American Indian Movement: Activism and Repression Native Americans have felt distress from societal and governmental interactions for hundreds of years. American Indian protests against these pressures date back to the colonial period. Broken treaties, removal policies, acculturation, and assimilation have scarred the indigenous societies of the United States. These policies and the continued oppression of the native communities produced an atmosphere of heightened tension. Governmental pressure for assimilation and their apparent aim to destroy cultures, communities, and identities through policies gave the native people a reason to fight. The unanticipated consequence was the subsequent creation of a pan-American Indian identity The loss of the center focuses Indian attention on taking over Alcatraz for the use as a new facility" (www.pbs.org). This destruction united Native American tribes, councils, and organizations throughout the country. Due to the vast array of representation, the planning committee of occupiers called themselves the "Indians of All Tribes." "In the early morning hours of 20 November 1969, eighty-nine American Indians landed on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. These Indians of All Tribes claimed the island by "right of discovery" and by the terms of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which gave Indians the right to unused federal property that had been previously been Indian land" (Johnson, Nagel, and Champagne 27). The occupants felt this site would be symbolic for the ships entering the area from across the world, while reminding them of our nations history and the great lands once ruled by the free Indians. This occupation stirred up media publicity and support as well as help from other indigenous organizations such as, the National Indian Youth Council and American Indian Movement. In December of 1969, members of AIM under the direction of Dennis Banks arrived at Alcatraz in assistance to the occupation. The knowledge and networking AIM received were instrumental to their direction and tactics in the following years. "After about two weeks, they return[ed] to Minneapolis bringing new ideas about confrontational activism and land seizers as
Related Documents: Essay on American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American activism group in the United States, founded in July 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AIM was initially formed to address American Indian sovereignty, treaty issues, spirituality, and leadership, while simultaneously addressing incidents of harassment from police as well as other minority groups and racism against Native Americans forced to move away from reservations and tribal culture by the 1950s enforcement of the U.S. federal government-enforced…
‘The actions of Native Americans themselves contributed nothing to the advancement of their civil rights in the period 1865 to 1992’. Native Americans admittedly, did surprisingly little in the initial two thirds of the period, despite the Plains Wars and other small-localized armed resistance during the nineteenth century; the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1889 effectively marked the end to such resistance. Whilst it can be argued that their efforts were at best lukewarm during the beginning,…
For decades, the Native Indians have been struggling to maintain their cultural identity and fight for their survival. The Indian traditions and way of life was not favored in the United States and was to be demolished. Despite the help that the Indians had initially provided to the English, they turned there backs on them and little remember the times when the Indians had provided them food and safety and formed an alliance with them. In the eyes of the United States, they were uneducated, untrustworthy…
their art, architecture, and freedom of expression. Instead of taking over India right away, they assimilated with the culture and imposed their own beliefs on the Indians. The British immediately wanted to know the political and cultural history of India, but Indians never kept record of it, or thought of it as important. The Indians didn’t realize that their culture was so extravagant. From that point on, the British made it their goal to try and analyze, discover and catalogue India.…
Natives Ursurla L. Waller Ashford University HIS 204: American History Since 1865 Instructor Jessica Schmidt 2015 January 8 The Myth of the Frontier and Neighboring Natives Movement towards the Great West, known as, "the existence of an area of free land." fortified a boundary line that runs between savagery and civilization. Populated and seized by the Europeans in continental areas bordering the United States of America, the Western Movement began after the first colonial settlement along the…
Since the time of when the Americans arrived in the United States, the Plains Indians began declining, with nearly nothing they could do about it. Negatively for the Indians, westward movement seemed to be the popular trend, which meant out with the old Indians and in with the new Americans. When technological developments began to occur, while a few inventions were helpful to the Indians, such as guns, majority was not in their favor. One over bearing new invention and spread of the railroad was…
Miguel Hidalgo Mexican priest who established independence movement among Indians and mestizos in 1810; despite early victories, was captured and executed. 3. Simon Bolivar Creole military officer in northern South America; won series of victories in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador between 1817 and 1822; military success led to creation of the independent state of Gran Colombia. 4. Jose de San Martin Leader of independence movement in Rio de la Plata; led to independence of the United Pr…
The early American history is closely tied with Hinduism. Unitarians represented as a small, liberal sect of American Christians. In the period following American Independence many writers showed interest in religious ideas and texts of India. They belonged to the social and religious community of New England Unitarianism. Later they entered a uniquely American religious movement. Transcendental writers of the nineteenth century commented on Hindu texts. During that period the Transcendentalists…
used nonviolence methods in order to gain more rights and respect for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Both King and Gandhi’s nonviolence methods considerably improved the lives of their respective race and help to show how violence does not always have to be the answer. Mahatma Gandhi will always be remembered as one of the most successful nonviolent leaders in history. He greatly influenced Indians as they followed his leadership. They peacefully protested unjust British demands…
Description: The painting shows a group of Blackfeet Indians with a medicine man in a foreground. The Indians in the picture are holding long sticks,weapons, and are riding horses. As Men are traveling in a large group, the medicine man seems to be in front. The people, horses, and the ground are made up of warm hues like red and brown. The mountains are made up of cold hues including indigo and sky blue. Additionally, the painting was made by an oil on canvas. Analysis: In the painting…
