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on $20 or $25 a month. That's impossible for anybody in the United States to live good on. There was a time when they turned us down saying the Indians were wards of the Government, but when it came to a show-down a delegation of us went to the capitol and told them we should have the same rights as white people. I said go ahead and the Indians will quit paying the sales tax. Right then and there they said they were going to send telegrams in to Washington. We got that recognition anyway, and now they are enjoying the social security.

DAN MADRANO, Caddo, Oklahoma:

Mr. Chairman, I have been aware for some of the conditions which are existing in this state and also in Arizona, and some of the other states. I have had occasion for the past three months to visit a number of the areas where these Indians live, and the privilege to talk with them personally. I also had the privilege to address the House of Representatives, and to discuss rather informally the situation which confronts the Navajos and the Pueblos insofar as their franchise is concerned with these states.

I came in only a moment ago, I heard only briefly the discussion about the Indian vote or the franchise which some tribes do not enjoy. I am going to discuss this for a moment to show you where I think it is most necessary that you give this problem serious consideration. I am not advocating that the Indians give up their rights, or that they abolish the Bureau or adopt a system of voting. In Oklahoma we have an Act which says that the American Indians who are citizens of Oklahoma are considered as white citizens of Oklahoma. They were granted the privilege to vote. In Oklahoma, we have approximately one-third of the total Indian population of the United States. Their lands cover approximately 32,000 farms in Oklahoma. We represent in the neighborhood of 32 to 34 tribes in Oklahoma. They have the privilege of voting. The only way that the American Indian is going to advance in America of necessity is by getting into politics. You must get in politics. I'm not saying you should be a Democrat or Republican, I'm saying you got to play the game. In this state you have a divided situation. You have your white American citizen; you have the Spanish American citizens; and you have the American Indian as a ward of the Federal Government and a citizen. He has no authority to vote, no expression of thought in his government. You know why: It's just because the Indian has been told in one way or another that if he votes he will lose his privilege of protection, his land. The very constitution of this state prohibits you from voting because you are wards of the government and live on restricted lands. We have Indians in Oklahoma who live on restricted lands, but they have the right to vote and do vote and their lands are not taxed when they vote. You Navajos, we are vitally concerned about your problem. Mrs. Bronson here is well informed of your problem; she has devoted years of her life, public service for the American Indian. A lot of you have done the same thing. They can only go so far, my friends. You've got the meet them half way. The

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