Civil Rights
American Indian Civil / Human Rights
During the 60's & 70's, human & civil rights activism was peaking. African-American people were most visible in their fight for their human and civil rights, therefore they are more often identified with it. However, it is important to understand that during those years, many 'minority' groups were rising up and making a stand for their rights, including American Indian people. We have a very long and complex history with the United States. Over the short life of this country, our ancient Indigenous Nations have made over 370 legal, binding, nation-to-nation Treaties with the U.S. Government. All of these official Treaties have been legally dishonored and broken by the United States government. This does not mean that these Treaties are no longer valid, it means the United States has broken, and continues to break, its very own international laws. During the 1960's, American Indian people as a collective whole had had enough of being mistreated, insulted, ignored and swept under the rug by the United States of America. For decades, Native people had existed in this land we have called home for time immemorial as invisible people. Mainstream Americans considered us all dead and gone. Countless books were written about the 'Vanishing Peoples of North America'. Meanwhile, during all the changes America was going through - the first light bulb, the first telephone, the first automobile - the First People remained; regarded by many as little more than a dream of the not-so-distant past. Most Americans had either forgotten or not learned that Indigenous people were still here, or they had relegated us to a dreamlike, romanticized fantasy character like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. This is where the sports team names and mascots began, during this time when Indians were viewed as mere objects for America's play and amusement. We were not regarded as real people. We were seen as one dimensional stereotypes like 'noble savages', 'fierce warriors' or 'stoic chiefs'. Thus many sports teams of the day, with this concept that 'Indians' were not real people, but make-believe characters, decided to give their teams 'Indian' names & mascots. Then came the countless American products which were given 'Indian' names and faces, such as: Land O Lakes Butter, Dakota Trucks, Navajo Trucking Lines, Mohawk Carpets, Tecumseh Motors, Pontiac Cars, Winnebago RVs, Seneca Sauerkraut, Big Chief Potatoes and many more. All these trivial images of 'Indians' were everywhere, yet real Indian people were barely acknowledged. Over the years, the U.S. government passed many Acts which were ultimately designed to undermine and destroy our ancient, complex societies. This continued government policy of 'Indian extermination' combined with the trivialization of our beautiful cultures by mainstream America culminated with the rising up of the Indian voice in the 1960's. Native people were sick and tired of the way America mistreated, abused and insulted us, behaving as if the original people of this land did not even exist. A new voice rose out of the silence of Indian country and gave many Americans their first look at the real Indian face. That voice, was AIM....
The American Indian Movement was just that - a movement. It was organized, politically empowered, and radical when necessary. For generations, American Indian people had been made to be ashamed of who they were. AIM helped to change that. Indian pride began to resurface. AIM was the spark that lit the fire, but it was the fire in the hearts of Native people that was truly at work during the great changes of the 60's & 70's. No longer were we content to sit by and watch our Treaties be dishonored. No longer would we silently tolerate the mockery and trivialization of our race in American sports, media, entertainment and industry. We were fed up, and so we stood up, and spoke up. We continue to do so - at sports arenas whose teams continue their use of racist, quasi-Indian names, imagery, stereotypes and mascots; at Standing Rock, defending Sacred Water and Treaty rights; and at countless other places where Indigenous people, culture, sovereignty and land is under attack. This short article only scratches the surface of the complex history and enormity of Native activism in what is now the United States. The fight for civil and human rights for all minority groups in this country continues today. May we all continue to learn.
The American Indian Movement was just that - a movement. It was organized, politically empowered, and radical when necessary. For generations, American Indian people had been made to be ashamed of who they were. AIM helped to change that. Indian pride began to resurface. AIM was the spark that lit the fire, but it was the fire in the hearts of Native people that was truly at work during the great changes of the 60's & 70's. No longer were we content to sit by and watch our Treaties be dishonored. No longer would we silently tolerate the mockery and trivialization of our race in American sports, media, entertainment and industry. We were fed up, and so we stood up, and spoke up. We continue to do so - at sports arenas whose teams continue their use of racist, quasi-Indian names, imagery, stereotypes and mascots; at Standing Rock, defending Sacred Water and Treaty rights; and at countless other places where Indigenous people, culture, sovereignty and land is under attack. This short article only scratches the surface of the complex history and enormity of Native activism in what is now the United States. The fight for civil and human rights for all minority groups in this country continues today. May we all continue to learn.