Native American Struggle

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January 3rd, 1895 Chief Lomahongyoma and 18 other Hopi Indians were placed in the federal Prison of Alcatraz. They refused to farm plots of land away from their mesas and refused to send their children to a government run boarding school. Their goal was to keep their own way of life, which was the same for thousands of years before that. This way was forced acculturation. The U.S. attempted to install these doctrines onto every reservation.

As the United states final act to try to make the natives a true part of the country, they put into effect House Concurrent Resolution 108 (HCR-108), passed on August 1, 1953. This terminated federal suspension over tribes. Terminated tribes were then subject to state laws and their lands were sold to non-Indians. Hundreds of tribes were terminated, most of which consisted of only a few hundred members. The Indians became subject to the same laws, privileges, and responsibilities as other US citizens. These terminations didn’t mean much to other Americans who saw them as lower class scavengers, leading to many prejudices.

The American Indian Movement was a group founded in July 1968. AIM was formed to address American Indian sovereignty, treaty issues, spirituality, and leadership. AIM also tried to protect Indians from police brutality and racism toward the Indians that moved away from the reservations due to the Termination Policies enforced in the 1950s. In order to be recognized and receive media attention, on Thanksgiving day 1970, AIM organizers seized the replica of the Mayflower in Boston. This was one of many occupations or protests held to show the nation that Indians were here first.