Best and worst presidents for Indians

This Presidents’ Day, We Highlight the Best Presidents for Indian Country

By Rob CapricciosoRichard M. Nixon: He’s the president who’s not usually on anyone’s best list, but for Indian country, he was a champion. Changing course on many of the policies that had driven so many Indians into bleak poverty, Nixon, with the guidance of his Mohawk Indian affairs leader Louis R. Bruce, endorsed a self-determination plan for tribes, ushering in a new era for Natives.

Barack Obama: It’s taken this “One Who Helps People Throughout the Land”–his adopted Crow name–just three years to show that he’s seriously committed to taking action on Indian issues, brokering passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act reauthorization, the Tribal Law and Order Act, and the $3.4 billion Cobell settlement.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: His New Deal will never be forgotten. For Natives, it included the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which ended the sale of tribal lands and restored ownership of unallocated lands to Native American groups. The policy helped reverse the Dawes Act’s infamous privatization of communal holdings of tribes, while returning to tribal self-governance.

Bill Clinton: He set a model for Obama, hiring Natives to work in his administration, and holding meetings with tribal leaders at the White House—both areas that the current president has taken the ball and run with. And he made some memorable commitments.

Ulysses S. Grant: This blast from the presidential past reminds us that good intentions were sometimes present in American history toward Indians—but that good federal intentions were and are not always the best for tribal interests.

Worth noting:

George H.W. Bush: When he signed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act into law in 1990, it was a pretty progressive move, especially when compared to his son who would later leave most things Indian alone.

John F. Kennedy: JFK and his brothers, Bobby and Teddy, are remembered fondly by many Natives due to their push for Indian education initiatives, as well as Bobby’s campaign visit to Pine Ridge Reservation in 1968 just before his assassination.

Jimmy Carter: He signed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act into law in 1979, saying, “It is a fundamental right of every American, as guaranteed by the first amendment of the Constitution, to worship as he or she pleases.”Indian-Killer Andrew Jackson Deserves Top Spot on List of Worst U.S. Presidents

By Gale Courey Toensing and ICTMN StaffAndrew Jackson: A man nicknamed “Indian killer” and “Sharp Knife” surely deserves the top spot on a list of worst U.S. Presidents.

Andrew Jackson “was a forceful proponent of Indian removal,” according to PBS. Others have a less genteel way of describing the seventh president of the United States.

Dwight Eisenhower: President Dwight Eisenhower, the World War II hero who served as President from 1953 until 1961, was an early advocate of consultation. On August 15, 1953, he signed into law H.R. 1063, which came to be known as Public Act 280, because he believed it would help forward “complete political equality to all Indians in our nation.”

George W. Bush: While George W. Bush was one of three presidents since 1995 to issue proclamations designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month, his understanding of tribal sovereignty is limited.

Abraham Lincoln: The majority of the United States knows Lincoln as the president who “cannot tell a lie,” and as the leader of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, if you were to ask Native Americans their perception of the great president, the image would be much darker.

Ulysses S. Grant: Grant made it on our ‘Best’ Presidents list as well. Mostly because his intentions were in the right place and something that hadn’t been seen in that time. But those good intentions can’t save him from the fact of the matter.Andrew Jackson--The Worst President The Cherokee Ever Met

By Christina BerryThe title of worst US president is hotly debated and is most often awarded to Andrew Johnson or Warren Harding. Many polls and studies rank Andrew Jackson in or near the top 10 best presidents. However, to many Cherokees Andrew Jackson is without a doubt the worst US president.Comment:  For more on the presidents, see George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

Alcatraz inspired Nixon to act

Alcatraz Occupation Four Decades Ago Led to Many Benefits for American Indians

By Dean ChaversWhen 78 Indian college students took over the Alcatraz Island prison in San Francisco Bay on November 19, 1969 to protest the poor treatment of Indians in schools and the hated termination policy, none of us had any idea that our actions would have such a lasting impact on Indian policy in the U.S. But since that time, the federal government has clearly changed from anti-Indian to pro-Indian, at least according to some Indian people.

Termination of Indian treaties was the law of the land in 1969. President Richard Nixon reversed that policy and declared termination to be dead in 1970 as a direct result of the Alcatraz occupation. Since then, Congress has passed at least 16 laws that make life better for Indians.

Browning Pipestem, Otoe, was the lawyer for the occupiers of Alcatraz. He had gone to law school with a young attorney on the White House staff, and the two of them “back-channeled,” according to Browning, for months. (The occupation lasted until June 11, 1971, a total of 19 months.) Nixon constantly wanted to know what was happening with the occupation—he wanted to know when the Indian college students had occupied the island, why they had done it and what they wanted to happen because of what they were doing. Nothing official was written or declared, but whenever Nixon wanted to know what was going on with the occupation, Browning would call either me or Richard Oakes, the leader of the Alcatraz occupation, and then pass along whatever information he had gathered to his lawyer-friend in the White House. Browning, who also pushed for the end of the destructive termination of Indian treaties and for the right of tribes to govern themselves, apparently told the president (through his conduit) almost everything that happened on the island.

Up to that time, Congress had passed some 5,000 laws dealing with Indians, and most of them were bad for Indians. Nixon was an early supporter of termination in the 1940s and 1950s, but he announced the most important change in Indian policy in 1970—the year of his “self-determination” speech, which was delivered on July 8, 1970. He said federal policy would no longer call for terminating the treaties between the U.S. and Indian tribes; instead, the federal policy would be self-determination. I see Browning’s input all over that Nixon declaration—he wrote this type of rhetoric in frequent messages to the White House. Congress supported Nixon’s policy a few years later and started passing laws that were positive for Indians.Comment:  The story of why Nixon passed a slew of Indian legislation seems to be getting more complicated. There are several claimants for who or what inspired him to him act.

For more on the Nixon administration, see Unsung Hero of the Nixon Administration, "Dickie, Don't Forget the Indians," and Why Nixon Did It. For more on Alcatraz, see Indians Commemorate Alcatraz Anniversary and Alcatraz Changed Course of History?

Unsung hero of Nixon administration

Doug George-Kanentiio:  Navajo man helped save environmentLes Lobaugh is, according to Mary Louise Uhlig of the Environmental Protection Agency, the most "influential, important and anonymous Native lawyer in America."

At the event to mark National American Indian Heritage Month at the EPA held in Washington, DC on November 4 Lobaugh was the featured speaker. His presentation followed a performance by Joanne Shenandoah whose music celebrated the the great influence Native people have had on environmental issues.

Ms. Uhlig told the assembly of EPA workers that Mr. Lobaugh drafted the Endangered Species Act, followed by the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act which in turn led to the formation of the EPA; all of which took place during the Nixon administration.

Literally millions of animals, plants and fishes can attribute their survival as specific species to the protection given to them by the federal statutes initiated by Mr. Lobaugh.And:In his remarks following the introduction Mr. Lobaugh spoke with passion about the natural world. He cited Christopher Columbus as an example of the great differences between the Europeans and the Native people with regards to the earth.

While aboriginals viewed the earth as a living organism upon which sustainability was a key principle Columbus saw the land from a purely economic perspective Lobaugh said. The European explorers carried with them not only a conflicting philosophy about nature they also brought diseases which killed millions of Natives and made the colonization of the Americans possible Lobaugh observed.

Lobaugh noted that the "attitude of conquest and subjugation extracted a heavy price" which began to change a generation ago a change began in what he said was a "reevaluation of our relationship to the environment" which in turn has brought the US closer to the native ideals of sustainability.

But, he warned, there was cause for concern, noting that there are many who now want to retreat from the environmental standards set by law. He said that there are politicians and developers now claiming that environmental protection rules are an "attack upon our basic freedoms" which may well lead to a return to "conquest, subjugation and exploitation." Some, he warned, have gone so far as to demand the dismantling of the EPA.Comment:  For more on Richard Nixon, see Iron Eyes in Frost/Nixon and "Dickie, Don't Forget the Indians." For more on Western vs. Native values, see Columbus the Cannibal and Why We Believe in Columbus.

GOP.com's Indian accomplishment

GOP.Com:  Republicans Accomplished Indians!Everyone's been making fun of the GOP.Com web site and so In The Hoop thought we would too but inclusion of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 in the "Accomplishment" list of the Republican Party seems more sad than humorous. So there you go.Comment:  I don't mind giving Republicans credit for this act. But it would be good to have some background first. For instance, did the GOP envision Indians having dual citizenship in the US and their own sovereign nations? Or did they consider citizenship part of the process of terminating the tribes and assimilating the Indians?

A better choice for GOP.com's Indian accomplishment would be the legislation championed by Richard Nixon in the early 1970s. I don't think there's any way to spin that as a negative. For Indians, his reign was one of the highlights--perhaps the highlight--of the 20th century.

For more on the subject, see Why Nixon Did It.

But we can guess why GOP.com didn't highlight Nixon's accomplishments. Presumably it's because Nixon resigned in disgrace after launching a conservative culture of corruption that's lasted 40 years. Republicans would prefer to pretend that Nixon didn't exist.

Iron Eyes in Frost/Nixon

In Frost/Nixon, the PSA featuring Iron Eyes Cody as the crying Indian appears on a TV screen for a couple seconds. This gives me an excuse to say I just saw Frost/Nixon.



The movie did a fine job of making the preparations for a TV special into a real drama. It would've been better except for the over-the-top late-night call before the last interview. And for Nixon's sudden transformation from intellectual boxer into punch-drunk has-been.

Apparently the final confrontation was completely phony. In fact, many of the movie's key aspects were phony. I guess the only way they could make the story dramatic was to falsify it.

Nixon v Frost:  The true story of what really happened when a British journalist bullied a TV confession out of a disgraced ex-President

Frost/Nixon:  A Dishonorable Distortion of History

Film Review:  Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon’s Self-Congratulatory Revisionism

By now you should know my position on portraying history accurately. If you can't make a true story interesting without falsifying it, then don't. Make up a story instead.

Frost/Nixon would've worked just as well--maybe better--if it were about a fictional journalist interviewing a fictional president. The subject could've been the president's decision to invade a Middle East country based on trumped-up intelligence after a terrorist act it didn't commit. The goal could've been to get the president to admit he was wrong, the invasion wasn't justified, and he committed crimes in his zeal for vengeance.

Frost/Nixon does get a bonus point for using my hometown of Palos Verdes as a stand-in for San Clemente. Of course, it was totally obvious to anyone who's been to Palos Verdes or San Clemente.

Images:  Archival & CinematicOne of the expectations in a play-to-film transition is an opening up of the theatrical space to a more cinematic canvas. A scene during a lunch meeting with Nixon and his agent, Swifty Lazar, was such an opportunity. A home in Palos Verdes, standing in for La Casa Pacifica, offered a spectacular ocean view, and seemed a much more cinematic choice than the dining room that was scripted.Except for his crimes against the Constitution, Nixon wasn't a bad president. As I've noted before, he was a great president for Indians. For more on the subject, see "Dickie, Don't Forget the Indians," Why Nixon Did It, and Best President for Indians--Ever.

Rob's rating:  8.0 of 10. (The first 3/4 of the movie was more like an 8.5.)

"Dickie, don't forget the Indians"

Blackwell on Nixon, NewmanA July 11 editorial in Indian Country Today, "Praise for an unsung hero" [Vol. 28, Iss. 6], stirred deep memories for Charles Blackwell, the Chickasaw Nation ambassador in Washington.

Blackwell said he is certain that research somewhere in his files will show that on the night he was elected president, Richard M. Nixon telephoned Wallace Newman, the unsung hero of the editorial and Nixon's acknowledged mentor for life, and asked his advice. With the familiarity the older man always adopted toward Nixon, Newman immediately responded, "'Dickie, don't forget the Indians,'" Blackwell said.And:Nixon proved indispensable to contemporary tribal self-determination. Thousands of Indians and Alaska Natives pressed the campaign for it throughout the 1960s and after; and as Comanche advocate LaDonna Harris maintains to this day, Nixon's predecessor in the presidency, Lyndon Baines Johnson, deserves more credit than he has gotten for including Natives in "Great Society" anti-poverty programs that reached fruition under Nixon.

In any case, Nixon "got it" when it came to Indians. He appreciated early on that the dominant theme in Native affairs was tribal, as distinct from civil, rights. Here was something the federal government could do something about under enlightened leadership. The Nixon administration, relying on the copious collaboration of tribes and Indian advisers, provided it in abundance. Not only did Nixon's "Special Message to the Congress on Indian Affairs" of July 8, 1970, launch the federal policy of tribal self-determination with a momentum lasting at least 30 years. It also recognized an end to termination as overt federal policy.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Facts About Native Sovereignty.

Why Nixon did it

Praise for an unsung heroMany suggestions are given for Nixon's interest in changing Indian policy. Some say he wanted his administration to address minority and ethnic relations emergent during the Cold War. The Johnson and Kennedy administrations addressed civil rights, race and ethnic relations, but did not uphold or support indigenous rights based on treaties and government-to-government relations. Nixon's Quaker background, with its history of honoring treaties, tribal land ownership, and engaging social and political support for Indian communities, significantly contributed to his psychology and understanding of the world. Indian activists during the 1960s and '70s say that Indian protests and visibility created a political environment that forced the U.S. government and the Nixon administration to recognize Indian treaty rights and social needs.

All of these factors most likely contributed to the development of Nixon's innovative Indian policy, but perhaps the most intriguing impact may have been a personal relationship with his Whittier College football coach, Wallace Newman.

Newman was a member of the La Jolla Band of Mission Indians, whose reservation is located in southern California. His mother was of Basque and Luiseno Indian descent. Newman was well-versed in the traditions and history of the La Jolla community. He spoke the Luiseno language fluently and mastered family and tribal customs that he learned from his great aunt, "Yela" Maria Antonio Nelson.And:As a captain of the USC squad, Newman led the Trojans to victory over Penn State in the 1923 Rose Bowl. After graduating, he took a job as a football coach at West Covina High School and was later invited to coach at Whittier College, then a Quaker institution. He coached the Whittier Poets from 1929 to 1951 (Nixon played for him from 1932 to 1934). By all accounts, Newman was popular among his players, and gained considerable respect as a mentor and teacher of football and good character.

Nixon, a substitute tackle, did not get much playing time, but was on the team for three seasons. Newman admired and respected Nixon as a student, friend and politician. In practices, Nixon often got roughed up, but he did not complain and always came back to meet the next plays. Nixon did not play enough while at Whittier College to earn a letter, but years later Newman had the honor of presenting the president with an honorary letter. Newman supported Nixon's political campaigns, from his 1946 run for Congress through to the 1968 presidential election, and remained a close friend after Nixon's resignation from the presidency in 1974.

Newman had a long-term and significant influence on Nixon as a man, and most likely provided some first-hand knowledge of Indian people and life that few modern presidents have had. In his memoirs, the former president said that other than his own father, Newman was the person who had the greatest influence on his life. His interest and policy proposals in Indian affairs often puzzled his group of immediate advisers, who probably did not share the same interest.Comment:  This story is a powerful testament to the "butterfly effect." Because Nixon met one Indian in college, he changed the course of America's Indian policy. If true, Newman is indeed an unsung hero.

Perhaps the next great champion of Indian rights is some college kid taking a Native studies course right now. Or reading Sherman Alexie or watching Adam Beach. Or perusing PEACE PARTY and this blog, for all I know.