How did campaigners protest for NA rights?

Question 1

What were the key events initiated by NAs?

Answer 1

-1976: Fisher vs. Montana
-1982: Seminole Tribe vs. Butterworth
-1986: Charrier vs. Bell
-Red Power

Question 2

What rights had NAs achieved by 1920?

Answer 2

-citizenship and can pay taxes through the Dawes Act if they owned land for a certain amount of time but didn’t want this
-somewhat had rights to their culture

Question 3

How influential were NAs in securing their own rights?

Answer 3

-they were influential in most of the Supreme Court judgements/arguments because they fought for what they wanted but the government didn’t overly understand their beliefs and wants

Question 4

What were the 6 key groups for activism?

Answer 4

-Society of American Indians (SAI)
-American Indian Defense Association (AIDA)
-National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
-National Indian Youth Council NIYC
-American Indian Movement
-Native American Rights Fund (NARF)

Question 5

What does the SAI stand for?

Answer 5

-Society of American Indians

Question 6

When was the SAI?

Answer 6

-1911-1923

Question 7

What was the aim of SAI?

Answer 7

-want to represent the views of NAs

Question 8

What was the methods of SAI? (3)

Answer 8

-did this by lobbying
-they pursued supported tribes and individuals in applying to the US Court of Claims
-volunteers worked tirelessly to meet unrealistic expectations - to deliver a unified voice of Indian ‘public opinion’ and to pursue controversial political goals without appearing too radical

Question 9

What was the impact of the SAI? (2)

Answer 9

-minimal impact due to lack of support from NAs
-the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act was seen as their most significant achievement

Question 10

Why did the SAI end?

Answer 10

-ends due to lack of money and mass support from NAs

Question 11

What was the result of the SAI being an American Indian Group that had been assimilated willingly?

Answer 11

-hard to represent the views of NAs

Question 12

What does AIDA stand for?

Answer 12

-American Indian Defense Association

Question 13

Who was AIDA set up by? When?

Answer 13

-1923
-set up by a group of writers and anthropologists (study humans) - very little NA input again

Question 14

What was the aim of AIDA?

Answer 14

-to campaign for laws protecting the rights of Indians to their lands, their
beliefs, culture, traditions and their arts and crafts

Question 15

What was AIDAs method?

Answer 15

-campaigning - report writing and raising awareness

Question 16

What was the impact of AIDA? (3)

Answer 16

-John Collier, became executive secretary - his work led to pressure for the Meriam Report
-AIDA was successful in blocking the Leavitt Bill, which sought to curtail dance orders for Pueblo Indians
-Lacked mass support from Native Americans and didn’t consult on what they wanted

Question 17

What does the NCAI stand for?

Answer 17

-National Congress of American Indians

Question 18

What was the NCAI established in response to? When? 1944

Answer 18

-established in response to the termination and assimilation policies the US government as well as WWII

Question 19

What was the aim of NCAI?

Answer 19

-It aimed to involve ordinary Native Americans in the struggle to stop reservations and integrate N.A into society so there were no longer funded by the taxpayer -> first time NAs had joined together to form a protest movement

Question 20

What was the NCAI’s methods? (4)

Answer 20

-safety in numbers
-first time NAs had joined together to form a protest movement
-fought legal battles over discrimination and pressured the federal government for the Indian Claims Commission
-Obtained a pledge from JFK to develop human and natural resources of reservations but this was not fulfilled by his assassination->want to improve quality of reservations and making living conditions better not reinstate the traditional way of life even though it has been eroded

Question 21

What was the impact of the NCAI? (3)

Answer 21

-most of the membership was successful, assimilated Indians who were felt to be out of touch with the younger generation
-mass support from Native Americans and established the legal methods to seek their rights
-limited impact

Question 22

What does the NIYC stand for?

Answer 22

-National Indian Youth Council

Question 23

Who was the NIYC established by? When?

Answer 23

-1961
-established by educated Native Americans who were in college or recently graduated -> in touch with what NAs want

Question 24

What was the NIYC’s aim?

Answer 24

-aimed to protect Native American fishing rights in the north-west of the country -> cultural rights

Question 25

What was the NIYC's methods? (2)

Answer 25

-Took on lawsuits to protect treaty rights, voting rights and religious freedom -Fish-ins were used to generate publicity and protect ancient rights - keen to avoid comparisons with civil rights->some success of fishing rights but slow progress

Question 26

What was the NIYC's impact? (4)

Answer 26

-some success of fishing rights but slow progress. -a large group assembled in Washington, 1964 as part of LBJ’s ‘War on Poverty’ -filed lawsuits to protect Indian land from mineral exploitation -helped to galvanise movement with focus on fishing rights and gained publicity

Question 27

What does AIM stand for?

Answer 27

-American Indian Movement

Question 28

What was AIM established in response to? When?

Answer 28

-1968 -established in response to the slow progress of other organisations

Question 29

AIM was the most ____ NA organisation:

Answer 29

militant

Question 30

What was AIM's aim?

Answer 30

-took up issues of racial discrimination against Native American youths

Question 31

What was AIM's method?

Answer 31

-Native Americans patrolled the streets wearing red berets and jackets monitoring police activities->resulted in a decline in arrest/imprisonment of young offenders

Question 32

What was the impact of AIM? (3)

Answer 32

-Gained national attention and publicity – which was crucial at a time when voting rights were limited NA= 1% of electorate -some argue their militant methods were counterproductive and went against Native American principles->successful in gaining attention -brought attention to the Native American cause and demonstrated unity amongst the youth

Question 33

What does NARF stand for?

Answer 33

-Native American Rights Fund

Question 34

Why was NARF founded? When?

Answer 34

-1970 -founded to defend the rights of Native Americans to preserve tribal culture and way of life in particular their right to hunt and fish

Question 35

What was NARF's aims? (2)

Answer 35

-wanted to reinstate tribal sovereignty, recover lost tribal lands, hunting, fishing and water rights->self determination is their goal -it also fought for the right to vote in those states where registration was restricted and was concerned with the protection of human rights of Native Americans such as their right to worship freely and the proper burial of ancestral remains

Question 36

What was NARF's methods? (2)

Answer 36

-NARF trained young Native Americans as attorneys with a specialism in pursuing Native-American legal issues -NARF was the main organisation that pressed Supreme Court cases on behalf of the tribes and secured key decisions->all judgements post-1974

Question 37

What was the impact of NARF? (2)

Answer 37

-Reasserting their rights under treaties that were long forgotten, a number of the tribes did regain at least some of their lost land e.g. 1971 Alaska, 40 million acres -greater sympathy in this era

Question 38

When was the action decade?

Answer 38

1970s

Question 39

What does lobbying mean?

Answer 39

-to seek influence on an issue through action eg campaigning

Question 40

Name the person who was appointed Commissioner for Indian Affairs, and seen as influential for the passing of the 1934 Wheeler-Howard Act?

Answer 40

-John Collier

Question 41

Did the Meriam Report of 1928 condemn or condone the allotment policy?

Answer 41

-condemn->led to a reform package being put together focusing on education and health care

Question 42

What was the policy of Termination?

Answer 42

-Policy to end reliance on federal government and isolated allotments, by encouraging move to urban areas and integration within white American way of life

Question 43

What was the Indian Claims Commission?

Answer 43

-1946-78 -> put in place to recognise the achievements of the NA war veterans -> this appeared to provide an opportunity to claim land that had been lost by treaties in the 19th century, reality was often financial compensation instead

Question 44

What does ‘tribal sovereignty’ mean?

Answer 44

-tribal authority to govern themselves/self determination

Question 45

Why was it important to educate Native Americans in the law, such as training attorneys?

Answer 45

-so they could defend themselves successfully and regain rights