500 Indians Here Seize U.S. Building
500 Indians Here Seize U.S. Building
At least 500 Indians barricaded themselves inside the Bureau of Indian Affairs building yesterday evening in the first day of the planned week of protests that organizers had said would be peaceful.
The Indians, who represent a coalition of 250 of the nation's 300 tribes, blocked all entrances to the building at 19th Street and Constitution Avenue NW and draped it with American flags.
They said they were renaming the building "The Native American Embassy."
Shortly before midnight, an Indian spokesman told reporters that an agreement had been reached in a 2-hour meeting with officials from the White House and the BIA permitting the Indians to remain overnight.
The spokesman, Russell Means, said that the demonstrators would leave this morning and had been promised accommodation in other government buildings or local churches for the duration of their stay.
A force of hundreds of riot-equipped police from the Federal Protective Service that had been stationed in the nearby Interior Department was withdrawn. Officials said there would be no attempt to clear the building.
The Indians seized it after a day of heated discussions with government officials about housing facilities for the coming week and the locations of organized demonstrations the Indians intend to hold.
Calling themselves the "Trail of Broken Treaties" caravan, Indians have been arriving in Washington since Monday and planned to begin yesterday a series of services, workshops and other activities to dramatize their traditions and needs.
The Indian leaders said they were hoping that several thousand persons would eventually be part of the caravan. There are now about 800,000 Indians in the United States and their interests in Washington are overseen by the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In recent years, as the tone of Indian discontent has become more strident, much of the criticism has been directed at the BIA. Abolition of the bureau, spokesmen said, was one of the prime purposes of the activities here.
Instead, the issues have become obscured in disputes over permits and lodging. Most of yesterday's activities were canceled while Indians milled about the Bureau of Indian Affairs building waiting for the outcome of the negotiations with officials.
The Indians arrived at the building in the morning sand throughout the day said they were "occupying" it. But business in the offices went on almost as usual and all entrances remained open.
Shortly before 5 p.m., a brief clash developed between guards and Indian youths. The cause of the disturbance was not clear, but a reporter saw the Indians arguing with one group of security men at a downstairs exit and moments later fighting and another group of guards.
On [sic] Indian spokesman said at least six of the protesters were clubbed by security police. The spokesmen said that four of the Indians were arrested, but police said they had decided to neither hold nor charge any of the protesters.
As word of the fight spread, Indians began breaking into offices and dragging furniture into the hallways. The police were forced to back out of the building and remained outside while the barricades were being erected.
The Indians, most of whom are young, hauled tables, couches, lockers and machinery out of the offices, scattering shattered glass from the locked doors they had broken down.
But in keeping with their effort to maintain control of the situation, the Indian leaders directed the demonstrators to clean up the debris, which they did.
At least a dozen BIA officials were trapped inside the building, but none was menaced by the protesters and all managed to leave, exiting through windows and fire escapes, employees later told reporters.
Just as the outburst was erupting, in another part of the building Indian spokesmen were holding a press conference to tell of an agreement that had been reached on accommodations.
The Indians had been offered use of the BIA building and the massive Departmental Auditorium, the spokesman said.
Dennis Banks, national field director of the American Indian Movement and coordinator of the "Trail of Broken Treaties," told reporters that the Indian leadership was "still amazed at the hostile attitude of government officials."
He said that while the question of housing had been resolved, no progress had been made on the request for permission to hold a service at Arlington National Cemetery. The request had been denied by the Army and the Indians have filed a suit in U.S. District Court that will be heard at 11 a.m. today.
"Only going through federal court," Banks said, "will we be able to hold religious services for Indian people who died serving in wars for this country."
As a result of the haggling over facilities and what Banks said was an attitude on the part of officials to "keep the Indians down," he promised a "stepped-up tempo" to the protests.
As Banks finished, the shouts from the skirmish a floor below attracted an unruly crowd of Indians, reporters and guards. Banks said later, after talking with those at the scene, that the security force had misunderstood the agreement reached with officials and thought there was to be "a confrontation with the Indians."
While his supporters were ranging about the building, Banks told reporters that the dispute was the guards' fault. "I can see why we have police riots in this country," he said. "We have had an overreaction by untrained personnel."
Before last night's outburst, the mood of the Indian demonstrators had been restive but orderly. Most of them had congregated in the BIA auditorium chanting Indian songs, watching movies, and sleeping and eating.
Indians hold a unique place among American minorities because of the existence of a federal agency intended solely to deal with their problems. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, now headquartered in the imposing four-story building at 19th Street and Constitution Avenue, was created in 1824 and became part of the Interior Department in 1849.
With a budget of about $300 million, the bureau coordinates a variety of educational, social welfare and development programs. In recent years, BIA has experienced a surge of innovative spirit, which observers credited to the pressures for change coming from the Indians.
Nonetheless, Indians are still calling for abolition of the bureau and creation of a new agency more responsive to their needs.
The Indians have issued a list of 20 demands that they want met, including a number of treaty adjustments and land reforms. The details of the demands are complex, but a number of interviews yesterday showed that emotions underlying them are simple.
"We will no longer be put down," said Jerry Rogers, a 28-year-old Chippewa. "We will no longer be shoved off into a back corner. We want what we want. And we remember that before the whie man came we lived in peace."
By seizing the building yesterday, the Indians managed to receive the top-level attention their protest had been designed to attract. Brad Patterson, the White Hosue special assitant for Indian affairs, assured the Indian leaders, a spokesman said, that their 20 demands would receive point-by-point written responses.
Patterson also told the Indians, according to their spokesman, that they would be given appointments with anyone they requested.