Best president for Indians--ever
Building on Nixon's 'new' Indian policyShortly after he took office, Nixon laid out a new direction in Indian affairs. He was the first president in the modern era to affirm treaties as the basis of the relation between American Indian communities and the federal government. This aligned American Indian policy with history, the legal reading of treaties, and the viewpoints of most American Indian community members who support treaties as the legal basis of agreed relations with the United States.
Nixon also suggested to Congress that termination policy be formally rejected. Indian communities should enjoy their legal and historical rights without the fear of termination. Economic success by an Indian community should not lead to termination. Nixon rejected assimilation as the primary focus of Indian policy, and was willing to recognize and support the building of stronger tribal governments that would express tribal culture.
4 comments:
Writerfella here --
For once, writerfella agrees -- the Taos people had their sacred Blue Lake lands returned to them and President Nixon went in person to conduct the ceremonies. But the Viet Nam hubbub and student unrest got all the headlines...
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
My mentor at Purdue was Donald Parman, who was fairly conservative. He was convinced Nixon didn't give a damn about Indians. But many activists had charged his administration with bias against minorities, especially Blacks. Giving some concessions to Indians was the least politically costly choice. After all, how much does the vote in South Dakota really matter to the GOP?
Al Carroll
Writerfella here --
Or better said, what does the vote in South Dakota matter to Donald Parman?
All Best
Russ Bates
'writerfella'
Even if Nixon's motives were impure, I'm not sure that matters. What counts in this case is what he accomplished, not why he did it.
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