Indigenous Resistance, 1960s to 2007

KNOW YOUR HISTORY!

Indigenous Resistance, 1960s to 2007

Originally published in Warrior magazine, Issue One, Spring/Summer 2006 (Warrior Publications), updated online in 2007

By 1890, Native armed resistance to European colonization in N. America had ended. That year, some 300 unarmed Lakota men, women & children were massacred at Wounded Knee, S. Dakota. At this time, virtually all Native peoples were confined to reservations, where systematic assimilation was applied (the church, residential schools, band councils, etc.).

From this period until the 1950s, Native peoples were largely pacified & controlled. Their protests consisted of lobbying the government for better treatment. These were most often led by chiefs & councilors, whose careers were based on government salaries & maintaining the colonial system itself.

Then, in the 1950s, inspired by the Black Civil Rights struggle in the southern US, Natives also began organizing for civil & treaty rights. In the southwest, Native students began organizing. In the Northwest, coastal Natives began asserting their treaty rights to fish.

This movement was the first to occur outside the ‘official’ band & tribal council system set up by both US & Canadian governments. This early movement established a grassroots network of Natives opposed to colonization & committed to maintaining traditional Native culture & values. This network formed the basis for the next phase of resistance: the 1960s.

The 1960s was marked by global rebellion, inspired by the fierce resistance of the Vietnamese people to US invasion & occupation. Within the US itself, new social movements emerged, including the Black Panthers, Chicano, women’s, students, and anti-war. It is from this period that the current Indigenous resistance movement emerged. This last 35-year period therefore forms an important part of our history as a movement.

1968

The American Indian Movement is formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Modeled after the Black Panthers, AIM establishes a community center, provides help in finding work, housing or legal aid, organizes protests, and conducts a patrol to monitor police conduct. Although the most well known, AIM was just one part of a broad Native resistance movement that emerged at this time (sometimes referred to as Red Power).

At Kahnawake, a Mohawk Singing Society is formed, which would later become the Mohawk Warrior Society. They begin to take part in protests & re-occupations of land. As well, a protest & blockade of the Seaway International Bridge (demanding recognition of Jay Treaty), at Akwesasne, ends with police attack & arrests of scores of Mohawks.

1969

Occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. The action would last 19 months and be the first Native protest to receive national & international media coverage. Thousands of Natives participate, mostly urbanized & searching for identity. Alcatraz serves to inspire Natives across N. America, and many more occupations of land begin at this time.

1970

AIM protest & disruption against re-enactment of Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, gains national attention & helps AIM to expand.

1971

COINTEL-PRO: In Pennsylvania, unknown persons break into FBI office & take files revealing Counter-Intelligence Program of surveillance & repression against social movements in US. Program includes imprisonment, assaults and lethal force. By 1973, AIM would become primary target of FBI COINTEL-PRO.

1972

AIM & other native groups organize the Trail of Broken Treaties, a caravan from the west coast to Washington, DC. When the caravan of several thousand arrives in Washington, officials refuse to meet. The Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters is occupied for 6 days, with extensive damage and thousands of files taken.

Raymond Yellow Thunder is killed by settlers in Gordon, Nebraska, in February. His killers are charged with manslaughter & released without bail. AIM organizes several days of protests & boycotts, & succeeds in having murder charges laid and the police chief fired. Yellow Thunder is from Pine Ridge, and this incident helps build a stronger relationship between AIM & traditional Lakotas on the reserve (urban-rural).

1973

Wesley Bad Heart Bull is killed by a racist settler in S. Dakota. Police charge the killer with manslaughter. On February 6, an AIM protest at Custer, SD, courthouse erupts into riot. Police cars & buildings are set on fire, with 30 people arrested.

On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in S. Dakota, large numbers of police & US Marshals are deployed to counter AIM & Lakotas opposed to a corrupt tribal president, Dick Wilson. With government funding, Wilson established a paramilitary force known as the GOONs (Guardians of the Oglala Nation).

From 1973-76, some 69 members or associates of AIM were killed by GOONs, BIA police & FBI agents on Pine Ridge.

Angered at the ongoing repression & violence, some 200 AIM & Lakota warriors begin occupation of Wounded Knee on February 27, a 71-day siege during which two Natives were shot & killed (Buddy Lamont & Frank Clearwater). The siege ends on May 9.

At Kahnawake in September, Warrior Society evicts non-Natives from over-crowded reserve. This leads to armed confrontation with Quebec police in October. Warriors begin to search for land to re-possess.

1974

The occupation of Ganienkeh in New York state begins, when Mohawks (along with veterans of Wounded Knee ’73) retake land & engage in armed standoff with state police. Eventually, negotiations result in Mohawks taking a parcel of land in upstate NY (in 1977). Ganienkeh continues to exist today.

In Canada, the Native People’s Caravan (Sept. 14-30), modeled after Trail of Broken Treaties, heads from Vancouver, BC to Ottawa, Ontario. Ends with riot police attacking 1,000 Natives at Parliament Buildings.

Armed roadblocks & occupations also occur at Cache Creek, BC, and Kenora, Ontario.

1975

Oglala Shootout. At Oglala, on the Pine Ridge reservation, a botched FBI raid on AIM camp ends with 2 agents killed along with 1 Native defender (Joe Stuntz-Killsright). FBI launch massive hunt for AIM suspects.

1976

In February, the body of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, a Mik’maq from Nova Scotia, Canada, is found on Pine Ridge. Aquash was one of the most well known female members of AIM, a veteran of the BIA occupation & Wounded Knee. Despite an initial cover-up by the FBI, an independent autopsy finds that Aquash had been executed with a bullet in the back of the head. The FBI or GOONs are primary suspects.

Two suspects in FBI deaths (Dino Butler & Bob Robideau) are found not guilty on grounds of self-defense. A third suspect, Leonard Peltier, is captured in Canada. Using false evidence, the FBI have Peltier extradited to S. Dakota.

1977

The trial of Leonard Peltier ends with his conviction & imprisonment for 2 life terms, based on FBI fabrication & withholding of evidence. Peltier remains in prison to this day, one of the longest held Prisoners of War in the US.

1981

On June 11, some 550 Quebec Provincial Police raid Restigouche, a Mik’maq reserve of 1,700. Riot police carry out assaults & search homes for evidence of ‘illegal’ fishing.

1988

Over 200 Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including riot & Emergency Response Teams, raid Mohawk territory of Kahnawake, searching for illegal cigarettes. Warriors seize the Mercier Bridge, a vital commuter link into Montreal.

In northern Alberta, the Lubicon Cree begin road-blocks against logging & oil companies devastating their territory & way of life. A logging camp & vehicles are damaged by Molotov attacks.

In Labrador, Innu begin protesting NATO fighter-bomber training at Canadian military base. Many Innu are arrested during blockades of aircraft runway.

1990

Oka Crisis. Over 100 heavily-armed Quebec police raid a Mohawk blockade at Kanesatake/Oka on June 11. In an initial fire-fight, one cop is shot & killed. A 77-day armed standoff begins, involving 2,000 police and 4,500 Canadian soldiers, deployed against both Kanesatake & Kahnawake. The Oka Crisis inspires solidarity actions across country, including road & rail blockades & sabotage of bridges & electrical pylons.

1992

During protests against the 500-year anniversary of Columbus’ invasion of the Americas in October, dozens are arrested in Denver, Colorado. In San Francisco, riot cops fight running battles with protesters, who set 1 police car on fire & disrupt an official Columbus Day parade & re-enactment of his landing.

1994

Zapatista Rebellion. In Chiapas, Mexico, armed rebels of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation launch their New Year’s Day offensive, capturing 6 towns & cities. Comprised of Indigenous peoples, the EZLN declare war on the Mexican state and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In response, the government deploys 15,000 soldiers & kill several hundred civilians in attacks. Since 1994, the Zapatistas have continued to gain widespread support & sympathy throughout Mexico & internationally.

1995

At Ipperwash, Ontario, an unarmed protest & re-occupation ends with police opening fire and killing Dudley George, on September 6. The re-occupation had begun in 1993. The land, originally the Stoney Point reserve, was taken by the government during WW2 for use as a temporary army base. After the killing of Dudley George, the government admitted the peoples claims were justified.

A month-long siege occurs at Gustafsen Lake in south-central Interior of BC, after a settler attempts to evict Secwepemc sundancers. Some 450 heavily-armed RCMP ERT, with armoured personnel carriers from the Canadian military, surround the rebel camp.

1997

A Vancouver chapter of Native Youth Movement is established. It is inspired by the year-long trial of Gustafsen Lake defenders, held near Vancouver. NYM begins attending conferences, organizing protests, distributing information, etc. In April, NYM carries out 2-day occupation of BC Treaty Commission offices.

1998

NYM Vancouver carries out 5-day occupation of BCTC offices in April, and a 2-day occupation of Westbank band offices in Okanagan territory (both actions against treaty process).

1999

NYM Vancouver helps members of Cheam band, located near Chilliwack BC, assert their right to fish on Fraser River. NYM warriors wear masks & camouflage uniforms. They also carry batons to deter Fisheries officers, who routinely harass Cheam fishers. As a result of this, an NYM security force is formed, which would later become the Westcoast Warrior Society.

2000

In May, members of the St’at’imc nation establish Sutikalh camp near Mt. Currie, BC, to stop a massive ski resort in an untouched alpine mountain area.

At Burnt Church, New Brunswick, Mi’kmaq fishermen assert their treaty right to lobster fish (in September & October) and are met with repression from hundreds of police & fisheries officers. Members of Westcoast Warrior Society participate in defensive operations.

In October, Secwepemc establish first Skwelkwekwelt Protection Center to stop expansion of Sun Peaks ski resort, near Kamloops, BC. Over the years, some 70 people are arrested & charged as a result of protests, roadblocks & re-occupation camps.

2001

In May, a Secwepemc NYM chapter is established. A 2-day occupation of government office in Kamloops occurs to protest selling of Native land.

In July, over 60 RCMP with ERT raid Sutikalh after a 10-day blockade of all commercial trucking on Highway 97. Seven persons are arrested.

2002

In December, Anicinabe in the northern Ontario community of Grassy Narrows begin blockading logging companies from destroying their traditional territory. The blockade becomes one of the longest in recent history, continuing through to 2006, directed primarily against Weyerhaeuser and Abitibi corporations.

In September, RCMP, including Emergency Response Teams and Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET), raid homes of West Coast Warrior Society on Vancouver Island, allegedly searching for weapons.

2003

In April, homes of NYM members are raided in Bella Coola & Neskonlith by RCMP including ERT. Police take computers, address books & propaganda.

2004

In January, Mohawk warriors surround Kanesatake police station after band chief brings in outside police forces to crackdown on political opposition. Over 60 police are barricaded inside station. Chief’s house & car are burned.

In June, RCMP INSET, along with Vancouver police ERT, arrest members of West Coast Warriors Society making legal purchase of firearms. Rifles & ammunition are seized. Shortly after, the WCWS is disbanded by its members, citing police repression.

2005

In January, members of the Tahltan in northern ‘British Columbia’ occupy band office in Telegraph Creek in opposition to band’s involvement with mining & oil & gas corporations. In July they begin blockading roads being used by construction machinery, and in September fifteen Tahltans including elders are arrested by RCMP. The Tahltan continue their campaign, including blockades, through 2006 and 2007.

2006

On April 20, over 150 Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) attempt to forcibly remove a blockade at the Six Nations reserve territory near Caledonia, in southern Ontario. They violently arrest 16 Natives, using physical assaults, pepper spray & tasers. The OPP are forced to withdraw, however, as hundreds of Six Nations members converge on the site. More blockades are erected in the area, including on Highway 6, consisting of burning tires, vehicles and dismantled electrical pylons, and mounds of gravel. A train bridge is also burned down. The next day on the Tyendinaga reserve, a Canadian National Railway line is blocked, cutting off a major freight & passenger line (costing CN over $100 million a day in lost cargo shipments). The Six Nations members originally began their blockade to stop a housing development on land they claim belongs to them. The blockades and land reclamation continue for over a year, with numerous conflicts with settlers and police occurring, as well as sabotage.

In July, Grassy Narrows Anicinabe protesters, along with members of the Rainforest action Network, blockade Trans-Canada Highway. Several persons are arrested.

2007

On March 6, a massive Olympic flag that flew at Vancouver City Hall is stolen just as a delegation from the International Olympic Committee arrives to inspect preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics. A few days later, as the IOC tour ended, the Native Warrior Society released a communiqué claiming responsibility for taking the flag, including a photograph of three masked members standing in front of the Olympic flag and holding a Warrior flag. The group claims the action in honour of Harriet Nahanee, a Native elder who passed away after being sentenced to two weeks imprisonment for taking part in a 2006 blockade of construction on the Sea-to-Sky highway in preparation for 2010.

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