All language subtitles for Marlon Brando - Interview (June 12, 1973)

Oh

[Music]

tonight six guests are Marlon Brando

will the Indian tribal chairman Sam

Hagee project director for the Lummi

tribe dr. Wallace heat from the Northern

Cheyenne Tribal Council

Dennis slipper head chairman of the

government by you tribe bourbon right

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ladies and gentlemen Dick Cavett

[Applause]

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[Applause]

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[Applause]

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you'll go too far and then hate yourself

in the morning pretty nice to see you

say there was a slight typographical

error about tonight's show my guest is

Marlon Perkins of God of super 8 but I

know that no one will know happy I'm

kidding I hope

what was the other thing I just want a

minute rose I don't want to waste any

time right now just a brief quiz see if

anyone in what context was the line said

I could have been a contender

does anyone what on the waterfront

no a senator must be commenting on the

Watergate area as you can see I don't

want to waste any time I'm here even I

already had my guest tonight special

guest is Marlon Brando and with him

tonight

our mother gentlemen live in the Lummi

Indian tribal council Sam ke a project

director for the Lummi tribe dr. Wallace

Heath from the Northern Cheyenne Tribal

Council Dennis limber hand and chairman

of the pipe and that's the pyramid

Paiute Tribe Mervin right to save time

take a pause we'll take a message we'll

be right back

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my guests flew all the way from Tahiti

to be here tonight which set some kind

of record I think I'm very honored to

have him here you have caught glimpses

of him in the past as Stanley Kowalski

and streetcar named desire Zapata and

Viva Zapata Marc Antony and Julius

Caesar Terry Malloy and on the

waterfront Vito Corleone in The

Godfather and Paul in Last Tango in

Paris he despises superlatives he's

often been called the best actor in

America or in the world but I want to

downplay that tonight cuz I don't I want

him to be happy will you welcome please

mr. Marlon Brando

I guess

how are you would be as good as anything

kind of weary are you wiped out from the

jet trip yeah mm-hmm yeah I appreciate

the amount of miles you have been

covering to get here and you've been you

were delayed and it was a ghastly story

but I'm nice nice of you to come and put

up with it all I'm so self-conscious I

don't know what to do because we spoke

on this what we spoke on the phone for

over six hours and a lot of it was about

what neither of us can stand about this

kind of program to the point where I

know I don't know how to avoid all that

stuff will you help me as we move well I

think I had a special treat because

you've allowed me to come into your your

life and dick describes his background

as a young boy in Nebraska which I think

would be worth telling for about 20

minutes you mind if I go into all that

I've said and they forgotten it all yeah

anyway I have you seen any good movies

lately either super rich Adam oh that's

supposed to be in my dressing room

oh that's part of it yeah that's really

that's really part of it part of the

commercial where was that deed go to the

movies come to think of it

what's in a while I'll tell you what

happened we we talked on the phone and

at one point in the conversation you

reeled off about seven or eight things

that you had observed about me watching

the show about how I sometimes don't

like people and pretend that I do and

vice versa and and about a dozen more

and they were so uncanny and on the nose

that I decided I could never work again

now I feel it would you like a glass of

water a bug just flew out of my glass I

knew it I'm terribly embarrassed as he

started to pour the water a bug flew at

probably a critic anyway let me ask you

an obligatory question and we can get

that out of the way right now and if at

any time I get into things that you

don't want to talk about give me a

signal about your cheeks put you at you

that'd be fine

if you had the Academy Awards night to

do over again would you do any of that

definitely

well I don't think so no I felt that

that there was an opportunity for since

the American Indian hasn't been able to

hear his voice heard or have his voice

heard anywhere in the history the United

State I felt that it was a marvelous

opportunity for an Indian to be able to

voice his opinion to 85 million people I

guess that was a number and I felt that

he had a right to in view of what

Hollywood has done to him and I was

embarrassed for a sheen she wasn't able

to say what she intended to say and I

was distressed that people should have

booed and whistled and stomped even

though perhaps it was directed yeah but

myself they should have at least had the

courtesy to listen to her but I think

she did very well and I was I was I was

very glad that she did have what

opportunity she had to say what she did

and

why didn't you get to read your entire

entire statement as you planned it well

I think that they felt that it was

inappropriate and that I actually don't

know I think they just they didn't want

her there they didn't want the evening

interrupted with that particular note

and from their insular point of view I

felt that perhaps they they had a point

but I don't think that people genuinely

realize what the motion-picture industry

is done to the American Indian as a

matter of fact all ethnic groups all

minorities all non-whites and people

just simply don't realize they just cut

it for granted that that's the way the

people going to be presented and these

cliches were just going to be

perpetuated and so when someone makes a

protest of some kind and said no please

don't present the Chinese this way or

please I mean unless Network every night

well perhaps not every night but you can

see silly renditions of human behavior

yeah

leering Filipino houseboy the wily

Japanese of the the cook of the cook and

the idiot black man and the stupid

Indian and it just goes on and on and on

and people actually don't realize how

deeply these people are injured by

seeing themselves represented not so

much the adult because they're already

inured to that kind of pain and pressure

but children Indian children seeing

Indians represented their savage as ugly

as nasty vicious treacherous drunken

they grow up only with a negative image

of themselves

and it's it lasts a lifetime

did you is that an answer to your

question yeah did you did you expect the

kind of outrage that you got from people

I believe well that very night Raquel

Welch made a joke against you saying

what I hope the next person doesn't have

a cause

who's the Indian who's the Western star

followed later Steve McQueen Steve Clint

Eastwood yes of course I very seldom

make mistakes

he did his version of a joke and then

John Wayne looked like he was about

ready to get a posse together he looked

looks like does that did that surprise

you that they would be angered that you

desecrated their role in it I wasn't

surprised now there were a number of

people that that felt that sashing had

had not been welcomed and not been

treated properly and and people that was

sympathetic to what she was trying to

say and I received an awful lot of mail

in support of that the booing made me

sore well I think the people were booing

at me they were booing and they thought

well this is this moment is sacrosanct

and you're ruining our fantasy with the

intrusion of a little reality and I

suppose it was perhaps unkind of me and

to do that but there was a larger issue

and it's an issue that nobody in the

motion picture industry has ever

addressed themselves to and this forced

to I mean the blacks of brought about

changes because they were just damn

angry about it and they sunk that tub

and threatened and made some noise about

it but if they had just been silent and

thought well gradually wisdom will come

to those who learn the businesses the

movies and they will do right by us and

today would never have come we you know

have a lot to be grateful for that the

blacks were as consistent as they were

that the image of banks were changed

changing but it's it's a block-by-block

fight it

if people are very timorous now about

showing blacks and unkindly like and but

they would go on with the Filipino

houseboy or the the Indian when you see

it every day on television not every day

was the world war two movie in which X

it's John Wayne again I don't mean to

pick on him which he refers to mister

Tojo's little yellow-bellied rats there

was so much racism in world war two

movies you see now it's really really

surprising I mean it was so crude that

it's worse than you remember it

the thing that bugged me too is that

people said there's Brando jumping on it

on a social cause bandwagon now getting

in on the Indians of forgetting that in

the 50s you were not according the first

people fishing with leaf pile up Indians

up in in the West Coast you must forgive

me we must take a message

and we'll be right back stay where you

are how much of what's been written

about you can be trusted there are a

couple of books there's what I've

noticed that you always say you look at

your nothing you say to the interview II

guess it was once someone said about you

once that this and that and the other

thing in and it's I always wonder why

why you did that

looked at them I said it yeah

well if I look at them and say nothing

the show becomes so quiet nobody

actually hear you means I mean I think

it the prince is a poor they poor

reference for knowing somebody

I don't know what to say about that yeah

well there are two books in print

purporting to tell the story of your

life your rages your excesses your lusts

your dreams I think that I'm almost

boating from the cover of one of them

can we trust those and if not how do

they get away with it I don't think it's

worth going into I mean I remember

buying it now well news news of course

is big business and there are news items

that are worth $100 that are some that

are worth several thousand dollars some

news items there was a hundred thousand

dollars in summer $2 items but news is

business and people sell news and

unfortunately people in my position

people in the public eye are sellable

commodities but they're not any

different the Kleenex a dial soap or

anything else

and so if we you know find something out

that's about your sex life or something

that you do with your fingernails after

you cut them off

if you smoke the grime from your navel

then that's that's that's big nose

that's important smoke the vine from his

navel and he seizes your nail parings

I'd rather you hadn't mentioned that

about me I revealed that to you in

private that I thought I can trust you

but anyway it doesn't matter because

finally you know and I've found that

people really don't believe all the

nonsense they read and they look at you

when they meet you and wonder if it's

true but they finally make a decision on

what their experience with you

personally is except for five minutes or

you know if you say thank you to the

hostess and she brings you a cup of

coffee and but then she thinks you're

courteous person if you're tired and

cranky and you put your you're ill or

something and you don't want to be

disturbed or sign autographs and things

like that then they say well he's that

funny person whether or not you threw

horse manure out of the top window of

your old place on 52nd Street when you

were young and yelled Oh watch out for

the flying red horse which is I'm just

picking one at random that they always

seem to write about you it is irrelevant

when people are watching you on the

screen I don't know whether they

wonderful I always wonder with if those

aren't true then where do they come from

well but I think you and did you

I think that I think that that's a kind

of a question that well that's part of

example on your show you have money

items as well you have items that you

sell to the audience and items that were

entertaining or they offer some sort of

sparkling interlude for what otherwise

might be a sea of Donath Adamas yeah I

mean if you have if you have a guest

that's it's it's very boring and you you

you ask them some questions like that

that's it

well I'm getting far afield I think that

it that you have to think about your

ratings when you're giving the show when

you're doing the show and you have to

make the show as interesting as possible

and to the question of whether or not I

throw manure out of what story window of

a sentence be I throw manure out of some

window yes

it's sort of provocative and people

would rather listen to that and listen

to the fact that yesterday the the

Supreme Court refused to hear the

Pyramid Lake water right issue I mean

that's that's as part of the sea of

dullness yeah people don't want to hear

that they want to know they want to hear

me describe how I

I can only tell you that I was on 52nd

Street today and they haven't cleaned it

up yet so I probably is true but why

people are more interested in that I

don't know I was hoping we could find

that out it's I'm not gonna quote

anything else out of the brass is there

anything else you were gonna say about

the Academy Award night where shall we

close can we close on that there was

there were simply we're gonna go to

Wounded Knee and I wonder what changed

your mind about that I wanted I digress

just for a second there I have a great

deal of sympathy for the fact that you

try to put on shows that deal with

serious issues and there's a terrible

conflict that you must have trying to

make the show entertaining and you have

to do that in order to keep that segment

of the audience who's not particularly

interested in the issues tuned into the

station and I think you do a yeoman's

job there's nobody else on television

that does what you do

and very often you you you're forced to

make concessions I mean asking me

questions about what I do horse manure

and somebody not you know that it seems

ridiculous on the face of it but then it

has a part you know that day but if you

don't ask those questions you don't have

that kind of conversation there are a

lot of guys in undershirts drinking beer

just gonna turn the station over to some

other channel alright God what are they

talking about yeah nobody wants to hear

about malnutrition among Indians nobody

wants to hear about about the fact that

the Indians have the highest suicide

rate and of any group United say that's

dull stuff they people come home they've

got enough trouble they don't want to

listen a bit they want to listen to the

fripperies and the foolishness and the

fun and the giggles and all that so I

think that you have to you really

deserve full credit for being able to

wind your way through the broadcasting

show and but I think that there's not

like you've you've touched an awful lot

of people and they they've responded

when they wanted to take you off the air

for whatever reason it was there was the

human cry went up and people did support

you in full and was very glad to that

and I think everyone finally even those

beer drinkers will be benefited by it I

got a lot of beer drinkers watching

thank you I'm humiliated when I'm in

complimented and I must move on quickly

did you dream that that last tango would

be such a bombshell in every way that it

would explode all over the place in the

way that it did or did you think it

would just be accepted as another movie

well I I know I didn't know no those are

just rolls of the dice and you never

know

yeah okay I'm sorry I interrupted you or

something on the subject of you were

gonna go to wonder knee and then decided

not to and it was never made I

interrupted you

you're right again I wounded knee was

surrounded by federal officers marshals

State Police deputized Ranchers anybody

who wanted to hold a gun and make him

feel make himself feel good

also there were there were Indians local

Indians that represented the

administration view who were opposed to

aim and all it was needed to make it a

flock was for me to go to Wounded Knee

be arrested by a vigilante group or

stopped by US Marshals or something and

turned over to deputized conservative

Indians so then the headlines would be

Indians repulse Brando Wounded Knee

which was perhaps be the the thing that

the the government would be looking for

and I tried to get into Wounded Knee and

but I wasn't able to go I went to Denver

and said I thought I was gonna meet

somebody there and they had trouble

getting out the wounded knee to meet me

down didn't look up well now it's now

slaps back again I think I'm fascinated

with the furor over Last Tango I wonder

if anybody's able to see that movie for

what it is because of the fact that

before it came out a review appeared

that said it was one of the greatest

artistic events since Stravinsky's debut

of sacre de bruyne tones I'm Pauline

kales review have you found that anybody

is able to watch the movie and see it

for what it is

much too much about it beforehand well I

haven't seen the movie and I I really

don't think that I can I don't know what

I could say about it that might be

useful to amusing or interesting then

we'll get off of that

what do you downgrade acting as a

profession well I say what

whether you downgrade acting as a

professional many years you know what

makes you think I do well I've read it

in the press

starting black-and-white I can't believe

the press I don't know what we can

believe in this country you know what I

mean you know you've said over the years

it's not a fit profession for a man in

an effort to to help your ratings maybe

say something I think that we couldn't

survive a second if we won't be able to

act that that acting is a survival

mechanism and it's a social element and

that's a lubricant and we act to save

our lives actually every day people lie

constantly every day by not saying

something that they think or saying

something that they don't think or

showing something that they don't feel

or kind of give the appearance of

feeling something that they don't don't

actually I said that didn't I yeah but

that's not acting that is acting that is

no it isn't yes it is

but you know what I mean even your you I

wonder when you're nervous and when

you're frightened and nervous in in this

chair you're distressed or uncomfortable

or you're very angry yeah and you know

that that is not what is necessary to to

what what cannot be shown here you

control your face you're a highly

controlled person and dirty and you have

to do that I see but you know what I'm

what I mean is when we got into this on

the phone you say that that's acting

that's not I'm motivated at that moment

to do that and I can do it and I suppose

there's a guy here that I think is the

schmuck is a boor and you invite

frankness and I can act like he's

interested for a time my motivated by

that but if you wake me up at 9:00 or

8:00 the following morning and say do

that same performance before a camera

and then do it again and again I can't

some people can some people do it

wonderfully and you seem to do it better

than almost anybody so there's got to be

I I won't hear of the fact that what I

do is what you do is no more than what I

do

well that isn't true if you're working

for an ad agency

and you hate the guy that the idea man

the boss and you know that every time he

comes in with some impossible notion

something that really makes you gag when

you drive home in the freeway you know

damn well that you're not gonna get a

raise or you're not gonna get it shifted

out of the position that you're in if

you don't say Leonard I think that's

terrific it's beautiful and you even

lean forward put your elbows on to show

enthusiasm and you get a face court and

you do it day after day after day in

order to survive in your job but if you

had to do an align Leonard I think

that's terrific six times and get

something deeper and better into it time

after time that takes an actor what did

you say I said those are one-time things

where you have an immediate motivation

no they're not one-time things because

it's a daily procedure

yeah but the dialogue changes all the

time but your changes but the motivation

doesn't I know that I could play any

role you can play as well as you can

well that might not be true but I don't

think that that I could play some roles

as well as you could play them I don't

think I could play the role that you're

playing now this is me I'm letting it

all hang out no

it isn't st. me I mean I I think that

you I mean you're thinking of 60 things

at once how is it going

is it getting dull you see its he upset

and distressed inarticulate is he

wasting board is he offended yeah here's

a good time for a joke we haven't got

much time that you you're thinking about

nine million things and reacting to what

I say and exact how's that gonna be that

gonna be offensive no that's good so

you're doing this this editing at an

insane rate and I mean and and you have

to do that and that's your job and you

have this demeanor of levity and

lightness and amusement and zest and and

it's it's easy to ascertain it that

finally isn't what goes on in your mind

or your feelings at all I just feel like

all my clothes have been taken off no

but that's that's that's that's

something that I couldn't do I couldn't

do what you do and that's that's a

different kind of acting you're playing

a different kind of role in anyway we've

done enough we made enough concession to

be doing them oh nothing I just have a

commercial to do and you say you

couldn't do it let's see if you're any

good at it all you do is look up and get

read

wäôre

as I saying commercial them have fun

with it no I'm glad you did night what

do you mean ah the man is incorruptible

and that's what I hope how long since

you've tried a new shade of eyeshadow

there are 25 beautiful colors super rich

shadow by Revlon oh I'm good maybe even

more self-conscious now I feel like a

kid whose look what is it the Stevie

Wonder gave me this in the airplane

today and and I was very nice he took it

off his wrist and said I want you to

have this very very nice for them very

kind of him let me ask you something um

several a it's gonna say I feel like a

kid in a candy store because I only have

we can only take about two pieces out of

all things I want to talk to you and ask

you about I'm interested in today many

things about you were you happy with the

way the Godfather came out talk about

movies I don't think ok if we could

figure out some way did you like the

book The Godfather

well we have so well I we have so little

time to talk about Indians and there's

so much to say about them that I I think

that talk about movies and stuff like

that it's such a misuse of time but then

I'm your guest and I don't want to horn

in on what your program is gonna be

about I wouldn't want you to okay I'll

talk about something it bugs me that you

over the years have acted so little and

it seems like there must be about 14

great plays and great films that you

ought to do and ought to make and I I

worry that this feeling that you that

acting is not a noble profession for a

man maybe is what's kept you from it um

I can now move on to something else if

you like but does that observation bug

you at all no it's none of my business

are the roles you wish you'd played you

crave acting no it's been a good living

I mean if you were in the lumber

business and you went on the Dick Cavett

show and tell me how you like the lumber

it is a business it's no more than that

and those who pretended it's or not I

think you're misguided acting is a craft

and it's a profession not unlike in

electrician plumbing or an economist the

way of getting on and providing food and

shelter for yourself and family may I

ask you one thing here you've referred a

couple times two things you did to make

up for certain things you have done in

the past this is an interview with

Truman Capote and you refer to the wild

one it's one of the things what is one

and I don't think that it's it's useful

to to refer to

you know confirm or deny anything that

was written in the prizes it's mostly

money-oriented them there therefore I

don't think it has any value okay tell

me then when way back in the 50s when

you got interested in when you were

interested in the Indians fishing rights

before it was fashionable to be so what

triggered that I read a book called

Indians of the Americas and I I after

reading the book realized that I knew

nothing about the American Indian and

that everything we are taught about the

American Indian is wrong it's inaccurate

and our school books are hopelessly

lacking perhaps criminally lacking in

revealing what our relationship was with

the Indian when we here as we've heard

throughout all our lives no matter how

old we are that we are a country that

stands for freedom for rightness for

justice for everyone it simply doesn't

apply to those who are not white it just

simply doesn't apply and we were the

most rapacious aggressive destructive

torturing monstrous people who swept

from one coast to the other murdering

and causing mayhem among my Indians as

one Indian

but and that isn't revealed because we

don't like that image of ourselves we we

don't like to see us we'd like to see

ourselves as that's John Wayne Caesars

and that and also what we've learned

about the Indian that's been largely

talked to us by Hollywood and by motion

pictures they have educated us so we

naturally believe that when the Indians

came that the wagons circled and the

Indians rolled rode around and and

subjected themselves to terrible fire

and died at a ratio of 65 to 1 both

barrels of a shotgun would always get to

Indians yeah and that wasn't the way it

was at all

but anyway Indians have been tragically

misrepresented in films and in our

history books in our attitudes in our

reporting and so we must set about to

re-educate ourselves who you're looking

at you oh no there's a message coming

but oh I one thing I wanted to get into

on that too was a subject of not only

had the industry view on the screen but

off the screen I know a guy who was in

it another thing at a time when when we

say especially that we are going to keep

our treaties and that we do keep our

word and that we above all people do

keep our word I think it's important to

mention that there have been nearly 400

treatise written by the United States in

good faith with the Indians and every

single one of them was abrogated means

broken or change their alter no

exceptions and Indians howl when with

laughter I guess when they hear a public

figure

like a president saying other nations

will laugh at us if we don't honor our

treaty commitments when they can think

of 400 and what the exact figure has 31

examples of how we haven't in the past

and this would only be the 430 second

case

we didn't but I do go on but we have a

message we'll be right back I remember

some years ago I read a a piece by James

Wexler I think of what I'm pretty sure

it was and he said that I don't think

there's anybody who is concerned or a

few people that I've met cares so much

about the quest for human dignity

something like that's that we're

involved in right now

that was referring to the civil rights

movement did you ever meet Rosa Parks

there's nothing the lady who never did

who refused to give her seat to a white

man on a bus and was it Atlantic and

kind of kicked off the whole bus protest

was in Birmingham better than ever and

I've never seen you then in like in

Washington and have you found that any

effective comes from these these things

well I think they say that it's the it's

the it's the squeaky hinge that gets the

grease and the blacks would still be

shuffling around picking peanuts and

dying and starving cause they you know

they haven't been all that much improved

if they hadn't made that noise that they

hadn't made that racket

somewhere there's some some person out

there that tells us just be quiet become

everything will will aright itself and

and everybody will get their just

desserts and but it never happens it

walkabout right it never happens people

if they just sit back and wait for that

for white America to do something on

their behalf to recognize their right to

the people to recognize the sovereign

rights of the Indians as a separate

people the separate political cultural

entity within the confines United States

nothing's gonna happen the Indians have

to shuffle and

we will meet some in a moment we have a

message in my local stations we should

take it right now be right next time we

just been joined by four gentlemen let

me introduce them to you Mervyn right

who is pyramid lake paiute councilman

from Nevada on my far right Dennis

limber hand Northern Cheyenne councilman

from Wyoming dr. Wally Heath project

director for the Lummi tribe and Sam

cagey over here who is councilman of the

Lemmy's a situation

the crux of this is that Indian land is

being threatened all over the US

outside industries try to come in and

set up shop on reservations they would

pollute the air and water always seems

to say nothing of wrecking the land and

strip-mining is one of the greatest of

these threats the Lummi 's have somehow

avoided this fate although it almost

happened to them the northern Cheyenne's

and the Paiutes are threatened with it

right now and we have a film which

spells this out pretty clearly we'll get

into that shortly let me ask Sam first

how did the Lummi x' manage to avoid

this disaster I think just the fact that

the industries that wanted to come in

take mining not so much coal but with

medium oxide and the promise is that

they would all be a sort of Heaven Sent

Savior the Lummi people with a little

research we found out there we're up

looting industry in their byproducts

were not at all usable in any way shape

or form and I think what the Lummi

people were looking for when we started

was something that it would be

compatible to our own culture and we

found this in the fish farming idea that

it sprung up out of nowhere and

developed to what we have today it's an

incredible thing I don't know how many

know the word aquaculture but what the

lemmings do now is farm the sea in

effect they build a sensational dike

that one engineer told them would not

work and you at the very lowest tide

managed to build this thing and have a

booming business going in in farming to

see the way the ancient hawaiians used

to do I guess and we have a film that

shows this project that you're talking

about can we can you tell us about that

I get do we roll it and dr. Kate dr.

Heath right will you tell us what we're

gonna look for in the film what we're

gonna see we've narrated as we roll it I

think the theme really is a this was

probably the first time

in history that government agency is

namely Office of Economic Opportunity

and economic development administration

gave money directly to a tribe in large

amounts on the order of two million

dollars really sticking their necks out

a few key administrators like secretary

Podesta and Jim Wilson OEO allowed the

tribe to build a very expensive dike

with a lot of risk and said ok sink or

swim and they swam very well the Lummi

Indians have are one of the many

Northwest tribes whose cultures been

close to the sea they're expert

fisherman but now they're growing fish

here you see seed oysters under a

microscope they have the first oyster

hatchery in the northwest they prepare a

seed for sale as you see here or they

grow it themselves

in a tray very much more modern way of

doing it

this is a Lommy Indian oyster hatchery

it's built on the Indian longhouse

design using Indian culture

modifications to let the light in

through plastic surfaces the assistant

director of this is alum who started out

as a carpenter and is now one of the

experts in this field from the area you

see the beginning of the dike which the

mummies built themselves they ended up

purchasing about ten trucks and the

process built three miles of dike

between the tides a very difficult and

risky thing to do but as a result of

this enterprise they branched out into

other things such as a home building

they built 40 houses on their own in six

months first class and they're now going

to build 60 more eventually 400 homes

here is the sea pond 700 acres a three

mile dike and you can see the plankton

bloom inside which is food for the

oysters it gives you some idea there is

no other sea farm of this kind and

they're about 75 jobs 90% of the work

forces Indiana and eventually will be a

hundred percent Indian yeah not all

at all Indians are so lucky to its

monthly the solution to their problems

like this and reven Wright is a Paiute

from Nevada Nevada

I guess you say and they've got a

tremendous problem with their water

rights what is it

so if you want to know my aspect of any

water rights is that with this paint

when the Supreme Court denied to take

the case

was that they will put this thing back

into that to to Nevada who is the

ultimate enemy

I've been introns and yet we have to

contend with the courts to feel that we

mm you know what about your senators I

think we have good strong now

representing our representation as far

as Sanders our own and of course if you

wanted going death I think it Senator

Kennedy and honey what to bet for the

tribes also for others to what we will

move to will show you how the descending

order of how these problems spiral

downward who have a message we'll be

right back I'd several distressed phone

calls there some few months back saying

you must come out too lame deer the

Cheyenne reservation is threatened with

disaster I couldn't go then and I don't

know what happened there but anyway

Dennis limber hand is here right now is

it true that something like you're from

lame deer you're from Cheyenne

reservation is it true there's something

like half the reservation has been given

away well not exactly given away about

55% of our reservation is under coal

company control coal help me alright

well the Indians have the right to that

land or don't think well we think we do

had prompt their Tribal Council in to

take an action against United States

government

we as the u Bureau of Indian Affairs to

declare all permits and leases null and

void is that pretty loud I believe it is

your Congressional ordered reservation

as strip mining started there well not

not on a reservation but joining the

reservation there's a lot of strip

mining yeah on north south and east and

west of us or strip mining are some of

the people for that well-known Indian

people I would say no they live off the

land they respect the land for what it

is I understand the problem it always is

that they need they need money

immediately and it's tempting for them

to say well let's get some money quick

from the coal companies and because they

can't afford to wait a year or two for a

better deal and often correct me if I'm

wrong

they're shafted by the fact that they

accept money now is there worried about

paying next month's rent and the

companies have power companies have been

more than willing to take advantage

there's people like you that that can

give me 100 hours have a dinner with you

and maybe we'll go out have a good time

and yes but the essence is really that

that this land is is there it's a

reservation land this is all we have

left and and it goes back to the old I

don't like my it's been raped it's been

uh didn't rape and getting back to water

right so that everything's been taken

away from the tribe we're trying to

maintain what we have left excuse me I

gotta get this film clip in right now

would you tell us Dennis what what that

what we're gonna see in this film clip

it's a but it's about strip mining and

well why don't we just roll it and then

we can go back to where we were this is

a the use of the total energy plant and

the Yuma reservation showing that a

power plant can give off waste heat

which can be used to grow plants

year-round and it shows an alternative

to strip mining that is the tribe could

grow 170 dollars for the vegetables for

what would they get 17 cents worth for

their coal this show is strip mining the

land being blown up and carried away and

fantastic proportions they have a

billion tons of coal on the reservation

and this could all be removed in a 35

year period leaving total destruction

for 200,000 acres that's the issue this

week for the tribe

is discussing this tribal council and

the question is whether to go that

leaving power plants surrounding them

which put hundreds of tons of material

in of the day which I think would have

create sky is with 20 times the

pollution of Los Angeles now has these

are these are factual things even your

reclamation records themselves yeah was

that black Mesa some of that film yes

black Mesa and Arizona Arizona that

couldn't call one of the great

ecological disasters of all time and

that the four-corners plant down there

puts that more pollution than la la in

New York by saying that that black Mesa

is is located on the Navajo Reservation

down Hopi reservation yeah and

unbelievable amount of pollution at its

best

I know those companies have a concern

for their public image I've also had

menacing and threatening letters from

Peabody Coal and others and I never

answered one one of them was carbon to

all the people who could have me fired

which I thought was interesting the guy

who wrote it is watching I answered you

but I only sent out carbons I didn't

send you a copy to everyone influential

in America Kate Smith John Wayne

everybody we have a brief message we'll

be right now I'm sorry I can't hear you

I've been using this this of a book

promoting the fisheries that parent like

that far as developments concerned it's

very interesting it's a it has a history

of the pyramid lake paiute tribe and as

far as

Wars also the desert lake our efforts

and tonight developing nothing there's

there's so much to read and master on

this reality I just wonder it I always

want to know who the Indians friends are

in Washington since that's where things

get done who wants to grab that Senator

Jackson has been despised by Indian

leaders at times senator scoop Jackson

and lately I hear that his reputation

has improved what takes place in a case

like something I might be in opposition

to the Indian because some of the

Indians are now because Jackson has

turned around and been more or less

cooperative with the Indians he has been

the enemy of Indians over a long long

period of time and since he want wishes

the polishes in his image

he's using the Indians as a polishing

rag and doing favors for Indians and

being attentive to Indian Affairs but

when the when the Paiute when the the

Blue Lake was given back to the Pueblo

Indians and the his comment was that it

said a very bad precedent and he was

very adamant about about that correct me

if I'm wrong so I it puts him in a time

sort of biased because Jackson Magnusson

means what I feel is a very powerful

force in Washington DC and because

they're my congressional people that I

feel that he had to walk the middle of

the line like any other politician that

I do not want to comment any further but

I do want to say this that if there is a

friend in in Washington it's in the form

of legislation that is now pending for

the last three years and I don't know

whether the Congress knows it or if it's

there or who has informed them that this

legislation is there that would help

relieve the problems that we used Bureau

of Indian Affairs as a scapegoat would

it help with people watching who write

in after we talk

say what can we do to help that would

they got in touch with their congressman

and said what do you mean legislation

are you concerned with and what's your

opinion of well there's financing bills

there's Indian trust Authority bill

there's a education bill amendment to

Johnson amalia act of obtaining the

Indian education the whole package is

there and what we don't need is hearings

we need action from the American

citizens that could write their senators

and congressmen and and get this

legislation passed and get us off the

receiving end of this richest country in

the world we are ready and willing and

able to go ahead and start economic

development on reservations and

utilizing our enormous resources it

takes the almighty dollar to do this and

these this legislation that's in

Congress right now pending would be the

means to that end

let me the circus general can do it

I'd like that first of all I think we

all meanwhile wanting to find the bad

guys and the good guys you know in

Washington elsewhere

I would like say senator Jackson senator

Magnuson congressman Lloyd Meads and

others in our district have gone stuck

their neck out a mile against heavy

opposition to support the Lummi project

and many other Indian projects

everyone's very courageous about this

many other senators have done this the

vice president's office through Bob

Robertson and ncio have done this we

have a long hours you like to think of

the Republicans the Democrats or there's

far more variation within a party it's

reporting Indians than there is between

parties and Indians don't like to pick

favorites and generalities they like to

zero in on specifics and in these cases

these senators and congressmen have a

long record the agencies have very good

records many of them very bad records in

some cases an important thing though is

the great and inertia and between those

who just don't care they don't even show

up to vote in Congress on these bills

they've been there for three or four

years that he's mentioning for example

to create more economic development

reservations the money should go

directly from the BIA Bureau of Indian

Affairs to the tribes and let them make

the mistakes like any other agency or

any other group does and enable them to

hire and fire their own personnel so

that they can move ahead at their own

rate and there is now author they're

asking for authorization for block

grants what do you do this for the first

time they say congressman forget about

Indians when they get to Washington

because they don't have that many Indian

constituents but if if the white

constituents began to write to them and

say I'm not an Indian but I'm interested

in how you're going to vote on this you

feel making postcards with all the

difference yeah they certainly listen to

that mail are you sorry you came on a

show like this no I wish I'd been more

helpful and funnier and more articulate

and amusingly

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I'm gonna I'm gonna give you a chance I

seldom give people you come back

tomorrow night

I have a dick which message and we'll

we'll be right back

Lummi pacific ocean trout let me Indian

Enterprise marry out of Washington mr.

Brando is eating it and looks great yeah

yeah that's you're really you're really

in business I'm delighted to see that

can you chunk of it that's wonderful

my minute stop doing a show and start

eating more but thank you for being here

it's a rare treat

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you

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