National Indian Youth Council
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The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) is the second oldest American Indian organization in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with a membership of more than 15,000.National Indian Youth Council, Inc.
"NIYC History"
Retrieved on 2009-09-30.
It was the first independent native student organization, and one of the first native organizations to use
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
protests as a means to pursue its goals. During the 1960s, NIYC acted primarily as a civil rights organization. It was very active in the movement to preserve tribal fishing rights in the Northwest. In the 1970s NIYC focused on environmental concerns and aided tribes suffering from the adverse effects of contamination from
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
strip mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...
and
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. The NIYC seeks to improve public education and job training for Native Americans, educate the general public about their issues, promote
religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...
, and increase political participation.Utter, Jack (2001). ''American Indians: History to Today's Questions'' (Second ed.), p.335. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. . The Preamble to the NIYC's Constitution and Statement of Purpose reads:


History

The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) was established in 1961 by young American Indians who were either in college or had recently graduated. The NIYC is a result of youths dissenting from tribal leaders, which began during the American Indian Chicago Conference in 1961, where several young American Indians, a handful of who had become acquainted while participating in the Southwest Regional Indian Youth Council, became disillusioned with the tribal leaders. 53-54. After listening to the ideas presented by the conservative faction of the conference, the youth began to express dissenting opinions. This group, including
Clyde Warrior Clyde Merton Warrior (1939–1968) was a Native American activist and leader, orator and one of the founders of the National Indian Youth Council. He participated in the March on Washington and the War on Poverty in the 1960s and was a charismatic ...
(Ponca) and
Mel Thom Melvin Thom (born July 28, 1938) was born on the Walker River Paiute reservation in Schurz, Nevada.Shreve, Bradley Glenn. "Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the Origins of Intertribal Activism." p.159 Diss. U of Mexico, 2007. ...
(Walker River Paiute), temporarily called themselves the Chicago Conference Youth Council. 57. Later in the year, after that summer's Workshop on American Indian Affairs had ended, the group that had joined together as the Chicago Conference Youth Council met in Gallup,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. It was there that the National Indian Youth Council was established. The NIYC is the second oldest national Indian organization and was influenced and aligned with the
Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
. Other members of the NIYC included Robert V. Dumont Jr. and Faith Smith, who were involved in political action and post-secondary education. While working at the Chicago
American Indian Center The American Indian Center (AIC) of Chicago is the oldest urban Native Americans in the United States, American Indian center in the United States. It provides social services, youth and senior programs, cultural learning, and meeting opportunitie ...
(AIC), they helped form the
Native American Committee The Native American Committee (NAC) was an educational group in Chicago, Illinois, that created life-long learning programs and institutions for Native Americans. It was most notable for founding the Native American Educational Services College, ...
(NAC). In the 1970s, the NAC would found the Little Big Horn School in 1971 in cooperation with
Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools (CPS), officially classified as City of Chicago School District #299 for funding and districting reasons, in Chicago, Illinois, is the third-largest school district in the United States, after New York and Los Angeles. ...
to address the needs of Native American high school students in the city, and then in 1973 the O-Wai-Ya-Wa program for elementary-level students. In 1974, Smith, Dumont, the NAC, and others founded the Native American Educational Services College (NAES College), the first urban institution of higher learning managed by and serving Native Americans. Smith served as president of the college until 2004.


Goals

The goal of NIYC is to protect Indian treaty, hunting, and fishing rights. Mel Thom developed the following creed from which many ideas were drawn and used in the preamble of the NIYC's constitution: After the founding of the NIYC, the group decided to take the fight for Native American rights in a new direction and use
direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
to solve problems. Direct actions included
fish-in The Fish Wars were a series of civil disobedience protests in the 1960s and '70s in which Native American tribes around the Puget Sound pressured the U.S. government to recognize fishing rights granted by the Treaty of Medicine Creek. A series o ...
s and protest marches. This inspired other organizations to do the same, such as the
American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...
. 2


Publications

In 1963, NIYC began publishing a monthly newsletter titled ''ABC: Americans Before Columbus.'' This was the first publication of the Red Power movement. The newsletter was one of the leading expressions of radical Indian thought. By 1962, over 180 tribal councils had subscribed.


Red Power era


Fish-Ins

As soon as settlers began arriving to the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
area, they began to challenge Indian tribes over fishing. During the 1800s, numerous regional tribes ceded quantities of land to the federal government and moved to reservations, but their treaties protected traditional fishing and hunting, both in terms of access to territories and in the means used. The
Muckleshoot The Muckleshoot ( lut, bəqəlšuł ) are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe, part of the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest. They are descendants of the Duwamish and Puyallup peoples whose traditional territory was located a ...
, Puyallup, Nisqually, and other tribes of the Pacific Northwest signed the Treaty of Point Elliot and the Treaty of Medicine Creek related to these issues.Shreve, Bradley Glenn. "Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the Origins of Intertribal Activism." Diss. U of Mexico, 2007. But, after WWII, residents of the area began to realize that pollution, logging, and the increasing population were negatively affecting the
salmon run ''Salmon Run'' is a 1982 video game for the Atari 8-bit family created by Bill Williams and distributed via the Atari Program Exchange. ''Salmon Run'' was the first game in Williams's career, followed by a string of successes noted for their o ...
s. Conservation measures soon began, but the tribes wanted to maintain their fishing habits, which had not changed for generations. Sports and commercial fishermen thought the tribes should have to follow the same state laws and regulations as they did. The Washington State Sportsman's Council sided with the white fishers and supported the conservation effort. The first arrest occurred in 1954.
Robert Satiacum Robert "Bob" Satiacum (1929–March 25, 1991) was a Puyallup tribal leader and an advocate of native treaty fishing rights in the United States. He was convicted in 1982 of attempted murder, embezzlement of tribal funds, and other charges but fle ...
was arrested for gillnetting without a license and out of season. The case continued up to Washington's Supreme Court. It was eventually dropped, but had a lasting effect. the decision by lower courts suggested that the State had the jurisdiction to regulate Indian fishing. The conflict continued for the next few years and began to gather more publicity in 1964. In February, tribal leaders met with members of the NCAI and the NIYC. They decided to take action to protect treaty rights. ''How'' to protest became a topic of contention, because many feared their cause would become linked with the American Indian civil rights movement, which was occurring at the same time. Mel Thom said, " is is an Indian treaty, not a civil rights issue". The NIYC and others felt that if their issue were equated with racial issues it would affect the outcome. The American Indian problem was a century's old battle of tribes with power related to their relations with the federal government, and they wanted it to remain within those terms. Many of the tribes in Washington gave their support to the cause, as did some
Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...
from Florida, Winnebago from Nebraska,
Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...
from Montana,
Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
from Wyoming, and
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
(Lakota) from the Dakotas. Prominent American actor
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...
joined the
fish-in The Fish Wars were a series of civil disobedience protests in the 1960s and '70s in which Native American tribes around the Puget Sound pressured the U.S. government to recognize fishing rights granted by the Treaty of Medicine Creek. A series o ...
and was arrested on March 2, 1964, during a NIYC fish-in on the
Puyallup River The Puyallup River ( ) is a river in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. About long, it is formed by glaciers on the west side of Mount Rainier. It flows generally northwest, emptying into Commencement Bay, part of Puget Sound. The ...
. Episcopal minister John Yaryan from
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
was also arrested. These demonstrations were called "fish-ins" for publicity purposes; the activists believed that the world would better understand the protests after seeing the connection to the
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
s carried out by young blacks in the South in order to get service at lunch counters. On March 3, 1964, a NIYC-planned protest occurred in
Olympia The name Olympia may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games * ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. Somewhere between 1,500 and 5,000 people attended, making it the largest intertribal protest to date. Traditional dances were performed on the steps of the state capitol, organizers gave speeches, and in front of the governor's mansion, one group held a war dance.
Clyde Warrior Clyde Merton Warrior (1939–1968) was a Native American activist and leader, orator and one of the founders of the National Indian Youth Council. He participated in the March on Washington and the War on Poverty in the 1960s and was a charismatic ...
declared that the fish-in protesting was establishing "the beginning of a new era in the history of American Indians". In the end, the fish-ins of March 1964 did not bring about immediate change, but they attracted members of more than 45 tribes, helping build a pan-Native American movement. Many of NIYC's members called them the "greatest Indian victory of modern day". The fish-ins continued well into the late 1960s. Finally, in 1974, the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
closed ''United States v. Washington'' to further review. The decision mandated that the treaty Indians had the right to catch 50% of Washington's harvestable fish.


Poor People's Campaign

The NIYC was involved with African-American civil rights organizations in the
Poor People's Campaign The Poor People's Campaign, or Poor People's March on Washington, was a 1968 effort to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States. It was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCL ...
during the late 1960s in Washington, D.C. In 1967,
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
and leaders of the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...
(SCLC) began to plan a mass demonstration of poor people to converge on the nation's capital to raise awareness of the need for jobs, housing, and medical care.Cobb, Daniel M.(2008). ''Native Activism In Cold War America: The Struggle for Sovereignty'', University Press of Kansas, Kansas. . Members from the
National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is an American Indian and Alaska Native rights organization. It was founded in 1944 to represent the tribes and resist federal government pressure for termination of tribal rights and assimilati ...
(NCAI), the NIYC, and other Native organizations met with King in March 1968. The NCAI and NIYC disagreed on how to approach the anti-poverty campaign; the NCAI decided against participating in the march. The NCAI wished to pursue their battles in the courts and with Congress, unlike the NIYC, which was ready to demonstrate. The poor from all over the United States descended on Washington, D.C., in early May. More than 2,000 demonstrators were transported by car, bus, and train to Resurrection City, a shantytown in
West Potomac Park West Potomac Park is a U.S. national park in Washington, D.C., adjacent to the National Mall. It includes the parkland that extends south of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, from the Lincoln Memorial to the grounds of the Washington Monum ...
. Over 200 Native people were involved. The following is an excerpt from a statement made by
Mel Thom Melvin Thom (born July 28, 1938) was born on the Walker River Paiute reservation in Schurz, Nevada.Shreve, Bradley Glenn. "Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the Origins of Intertribal Activism." p.159 Diss. U of Mexico, 2007. ...
on May 1, 1968, during a meeting with Secretary of State
Dean Rusk David Dean Rusk (February 9, 1909December 20, 1994) was the United States Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969 under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, the second-longest serving Secretary of State after Cordell Hull from the F ...
: (It was written by members of the Workshop on American Indian Affairs and the NIYC)


Trail of Broken Treaties

NIYC was one of several organizations that participated in the cross-country
Trail of Broken Treaties The Trail of Broken Treaties (also known as the Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan and the Pan American Native Quest for Justice) was a 1972 cross-country caravan of American Indian and First Nations organizations that started on the West Coast of ...
Caravan, which was organized by the
American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...
(AIM). The Trail of Broken Treaties occurred from November 3 until November 9, 1972. It started as a caravan of cars from various reservations in the United States intending to reach Washington, D.C. It ended with a week-long occupation of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
section of the Department of Interior headquarters. The goal of the Trail of Broken Treaties was to gain positive media attention to build support for tribal sovereignty and self-determination. It was one of the first times that American Indians united together.


See also

*
Native American Pan-Indian Organizations and Efforts Pan-Indianism is a philosophical and political approach promoting unity, and to some extent cultural homogenization, among different Indigenous groups in the Americas regardless of tribal distinctions and cultural differences. This approach to ...
*
Red Power Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...
*
Urban Indian Urban Indians are American Indians and Canadian First Nations peoples who live in urban areas. Urban Indians represent a growing proportion of the Native population in the United States. The National Urban Indian Family Coalition (NUIFC) consid ...
*
Native American civil rights Native American civil rights are the civil rights of Native Americans in the United States. Native Americans are citizens of their respective Native nations as well as the United States, and those nations are characterized under United State ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Native American rights organizations Youth organizations established in 1961