Interview with Dr. Bruce Johansen
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Transcription
McKiernan Interviews
Interview with: Bruce Johansen
Interviewed by: Stephen McKiernan
Transcriber: Lynn Bijou
Date of interview: 2 December 2021
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(Start of Interview)
SM: 00:02
All right, we are all set.
BC: 00:05
Okay.
SM: 00:06
Thank you very much Dr. Johansen for agreeing to be interviewed for this, for the Center for the Study of (19)60s at Binghamton University. The first question I want to ask you is could you tell us a little bit about your growing up years, your early influences, your parents, where you went to high school, college, those early years before you became a professor?
BC: 00:28
Okay. I was born in 1950 in San Diego by, was in the, Coast Guard, it was, you know they have a, Coast Guard bases you know, all over the place. So, I grew up, you know, moving you know over about half-half the world you know, they have a Coast Guard in the Philippines, they have it in you know, in [inaudible] up in Canada, in Puerto Rico, so they even have all these here in Omaha, but you know there is not any coast here, but they have one. You know, so, I grew up until age 18, you know, traveling, you know, with my family at age 18, okay I mean between ages 15 and 18 which was 1965 to (19)68, I was at high, high school in Fort Angeles, you know in Washington State. And there is a Coast Guard base there too, and the, the time change to you know to, apply for college and I, favorite the- you know, the view of Washington. My parents had been transferred to San Diego again, and they invited me to come but I was, I mean I was itching to get out of that, you know there else. And so, I went over to Seattle and got a scholarship which we, they hired me to go to school there, so I did [chuckles]. [inaudible] provide scholarships so then I was in the, you know in the, Seattle in school when you know the whole anti-war movement blew up. And in 1971, I was the editor of the, "The Daily," which is this student paper, so I mean I spent all kinds of time covering this, you know, and it is on the record if you go back far enough to do that. I started in (19)69, I became the editor in (19)71, and I graduated with my BA in (19)72, and after that I went over to Seattle two times and this takes us up to about, let us see, (19)74 and five. I took ten months in Minnesota, and then came back to Seattle, and I went back to the times, I mean I was overeducated for my job so I ended up getting a PhD at this, you know, famous school and graduated 1971. My thesis and dissertation was on the ways in which the {inaudible] help to fight our government, in you know in the (19)30s, (19)40s, (19)50s, (19)60s and onward. And that blew up a debate all over the country which, it did not actually start up till the (19)80s, and it got bigger you know after that but the- there was all kinds of throwback and there were other people who were you know, interested too. Then I put it, I mean after a long search for a publisher in (19)82, the dissertation came out as a book. [inaudible] awaited it starts to spread, and I am being slimed by people such as you know, [inaudible] and others you know, you have not listened till you been slimed with [inaudible]. And in some of his books too, he hated, of course. So, this takes us up to about 1982, you know, I am out of college, I have my PhD and I started to become active in, in Indian fishing rights, you know also in the early (19)70s, you know, things were heating up in the northwest. Most people outside that area do not have a good idea of why this, you know, battle over salmon was a such big item in that area. But I started out, I was still at the times (19)72-(19)76, and I covered this, the fishing rights, and got to know some of the people behind it. So, jumping ahead to (19)82 again, my book is out, you know, I am a starving artist, you know, books, I mean, even books that have an audience, I mean, often do not support you so, and I did you know, side gigs, I mean, I wrote articles. [inaudible] I could not feel as if I could go back to the times before my [inaudible] job there, and the [inaudible] had been hiring a lot of its own graduates because everyone wanted to stay there. So, when I graduated there, just before that, the dean of arts and sciences, sciences issued an edict or an order that said that the school of communications, which I was in could not hire any more of its own graduates. So, I was you know, when I was looking for an academic job, I went out on-on the road, and I ended up in 1982 in Omaha and I worked here, and I was pretty tired. I think it was 2018 so that, you know, that puts me probably at over 37 years as an academic in Omaha you know and, and I am still to receive books and articles-
SM: 15:16
Right.
BC: 15:18
-from here so you know it has added up to 53 books-
SM: 15:29
Wow.
BC: 15:29
-and hundreds of other things you know if you Google me you will, you will get an idea of what is out there.
SM: 15:44
Yeah you, you are quite a scholar, I mean you wrote the Encyclopedia of Native Americans and some of the other books are just unbelievable. And my question is, how, I know that you are talking about the issue with salmon and so forth, River Race and so forth? But how did you get an interest in Native American issues?
BC: 16:14
Back in about 1970, I read a book by Keith Brown called [inaudible] and that is what started it, and also when my PhD, you the time came to start a PhD dissertation I had just I had several friends who are you know urging me to do the Iroquois connection with, with Benjamin Franklin and others, and the people on my PhD several, one of them did not, had never heard of the idea. And they did not take it to be you know, part of history or part of what could be in the historic scholarly record. So, I had to start pulling evidence and I pulled out accounts from the past and quotes from the papers, and other things. And just feeding them to the people on my committee and after a while they do it, that opened the first door and then I had to do it, and as you can see from looking at, at my stuff prior, I am- mean a writer. And as a journalist earlier, I mean, I did write fast and accurately, I am quick so, and I, you know, I mean people freeze up but I freeze up when I talk, and as a kid, about the age of eight I started to stutter. And for a while I was real, I am unhappy because I did not think I had any outlets. You know, I mean, I just be taken as a stupid kid. So, then I started work on it since about the age of nine. And I am now 71, and as sit here at my keyboard, I mean, I am working on some books and chapters today. So, I mean it, it has not stopped.
SM: 20:56
What was, what was the name of that first book that came from your dissertation?
BC: 21:04
That was "Forgotten Founders," and it was my, actually, it was my second book.
SM: 21:16
Okay.
BC: 21:17
The first one was, was called "The Iroquois," which was about how, you know, Indian issues were still alive. So, I mean, it brings things from the past up to date. You know, and so that was the first one, second one was "Forgotten Founders," which has gone on to have a real, you know, interesting, you know, impact all over the world. People, you know, hear this idea, and they either go, that is fascinating, or that is crap [chuckles].
SM: 22:22
And that is the one, is that the one that Rush Limbaugh criticizes you for?
BC: 22:27
Yeah, yeah.
SM: 22:31
What did he say about your book?
BC: 22:33
Well, he just said it was false, and that there could not possibly be a connection here. I mean, after all, you know, the founders were the founders, and the Indians were the Indians. And that is all there was. And he obviously had not read it. And that was [inaudible], you know, when after it, I mean, they paid attention. So, I had a real fun time taking them on and going into their publications and their audiences, and countering them. I mean, I turned them into, guess the word would be foils for my argument. And it, it was spread it out. It had an effect, which was opposite of what they wanted. You know, so it was, I mean, I had a really good time going after them and going into publications, which I could not get into, on my own. But since there was a debate here, I was able to worm my way into scholarly journals in history, and anthropology, and others. The idea has a really interesting fact in several academic fields if you look at it, there is obviously there is history, there is anthropology, there is [inaudible], there is law, you know and-and others you know, so it is spread like that. Also, when I am getting up with audience in several academic fields and the public, and also a lot of people in other countries are interested in American history in a way and I decided to teach audit in India which was fascinating, in Poland-
SM: 26:45
Wow.
BC: 26:46
-[inaudible].
SM: 26:49
What was the, what was the basic, what was the basic argument in the book that upset people like Limbaugh? What was, what was your basic premise in the book?
BC: 27:02
Well that there was an effect of what was, first of all, you understand that Franklin was on the way to do the Iroquois guardian and let us see, in let us say (19)50 or so, you know, he was an on [inaudible] and so, he observed how they operate, you know there is, just the culture you know, who does what, and he had a, he wrote, you know, CDs of [inaudible], you know which, which were you know, well-read small books at the time, you know, they had an audience and he published them I mean, he had a press too. So, he, at an audience and he described you know, how they operate their councils you know, their law, and gave people an idea that the, you know, Iroquois and other Indian nations had a, they were democracies, you know they, they operated in in counsels. So, Franklin takes this idea back home and puts it in his little books, and they, they spread out, you know, (19)50, (19)54, (19)50, (19)50-(19)60s and a bit after that, and this plants some seeds and some of the other founders pick it up, but he is the main one. You know, Franklin who loved going into other cultures and observing them, and writing about it. And towards the end, this real interesting [inaudible] he might have even used [inaudible] in his own time. So, he is fascinating, and almost every, you know, public library has published copies of his, his [inaudible]. You know, so it was really easy to praise what he was up to, you just had to work at it. Because there was so much of it.
SM: 31:57
The, from this experience from one of your earlier books, how have, obviously in the academic community, your books have been praised. But for critics, when you look at your writings, say in the since we are talking about the (19)60s here, (19)60s and (19)70s, we can include the (19)50s too, what was your awareness meeting meter with respect to all the major issues of the (19)60s amongst them? How did you become interested again, in the Native American issues and indigenous peoples movements, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s? Did you feel that this period in American history was positive or negative with respect to how Native Americans were, you know, presented in, through books, through television, through movies, through writings, and obviously, your contribution has been so positive and so educational, but just your perception of what was going on in America in the (19)60s and (19)70s in respect to Native American issues?
BC: 33:16
Well, I mean, I was, I got involved in these issues is about (19)70. And there were, you know, native people, you know, making their case, about you know, what ended up being forgotten. Founders early on, you know, I mean, it you can phrase it, you know, and they would tell me a bit about it and I was fascinated before about 1968, I was in high school in a rural area, you know, and I was not really old enough to take part in these things. But, I got to college in (19)68 just as the upheaval was flowing up, and the Vietnam war movement was, was also opening up all kinds of other issues, issues having to do with, you know, Latino rights, Black rights, Native rights, you know. fishing rights, all kinds of things, you know, gay rights, things that filtered into our culture after that. It was a galvanizing, anti-war movement, it was a galvanizing event that caused all these other, insurgence to have a platform and it also increased conflict, you know, around all, all these issues, I mean there was a great deal of upheaval in this I think. You know, my next book is on you know, black lives matter, and you see the same issues there that you did in the (19)60s and (19)70s, the whole you know, whole, American movement like Aim and other, other things. All kinds of, the idea was to get out from under a system which had made Native life very tough you know, to basically turn it over and start again you know, get fishing rights back, get land rights back, and then change, the damage which was, they worked on that too. And of course, that is still on, on-going you know the, you know the, the idea of you know, say, you know it is, it is an example but, Indian mascots, okay, which was getting started in the (19)60s. You know, the idea of this stereotypical Indian in shines and advertising it all, all over the place. In Omaha if you have ever seen it, we have the [inaudible] of Omaha trademark, and here in town where the company had its home office, they have a building that had their, their-their Indian, Indian on it, mutual on the top and then [inaudible] you know, Indian. Black lives matter as part of their efforts pointed that, Indian taken down. And if you come to Omaha today, you will see that it has been taken down in the field [inaudible] on it. So, you know, things have some things have changed. You know, and it is just an idea to make people think, and this has been going on. I mean, in the (19)70s, the American Indian Movement, you know, they, [inaudible] of this school I taught at, had an Indian mascot, you know, up until the, the early (19)70s. It was an ugly piece of work. I mean, it was dumb looking stick, bad art, bad idea. And so, Aim, you know, the Aim's head office was in Minneapolis, and they came down here and said, sack that thing, and they did, the early (19)70s, the, you know, the teens came up [inaudible] which, you know, is a big, fat animal that has an attitude you know. The Cleveland Indians-
SM: 42:25
Right.
BC: 42:25
-that was there, you know, the ugly, ugly mascot got there, too. And I am not sure if you know, they still have, have it. I mean, I have not checked it out. The Washington Redskins, they took that one off and they have not settled on anything else. So, I think the team is now called the team or something like this, the team from Washington. [chuckles] There certainly have been some changes and that is, that is for the positives for sure. Oh, yeah so, I write books as I look at them, have been part of the changes and you go out and you talk about these things, you educate people, and you get out the stereotypes, all kinds of stereotypes and, you know, history about Indians. And these are even carried on by people who have good educations, you know, but I got in there with the scholars and debated the stereotypes, which was an interesting turn of events. The idea at the basis of all of this, was the idea of the frontier, you know, basically said our ancestors came here over the ocean and established for 13 states on the eastern seaboard and expanded out west. And you can see, if you go to a place like, Omaha, the ages of the buildings that go up as you get further from the-the old party town. Omaha was started in the 1850s, you can get the whole idea that was always taught is that so, whites, you know, the Anglos, the people who came over the ocean you know, I mean my, my grandparents are from Norway, that the frontier will move from east to west and I was arguing that it was not that simple. You know, there was a movement of course, east to west, but then there was also feedback, which came from west to east, you know, when we start to learn from the Indians and it shapes our culture, so we have, you know, to some degree now, a hybrid culture, and you can see that in our own language, in some words that we use that people in England could not recognize. The names of our states, you know, half of them, you know Omaha is an Indian name. Nebraska is an Indian name; half the states have Indian names. And this is just an idea of the feedback, I mean the idea that we just rolled over them is too simple. You know, there was feedback and part of that feedback were things like Franklin, going out in the 1840s and 1850s, and building the case himself that that was feedback, in fact, his being part of it. Now, he understood that, and it is really interesting to read his papers because he, he understood things which have since been lost. I mean, I have, I found it fascinating. And if there was one person in the past that I could go back, just one, the one I would pick would be him, fascinating person.
SM: 49:11
Well, his grave is in Philadelphia as you know, yeah, and if you have ever been to Philadelphia, a lot of people are still throwing change on his stone, on that corner. Yeah, he is a, he is an icon in Philadelphia. And I want your thoughts on this because you and I are about same age. And even though you started college in 1968, which is the year the American Indian Movement began. If I want to go back to post WWII, I want to go between that 1946 to 1960 when John Kennedy became president, you know, the young Boomer kids, which are born between (19)60, excuse me, (19)46 to (19)64 grew up with you know, black and white television, all those Westerns on T.V. During the 1950s, with a Kodachrome, Technicolor and so forth at the movie theaters, every Saturday, you could go watch Westerns on Saturday, you can actually see him during the week, but when we were in school, and so, and of course, the comics, and everything was the Wild Wild West. It was all about, you know, you had Hopalong Cassidy and you had, you know, you had the Lone Ranger, and Tonto you had, and of course, you had Bonanza, as you got into late (19)50s, early (19)60s, you got all those, all those television shows Rawhide, Wagon Train, you know, the list. And of course, the movies, the many, many, many movies in the (19)60s, they were all these top actors, okay, [inaudible]. And this all the question is this, Native Americans were in all the movies, but they were always at war, with the people, with the white men. And I, you know, as a little boy, I grew up, I had cowboys and Indians, you probably had them too. They were composted Indians that your parents gave you for Christmas, or for your birthday, they were in all the stores. And, of course, you had the happy outfits, you had Davy Crockett, and it, you had all this stuff. But it was always the Native Americans, or they were always at war with the white man. And, and I, and I never really, as a kid put two and two together. I do not think a lot of kids did. And then as you get into the (19)60s, as you start getting older, you find out the truth. That, you know, that, about how they were treated, and you will learn about how they lost their lands, and how the trees you know, they were lied too, they, you know, then you learn more than it is, it is more than just six or seven Native American groups, it is smaller groups that were part of a nation and nations all across the country. And then the, the cavalry going to war, you know, people going west, taking up the land, all the way to California and of course, then you have the situation, big, Little Big Horn. You are, you are a kid growing up and hearing all this as well, by the time you got to 1968. What were, what were your thoughts as a boomer kid, before you even went to college in (19)68 about how Native Americans were portrayed on T.V., in the movies, in comics, in books, everything?
BC: 52:51
I think this goes back to, back to, from age two, I mean I was fooling with my parents and we were going into, I mean also, Village Theory has its own basis, you still go out and you see other cultures. And I recall from early on, you know, having an interest in other cultures, you know, and this was the (19)50s and I spent a great deal of time outside the country. So, I had something to compare it to, you know, and I was very, very interested in Puerto Rico, and both my friends were Puerto Rican and I was also for, for prolonged periods you know got exposed to Indian or others stereotypes, and when there was no Americans in the Philippines or Puerto Rico. And I just had different interests, you know, the cowboys and Indians, it did not appeal to me. So, I was from, from early on, I was looking at things from a different angle. And so, as I started to find out that there was actually something here, something interesting I mean, all these other cultures had interesting things to teach us now, the actual, the actual attachment to native peoples started to come up, up about 1970, you know, as I said, earlier, but I mean, I have been prepared by my early experiences to tell this, this standard line now, not everyone has that, you know, has that advantage, you know, being shown other cultures and other people, and having, kind of built in, I mean, I was receptive, you know, putting back to Canada, what this culture stuff is, it did not appeal to me. I mean, I did not like it. So, I am, I have felt better, you know, hanging out with, you know, Black people, Latinos, Native people, and then others, you know, that do not fit these-these groups and that is just genuine over time. I mean, I had a very interesting time in India, basically telling [inaudible] on topics that they had not heard about, but it opens their minds up and they will be receptive, so it is interesting to be on the, on the wave. And, I have kept, my, my basement here that is my library, my papers at all if anyone is interested after I go, it is all here. You know, and I have gotten more interested in people from around the world all the time and people resegregate. And I think that as [inaudible] it is our responsibility to be citizens of the world. But, of course there are all kinds of other people out there who do not think like that. I mean, things, some of them [crosstalk]. Oh, there is also a whole sector in our culture that, you know, have these symbols in their heads. They are the old thinking, I mean, it is still out there, the cowboys and Indians in the south.
SM: 1:00:25
The- the, the image was always presented now as a little kid that the, the Indians were always the bad people.
BC: 1:00:36
Yeah.
SM: 1:00:37
And, the cowboys are always the good people, even when the Cowboys did real bad things toward the, I mean, you know, little boys and girls have a hard time putting two and two together at times. But boy, as times go on, you reflect. And that is the way I reflected it. And but then, in the 1960s, when the American movie came about (19)68, like all the other movements in the (19)60s, I mean, I was kind of happy that it was happening. Because when I look at the 20th century, with an emphasis on the 1950s through the (19)80s, where would we place the concerns of Native American citizens in the scheme of things? I do not remember in the 1950s any president talking about Native American issues. And, and but in the 1960s, I see, I see people like Senator Fred Harris and his wife, Madonna Harris, who were very involved in Native American issues from the get go. And I know Madonna is still very involved, have been her entire life. But, when you look at some of the some of the issues in the (19)60s and (19)70s that stand out to me, this is just me as a white man. But, a little boy growing up in the Syracuse area, that I saw a lot of Native Americans ads on T.V., I remember the one who, of the Native American who wanted to save the environment. And he got a tear in his eye, if you remember that ad.
BC: 1:02:14
Yeah.
SM: 1:02:14
Yep. Buffy Sainte Marie, who was the great singer of the (19)60s. I mean, she still is great today, what an icon in the Native American community. And her songs all talk about the Native American spirits, the Marlon Brando, the Native American female, going to the Academy Awards, when he was getting in, she was there and there was a scene. And of course, I already talked about all the T.V. shows and they were on T.V. and, and then, too, I would like you to talk about a couple of things here, because you are a scholar that can see the insight into these more than I can. I would like you to talk about Wounded Knee. How important Wounded Knee is in the history of Native Americans, and the original Wounded Knee, and what happened in (19)73. And then also the takeover of Alcatraz, I interviewed John Trudell, who was there and of course, he has passed away and I am really upset that the interview is lost, but, but that was (19)69 to (19)71. And then of course, again, the information of the American Indian Movement in (19)68. So, I am I am really asking about Wounded Knee, AIM, and Alcatraz if you could talk on all three?
BC: 1:03:36
Well, that is a big hawk there [chuckles], yeah, after having read [inaudible] book, okay. I came to understand that, did people at that time had to go out and take some toys, you know and-and also point out you know, who owned what, you know and, and who shared culture with whom. And so, in part, I mean, all of these things were skills by eating, and science, you know, with other people in, in movements to point out that Indians were humans, they were fighting stereotypes. It comes as you kicked down from all these you know, Indian movies, and other things which can improve their entity, you know and to turn them into stereotypes. Some of this was also kind of, it tends to go both ways, you know, some people perceive, for example, the Indians you know Alcatraz as, as stereotypical. But I think part of it was, you know, bringing attention to certain issues that they had publicized and part of that was, pointing out that they were human, and part of it was working on getting back the land, you know all these things happened at the same time. And, all of these things had these roots, they were, they were teaching the rest of us these things, that is what I think of it.
SM: 1:07:08
The, the, could you talk a little bit about Wounded Knee?
BC: 1:07:20
Again, it was a [inaudible] to, to get people to pay attention, I mean to all the things that I talked about earlier. I mean part of it was publicity vehicle part of it was establishing humanity, part of it was understanding, you know, who owns what and where. All of these things, also it goes into, you know the, Wounded Knee happened at the very end of the Vietnam War, so all of the elements that contain that movement, [inaudible] Wounded Knee. But, other than that I do not think of myself as an expert on any-any single incident, and I have not really gone into what, people who established, people who planned it and carrying it out what they thought.
SM: 1:09:34
Yeah, I know when reading about the American Indian Movement in (19)68, the people who created it back in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Certainly, Dennis Banks and people like that, were certainly major activists of the 1960s and (19)70s and beyond. Some of the issues you already talked about, the issue of fishing rights the, the revitalization of traditions within the Native American community, the economic independence, which is very important to any group, legal rights, tribal areas, restoration of lands that had been lost. The things that came up in the (19)60s over cemeteries on Native American lands, I grew up in Syracuse, where the Mohawk Nation was fighting to make sure that the New York State Thruway would not go through their, their cemeteries. And there were major protests on the highways near Syracuse for many years. Many college students from Binghamton were involved in those protests, the broken treaties, and obviously AIM started because of the assistance for those who were living in poverty in Minneapolis, and of course that group that came together. Could you talk about, and you know them because of the, you know, who they are, you know, Bell Corte, you know, banks, the leaders of the AIM movement how important they were as leaders?
BC: 1:11:19
They were important to but there were all kinds of other people behind them, you know who, you know in the crime life you know, who's [inaudible] we have heard only every so often who are just as important and there are also, how conflicts inside of the movement. Women were not being treated fairly in the movement so, there was a big effort going on inside to address that. There was a group called "Women of all Nations," [inaudible] which was big into you know, pointing out that the majority of Asians were patriarchal and this was not reflected in AIM's behavior which it, at least at the start was very, very male oriented, right. That is an example, but it, you know, other things happened it was not as simple as-as it appeared on T.V. So, you know, they were important, but then AIM also fell hard, you know, in the, let us see after about 1978 and there were major, major differences, between you know different people which were exploited by the FBI and other agencies that were trying to break them up, so.
SM: 1:15:02
Yep. Yeah, you know, it is, it is in the antiwar movement and in the civil rights movement, that patriarchal thing was present.
BC: 1:15:13
Oh, it was.
SM: 1:15:15
Yeah, it was certainly in the American Indian Movement as well. And also, whenever any group starts going toward leaving nonviolence and going toward violence, you start getting into some trouble there. And that whole thing about the COINTELPRO, you bring, it was a question I was going to ask later on here, but they seem to be going everywhere with this thing. The COINTELPRO was the term used by Nixon's government to spy and to infiltrate activist groups challenging the government, any group that challenged the government's issues, linked to the states, what was happening with the, while the eighth, I think you have just described it, you know, they, they COINTELPRO was such a terrible thing, in terms of trying to break up groups, infiltrating groups getting, you know, people to go against each other. Have you done any writing on COINTELPRO and what they did in the American Indian Movement?
BC: 1:16:27
[inaudible]
SM: 1:16:28
Oh, yes-yes.
BC: 1:16:32
Yeah. Look in the index.
SM: 1:16:36
Yep.
BC: 1:16:37
And from time to time, and type of [inaudible], I have done that. You know, it would be helpful to us, the, you know, in Texas.
SM: 1:17:07
Yeah, one of the things, Native Americans also served in the Vietnam War.
BC: 1:17:13
Oh, yeah.
SM: 1:17:14
There is a brand-new book out now and why, I think it is called, "Why We Serve," it is a brand new one and Barnes and Noble. It is a big book. I would like to ask you, how many, do you know how many Native Americans actually served in the war? And did, most of them come from the inner city or were they from reservations in the inner city and how were they treated in the military? I heard one story from somebody who wrote a book on the Vietnam War. And they said many times, they would put a Native American on point simply because they were Native Americans. Now, all these things, so, you know, how many died in the war? How many around the wall?
BC: 1:18:07
Well, I have not ever looked that up. I do know, just by the stories, I have heard that the, [inaudible] was quite high. And it was high, for the most part, because at the time, you know, there were not that many native people in college. So, they, they were not deferred, you know, and they were not, they could not get it. You know, [inaudible] says to, any of those, you know, ways that you can stay out of it. And, some of them actually went on their own because there was an appeal to this stereotype of warrior at the time, but then they get over there. And they find out that well, you know, Uncle Sam is fighting the Vietnamese, and the Vietnamese are the Indian soldiers over there. So, that there is some interesting dialogues where Native Americans find out that they are on-on the wrong side. And that they are being oppressed too, and of course, all the stereotypes and discrimination and all of that went over. You know, this stuff was in the armed forces too. So, I mean, again, I have not studied it and I do not know how, how many there were, just incidentally [inaudible].
SM: 1:20:48
Yeah, I, well I read it in two different books, I cannot remember the two books but they are different ones where in, in a platoon. If there was a Native American within the platoon, the person in charge would say you are on point. And the question, that is a dangerous thing to be on point.
BC: 1:21:02
Yeah.
SM: 1:21:05
Cause there is a chance you will not come out alive. But also when you are on point that means you are helping the group go in the right direction, and so because there was a stereotypical response "You are good at point, on point, and that is why you are going to, we are sending you there," so, it was so obvious to me when I read it in both instances, in a sense to me they were sending them to their deaths. And because many people on point died and or, they landed or walked on a booby trap or whatever when they were on point. When you look at the 1960s, and the 1970s, because this is the Center for the (19)60s and you brought a lot of historic information in your writings. And your writings are going to be here too, many of your writings. I am going to, my three books I have written by you including the one we have been talking about, I am giving to the university. So, they will be here, at the center. But when you look at the (19)60s and (19)70s, was there, was it a positive or negative time for Native Americans? There was a lot of activism, but were they, was the activism kind of an organizing, a more frustrating or was it a feeling of, good feelings that we were doing something, we were bringing more attention to the world to our issues?
BC: 1:22:55
Well I think it was both, you know, there were lots of people who were discovering their history, and what they did, and dealing with problems of their time, with things like fishing rights, and land rights, you know, being mistreated by the FBI and other things. That gave everyone a sense of, you know, spirit, discovery, change, all of that. But at the same time, there was still a lot of people still living on reservations, still unhappy, despicable, inescapable poverty, all of this was happening at the same time, so it goes both ways. You could not change everything at once. So, AIM and others, there were, you know, other older groups have been activists too going back even further, so that tends to fire people up. And when you get active, you get things done and that is a good feeling but you are still looking back at your hometown or you are in places like that where there is people you know, and there is still people who are poor, unhappy, drunk, and that did not disappear. It has not disappeared in our time either. We just, in this area we just disposed of a small town on the South Dakota border, which leads up to [inaudible]. They did not sell anything except beer, so you know Indians were always going up there and buying beer, and cracking it open on the sidewalk. It was quite a sight of the old days, AIM and others have not been able to change the way that human beings, humanity like that. And there is others stores on the boundary because you cannot buy alcohol on the rez, but you can buy it off the rez, and there is still stores which are basically getting people drunk.
SM: 1:27:02
Wow. One thing I will say about AIM, and any of the groups from the (19)60s or any activist organization is when they come together, it does create a sense of community, a group of people who think alike, care about the same issues, and then builds, it builds. And certainly, any of those kinds of activities, activist activities, let us the world know that there are many concerns that need to be addressed. And I think another thing too, is, I just finished an interview with Ted Glick, another person from the Catholic movement in the (19)60s. And the fact is that urgency, the concept of urgency is another important quality within any activist group. And what he was trying to do in Minneapolis, like many possible groups, even years before Native American groups, is the fact that these are urgent issues that need to be addressed. And, and part of being an activist group too, or being organizing, is the organizing, of course. But it is the fact that often times, division happens. And of course, we live in a society now that is so divided over everything, but you cannot really bring attention to an issue unless there is some sort of division happening with one's efforts. You know, Alcatraz may have been remembering John Trudell was interviewing. You know, that may have been the people may have been upset about it. And it was, you know, a way to get the attention of Native American issues. But, you know, division was automatic because people did not like it. Jane Fonda arrived at that and they did not like it even more. And so, it is, these are all qualities. I look at these as positive things in an era of a very tumultuous period because whether they would be the people of AIM or the people of the ant-war movement, women's movement, or any of the movements they spoke up, and they did it for a reason. And it was to bring attention to the world, that things need to change and we are living in a world that is equal. We are all one, we are a community and so anyways, I just wanted to kind of throw that in there just from my thoughts on, on that type of thing. One of the things is, was I, maybe you do not know this but was there a generation gap in any of the Native American families with respect to any of these issues we talk about in the (19)60s?
BC: 1:30:42
Well, yeah, I mean, there were every family is different and there were things of this type, I mean in all families, you know, my own was that way too. But I detect that there were older families that had this happen, you know, Vine Deloria was still real active in the (19)50s and (19)60s and he influenced a lot of us who came after him. I mean, I do and he was the leader of all kinds of things. Also, kind of a bridge between the older people, and you know, younger ones, you know, he was older, but he was in the movement. And I think the same struggle was happening in Indian households, you know, and others.
SM: 1:33:09
Oh, we got a couple more questions then we will be done. Who, who are the icons in the Native American movement of writers, artists, actors, activists, politicians? When you look at the (19)60s and the (19)70s who are the icons that come to mind?
BC: 1:33:36
Well the first is [inaudible] who I was, you know, I am really, well of course, and I cannot really think off the top of my head who else you know, because there are all kinds of people in different areas.
SM: 1:34:36
Certainly, that book by Dean Brown had influenced you as well.
BC: 1:34:45
I am [inaudible] in person, and he said to me that you do not know how any times I have stuck up for you in, you know, debates and whatnot. And you know, I am pretty sure he created it because he was, he had a great influence on me. And if it had not been for him and his book I might have, you know, ended up doing other things, what everything might have been.
SM: 1:35:47
Well, I am going to add one name though I am going to add one additional name here.
BC: 1:35:51
Yeah.
SM: 1:35:52
And that name is Bruce Johansen.
BC: 1:35:57
Thank you.
SM: 1:35:57
You know, you-you you have no idea the influence that you were having in an awakening in this world about Native American issues and everything. I mean, I, you, you know, I, it is just an honor to talk to you. I mean, you are you are a gifted scholar, and you deeply care about the topic you talk about, and it is, even how you answer your questions, just, just brilliant to me. I have only two more questions. One of them is obviously about the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. Have you visited it yet?
BC: 1:36:37
Have I seen it?
SM: 1:36:40
Have you been to the wall?
BC: 1:36:43
I have not. I mean, I have seen pictures of it.
SM: 1:36:49
Yeah, well, I just want to ask this question. In 1982, the wall was built. And all the guys that came home, and gals, who came home from Vietnam were treated terribly, all over the, including the Native American veterans. I mean, nobody treated any of them with any sense of respect. Only until 1982, when the wall was built, Jan Scruggs, John Wheeler, and that group of people that had the courage to make it happen. It was built in remembrance for those who died in that war, the 50,000 plus. Plus, many that were wounded, and all Vietnam veterans who served and as many have told me it is also in memory of the 3 million Vietnamese who died in that war. And so, I-I want, the question I want to ask is, our nation has, was so divided in the 1960s and (19)70s. It was a tumultuous period, but it was also many people say a great time to be alive. So, cause so many issues were being brought to the attention. People were fighting one way or the other. But, the key thing is I want to ask is the healing. I asked this question to a lot of people I remember asked it to George McGovern, Eugene McCarthy, and Gaylord Nelson. And I asked them, as politicians have we healed since the war? And should we care about the healing process, the divided soak of so many different issues? Has the wall done anything really to heal the nation beyond healing those who served, and died, and their families, in just your thoughts? You know, I will mention one thing before you answer this question, and that is that when I asked Gaylord Nelson, Gaylord Nelson was very blunt with me. You know, he was the one that was responsible for ending the funding for the Vietnam War in Congress. He proposed a bill that ended it, and of course, he found it Earth Day. And he looked at me and he said, Steve, people are not walking around Washington, D.C., you know, have they healed from the war, they were not wearing it on their sleeve. But, let me tell you one thing it forever changed the body politic. And just your thoughts on whether this, the wall itself has helped the nation heal?
BC: 1:39:29
I think it is a symbol of healing. You know, and in-in that way, I think it helped us heal, heal. I was in a, you know, as a, as you heard, a military family and I was very anti-war myself. And so, that line that split us up with right through our house. And so, we, we had come to terms with that issue, I mean, at home and we kind of did. And I have always thought that everyone deserves honor as a person, you know, as, and as different as we are I have tried to be behave honorably with everybody, no matter what their race, creed, color background, etiology might be. And in part, that is because my, you know, my associations with people who are not by culture or color, or background, are so easily diverse you know, and I think that people need to open up to that, to people who are not like them because there is going to come a time when we are going to have to face the ultimate issue, which is what is happening with our Earth. Because humans have gotten to the point where we control what happens to the Earth, the heating up out there, they are more storms and all these things we can see. And I prayed about that, too, because it is the existential issue, and it is an issue that we all face. And, and if we are going to treat each other honorably, that means we have to deal with the fact that people are different from each other, that they perceive those differences in negative way often. We have to get past that. We have to get past the idea that we are different, and so different that we have to claw each other's eyes out.
SM: 1:42:49
Right.
BC: 1:42:50
Even if it comes with bargaining ourselves back to bows and arrows. Our resources are going to have to be put to healing the whole Earth, and stopping certain things which are going to screw it up forever. And I have done a stack books on climate change too, and it is real, and it is happening right now. And we are, you know, like, Bob Dylan once sang a heart, brain is going to fall and already has, we have to get to.
SM: 1:43:58
Yeah, yeah. Yep, I agree. And it brings in right here, this issue of, the issue of environmental racism with respect to indigenous populations. That is another issue we have to deal with-
BC: 1:44:13
Yeah.
SM: 1:44:13
-you know, about what is going on in African American communities all over the country, but also Native American. And this especially, and I mentioned Gaylord Nelson, because I know he cared about this, because he founded Earth in 1970. He was about everybody. Yeah, and, you know, environmental racism is certainly an issue in the Native American community. I want to close with this, very broad question here. I, you know, you can be, if I can find it here. I want to thank you again for answering all my questions. But this is, you can be as short or detailed as you want to on this, but could you describe how Native Americans have been treated from the founding of our nation through today? We know about the lies, the broken treaties, the broken promises, the stolen land, the treatments, the dehumanizing of them, Native Americans, as we, as oftentimes being unequal to the white man or anybody else. And, and lack of often times respect for their culture, and understanding of their traditions. And, and been taking these things as part of our culture now, because Native Americans are Americans too, as you talked about, we are all family if we can ever understand this, just in your, just you know you have written books on the history of in so many different areas, you wrote the encyclopedia. If there was one major thing you could just say, toward the end of our interview? How, how have Native Americans been treated from 1776 To 2021? [silence] Are you still there? Okay, could you describe in detail or in your own way, how Native Americans have been treated from the founding of this nation through today, we know about the lies, the broken treaties, the broken promises and stolen land, the treatment, treatment that is been so abusive, often times dehumanizing the group, as unequal’s due to their culture, and their race, just you are, you know, you have written books on many subjects, you have the encyclopedia. But to hear a scholar of your magnitude talk about in a, in a very succinct way, how Native Americans had been treated since 1776 to 2021?
BC: 1:47:22
If I could go back to the idea of honor, they often have not been treated with honor. We talked about the wall, you know, the Vietnam Veterans wall are people who died from our country. There is one image that sticks in my head that I cannot get out of it. It is some of the, you know, the service members who came home, who were bat on, and I do not think they deserve that dishonor you know, even though I was against the war, I was not against them. Every person has a different reason or two or more for ending up in that war, or doing anything else and everyone ought to be treated with honor, and it has been a long time, I mean, in fact, the Indian, Indians being maltreated, goes back to 1492, you know, with Columbus and I could go on and on about how Indians were stolen from and mistreated that time, on. People, people from Europe, took the land, they took the resources, and the history is all there. I mean, at least [inaudible] of an open society, that we can go find these things out, we can talk about them, we can demonstrate. That is what has been happening. And, that is a good thing. I mean, it is a good thing to be able to discuss, and get these things out in the air, and make our, make our system more perfect. I mean, if we can face the history act with honor, and honor, honor the people who gave us this land, as it turned out. Some of it was given and some of it was by, by force, think of what all of us have learned. And this is what, why I do, what I do is to try and increase the idea of honor between everybody. And to do that we have to get over some hurdles. And this extends on what I was talking earlier about the existential issue. We cannot be fighting each other and I, this is a high bar. But given what is happening, and we can almost see it on the evening news, and other places that there are more storms. I mean, I could go on, [inaudible], we have not seen them. I mean, I live in Seattle, where things were easy. I mean, it did not go up to, and they did not have you know, huge storms and wash everything away and it was easier in the (19)60s in some ways. So, native people they open it, they offer us the opportunity of seeing history with their eyes. It is necessary, necessary that we think about it, we take it to heart, or we change things because as a scholar, part of the job is it just to watch, I mean, part of the job is to define what we need to do with knowledge to cover it, debate it, and to think things over, to draw other people in because this just gets us together to tackle the really big issues that we all face. You know, that is my two bits.
SM: 1:54:07
I think that is, that is a great way to end the interview. And, let me up turn the, can we turn this off?
(End of Interview)
Interview with: Bruce Johansen
Interviewed by: Stephen McKiernan
Transcriber: Lynn Bijou
Date of interview: 2 December 2021
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(Start of Interview)
SM: 00:02
All right, we are all set.
BC: 00:05
Okay.
SM: 00:06
Thank you very much Dr. Johansen for agreeing to be interviewed for this, for the Center for the Study of (19)60s at Binghamton University. The first question I want to ask you is could you tell us a little bit about your growing up years, your early influences, your parents, where you went to high school, college, those early years before you became a professor?
BC: 00:28
Okay. I was born in 1950 in San Diego by, was in the, Coast Guard, it was, you know they have a, Coast Guard bases you know, all over the place. So, I grew up, you know, moving you know over about half-half the world you know, they have a Coast Guard in the Philippines, they have it in you know, in [inaudible] up in Canada, in Puerto Rico, so they even have all these here in Omaha, but you know there is not any coast here, but they have one. You know, so, I grew up until age 18, you know, traveling, you know, with my family at age 18, okay I mean between ages 15 and 18 which was 1965 to (19)68, I was at high, high school in Fort Angeles, you know in Washington State. And there is a Coast Guard base there too, and the, the time change to you know to, apply for college and I, favorite the- you know, the view of Washington. My parents had been transferred to San Diego again, and they invited me to come but I was, I mean I was itching to get out of that, you know there else. And so, I went over to Seattle and got a scholarship which we, they hired me to go to school there, so I did [chuckles]. [inaudible] provide scholarships so then I was in the, you know in the, Seattle in school when you know the whole anti-war movement blew up. And in 1971, I was the editor of the, "The Daily," which is this student paper, so I mean I spent all kinds of time covering this, you know, and it is on the record if you go back far enough to do that. I started in (19)69, I became the editor in (19)71, and I graduated with my BA in (19)72, and after that I went over to Seattle two times and this takes us up to about, let us see, (19)74 and five. I took ten months in Minnesota, and then came back to Seattle, and I went back to the times, I mean I was overeducated for my job so I ended up getting a PhD at this, you know, famous school and graduated 1971. My thesis and dissertation was on the ways in which the {inaudible] help to fight our government, in you know in the (19)30s, (19)40s, (19)50s, (19)60s and onward. And that blew up a debate all over the country which, it did not actually start up till the (19)80s, and it got bigger you know after that but the- there was all kinds of throwback and there were other people who were you know, interested too. Then I put it, I mean after a long search for a publisher in (19)82, the dissertation came out as a book. [inaudible] awaited it starts to spread, and I am being slimed by people such as you know, [inaudible] and others you know, you have not listened till you been slimed with [inaudible]. And in some of his books too, he hated, of course. So, this takes us up to about 1982, you know, I am out of college, I have my PhD and I started to become active in, in Indian fishing rights, you know also in the early (19)70s, you know, things were heating up in the northwest. Most people outside that area do not have a good idea of why this, you know, battle over salmon was a such big item in that area. But I started out, I was still at the times (19)72-(19)76, and I covered this, the fishing rights, and got to know some of the people behind it. So, jumping ahead to (19)82 again, my book is out, you know, I am a starving artist, you know, books, I mean, even books that have an audience, I mean, often do not support you so, and I did you know, side gigs, I mean, I wrote articles. [inaudible] I could not feel as if I could go back to the times before my [inaudible] job there, and the [inaudible] had been hiring a lot of its own graduates because everyone wanted to stay there. So, when I graduated there, just before that, the dean of arts and sciences, sciences issued an edict or an order that said that the school of communications, which I was in could not hire any more of its own graduates. So, I was you know, when I was looking for an academic job, I went out on-on the road, and I ended up in 1982 in Omaha and I worked here, and I was pretty tired. I think it was 2018 so that, you know, that puts me probably at over 37 years as an academic in Omaha you know and, and I am still to receive books and articles-
SM: 15:16
Right.
BC: 15:18
-from here so you know it has added up to 53 books-
SM: 15:29
Wow.
BC: 15:29
-and hundreds of other things you know if you Google me you will, you will get an idea of what is out there.
SM: 15:44
Yeah you, you are quite a scholar, I mean you wrote the Encyclopedia of Native Americans and some of the other books are just unbelievable. And my question is, how, I know that you are talking about the issue with salmon and so forth, River Race and so forth? But how did you get an interest in Native American issues?
BC: 16:14
Back in about 1970, I read a book by Keith Brown called [inaudible] and that is what started it, and also when my PhD, you the time came to start a PhD dissertation I had just I had several friends who are you know urging me to do the Iroquois connection with, with Benjamin Franklin and others, and the people on my PhD several, one of them did not, had never heard of the idea. And they did not take it to be you know, part of history or part of what could be in the historic scholarly record. So, I had to start pulling evidence and I pulled out accounts from the past and quotes from the papers, and other things. And just feeding them to the people on my committee and after a while they do it, that opened the first door and then I had to do it, and as you can see from looking at, at my stuff prior, I am- mean a writer. And as a journalist earlier, I mean, I did write fast and accurately, I am quick so, and I, you know, I mean people freeze up but I freeze up when I talk, and as a kid, about the age of eight I started to stutter. And for a while I was real, I am unhappy because I did not think I had any outlets. You know, I mean, I just be taken as a stupid kid. So, then I started work on it since about the age of nine. And I am now 71, and as sit here at my keyboard, I mean, I am working on some books and chapters today. So, I mean it, it has not stopped.
SM: 20:56
What was, what was the name of that first book that came from your dissertation?
BC: 21:04
That was "Forgotten Founders," and it was my, actually, it was my second book.
SM: 21:16
Okay.
BC: 21:17
The first one was, was called "The Iroquois," which was about how, you know, Indian issues were still alive. So, I mean, it brings things from the past up to date. You know, and so that was the first one, second one was "Forgotten Founders," which has gone on to have a real, you know, interesting, you know, impact all over the world. People, you know, hear this idea, and they either go, that is fascinating, or that is crap [chuckles].
SM: 22:22
And that is the one, is that the one that Rush Limbaugh criticizes you for?
BC: 22:27
Yeah, yeah.
SM: 22:31
What did he say about your book?
BC: 22:33
Well, he just said it was false, and that there could not possibly be a connection here. I mean, after all, you know, the founders were the founders, and the Indians were the Indians. And that is all there was. And he obviously had not read it. And that was [inaudible], you know, when after it, I mean, they paid attention. So, I had a real fun time taking them on and going into their publications and their audiences, and countering them. I mean, I turned them into, guess the word would be foils for my argument. And it, it was spread it out. It had an effect, which was opposite of what they wanted. You know, so it was, I mean, I had a really good time going after them and going into publications, which I could not get into, on my own. But since there was a debate here, I was able to worm my way into scholarly journals in history, and anthropology, and others. The idea has a really interesting fact in several academic fields if you look at it, there is obviously there is history, there is anthropology, there is [inaudible], there is law, you know and-and others you know, so it is spread like that. Also, when I am getting up with audience in several academic fields and the public, and also a lot of people in other countries are interested in American history in a way and I decided to teach audit in India which was fascinating, in Poland-
SM: 26:45
Wow.
BC: 26:46
-[inaudible].
SM: 26:49
What was the, what was the basic, what was the basic argument in the book that upset people like Limbaugh? What was, what was your basic premise in the book?
BC: 27:02
Well that there was an effect of what was, first of all, you understand that Franklin was on the way to do the Iroquois guardian and let us see, in let us say (19)50 or so, you know, he was an on [inaudible] and so, he observed how they operate, you know there is, just the culture you know, who does what, and he had a, he wrote, you know, CDs of [inaudible], you know which, which were you know, well-read small books at the time, you know, they had an audience and he published them I mean, he had a press too. So, he, at an audience and he described you know, how they operate their councils you know, their law, and gave people an idea that the, you know, Iroquois and other Indian nations had a, they were democracies, you know they, they operated in in counsels. So, Franklin takes this idea back home and puts it in his little books, and they, they spread out, you know, (19)50, (19)54, (19)50, (19)50-(19)60s and a bit after that, and this plants some seeds and some of the other founders pick it up, but he is the main one. You know, Franklin who loved going into other cultures and observing them, and writing about it. And towards the end, this real interesting [inaudible] he might have even used [inaudible] in his own time. So, he is fascinating, and almost every, you know, public library has published copies of his, his [inaudible]. You know, so it was really easy to praise what he was up to, you just had to work at it. Because there was so much of it.
SM: 31:57
The, from this experience from one of your earlier books, how have, obviously in the academic community, your books have been praised. But for critics, when you look at your writings, say in the since we are talking about the (19)60s here, (19)60s and (19)70s, we can include the (19)50s too, what was your awareness meeting meter with respect to all the major issues of the (19)60s amongst them? How did you become interested again, in the Native American issues and indigenous peoples movements, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s? Did you feel that this period in American history was positive or negative with respect to how Native Americans were, you know, presented in, through books, through television, through movies, through writings, and obviously, your contribution has been so positive and so educational, but just your perception of what was going on in America in the (19)60s and (19)70s in respect to Native American issues?
BC: 33:16
Well, I mean, I was, I got involved in these issues is about (19)70. And there were, you know, native people, you know, making their case, about you know, what ended up being forgotten. Founders early on, you know, I mean, it you can phrase it, you know, and they would tell me a bit about it and I was fascinated before about 1968, I was in high school in a rural area, you know, and I was not really old enough to take part in these things. But, I got to college in (19)68 just as the upheaval was flowing up, and the Vietnam war movement was, was also opening up all kinds of other issues, issues having to do with, you know, Latino rights, Black rights, Native rights, you know. fishing rights, all kinds of things, you know, gay rights, things that filtered into our culture after that. It was a galvanizing, anti-war movement, it was a galvanizing event that caused all these other, insurgence to have a platform and it also increased conflict, you know, around all, all these issues, I mean there was a great deal of upheaval in this I think. You know, my next book is on you know, black lives matter, and you see the same issues there that you did in the (19)60s and (19)70s, the whole you know, whole, American movement like Aim and other, other things. All kinds of, the idea was to get out from under a system which had made Native life very tough you know, to basically turn it over and start again you know, get fishing rights back, get land rights back, and then change, the damage which was, they worked on that too. And of course, that is still on, on-going you know the, you know the, the idea of you know, say, you know it is, it is an example but, Indian mascots, okay, which was getting started in the (19)60s. You know, the idea of this stereotypical Indian in shines and advertising it all, all over the place. In Omaha if you have ever seen it, we have the [inaudible] of Omaha trademark, and here in town where the company had its home office, they have a building that had their, their-their Indian, Indian on it, mutual on the top and then [inaudible] you know, Indian. Black lives matter as part of their efforts pointed that, Indian taken down. And if you come to Omaha today, you will see that it has been taken down in the field [inaudible] on it. So, you know, things have some things have changed. You know, and it is just an idea to make people think, and this has been going on. I mean, in the (19)70s, the American Indian Movement, you know, they, [inaudible] of this school I taught at, had an Indian mascot, you know, up until the, the early (19)70s. It was an ugly piece of work. I mean, it was dumb looking stick, bad art, bad idea. And so, Aim, you know, the Aim's head office was in Minneapolis, and they came down here and said, sack that thing, and they did, the early (19)70s, the, you know, the teens came up [inaudible] which, you know, is a big, fat animal that has an attitude you know. The Cleveland Indians-
SM: 42:25
Right.
BC: 42:25
-that was there, you know, the ugly, ugly mascot got there, too. And I am not sure if you know, they still have, have it. I mean, I have not checked it out. The Washington Redskins, they took that one off and they have not settled on anything else. So, I think the team is now called the team or something like this, the team from Washington. [chuckles] There certainly have been some changes and that is, that is for the positives for sure. Oh, yeah so, I write books as I look at them, have been part of the changes and you go out and you talk about these things, you educate people, and you get out the stereotypes, all kinds of stereotypes and, you know, history about Indians. And these are even carried on by people who have good educations, you know, but I got in there with the scholars and debated the stereotypes, which was an interesting turn of events. The idea at the basis of all of this, was the idea of the frontier, you know, basically said our ancestors came here over the ocean and established for 13 states on the eastern seaboard and expanded out west. And you can see, if you go to a place like, Omaha, the ages of the buildings that go up as you get further from the-the old party town. Omaha was started in the 1850s, you can get the whole idea that was always taught is that so, whites, you know, the Anglos, the people who came over the ocean you know, I mean my, my grandparents are from Norway, that the frontier will move from east to west and I was arguing that it was not that simple. You know, there was a movement of course, east to west, but then there was also feedback, which came from west to east, you know, when we start to learn from the Indians and it shapes our culture, so we have, you know, to some degree now, a hybrid culture, and you can see that in our own language, in some words that we use that people in England could not recognize. The names of our states, you know, half of them, you know Omaha is an Indian name. Nebraska is an Indian name; half the states have Indian names. And this is just an idea of the feedback, I mean the idea that we just rolled over them is too simple. You know, there was feedback and part of that feedback were things like Franklin, going out in the 1840s and 1850s, and building the case himself that that was feedback, in fact, his being part of it. Now, he understood that, and it is really interesting to read his papers because he, he understood things which have since been lost. I mean, I have, I found it fascinating. And if there was one person in the past that I could go back, just one, the one I would pick would be him, fascinating person.
SM: 49:11
Well, his grave is in Philadelphia as you know, yeah, and if you have ever been to Philadelphia, a lot of people are still throwing change on his stone, on that corner. Yeah, he is a, he is an icon in Philadelphia. And I want your thoughts on this because you and I are about same age. And even though you started college in 1968, which is the year the American Indian Movement began. If I want to go back to post WWII, I want to go between that 1946 to 1960 when John Kennedy became president, you know, the young Boomer kids, which are born between (19)60, excuse me, (19)46 to (19)64 grew up with you know, black and white television, all those Westerns on T.V. During the 1950s, with a Kodachrome, Technicolor and so forth at the movie theaters, every Saturday, you could go watch Westerns on Saturday, you can actually see him during the week, but when we were in school, and so, and of course, the comics, and everything was the Wild Wild West. It was all about, you know, you had Hopalong Cassidy and you had, you know, you had the Lone Ranger, and Tonto you had, and of course, you had Bonanza, as you got into late (19)50s, early (19)60s, you got all those, all those television shows Rawhide, Wagon Train, you know, the list. And of course, the movies, the many, many, many movies in the (19)60s, they were all these top actors, okay, [inaudible]. And this all the question is this, Native Americans were in all the movies, but they were always at war, with the people, with the white men. And I, you know, as a little boy, I grew up, I had cowboys and Indians, you probably had them too. They were composted Indians that your parents gave you for Christmas, or for your birthday, they were in all the stores. And, of course, you had the happy outfits, you had Davy Crockett, and it, you had all this stuff. But it was always the Native Americans, or they were always at war with the white man. And, and I, and I never really, as a kid put two and two together. I do not think a lot of kids did. And then as you get into the (19)60s, as you start getting older, you find out the truth. That, you know, that, about how they were treated, and you will learn about how they lost their lands, and how the trees you know, they were lied too, they, you know, then you learn more than it is, it is more than just six or seven Native American groups, it is smaller groups that were part of a nation and nations all across the country. And then the, the cavalry going to war, you know, people going west, taking up the land, all the way to California and of course, then you have the situation, big, Little Big Horn. You are, you are a kid growing up and hearing all this as well, by the time you got to 1968. What were, what were your thoughts as a boomer kid, before you even went to college in (19)68 about how Native Americans were portrayed on T.V., in the movies, in comics, in books, everything?
BC: 52:51
I think this goes back to, back to, from age two, I mean I was fooling with my parents and we were going into, I mean also, Village Theory has its own basis, you still go out and you see other cultures. And I recall from early on, you know, having an interest in other cultures, you know, and this was the (19)50s and I spent a great deal of time outside the country. So, I had something to compare it to, you know, and I was very, very interested in Puerto Rico, and both my friends were Puerto Rican and I was also for, for prolonged periods you know got exposed to Indian or others stereotypes, and when there was no Americans in the Philippines or Puerto Rico. And I just had different interests, you know, the cowboys and Indians, it did not appeal to me. So, I was from, from early on, I was looking at things from a different angle. And so, as I started to find out that there was actually something here, something interesting I mean, all these other cultures had interesting things to teach us now, the actual, the actual attachment to native peoples started to come up, up about 1970, you know, as I said, earlier, but I mean, I have been prepared by my early experiences to tell this, this standard line now, not everyone has that, you know, has that advantage, you know, being shown other cultures and other people, and having, kind of built in, I mean, I was receptive, you know, putting back to Canada, what this culture stuff is, it did not appeal to me. I mean, I did not like it. So, I am, I have felt better, you know, hanging out with, you know, Black people, Latinos, Native people, and then others, you know, that do not fit these-these groups and that is just genuine over time. I mean, I had a very interesting time in India, basically telling [inaudible] on topics that they had not heard about, but it opens their minds up and they will be receptive, so it is interesting to be on the, on the wave. And, I have kept, my, my basement here that is my library, my papers at all if anyone is interested after I go, it is all here. You know, and I have gotten more interested in people from around the world all the time and people resegregate. And I think that as [inaudible] it is our responsibility to be citizens of the world. But, of course there are all kinds of other people out there who do not think like that. I mean, things, some of them [crosstalk]. Oh, there is also a whole sector in our culture that, you know, have these symbols in their heads. They are the old thinking, I mean, it is still out there, the cowboys and Indians in the south.
SM: 1:00:25
The- the, the image was always presented now as a little kid that the, the Indians were always the bad people.
BC: 1:00:36
Yeah.
SM: 1:00:37
And, the cowboys are always the good people, even when the Cowboys did real bad things toward the, I mean, you know, little boys and girls have a hard time putting two and two together at times. But boy, as times go on, you reflect. And that is the way I reflected it. And but then, in the 1960s, when the American movie came about (19)68, like all the other movements in the (19)60s, I mean, I was kind of happy that it was happening. Because when I look at the 20th century, with an emphasis on the 1950s through the (19)80s, where would we place the concerns of Native American citizens in the scheme of things? I do not remember in the 1950s any president talking about Native American issues. And, and but in the 1960s, I see, I see people like Senator Fred Harris and his wife, Madonna Harris, who were very involved in Native American issues from the get go. And I know Madonna is still very involved, have been her entire life. But, when you look at some of the some of the issues in the (19)60s and (19)70s that stand out to me, this is just me as a white man. But, a little boy growing up in the Syracuse area, that I saw a lot of Native Americans ads on T.V., I remember the one who, of the Native American who wanted to save the environment. And he got a tear in his eye, if you remember that ad.
BC: 1:02:14
Yeah.
SM: 1:02:14
Yep. Buffy Sainte Marie, who was the great singer of the (19)60s. I mean, she still is great today, what an icon in the Native American community. And her songs all talk about the Native American spirits, the Marlon Brando, the Native American female, going to the Academy Awards, when he was getting in, she was there and there was a scene. And of course, I already talked about all the T.V. shows and they were on T.V. and, and then, too, I would like you to talk about a couple of things here, because you are a scholar that can see the insight into these more than I can. I would like you to talk about Wounded Knee. How important Wounded Knee is in the history of Native Americans, and the original Wounded Knee, and what happened in (19)73. And then also the takeover of Alcatraz, I interviewed John Trudell, who was there and of course, he has passed away and I am really upset that the interview is lost, but, but that was (19)69 to (19)71. And then of course, again, the information of the American Indian Movement in (19)68. So, I am I am really asking about Wounded Knee, AIM, and Alcatraz if you could talk on all three?
BC: 1:03:36
Well, that is a big hawk there [chuckles], yeah, after having read [inaudible] book, okay. I came to understand that, did people at that time had to go out and take some toys, you know and-and also point out you know, who owned what, you know and, and who shared culture with whom. And so, in part, I mean, all of these things were skills by eating, and science, you know, with other people in, in movements to point out that Indians were humans, they were fighting stereotypes. It comes as you kicked down from all these you know, Indian movies, and other things which can improve their entity, you know and to turn them into stereotypes. Some of this was also kind of, it tends to go both ways, you know, some people perceive, for example, the Indians you know Alcatraz as, as stereotypical. But I think part of it was, you know, bringing attention to certain issues that they had publicized and part of that was, pointing out that they were human, and part of it was working on getting back the land, you know all these things happened at the same time. And, all of these things had these roots, they were, they were teaching the rest of us these things, that is what I think of it.
SM: 1:07:08
The, the, could you talk a little bit about Wounded Knee?
BC: 1:07:20
Again, it was a [inaudible] to, to get people to pay attention, I mean to all the things that I talked about earlier. I mean part of it was publicity vehicle part of it was establishing humanity, part of it was understanding, you know, who owns what and where. All of these things, also it goes into, you know the, Wounded Knee happened at the very end of the Vietnam War, so all of the elements that contain that movement, [inaudible] Wounded Knee. But, other than that I do not think of myself as an expert on any-any single incident, and I have not really gone into what, people who established, people who planned it and carrying it out what they thought.
SM: 1:09:34
Yeah, I know when reading about the American Indian Movement in (19)68, the people who created it back in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Certainly, Dennis Banks and people like that, were certainly major activists of the 1960s and (19)70s and beyond. Some of the issues you already talked about, the issue of fishing rights the, the revitalization of traditions within the Native American community, the economic independence, which is very important to any group, legal rights, tribal areas, restoration of lands that had been lost. The things that came up in the (19)60s over cemeteries on Native American lands, I grew up in Syracuse, where the Mohawk Nation was fighting to make sure that the New York State Thruway would not go through their, their cemeteries. And there were major protests on the highways near Syracuse for many years. Many college students from Binghamton were involved in those protests, the broken treaties, and obviously AIM started because of the assistance for those who were living in poverty in Minneapolis, and of course that group that came together. Could you talk about, and you know them because of the, you know, who they are, you know, Bell Corte, you know, banks, the leaders of the AIM movement how important they were as leaders?
BC: 1:11:19
They were important to but there were all kinds of other people behind them, you know who, you know in the crime life you know, who's [inaudible] we have heard only every so often who are just as important and there are also, how conflicts inside of the movement. Women were not being treated fairly in the movement so, there was a big effort going on inside to address that. There was a group called "Women of all Nations," [inaudible] which was big into you know, pointing out that the majority of Asians were patriarchal and this was not reflected in AIM's behavior which it, at least at the start was very, very male oriented, right. That is an example, but it, you know, other things happened it was not as simple as-as it appeared on T.V. So, you know, they were important, but then AIM also fell hard, you know, in the, let us see after about 1978 and there were major, major differences, between you know different people which were exploited by the FBI and other agencies that were trying to break them up, so.
SM: 1:15:02
Yep. Yeah, you know, it is, it is in the antiwar movement and in the civil rights movement, that patriarchal thing was present.
BC: 1:15:13
Oh, it was.
SM: 1:15:15
Yeah, it was certainly in the American Indian Movement as well. And also, whenever any group starts going toward leaving nonviolence and going toward violence, you start getting into some trouble there. And that whole thing about the COINTELPRO, you bring, it was a question I was going to ask later on here, but they seem to be going everywhere with this thing. The COINTELPRO was the term used by Nixon's government to spy and to infiltrate activist groups challenging the government, any group that challenged the government's issues, linked to the states, what was happening with the, while the eighth, I think you have just described it, you know, they, they COINTELPRO was such a terrible thing, in terms of trying to break up groups, infiltrating groups getting, you know, people to go against each other. Have you done any writing on COINTELPRO and what they did in the American Indian Movement?
BC: 1:16:27
[inaudible]
SM: 1:16:28
Oh, yes-yes.
BC: 1:16:32
Yeah. Look in the index.
SM: 1:16:36
Yep.
BC: 1:16:37
And from time to time, and type of [inaudible], I have done that. You know, it would be helpful to us, the, you know, in Texas.
SM: 1:17:07
Yeah, one of the things, Native Americans also served in the Vietnam War.
BC: 1:17:13
Oh, yeah.
SM: 1:17:14
There is a brand-new book out now and why, I think it is called, "Why We Serve," it is a brand new one and Barnes and Noble. It is a big book. I would like to ask you, how many, do you know how many Native Americans actually served in the war? And did, most of them come from the inner city or were they from reservations in the inner city and how were they treated in the military? I heard one story from somebody who wrote a book on the Vietnam War. And they said many times, they would put a Native American on point simply because they were Native Americans. Now, all these things, so, you know, how many died in the war? How many around the wall?
BC: 1:18:07
Well, I have not ever looked that up. I do know, just by the stories, I have heard that the, [inaudible] was quite high. And it was high, for the most part, because at the time, you know, there were not that many native people in college. So, they, they were not deferred, you know, and they were not, they could not get it. You know, [inaudible] says to, any of those, you know, ways that you can stay out of it. And, some of them actually went on their own because there was an appeal to this stereotype of warrior at the time, but then they get over there. And they find out that well, you know, Uncle Sam is fighting the Vietnamese, and the Vietnamese are the Indian soldiers over there. So, that there is some interesting dialogues where Native Americans find out that they are on-on the wrong side. And that they are being oppressed too, and of course, all the stereotypes and discrimination and all of that went over. You know, this stuff was in the armed forces too. So, I mean, again, I have not studied it and I do not know how, how many there were, just incidentally [inaudible].
SM: 1:20:48
Yeah, I, well I read it in two different books, I cannot remember the two books but they are different ones where in, in a platoon. If there was a Native American within the platoon, the person in charge would say you are on point. And the question, that is a dangerous thing to be on point.
BC: 1:21:02
Yeah.
SM: 1:21:05
Cause there is a chance you will not come out alive. But also when you are on point that means you are helping the group go in the right direction, and so because there was a stereotypical response "You are good at point, on point, and that is why you are going to, we are sending you there," so, it was so obvious to me when I read it in both instances, in a sense to me they were sending them to their deaths. And because many people on point died and or, they landed or walked on a booby trap or whatever when they were on point. When you look at the 1960s, and the 1970s, because this is the Center for the (19)60s and you brought a lot of historic information in your writings. And your writings are going to be here too, many of your writings. I am going to, my three books I have written by you including the one we have been talking about, I am giving to the university. So, they will be here, at the center. But when you look at the (19)60s and (19)70s, was there, was it a positive or negative time for Native Americans? There was a lot of activism, but were they, was the activism kind of an organizing, a more frustrating or was it a feeling of, good feelings that we were doing something, we were bringing more attention to the world to our issues?
BC: 1:22:55
Well I think it was both, you know, there were lots of people who were discovering their history, and what they did, and dealing with problems of their time, with things like fishing rights, and land rights, you know, being mistreated by the FBI and other things. That gave everyone a sense of, you know, spirit, discovery, change, all of that. But at the same time, there was still a lot of people still living on reservations, still unhappy, despicable, inescapable poverty, all of this was happening at the same time, so it goes both ways. You could not change everything at once. So, AIM and others, there were, you know, other older groups have been activists too going back even further, so that tends to fire people up. And when you get active, you get things done and that is a good feeling but you are still looking back at your hometown or you are in places like that where there is people you know, and there is still people who are poor, unhappy, drunk, and that did not disappear. It has not disappeared in our time either. We just, in this area we just disposed of a small town on the South Dakota border, which leads up to [inaudible]. They did not sell anything except beer, so you know Indians were always going up there and buying beer, and cracking it open on the sidewalk. It was quite a sight of the old days, AIM and others have not been able to change the way that human beings, humanity like that. And there is others stores on the boundary because you cannot buy alcohol on the rez, but you can buy it off the rez, and there is still stores which are basically getting people drunk.
SM: 1:27:02
Wow. One thing I will say about AIM, and any of the groups from the (19)60s or any activist organization is when they come together, it does create a sense of community, a group of people who think alike, care about the same issues, and then builds, it builds. And certainly, any of those kinds of activities, activist activities, let us the world know that there are many concerns that need to be addressed. And I think another thing too, is, I just finished an interview with Ted Glick, another person from the Catholic movement in the (19)60s. And the fact is that urgency, the concept of urgency is another important quality within any activist group. And what he was trying to do in Minneapolis, like many possible groups, even years before Native American groups, is the fact that these are urgent issues that need to be addressed. And, and part of being an activist group too, or being organizing, is the organizing, of course. But it is the fact that often times, division happens. And of course, we live in a society now that is so divided over everything, but you cannot really bring attention to an issue unless there is some sort of division happening with one's efforts. You know, Alcatraz may have been remembering John Trudell was interviewing. You know, that may have been the people may have been upset about it. And it was, you know, a way to get the attention of Native American issues. But, you know, division was automatic because people did not like it. Jane Fonda arrived at that and they did not like it even more. And so, it is, these are all qualities. I look at these as positive things in an era of a very tumultuous period because whether they would be the people of AIM or the people of the ant-war movement, women's movement, or any of the movements they spoke up, and they did it for a reason. And it was to bring attention to the world, that things need to change and we are living in a world that is equal. We are all one, we are a community and so anyways, I just wanted to kind of throw that in there just from my thoughts on, on that type of thing. One of the things is, was I, maybe you do not know this but was there a generation gap in any of the Native American families with respect to any of these issues we talk about in the (19)60s?
BC: 1:30:42
Well, yeah, I mean, there were every family is different and there were things of this type, I mean in all families, you know, my own was that way too. But I detect that there were older families that had this happen, you know, Vine Deloria was still real active in the (19)50s and (19)60s and he influenced a lot of us who came after him. I mean, I do and he was the leader of all kinds of things. Also, kind of a bridge between the older people, and you know, younger ones, you know, he was older, but he was in the movement. And I think the same struggle was happening in Indian households, you know, and others.
SM: 1:33:09
Oh, we got a couple more questions then we will be done. Who, who are the icons in the Native American movement of writers, artists, actors, activists, politicians? When you look at the (19)60s and the (19)70s who are the icons that come to mind?
BC: 1:33:36
Well the first is [inaudible] who I was, you know, I am really, well of course, and I cannot really think off the top of my head who else you know, because there are all kinds of people in different areas.
SM: 1:34:36
Certainly, that book by Dean Brown had influenced you as well.
BC: 1:34:45
I am [inaudible] in person, and he said to me that you do not know how any times I have stuck up for you in, you know, debates and whatnot. And you know, I am pretty sure he created it because he was, he had a great influence on me. And if it had not been for him and his book I might have, you know, ended up doing other things, what everything might have been.
SM: 1:35:47
Well, I am going to add one name though I am going to add one additional name here.
BC: 1:35:51
Yeah.
SM: 1:35:52
And that name is Bruce Johansen.
BC: 1:35:57
Thank you.
SM: 1:35:57
You know, you-you you have no idea the influence that you were having in an awakening in this world about Native American issues and everything. I mean, I, you, you know, I, it is just an honor to talk to you. I mean, you are you are a gifted scholar, and you deeply care about the topic you talk about, and it is, even how you answer your questions, just, just brilliant to me. I have only two more questions. One of them is obviously about the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. Have you visited it yet?
BC: 1:36:37
Have I seen it?
SM: 1:36:40
Have you been to the wall?
BC: 1:36:43
I have not. I mean, I have seen pictures of it.
SM: 1:36:49
Yeah, well, I just want to ask this question. In 1982, the wall was built. And all the guys that came home, and gals, who came home from Vietnam were treated terribly, all over the, including the Native American veterans. I mean, nobody treated any of them with any sense of respect. Only until 1982, when the wall was built, Jan Scruggs, John Wheeler, and that group of people that had the courage to make it happen. It was built in remembrance for those who died in that war, the 50,000 plus. Plus, many that were wounded, and all Vietnam veterans who served and as many have told me it is also in memory of the 3 million Vietnamese who died in that war. And so, I-I want, the question I want to ask is, our nation has, was so divided in the 1960s and (19)70s. It was a tumultuous period, but it was also many people say a great time to be alive. So, cause so many issues were being brought to the attention. People were fighting one way or the other. But, the key thing is I want to ask is the healing. I asked this question to a lot of people I remember asked it to George McGovern, Eugene McCarthy, and Gaylord Nelson. And I asked them, as politicians have we healed since the war? And should we care about the healing process, the divided soak of so many different issues? Has the wall done anything really to heal the nation beyond healing those who served, and died, and their families, in just your thoughts? You know, I will mention one thing before you answer this question, and that is that when I asked Gaylord Nelson, Gaylord Nelson was very blunt with me. You know, he was the one that was responsible for ending the funding for the Vietnam War in Congress. He proposed a bill that ended it, and of course, he found it Earth Day. And he looked at me and he said, Steve, people are not walking around Washington, D.C., you know, have they healed from the war, they were not wearing it on their sleeve. But, let me tell you one thing it forever changed the body politic. And just your thoughts on whether this, the wall itself has helped the nation heal?
BC: 1:39:29
I think it is a symbol of healing. You know, and in-in that way, I think it helped us heal, heal. I was in a, you know, as a, as you heard, a military family and I was very anti-war myself. And so, that line that split us up with right through our house. And so, we, we had come to terms with that issue, I mean, at home and we kind of did. And I have always thought that everyone deserves honor as a person, you know, as, and as different as we are I have tried to be behave honorably with everybody, no matter what their race, creed, color background, etiology might be. And in part, that is because my, you know, my associations with people who are not by culture or color, or background, are so easily diverse you know, and I think that people need to open up to that, to people who are not like them because there is going to come a time when we are going to have to face the ultimate issue, which is what is happening with our Earth. Because humans have gotten to the point where we control what happens to the Earth, the heating up out there, they are more storms and all these things we can see. And I prayed about that, too, because it is the existential issue, and it is an issue that we all face. And, and if we are going to treat each other honorably, that means we have to deal with the fact that people are different from each other, that they perceive those differences in negative way often. We have to get past that. We have to get past the idea that we are different, and so different that we have to claw each other's eyes out.
SM: 1:42:49
Right.
BC: 1:42:50
Even if it comes with bargaining ourselves back to bows and arrows. Our resources are going to have to be put to healing the whole Earth, and stopping certain things which are going to screw it up forever. And I have done a stack books on climate change too, and it is real, and it is happening right now. And we are, you know, like, Bob Dylan once sang a heart, brain is going to fall and already has, we have to get to.
SM: 1:43:58
Yeah, yeah. Yep, I agree. And it brings in right here, this issue of, the issue of environmental racism with respect to indigenous populations. That is another issue we have to deal with-
BC: 1:44:13
Yeah.
SM: 1:44:13
-you know, about what is going on in African American communities all over the country, but also Native American. And this especially, and I mentioned Gaylord Nelson, because I know he cared about this, because he founded Earth in 1970. He was about everybody. Yeah, and, you know, environmental racism is certainly an issue in the Native American community. I want to close with this, very broad question here. I, you know, you can be, if I can find it here. I want to thank you again for answering all my questions. But this is, you can be as short or detailed as you want to on this, but could you describe how Native Americans have been treated from the founding of our nation through today? We know about the lies, the broken treaties, the broken promises, the stolen land, the treatments, the dehumanizing of them, Native Americans, as we, as oftentimes being unequal to the white man or anybody else. And, and lack of often times respect for their culture, and understanding of their traditions. And, and been taking these things as part of our culture now, because Native Americans are Americans too, as you talked about, we are all family if we can ever understand this, just in your, just you know you have written books on the history of in so many different areas, you wrote the encyclopedia. If there was one major thing you could just say, toward the end of our interview? How, how have Native Americans been treated from 1776 To 2021? [silence] Are you still there? Okay, could you describe in detail or in your own way, how Native Americans have been treated from the founding of this nation through today, we know about the lies, the broken treaties, the broken promises and stolen land, the treatment, treatment that is been so abusive, often times dehumanizing the group, as unequal’s due to their culture, and their race, just you are, you know, you have written books on many subjects, you have the encyclopedia. But to hear a scholar of your magnitude talk about in a, in a very succinct way, how Native Americans had been treated since 1776 to 2021?
BC: 1:47:22
If I could go back to the idea of honor, they often have not been treated with honor. We talked about the wall, you know, the Vietnam Veterans wall are people who died from our country. There is one image that sticks in my head that I cannot get out of it. It is some of the, you know, the service members who came home, who were bat on, and I do not think they deserve that dishonor you know, even though I was against the war, I was not against them. Every person has a different reason or two or more for ending up in that war, or doing anything else and everyone ought to be treated with honor, and it has been a long time, I mean, in fact, the Indian, Indians being maltreated, goes back to 1492, you know, with Columbus and I could go on and on about how Indians were stolen from and mistreated that time, on. People, people from Europe, took the land, they took the resources, and the history is all there. I mean, at least [inaudible] of an open society, that we can go find these things out, we can talk about them, we can demonstrate. That is what has been happening. And, that is a good thing. I mean, it is a good thing to be able to discuss, and get these things out in the air, and make our, make our system more perfect. I mean, if we can face the history act with honor, and honor, honor the people who gave us this land, as it turned out. Some of it was given and some of it was by, by force, think of what all of us have learned. And this is what, why I do, what I do is to try and increase the idea of honor between everybody. And to do that we have to get over some hurdles. And this extends on what I was talking earlier about the existential issue. We cannot be fighting each other and I, this is a high bar. But given what is happening, and we can almost see it on the evening news, and other places that there are more storms. I mean, I could go on, [inaudible], we have not seen them. I mean, I live in Seattle, where things were easy. I mean, it did not go up to, and they did not have you know, huge storms and wash everything away and it was easier in the (19)60s in some ways. So, native people they open it, they offer us the opportunity of seeing history with their eyes. It is necessary, necessary that we think about it, we take it to heart, or we change things because as a scholar, part of the job is it just to watch, I mean, part of the job is to define what we need to do with knowledge to cover it, debate it, and to think things over, to draw other people in because this just gets us together to tackle the really big issues that we all face. You know, that is my two bits.
SM: 1:54:07
I think that is, that is a great way to end the interview. And, let me up turn the, can we turn this off?
(End of Interview)
Date of Interview
19 November 2021
Interviewer
Stephen McKiernan
Interviewee
Dr. Bruce Johansen
Biographical Text
Dr. Bruce Johansen is a Professor of Communication and Native American Studies, the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He had authored 39 published books as of 2014. He writes frequently about environmental subjects. He also writes as a journalist in several national forums, including the Washington Post and The Progressive, with letters to the editor in The Atlantic, New York Times, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal, et al. He earned his Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington; a Master's degree from the University of Minnesota, and he has a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
Duration
1:54:15
Language
English
Digital Publisher
Binghamton University Libraries
Digital Format
audio/mp4
Material Type
Sound
Interview Format
Audio
Rights Statement
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Keywords
Washington State; Nato; 1960s; Native Americans; American Indian Movement; John F Kenndy; 1950s; Wild West; Wounded Knee; Activism; Vietnam; Healing.
Files
Citation
“Interview with Dr. Bruce Johansen,” Digital Collections, accessed April 19, 2024, https://omeka.binghamton.edu/omeka/items/show/2408.
