The struggle of Native Americans for their rights

Abstract or Introduction

The struggle of Native Americans for their rights
Already by the time the first Europeans arrived in the “New World”, related and unrelated Native American families had joined in groups in order to survive in often harsh environmental conditions. (Fixico 1998: 58). One of the best known examples of this form of cooperation is the Iroquois League. At the end of World War II, when
“people were too preoccupied with the war” (Olsen 1984: 157), the first national organization of Native Americans, the National Congress of American Indians, was founded to “prevent any shift back towards assimilation” (Olsen 1984: 157). This was the first of many organizations devoted to the struggle for Native American rights, such as the Native American Youth Council, the American Indian Civil Rights Council, and, most importantly, the American Indian Movement. These groups have slowly adapted the measures and practices of mainstream America (Fixico 1998: 190), i.e. they use courts as a platform, they employ attorneys, and so on. Moreover, they have
the media attract public attention for them. Therefore, the struggle for Native American rights is an old struggle in new shape, which provides a strong connection with the past. In the following essay, I will summarize some of the most important rights American Indians struggle for today.