1952 - Relocation

Indian commissioner Glenn L. Emmons started the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) relocation program in 1948. Migration to urban areas became a general trend in the post World War II years. By 1953 placements had reached 2600, and they peaked in 1957 with 6964. By 1960 a total of 33,466 Indians had been relocated.

Government relocation started as a part of Navajo-Hopi rehabilitation in 1948 when the BIA recruited Navajo and Hopi men for agricultural and railroad work. Soon they demanded better jobs, so the BIA established job placement offices in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles. The Navajo relocation program began on a small scale but quickly gathered momentum.

By 1950 the BIA had extended relocation services to other Indian tribes. Congress soon expanded the program by appropriating funds for additional offices. In 1951 there were Field Relocation Offices in Denver, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Offices were later added in other cities, including Oakland, San Jose, San Francisco, Dallas, Cleveland, and St. Louis.

The BIA relocation program originally provided transportation, job placement, subsistence funds until the first paycheck, and counseling. In 1956 Public Law 959 added vocational training to the program. Participants, mostly between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five, received two years of benefits for either on-the-job experience or vocational classes. Typically, Indians working in factories on the reservation received apprenticeship provisions, and relocated individuals received vocational training. The 1956 legislation also increased counseling services.

The BIA relocation program was controversial. Some believed that industrial jobs freed Indians from BIA control, exposed them to improved education, and provided a means to end Indian poverty. Others believed that the program forced Indians to leave reservations without improving living conditions or the quality of job training.

The BIA relocation program continued until at least 1979.

Indian Reloacation Program established for all Indians. This program was part of the termination program initiated by the federal government. The government sought to end the reservation system and in preparation, relocated Indian families to urban areas.

1953 - Termination

Termination

'Indian' policy made another abrupt change in policy during the 1950's. Congress adopted a new policy called termination, through the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution Number 108.. This policy terminated federal benefits and support services to certain 'Indian' Tribes, and forced the dissolution of the reservation lands once held by these terminated 'Indian' tribes. Accompanying the termination policy was Public Law 83-280, which further reduced federal responsibility by conferring certain designated states full criminal and some civil jurisdiction over Indian reservation affairs. State governments resented tribal sovereignty, attempting through repeated Supreme Court appeals to allow state control over Indian resources and the people. These responsibilities were given to the states through PL 83-280.

Resolution 108 terminated at the earlist possible time for all Indians, meaning Congress will no longer recognize individuals as Indians and will remove all Indian rights and benefits.

1953 - Sitting Bull's bones stolen

1953
The bones of Sitting Bull were allegedly stolen from a grave at Fort Yates and reburied near Mobridge, South Dakota.

1959 - Opposition to Missouri Dam

1959 Opposition to Missouri Dam sites
Standing Rock Natives oppose land-takings and destruction of river habitat

1965 - Sundance

1965 SunDances appear in public
underground spiritual ceremonies actively practiced in cultural restoration

1969 - Indians of All Tribes occupy Alcatraz

1969 - Beginning in November, a small group of Native Americans called the Indians of All Tribes occupy Alcatraz Island for two years to create a greater awareness of the deplorable circumstances of Indians in the U.S. The island of Alcatraz was the site of a military prison from 1863 to 1933, and a federal prison from 1934 to 1963.

1968 - Indian Civil Rights Act

The United State Government finally passed a Civil Rights Act for American Indians.1968 - Title II of the Civil Rights Act gives full civil rights to individuals living under tribal law. It effectively reversed the 1896 Supreme Court decision, which declared that individuals living under tribal governments were not protected by the Bill of Rights. The American Indian Movement (AIM) is founded in Minneapolis to address the needs of Native peoples, renew tribal spirituality, and reverse destructive governmental policies.

1968 - The American Indian Movement founded

The American Indian Movement was founded.

1969 - Alcatraz

1969 ('64) Alcatraz occupied (1868 treaty) combined Natives fight for rights

1972 - Standing Rock College

The Standing Rock College was established at Fort Yates.

1974 - Wounded Knee Cases

1974 U.S. v. Con. Wounded Knee Cases 39 more Indian input with U.S. justice

1973 to 1976 - Wounded Knee II

1973-76 - AIM supporters occupy Wounded Knee in 1973, demanding a congressional investigation of Native American problems. Federal officers are sent in, and during the ensuing gunfights, two Indians are killed and several people on both sides are injured. In the three years following The Second Siege of Wounded Knee, 61 AIM supporters are killed on or near the Pine Ridge Reservation, despite ongoing FBI investigations. In a controversial ruling, Leonard Peltier is convicted and imprisoned for the 1975 killing of two FBI agents.

1974 - New Mayor of Fort Yates

April 7, 1974, the first mayor of Fort yates was elected Judge William Gipp.