American Indian Movement and Activism

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  Sample Resolution on Transfer of Powers to Puerto Rico

  Puerto Rico Solidarity Committee

  This two-page typed document is a sample resolution on the Transfer of Powers to Puerto Rico. The document outlines the United Nations resolution of August 15, 1979 that calls for decolonization of non self-governing territories and calls on the United States Congress to enact legislation to transfer power to the people of Puerto Rico. It also lists chapters and contact information for the Puerto Rico Solidarity Committee.

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  Letter From William and Russell Means to John Lewis, October 15, 1979

  Russell Means and William A. Means

  This typed letter to associate director of ACTION John Lewis from Bill and Russell Means, on behalf of the International Indian Treaty Council, requests the sponsorship of twenty VISTA positions to address health concerns and alcoholism among the Navajo and Lakota Nations. It notes that Wally Feather may be able to provide additional information about this program.

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  International Indian Treaty Council News Release, October 12, 1979

  International Indian Treaty Council

  This press release from the International Indian Treaty Council provides a brief history of the founding and function of the Council and its recognition by the United Nations. It discusses how Indigenous people must turn to the international community for political support to help address grievances and lists the plights of oppressed people around the world, including South America, Norway and Palestine.

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  Letter from the League for Human Rights and Freedoms, October 1, 1979

  Tapio Varis

  This October 1st, 1979 letter from the Chairman of the League for Human Rights and Freedoms, Tapio Varis, provides a history of the League and its goals, which are to cooperate with other nations in the fight against oppression, racism, apartheid and genocide. The letter outlines its methods for distributing information and asks like-minded organizations to share their strategies in the promotion of basic human rights.

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  Statement from the U.S. People's Delegation to the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries, August 14, 1979

  United States People's Delegation

  This typed nine-page document contains a statement from the U.S. People's Delegation presented at a session of the Decolonization Committee of the United Nations. The statement describes the history of the United States' exploitation of Puerto Rico and the methods it has used to make Puerto Rico completely dependent on the United States for survival. It urges support for measures that would grant power to the Puerto Rican people to determine their own future and provides a list of people and organizations who endorse the statement.

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  Native Women’s March Position Paper to the Government of Canada, July 20, 1979

  Tobique First Nation Women

  This ten-page typed Position Paper to the Government of Canada was presented by a group of Tobique First Nation women who organized a march from the Oka Reserve in Quebec to Ottawa. The paper lists many problems and recommendations for solutions to issues facing indigenous women and children including housing and health. Criticisms of the amendment to the Indian Act of 1951 also focus on the retention of Indian status and rights which are often unknowingly given up by women.

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  A Fight Back Position Paper on Racism and Nuclear Technology: Interrelated Threats to Humanity

  Fight Back

  This 5-page photocopied paper examines how uranium mining and the development of nuclear technology is impacting Native American communities. It claims that capitalism and racism continue to dehumanize the population of the United States and suggests that an educational and political campaign is needed to combat racism and unite workers.

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  Rosebud Sioux Tribe Resolution No. 79-36

  Edward Driving Hawk and John King Jr.

  This typed two-page Rosebud Sioux Tribe resolution from 1979 outlines the history of governmental administration of the Tribe and its territorial boundaries in South Dakota. It alleges that Indian voting rights, as established in Little Thunder v. the State of South Dakota, are being undermined. The resolution demands that the United States Department of Justice and the Bureau of Indian Affairs investigate these matters.

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  Founding Declaration of the League for Human Rights and Freedoms

  League for Human Rights and Freedoms

  This typed two-page document, circa 1979, contains the Founding Declaration of the League for Human Rights and Freedoms based in Finland. It discusses the historical development of the recognition of basic human rights by organizations such as the United Nations and defines crimes against humanity that require intervention. It calls for cooperation with other countries striving for the same goals.

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  Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of the Lake Traverse Reservation Tribal Council Resolution No. 78-74

  Clayton Adams and Jerry Flute

  This original three-page typed document introduces Tribal Council Resolution 78-74 of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of the Lake Traverse Reservation and charges that the Sisseton Independent School District is failing to properly educate Indian children due to prejudicial issues. It supports the Reservation Education Board in its decision to request assistance and support from the National Advisory Council on Indian Education and the National Congress of American Indians.

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  Testimony of Jill Raymond Before the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Practices and Procedures, August 24, 1978

  Jill Raymond

  This 15-page typed document is the witness testimony of Jill Raymond, who spoke at a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Practices and Procedures on August 24, 1978. Raymond provides a history of harassment and threats by the FBI for refusing to provide information about the whereabouts of fugitives Katherine Ann Power and Susan Saxe in 1975. She details her subsequent incarceration, without evidence, by a grand jury and the conditions in Kentucky prisons where she was held and abused. The testimony reveals how she was targeted by the FBI for her participation in socialist and feminist causes as a college student.

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  Save the River: Stop Winter Navigation on the St. Lawrence

  Save the River Committee

  This eight-page pamphlet, titled "Save the River: Stop Winter Navigation on the St. Lawrence" was prepared by the Save the River Committee in 1978. It outlines the plans of the Seaway Development Corporation to allow winter traffic on the river between Morristown, New York and Cardinal, Ontario and discusses the potential negative environmental impacts of these plans as well as damage to tourism in the region.

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  Affirmation of Sovereignty of the Indigenous People of the Western Hemisphere: The Longest Walk Manifesto

  International Indian Treaty Conference

  This 26-page typed document is billed as The Longest Walk Manifesto and was presented to the United States Congress on July 22, 1978. It recounts centuries of injustices brought against Native Americans, including treaty violations, forced relocations, sterilization and genocide. It calls for the release of political prisoners, the return of sacred objects stolen from graves, the restoration of stolen lands and war reparations. The document includes an addenda adopted by three indigenous nations as well as a statement from native women. It also contains a "Manifesto from the Algonquin Nation."

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  Letter Regarding Judge William Webster, January 26, 1978

  Kenneth E. Tilsen

  This three-page typed letter was written by attorney Kenneth E. Tilsen on January 26, 1978 regarding the nomination of Judge William Webster as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The letter provides a history of Judge Webster's past rulings involving civil rights cases of Indian people in the Dakotas, including Wounded Knee Legal Defense Committee v. FBI, Russell Means v. Dick Wilson and United States v. Dodge. Tilsen warns that Webster is unwilling to curb FBI abuses and fails to recognize First Amendment freedoms.

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  "We Do It All For You": Carter’s Energy Plan, the Energy Corporations and Indians

  Winona LaDuke

  This typed and annotated paper, circa 1978, by activist Winona LaDuke Westigard describes how President Carter's National Energy Plan calls for an increase in nuclear-generated electricity and how this will affect Native American lands and people. It discusses practices by energy corporations, including Mobil and Exxon, that have negatively impacted tribes such as the Navajo Nation.

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  October 12, Columbus Day, is Declared a Day of International Solidarity with American Indians

  International Indian Treaty Council and Native American Solidarity Commitee

  This one-page news report encourages the international community to support the Geneva Resolution to recognize Columbus Day as the International Day of Solidarity with American Indians. It also discusses important issues facing Native people in the United States such as treaty rights, resource protection, genocide and repression.

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  Law Enforcement in the United States and its Relationship to the American Indian

  Native American Solidarity Committee

  This 25-page typed document was prepared for the American Indian Movement by the Native American Solidarity Committee, circa 1977. The report begins by citing statistics of poor health and living conditions as well as unemployment on Indian reservations and the exploitation of native peoples and resources by large energy companies. It details the annihilation of Indian culture in public schools and provides examples of vigilante violence against Indians. The report then provides a history of acts of resistance by the American Indian Movement culminating in the events of Wounded Knee. It lists many further activist encounters with law enforcement and FBI agents including events at the Pine Ridge Reservation.

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  Declaration of Principles for the Defense of the Indigenous Nations and Peoples of the Western Hemisphere

  NGO Conference Participants

  This two-page typed Declaration of Principles for the Defense of the Indigenous Nations and Peoples of the Western Hemisphere was drafted at an international Non-Governmental Organizations Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1977. It addresses the following principles: Recognition of Indigenous Nations, Subjects of International Law, Guarantee of Rights, Accordance of Independence, Treaties and Agreements, Abrogation of Treaties and Other Rights, Jurisdiction, Claims to Territory, Settlement of Disputes, National and Cultural Integrity, Environmental Protection, and Indigenous Membership.

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  All-African Peoples Revolutionary Party Educational Brochure Number One

  All-African People's Revolutionary Party

  This four-page typed document, billed as an "educational brochure," is titled: "Israel Commits Mass Murder of Palestinian and African Peoples; Zionism is Racism ... It Must be Destroyed." Printed and distributed in 1977 by the All-African People's Revolutionary Party, this document defines Zionism, discusses the creation of Israel and recounts atrocities committed against the Palestinian people. It describes connections between Israel, the United States and South Africa and calls for an anti-Zionist movement to help Palestinian and Arab people regain their land and build better lives for these people as well as African, Native American and other oppressed peoples.

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  Hopi Prophecy: Gather With Us in Spiritual Unity

  Thomas Banyacya

  This article, from an unknown newsletter or periodical published in Fall 1976, presents the first portion of a speech delivered by Hopi spokesman Thomas Banyacya at the United Nations' Habitat Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1976. The speech outlines the history of the Hopi prophecy concerning destructive forces being wrought against Mother Earth and attempts to deliver this warning message to the world.

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  Preamble to the Declaration of Continuing Independence

  International Indian Treaty Council

  This typed page, dated June 8, 1974, contains the preamble to the Declaration of Continuing Independence adopted by the first International Indian Treaty Council held at the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. Organized by the American Indian Movement, the conference represented ninety-seven tribes.

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  Letter from Carlos Fonseca to Indian Brothers of the United States, January 30, 1973

  Carlos Fonseca

  This typed letter (in Spanish with an English transcription) is addressed to the Indian Brothers of the United States from Carlos Fonseca, Secretary General of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). It discusses the history of United States imperialism and intervention in Nicaragua as well as prominent figures in the fight against this aggression. Fonseca seeks solidarity with the American Indian Movement.