'60s | '70s-'80s | '90s-2002
1961 - National Indian Youth Council
(NIYC) is organized following the
American Indian Charter Convention in
Chicago to encourage greater
self-sufficiency and autonomy.
Co-presented by:
1964 - Survival of American Indians
(SAIA) forms and stages "fish-ins" to
preserve off-reservation fishing rights in
Washington state. Those who participate in
the fish-ins later help the occupiers on
Alcatraz. Fishing and land rights protests
continue throughout the 1960s and early
1970s.
Contemporary Indian art often explores the
impact of social, political and cultural
change. These works exist today due to the
Native Americans whose actions paved the
way for renewed cultural identity and
freedom of expression.
Click on the image for a larger view
about the art
March 9, 1964 - First landing at
Alcatraz. Five Sioux Indians claim the
island under the Fort Laramie 1868 Sioux
Treaty enabling Sioux Indians to take
possession of surplus federal land. They
occupy Alcatraz for four hours, calling
for the island's transformation into a
cultural center and an Indian university.
October 1966 - Senator George
McGovern introduces a resolution
highlighting increased desire of Indian
people to participate in decisions
concerning their people and property.
Summer 1968 - United Native
Americans (UNA), a pan-Indian
organization, is founded in the San
Francisco Bay Area to promote
self-determination through Indian control
of Indian affairs at every level.
July 1968 - American Indian Movement
(AIM) is founded in Minneapolis to protect
the city's Native community from police
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Red Paint Can
Peter Jones
(Onondaga)
abuse and to create job training and
housing and education programs.
December 18, 1968 - Mohawk Indians
form a blockade at the Cornwall
International Bridge between the U.S. and
Canada in protest of the U.S. restricting
Native peoples' free movement between
the two countries. Many protesters are
arrested but the Canadian government
dismisses the charges.
October 9, 1969 - American Indian
Center in San Francisco burns down. It had
been a meeting place that served 30,000
Indian people with social programs. The
loss of the center focuses Indian attention
on taking over Alcatraz for use as a new
facility.
Boyhood Seperation
Tom Fields
(Cherokee / Creek)
November 9, 1969 - Mohawk Indian
Richard Oakes leads an attempt to occupy
Alcatraz Island twice in one day. Fourteen
Native Americans stay overnight and
leave peacefully the following morning.
November 20, 1969 - The 19-month
occupation of Alcatraz begins when
approximately 80-90 American Indians mostly college students - take over the
island.
Indoctrination #3
Steven Deo
(Euchee / Muscogee)
December 1969 - Members of the
American Indian Movement, led by AIM
co-founder Dennis Banks (Leech Lake
Ojibwe), arrive at Alcatraz. After about
two weeks, they return to Minneapolis
bringing new ideas about confrontational
activism and land seizure as a tool to
confront the federal government's Indian
policies.
Younghawk Seven
Anthony Deiter
(Plains Cree / Ojibwe)
Reclaiming Native Land | Alcatraz | Indian Activism | Talkback | The Filmmakers
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