USA – AREA STUDIES OUTLINE:    Chapter 8               pages 35-38

 

1A. INDIAN POWER & INDIAN RIGHTS

 “Indian Power”    <- a movement to parallel the “Black Power” movement of Afro-Americans.  (AIM) the American Indian

Movement rights group staged a protest march in Washington D.C. in 1972 called the “Trail of Broken Treaties”.

Wounded Knee    <- AIM occupied this small village for 71 days in order get land back that was taken in violation of past treaties.

Books                    <- “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown and “Custer Died for Your Sins” by Vine DeLoria, have helped bring the Indian cause to public attention.

Rights groups      < - The National Tribal Chairman’s Associiation, the National Congress of American Indians and the National

Indian Youth Council oversee Indian rights in Washington D.C.

Rights in court      <- the Penobscot  and Passamaquoddy of Maine sued the government for the return of 12.5 million acres of

land but instead settled for $81.5 million in 1980 and invested the money in businesses own by Indians. The

Sioux in South Dakota also sued the government for the return of land called the Black Hills. They were

awarded $122.5 million but a lot have not accepted it because they continue to fight for sacred land.

 

B. An Uphill Battle

Response             < - to white society is better than to be victimized; for example the Crow and Blackfoot reservations in Montana established and managed a profitable complex of industrial and service-oriented enterprises.

Lag far behind      <-1988, the unemployment rate is 64%, 27% live below poverty line (earn less than government rating). Diabetes, pneumonia, influenza and alcoholism claim twice as many Indian lives then Americans yearly. The lack of education and job skills, Indians that move into the city end up in poverty  and live in slums.

Life on Reservation    <- On the Navajo reservation (16 million acres) is the nation’s largest but also the poorest; homes lack

electricity and plumbing and the unemployment rate is 48%. But the Mescalero Apache reservation  (460,384

acres) in New Mexico is one of the nation’s wealthiest. The tribe owns and operates a logging company and a

cattle ranch, both are multi-million dollar businesses. They also built a $22 million dollar luxury resort for

vacationers.

370 Treaties         < - were signed with the United States thhat in return the government would protect their remaining lands and

resources. Since 1824, The Bureau of Indian Affairs has been responsible for Indian lands, resources and

programs.

Tribal Councils    < - govern in most reservations today. They have their own police forces, schools and courts.

Reservation Resources     <- the Apache attract businesses to their reservations and plan to use their land resources for extra

income. The Navajo possess oil, coal and uranium reserves. Other reservations are rich in timber, gas and

water.

Best of Both Worlds     <- Today’s generation have come along way and are improving their life styles and culture, with better

and higher education and are trying to regain what they have lost.

 

 

TEST ON NOV.30TH  = 1ST Class Chapters 7 & 8;  2nd Class Chapter 9 & 10