American Indian Movement

The American Indian Movement (AIM) was started in 1968 by George Mitchell, Dennis Banks, and Clyde Bellecourt and initially was focused on getting fair treatment for American Indians by police and the legal system in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Although there were other American Indian groups addressing American Indian rights at this time, the goals of the organization quickly expanded to protecting the rights of all American Indians. What was unique to this organization, however, was that it was urban based when most American Indian organizations were started on reservations located in remote areas. In the first meeting in July 1968, 250 people showed up to voice their concerns about the status of American Indians with regard to racism, school dropout rates, and the number of arrests in the area.

During the first year of AIM's existence, the organization focused on increasing employment opportunities and better housing, improving education, and monitoring police activities in Minneapolis. Such activity received national attention as well as resulted in fewer police arrests and more humane treatment of American Indians. In addition to these issues, the AIM organization also focused on the need to protect treaty rights and the sovereignty of Native American Nations, and to preserve Native spirituality and culture. Prior to this time, the U.S. government had mandated boarding schools for American Indian children, which had taken them away, often far away, from their families and communities. There had been forced relocation programs for American Indian young adults and other government-backed methods of assimilation.

In November of 1969, 14 Native Americans “repossessed” Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco, California. Banks and others wanted to bring national attention to the poverty, poor housing, and lack of education most American Indians experienced in their daily lives. The activists saw the occupation of the deserted prison and island of Alcatraz much like they viewed American Indian reservations, and they cited treaty rights that had guaranteed the return of unoccupied federal lands to American Indians. Shortly after the initial occupation, about 100 American Indians joined Banks and others, claiming Alcatraz as “Indian Country.” The occupation lasted 19 months, until June 1971. All negotiations and meetings between the activists and U.S. government were unproductive, but the media attention brought national attention to American Indian problems.

During the occupation, takeover of government land started to take place all over the United States. Of particular note was the encampment by American Indians on Mount Rushmore to protest the desecration of the Black Hills. As well, there was an attempt to seize Ellis Island near Jersey City, New Jersey, as a way of uniting the Red Power movement from both coasts.

Besides the moves on Mount Rushmore and Ellis Island, there was a sit-in at the Bureau of Indian [Page 93]Affairs (BIA) office in Littleton, Colorado, which stemmed from a formal complaint of job discrimination that had been filed against the BIA and a local industry. The National Indian Youth Council filed the initial complaint, and Banks and AIM of Minneapolis supported the sit-in. Three days later, police emptied the building and arrested 12 of the activists, who became known as the Littleton 12. The media reported that a wave of demonstrations was being set off around the country, all in support of the Littleton 12. Those activists arrested in Littleton were charged with trespassing but pled innocent and received a jury trial. However, BIA officials dropped the charges the next year before the trial could begin.

...