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>> THIS WEEK, WE FEATURE THE SECOND IN OUR SERIES OF
NEW MEXICO MAKERS, PRESENTED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE
NATIONAL PBS PROGRAM, "MAKERS: WOMEN MAKE
AMERICA." LADONNA HARRIS, FOUNDER OF
THE ALBUQUERQUE-BASED AMERICANS FOR INDIAN
OPPORTUNITY, HAS DEVOTED HER LIFE TO BUILDING COALITIONS
THAT CREATE CHANGE. HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT
AMERICANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY ARE LEGION, FROM
HELPING THE PEOPLE OF TAOS GET BACK THEIR SACRED TAOS
BLUE LAKE, TO CONNECTING AMERICAN INDIANS TO NATIVE
PEOPLE HALF A WORLD AWAY. HERE IS NMiF CORRESPONDENT
SARAH GUSTAVUS WITH A NEW MEXICO MAKER, LADONNA
HARRIS. >> YOU'RE THE FOUNDER OF
AMERICANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY.
YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF POLITICAL WORK OVER YOUR
CAREER. BUT THIS ORGANIZATION IS 40
YEARS OLD, HEADQUARTERED HERE IN ALBUQUERQUE.
WHY DID YOU START AMERICANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY?
>> I GUESS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SHOCKS TO ME AS A
NATIVE AMERICAN GOING TO WASHINGTON IS HOW LITTLE THE
GENERAL PUBLIC KNOWS ABOUT US OR UNDERSTANDS US.
SO THAT HALF OF OUR AIO LIFE, AMERICANS FOR INDIAN
OPPORTUNITY, WAS TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE THAT WERE
DECISION-MAKERS. AND WE FORMED A WAY OF DOING
IT, AND WE CALL IT INDIAN 101, AND WE'RE STILL DOING
IT FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. >> WHAT WERE YOUR EARLY
CAREER AMBITIONS? >> I HAD A DESIRE TO BECOME
A LIBRARIAN, EVEN IN HIGH SCHOOL.
I WORKED IN TWO DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIES AS A
LIBRARIAN, AND I THOUGHT, I LOVE BOOKS.
BUT THEN I GOT MARRIED MY SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL,
FRED WAS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA AT THE TIME, AND
SO WE HAD TO BOTH WORK TO PUT HIM THROUGH COLLEGE AND
THROUGH LAW SCHOOL. SO MY AMBITION, I GUESS,
TURNED OUT TO BE BOTH POLITICAL, AND THEN WHEN HE
WAS -- BEFORE HE WAS IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE, HE WAS
IN THE STATE SENATE. SO WHILE HE WAS OFF IN
OKLAHOMA CITY, I WOULD GET INVOLVED WITH ALL OF THE
INTEGRATING OF OUR HOME TOWN, AND THEN ORGANIZING
OKLAHOMANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY.
THOSE TWO THINGS SEEMED TO GO TOGETHER QUITE
COMFORTABLY, SO IT JUST GAVE ME ANOTHER FORUM OF USING
HIS BEING IN OFFICE TO HAVE SOME INFLUENCE.
WHEN WE STARTED OKLAHOMANS FOR INDIAN OPPORTUNITY, I
VISITED ALL THE SCHOOLS TO SEE IF WE CAN -- BECAUSE WE
HAD SUCH A LARGE DROP-OUT RATE OF INDIAN CHILDREN.
WE STILL HAVE THAT ISSUE, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO TURN
THAT AROUND FROM 75 TO 35 PERCENT, AND I'M ANXIOUS
PARTICULARLY TO HAVE A LOWER PERCENTAGE THAN THAT ON
DROP-OUT RATES. BUT WE MADE AN IMPACT WITH
OUR LITTLE EFFORTS, AND WE DIDN'T -- THERE WASN'T A
BOOK TO GO BY, THERE WASN'T ANY, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY
EXPERIMENTING IN THIS AREA, BECAUSE INDIAN BOARDING
SCHOOLS WERE SUCH A DISASTER, AND THE WHOLE
PHILOSOPHY WAS ALWAYS -- IT WAS ALWAYS PRESENTED AS AN
EITHER/OR. IF YOU'RE GOING TO BECOME
EDUCATED, YOU HAD TO GIVE UP YOUR LANGUAGE AND WHO YOU
WERE. AND IF YOU BECAME A
CHRISTIAN, YOU HAD TO GIVE UP YOUR CEREMONY AND YOUR
DANCE. SO IT WAS ALWAYS AN
EITHER/OR, AND FINALLY AT SOME PLACE IN MY LIFE I
DECIDED IT WAS NOT AN EITHER/OR, I COULD DO BOTH.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT GAVE ME THE COURAGE TO TAKE ON,
OR HAVING THAT PHILOSOPHY THAT I COULD QUESTION
ANYBODY IN AUTHORITY. IT GAVE ME THE STRENGTH TO
SAY, HMM, WELL, THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS RIGHT.
>> WAS THERE A TIME WHEN YOU STARTED TO SEE YOUR OWN
IDENTITY AND YOUR OWN POTENTIAL TO MAKE A
DIFFERENCE POLITICALLY AND WITH YOUR OWN POLITICAL
ACTIVISM? >> I DID.
WHEN I HELPED TO ORGANIZE THE WOMEN'S POLITICAL
CAUCUS, I WAS A FOUNDER ALONG WITH GLORIA STEINEM,
AND BELLA ABZUG, AND BETTY FRIEDAN, ALL OF THOSE GREAT
WOMEN, I STARTED FINDING MY VOICE OUTSIDE.
AND THEN WHEN I WAS WORKING WITH THE URBAN LEAGUE AND
WITH THE OTHER MINORITY GROUPS, I HAD A VOICE.
I WAS A GREAT ADMIRER OF -- NOW I CAN'T THINK OF HIS
NAME. BUT HE STARTED THE URBAN
LEAGUE AND THE COMMON CAUSE, WHICH STILL IS IN EXISTENCE.
AND SO I SERVED ON THOSE BOARDS, AND SO I HAD MY
VOICE OUTSIDE OF THAT. I TURNED OUT TO -- BECAUSE
OF SARGENT SHRIVER ASKING ME TO TESTIFY FOR THE FUNDING
OF THE WAR ON POVERTY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, I
ASKED FRED, DID HE MIND IF I DID THAT, AND HE SAID, NO,
JUST DON'T EMBARRASS ME. SO I DID IT, AND IT TURNED
OUT TO BE I WAS THE FIRST WIFE EVER TO TESTIFY IN
CONGRESS. SO YOU JUST FIND THOSE ROLES
TO PLAY, AND I HOPE TO THINK THAT I MADE SOME DIFFERENCE.
AND THEN I WOULD FIND THESE AVENUES OF PARTICIPATING.
SO I WAS VERY ACTIVE IN WASHINGTON AND MANY
ORGANIZATIONS. WHEN I GOT THERE AND SAW
THAT WOMEN WHO WERE IN GOVERNMENT COULDN'T TRAVEL
BECAUSE IT WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO GO
UNCHAPERONED -- IMAGINE, A WOMAN THAT WAS IN
GOVERNMENT. SO THEY COULDN'T CLIMB THE
LADDER, THE FEDERAL LADDER, EVEN.
AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO GROSSLY UNFAIR, THAT'S
REALLY WHAT MOTIVATED ME TO GET INTO THE WOMEN'S
MOVEMENT, BECAUSE WHEN YOU SEE DISCRIMINATION IN ONE
FORM, YOU CAN'T ACCEPT IT IN ANOTHER.
SO THAT'S HOW I GOT INVOLVED IN WAY.
>> HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR NATIVE WOMEN TO HAVE A VOICE
IN THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT? >> IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT IN THOSE EARLY STAGES TO HAVE
PEOPLE, WOMEN OF COLOR, TO BE A PART OF THE WOMEN'S
MOVEMENT. CULTURALLY, THERE WAS
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. IT WAS DIFFICULT.
AND I THOUGHT I COULD BRIDGE THAT GAP, BUT I NEVER DID
VERY WELL. SO WE STARTED A WOMAN OF
COLOR ORGANIZATION, AND THAT BROUGHT A LOT OF THEM -- A
LOT OF PEOPLE ROSE TO THEM. IT WAS A MORE INTEGRATED
ORGANIZATION. THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT BECAME
MUCH MORE INTEGRATED. BUT WE ARE MAKING A
DIFFERENCE, AND THE WOMEN ARE DOING IT AS WELL AS THE
MEN. WE'VE MADE SUCH TRANSITIONS
SINCE THE SIXTIES TO WHERE WE ARE NOW, BOTH
ECONOMICALLY AND SOCIALLY AND POLITICALLY.
>> WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR CONFIDENCE FROM?
>> I'M NOT SURE. I THINK IT'S -- I REALLY
THINK IT COMES FROM OUR COMANCHE CULTURE.
MY FATHER WAS IRISH, AND IN THE GREAT DEPRESSION, LIKE A
LOT OF OKLAHOMANS, HE WENT TO CALIFORNIA TO TRY TO FIND
A JOB, AND MY MOTHER WENT TO WORK FOR THE INDIAN
HOSPITAL, AND I WAS REARED BY MY COMANCHE GRANDPARENTS,
AND I REALLY THINK IT CAME FROM THEM, THAT SENSE OF
IDENTITY, OF SELF. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING
THAT TRIBAL AMERICA HAS, THAT YOU HAVE A SENSE OF
BELONGING TO SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF.
AND YOU BELONG TO THE UNITED STATES, TOO, BUT YOU CAN
BELONG TO YOUR TRIBE AND THEN TO YOUR UNITED STATES
CITIZEN. AND SO THAT SENSE OF SELF
COMES FROM THAT BACKGROUND. AND THEN BEING INVOLVED IN
THESE THINGS AND WORKING WITH OTHER PEOPLE TO MOVE
AND ORGANIZE THEMSELVES SO THEY CAN MOVE IN A NEW
DIRECTION. THOSE FEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS
GIVES YOU A LITTLE MORE CONFIDENCE TO BE OUTSPOKEN
AND DO A LITTLE BIT MORE. >> WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE TO
OTHER YOUNG WOMEN, ESPECIALLY YOUNG NATIVE
WOMEN WHO MAY BE JUST GETTING STARTED ON A CAREER
PATH? >> WELL, BE SURE YOU KNOW
YOUR TRIBAL CULTURE, AND IT'S NOT AN EITHER/OR.
SOME PEOPLE SAY WE LIVE IN TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS, BUT I
THINK THAT MAKES YOU SCHIZOPHRENIC IF YOU TRY TO
LIVE LIKE THAT. YOU CAN'T LEAVE YOUR
CULTURE, YOU KNOW, ON THE REZ AND COME INTO TOWN AND
TRANSFORM, TRY TO PLAY TWO DIFFERENT CHARACTERS ALL THE
TIME. BRING THE CULTURE WITH YOU
AND HELP SHARE IT, AND MAKE IT A PART OF YOU.
>> LADONNA HARRIS, THANK YOU FOR SITTING DOWN WITH US
TODAY. >> OUR SERIES CONTINUES IN
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM. SARAH GUSTAVUS SPEAKS WITH
THE FIRST HISPANIC WOMAN GOVERNOR IN THE UNITED
STATES, NEW MEXICO'S SUSANA MARTINEZ.