Chronology of American Indian History

announcements ever telecast. The advertisement,
however, is criticized by some Indians, who see it
as propagating the romantic stereotype of Indians
as “children of nature.” Others later accuse Cody of
fabricating his Indian ancestry, a charge he denies
until his death in 1999.

The National American Indian Court Judges
Association is established.
To improve the quality of legal services offered by
reservation court systems, the National American
Indian Court Judges Association is created. Over
the next several decades, the organization will offer
training sessions in federal, state, and constitutional
law to hundreds of tribal court judges.

March to April

Protesters seize Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) offices.
On March 14, a group of Indian activists take over
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office in Denver,
Colorado, to protest the BIA’s hiring practices. The
specific cause of their anger is the case of an Indian
woman in Littleton, Colorado, who was turned
down for a job teaching Indian children despite her
solid credentials.
The Denver protest sparks a wave of demon-
strations and sit-ins at BIA offices throughout the
United States. Protests are held in Albuquerque,
Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Minne-
apolis, and Santa Fe.

March 8

A California march protests the shooting
death of an Indian student.
A group of Indians marches on the California state
capitol in Sacramento to draw attention to the
death of Michael Ferris, a Hupa Indian student at
the University of California at Los Angeles. Ferris
was shot to death by a non-Indian at a bar in nearby
Will Creek in December 1969. The Sacramento
protest is led by Lehman Brightman, later the direc-

tor of the Native American Studies program at the

University of California at Berkeley.

March 8 and 15

United Indians of All Tribes occupy

Fort Lawton.

Inspired by the occupation of Alcatraz (see entry

for NOVEMBER 20, 1969), Indian activists calling

themselves the United Indians of All Tribes take

over Fort Lawton, a federal land area about 50 miles

south of Seattle, Washington. Seattle Indians had

asked for title to Fort Lawton, which was due to

be declared surplus land, but their requests were

ignored. Military police arrest 77 Indians and use

clubs to disperse the protesters, who include non-

Indian actress and activist Jane Fonda.

A week later, activists reoccupy the fort and are

again routed by the U.S. Army. The protest makes

the international news, and stories about the Fort

Lawson and Alcatraz occupations are featured on

the covers of Time and Newsweek magazines.

March 16

Indian protesters attempt to take over

Ellis Island.

Activists from 14 tribes led by Bruce Oakes and

David Leach plan to establish a camp on New York

City’s Ellis Island, an action modeled after the Alca-

traz occupation (see entry for NOVEMBER 20, 1969).

The attempt fails, however, when winter tempera-

tures freeze the fuel lines of the boats meant to carry

them to the island. While the group is stranded on

the New Jersey shore, news of the planned occupa-

tion is leaked to the press, alerting the police to a

possible takeover and thus spoiling the protesters’

plans to try again the following day.

March 23 to 26

The first Convocation of American Indian

Scholars is held.

Indian academics, students, and tribal leaders gather

at Princeton University for the Convocation of