Native American
Movements
By Jackie Stephens and Emily
Roth
Pan Indian Movement
- a renewed interest in
Native American
identity that spread
throughout North
America in the early
decades of the 20th
century and led to
unified actions by
many tribes
AIM
❖ AIM stands for the American Indian
Movement
❖ The group was formed in 1968 by urban
Native American political activists in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, where many native
americans lived in ghettos after being
forcefully displaced from the reservations
by various government. They wanted to
gain fulfilment of US treaty obligations to
American Indians and to increase federal
programs to support Native American
families.
Goals of the AIM
The
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American Indian Movement had many goals, including:
The protection of treaty rights
The preservation of spirituality and culture
The construction of specific indian organizations
Regaining of Native American lands
creation of job training, education programs, and youth centers
establishment of schools for Native Americans, such as the Heart of the
Earth
❖ DESEGREGATION WAS NOT A GOAL
Clyde H. Bellecourt
● Co- founder of AIM
● organized a peaceful march on
Washington D.C. in order to
demand new legislation to
remove the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) as an agency of
the Department of the
Interior.
● one of the main negotiators in
the wounded knee conflict.
Leaders of AIM
NeeGawNwayWeeDun
● one of the co-founders
of AIM.
Beginning of the Movement
The movement began in the mid
1960s in the prisons of the American
Midwest. Native Americans realized
that many of their brothers and
sisters were in jail, condemned to
perpetual poverty, poor health and
despair. They began to understand
and appreciate their unique spiritual
and cultural heritage that was stolen
from them. This realization led to
the rebirth of the Native American
culture in the United States.
Timeline of Important Events
1968
MINNEAPOLIS AIM PATROL : created to address issues of extensive police brutality.
1969
ALCATRAZ ISLAND: Alcatraz was a prison which held America's most notorious criminals. Native Americans occupied it for about 18 months
and demanded fairness and respect.
1972
RED SCHOOL HOUSE : the second survival school to open and offered cultural based education services.
HEART OF THE EARTH SURVIVAL SCHOOL: a K-12 school established to address the extremely high drop-out rate among American Indian
students and lack of cultural programming.
TRAIL OF BROKEN TREATIES : a march on Washington, DC ending in the occupation of BIA headquarters and resulting in the presentation of a
20-point solution paper to President Nixon.
1974
INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY COUNCIL (IITC): an organization representing Indian peoples throughout the western hemisphere at the
United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
WOUNDED KNEE TRIALS: Eight months of trials in Minneapolis resulted from events which occurred during the 1973 Wounded Knee
occupation. This was the longest Federal trial in the history of the United States. Many instances of government misconduct were revealed
with the result that US District judge Fred Nichol dismissed all charges due to government "misconduct" which "formed a pattern throughout
the course of the trial" so that "the waters of justice have been polluted."
Tactics of the Native American
Movement
THe NAtive Americans used many tactics to get
the attention of the world. For example, they
set up:
● protests and sit ins
● marches on Washington
● sent formal demands to Congress
Red Power Movement was an organization
founded in 1968 and was greatly influenced by
the African American civil rights group, the
Black Panthers. They were trying to stop the
police's cruelty against them and in order to
show this, they taped the police brutality.
The Trail of Broken Treaties 20-Point Indian
Manifesto
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Restoration of treaty making (ended by Congress in 1871).
Establishment of a treaty commission to make new treaties (with sovereign Native Nations).
Indian leaders to address Congress.
Review of treaty commitments and violations.
Unratified treaties to go before the Senate.
All Indians to be governed by treaty relations.
Relief for Native Nations for treaty rights violations.
Recognition of the right of Indians to interpret treaties.
Joint Congressional Committee to be formed on reconstruction of Indian relations.
Restoration of 110 million acres of land taken away from Native Nations by the United States.
Restoration of terminated rights.
Repeal of state jurisdiction on Native Nations.
Federal protection for offenses against Indians.
Abolishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Creation of a new office of Federal Indian Relations.
New office to remedy breakdown in the constitutionally prescribed relationships between the United States and Native
Nations.
Native Nations to be immune to commerce regulation, taxes, trade restrictions of states.
Indian religious freedom and cultural integrity protected.
Establishment of national Indian voting with local options; free national Indian organizations from governmental controls
Reclaim and affirm health, housing, employment, economic development, and education for all Indian people.
Why change was needed?
Congress’s Injustices:
● Indian Removal Act (1830) authorized the
resettlement of eastern Indian tribes to new
lands west of the Mississippi River
● General Allotment Act (1887) allowed the
division of Native American reservations into
individually owned tracts of land
● Trail of Broken Treaties
-Change was needed to bring action to
the injustices that were occurring,
establish care and protection, and
preserve the Native American land
and culture.
-Indian people refused to relinquish
their sovereign right to exist as free
and uncolonized people.
-Crimes against Native Americans
were often not reported and
disciplinary actions were rarely taken.
-Server problems with education,
income, and employment.
Significance of the Native American
Movement
-The Native American movements were important to
understand America during the Cold War. these
movements allowed gave control to the Native Americans
over their reservations. Also, education was improved for
native american children and adolescents. It produced a
sense of pride in being Native American and helped
establish Native American Studies programs. Lastly, it
created a desire to learn more about traditional Native
American culture.
Political Cartoon
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSqSmgzFK
Sw
Critical Thinking Questions
1. When and why was the AIM formed?
2. Who were major leaders in AIM and how did they
influence the movement?
3. What events were most important to the movement?
Why?
4. How does the Native American Movement change the
lives’ of Native Americans today?
5. What sparked the beginning of the movement?
Citations
Wittstock, Laura Waterman, and Elaine J. Salinas. "A Brief Histry of AIM." A Brief Histry of AIM. AIM Media Project, n.d. Web.
19 May 2015. <http://www.aimovement.org/ggc/history.html>.
"American Indian Movement." What Is the ? N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. http://www.indians.org/articles/american-indianmovement.html
"Redirecting." Redirecting. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.notablebiographies.com%2FBa-Be%2FBellecourtClyde.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEFY642lWc2G8sJRr35aR-A9dDIIw>.
Dramer, Kim. “Native Americans and Black Americans”. Chelsea House Publishers, Philadelphia. 1997. Frank W. Porter lll. (pg
81- 95).