The Seneca begin a campaign to stop work by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Kinzua Dam.
First proposed in 1908, the dam is intended to control flooding along the Ohio and Allegheny Rivers, but its reservoir would flood two Seneca reservations, one in Pennsylvania and one in New York, forcing the relocation of some 130 tribe members. The dam would also destroy the Cold Spring Long-house, the Seneca’s spiritual center, and flood the cemetery where 18th-century Seneca leader Corn-planter is buried.
In the media and the courts, the Seneca claim that building the dam is a direct violation of the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, which gave the Iroquois possession of the lands that would be damaged by the redirected waters. The tribe also hires engineers to find an alternate site where the dam could more effectively control flooding without threatening the Seneca’s reservations. Ignoring their efforts, the U. S. government will move ahead with the dam’s construction (see entry for OCTOBER 1964).
“I would like to point out that the 1794 Treaty was signed by the Seneca Nation,... [which] remains today exactly what it was 165 years ago—in the words of the court. . . a ‘quasi-sovereign independent nation.' . . . I know it will sound simple and perhaps silly but the truth of the matter is that my people really believe that George Washington read the 1794Treaty before he signed it, and that he meant exactly what he wrote.”
—Seneca Nation president George D. Heron, speaking out against the Kinzua Dam project before the House Subcommittee on Indian Affairs in 1960
Mungo Martin creates a totem pole for the British Columbia centennial.
Kwakiutl artist Mungo Martin is honored by Queen Elizabeth of England with a commission to create 100-foot totem pole for Windsor Great Park as part of British Columbia’s centennial celebration. Despite the Canadian government’s ban on the potlatch ceremony (see entry for APRIL 19, 1884), Martin has devoted his life to making ceremonial carvings that, in large measure, have been responsible for keeping the Kwakiutl’s artistic traditions alive.
The Tuscarora fight to prevent the New York State Power Authority from seizing their land.
To the ire of the Tuscarora, the New York State Power Authority announces a plan to locate a reservoir on a large portion of their land near Niagara Falls. The Tuscarora Tribal Council rejects an offer of monetary compensation, maintaining that the land is more important to them than money. The council decides to take its case to court (see entry for MARCH 7, 1960).
Tuscarora activists William Rickard, John Hewitt, and Wallace “Mad Bear” Anderson erect a sign protesting the New York State Power Authority’s plan to build a reservoir on tribal lands. (Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society)
Kiowa veterans revive the Black Legs warrior society.
A group of Kiowa veterans of World War II and the Korean War meet in Carnegie, Oklahoma, to reform the Black Legs warrior society. Traditionally, membership in warrior societies had given Kiowa men special prestige in their society. The revived society is open only to men who have been in the armed services. Their female relatives, however, participate in the biannual ceremonies by performing the Scalp Dance, a ritual that welcomes warriors back into the community after they return from battle.
Thirty-six California Indian groups agree to Termination.
With the passage of the Rancheria Act, the Indians living on 41 small California reservations known as rancherias are targeted for Termination (see entry for AUGUST 1, 1953). The act provides that ran-cheria residents must vote on whether or not to be terminated. To persuade the Indians to accept Termination, federal officials visit the rancherias and promote the policy, often with exaggerated claims of its benefits. Largely because of their efforts, 36 groups vote in favor of Termination. In the years to come, their loss of Indian status will irrevocably damage their social and cultural unity. In addition, it will cause more than 5,000 acres of Indian lands to pass into non-Indian hands.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs promotes Indian adoptions.
In cooperation with the Child Welfare League of America, the Bureau of Indian Affairs launches a campaign to encourage white families to adopt Indian children. During the next 10 years, the agency will place in non-Indian homes approximately 400 children, sometimes without their relatives’ consent or full understanding of legal adoption.
The Navajo (Dineh) and Hopi are given permission to sue one another.
For the first time in American history, two Indian groups—the Navajo (Dineh) and the Hopi—ask Congress for permission to sue one another in federal court. The dispute between the tribes revolves around an area of land on the Hopi Indian Reservation that is occupied by Navajo families (see entry for DECEMBER 16, 1882). Congress approves their request and assigns the case, Healing v. Jones (see entry for 1962), to a three-judge district court.
January 18
The Lumbee Indians break up a Ku Klux Klan rally.
To intimidate the Lumbee of Robeson County in North Carolina, the Ku Klux Klan schedule a nighttime rally in a field on Lumbee lands. The rally is likely a response to rumors of a romantic relationship between an Indian woman and a white man, which the KKK perceives as a threat to the informal segregation of Robeson County’s Indian, white, and African-American populations.
As some 75 Klansmen gather, they are approached by more than 300 Lumbee, some armed with rifles. One Lumbee shoots out a lightbulb strung over the field, prompting others to fire their guns in the air. Outnumbered and terrified, the Klansmen frantically flee the scene, as Indians try to shoot out the tires of their cars. No one is injured in the melee, although two members of the Klan are later prosecuted for inciting a riot. Their action is reported throughout the nation, and the Lumbee are hailed in Indian Country for their successful resistance against racist oppressors.
World History
