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

acceptable as their peoples’ culture was valuable in their originality. The perseverance of the Natives’ culture became very important. John Collier was one of the most important leaders in AIDA. In 1931, President Roosevelt appointed Collier to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs which allowed for a large amount of support for AIDA. Collier also passed the Indian Reorganization Act or the Indian Howard Act in 1934. This legislation ended allotments, gave funds to the tribes so they could purchase land back, and allotments were available for exchange with stocks and shares. This act also led to the end of the religious oppression of Indians and the self-government of the tribes on reservations. Many Tribal Councils were created with the power of election within the reservations (Hudson, Lecture 20). Collier comments about the participation in the elections in his annual report for his Commissioner position. “The referendum election on the Indian Reorganization did not concern itself with candidates and personalities, yet 62 percent of all adult Indians came to the polls and cast their ballots… (Calloway, Pg. 475).” Although the Indian Reorganization Act was accepted by most tribes, there were still conflicts. Seventy-seven tribes rejected this legislation as they did have a choice. Some of these tribes that did reject the legislation did not oppose allotments or viewed this as a way for the federal government to obtain more power over them. There were also long-standing political conflicts as well (Hudson, Lecture 20).
The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) began around 1961 with Vine Deloria Jr.

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

urbanize.
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) began in 1944 with the goals of lobbying the U.S. Congress to review the treaties that had been previously broken. This organization was led by various reservation leaders who accomplished a great deal. In 1946, the Indian Claims Act was passed. The Indian Claims Commission, a federal court, was in charge of looking over the file claims from the Natives that were for broken treaties and mismanaged resources. However, the federal court did not have the power to return land and could only pay reparations. By 1978 there were 300 cases and $700 million given back to the Native Americans. These payments created conflicts as it raised questions to who the money was going to or how the money was going to be divided up. Furthermore, this led to Termination, the termination of the U.S. guardian relationship with the Native Americans. This Termination led to economy disaster in the reservations that were deemed self-sufficient such as the Menominee Tribe in North Wisconsin. By the 1960s, half of the reservation was on federal welfare (Hudson, Lecture 21). The NCAI was staying strong in the 1960s with one of their leaders Edison Real Bird. In 1961, the NCAI drafted the Declaration of Indian Purpose for the self-determination or control of their own affairs on the reservations. In 1962, Edison Real Bird presented President John F. Kennedy with the Declaration of Indian Purpose. Real Bird along with other reservation leaders took a huge step for politics on the Native American Reservations (Hudson, Lecture 22).
These organizations fought for the same rights but in very different ways. They each had their own setbacks and own progressions. American Indian Defense Association and the National Congress of American Indian had a more calm political approach while the National Indian Youth Council approached their situations with more action, such as protests. Each organization contributed to the progress of the Native American communities that is still reflected in society today.