Radio Free Alcatraz 1969-12-30; Radio Free Alcatraz

This is the Pacifica network in just a moment we'll go to Alcatraz but first here is Buffy Sainte-Marie. Can you remember the time. That you have a. Damn. Good. Point. And install. Radio welcoming you to Indian land Alcatraz

of the Indian tribe. And tonight we have with us grace Thorpe. You may remember was with us the first evening that we were on. About a week ago. And Grey stork will be working in public relations for the all for Prez movement. But before we get to that I would like to. Kind of mention that we have besides Grace Thorpe. Who is in public relations we also have our coordinator Earl Livermore and our sister coordinator Dean Travers. And we'll have these two gentlemen on the show at a later date. And we have a curriculum committee set up but we have no one named for this committee yet. But the curriculum committee is going to. Be composed of. I believe five or six individuals and we're going to try and set up a training an academic Indian university. And. Which would be devoted to part part of the work at the university would be.

Like. Like be-I has now on the job training and then we would have. At the academic. Portion of the university we would have Indian history and things like tribal organizations. And also will have a spiritual center and an Indian Museum and an ecology center this would all fall into the curriculum. And also all. Under the curriculum. Is the travelling university and we hope to get this into effect. Before. Well soon sometime this year hopefully well 970. And the traveling university would be set up to visit Indian reservations in an attempt to preserve the culture. And. They would do filming recordings. On tape and paper. And kind of reserve this for posterity and also at the same time it would show how the be-I kind of falling down on the job. And so well let's get to grace right now. Grace could you explain.

A little bit about what you would be doing in public relations. Well I believe so John. I think our particular job in public relations is to see that the local community certainly gets information about what's going on here at Alcatraz but also because we have so much interest from our Indian tribes all over the North and South American continents certainly to see that we get information to those groups. And of course to the regular white community. And by the information I mean that would be available is what our aims what our goals are it just as you are saying here your universities and my particular job will be to publicize anything of any importance that might happen here in Alcatraz as a matter of fact important things happen here almost every minute. But certainly every day we would have something that would be able to release to the newspapers. Well I see that with what we have here. We've got the we've got the arrow so to speak and now. We

already have. They're old enough to make the head. I think it would help if we had the cooperation of the reservation Indians and the Indians in the urban areas. Along with the Indian various Indian organizations like the National Indian youth council or the National Congress of American Indians. You know. One of the first things John that I have in my mind in starting out of course we will have a committee that will meet will determine you know what avenues we will be following in public relations but one of the very first that I thought would be of importance I thought I do a color slide presentation. It would take about a half an hour which would be available to the service clubs and we would have our union people that go out within San Francisco area where the talks also now would be sending speakers out to the various colleges. And yes I thought what that's what that will be my first project first I have to get back to Arizona and close out my house and my business there and then come back. My very first project as far as I'm concerned would be to

establish a speaker's bureau and I have taken about 200 or so live pictures since I've been here and they would be suitable to use you know with a projector and cover slide presentation. You're giving up what you haven't in Arizona than for I don't really feel that I'm giving up too much I think I probably gain many things along the way. I'm sure that there are many of us that feel that way or else we wouldn't be here. This with this. I also know what public relations will use with any funds soliciting any funds for Yes I will. As a matter of fact most everybody that I talk to that has anything to do with the new committee being formed tells me something different. You know that I would be responsible for and I've just told you that I would be responsible for perhaps trying to get funds to keep the operation Alcatraz in business. Yeah I know what Dean Chambers told me this morning about we received some mining stock pretty good

some not to give the exact amount. Yes yes yes you know I didn't remember you mentioned that some copper rights in copper shares and the man that donated it. Well we want to thank him for the donation and he gave it to us for the betterment of all Indian people which to him is good for all people and depends on how we handle this mining stock the funds from the mining stock of the town all right. There's more money to come. You know this is kind of something to look forward to now that wouldn't fall in your area would it. Yes because probably along the way with making speeches and I would be going to talk perhaps and give this kind of slide presentation to different foundations and perhaps to different industries. So the color slide presentation will be available to other people just besides the regular service clubs like airlines and rotary business organizations community.

We might as a matter of fact if it's successful people would walk talk or speak or if we could make arrangements if they paid expenses to send people out of the United States I think we're going to have a need for them to send people all over the United States because right now the people on the West Coast it's very easy for them to identify with what we're doing because especially in the state of California because we're right here and they can come up and say you know I see the tourist boat go by every day to watch it come out and see what we're doing out here. But the people who are even in Washington the state of Washington and Oregon they don't really know that much about what we are doing. One of the gentleman on the island was telling me this afternoon that he called his brother in law. Who is. Connected with the Federation of tribes in Washington and they said that

they didn't really know what it was all about who they supported us with what they didn't know. But they camped in some areas they can't really get out and actively support us because of the you know that there are many reservations that have to worry about suffering the consequences of this behavior. Yes it's very true. And as long as we're on that subject see I'm I really myself I'm really down on the Bureau of Indian Affairs because they've done so much harm in my own personal point of view. They have done more harm than they have. Good for the last 70 years. Well ever since it's been set up and do you have any opinions about the bill. Well the only time I hear John consider him to be I what would you replace it with and that is what might frighten me. You know we are complaining too much about B I doubt then what would happen with that mean terminations for Indian reservations. This is the thing that

enters into my mind of course I don't feel that they have done the job that they should do a nation as wealthy as the United States of America for heaven's sakes I mean to have our children come from the reservation school with only a fifth grade education or to attend a grade on a national average. Why. It's ridiculous. Yeah I read in the book our brother's keeper that the longer an Indian student stays in a school the further behind he becomes an education. Compare education compared as a whole with the outside society. But as far as replacing the BSA like you say it is the lesser of two evils. Maybe you could be placed under a different category. You know the National Congress of American Indians one of the resolutions in October voted to have it placed by itself under the under secretary directly and the Department of Interior whether being under or directly under the

Department of Interior and other would establish a separate section just for Indians. Well even another suggestion for them is we've got educated India you know. Maybe they ought to let some Indians get in there and try running the BIA. Because you've got to got to be Indian and you've got to live in India to know what an Indian what the Indian problems are. The be all that I see from the bee is that they hire a lot of people and the people stick around for 20 or 30 years retire take their monthly check and I think to a large degree that's a lot of the concern that comes as far as Indian people. I mean I don't want to put you on the spot or any of that is alright I like to be put on the spot like stand up be counted any time. Oh good that's well we have to draw a line somewhere you know it's to what we're going to stand up for. Well let's I want to wish you good luck with the public relations. Thank you I think you're

doing a good job with it. We need it and like this is our first attempt at a really big attempt at organization but then I think it's a matter of fact I would like to say this and publicly to our listening audience. The job that you people have done here I think it's absolutely fantastic. Well we've got I mean that's an awful Verity. But thank you. But we've got a lot to lose and a lot to wince you know still have a rough road to travel on for the trip that I don't know we've been over a lot of rough roads in the past so what's what's And one more detail to add to the list. Now when will you be taking charge of the public relations. Well the committee that is supposed to meet tonight is staffing. Then I'm going to fly tomorrow to Phoenix and then I'll settle my affairs there and then I'll drive back. You know my car

so probably I'll be ready to go on the job. Well probably Monday or Tuesday or so my partner somebody stay after I get here I wish I could operate from here because we have a telephone. Yes we've had I don't remember sure whether we have electricity right now we have electricity tonight. I don't know what happened but it's here so I can't knock it. It's a matter of fact I'd like to apologize for last night's confusion about. With the generator that we had running in here and it was pretty chaotic mass confusion I had Johnny pericope. She came in last night and we shouted at each other a lot but really we like each other just we couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear me and I couldn't hear her. That was the big problem we had last night and when I spoke to Johnny last night she mentioned something about her reservation in Montana. That the government has a factory there to give the Indians employment

reservation from I don't remember. But it's an M-16. They make M-16 rifles there and interesting. Yeah well they only make a dollar 60 an hour though and only one person from the family could work there. So I don't know what they do they employ is a brand new factory you just don't know. Recently I don't know. I imagine so what if they're making him 60. It's not been Oh it's been there for a while. Well it's almost 7:30. Oh one more thing I'd like to say that if anyone wants to send any questions concerning the Alcatraz movement if you have any questions that we haven't touched upon. And I know there are many just write a letter to myself on crew Jill

Carroll KPFA family 22 0 7 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley California 9 4 7 0 4. And we'll try and get all these questions answered now we're going to expand our programming here we're going to develop it much further. It's taking a little time to get all of our resources out but we'll have some pretty heavy programming coming on here in the near future. And Grace I'd like to thank you for being here tonight. Oh thank you for having me. It's a pleasure in the very very best of luck on your program John. OK thank you. And this program was brought to you by the courtesy of the Pacific network Pacifica networks and on behalf of the Indians of all tribes from Indian land Alcatraz I'd like to wish you a good night. And this is the headquarters of the Pacifica network in Berkeley the next in these series of programs from Alcatraz will be heard tomorrow night at the same time 7:15 Pacific time 10:15 Eastern Time.

And this is the Pacifica network returning you to your local station.