The New Indians

The New Indians, Stan Steiner, Dell Publishing, 1968

Based on many years of traveling through Indian land in America, and many interviews, this is a survey of what one might call the start of Red Power.

The author srarts with the story of John Chewie, a full-blood Cherokee from eastern Oklahoma, arrested for deer hunting out of season, and for hunting without a license. Chewie didn't deny the charges; in that part of the state, $500 was the annual income for Indians. He killed the deer out of necessity on land that the US Government held in trust for the Cherokee tribe. When word got out about his arrest, the town where he was held, population 1,100, was flooded with over 400 armed Indians, just sitting around like a normal day. But their message was clear: put John Chewie in jail, and blood will flow.

Since many tribes have a strong oral tradition, it's common for stories to be passed down from generation to generation; the tale can be told orally of something that happened 300 years ago as if it happened last week.

The US Government has built several suburban housing projects intended for Indians; all are empty. To people used to a dirt floor, or cooking over a wood fire, the houses looked too much like suburban Cleveland, or Long Island, or like a hotel. It seemed like another case of the government telling the Indians what's best for them; no one thought of asking the Indians what sort of dwelling they would inhabit.

The part in treaties about "as long as the grass shall grow" is pretty meaningless, considering that the huge majority of Indian land has moderate to severe erosion problems. Much of it is out west, where the yearly rainfall is not much. If there is a decent-sized river nearby, there is either a dam on it or most of the water has been diverted to irrigate white farms and ranches.

Steiner covers a number of other subjects, including the changing role of women, the "war on poverty," Uncle Tomahawks, politics on the reservations, urban Indians, and the government's desire to "help" poor reservations with huge factories (whether or not they employ any Indians is something else entirely), when all the tribe might need is something small-scale like a coffee shop or gas station.

This is a first-rate book. It's a complete and illuminating look inside the world of modern Indians. Very well done, this is well worth reading.