So today theres like 5. 2 million native people, the United States, and about 2 they represent about percent of the 332 Million People in the states. And even though theres 326 reservoirs in 2015, long range areas in the usa, two thirds of the indian population actually live in towns in urban large cities. And when you look at the number of recognized tribes, t basis theres 183 countries in the world. So lets go back in history. A bit, because when you look at the history, it was really kind. My native people defending their homelands, defending people in which United States government engaged with native people in over thousand battles and wars and skirmishes fought against each other. And in the end, beginning in 1778, there a signing of 374 treaties that ratified it. And in addition to that, for 94, 94 agreements. So when we look at the best friend of native people in the white, then we to look at the federal indian policy that each president and sometimes president s continued. The previous indian. So imagine federal indian policy begin the relations with native people native tribes and imagine it being like a pendulum that kind of oscillates, swings back and forth. So sometimes its positive like during the washington years was really kind of lets make friends with native people, but lets make treaties. And so that continued into the jefferson period and during the thomas years then there was an of civilization of bringing to native people and just after jeffersons president then, the war of 1812 begins with england. And so the british then are able to gain native people as their allies and we have this new american government, a new american going to war against not only the british, but also people largely in the eastern camp of the states. So in the 1830, we have indian policy led by Andrew Jackson and aldrins plan. We have missionaries which are supported by the government. And so there is a policy of allowing missionaries going out, introducing christianity to the people. During the civil war when lincoln is in office, then really with the south winning the in the early stages, the first couple of years, then the United States government, we have to neglect people in the west and. So lincoln really kind of in sending all the supplies and troops to fight this with the confederate soldiers, then everything kind of drawn from the west, everything that was needed. So we an ongoing of ranching hero of the civil war, i becomes president which states . Great military commander but not so great as president and he introduces a peace policy. But the peace policy was he introduces something called the campaign led by general sheridan, which is named attacking native people during the winter into this time period. Its really about assimilation so we have the assimilation policy of boarding schools and also the adults that tries to break the Community Membership of native groups and to divide the native people and to get them to see themselves as individuals and to the state does not just changes in the 1930 to integrate depression, and its called indian reorganization, which was actually positive for native people and laid the foundation modern tribal governments today, which then. With world war two, then you have the reverse the pendulum of battle indian oscillating against native people with the introduction of the termination of the trust relationships and the relocation policy to the program that moved indians from reservations to students. This is how you get the truth out the place today. Now studies in in the 1970s you have an introduction something called indian selfdetermination. And this was further by bill clintons government the government approach in looking at native native variants. So lets begin with general franklin roosevelt, john kennedy possibly being a good friend to the president of jimmy carter and bill Richard Nixon, Andrew Jackson, also was considered as sam grant, but theodore roosevelt, dwight eisenhower, Charles Prince charles first. Well, rumor has it that he was for one day, but for what he did as a u. S. Senator. Then what about . The end of the governments in courts, in the schools, the socalled five civilized tribes in the indian territory, this is england territory becomes a state in 19 seven. So lets look at the eastern president s and then lets go to the next slide. In which were going to up this list of pin. So kind of thinking, whos going to survive this kind of cut . So in this cut, then were looking at Andrew Jackson in the upper left. He was the famed indian fighter. So that not make him the best friend of native people. The white house. He promoted the indian removal act and he disputed the most dire versus georgia case, which actually recognized the sovereignty of the cherokee in setting the precedent for recognizing the sovereignty of Indian Nations. So hes really not a friend of native People Branch vetoed a bill to stop slaughter of buffalo so we continue slaughter of buffalo in terms which less than 2000 west of the mississippi river. This peace policy with the plains indians largely failed in. We introduced a winter you with bill sheridan, is this general . So not so much is in the Indian Theodore Roosevelt believed in eugenics national from many of the sacred lands in which publicly critical native people in that theres need to assimilate into to be like ourselves and thereby foregoing cultures. So he believed that strong we were in some way any so he was more the person in the lower left hand corner. I mean you will of were to allow the not so much he was not a hands on president Indian Affairs but will allowed the commissioner of Women Affairs in congress to start the new policy called termination. And that really was meant end all the treaties and with the people being asked a voluntary program called relocation was to move them from reservations and areas to cities. Because after world war two, you do not very many jobs on the reservations and so in all of the nine cases of permanent nation and relocation process process then moving to a native people, the cities in search of the native native population within the cities, the journals curtis, the senator kansas became Vice President under Herbert Hoover and he was candidate for our indian met same same group back then the state of candlestick named after camp came to indians. And so while he was still true of kansas in congress, then he introduced something called the curtis act, which the government of the price of mice tribes in the Indian Church was. Well, if they were to assimilate they were building a very Big Government schools, forts, but they were not in line with the territorial development. And so charles curtis, it would be better to dissolve their government in order to make them apart within the territory in that the movement was becoming state. So then you take the the chin, then subtract these five, and then we come to group right here and five, then president s. So with the five remaining president s, franklin roosevelt, john kennedy, jimmy carter bill clinton and Richard Nixon, lets look at so in the top left hand corner, fdr was not so much as a hands on president. I mean, babbitt could only be the tension trying to figure out not just on the great depression. And so what he did was to appoint a person by the name of john connor, the southerner, who was something of the social welfare promoter, the great friend of the indians. And so john collier is from benue, which probably the most effective commissioner affairs in, the 20th century. And so in some of the the leader of the dual opinion, he pushed legislation in fact congressmen appeared in felt that they saw john collier coming and he was not very tall and watched the of war looked like you could see he was always carrying with john brash bills and he was trying to get congressmen introduce into congress to become law library managed to do was to get an Indian Organization of 1934 and that passed in changed indian policy. It stopped the donaldson and what happened so that makes fdr and certainly john paul your good of the people the guy on the right hand corner lbj in congress he supported the indian Civil Rights Act of 1965. He and his staff, particularly some of mash. But that was inherited from john kennedy, pictured function as commissioner of Indian Affairs, argued that termination was wrong, that treaties need to be held so in effect, it as he was going out, this president really became unpopular because of the vietnam war as many of you may remember, the civil rights period that the civil rights period protest activism in vietnam. Then johnson in 1960, president johnson delivered something called the forgotten americans speech. You know, forgotten american. Once the American Indian in that they in a lower standard of life to be lifted up to the general standard. And so he was from dirt poor texans small town cops dont want to leave poverty very well and thought that native people needed help. Jimmy carter, the religious president and former georgia governor get three things that were important and very helpful to native people that in 1978 to go to the year it seems that he advocated and helped by the Child Welfare act so that indian children that were adopted would be raised by other people. First of all, of the tribe if somebody, a child could not be raised by somebody that same tribe, then another indian family would about that time. And so a child being adopted by someone that someone you didnt that culture then the child went to all kinds of culture confusion crisis convention and important piece of legislation the American Indian religious freedom act and so the American Indian religious freedom act really really recognized the cultural rights, the native beliefs of native people. And so that was really very helpful in a very powerful one most important piece of legislation in the world. Theres like 250 that were not federal laws that impact native people. And this is one you could listen for that that in the top ten has been very favorable to helping you people. What jimmy carter also did he he wanted to know what was going on in the department of interior and within in the interior department. Thats the bureau of Indian Affairs. You know. And so he was interested. Look around. So it seems to me that weve done a lot for actually it was like it was when the comparison was between religious freedom rights and things like what he also did was to promote or to upgrade the highest position in federal Indian Affairs commissioner of indian resorts. You get to see my name, which needs motive deposition to assistant secretary of interior. You also forest girard it might indian into that position as assistant secretary of interior and so thats the highest position in federal indian relations. We still have that. Laura lipton one of bill clinton. Lets the one pretty much right and so welcome back so if you see whos left then the remaining three we might be called the best friend of american in the white house. Jimmy carter survives much of the three things that did bill clinton. You know also in his carrying on the indian domination indian policy is the longest prevailing indian policy to give the entire of indian federal institutions. And so he improved upon that. President clinton was the first president to visit an indian reservation. This is pine ridge. Pine ridge reservation, south africa, on an and was also the first president to invite only the prime minister. Tribal leaders to the white house for working. And when you look at his record, the he introduced his administration and he was more kind of a hands on president in things done and introduced in several to native people and helping the tribal membership and for native people overall. I mean president clinton like lbj was from the small town, clinton was from new hope, arkansas, and raised by his grandparents was actually 1 16 charity. And so we have bill clinton in the one of the friends of the American Indian. But who was the best friend and. If we go in my opinion and in looking at indian policies and president s who were hands on in president s, we will not do administrations on their staff really kind of deal with native people in a hands on president. But one of the very interesting, richard and, perhaps heres what the photograph on the left is. Coach wallace, you coach Wallace Newman was a Latino Indian from southern california. And its when Richard Nixon graduated from high school and. He played for your college. Coolidge played baseball, i believe he also played football for sure. But what your college politics. Im not the messed up boy in nascar that ferocious image there. But when your college was Division Three and when he was at his best, the end of his four years, nixon stood almost six feet tall and weighed about. £175 when he was playing as a freshman. Then he about £155, and he played blind. He was a tackle and also a guard and he loved football. But football didnt love him. And so he was a third stringer. He was a benchwarmer for coach Wallace Newman. And so why why coach Wallace Newman wont coach newman, the latino olympian said to nixon every time nixon got knocked down, nixon got get up and be a man. Get back in there. Tell them who are nixon and fight like a man. And so that kind of inspiration got stuck with nixon and later on, Richard Nixon did say that beside my dad being the most influential person in my life, coach Wallace Newman was the second most influential individual in my life, inspired and so one he was president and being a hands on president , but also reliant on his advisors, garment and bruce, the secretary interior. He was commissioner of Indian Affairs. So that nixon did bring an end determination and approved of the reversal termination of restoring native groups. He didnt interfere. Without the press or the videotape or behind take over in 72 in the alcatraz they kind of locked down the nixon did something really kind of unusual in that he was termed land to the alaska natives and they received huge settlement that was the First Time Ever in American History in particular in president we try and land back to native people and also received a large payment for. In addition, we return sacred lands and trust me like a mount adams to the gulf people. And he strongly advocated selfdetermination without termination. And she indian. So this makes him the best president in the white house and think of American Indians. Thank you. All right well we, want to thank don for his presentation. And very quickly, if you have a question for don, please, it in the q a. And i be going through them with don and the only silly question, the one you dont ask, because we would love have those questions. So, don, im going to start out with our first question. And actually, we have people that have asked the same question. So tucker in texas and Patricia Robinson in New Hampshire would like to know what are the ranch areas, ranch areas are really kind of small reservations are many reservations sometimes like 40 acres. 80 acres. And so they only exist in california. So california kind of a very unique state in. It has reservations and ranch, but the rent arrears dont exist in other states and theyre just really quite small reservations. All right. But im going to go on patricia in New Hampshire would like to know a little more. She says, can you say a little more about American Indian role in the war of 1812 . Oh, wow. Thats a big one. Yes, its a big one. Ill try to be brief with answer, but American Indians really was kind of wondering who to fight against fight with. And it is once and so is they saw westward expansion from this, mainly from the United States settlers coming over the ohio valley. Then you saw a emerge at shawnee leader. But tecumseh and so what he did was to unite many times if you could. And he was very effective in that because he was a great speech giver and it conventional to the tribes and he was really kind of one the first native leaders to talk in terms of race in different ways. So he talked about led people unify the different groups and also to fight people saying up that you know we need to kind of come together and so we will become tribal in response to do not one thing that he did in his ability because he didnt for a lot of me to give tribes he traveled and to one to watch this entourage the circle warrior like bodyguards they were bodyguards they were warriors from different groups. So everywhere he went, he had somebody in his entourage. She could speak that language and. They would translate. So he was a very effective diplomatic speaker. All right the next question is from patricia in texas. And can you very briefly, we have lots of questions coming in now. Can you explain the dollars allotment act . Basically, the national in that name, henry, when does out of massachusetts was to take a reservation and then read like version to third made all the reservation and so that 160 acre plot be given to the head of the family and then 80 acres to members of the family. And so what this did was to create a surplus of the land left and that was opened up to right. So more the to the railroads. And so you have this really kind of individualized that the indians can take away their Community Membership in the way that they thought it will take. David in bethesda, maryland i was surprised that you didnt include Calvin Coolidge in your list. Coolidge signed the long sought indian act in 1924. Was the first president. President to speak on an indian reservation and was to be photographed in indian. Pictures that published across the country went this placing the top five. Well i would put him in the top six maybe, and so when you look at Calvin Coolidge is not a dynamic person. Hes really theres no one else doing things for him except in congress. Native people lead on a different, i might argue, for Calvin Coolidge to. Because 1924, by 1924, even though the citizenship act was passed, two thirds of the indian population were already u. S. Citizens. So that only means like the third hour we come system by that overall legislation, that legislation. Okay, now we have two individuals who are asking a very similar question, we have an anonymous attendee and karen, who is in bowie, maryland. Can you speak to the current u. S. Policy regarding native people, not just the current administration, say the past 20 years and are anonymous questioners . Please explain the present legal situation of native american communities. Its very similar. Well, look, and thats well, let me just kind of reiterate that the prevailing indian policy can stop extermination and. Form of it really of develop it. Clinton pushed long president clinton really promoted a government to government bringing native people and their government to government leaders, to the white house. And so you have that really kind of a partnership. And what is really kind of the native native groups and the tribal communities. And so forth was actually the in india. So the Indian Government in the street is that makes these tribes more independent. That makes them less dependent on the federal government and from loans and grants and things like that in britain. And so they become more independent and say more kind of and government looking at government to government relationship that clinton kind of devised and carried out when he was president. So you see more of that in the greater kind of Indian Independence case. And in kentucky, what do you think our policy should be toward . Indians . Well, i think it is going fairly well. The it is now because its a recognition of native sovereignty. Its a recognition of developed. Now, what people dont realize, i think overall is the result into native people. Native people have really kind of in cyprus. Theyve rebuilt after indian. They rebuilt civil war. They rebuilt after. That does not mean that. But when you look at that history, they were rebuilding before columbus ever arrived because even the Indian Nation went to war against each other. And so it had them had to rebuild that. Obviously, and earthquakes and rebuilding. So theres some theres this kind of embedded tenacity about the human spirit, not about the native people, but human spirit that is instilled in people to rebuild. And that embedded i. The art in wanting persist and be okay. We have so many questions. Real quick taffy gould would like to know were the navajo didnt they were the code talkers or codebreaker was acknowledged or honored by any president s after world war two. Indeed they were. There was actually special medal levels they used with the code talkers and its hard to believe, but there was like 30 some tribal languages that were tied up with code in world war two, and that was inspired world war one when the choctaw code talkers were introduced, but they were called the chopped up bunch of metal code talkers that come out of nowhere to it. And that was really stuck to the number 28, which im quoting. So theres 29 the next time we do have a question from rita in oklahoma city. She wants to she says, does he meaning know very much about the. Mcgirt Court Decision and its impact patients . Very quickly, the mcgirt decision came down to two particular treaties one with the abuse and the muskogee pardons to be. And so wed stop over stones creek two years ago. And so thats a treaty of 1832 and also the treaty 1866. Now, in particular, the treaty of 1866, this is the civil war, but that treaty says, which is very similar to three other treaties trump, johnson, chickasaw signed the same treaty of 66. The cherokee signed one of their own and some were signed one of their own. But in the muskogee treaty, that really is the foundation. The decision is that it states that the boundaries of the nation are still intact. So this gives the right of federal government, which is already human rights to major crimes that 1869 committed by. You have authority and not the authority of the State Government of oklahoma to punish individuals in this situation. And so in that same language, then the choctaw subjects lost also hundreds of cherokees and seminoles. One can imagine that those all kind of came together that at one time related people hundreds. There was plan called the state of sequoyah that possibly happen hypothetically and theoretical even in the state of Sequoyah Movement 1905 and 1960 was also called state of the ocean. State of oklahoma, state of tecumseh, and several names up there. Mm kay. Real quick. Randall would like to know how significant might be president bidens appointment of Debra Haaland as the secretary of interior make, his presidency in the eyes of native people, no other time has there been a native person appointed in that position because the appointee in the highest level for native person always been what carter changed while he was president and as assistant secretary. And so we have brown, who was assistant secretary, who acting secretary, interior for about 48 hours. I know earlier he told me that he was a professor at asu. And so he told that and laughed about it. And so he ordered like a log to be put on the fireplace. In a fireplace while he would serve acting secretary. But then when his is just and credible, then she really brought a of the native womans touch of caring i actually said on an interior Committee Report was named by and she she inspires people. You can see the concern you could do the hands on. And i am just so grateful that is the secretary robert, thank you for your insights, don. Would you like to share your thoughts about parker grants during the civil war . And later, the head Indian Affairs, who was also, according to shawnee or iroquois leader and bob is in virginia. Eli parker listen, incredible person, very intelligent. He was a lawyer, went to law school. In those days, you know we studied law. Couldnt couldnt hired because he was seneca. He was robert synagogue lee. And he went on to become an engineer and thought could be employed as an engineer. And again because of racism, he was not fired as he entered the civil war. And he on the union side, and he became, the adjutant to general grant and he and grant smoke cigars together and had drinks together. They were good friends. And so grant confided in jim, allowed him to report to john, the first native commissioner, which differs. And so a partner is in that position. Were almost 200 years until about 1968. I think johnsons year theyll be tensions when he appoints bob rifle and look to the indian from south dakota. All right. We have so many questions and only a few minutes left. So im going to go through and to see how many of these kind of will line up with one another, one one question ive had from three different individuals on, could you talk a little bit about the individuals who are pictured in the background behind you . Weve had three different individuals have asked about that. Im for tribes. Im a quarter of each and so thats an and that is to come so were in the george the third medal that you see and the person next to him is. Black hawk and soft so im second on my mothers side shawnee on my mothers side as well. The third individual in the black and white photograph is actually jethro harjo. The translation of the crazy snake i a book manuscript about thats supposed to be coming out next year. And the last person who spoke out so im this nugget and someone on my dads side and i was raised naturally and for about the first dozen years of life and kelly heaney is being some of the artist that painted that portrait. And im actually going to washington to see that treaty. And ive at that treaty, its a its a paper that falls together and it forms theres a theres actually a hole in it. So it looks like theres actually a knife hole in that treaty. All right. We another question here. I hear the native americans being referred to as indians i thought that was not a politically correct term anymore. I know in canada, indians are referred to as first canadians. And this is an interesting question for you to answer about terminology. Native people, weve kind of have taken the negative and turned into a positive. Sometimes thats really, really hard to do. It takes generations and years, years. When i hear the term american russell, the activist said, well, anyone hes been born, was born in the western hemisphere as native emerging. And usually i find that people when they say native american, then that means that theyre too close to native people. But among native people, when we talk each other, we call each other indians and are native people. Thats really kind of the word now. And none of the more safe word. Pc its really kind indigenous in canada, its first nations, which im pretty in the americas, in the western hemisphere, its indigenous and im still not quite sure what the. All right. So i wouldnt expect the language of this to johnny to guide the indian operations. All right. So, i mean, i have i can take one more question here. And i think is a great one, don, because it connects directly to a specific president. Just all red would like know what kind of reception did president nixon receive for not immediately shutting down the occupation of alcatraz . Youve got youve written and researched lot about this time period. There is so things that is going on during extradition administration because due to watergate you just William Faulkner and so its a growing popularity unpopular repeat of the vietnam war and you struggle to bring that to an end and so hes also involved in training. And so kissinger after kind of work on this is being person representing nixons and everything. Nixon in this administration its one of the most insidious administrations ever in terms of domestic issues and at the same time, one issues that are very pressing because were still kind of at the height of the cold war. I mean, we just got to review the cuban missile crisis just previously. And you have all of this going on and seem america is coming apart. And so nixon is trying to pull things together at the same time. Well, people really are kind of just watching out for trust to go on. Nixon could have easily stepped in, but Leonard Garment said, and he tells Leonard Garment, its garment goes to nixon and he says, hey, what do i need to do . And the nixon says, just let them chill. Let them have their moment for a time. And he does this in the 1972, literally take over the bureau of Indian Affairs for six decades. I mean, they take over the bureau. And so allow that to happen until hes kind of a friend to native people at the time in a very interesting way but is not so friendly towards him because you know he represents the house the presidency and all these over 10,000 words. All right, don, i actually i told a fib. Im going to give you one more question, because youve talked about what you think is the best president s ran. Theyll would like to know which president was the indians, quote unquote, worst friend. Well, let me say that theres a lot of native people who do not carry a 20 bill in their belt. I think that care of that and we apologize, guys, there are so many questions that came in. So we want to thank don for