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From the
1927 Grand
Council of American Indians
"The white people, who are trying to make us over into
their image,
they want us to be what they call "assimilated," bringing the Indians
into
the mainstream and destroying our own way of life and our own cultural
patterns. They believe we should be contented like those whose
concept
of happiness is materialistic and greedy, which is very different from
our way."
"We want freedom from the white man rather than to be
integrated.
We don't want any part of the establishment, we want to be free to
raise
our children in our religion, in our ways, to be able to hunt and fish
and live in peace."
"We don't want power, we don't want to be congressmen, or
bankers....we
want to be ourselves. We want to have our heritage, because we
are
the owners of this land and because we belong here."
"The white man says, there is freedom and justice for
all.
We have had "freedom and justice," and that is why we have been almost
exterminated. We shall not forget this."
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