rise in the official Indian population (reported as
1.9 million in the 1990 census).
March 7
The Tuscarora lose their lawsuit against the
New York State Power Authority.
The Tuscarora tribe’s legal case against the New York
State Power Authority (see entry for 1958), which is
attempting to seize a large portion of their land to
build a reservoir, goes before the Supreme Court. In
a split decision, the Court rules against the Tuscarora.
The ruling is an enormous blow to the tribe, which
staged many highly publicized protests while the case
was in the courts. Although their fight ends in defeat,
their protests will inspire other Indian groups to use
the media to bring attention to their own causes.
1961May 1
The Menominee tribe is terminated.
The Menominee of Wisconsin lose their Indian
status when they are terminated by the U.S. govern-
ment (see entry for AUGUST 1, 1953). In the years
since 1954, when the Menominee were first targeted
for Termination, the some $10 million the tribe held
in the U.S. Treasury is largely depleted by the costs
of implementing the policy. As their once-prosper-
ous reservation is dissolved, Wisconsin officials
declare that the new Menominee County formed
from tribal lands is “an instant pocket of poverty.”
June 13 to 20
The American Indian Chicago Conference
ushers in a new era of Indian activism.
In a week-long conference, 500 representatives
from 90 Indian communities come together at the
University of Chicago to develop a plan for mak-
ing their voices heard in the formulation of Indian
policy. The largest multitribal gathering in decades,
the success of the Chicago conference will encour-
age Indian groups to work together to solve their
common problems.
The conference was first conceived by Sol Tax,
chairman of the Department of Anthropology at
the University of Chicago, and his assistant Nancy
Lurie. With the heavy involvement of the National
Congress of American Indians (see entry for NO-
VEMBER 1944), Tax coordinated many preliminary
meetings to define a program for Indian affairs that
would serve the needs and address the concerns of
both reservation and urban Indians.“When Indians speak of the con-
tinent they yielded, they are not
referring only to the loss of some
millions of acres in real estate.
They have in mind that the land
supported a universe of things
they valued, and loved. With that
continent gone, except for the
parcels they will retain, the basis
of life is precariously held, but
they mean to hold the scraps
and parcels as earnestly as any
small nation of ethnic groups
was ever determined to hold to
identity and survival.”
—from the Declaration of Indian
Purpose, issued at the American
Indian Chicago ConferenceThese ideas are incorporated into the Declara-
tion of Indian Purpose, which the delegates to the
meeting approve. The declaration calls for an end
to the Termination policy (see entry for AUGUST 1,
1953), which it condemns as “the greatest threat
to Indian survival since the military campaigns of
the 1800s.” It also demands improved education
and health services, greater economic development
of Indian communities, increased tribal control ofP