Bernie Whitebear - Activist and Leader

Activist and Leader

During this same period, Whitebear became particularly interested in health issues among Seattle's Indians. At this time, Seattle's estimated 25,000 urban Indians had "no health services, no organization, no money and no meeting place except an old church on Boren Avenue". Alaskan Native Bob Lupson had helped to organize a free clinic for Indian People at Seattle's Public Health Hospital, (later the Pacific Medical Center); other key figures in the clinic were Lyle Griffith, an Oglala Sioux who was then a medical resident at the University of Washington, and Lyle's wife Donna Griffith, and later New Yorkers Peter and Hinda Schnurman, Jill Marsden from England, and pharmacist Eveline Takahashi.

At this time, Bernie Whitebear left Boeing to become part of this clinic, which in 1969 established itself as a separate non-profit, the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB). In 1970, Whitebear became the group's first executive director. Lawney Reyes characterizes the SIHB as "the first major achievement for the Indian community in Seattle," and remarks that his brother became executive director not because he knew anything in particular about healthcare but "because he was Indian and well spoken." Jill Marsden became increasingly the real administrator of the group, and after about a year Whitebear resigned, in order to focus more on obtaining some sort of land base for Seattle's Indians. A national search for a new executive director ended up hiring Whitebear's sister Luana, who until this time had been a successful businesswoman in San Francisco. Over the next decade, she built SIHB into a 200-employee institution recognized as a national model, and launched herself on a career path that ultimately led to the deputy directorship of the federal Indian Health Service.

Shortly after this, he became heavily involved in the movement to make sure that Indians would gain a share of the land in Seattle that the federal government freeing up as they reduced the size of the Fort Lawton army post. The group was influenced by the Indians Of All Tribes (IAT) who were then occupying Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Initially, they called themselves "Kinatechitapi", Blackfoot for "All Indians". Their first efforts to open discussions with the City of Seattle in advance of the turnover of the land failed. The City said it would not open discussions until it had the land, and referred them to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). As Whitebear later wrote, "This action displayed their ignorance of both the BIA's restricted service policy, which excluded urban Indians, and also the disregard and disfavor urban Indians held for the BIA."

The Kinatechitapi split between a faction that called for direct action and one that preferred to wait until the land was in city hands and then attempt negotiation. Prominent among those who preferred to wait was Pearl Warren, founder of the American Indian Women's Service League, who was concerned that a militant attitude would undercut the existing city-funded services. It was peaceably agreed that those who wished to take more extreme action would not use the name "Kinatechitapi", but the resulting tensions led to Warren losing the next election for the Service League presidency to Joyce Reyes.

The more militant faction soon adopted the name "American Indian Fort Lawton Occupation Forces". Some of the Indians of All Tribes came in from Alcatraz, including Richard Oaks, leader of that action; other activists came from Canada. A plan was formed to invade the base. Another arrival was Grace Thorpe, daughter of athlete Jim Thorpe. Meanwhile, ongoing protests around nearby Fort Lewis, including by American Indian soldiers, were tying native rights to opposition to the Vietnam War. At the behest of the Fort Lewis coalition, Jane Fonda was in town when the invasion took place. According to Whitebear, her presence "captured the imagination of the world press. American Indians were attacking active military forts along with one of the nation's leading opponents of United States involvement in the Vietnam War." Her presence transformed "an effort to secure a land base for urban Indians" into "a bizarre, ready-for-prime-time, movie scenario, complete with soldiers, modern-day Indians, and anti-war activists. Without really appreciating it at the time, the Indian movement had achieved through Jane Fonda's presence, a long-sought credibility which would not have been possible otherwise."

On March 8, 1970, Whitebear was among the leaders—arguably the leader—of about 100 "Native Americans and sympathizers" who confronted military police in riot gear at the fort. The MPs ejected them from the fort, but they were able to establish an encampment outside the fort. Organizing as the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF), they used tactics ranging from politicking to occupation of land to celebrity appearances. Some of the key politicking came at the federal level: UIATF, like the City, filed to directly acquire land that the federal government was releasing, and the federal government ultimately insisted that the two come up with a joint plan. Negotiations, confrontation and even a Congressional intervention combined in November 1971 to give them a 99-year lease on 20 acres (81,000 m²) in what would become Seattle's Discovery Park, with options for renewal without renegotiation. In addition, the City gave $600,000 to the American Indian Women' Service League for a social services center.

Whitebear was soon elected CEO of the UIATF. At UIATF, he successfully oversaw fundraising (including a million dollar grant from the state) and construction for what would become the Daybreak Star Cultural Center. His brother Lawney Reyes — a sculptor, designer, curator, and later memoirist (as well as his biographer: Bernie Whitebear: An Urban Indian's Quest for Justice, 2006) — joined with architects Arai Jackson to design the facility, which opened in 1977.

Along with Bob Santos, Roberto Maestas, and Larry Gossett, he became one of Seattle's so-called "Gang of Four" or "Four Amigos" who founded Seattle's Minority Executive Directors's Coalition. He continued to build the UIATF as an institution, with programs ranging from the La-ba-te-yah youth home in the Crown Hill neighborhood to the Sacred Circle Art Gallery at Daybreak Star, as well as a pre-school, family support programs, and a large annual pow-wow held every July. In addition, UIATF acquired other land in Seattle outside of Daybreak Star, including a quarter-block downtown at Second and Cherry.

In the same era when Daybreak Star was being constructed, Whitebear served on the Seattle Arts Commission. In 1995, he was appointed to the board of the National Museum of the American Indian, and was involved in the planning for the museum that opened September 21, 2004 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. He was also involved in the early planning for two other projects, neither of which has been achieved as of 2007. A People's Lodge at Daybreak Star is intended to include a Hall of Ancestors, a Potlatch House, a theater, and a museum; the Pacific Northwest Indian Canoe Center is intended as part of the ongoing development at South Lake Union, just north of downtown. Whitebear's death impacted both of these projects. As of 2007, construction of the People's Lodge has been indefinitely postponed. A Native American Canoe Center is in the master plan for South Lake Union Park; as of 2007, it is being referred to as the Northwest Canoe Center. An October 2007 grant from the Northwest Area Foundation should allow this project (and several other UIATF projects) to proceed.

Whitebear died of colon cancer, July 16, 2000.