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The Chairman of the Nominating Committee moved that their recommendations be adopted by the delegates. The motion was seconded and was put to a vote of the assembly. The motion passed by unanimous vote of the delegates present.
MR. DWIGHT TO THE ASSEMBLY: By virtue of your next action you have selected the officers of this Congress for the next year.
MR. DWIGHT (continuing): Ladies and Gentlemen, in presenting to you the officers of the National Congress of American Indians before we adjourn the Convention and turn the business and the destiny of this organization over to the newly elected officers and members of the Committee, I want to ask your indulgence just for a few moments, in order that I may express to you my thanks for the honor that has been bestowed upon me as the President of this Constitutional Convention.
For several years, I have been working toward the milestone that we have just reached. I know of no time in my life that I have been happier than I am at this particular moment. I feel that a service to one's country and to his people is his supreme commitment and in having served the Indian people as I have in my humble way thus far I have extreme gratification over the fact that we have come this far. I want to assure you and the members of this organization that in the future I shall strive to help in any way that I can. I want the officers and the committeemen of this National Congress to feel free to call upon me at any time and I will, if it is at all possible, answer your call.
In my judgment this National Convention of American Indians here in Denver has received an inspiration from the hospitality and from the consideration that has been given us here in Denver, by this Hotel, by the press, by the radio, by the general citizenship at large. We have come here to reach an objective. I believe that has been made much easier by the consideration that we have received while we have been here in Denver, and I know now that no better selection could have been made for this first Constitutional Convention than has been made here in this city.
Analyzing the progress of this Convention I can say that members from our own group have received information, have been better informed, and in keeping with their desire to help their people, have laid aside their misgivings, their personal interests, their particular membership in any organization, and have tried as best as they can to reach this milestone for the benefit of the Indian people.
I have observed Indians sitting around in the corners in this Hotel as our forefathers did in their Council fires talking over their problems, getting an inspiration from the feeling that emanates from their hearts, using their intelligence and their general ability to arrive to a point that will be a credit to Indianhood in the United States of America,
I feel that the destiny of this organization and that the welfare of the Indian people is now in good hands, and I want to thank
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