Conference on American Indians to be Held
Diocesan Press Service. May 6, 1964 [XXI-B]
Three United States government officials will address an American Indian Capitol Conference on Poverty May 9-12 at the Washington Cathedral, Washington, D. C.
They are Senator Hubert M. Humphrey (D-Minn.), Stewart L. Udall, Secretary of the Interior, and Philleo Nash, Commissioner on Indian Affairs.
Approximately 200 American Indians will explore their roles in promoting education, employment, housing, health and community mobilization among their own people. Also participating in the conference, sponsored by the Council on Indian Affairs, will be 100 Indian fieldworkers from religious and secular, public and private agencies.
The conference, in a sense, is a response to President Lyndon B. Johnson's "unconditional war on poverty" program, announced on January 20. At a White House meeting with leaders of American Indian tribes, the President pledged "a continuing effort to eradicate poverty and to provide new opportunities for the first citizens of America," the American Indians.
At the same time, President Johnson said:
"Both in terms of statistics and in terms of human welfare, it is a fact that America's first citizens, our Indian people, suffer more from poverty today than any other group in America. This is a shameful fact."
The President pointed out that family income of the 400,000 Indians on reservations is less than one-third of the average income of other Americans.
"The average unemployment rate," he said, "is nearly 50 percent and reaches as high as 85 percent. Only 10 percent of housing meets minimum standards of availability. The average young adult has only an eighth grade education. The high school dropout rate is 60 percent."
While most Americans live an average of 62 years, President Johnson noted, the average age at death of an Indian on a reservation is 42.
"All of these," he said, "are reasons why I have directed that in our attack on poverty program we put our Indian people in the forefront."
In conjunction with the conference on Indian poverty, a special American Indian Sunday will be observed May 10 at the Washington Cathedral.
A service of Holy Communion conducted entirely by American Indian priests will begin the day-long observance. The service will be conducted in English, Sioux (Dakota), Chippewa and Navajo. Hymns will be sung in the Dakota language. The Offertory will be sung by a choir from St. Christopher's Mission, Bluff, Utah. The Rev. Vine V. Deloria, D.D., a Yankton Sioux, will celebrate. Dr. Deloria is Archdeacon of South Dakota and a former staff officer of National Council.
The main service, however, will be held at 4 p.m. that afternoon, also in the Cathedral. It will begin with a procession of American Indians in full dress, carrying banners and other symbols of their respective tribes. The speaker will be Mr. Udall.
While participants from across the nation are in Washington, they will attend a reception on Capitol Hill to meet Senators, Congressmen and their staffs.
Heading the Steering Committee for the conference is the Rev. Clifford L. Samuelson, coordinator of Indian Work for the National Council's Home Department.
Others involved in conference planning from the Home Department are Mrs. Elizabeth C. Rosenthal, the Rev. Reinhardt B. Gutmann, the Rev. Tollie L. Caution, D.D., the Rev. Daisuke Kitagawa, D. D., Marvin Josephson, and, from the Department of Christian Social Relations, the Rev. Arthur Walmsley and Mrs. Muriel Webb.