The 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act and the 1975 Native American Self-Determination
1) What did the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act and the 1975 Native American Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Acts entail? How do both of these acts build off of and/or differ from the previous Termination and Relocation policies we learned about?
2) What does the term “self-determination” mean? Why might it be an important term to Native American tribes/nations based on the history we’ve learned so far?
3) According to the PowerPoint lecture, our readings and video on AIM, how exactly did the American Indian Movement emerge?
4) What is the historical significance/symbolism of the location in which the Occupation of Alcatraz took place? What were the goals of the Occupation of Alcatraz?
5) What was the “Trail of Broken Treaties”? What happened during the occupation, and what demands were made? How did the occupation conclude?
6) According to the documentary, what historical events led up to the Occupation of Wounded Knee? What is the historical significance/symbolism of the location in which the Occupation of Wounded Knee took place?
7) According to the article, why is Occupy Wounded Knee considered a “forgotten Civil Rights movement”?
8) Lastly, please share your thoughts and reactions to both this week’s and last week’s discussions on the Occupations of Alcatraz and Wounded Knee, and the American Indian Civil Rights movement overall.
Sample Solution
The 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act and the 1975 Native American Self-Determination
After suffering many years of genocidal levels or eradication, Native American citizens had largely been relegated to tribal lands where the United States Constitution did not apply. The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 granted Native American citizens, for the first time, full access to the United States Bill of rights. This guaranteed them the right to freedom of religion, the right of habeas corpus – or justification of lawful imprisonment, and the right to a trial by jury, among others. In 1975 (after the era of termination policies in the 1950s), after much debate, Congress passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistant Act (ISDEAA). The ISDEAA authorized the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and some other government agencies to enter into contracts with, and make grants directly to, federally recognized Indian tribes.
