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"Longest Walk"
Several hundred American Indian activists and supporters march for five months from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., to protest threats to tribal lands and water rights. The "Walk" was intended to symbolize the forced removal of American Indians from their homelands and to draw attention to the continuing problems of Indian people and their communities. -
The Indian Child Welfare Act
The Indian Child Welfare Act is a federal law that seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families. Congress passed ICWA in response to the high number of Indian children being removed from their homes by both public and private agencies. -
Indian Health Care Improvement Act reauthorized
Congress reauthorizes the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, specifying the types of services for which the Indian Health Service can receive congressional appropriations. -
Maine Indians settle land claims against U.S.
President Jimmy Carter signs the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. Maine tribes, including the Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Penobscot, receive an out-of-court settlement of $81.5 million in reparation for land taken from tribes. -
Native Hawaiian language preschool acts like ‘family’
Native Hawaiians establish the first Pūnana Leo (language nest) immersion preschool to help preserve their language. Many of the parents learn their Native language for the first time and practice with their children at home -
Alaska Native students get local schools
Alaska Native students go to court to force Alaska to open 105 high schools in Alaska Native villages. -
Legislation provides for drug abuse treatment, prevention.
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act provides for the treatment and prevention of alcohol and substance abuse by young American Indians and Alaska Natives. Tribes and Indian-run treatment programs may apply for funding. -
Indian Health Service runs 45 hospitals, 65 health centers
The Indian Health Service is responsible for the health care of approximately 937,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives. It operates 45 hospitals with a total of nearly 2,000 beds, 65 health centers, and many field clinics throughout the nation. American Indians and Alaska Natives also operate 6 hospitals and numerous clinics through a federally funded tribal program under the Indian Self-Determination Act. -
Tribes open casinos; Congress steps in to regulate.
As American Indian tribes begin opening casinos, Congress passes the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, requiring tribes operating gaming establishments to negotiate compacts with states, through which the tribes are often required to contribute a share of their revenues to pay for hospitals, police services, and fire protection in surrounding communities. -
Congress acts to promote, preserve Native languages
The U.S. Congress, which once tried to suppress and eradicate American Indian languages, reverses course by passing the Native American Languages Act. The legislation, which establishes a grant program, recognizes that these languages are unique and that the U.S. has a responsibility to work with tribes to recover the languages that are rapidly disappearing. -
Native woman diagnosed with HIV becomes educator.
Lisa Tiger, Muscogee Creek/Seminole/Cherokee, is diagnosed with HIV. She traces the infection to a boyfriend whom she dated in 1988. She begins speaking and publishing about HIV/AIDS in American Indian communities across the U.S. -
City of Bethel, Alaska, bans alcohol.
Bethel, Alaska, a city whose residents are mainly Yup’iks and Alaska Natives, closes the city-run liquor store because of rising rates of alcoholism and related social problems. The store was opened decades earliers to fund social services. The city also bans consumption of alcohol in Bethel.
