To the Editor: Regarding dignity of the American Indian. Whatever else the Indian may seem to lack-it is not dignity-even the smallest child has this inner quality. Mr. Tanner made a faux pass when he mentioned this. His own people have many fine qualities, many are dignified but too many have cringed and crawled while others became arrogant and overbearing. They were not stoics. Indians have the stoicism of their antecedents. Of the two the Afro-American is more adaptable, or seems so on the surface. Both he and his white brother are usurpers whether by accident or design. While decrying color-many use it or try to as a common bond. Neither black nor white are colors. White is lack of color-black is density beyond color. There is as much relation between black and Indian as white and Indian. The Indian is the middle man. Mr. Tanner probably meant no offense, but to the Indian, who seem to be in a less prominent and more precarious position than the Afro-American at the moment, it is a highly sensitive point. It was the worst possible tactic to use if strategy has placed the Indian on the defensive and as inferior in dignity to black and white. He has, in fact, more than either.