Chapter 13 | Section 1
Shifting Federal Indian Policy
As we have seen in other chapters, the history of the federal government’s treatment of Indigenous people is long and complicated. Policy toward Native Americans changed a lot in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but much of that change had a negative impact on Indigenous people. The loss of land and the loss of the right to govern their own nations caused many problems for tribes. These losses also made it more difficult to preserve customs, beliefs, and language. This led many Indigenous people in Oklahoma and across the country to demand change in the 1960s and 1970s. One example relates to the Cherokee Nation and the choosing of their leaders. From the 1940s to the 1960s, a period of thirty years, the president of the United States had been the one to appoint the chief of the Cherokee Nation. In 1970, tribal members were able to change this so that they could elect their own leaders. As we discussed in earlier chapters, government policy toward Indigenous people and nations often focused on trying to make them more like non-Native people. It also focused on controlling their resources and telling them how to live.
Throughout Oklahoma history, Indigenous people have fought against policies that hurt their Native nations and communities, but these efforts grew even stronger in the 1960s and 1970s. One reason for this was the Civil Rights Movement, at both a national and state level. Leaders in Oklahoma like Clara Luper and E. Melvin Porter raised the issues of racism and unequal treatment. Oklahomans’ growing understanding of the racism experienced by Black Oklahomans changed how they thought about the treatment of Indigenous people. Because Black people and Indigenous people had a common goal—to be treated as equals to everyone else—they wanted to work together. But this led many Americans and Oklahomans to see Native Americans as just one more group who faced discrimination. There was a key difference between the discrimination Indigenous people experienced and that experienced by other people, though. Indigenous people who belonged to any of the thirty-nine federally recognized Native nations in Oklahoma had a kind of dual citizenship. This was not just a fight against racism. Indigenous Oklahomans were fighting for their sovereignty rights. This meant that they wanted to have control over tribal governance, economic growth, health care facilities, education, and other aspects of tribal life. They did not want the government to make decisions for their tribes. They wanted to make their own decisions.
The effort to restore Indigenous sovereignty rights was strengthened by a new national focus on community development. There were new programs that could improve local conditions and provide more opportunities. In January 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson said he was declaring unconditional “War on Poverty.” To carry out this war against poverty, he created the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to work with states and support local efforts. Poverty in the United States affected a significant portion of the population despite a thriving economy. President Johnson’s effort to decrease it had a major impact on the lives of Indigenous people in Oklahoma. Native Americans in Oklahoma and across the country had the highest rates of unemployment and poverty among all groups of people. A War on Poverty could be especially helpful for them. Johnson encouraged local communities to identify areas that needed improvement. For example, some communities might have needed more jobs while others needed community centers, or improved access to electricity and running water. Native nations could apply for programs to improve conditions among their people. For many of Oklahoma’s Indigenous nations, the programs also allowed them to indirectly assert their sovereignty or control over tribal affairs.
Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity
LaDonna Harris was at the center of Indigenous community development in the state. Her Comanche upbringing gave her a personal understanding of issues Native Americans faced in the state. And her marriage to US senator and Oklahoman Fred Harris put her in direct contact with powerful leaders and decision makers. A year after President Johnson created the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), LaDonna Harris became frustrated because OEO money was not being used to help tribes in her home state. She helped organize a meeting in Norman, Oklahoma, to discuss the challenges facing tribes. Out of that meeting came the creation of Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity (OIO). Under Harris’s leadership, this organization quickly made an important impact on the state. OIO’s stated purpose was to “improve social and economic opportunities of Oklahoma and American Indians and draw them more fully into the Oklahoma and American economy and culture.” OIO also wanted to “preserve and perpetuate the history and heritage of Oklahoman and American Indians; and to promote brotherhood and harmonious relations and communication among all Oklahomans and Americans.”
LaDonna Harris (Comanche) founded Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity (OIO) in 1965 and was later appointed by President Johnson to serve on the National Council on Indian Opportunity. Harris has been a tremendous advocate for the Native American community throughout her life.
Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
The work of OIO varied. OIO organized efforts to preserve Native languages and cultures. At the same time, it worked to improve economic conditions for Oklahoma tribes. In fact, as leader of the OIO, Harris helped with many community action efforts in the state. She helped tribes gain grants and other resources to improve their communities. Harris was an early supporter of tribal leaders being elected by the tribes rather than being appointed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and she worked with tribes to help preserve Native languages. Both of these became important expressions of sovereignty.
In March 1967, the OU student newspaper reported on Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s upcoming speech at the first annual Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity (OIO) Youth Conference, to be held at the University of Oklahoma. The OIO was created to promote Native American success, with the goals of improving access for Native Americans to community development programs and employment opportunities.
Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.
After serving as the first president of OIO, LaDonna Harris began to play a national role in shaping debates over Indian policy. Iola Hayden, who was another founding member of the organization, continued the efforts of OIO, but she faced a lot of challenges. People disagreed as to whether OIO’s purpose should be to encourage tribes to assimilate into the broader national society. The tension concerning tribes regaining power over their governments and becoming more involved with the economy of Oklahoma led to strong criticism of Hayden. Some Indigenous leaders saw OIO as a good way to take control of programs and expand tribal government. Others worried that expanding the influence of OIO would just lead to more government interference. They feared that would cause negative consequences for their tribes.
Political Party Support for Tribal Sovereignty
OIO and Hayden faced internal conflicts and criticism. But their work on community improvement received some positive support from both Republicans and Democrats. By the late 1960s, civil rights efforts were viewed as increasingly partisan. More Democrats than Republicans (especially at the national level) were in favor of civil rights measures. In fact, Democratic support for civil rights laws led some white working-class Democrats to support Republican candidates. Indigenous rights and sovereignty issues did not follow such a clear partisan split, though. Many Democrats who supported greater sovereignty rights for Indigenous Nations saw their support as similar to supporting civil rights and equality for other groups. And many Republicans saw sovereignty rights and community development efforts among Indigenous nations as consistent with their support for states’ rights and local control. Democrats and Republicans did not agree on every part of tribal sovereignty. But leaders and members of both parties found some common ways to support increased sovereignty rights. This bipartisan support helped pave the way to new legislation that shifted federal policy away from earlier policies of termination and relocation.
LaDonna and Fred Harris developed an important political partnership based on their shared commitment to improving conditions facing Indigenous people in Oklahoma and across the country. Fred Harris served as a US senator from 1964 to 1973 and was considered a leading expert on issues confronting Native Americans, in part because he was from Oklahoma and married to LaDonna, an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation.
Courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.