Chronology of American Indian History

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the tribal council had refused to give him a liquor
license, Mazurie was convicted of selling liquor
illegally. In United States v. Mazurie, Mazurie chal-
lenges his conviction by arguing that he had a state
liquor license and that his store was located on land
he had purchased from a reservation resident and
therefore was no longer part of the reservation. The
court rules against Mazurie and affirms the right of
the Wind River tribal council to set regulations on
alcohol within the reservation that apply to Indians
and non-Indians alike.

The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission
is founded.
In response to the Boldt Decision (see entry for FEB-
RUARY 12, 1974), which granted Washington Indians
one-half of the fishing catch of area waters, 28 tribes
band together to found the Northwest Indian Fish-
eries Commission. The commission is charged with
negotiating the size of the Indians’ share of the catch
and offering the technical expertise that member
tribes need to manage their fishing resources.

The American Indian Film Institute is
established.
To promote the work of Native American actors and
filmmakers, the American Indian Film Institute is
founded by Choctaw Michael Smith in Culver City,
California. The institute organizes the first American
Indian Film Festival in Seattle, Washington (later
festivals are held in San Francisco, California). The
presentation of the prestigious American Indian Mo-
tion Picture Awards will become an annual event.

January 1

Menominee Warrior Society takes over
Wisconsin abbey.
Forty-five activists calling themselves the Menominee
Warrior Society occupy an unused 225-acre abbey of
the Alexian Brothers Novitiate in Gresham, Wiscon-
sin. The protesters demand that they be permitted
to turn the abbey into an Indian health center. They
remain in a standoff with the Wisconsin National
Guard until February 4. The Alexian Brothers then

agree to deed the abbey complex to the Menominee,

but in July they will rescind their offer.

January 2

The American Indian Policy Review

Commission is established.

Congress authorizes the formation of the American

Indian Policy Review Commission to review the

“Sovereignty means the author-

ity to govern; to exercise those

powers necessary to maintain

an orderly society[;]... the

power to enact laws; the power

to establish court systems; the

power to require people to

abide by established laws; the

power to tax; the power to

grant marriages and divorces;

the power to provide for the

adoption of children; the power

to zone property; the power to

regulate hunting and fishing....

When we talk about tribal sov-

ereignty, thus, we are saying a

very simple but deeply funda-

mental thing: Indian Tribes are

governments.”

—from the 1977 report of the

American Indian Policy Review

Commission

historical and legal factors that have influenced the

relationship between Indians and the federal gov-

ernment. The commission is established in part as

a response to the protests of Indian activists, par-

ticularly the takeover of Wounded Knee (see entry

for FEBRUARY 28, 1973). Charged with making rec-

ommendations for policy changes “by Indians for