Native American Activist Movement Essay

During the 20th century, there were many Native American groups that fought for their people’s rights. Each group had various styles of fighting for their culture, their lands, and constitutional rights. Some groups decided to fight in a more political style such as lobbying, while others turned to a more active approach in the streets of their own cities. The American Indian Defense Association (AIDA), the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) were some of the most influential organizations that impacted the Native American activist movement. The American Indian Defense Association’s (AIDA) was a part of a broad intellectual movement called Cultural Pluralism. It was inappropriate to judge the success of another culture by the success of your own culture. Furthermore, assimilation was not viewed as

as its leader. Some of the main goals of this organization was to urbanize Indian communities with helping boarding schools and prisons and protesting for the rights of the Natives. NIYC was involved in many protests which set the stage for more confrontational situations in the future. They were also involved in the Menominee fight and became known for its physical style of protesting and taking action. Deloria published two books which became very popular. Custer Died for Your Sins was published in 1969, while We Talk, You Listen was published in 1970. Both books helped Deloria become a spokesman for the Native people throughout the country (Hudson, Lecture 22). The NIYC was focused on moving forward which is a movement reflected well in The Lone Ranger and Tonto a Fist Fight in Heaven written by one of the most influential Native American writers, Sherman Alexie. “‘What’s real? I ain’t interested in what’s real. I’m interested in how things should be (Alexie, Pg. 33).’” The NIYC helped many Native communities progress and