programs as well. Paradigm shifts generally turn out to be package deals.
A recent book by historian Douglas Brinkley, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America, documents the paradigm shift that occurred in the 1930s—one that married industrial infrastructure with conser-vation, and economic rights with Native American rights, for the first time. The Civil Works Administration, the Civil Con-servation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Indian New Deal of 1934 remain legacies of American achievement that stand the test of time. There was even a “CCC Indian Division” that honored the specific heritage and needs of tribes during the Depression. These programs have their critics, but they nevertheless remain a case study for today—a time when the rise of monopolizing privatizers threatens the public trust like never before. To paraphrase a combination of Woodie Guthrie’s famous song and Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote when he exited the Constitutional Convention in 1787: This land is your land, this land is our land . . . if we can keep it.
Robert Lucero is the founder and director of the Indian Lands and Public Lands Alliance (www.ilpla.org). This article reflects the views of the author and not necessarily those of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education. Feedback about this article may be addressed to Outdoor Insider Editor Allison Burtka at [email protected].
Larry Cesspooch, author Robert Lucero, and Ute Tribe officers
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