Native American Movement Essay

The Native American movement of the 1960s and 1970s was the result of Native Americans coming together to claim, regain, or reassert rights to lands and to fight for more control over water, economic affairs, and education on native lands. Although the movement was all across the U. S. the most well known event of AIM; or the American Indian Movement was the occupation of Alcatraz island from 1969 through 1971. The first major intertribal association was the national congress of American Indians, or NCAI whose concerns were protection of Indian land rights and improved educational opportunities for Native Americans. Founded in 1944 in response to termination and assimilation policies that the U. S. forced upon the tribal governments in contradiction of their treaty rights and status as sovereigns. They joined the movement after being denied Indian land from the United States government. Many achievements were made; the first, in 1949 when they made charges against federal job bias towards the Indians. Again in 1950, 1952 and in 1954 when they won their fight against legislation that would have allowed the states to civil and criminal jurisdictions over Indians. They dealt with various topics like health care, employment, and safety issues on a nation wide scale. They were very successful in completing there goals and helping the cause. ( http://www. answers.com/topic/national-congress-of-american-indians) The American Indian Movement; or AIM was an American Indian rights group who occupied a number of sites. Founded in 1968, there goals were fostering a sense of unity and solidarity among American Indian and first nation groups in the U. S. and Canada. They joined the movement because in the 1960s, American Indians were the poorest minority group. They achieved many famous site takeovers from the 1970 occupation of a replica of the mayflower to the occupation of Mount Rushmore in 1971. There most famous occupation however was the one of Alcatraz island from 1969 to 1971, it started with just a few, then quickly grew to hundreds. ( http://www. conservapedia. com/American_Indian_Movement_Grand_Governing_Council) The group offered to buy the island from the federal government for $24 in glass beads and red cloth but there offer was denied and after 2 years and a lot hard times, the U. S. government finally removed the group from the island. ( http://www. digitalhistory. uh. edu/database/article_display. cfm? HHID=387).