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against efforts now being made in the halls of the Congress to curtail or modify such rights. The pledge in Article III will be an additional inducement, it is felt, for tribes now outside the NCAI fold to come in. Within the area covered by these Basic Rights our organization could pursue its main mission to advance the Indians' interests and to preserve their tradition on the American scene. We want our organization to continue to exist, to grow and to prosper for altruistic as well as practical reasons. We should therefore strive to put it on a basis that will prove acceptable to Indian tribes.
   Other provisions in the substitute draft are self-explanatory. However, the following additional comments may briefly be made:
   We know of at least 23 separate and independent Indian leagues, confederations and associations which could and should combine their efforts in a federation at the national capital on common objectives. Our salesmanship and leadership should be directed toward making the National Congress of American Indians as the agency of federation for these organizations. With this purpose in mind the location of the headquarters of the National Congress in Washington, D.C., is being proposed; annual dues for Chapter Membership are being made made a straight $25.00 payment without additional charge for each member in a chapter; and Section 2 of Article II is being worded to set forth the general purposes contemplated by Chapter Membership. Having in mind the independent Indian organizations, some of which may admit persons not of Indian ancestry, we are proposing in Section 1 a (2) of Article II that any organization may come in if a majority of its members are eligible to national membership.
   Article V on the referendum method of legislation by the National Congress of American Indians is being proposed as a logical measure following the provisions of Section 1a of Article II and Article III. In the provision of three tribal votes for a member tribe recognition is being given to the tribal council or governing council of an organized tribe as being well informed and therefore capable of rendering mature judgement not only on its own tribal needs but on the trend of thinking in Congressional or governmental circles as well as among other tribes in the United States and Alaska on Indian matters. At the same time, on the ground that conceivably the decisions of the ruling body of a tribe may not reflect popular sentiment, the enrolled members of the tribe should have something to say in a reservation-wide referendum on a vital matter. Then there may be no intra-tribe bickerings on the action taken eventuating in withdrawal of the tribe from NCAI membership, -- at least, we think we will minimize such possibility. It is understood that the National Congress has heretofore adopted a series of resolutions, which would be validated by Article V, under which the Executive Council could take instant and effective action on any threatening move of the Government or on any bill introduced in the Congress against the Basic Rights defined in Article III. With Article V as a potent armament in our representations we could maintain to the whole world that our organization really and truly does stand and speak for the Indians of the United States and Alaska.
   We should have a permanent Executive Director who has demonstrated his competence and usefulness to assure continuity of policies, uniformity of procedures and consistency of action. The Constitution should not be so worded so that each triennial Executive Council may feel called upon to appoint a new Executive Director. Hence in the substitute draft the Executive