One of the greatest problems in our country, if not as a threat to national security, as a monumental internal plight, is the situation of the American Indian. Today about 400,000 Indians live on reservations and another 200,000 live in other areas.. These people present levels of poverty, education, and health as low as those of any groups in our nation. Faced with hundreds of years of suppression and extermination at the hands of the dominant white culture, they are now caught between that culture and traditional tribal values. Inadequately trained for success in the white culture and discouraged from cherishing their ancestors’ ways, they must overcome the additional burden of the general public’s ignorance of Indian affairs.

Most Americans would be surprised to learn that Indians have an average life span of 44 years and that their average income is …