Indian Self-Determination and Self-Governance Era 1968-present
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1968
Mohawk of Akwesasne Reserve block international bridge between Canada and the U.S
The Mohawk launch a protest to draw attention to the U.S. violation of the Jay...Read More
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1968
American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded in Minneapolis
AIM activism initially starts as a group of Native urban women leaders fighting against police...Read More
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1968
Indian Adoption Project is folded into the Adoption Resource Exchange of North America (ARENA)
This is a Child Welfare League of America coordinated effort to adopt out Native children...Read More
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1969
Federal government acknowledges fishing rights
In Sohappy v. Smith, the federal government acknowledges the right of several tribes of Native...Read More
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1970
President Nixon formally brings termination policy to an end
President Nixon launches a new policy of Indian self-determination and also signs a bill returning...Read More
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1971
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Alaska Natives organize the Arctic Slope Native Association to contest in a legal suit that...Read More
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1971
Hopi religious leaders sue to stop strip mining
More than 62 Hopi spiritual leaders sue to stop strip mining on the Hopi reservation,...Read More
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1971
Five Tribes of Oklahoma win the right to elect their own chiefs
For the first time since 1902, the Five “Civilized” Tribes win the right to elect...Read More
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1972
AIM Trail of Broken Treaties caravan occupies BIA office
AIM members travel to Washington, D.C. to highlight the trail of broken treaties. They occupy...Read More
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1973
AIM and occupation of Wounded Knee
Over 200 AIM protestors congregate at the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre site to provide support...Read More
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1973-1976
U.S. government forcibly sterilizes Indian women
Between 1973 and 1976, 4 of the 12 Indian Health Service regions sterilize 3,406 American...Read More
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1974
Congress passes Hopi Land Settlement Act, forcing relocation of over 12,000 Dine’
The Act calls for relocation of more than 12,000 Dine’ who live on or near...Read More
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1975
Congress enacts Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act
It establishes a legal framework for tribes to exercise their right to govern and protect...Read More
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1978
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
Congress passes the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, returning basic civil liberties to Native Americans,...Read More
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1978
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
Congress passes the ICWA to protect tribes and children due to the high rate of...Read More
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1979
Largest nuclear accident in U.S. on Navajo (Dine’) reservation in Church Rock, New Mexico
More than 1,100 tons of uranium waste gushes through a ruptured tailings mill dam, releasing...Read More
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1979
Dine’ uranium miners and families bear disproportionate rate of lung cancer
Prior to WWII, there had been no lung cancer among Dine’. However, the mining sites...Read More
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1982
Supreme Court supports inherent power under tribal sovereignty
In Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, the Supreme Court holds that an Indian tribe has...Read More
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1983
Supreme Court holds U.S. accountable in breaches of federal trust
In U.S. v. Mitchell (463 US 206), the Supreme Court holds that the U.S. is...Read More
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1985
Supreme Court rules that Klamath treaty is not intended to survive
The Supreme Court determines in Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife v. Klamath Tribe that...Read More
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1988
Termination resolution of 1953 officially repealed by Congress
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1988
Aleut Restitution Act
Also known as the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Restitution Act, this act of Congress is...Read More
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1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
Congress passes a bill to balance the interests of tribal sovereignty and states and requires...Read More
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1989
Tribal court has jurisdiction over state court in child welfare cases
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians v. Holyfield is a case in which the U.S. Supreme...Read More
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1990
Supreme Court rules that Native American Church practices can be outlawed
In Employment Division v. Smith, the Supreme Court rules that states can outlaw religious practices...Read More
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1990
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
NAGPRA is a federal law that “requires federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding...Read More
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1990
Native American Languages Act
The Act repudiates past policies of prohibiting and eradicating Indian languages and declares that Natives...Read More
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1993
Supreme Court holds that Congress abrogated hunting and fishing treaty rights
In South Dakota v. Bourland, the Supreme Court affirms the treaty rights of the Cheyenne...Read More
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1996
Dine’ traditional activists win suit against multinational energy company and owner of Peabody Coal Company
The Dine’ Alliance, a group of 500 Dine’ traditionalists from Black Mesa, petitions the government...Read More
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1996
$2.4 billion in tribal trust funds missing
The Native American Rights Fund files a class action lawsuit against the Secretary of the...Read More