Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the Origins of Native Activism

Description

During the 1960s, American Indian youth were swept up in a movement called Red Power—a civil rights struggle fueled by intertribal activism. While some define the movement as militant and others see it as peaceful, there is one common assumption about its history: Red Power began with the Indian takeover of Alcatraz in 1969. Or did it? In this groundbreaking book, Bradley G. Shreve sets the record straight by tracing the origins of Red Power further back in time: to the student activism of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), founded in Gallup, New Mexico, in 1961. Unlike other 1960s and ’70s activist groups that challenged the fundamental beliefs of their predecessors, the students who established the NIYC were determined to uphold the cultures and ideals of their elders, building on a tradition of pan-Indian organization dating back to the early twentieth century. Their cornerstone principles of tribal sovereignty, self determination, treaty rights, and cultural preservation helped ensure their survival, for in contrast to other activist groups that came and went, the NIYC is still in operation today. But Shreve also shows that the NIYC was very much a product of 1960s idealistic ferment and its leaders learned tactics from other contemporary leftist movements. By uncovering the origins of Red Power, Shreve writes an important new chapter in the history of American Indian activism. And by revealing the ideology and accomplishments of the NIYC, he ties the Red Power Movement to the larger struggle for human rights that continues to this day both in the United States and across the globe. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations Foreword Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. "Freedom for our People": Foundations of a Movement Chapter 2. "We Are Born at a Time When the Indian People Need Us": The Regional Indian Youth Council Chapter 3. "Nationalism Is a Journey, A Journey from Fear into Hope": The Workshop on American Indian Affairs Chapter 4. "We Believe in a Future with High Principles Derived from the Values and Beliefs of Our Ancestors": The Founding of the National Indian Youth Council Chaptger 5. "The Time Comes When We Must Take Action!": The Fish-in Campaign and the Rise of Intertribal Direct Action Chapter 6. "We Cannot Be Afraid of Power; We Must Use It": The Growth of Red Power Militancy Chapter 7. "Slug Them in the Mouth or Shoot Them": Reform, Revolt, and Reorganization in the NIYC Chapter 8. "The National Indian Youth Council Is a Process, Not an Event": Continuity and Transformation in the 1970s and Beyond Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index