The American Indian Movement (AIM), founded in 1968, was an activist Indian group concerned with the civil rights of Native Americans.
Founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Eddie Benton Banai, and George Mitchell, AIM’s original purpose was to help Native Americans deal with discriminatory practices of and harassment by the police in the arrest of Indians in the urban ghettos of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. AIM gave expression to the anger and agitation building up in Native Americans over centuries of mistreatment by the government. In a time when there existed many groups clamoring for social change, AIM embodied the Native American battle cry of “Red Power.”
Although primarily an urban phenomenon, the appeal of this social movement spread quickly and as a result, chapters formed all over the United States. AIM also became involved in tribal affairs on Indian reservations, established “survival schools” in urban areas, and sponsored international conferences on several Lakota Sioux reservations, resulting in the 1977 International Treaty Conferences with the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
AIM first turned its attentions to aiding Native Americans living in urban ghettos, who faced problems as a result of the Termination policy of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration, which led to urban relocation in the 1950s. Many Indian people found themselves facing poor housing conditions, including overcrowding, high rents, discrimination in the renting process, and a sense of displacement. AIM sought to foster a feeling of community and tradition in these urban areas and provide protection and support
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