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THE SUPREME COURT
STATE OF OKLAHOMA

N. B. JOHNSON
JUSTICE

[[right margin]]COPY BRONSON[[/right margin]]

August 1, 1949

Mr. Roger Baldwin, Executive Secretary
American Civil Liberties Union
170 Fifth Avenue
New York City 10, New York

Dear Mr. Baldwin:

The National Congress of American Indians is holding its Sixth Annual Convention at Rapid City, South Dakota, September 21 through 24. We expect delegates from a majority of the Indian tribes of the United States to be present. In past years we have had something like 180 official delegates, in addition to regular members, in attendance. We expect to surpass this number at the Rapid City Convention, where it is being held in the heart of the western Indian country. 

We shall be most happy to have you address our convention as one of the principal speakers on any day suitable to your convenience. We would like for the Indian people to have at first hand the benefit of your experience in fighting for minority rights, and we want particularly for them to have some vision, such as you can give them out of your wide experience with underprivileged people all over the world, as to what Indians might accomplish through organized effort. Unified action, embracing many tribes, is still a new idea to many of the Indian people, and, although our organization is growing, there is still much educational work to be done.

Also we would like to have you get together with the National Congress of American Indians to show you what we have accomplished, partly with the aid of the Robert Marshall Civil Liberties Trust. As one of the Trustees, you know that the Robert Marshall Civil Liberties Trust has invested heavily in our organization. For this we have been deeply grateful, as well as for the moral support and encouragement your belief in us, thus expressed, has given us.

We hope very much that you can accept our invitation to meet with us at some time during our convention. Please let me know on what date you can attend. We regret that we do not have funds available from which to defray your traveling expenses. 

Sincerely,

N. B. Johnson
President, NCAI

J/p