As I recall the story, and my recollection may be a little faulty, there was a plan devised by a group of people, led mainly by our father and Mrs. Leslie Van Ness Denman, to have Franklin Roosevelt, were he elected President, appoint John Collier Secretary of the Interior and Harold Ickes Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This idea was put forth rather strongly by many people and was opposed by others who wanted these positions themselves.
All of a sudden, one day, now-President Roosevelt announced the appointment of Harold Ickes as Secretary of the Interior and John Collier as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
JOHN COLLIER ON THE COURT OF CLAIMS SUIT
In 1935, there was a claims suit being presented for the Indians. In cases of this kind, Congress had said that the Attorney General was the attorney for the Indians. If the Attorney General at the particular place did not actively and vigorously prosecute the case, then the Indians had a poor chance of obtaining their due. This lack of vigor could be the result of laziness, the view of the particular man about Indians or political pressure. To illustrate to some small degree the ability of Mr. Collier to communicate, to set forth sufficiently but not overwhelmingly the situation, I am incorporating a letter of his to Pop about this claim suit:
December 18, 1935
Dear Mr. Elkus:
Returning here, I have had from Mr. Zimmerman the following information: that some weeks ago Senator Thomas met Attorney General Webb at Sacramento or San Francisco; that he gathered the impression that Webb's attitude in the matter of the claims suit was indifferent at best; that Mr. Webb was not even proceeding with any action, on the suit, but was awaiting the disposal of pending bills in Congress. Senator Thomas, as you may remember, has made a good deal of effort to take a disinterested and helpful position about this whole question; but from Mr. Zimmerman I gather that he came away from his meeting with Attorney General Webb, more or less convinced that private attorneys ought to be admitted to the suit. It will be evident that if such be the State's or the Attorney General's view of the situation, and if, in addition, the California delegation be confused or indifferent to the matter, etc., etc., legislation of doubtful merit may well be passed. As for the cessation of activity in pushing the suit toward judgment; because bills are pending, such a policy might result in postponing the judgment beyond the death of the last Indian. I see no logic in it. Can you not find out something about the situation from the Attorney General's end?
With all wishes,
Sincerely yours,
- John Collier
- Commisioner
Perhaps one small preview will help set the stage for what follows. The Pueblo Indians of Arizona and New Mexico had, in self-defense, set up an organization to deal with their common problems. It must be explained that government amongst these people was totally in the hands of the men. The women had their areas of authority, but government was not their area. Our beloved United States Government, in its infinite wisdom, put a woman in charge of the Pueblos as Agent. Granting all the business about women's rights and women's equality, this is not what you do when you are dealing with a rather remote, rather primitive society. This might have been excellent progressive liberalism, but it was lousy common sense.
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