Native Americans, 1973-1980: How Far Had Lives Improved

Question 1

Native American Population

Answer 1

1970 National Census - 800,000, 0.4% of US population
1980 - 1.4 million
Majority lived on reservations, prevalent unemployment, poverty, alcoholism

Question 2

Civil Rights Movement

Answer 2

American Indian Movement (1968) formed in Minnesota
Nicknamed ‘Red Power’
Aimed to tackle slum housing, unemployment, and police brutality

Question 3

Actions

Answer 3

1969 - Armed AIM activists occupied former fed prison of Alcatraz in San Fran Bay
1972 - Occupied Bureau of Indian Affairs for six days
1973 - Confrontation at Wounded Knee, 2 killed, 12 wounded. Site of massacre in 1890 of Sioux natives by US troops

Question 4

Legislation

Answer 4

Indian Self-Determination Act (1974)
Allowed tribes administrative responsibility for federally funded programmes