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I am going to present to you the honorable and courageous president of our organization, The Senates of Chiefs, the honorable Joseph R. Garry who will address the convention. Mr. Garry:

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President Garry
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"Thank you, Vice President Wesley. Honored Guests and Ladies and Gentlemen: Before I [[crossed out]] start [[/crossed out]] begin my address, I would like to ask [[crossed out]] just one favor of you. I would like for all of [[/crossed out]] you to stand for 30 seconds of silent prayer and respect, in memory of the late Sam Birch, former Chairman of the Southern Ute[[crossed out]]s[[/crossed out]] Tribe and a charter member of NCAI. (All [[crossed out]] stand up [[/crossed out]] stood in silence) 

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¶
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Greetings to all of you in the National Congress of American Indians. It makes my heart feel good to see so many of you here, and it is especially gratifying to see that you [[crossed out]] really [[/crossed out]] exist in reality, after one hundred years of pressure and culture so foreign to our own. As American Indians you are possessed with the greatest heritage in the world. This heritage is great, not because of the publicity by western movies or by modern comic strips but because history will reveal that the American Indian is the greatest contributor to the modern welfare of mankind. The lands of this country, rich in natural resources, which the American Indians ceded in good faith to the government, have has made this country the most powerful in the world today. This particular contribution, among others, has enabled democracy to endure upon this continent. But these unsung glories do not end here. In World War II it is acknowledged by our Congress that the American Indians bought more war bonds, had more voluntary enlistments in the services and won more Congressional Medals of honor per capita than any other race upon the face of this earth. Yet, amid all these glories, it is claimed that the American Indian is the poorest educated, lives under the poorest conditions, and has the poorest health which results in the highest mortality rate of any [[crossed out]] other [[/crossed out]] group [[crossed out]] of [[/crossed out]] in this country. This is to say that [[crossed out]] one [[/crossed out]] those deserving the best [[crossed out]] is [[/crossed out]] are receiving the least.¶

 This misfortune is not an insistence that of the people of our country, which are is essentially our government, are is deliberately [[crossed out]] misleading its first citizens [[/crossed out]] mistreating the First Americans.  

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[[crossed out]] And now [[/crossed out]] I always maintain[[crossed out]]ed[[/crossed out]] that 90% of the American people, and likewise 90% of our Congress, want[[crossed out]]s[[/crossed out]] to do right by the American Indian. But [[crossed out]] a [[/crossed out]] careless mismanagement together with [[crossed out]] a [[/crossed out]] misrepresentation of facts, serve[[crossed out]]s[[/crossed out]]

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-11-27 12:35:28 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-11-27 17:01:32 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-11-27 23:12:13 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-11-28 11:59:19 ---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-11-28 19:09:32