the school system and that. We check a number of students and those that need to resort to her services. We get them in and and work with them a little bit and study centers. They operating at night primarily because there is recreation tight and I

think things also so it is not always a study. The summary kind of cord needed all the recreation out of the study centers that area reservation communities through the health and sanitation program have attempted to create a healthier surrounding to live in. So this is an overall educational program for the benefit of the people and the communities but we primarily try to get the community people to work on health and sanitation projects in each of the communities. It's not necessarily one of trying to provide them with immediate health services such as a doctor in a sort of thing but it's projects of. Community betterment whether people can actually be involved and do something themselves in or of health so health and sanitation such as. Establishing a sense arise a garbage disposal. And getting the people to do something about this and. Cleaning up some of their homes. Painting up

this type of thing. Also I had a project of that with where they had a reservation replied rabies vaccination of all pets and I don't know. Where your veterinarian said that age and everything were very helpful and it's another it's one community said over the past years he's been lucky if he got eight or nine animals in this last year with the help of the health workers and sort of them we had something like 90 animals back in the community this is just one of the projects that involved in a program that is very important to the people in the reservation communities is the Legal Aid Service because of the economic conditions few Indian people can afford legal consultation because of their special status under government laws and their general lack of education. They're often in need of more legal advice and legal counseling than other people. We have two full time attorneys they provide counsel and defense for indigent throughout the area both in India and on Indian. Provide.

To provide also basic education educational programs to their legal rights and this type of thing. They get a staff about four people and doing real good. We only had one attorney up until about the middle of June. So the other attorneys on right now. We just got him and he is just about through with his orientation. He'll begin his circuit writing on this here very shortly. So like I say we we don't know yet as to the results of it. But in an evaluation did point out the fact that this was needed. This hadn't been done but of course we didn't have the other attorney well we had one guy says I want to know something like a hundred cases a month. You don't have much time for anything else. Money problems have almost constantly plagued the Dakota people. Their old way of life knew no such thing as money or savings or loans or interest or credit because of their lack of collateral Indians can rarely go to a bank and get a loan with a credit union started at the

reservation level that go to India now has the opportunity to establish credit and to save money. The personnel portion of this and expenses in relation to materials and this sort of thing has been funded by I adore you all and it's not to exceed a period of about three years hopefully they'll be on their own at that time. They've been in operation since June 1. They've got something like two hundred and sixty people that have shares in anything and they have something like 20 some odd loans out now so they're just now getting off the ground. But they also will provide not only the savings and loans itself but also general consumer education as two as two. Reviewing with them discussing with them various forms and contracts consumers it was this type of education as Cleveland miss pointed out in the program dealing with economics.

Many people started out saving perhaps a quarter a week. After a couple of months they could see the advance and the advantages of saving regularly. I've started a more comprehensive saving habit. The credit union will be invaluable in providing an education about the handling and use of money to the Indian people and is growing at such a good rate that it should be soon self-supporting. The education worker program serves as a stimulus to students who tire of school and is a source of information for the parents. Those are workers that we've hired who work in an area between the schools staff the parents and the students working in an area of trying to reduce the dropout rate and keeping the kids in school and the people type of people who are in and out of that for us. People who could communicate with the people themselves because this is a new problem and they've been very successful at it. They are regular day to

go in the morning and check to school this for those that haven't shown up or they haven't registered and drought the year they're going to check every day as to who is going to school and go and check it out and find out why they're not in school and if to you if there isn't a real good excuse then that they go and get them to get back to school. Many people have called in Join officers but they're not. If it's a matter of force you know they don't do anything but they just try to talk him into going back to school and talk to the parents to try to get the parents to make them go back to school but when it comes to truancy you know then there's Law and Order does that the education workers are tackling a major problem on the reservation school truancy and dropouts. They in no way attempt to force the student to go back to school but instead try to explain to him and to his parents the advantages of staying in school. The success of this program could show the fruits of its success in five or six years. When those students now in school have completed high school and taken college or training to go out on their own.

Mr Lobo also mentioned the training is available under the Nelson amendment announcement as a project for a community betterment beautification is very similar to a works project program but in this there is written an educational program where they try to and we try to employ people who who are heads of household who have been unemployed over an extended period of time. And working with various projects such as setting up a tree nursery. Some of them may be interested in this type of work so they get him in there and train him and work on them at establishing a tree nursery for example and working on parks. The start of what is commonly referred to as Title 1 is a programme of on the job training work experience training program where they work right on the job and are trained by different people into a co-operative working program. We have nurses aides being trained

by the public health hospital and working right there we have our utility linemen working with R.E.M. and other guys working that heavy. Forever learning how to use maintain this sort of thing heavy equipment on earth say a road project or something like this as well as clerks a sort of ministry of personnel. There is another title program that provides on the job training playfulness describes the provisions of Title VII with regards to on the job training. They train as clerical workers linemen police work carpenters plumbers electricians and that if I program is on. A state program it's just what it is it's a training program. It's all actually these people be trained the people that are under the title of my program. Are people who don't have any vocations or traits of any kind. Now after years training. They are expected to do. Or they are hope because hope is hope that they would be able to go and

secure employment. You know it on reservation or elsewhere where someone may have to leave. But. And the people that are actually trainees be like people like Jerry Todd Electric Cooperative here in mission. I talked to one of their supervisors last week. And they were real pleased with the men they have. Training or that they have one seat only to charge and they said it was a good worker and that after he completed his training they may just keep the matter so that you know that will probably make a living here locally and see if they can prove that these people are training under that they can really do the job. The on the job training program will enable people to train in a skill and then to work for their money rather than be dependent upon welfare or seasonal manual labor. I'm one of the earlier programs we mentioned the housing programs that are in effect at some of the reservations that arose about the housing program is partially the responsibility of the Community Action Program. This has been a dream of many of the people to build housing that is adequate. And I'll fit the needs of the people. It's the only

project in existence or will be the only project in existence United States demonstration program we get a million seven funded to build the 275 houses it's a cooperative a group program by housing and urban development economic development and illustration. We'll be on Public Health and Community Action Program as well as Patel and more the Institute of Commerce Ohio. But it's a demonstration program too to demonstrate the fact that houses can be constructed a lot cheaper than they are and still meet the needs and well whether the conditions out in our area. The people essentially want to pay for the houses they would have in a sense that they'll have to provide a certain amount of work which only measured in dollars and also each community where the houses are going to be built. They'll set up a revolving fund where they'll pay for a minimum of $5 a month and this accumulation of

funds will serve to finance the repairing of the houses and people to do the repairing. The house innovation constructed anywhere the people want to will have the complete factory here for their prefabrication any prefab plant. And once we hope that this is this program goes that we will have the plant then to produce a prefab homes for anything anybody else in our states. So it will be employed about 109 people. The Indian Community Action Program embraces a number of components all of which are aiding the Indian people in their search for skills income and education. The ICAP program administered through the Office of Economic Opportunity has been regarded by most people on the reservation as a progressive step forward for the Indian people. However the program has not been without problems because of the low income levels on the reservation. Labor was also cheap. Many Indian people who are used to working for maybe 50 cents an hour. Now they have been put into a pay range far above what they considered

normal and which is artificial for the reservation areas this is one of the problem. We've caused because anybody we employ has to be hired at a minimum wage. And a lot of these people don't pay the minimum wage. But this is our problem. Mr Lobo went on to explain that employers in the community were not used to paying wages that amounted to what the federal government considers to be the minimum wage. Mainly because it was an employer's market. With unemployment high someone could always be found to work no matter how low the wages were. Employers are now faced with a more realistic wage scale. The public school system is also giving birth to some unrest with regard to the wages paid teachers aides. There's men in every of real problems oh I know this feeling exists. And this was brought to my attention one of the first things we've worked like our preschool program were the teachers. We heard or the school hires the teachers and we just pay them to pay the school system but they hire at

their prevailing rate whatever that is. Do you know what somebody needs to get over that much as a teacher's. It's in the other work areas to know such as your private business here. Some of the places pay 80 cents an hour. One of the criticisms about the artificial or should we say new pay scales that the Community Action Program has brought about is that when the federal programs are phased out in the Indian people who want to stay in the reservation community will be faced with decreasing wages or even a loss of a job and be right back where they were before the Community Action Program. This may be a thickly situation and only time will tell. For the most part the community action programs have been well received by the people on the reservation and in some areas like adult education the effects are already noticeable that an adult education classes in the first night and let. Some of the kids have off days and also he's going to go to school you know and yeah they've got a kid around a bit and made some

for the fun and some of the old timers but they went anyway and you can notice a change in these kids. Two weeks after they made that remark these people continued going to school. While these kids were there to greet them at the door hold the door open from talk to him and ask him how the classes were coming on stuff you know. So actually I really think it made a lot of difference and you know a lot of these kids his attitude toward school and this has been said several times that you know if if they can go to school then we're going to finish and I think these older people to these kids are going catch up to you and we're going to pass you know. And there has been some some changes in grades just because of this. I know of an instance where a father and a mother were going to school and they had two high school kids and they were comparing grades and comparing work and the father knew a little bit more about this and he didn't finish high school but he knew a little bit more about one subject than his senior son did.

So then they can study that much harder and come back and told his father well you know I know a little bit more knew another thing and it wasn't there was actually competition there and wasn't you know it was friendly and all that stuff but it really give us good initiative to go out and study a little harder and some they should've stayed fired first but for most who had some contact with the Community Action Program the praise far exceeds the criticism I think it's one of the finest things that probably have ever happened to the people on the reservation here. Not too long ago you could see people with while I wasn't a lot of them didn't have a look of despair or. Hope or anything I guess there were just nothing. And yet these same people who have gotten into these meat action programs in under the different training programs and the different components walk around now with smiles on our faces and and maybe a look of hope you know and are able to come up and speak to anybody you want to. It has made a tremendous difference in a lot of people and I think that.

I say force one of the greatest things that happen and I think that a lot of lives on his reservation are going to be changed on account of this program. If the Indian people are going to become a productive part of American society many of them are going to have to change. We're going to have to get an education get training and learn to adapt to a different value system. We Community Action Program seems as though it will help accomplish this end product through its work because of the enthusiasm of the ICAP administrative personnel and the whole atmosphere of the program it is being accepted by young and old alike. It work and good. We like it because a lot of the boys. And that's one thing. The room born and reared and the younger people where they know they can make new money and they have a cat to be trained right here eventually and when they grow up. Outside to work around the thing they'll be reading such as a Ranger can't use their public help. These people go around explain to our ending what it meaning an Indian talking

in English and they're doing a lot of good beside it helping our families. So that's a good program. The only thing that I. Ansari here that Congress did not appropriate enough to read. Poor people out of poor districts. We have thoughts of population that we can and will take care through more tuna factory and so much can be cattlemen so many can be. This have jobs here but at large on employment and I wanna start praying I don't think of the starvation but there is one to whom God in the modern world named him rude and full of that and he wants to wear that but if there's a barrier nearer to Probert think can get it that he's got to be dependent on the government or some charitable organize they train him up so I look for are people who really do love her some day in American society and here. There's long been the Government's intent that the Indian people become assimilated into the American culture and

society in some cases they have been. However where the Indians have been cooped up on reservations as they have been here in South Dakota the government is discouraging its own ideology through the implementation of its policies. No one will claim that all Indians or even any Indians want to lose their Indian identity but they do want to have the things that a wealthy society such as ours has to offer. I think that it can honestly be said that the Indian Community Action Program is the first program fostered by the federal government on a large scale that has been or is being successful in the drive to give the Indian equality of opportunity for many decades the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been charged with the administration of Indians and their problems. It has been said that there is one Bureau employee for every five Indian families. But the significant meaningful and thus far successful program has come from the Office of Economic Opportunity. Letting the past be the past and looking only to the future the sun seems to be climbing rapidly for the Dakota Indians of South Dakota. They know what they want and they know what they need to get it and move on now.

Because the eye and convince never body know the educated you need to get a good one. And there have been car they have been have I think improved on the ground. Cattle are current but who doesn't want to reveal he wants TV. He wants a car he wants to live the modern way and then we could do with education and then if threads are broken why employment is so bad to come from never but is working hard to get factories you know we realize that I'm really back of that to get back to anything here in projects and there when you are training because that way will be ready for they have side where to even be easier to assimilate into the modern world can learn to take a new moon and you can make a white man. But we certainly can give them a good education for the Tikkun who can do a modern economy and the Indian Community Action Program has had a gratifying

response and the programs are off to a good start. Let's just hope that this is only the start and that they grow far beyond the fondest hopes of their planners and participants. During the past 13 weeks a series has been talking about the Dakota or Sioux Indians of South Dakota. I hope that you've enjoyed finding out about their life their culture and their hopes for the future. Time and time again during this series we have come back to the cultural conflict as the basis of the Indians problems. There is no easy way to solve this conflict. There is no easy way to alleviate the pockets of poverty that we call reservations. The Dakota Indians were once rulers of this part of the country South Dakota they were mighty. They were referred to as the noble savages. Then they were crushed and deceived and ignored. After these many years progress is beginning to be made to give them the same opportunities as other Americans. That's why the series was called ruffled feathers not referring to the traditional war bonnet of the Dakota but rather as a comparison like a pheasant poised for flight. The Dakota suit truly have

ruffled feathers. I would like to thank the literally hundreds of people who have made possible the production of this program series the National Home Library Foundation the National Association of educational broadcasters and the many friendly and dedicated people who contributed ideas and information to these programs. And I'd like to especially thank you for listening. This is Arlin diamond speaking. With. With rapper father of the Dakota soon transition was produced through the facilities of the US the radio at the University of South Dakota a grant from the National Home Library Foundation has made possible the production of this program for national educational radio. This is the national educational radio network.