HOMELAND - Plains Indian Timeline 1924-1975

Broadcast Schedule

Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Pueblo Indian, Jemez Springs, New Mexico, 1929 (University of Chicago)

1924 - Congress passes the Indian Citizenship Act, granting U.S. citizenship to Native Americans.

1934 - The Indian Reorganization Act puts an end to the allotment policies of the 1887 Dawes Act.

1935 - The Indian Arts and Crafts Board is funded under the U.S. Department of Indian Affairs to encourage Native arts and crafts and to certify the authenticity of Indian products.

1950s - The U.S. government adopts the Federal Relocation Policy of "terminating" tribes: that is, settling all obligations, withdrawing federal support and closing reservations. Congress eventually terminates services to over 60 tribes across the country. Many tribal members are relocated to urban areas.

1961 - Over 500 Native Americans gather for the American Indian Chicago Conference to support tribal sovereignty and survival. That same year, the National Indian Youth Council forms, considered by some to be a militant organization. Many other organizations supporting Native Americans are founded throughout the 1960s.

1968 - Title II of the Civil Rights Act gives full civil rights to individuals living under tribal law. It effectively reversed the 1896 Supreme Court decision, which declared that individuals living under tribal governments were not protected by the Bill of Rights. The American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded in Minneapolis to address the needs of Native peoples, renew tribal spirituality, and reverse destructive governmental policies.

Occupation of Alcatraz Island (National Park Service)

1969 - Beginning in November, a small group of Native Americans called the Indians of All Tribes occupy Alcatraz Island for two years to create a greater awareness of the deplorable circumstances of Indians in the U.S. The island of Alcatraz was the site of a military prison from 1863 to 1933, and a federal prison from 1934 to 1963.

1970 - President Richard Nixon formally ends the termination policies established in the 1950s. Dee Brown publishes Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Since its initial publication, over five million copies of the controversial book have been sold around the world.

1972 - In the fall, AIM supporters organize "The Trail of Broken Treaties," for which thousands of Indians drive to Washington, D.C., and occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) headquarters, demanding that the U.S. recognize tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

1973-76 - AIM supporters occupy Wounded Knee in 1973, demanding a congressional investigation of Native American problems. Federal officers are sent in, and during the ensuing gunfights, two Indians are killed and several people on both sides are injured. In the three years following The Second Siege of Wounded Knee, 61 AIM supporters are killed on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation, despite ongoing FBI investigations. In a controversial ruling, Leonard Peltier is convicted and imprisoned for the 1975 killing of two FBI agents.

1975 - The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act gives Native Americans more control in administering federal programs and services to their people.

More...