Source: New York Times, p. 17
Date: November 10, 1972
Author(s): William M. Blair
Militant American Indians left behind them today a battered Bureau of Indian Affairs Building that may take months to restore to usefulness.
Before they left the building last night--after reaching an agreement with the Government to end their six-day takeover of the building--they wrecked nearly every piece of furniture and office equipment from typewriters to sensitive computers and spray-painted graffiti on walls.
Among the graffiti were the names of tribes and individuals--"Fighting Cheyenne," "Towa, Pueblo, N.M.," Seneca" and "Benjamin Bear, Tama, Iowa."
Four floors of the building were carpeted with broken glass, empty food tins, paper from rifled filing cabinets and other debris. Fire hoses trailed out of smashed cabinets. Fixtures in some restrooms were smashed. And the stench of rotting food pervaded the ground floor near the wrecked cafeteria.
Picture frames from which Indian paintings had been taken were torn apart. A large display cabinet that had housed priceless Indian artifacts was smashed, and the artifacts taken. At least two valuable Navajo rugs were missing.
The office of Indian Commissioner Louis R. Bruce, an Oglala Sioux and Mohawk from New York, was ripped up. Leather sofas and chairs were slashed by a sharp instrument, as were similar pieces in other offices. The militants had used Mr. Bruce's office as a command post. A half-eaten jar of peanut butter was on his stratched desk.
Containers of gasoline were found in the building's auditorium, where the Indians gathered initially and began making demands on the Government for housing and food.
Officials estimated that the takeover would cost the Government $1-million or more.
Some members of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association, which is made up of elected leaders of the country's 750,000 Indians on reservations, toured the building and expressed shock.
A group of Congressional aides, representing the Interior and Appropriations Committees in the Senate and House, also inspected the damage and heard the tribal leaders call for an investigation and prosecution of militants who they contend are mainly urban activists.
U.S. Officials BlamedWebster Two Hawk, president of the Chairmen's Association and chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council of South Dakota, blamed Government officials for "a bungling of this whole thing by allowing them [the militants] to dig in."
"If they go scot free, they'll be back," said Robert Him, chairman of the Yakima tribal council of Toppenish, Wash. He said that the tribes were particularly concerned over the destruction and theft of treaty, land and other documents that record vital negotiations on Indian rights and aid.
"If this can happen on a Federal lelve, it can happen on a local level," he said. "Congress and the Federal Government should not stand for this criminal action."
The agreement worked out by White House aides promised that no one would be prosecuted for occupation of the building. But, Federal officials emphasized, this proviso does not extend to damage or theft, which will have to be assessed before any legal action can be instituted.
The peace pact called for creation of a speical inter-agency panel covering a dozen departments and agencies dealing in Indian affairs. The panel will discuss with the country's entire Indian community grievances put forward by the Indians. The Indians seek revision of treaties, land reform and speedier Federal action on water, mineral and other rights that they contend are being exploited by white men.
The Federal Government also gave the protesters $60,000 to help them to get home or meet other needs, but what had happened to the sum was not clear today. Some of the money was passed out last night at the Indian Affairs Bureau by militant leaders.
The money was channeled to the American Indian Movement through the National Congress of American Indians. Charles E. Trimble, director of the congress, said today that the organization was not responsible for dispensing the money, which, he said, was given to militant leaders in a lump sum.
"The prime consideration was not to get the Indians out of town," he said. "It was to aid the stranded or sick."