like a thing, and the supernatural as something for Sunday 

 — both separated from ourselves; and eventually we found 

 ourselves treating one another as things also — each sepa- 

 rated from the others, competing in a struggle to surpass. 

 I am not glorifying the tribal way which was the Indian way 

 or denigrating what we are. We too are marvelous to be- 

 hold. In a few thousand years we have indeed conquered 

 nature. When I first read that there now exists an atomic 

 reactor that produces more energy than it consumes it 

 crossed my mind that we seemed to be repealing some funda- 

 mental law of physics, just as in the past few years we have 

 repealed one of our oldest proverbs, that what goes up must 

 come down. But no, we have repealed no physical laws. 

 That atomic reactor, (I think it is called a breeder reactor, 

 since it breeds energy) is simply turning matter into energy. 

 Man has become so powerful that he has begun to reduce 

 the total quantity of the matter that constitutes our planet. 

 The mind calls up a picture of the earth getting smaller and 

 smaller until it disapf)ears. But wait — as we transform our 

 earth into energy, we shall use the energy to take us to other 

 planets. If the universe is infinite, of course we can believe 

 that progress can go on forever. In your minds is the ques- 

 tion, "Is that progress?" But if you question progress at this 

 point in our long history, you have to question it all the way 

 back to the time, whenever it was, that we began our adven- 

 ture in manipulating nature instead of relating to it, and in 

 taking upon ourselves the role which we attribute every Sun- 

 day to the Almighty. 



and excitement of their dance and their song, and the gran- 

 deur of their thought and ritual, but because they are a 

 living example of another way of life. We need the model of 

 that way of life not because we ourselves can turn back his- 

 tory and become again like tribal peoples, but because 

 while they exist there is a chance to learn from them some of 

 the basic values of life which (like matter) we have ourselves 

 transmuted into energy. To the degree that we can regain 

 these basic values we may learn to live with ourselves 

 again. 



Friends of American Indians are fond of remembering 

 the cultural debt that we owe to them — tobacco (which 

 we misuse), chocolate, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pumpkin, 

 turkey, and so on — it is hard to imagine our world without 

 these. We also know that Indian ideas of democracy, and 

 the federations of tribes, influenced the birth of our nation 

 and our Constitution. We know how much our language, 

 our place names, our nature-lore, have gained froin Amer- 

 ican Indians. I am suggesting that the cultural contribu- 

 tion that the Indians offer to us — and which we reject — is 

 far greater than these items which we have accepted. 



Many of us, particularly in the East, are surprised to 

 know that Indians are not disappearing — indeed Indians 

 who identify as Indians, who associate with Indian com- 

 munities, and live in terms of Indian values — even if they 

 half starve to do so — Indians in this sense are actually in- 

 creasing in numbers every year. This is due biologically to 

 modern medicine, the control of contagious diseases, and 



Walrus figure carved from loalrus ivory, by Eskimo Indian. Loaned by Indian Arts and Crafts Board. 



I am part of our European civilization, one of the mem- 

 bers indeed of the very university where man first achieved 

 his latest and greatest technical mastery over nature. I ad- 

 mire the mind and the spirit which is ours; I do not deni- 

 grate it. Nor do I say that the individuals of any popula- 

 tion are better than those of another. We European Amer- 

 icans have as far as I know as many noble spirits and warm 

 and kind people as any other group; we also have our share 

 of small and evil people. I am only trying to distinguish 

 two ways of life, two paths for men and mankind. American 

 Indian communities need to be sustained, not only or even 

 mainly because of the beauty of their artifacts, and charm 



especially the saving of lives of children. But it is due 

 equally to an act of will on the part of Indians. From the 

 beginning of our history on this continent we have made it 

 difficult for Indians to continue to live as Indians. We 

 took away their means of making a living as Indians, of- 

 fering them this difficult choice: "Maintain your commu- 

 nities and live in terms of Indian values," we told them. 

 "If you can't feed yourselves that way in our competitive, 

 utilitarian, impersonal society, then change into white men. 

 Leave your communities and your values; stop living in 

 ways you think proper; and you can eat and have the things 

 you need." It was an act of will that the American Indians 



SEPTEMBER Pane 5 



