Immediate Impacts: Red Power Movement

In October of 1972, the American Indian Movement (AIM) organized a nationwide protest attended by hundreds of Native Americans, converging in Washington DC, to present a 20 point position paper outlining their demands.

"The U.S. President should propose by executive message, and the Congress should consider and enact legislation, to repeal the provision in the 1871 Indian Appropriations Act which withdrew federal recognition from Indian Tribes and Nations as political entities, which could be contracted by treaties with the United States, in order that the President may resume the exercise of his full constitutional authority for acting in the matters of Indian Affairs - and in order that Indian Nations may represent their own interests in the manner and method envisioned and provided in the Federal Constitution."
~ First point in the 20 Point Position Paper

Upon arrival in Washington DC the Indians took over the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) headquarters for six days, but ultimately the government would not negotiate nor address their demands for restoration of their land and sovereignty. ​​​​​​​

1973: Wounded Knee Incident

"The 1973 conflict at Wounded Knee involved a dispute within Pine Ridge’s Oglala Lakota Tribe over the controversial tribal chairman Richard Wilson. Wilson was viewed as a corrupt puppet of the BIA by some segments of the tribe, including those associated with the American Indian Movement. An effort to impeach Wilson resulted in a division of the tribe into opposing camps that eventually armed themselves and entered into a two-and-a-half month conflict that involved tribal police and government; AIM; reservation residents; federal law enforcement officials; local citizens; nationally prominent entertainment figures; national philanthropic, religious, and legal organizations; and the national news media. When the siege ended on May 9, 1973, two Indians were dead and an unknown number on both sides were wounded, including casualties among federal government forces."
~ Alvin M. Josephy, Joane Nagel, and Troy Johnson, editors, Red Power: The American Indians’ Fight for Freedom 

Though these protests were not entirely successful, they spotlighted Indian issues that began with the arrival of the settlers. The Red Power Movement resulted in legislation supporting Indian self-determination and sovereignty. It also promoted cultural pride.