US History

Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

Social Movements

Native Americans

This collection uses primary sources to explore the American Indian Movement between 1968 and 1978.

Teaching Guide: Exploring the American Indian Movement

An excerpt from a 1970 newsletter from the National Council on Indian Opportunity about federal work to address Indian concerns.

An excerpt from an interview with Earl Livermore about the Indians of All Tribes (IOAT) occupation of Alcatraz, 1970.

A photograph of Vernon Bellecourt, national director of the American Indian Movement, March 12, 1973.

A photograph taken during the AIM takeover and ultimate surrender at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, 1973.

A photograph of Russell Means, surrounded by aides, running to escape federal marshals that had a warrant for his arrest, April 27, 1973. 

News footage from the trial of Dennis Banks and Russell Means, indicted on charges related to the Wounded Knee occupation, January 8, 1974.

Excerpt from an oral history interview with Ramona Bennett, activist and former chairwoman of the Puyallup Tribe.

An excerpt from the 1976 Senate Judiciary Committee report on revolutionary activities within the American Indian Movement.

A print by artist M. Diaz titled “200 Years of Misery, 1776-1976,” 1976.

A photograph of Native American protesters in Terre Haute, Indiana, on the Longest Walk, May 20, 1978.

An American Indian Movement Wounded Knee button, 1990.

A news story about the Wounded Knee protest in honor of its twenty-fifth anniversary, 1998.

An interview with American Indian Movement leader Clyde Bellecourt about voting in Minnesota and national elections, 2000.

A news story about the FBI's position on the 1977 Leonard Peltier case, 2000.

Resources

1. [American Indian Movement (AIM)](http://libguides.mnhs.org/aim), Minnesota Historical Society. 
2. [A Brief History of the American Indian Movement](http://www.aimovement.org/ggc/history.html), American Indian Movement. 
3. Emily Chertoff, “[Occupy Wounded Knee: A 71-Day Siege and a Forgotten Civil Rights Movement](http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/10/occupy-wounded-knee-a-71-day-siege-and-a-forgotten-civil-rights-movement/263998/)”, *The Atlantic*. 


Overview

Founded in July 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the American Indian Movement (AIM) is an American Indian advocacy group organized to address issues related to sovereignty, leadership, and treaties. Particularly in its early years, AIM also protested racism and civil rights violations against Native Americans. During the 1950s, increasing numbers of American Indians had been forced to move away from reservations and tribal culture because of federal Indian termination policies intended to assimilate them into mainstream American culture. Founders of AIM included Mary Jane Wilson, Dennis Banks, Vernon Bellecourt, Clyde Bellecourt, and George Mitchell, while other activists like Russell Means worked with the organization prominently in the 1970s. 

AIM staged a number of protest actions on historically significant sites of injustice and violence perpetrated by the federal government against Native Americans. These protests included the occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1970, protests at the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1972, the occupation of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1973, and the Longest Walk spiritual march from Alcatraz to Washington, DC to support tribal sovereignty and bring attention to anti-Indian legislation in 1978. AIM continues its work to the present day, speaking out against injustices and working to improve conditions for Native Americans. This primary source set uses documents, photographs, videos, and news stories to tell the story of the first decade of the American Indian Movement.

English

The American Indian Movement, 1968-1978

american-indian-movement_10_da541b2687c8ff20582adeb62e441d5b.jpg

Courtesy of Allen County Public Library via Indiana Memory.

“Native Protest March: Terre Haute,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/da541b2687c8ff20582adeb62e441d5b.

The original description reads: “Native Protest March, Terre Haute, May 20: a group of about 350 Indians arrived this afternoon in Terre Haute. Most of them were crowded in cars and pickups, but almost fifty of them were leading the group on foot. They began their 'longest walk' in February from the West coast and intend to arrive in the capital by July 9. They hope this march will draw public attention to a number of pending bills which they believe will undermine their culture.” The Longest Walk was one of the last events formally staged by the American Indian Movement. It was intended to symbolize the historical displacement of Native Americans from their homelands and to protest contemporary conditions in Native American communities.


A photograph of Native American protesters in Terre Haute, Indiana, on the Longest Walk, May 20, 1978.

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Item 10 of 14 in the Primary Source Set The American Indian Movement, 1968-1978