The American Indian Experience: Ada Deer and Mike Chosa

Advocates for the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin discuss the 1950s federal act which terminated their tribe, dissolved their reservation, and adversely affected the members of their community.

00:00Copy video clip URL Title.

00:13Copy video clip URL A man performs a song titled “The Indian’s Ghetto,” based on his experiences in the neighborhood of Uptown in Chicago.

04:29Copy video clip URL Ada Deer, an advocate for the Menominee tribe, discusses the Termination Act, which she describes as a political, economic, and cultural disaster. The act terminated the Menominee tribe and dissolved their reservation. Since they were no longer a federally recognized tribe, they were no longer eligible for federal services available to Native American tribes. The Menominee had little input in the decisions that affected them – as a result, many of them began organizing protests.

08:18Copy video clip URL Mike Chosa, an advocate for Native Americans, says that the only way the community will achieve freedom and sovereignty is by “getting out in the streets and fighting for it.” He believes that the problem can only be resolved through finding mutual self-interest between all the parties involved.

15:05Copy video clip URL Final screen and credits. “This project was supported in part by a grant from the American Issues Forum.”

15:21Copy video clip URL End of video. The rest of the tape is blank.

24:47Copy video clip URL End of tape.