JULY-AUGUST 1961
KLAMATH TRIBUNE
Poge 3
TRIBAL, BIA AND STATE OFFICIALS GIVE FARE WELL MESSAGES TO THE KLAMATH PEOPLE
A LETTER BY S. E. KIRK
Dear Fellow Klamath Indians,
As the past chairman of the
Klamath Gen. Council for many
years I saw many things that
disheartened me, and termination
was one of them. As you know,
I had been opposed to termina
tion all along but within our tribe
there was a serious difference of
opinion, and many tribal members
were in favor of it. Public Law
587 was the result. It is here now,
the Secretary of the Interior has
signed the proclamation, and we
are told that the Federal Govern
ment has severed all its ties with
us as Klamath Indians.
As bitter as some of us may be
over what has happened through
the years under federal super
vision, we cannot turn back the
clock and live too much in the
past. Many of you are young, and
many of you have children. It is
to you, then, that I direct my
thoughts.
We have no power over what
has been but we have it in our
power to shape our future and
the future of our children. Out of
the discouragement, the bitter
ness of the past, and out of Term
ination, perhaps something good
can be created. It is important
that you and I work harder than
ever so that we can continue to
lift up our heads with pride, and
if they were living today, our an
cestors too, could be proud of us.
One of the keys to unlocking
the doors of the future is educa
tion. In an age of rockets to the
moon, we must not keep our
children in the dark ages. We
must encourage them to take full
advantage of education and we
must do our part to help the
schools and teachers so that our
children will become the scien
tists, the doctors, the teachers of
tomorrow and will be good citi
zens. It has been a privclagc working
as the chairman of the General
Courcil and I want to thank you
for the help you have given me
over the years.
Sincerely yours,
Seldon E. Kirk, Kist Chairman
Klamath General Council
Klamath Agency, Oregon
A Letter By Perry Skarra For
The Bureau Of Indian Affairs
To the Members of the Tribe
It is with some feeling of regret
and nostalgia that wc in the
Portland Area Office acknow
ledge this to be the last issue of
the Klamath Tribune which has
served so well in keeping the
Klamath Indian people and com
munity informed. Wc appreciate
the opportunity to contribute to"
this issue, to give recognition and
express our appreciation to the
many, many people and organiza
tions who have helped to meet the
duties and responsibilities assign
ed to us under the special Klam
ath legislation.
With the publication in the
Federal Register-of the Secre
tary's proclamation declaring that
the Federal trust relationship to
the affairs of the Klamath Tribe
and its members has been term
inated, the era of Federal control
and supervision over the Klamath
Reservation has now ended.
During the seven years which
have elapsed since the enactment
of Public Law 587 there have
been problems which at times
seemed insurmountable. In find
ing solutions, it was not always
possible for the Bureau to obtain
full agreement or the support of
all members of the Tribe. The
views and suggestions offered by
non-tribal interests were also
varied and divergent. Neverthe
less, wc believe that an over-all
review of the accomplishments
must conclude that the objectives
and requirements of the Act as
amended have been fulfilled gen
erally to the satisfaction of all
concerned.
There have been many people,
both in the Department and out
side of the Federal Government,
who had a great deal to do with
carrying out the provisions of the
Klamath program. Hut credit for
the satisfactory conclusion of the
Federal-Indian relationships must
first go to the Klamath tribal
members themselves, including
the Executive Committee and
other tribal leaders, for their ad
vice and assistance, and above
all, for their forbearance as the
many specific actions required by
the Law were being accomplished.
The outstanding contribution
of the Oregon State Department
of Education in carrying out the
educational and informational re
quirements under Section 26 of
the Act is deserving of special
praise. Mr. Harvey Wright, the
State's Director of Indian Educa
tion, and Mr. Hiroto Zakoji, the
Klamath Special Program Direct
or, both gave unstintingly of
themselves far beyond any nor
mal job requirements, and cer
tainly deserve special commenda
tion for the excellence of the
services provided to the Klamath
people. Especially noteworthy has
been the development and im-'
provement of relationships of the
Klamath Indians and their non
Indian neighbors and the Klamath
community generally through
Mr. Zakoji's guidance.
Wc note with special apprecia
tion the work which Mr. Tom
Wattcrs as Chairman and the
other Management Specialists
performed in meeting the very
complex responsibilities assigned
to them. It is doubtful if the
Klamath program could have
been satisfactorily concluded had
these men not had the courage
and foresight to point out the
dangers existing in the provisions
of the original Act and then in
helping secure improvements
which Congress adopted.
The Klamath County Commis
sioners, enforcement and wel
fare officers, financial institu
tions, and, in fact, the community
generally gave valuable assist
ance in making the transition as
smooth as possible. There were,
of course, many others, including
the Bureau employees who gave
unstintingly to this effort in
order that the best possible job
could be done.
This office and all of the em
ployees associated with the Klam
ath program wish the Klamath
members every success for their
future. There will, of course, be
many new problems but we be
lieve that the Klamath members
will accept the new challenges
and responsibilities with confi
dence. We congratulate the Klamath
people on the milestone in their
development that is represented
by the Secretary's Proclamation
ending the Federal Government's
special relationship to their af
fairs. Perry Skarra
;'r--
7 I
V
I TO
V
Staff member of the Chiloquin Of
fice, Gleta Wampler, Dill Nonral and
II. Zakoji look oftr malarial for I ha
final issue of the Klamath Tribune.
A Letter By A. H. Wright, State
Director Of Indian Education
It has been a pleasure to have
been the Director of Indian Kd
ucation for the State of Oregon
for the past fifteen years. I have
also served on many committees
on Indian affairs on a state and
national basis which I feel has
given me a broad insight into
Indian problems.
The American Indian is
shrouded in mystery ami folk
lore and is compelled to carry the
burden of some 5(XX) treaties,
laws, regulations and court de
cisions, lie is a man set apart and
t mjuently misunderstood.
All our records and statistics
would indicate that the Indian is
just another person. He is just as
intelligent, can be just as industri
ous, and has the same aspirations
and desires as anyone else. Avail
able statistics prove that when
the opportunity is provided, and
there is proper . motivation, the
Indian can compete on any basis
with anyone.
All of my experience would
point to the fact that every effort
should be made by the Indians
and all governmental agencies to
improve the environment of our
Indian people. Kducation must be
the backbone of our efforts to
raise the social .and economic
standards of our Indian citizens.
You Klamath people must accept
the responsibility and duties of
full citizenship; Klamath County
and the State of Oregon must
welcome you as full fledged
citizens as you have indeed been
for many years. You can move
forward and you must move for
ward, and I know that you will.
I have enjoyed working with
the Klamath people. I know that
you had a trying experience in
this termination program and it
was only natural that tempers
wotid flare at times. Your Incen
tive committee had a trying or
deal in attempting to carry out
its responsibilities and when you
reflect upon the complexities of
the termination law and the cir
cumstances under which it had to
work, I am sure the Committee
did a good job.
The termination law has been
carried out. You, the Klamath
people have now severed all spe
cial relationships with the Federal
Government. An era has passed,
time marches on, and the Klam
ath people will march forward
with the times.
Our education program is also
being terminated. You have co
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