Chronology of American Indian History

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June 25

The Canadian government issues the White
Paper on Indian Affairs.
Canadian minister of Indian affairs Jean Chrétien re-
leases a report titled “Statement of the Government
of Canada on Indian Policy, 1969,” which will later
be known simply as the White Paper. The report
announces the government’s intention to pursue a
policy similar to Termination, the largely discred-
ited Indian policy that was dominant in the United
States during the 1950s (see entry for AUGUST 1,
1953). According to the White Paper, Canada plans
to eliminate the special status of all Native groups
within its borders. Reserves are to be broken into
individually owned plots, the Indian Act (see entry
for APRIL 12, 1876) is to be repealed, and the Min-
istry of Indian Affairs is to be disbanded.
The Natives of Canada respond to the White
Paper with shock, then anger. Their determination
to keep the government from disregarding their
unique status and rights ushers in a new era of Na-
tive activism.

“We view this as a policy

designed to divest us of our ab-

original, residual, and statutory

rights. If we accept this policy,

and in the process lose our

rights and our lands, we become

willing partners in cultural geno-

cide. This we cannot do.”

—the National Indian

Brotherhood, in response

to the White Paper

August 26

The Quinault close beaches to non-Indians.
Living on the Pacific coast of Washington State, the
small Quinault tribe refuses to allow non-Indians

to visit their reservation beaches. The Quinault

maintain that non-Indian vacationers have stolen

fishing equipment from them and littered the area.

Later in the year, the tribe will again exercise their

sovereignty by blocking construction on a state road

through the reservation after Washington refuses to

grant them the right to control access to the road.

September 6

The Fairchild Semiconductor Factory opens

on the Navajo (Dineh) reservation.

The largest factory in New Mexico, the Fairchild

Semiconductor Factory is dedicated in a ceremony

attended by the commissioner of Indian affairs,

Louis R. Bruce. Located on the Navajo (Dineh)

reservation, the plant will eventually employ more

than 1,200 Indians, the highest number of Indian

employees of any factory in the United States. (See

also entry for FEBRUARY 24, 1975.)

October

The National Indian Youth Council founds

AMERIND.

After several Indians applying for jobs with the

federal government complain of employment dis-

crimination based on race, AMERIND is formed as

an offshoot of the National Indian Youth Council

(see entry for AUGUST 1961). The organization is

charged with fighting discrimination against Native

Americans in hiring within government agencies,

particularly the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the

U.S. Public Health Service.

October 12

Dartmouth College abandons its

Indian mascot.

Bowing to student pressure, Dartmouth College

agrees to stop using an Indian mascot for its sports

teams. Originally founded to educate Indian youths

(see entry for 1769), the prestigious school recently

committed itself to recruiting more Indian students,

with the ultimate goal of raising Indian enrollment

to 3 percent of the student body.