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the basis of our progress to date, I have no hesitancy in saying that the time has passed when measures bearing on the lives and property of our Indian people will, as in former years, be placed on the books without consulting the wishes of the people involved.  I do not intend this as a threat or bluff.  We have no intention of asking for anything that is not rightfully due us or of using methods that are not out in the open.  But we have demonstrated that we know how to speak out for the Indians of the United States and Alaska and I cannot believe that any hereafter responsible official will want to act in Indian matters witout granting us an opportunity to be heard.  That was one of the goals we set for ourselves when we met in Denver in the fall of 1944.

A review of our activities since we last met, in Oklahoma City a year ago, will demonstrate some of the reasons I have for predicting why I expect our organization to grow in influence.  And remember if you will, that when I speak of our program of action I am speaking of a program based almost entirely on voluntary labor and devotion.  None of us who have taken part in the program to date can afford to do what we have been doing.  It has been an expensive luxury.  This is something we will want to face squarely and honestly before we leave here.

I would not be doing justice to the record if I did not start out by saying that the very best thing we did at our last convention was in our choice of a Secretary -- a woman who has shared every day of this past year with us, indeed her home with us, since she allowed us to use her house as our Washington headquarters; who has made a reality of our blueprint for a Newsletter and a Bulletin; who kept up a steady stream of correspondence with hundreds of individuals and organization; who tramped all over Capitol Hill getting hearings for Indians and being heard.  I won't expand on that for the moment, but I would like Mrs. Ruth Bronson to stand so that you may see our number one achievement in 1947.  And I hope she doesn't have to put in another such year without help.

Since I have started out with personalities, I want to mention our Chief Counsel, Mr. James Curry.  Perhaps some of the delegates here did not meet you last year in Oklahoma City.  Will you stand, Mr. Curry?  I see he also has his able assistant with him, and perhaps we should have done her the honors first.  Miss Lopinski, will you stand please and take a bow.  Our lawyers ran a shuttle service between Washington and Alaska all year.  I lost track of the number of trips they made up there -- or they sent Mrs. Bronson when they became worn out.  All they did, ladies and gentlemen, was to bring to public attention what might have been one of the biggest timber grabs in all history.  As you might guess, the intended victims were some poor Indians who happen to own part of the Tongass Forest up there.  For the moment, at least, the effort has been stopped cold. Perhaps we'll have a report on that later.

We attended many committee meetings of House and Senate.

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