Indians Agree to Leave Seize Federal Building
Indians Agree to Leave Seized Federal Building
Protesting Indians agreed Tuesday night to leave the Bureau of Indian Affairs building they held for almost a week after reaching an agreement with government negotiators, the White House said.
The provisions of the agreement were not immediately available, but Cheri Phillips of the White House press office said: "An agreement was reached and the Indians should be leaving Wednesday morning." Some began leaving in small groups late Tuesday.
"Most of the people want to go home now," said one protester, who declined to give his name. "A few of us may stay on, we don't know yet."
The meeting of government negotiators with the Indians had started at about noon Tuesday and went on into the evening hours, the White house spokesman said.
"We're suppose to be negotiating an agreement for our departure" from the Indian Affairs Building, said Hank Adams, an Indian lawyer, moments before the talks began at noon.
But Adams cautioned that longstanding Indian grievances, as well as "provisions for allowing our people to return to our communities," would also be brought up by the Indians.
The meeting was arranged after a U.S. district court ordered the federal government to oust the protesters. The ouster was delayed until 9 tonight by the U.S. circuit court here.
The Indians seized control of the building Thursday after coming to Washington to protest government policies. The Indians, coming from all parts of the country, descried their journey as the Trail of Broken Treaties.
They strengthened security around the building after the federal court eviction order. Windows were taped, presumably to prevent shards of glass from flying about if the windows were broken and doors were barricaded.
Unconfirmed rumors also circulated that the protesters had planted explosives or gasoline in the building and planned to destroy it if they were forcibly evicted. Asked whether the rumors were true, one Indian replied, "All I know is they restricted smoking to the first floor."
Scores of curious onlookers walked down Constitution Ave. to view the symbolic tepee in front of the building and the Indians sitting on the front steps. Some brought food and blankets, which were passed over barricades and taken inside the building.
Meeting with the Indian spokesmen were Frank Carlucci, assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget; Leonard Garment, President Nixon's adviser on minorities, and Lewis Bruce, head of the BIA.