Native American Protest
Of The 1960's and 1970's
Native Americans Facing Poverty
Native Americans were affected extremely by poverty, they were barefoot most of the time. Their income was less than half of a white man's. Most did not have homes, so they decided to occupy the abandoned federal prison, Alcatraz .The occupiers held the island for nearly eighteen months, from Nov. 20, 1969, until June 11, 1971, reclaiming it as Indian land and demanding fairness and respect for Indian peoples. More than 5,600 American Indians joined the occupation-some for all eighteen months and some for just part of a day. American Indians, like many people of color in that era, were fed up with the status quo. The annual household income of an American Indian family was $1,500-one-fourth the national average. Their life expectancy was 44 when other Americans could expect to reach 65.
Wounded Knee Of 1973
The Wounded Knee occupation began on February 27, 1973 when about 200 Oglala Lakota and followers of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized and occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation. They protested because of the failure to impeach the tribal president; Richard Wilson. they accused him of corruption and abuse of opponents, they also protested the U.S.A.'s failure to fulfill treaties with the Indian people and wanted the treaties re-opened
Land
Native American leaders worked to renew tribal land through methods of lawsuits and political lobbying. In 1970, Native Americans in New Mexico gained 48,000 acres of sacred land. Natives in Maine also received $81.5 million plus the right to buy up to 300,000 acres of land.