Addendum to Duane T. Bird Bear Biography
On March 14, 1970, American Indian activists occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) Plant Management Engineering Center (“PMEC”) in Littleton, Colorado, located at 1100 West Littleton Boulevard, which is in the Denver metropolitan area, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices by the BIA
The Indian group of PMEC employees, consisting of fourteen of seventeen Native American employees at the PMEC, claimed that the BIA gave preference to non-Indians in hiring and promotions. According to the group, the PMEC was “run like a private refuge where non-Indian employees can draw enormous salaries and gain unreasonable privileges while paying only lip-service to their duty to the impoverished Indian people it serves and to the qualified Indians it employs.
Despite the BIA’s mandate to give preference to Indian employees, non-Indians occupied the better-paying jobs and higher positions at the PMEC. According to the formal complaint filed on March 12, 1970, only 17 of 119 employees at the PMEC were Indians, despite the provision of Indian preference in hiring. Fourteen of those 17 Indian employees earned between $4,300 and $7,100 annually (GS 4 and below), and only one Indian employee made over $10,000 per year. On the other hand, non-Indian employees occupied all the higher positions (GS 12 and above), and none of the non-Indian employees earned less than $6,800.
The Indian employees further asserted that the PMEC officials’ unwillingness to offer training opportunities to Indian employees halted their career advancement.
Twelve Indian employees at the PMEC (known as the “Littleton Twelve”) signed the complaints and sent them to Edward E. Shelton, director of the Interior Department’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, and BIA Commissioner Louis R. Bruce.
The PMEC employees who signed the complaints were Phyllis Culbertson, Corrine Dumarce Deal, Toni Guerue, Fray LaForge, Carson Sine, Robert Henderson, Patricia Feathers, Vaughn Arkie, Enola Freeman, Eileen Hickman, Katherine Sherman, and Glenda Tom.
Approximately fifty Indian protesters supporting the Littleton Twelve presented their complaints to Commissioner Bruce in a two-hour meeting. The Indian protestors also requested Commissioner Bruce to dismiss top officials at the PMEC. After negotiating with the Indian protestors, Commissioner Bruce temporarily suspended three officials: Charles McCrea, Chief Official; Stuart C. Edmonds, Assistant Chief; and Leona L. Morris, Administrative Assistant.
Nine members of the group that occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado building were arrested and charged with trespassing and interference based on a complaint filed by Charles McCrea. They included Patty Baker (Mandan-Blackfoot), Lynda Bernal (Taos Pueblo), James Jones (Cherokee), John Gill (Sioux), Rick Buckanaga (Sioux), Virginia Reeves (Navajo), Linda Benson (Sac and Fox), Madelyn Boyer (Shoshone-Bannock) and Duane Bird Bear (Mandan-Hidatsa). All of them were tried in Arapahoe County Court on June 23, 1970 and acquitted.
The media quoted Duane in March 1970: “What is at stake everywhere is local control of the community. This means schools, economic development, youth programs, adult vocational programs and special services. These should all be reviewed by the various Indian organizations, instead of just by BIA administrators. Do you realize that, in the top 35 administrative positions for BIA in Washington, all but a few are Anglos? These are people pulling down $18,000 to $24,000 a year to tell Indians how they should live their lives. These people have got to be from Indian communities – and we aren’t going to stand for it being otherwise, anymore.”
In the continuing protest and occupation, six more protesters were arrested and carried out of the building on stretchers. They were tried and convicted of trespassing. The six were Harry and Geraldine Buckanaga, Bruce Davies, Gerald Gill, Brenda Grant and Darlene Cuthair.
The two separate occupations in Littleton resulted in the arrest of 15 Natives, and sparked a country-wide chain reaction: 23 arrests occurred in Chicago, Illinois; 12 in Alameda, California; 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and 30 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. BIA offices in Cleveland, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque become scenes of Indian protests.
In February 1972, a year after the PMEC workers filed their complaints, Enola E. Freeman, one of the complainants, instituted a suit against Secretary of the Interior C. B. Morton, BIA Commissioner Bruce, and PMEC Chief Peter M. Martin. The group was represented by Denver attorney Harris D. Sherman. The charge involved the BIA’s earlier failure to implement Indian preference in hiring, training, and promotion. Freeman filed suit on behalf of herself and all other Indian employees who suffered from a similar situation. The class action suit stated that 73 percent of all Indian workers at the BIA held positions at GS 5 or lower. Jobs at this rating were mainly clerical, while supervisory positions were at a level of GS 10 or above. Of all non-Indian employees at the BIA, approximately 81 percent were at GS 6 or above. This reality suggested that the Interior Department and the BIA failed to follow the Equal Employment Opportunity Program, which called for promotional opportunities and training for Indians and other minority workers. It also demonstrated that the BIA failed to keep the promise it made just one year before.
Complaints of discrimination within the BIA and succeeding protests met with favorable legislative action and court decisions. On June 26, 1972, Commissioner Bruce, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, issued a directive requiring the BIA to give preference to qualified Indians, not only in initial appointments, but also in reinstatements and promotions.
This new policy stated that “where two or more candidates who meet the established qualification requirements are available for filling a vacancy, if one of them is an Indian, he shall be given preference in filling the vacancy.”
Commissioner Bruce supported the extension of Indian preference policy because he believed the policy would “basically be a means of enhancing opportunities for Indians in the operation and management of the Bureau’s program, a goal which is consistent with President Nixon’s announced policy of increased self-determination in Federal and local matters affecting Indian people.”
The court decision in Enola E. Freeman’s case supported an expanded policy of Indian preference in the BIA. On December 21, 1972, the District Court for the District of Columbia agreed to the concept of Indian preference defined by Freeman. The plaintiff argued that Indian preference upheld in the IRA implied that “a minimally qualified Indian must be hired even though there may be available a more capable, better qualified non-Indian applicant for the position.” The Freeman case, in which BIA Indian employees tested the limits of Indian preference, led the Washington, D.C. District Court to order:
All initial hirings, promotions, lateral transfers and reassignments in the Bureau of Indian Affairs . . . , however created, be declared governed by [the IRA] which requires that preference be afforded qualified Indian candidates; and . . . the plaintiff’s motion for a declaration that the filling of vacancies in training programs . . . is also governed by the same preference statute be denied.
Now Indian employees in the BIA could achieve preference in promotions or in filling any vacancies within the Bureau, in addition to initial hiring. The court rejected preference for participation in training programs. Nonetheless, the court decision became a major step for Indian self—determination in the BIA.
Excerpts from The Japanese Journal of American Studies, No. 22 (2011)
The Fight for Indian Employment Preference in the Bureau of Indian Affairs: Red Power Activism in Denver, Colorado, and Morton v. Mancari, Azusa Ono
American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies march in front of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Plant Management Engineering Center (PMEC) in Littleton, Colorado, located at 1100 West Littleton Boulevard, which is in the Denver metropolitan area, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices.
The-front-door-of-the Bureau of Indian Affairs PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado is chained shut. Mrs. Sue Kulch stands in doorway.
The-front-windows-of-the Bureau of Indian Affairs PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado with demonstration signs. Protesters signs and gestures reflect their attitude as Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, approaches building.
American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices. Elderly Indian woman listens to telephone conversation between 11 Indians who have occupied the building and Louis Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Group demands meeting with Louis Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Dwight Damian Spotted Tail (10 month old Sioux) part of meeting with Louis Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Louis R. Bruce, U.S. Commissioner of Indians Affairs, signs suspension order of 3 Bureau of Indian Affairs (“BIA”) employees who work at BIA PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, Bruce temporarily suspended three officials there: Charles McCrea, Chief Official; Stuart C. Edmonds, Assistant Chief; and Leona L. Morris, Administrative Assistant/p>
Indian protesters march in front of the-front -of-the Bureau of Indian Affairs PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, led by Patty Baker, Mandan/Blackfoot Tribe.
Indian protesters march in front of the-front -of-the Bureau of Indian Affairs PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado. They burned an effigy of Louis R. Bruce, Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Bruce Davies and Gerald Gill speak to Indian protesters in front of the-front -of-the Bureau of Indian Affairs PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting arrest of nine members of group that occupied building who were charged with trespassing and interference based on a complaint filed by Charles McCrea. They included Patty Baker (Mandan-Blackfoot), Lynda Bernal (Taos Pueblo), James Jones (Cherokee), John Gill (Sioux), Rick Buckanaga (Sioux), Virginia Reeves (Navajo), Linda Benson (Sac and Fox), Madelyn Boyer (Shoshone-Bannock) and Duane Bird Bear (Mandan-Hidatsa). All of them were tried in Arapahoe County Court on June 23, 1970 and acquitted.
The media quoted Duane in March 1970: “What is at stake everywhere is local control of the community. This means schools, economic development, youth programs, adult vocational programs and special services. These should all be reviewed by the various Indian organizations, instead of just by BIA administrators. Do you realize that, in the top 35 administrative positions for BIA in Washington, all but a few are Anglos? These are people pulling down $18,000 to $24,000 a year to tell Indians how they should live their lives. These people have got to be from Indian communities – and we aren’t going to stand for it being otherwise, anymore.”
Duane Bird Bear
American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices. Duane Bird Bear is on the telephone with Assistant to the BIA Commissioner in the Washington, D.C. office of the BIA.
American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices. Jane Fonda and Jack Rickards meet with Duane Bird Bear in support of the protest.
American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices. Left to right are James Jones, Bruce Davies, Jerold Wilkinson and Duane Bird Bear.
Barney Old Coyote, Acting Chief of Operations at Littleton BIA PMEC office, asks protesting Indians to work with him. Six more protesters were arrested and carried out of building on stretchers. Protesters include Patty Baker, Harry Buckanaga, Rachel Ashley and Mrs. Mercy Walker, Tillie Walker’s mother. The six arrested were Harry and Geraldine Buckanaga, Bruce Davies, Gerald Gill, Brenda Grant and Darlene Cuthair.
American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices. Tillie Walker, Executive Director of United Scholarship Service, Mandan-Hidatsa, Lynda Bernal, Taos Pueblo, and Patty Baker, Mandan/Blackfoot were major players in the protest. Lynda Bernal and Patty Baker were employees of the United Scholarship Service.
Duane Bird Bear
Harold-Iron-Shield, Sioux, sits-at-Charles-R.-McCrea’s (Chief Official, PMEC BIA Office) desk with D.J. Bird Bear (three month old son of Duane and Carol Bird Bear) in foreground.
Robert-Dumont-(center)-reports-to-a-group-of-> American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies who occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices.
Dumont and William Freeman, left, a BIA official, were scheduled to meet with Harrison Loesch, Assistant Secretary of Interior, to discuss problems.
Stuart C. Edmonds, Acting Director of local branch of BIA and BIA officials in Washington, DC, speak to-a-group-of- American Indian activists led by Duane Bird Bear and Bruce Davies who occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices.
Barney Old Coyote, BIA.
Gerald-Gill and Bruce-Davies-lead-march in support of American Indian activists who were arrested for occupying the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) PMEC office in Littleton, Colorado, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices.
Brenda Mitchell marches in front of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Plant Management Engineering Center (PMEC) in Littleton, Colorado, located at 1100 West Littleton Boulevard, which is in the Denver metropolitan area, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices.
Wearing Indian head dresses and blankets, Vaughn Arkie, a Mohave, and Al Culbertson, a Sioux, arrive at the Federal Building, 20th & Stout Sts., carrying a red coffin shaped box. They took part in picketing.
/p>
Harris D. Sherman in 1975.
In February 1972, a year after the PMEC workers filed their complaints, Enola E. Freeman, one of the complainants, instituted a suit against Secretary of the Interior C. B. Morton, BIA Commissioner Bruce, and PMEC Chief Peter M. Martin. The group was represented by Denver attorney Harris D. Sherman.
Indian activists march in front of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Plant Management Engineering Center (PMEC) in Littleton, Colorado, located at 1100 West Littleton Boulevard, which is in the Denver metropolitan area, protesting against anti-Indian employment practices. Glenda Tom, one of the twelve Indian employees at the PMEC (known as the “Littleton Twelve”) who signed the complaints of discrimination and sent them to Edward E. Shelton, director of the Interior Department’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, and BIA Commissioner Louis R. Bruce, is in the photo (person on far left).