P
objections, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers be-
gins work on the dam, which leads to the flooding
of more than 10,000 acres of land on the tribe’s
lands in Pennsylvania and New York State. Al-
though the United States pays the Seneca $15
million in compensation, the destruction of the
land is a disaster for the tribe. Some 130 families
have to leave their homes—a forced relocation
that many elders describe as a “trail of tears.” The
dam also destroys the Cold Spring Longhouse, the
Seneca’s spiritual center, and floods the grave site
of the 18th-century Seneca leader Cornplanter
(see entry for 1790) (the grave itself is moved to a
new cemetery).
October 14
Lakota Sioux Billy Mills wins an Olympic
Gold Medal.
Billy Mills, a Lakota Sioux from South Dakota’s
Pine Ridge Reservation, was a track star at the
Haskell Institute and the University of Kansas.
While serving as an officer in the marines, he is
selected to represent the United States in the
10,000-meter run in the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo. In an upset victory, Mills beats the fa-
vored runners in the race. In addition to winning
the gold medal, he sets an Olympic record in the
event.
1965The Supreme Court challenges states’ rights
to collect taxes on reservations.
In Warren Trading Post Co. v. Arizona Tax Com-
mission, the non-Indian owner of a reservation
trading post challenges Arizona’s attempts to
collect taxes on purchases made by his Indian cus-
tomers. The Supreme Court finds that the state’s
actions violate Congress’s right to regulate Indian
commerce on reservations. It rules that reserva-
tion trading posts can collect sales tax only from
non-Indians.
SeptemberTaos leaders reject $10 million settlement
offer for Blue Lake.
In 1906 the federal government confiscated 48,000
acres surrounding Blue Lake in northwestern New
Mexico and made it part of the Kit Carson Na-
tional Forest. The Taos Indians, to whom the Blue
Lake area is sacred, have spent decades trying to re-
cover the land. After hearing their case, the Indian
Claims Commission (see entry for AUGUST 12,
1946) offers the Taos 3,000 acres and $10 million
in compensation. Taos leaders, however, refuse to
take the settlement and vow to continue to fight for
the return of the lake and all 48,000 acres.“We don’t have gold temples
in this lake, but we have a sign
of a living God to whom we
pray—the living trees, the ev-
ergreen and spruce and the
beautiful flowers and the beau-
tiful rocks and the lake itself....
We are taking that water to
give us strength so we can gain
in knowledge and wisdom....
That is the reason this Blue
Lake is so important to us.”
—Taos spokesperson at a 1961
Association on American Indian
Affairs meeting1966The Indian Actors’ Workshop is founded.
A longtime critic of stereotyped Indian characters in
film, Jay Silverheels (see entry for JULY 12, 1979),
the Mohawk actor best known for portraying Tonto
on the Lone Ranger television series, establishes the