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Five Sioux Indians
First landing at Alcatraz. Five Sioux Indians claim the island under the Fort Laramie 1868 Sioux Treaty enabling Sioux Indians to take possession of surplus federal land. They occupy Alcatraz for four hours, calling for the island's transformation into a cultural center and an Indian university. -
Senator George McGovern
Senator George McGovern introduces a resolution highlighting increased desire of Indian people to participate in decisions concerning their people and property. -
United Native Americans Promotes Self - Determination
United Native Americans (UNA), a pan-Indian organization, is founded in the San Francisco Bay Area to promote self-determination through Indian control of Indian affairs at every level. -
American Indian Movement in Minneapolis
American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded in Minneapolis to protect the city's Native community from police abuse and to create job training and housing and education programs. -
Mohawk Indians form a blockade at the Cornwall International Bridge
Mohawk Indians form a blockade at the Cornwall International Bridge between the U.S. and Canada in protest of the U.S. restricting Native peoples' free movement between the two countries. Many protesters are arrested but the Canadian government dismisses the charges. -
merican Indian Center Burns Down
American Indian Center in San Francisco burns down. It had been a meeting place that served 30,000 Indian people with social programs. The loss of the center focuses Indian attention on taking over Alcatraz for use as a new facility. -
Richard Oakes Occupies Alcatraz Island
Mohawk Indian Richard Oakes leads an attempt to occupy Alcatraz Island twice in one day. Fourteen Native Americans stay overnight and leave peacefully the following morning. -
American Indian Occupation Begins
American Indians again landed on Alcatraz--despite an attempted Coast Guard blockade. The 79 Indians included including students, married couples and six children which included actor Benjaman Bratt and his siblings. -
AIM Joins the Occupation
Members of the American Indian Movement, led by AIM co-founder Dennis Banks (Leech Lake Ojibwe), arrive at Alcatraz. After about two weeks, they return to Minneapolis bringing new ideas about confrontational activism and land seizure as a tool to confront the federal government's Indian policies. -
President Nixon Ends A Policy
President Richard Nixon formally ends the termination policies established in the 1950s and announces a new policy of "self-determination without termination." The administration introduces 22 legislative proposals supporting Indian self-rule. -
Governor Reagan Announces $50,000 Grant
California governor Ronald Reagan announces a $50,000 planning grant to the Bay Area Native American Council for programs addressing the needs of urban Indians in the San Francisco Bay Area. -
AIM Paints Plymouth Rock
American Indian Movement (AIM) paints Plymouth Rock red and occupies the Mayflower replica on Thanksgiving Day. -
Alaska Native Claims Movement
After an 11-year effort, Alaska Native Claims Movement negotiates a large land claims settlement giving Alaska Natives 44 million acres of land and $962.5 million. This act becomes a model for struggling indigenous movements around the world. -
Occupation Ends
The 15 remaining Alcatraz occupiers are escorted off the island by U.S. marshals and FBI agents, officially ending the 19-month, nine-day long occupation. -
AIM's 4th of July
AIM stages a Fourth of July counter-celebration by occupying the Mount Rushmore National Monument.