American Indian Movement - Research Paper Example

American Indian Movement American Indian Movement American Indian Movement is an activist organization founded by Dennis Banks and others in Minneapolis, Minnesota in late 1960s.The main objective of the movement was to curb racism by the police officers in Minneapolis. The movement believed in spiritual connectedness and was able to organize the Indian people into communities across America and Canada. The leadership of the activist movement was frustrated with United States policies that were discriminatory in nature. The movement came together to advocate the rights of the natives to reclaim their tribal land. The revolutionary movement attracted the attention to the FBI agents that set out to destroy them. In the 1970s, there was a conflict between AIM and the FBI agents. Later on, the leaders were tried in court. The paper will highlight the history of the movement using the perspectives of different sociologist authors. Only few sociologists chose the study of American Indian or a Native American population in the country. Some of the reasons on why the topic is popular could be the Indians represent a small group that 1980s statistics illustrates 1 percent of the entire American population. Sociologists perceive that areas of ethnicity, race, and intergroup relations lie in the conflict of the natives to gain citizenship in American society. Most of the sociologists are aware of the Indian problem that is the principal public issue that faces the United States. The story of how Indians change in the view of the dominant society from being a major impediment to the growth of United States to being a minor irritant to the Western states and communities is a fascinating, sociological, historical, and political endeavor that deserves more attention from sociologists than it has received. Josephy (1982) Now That the Buffalos Gone: A Study of Todays American Indians is a culmination of thirty years association with the American Indians. His memoirs explain their needs, concerns, and problems in a personal, revealing, and historical way. The book has seven chapters where three are historical, and three are contemporary, and one projects concerning the future (Josephy, 1982). Each chapter examines a major contemporary Indian concern. Some of the issues explored include Indians will endure, Indian self-determination, hunting and fishing rights, water rights, racial stereotypes, land rights, and spirituality (Josephy, 1982).Each chapter presents a tie of past policies to the present concerns. Indian people voice their feelings, speak, dreams, and frustrations in a clear way. The conflict between Indians and Euro-Americans has lasted five centuries and Indians have been able to survive (Josephy, 1982). They have been able to observe and preserve their cultural identity in a white-dominated world. The author would like to voice their concern to the American public. An author writes a book to raise the consciousness of the American public. Weyler(1982) "Blood of the Land: The Government and Corporate War against the American Indian Movement" is a troubling analysis of Indian-White relations. The author argues that governments and corporal entities have the right to damage the lives of Indians. The book informs the injustice done to the Indians where the author says that the crimes against the Indians are not a regrettable history but a continuing cultural genocide of the Indian people. The author makes serious allegations against American and Canadian governments, police forces, blackmail, destruction of property, falsification of evidence, vigilantes for murder, illegal surveillance, perjury, obstruction of justice, and blackmail. AIM founded in 1968 shared a vision of a better way of life for the populace. Their first organization based in Minneapolis helped drunk and desperate Indians to find meaning in their lives and identify their Indian heritage. The movement grew rapidly in America and Canada and had differences from other contemporary movements such as the black movement and the anti- Vietnam War protests.AIM stood as an indigenous land-based spiritual movement that beckoned the Indians to return to their sacred traditions while standing firm on White dominance and civilization. The movement served as a threat to the American government due to the vast Indian land that had disputed titles. The Second Wounded Knee and its aftermath is a period in the 70s when the FBI and other government agents hound members of American Indian Movement (AIM) that attempt to resist energy development projects. The trial of the Wounded Knee leaders ended in dismissal where the author describes the arrest of 1200 AIM members to indicate government refusal to apply the law and ensure justice (Welver, 1982). After the Wounded Knee, the influence of AIM had value in the Southwest when massive energy developments started pushing the rural Indian population toward a labor-money economy to swallow the grazing and the farmland. The murder of two FBI South Dakota agents triggers the American government to search for suspects among the Indians. According to Welyer (1982) the trials of Wounded Knee appear lame in comparison to the Indians killed that end with the AIM leader jailed, dead, or driven underground. In the latter part of the 1970s AIM grew in support due to worldwide publicity and public sympathy as the FBI continued with its campaign to neutralize Indian resistance (Welver, 1982). New leaders emerged to replace the original leaders and began to participate in global activities to pre grievances of the Indians to form the Fourth World. The Third World governments were oriented toward energy-intensive industries where the Americans could not listen to the spirituality of Indians (Welver, 1982). Blood of Land mingles a New Age view of the First Nations spirituality and the fascination with AIM activists in making its case (Welver, 1982). The book depicts political unwillingness to respond to the concerns of the Indians and improve the life of First Nations. Cornell (1988) traces the rise of present-day Indian political success in a self-motivated historical study to depict their relationship with Americans. The author analyzes the political situation of Indian to depict gains and losses received. Cornell examines the pattern of economic and political relationships between American Indians and the rest of the American society from the sixteenth century to the present (Cornell, 1988). The book describes historical eras and events of the American Indian society. Two major themes captured include the development of the policy of the United States toward American Indians and the response of American Indians to those policies (Cornell, 1988). The history of the White-Indian relations falls into several periods such as market period, conflict period, reservation period, reorganization period, termination period, and self-determination period. The author concerns on the development of the federal policy and its relationship between the federal government and Indians. Cornell addresses the early success of American Indians while dealing with British and French to protect the interests of the group. The author examines the underlying causes of wane phenomenon in three parts namely, "Into the Dark," "The Foundations of Political Resurgence," and "The return of the Native." The author explores the histories of Indian groups and Euro-American tribes and the element of dynamism that engulf them (Cornell, 1988). Social disruptions and absentee policies affect the Indian groups and their lives. In addition to that, Indianization and detribalization take the center stage on the group to develop their consciousness where they transform to a political power. Prucha(1985) in his book, "The Indians in American Society: From the Revolutionary War to the Present" is the depiction of the relationship between American Indian communities and the United States government. The author presents a succinct overview of United States policies to illustrate how they shape individuals attitude to mirror their benevolence and right motives. The policy makers and Indian people work in the opposite direction (Prucha, 1985). The book depicts most American policies since the Revolutionary War. The author adopts a strong organizing principle in the selection of the complex history. The author adopts a paternalism, Indian rights, self-determination, and the dependency theme. Prucha argues that government officials operate in a different way to develop policies they thought as the best interests of Indian tribes (Prucha, 1985). The Indians began depending on the government once America destroyed their cultural way of life since treaties foster their dependency to provide rations, reservations of land, and annuities to replace their traditional lifestyles. The paternalism and dependency themes detail American relations with Indians to about 1920 (Prucha, 1985). America assumes a paternalistic attitude towards the aboriginal in the nation. Paternalism justifies Indian dependency to produce technology, settlement in the New World, and European trade. The themes of Indian Rights and Self-Determination examine sixty years since 1920 (Prucha, 1985). Prucha cities of a new attitude toward the Indians that base on the insights of modern social science and the acceptance of the doctrine of cultural pluralism. The new concepts lead to defenses of the Indian rights where they call for tribal self-determination. Government assistance in the 70s helped foster self-determination of the Indian communities. The absence of resources to provide self-sufficiency due to continuance dependency on the federal government saw the return of paternalism in Indian relations (Prucha, 1985). According to Prucha, government was benevolent towards the Indians; they came dependent on the government, and they have chosen that until today. At the onset, the author emphasizes the benevolence, as Indians remain paranoid in their sense of dependency. The authors of Like a Hurricane depict the American Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee (Smith, 2010). The authors represent veteran that take up accomplishments of the American Indian Movement with gusto. Smith (2010) informs that several hundred people belonging to American Indian Movement confront authorities in Gordon, Nebraska in 1972. The police neglect prosecuting torture-murderers as the crowd demands trial (Smith, 2010). Guilty parties are the first whites to go to prison for killing Indians. That event was a crucial win for the Native American activists as the American Indian Movement hails them as heroes. According to the author, the American Indian Movement consisted of a small group of insurgents that had significance in American politics in a short period. The government stopped their activities using false imprisonment, disinformation, bogus trials, assassinations, and mass arrests (Smith, 2010). The authors show several streams of activism that include founding of the National Indian Youth council in the 60s as the fishing-right struggles in the Pacific Northwest (Smith, 2010). The occupation of Alcatraz Island gives the AIM operation a boost. The authors trace some of the events that make AIM a force to reckon with as they withstood their destruction efforts. For instance, a series of sensational demonstrations such as anti-birthday atop Mount Rushmore on Fourth July to seize a replica of Mayflower and the painting Plymouth Rock Red on Thanksgiving that depict serious future repercussions. Johansen (2013) depicts the events that precede Wounded Knee occupation; AIM acquired through the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC). AIM uses the international platform to argue for the rights of the indigenous people (Johansen, 2013). IITC achieves consultative status as Jimmie Durham organizes summer for the Indians in Geneva to initiate a working relation between the Indians and United Nations working group. The Indian group in Geneva has a forum to complain against abuses and issues of human rights to the indigenous people (Johansen, 2013). After the reign of terror, preceding Trail of Broken Treaties and the occupation of Wounded Knee, Russell returns home and enrolls Oglala Lakota. Wilson opposes AIM vehemently such as the use of goons to trail and assassinate some of the members at Pine Ridge. In the later years, AIM declined in both leadership, momentum since it holds its last unified event in 1978, and the following year the organization was dismantled as a national organization. After the acquittal of Russell and Banks, they went in separate ways (Johansen, 2013). Dennis founded the Sacred Run to devote spiritual renewal and environmental issues. Russell campaigned for the governor in New Mexico running on an independent party ticket. Congress deliberated on the American Indian Religious Freedom Act designed to review and update federal policies concerning matters such as Native American rights to access the sacred grounds and the legal rights to practice traditional religions. In 1990, Congress deliberated on the Native American graves protection and repatriation act. In the same year, United States Supreme Court reiterated that AIFRA was a policy statement and not a law, and for that reason, there is no legal right to protect the sacred sites. New sacred land protection legislation introduced in 2002 is still pending in courts. The movement has existed for more than 500 years. The contemporary leaders always pay tribute to the contribution of those that started the movement. The movement has been able to male laudable strides to transform the Indian communities through policies that are in line with spirituality connectedness. References Cornell, S. (1988). The Return of the Native: American Indian Political Resurgence. New York: Oxford University Press. Johansen, B. E. (2013). Encyclopedia of the American Indian Movement. Santa Barbara: Greenwood. Josephy, A. M. (1982). Now That the Buffalos Gone: A Study of Todays American Indians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Prucha, F.P. (1985). The Indians in American Society: From the Revolutionary War to the Present. Berkeley: U of California P. Smith, P.C. (2010). Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee. ReadHowYouWant.com, Limited. Weyler, R. (1982). Blood of the Land: The Government and Corporate War Against the American Indian Movement. New York: Everest House. Read More