By Hayley Heino and Austin Yungmeyer
Outline
I.
Native Americans rights
A. Overview
B. Eisenhower’s restrictions
C. Violation of religious grounds
II. Native American protests
A. Wounded Knee Occupation
B. International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous people
C. Occupation of Alcatraz
D. First Convocation of American Indian Scholars

Key Terms

 Lyng vs. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association
 International Day of Solidarity with Indigenous People
 “Indians of All Tribes”
 First Convocation of American Indian Scholars
Overview

 The federal govt. has special trust obligations to protect tribal lands and
resources, protect tribal rights to self-government, and provide services
necessary for tribal survival and advancement.
 Native Americans have fought long and hard to protect their religious
freedom from the repeated acts of govt. suppression
 Examples include: denial of access to religious sites, prohibitions on
the use or possession of sacred objects, and restrictions on their ability
to worship through ceremonial and traditional means.
Overview (cont.)

 Indian treaties have the same recognition under federal law as treaties
with foreign governments like France or Germany.
 The Supreme Court ruled that even though they may live on an Indian
reservation, American Indians have a right to receive all of the same
services that state and county governments offer to all other citizens of
the state.
Eisenhower’s restrictions

 President Eisenhower tried to remove tribal preservation
policies that had been in effect since 1934.
 Under these policies, Indians had been able to establish
local self-government and had been less likely to lose their
lands
 Eisenhower proposed that they return to assimilationist goals
by “terminating” the tribes as legal entities.
 Most Indian tribes resisted termination and the policy was
abandoned in 1961.
Violation of religious
grounds

 1988, in Lyng vs. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protection Association,
Supreme Court allowed the construction of a Forest Service road
through an ancient site that was held sacred by several tribes
 The Supreme Court ruled that the intrusion did not violate their First
Amendment rights
Wounded Knee Occupation

 February 27, 1973 - 300 Oglala Sioux Indians occupied the
village of Wounded Knee to demand land and rights.
 200 FBI agents, federal marshals, and police surround and
blockade the village.
 Had automatic weapons that they used against the
Indians.
 Occupation lasted 71 days and ended in negotiated peace as
the government promised to investigate Indian affairs.
International Day of Solidarity with
Indigenous people

 In 1992, Native Americans and many others protested
the quincentennial celebration of Columbus Day.
 In order to bring attention to the ways in which
Columbus wronged the native peoples, a council of
Indians declared October 12, 1992 the International Day
of Solidarity with Indigenous People.
 Many soon joined the anti-Columbus Day movement
including Christians when the National Council of
Churches asked them to refrain from celebrating.
 This movement brought out the truth of what Columbus
did to the Native Americans in many books and schools.
Occupation of Alcatraz

 November 9, 1969 – occupation of Alcatraz begins when
78 Indians land there.
 By the end of November, nearly 600 Indians from more
than 60 tribes were living on Alcatraz.
 Called themselves “Indians of All Tribes”
 Indians related the state of Alcatraz to the poor
conditions on the reservations.
 Government cut off telephones, electricity, and water to
the island, but many Indians stayed for over a year after
this.
 Government soon invaded the island and
physically removed the Indians.
First Convocation of
American Indian Scholars

 The First Convocation of American Indian Scholars
consisted of Indians speaking out about the ignoring and
insulting of their race that occurred in the textbooks used
in schools.
 Resulted in the formation of the Indian Historian Press
which evaluated such textbooks, finding no accurate
information about the Native Americans.
 More movies redressing the history of the Indians
were created and more books about Indian history
were written.
 Teachers became sensitive to old stereotypes and
removed inaccurate history books from curriculum.
Bibliography

Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.
Print.
Bailey, Thomas A. American Pageant. Boston: Hughton Mifflin, 1998. Print.
"Civil Rights and Native Americans." Almanac of Policy Issues. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.policyalmanac.org/culture/archive/native_americans.shtml>
"The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights." The Leadership Conference on
Civil and Human Rights. Web. 22 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.civilrights.org/resources/civilrights101/native.html>.