The American Indian Movement jolted ahead in its actions after approaching the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington DC in 1972-3. This decided ended up resulting in a competition at Wounded Knee, South Dakota on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. This movement was started by Dennis Banks in the late 1960s (1968) and the group was meant to bring awareness to the very issues concerning the Native American population in the United States of America. It is known that American Indians do not have it "so well," and when I was younger, my family and I would go to a Cherokee reservation in NC to see one of my dad's friends who participates in all of their activities put on once a year as a celebration. This is as far as my knowledge of the subject really was until I began to research a little more for this assignment in particular.
AIM has participated and facilitated several protests asking for cultural renewal, an organized job office and heightened police activity in the area.
This movement is definitely one that many people are not actively aware of, and I see this on campus and in social situations all the time. The different Native American Indian's diverse backgrounds are what make their political opportunity structure very dynamic. There are national awareness groups and initiatives, there are some college programs and there are media outlets; all of which are very effective in my opinion, and their lack of extensive internet focused work give them an authenticity that not all other groups at the Kiosks in the JC can offer.
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