organization is created in response to the high drop-
out rate among Native American students and their
extreme underrepresentation in the science and en-
gineering fields. To encourage Indian students to
study science and engineering and use this knowl-
edge to protect Native American lands and natural
resources, ASES will develop a variety of educational
programs and establish a substantial scholarship
fund. Beginning in 1986, the society will also pub-
lish Winds of Change, a national magazine focusing
on career and educational issues relating to Indians
across the United States.
The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission is founded.
To protect Indian fishing resources in the Northwest,
the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
is formed by the Nez Perce, the Yakama, and the
tribes of Oregon’s Umatilla Reservation and Warm
Springs Reservation. The organization will become a
leading force in lobbying for Indian fishing rights.
Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony is
published.
Upon the publication of her first novel, Ceremony,
Laguna Pueblo poet Leslie Marmon Silko is named
“the most accomplished Indian writer of her gen-
eration” by the New York Times Book Review.
Like N. Scott Momaday’s acclaimed House Made
of Dawn (see entry for MAY 5, 1969), Ceremony
tells of a World War II Indian veteran’s struggle
to readjust to reservation life. With the help of a
medicine man, the protagonist, Tayo, finally finds
salvation by performing his tribe’s ancient ceremo-
nies. Silko’s innovative narrative style interweaves
Tayo’s story with retellings of traditional Pueblo
legends.
The Tekakwitha Conference opens
membership to Native American Catholics.
The Tekakwitha Conference, founded by non-In-
dian missionaries (see entry for 1939), is devoted
to promoting the interests of Indian Catholics to
the authorities of the church. After 38 years of op-
eration, the organization invites Indian Catholics
to join its ranks. Its Indian membership will grow
quickly: By the early 1980s, more than 3,000
members, the majority Indians, will participate in
the Tekakwitha Conference’s annual conventions.April 15The Berger Report recommends the
postponement of the Mackenzie
Valley Pipeline.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed Justice
Thomas Berger to head an inquiry board to inves-
tigate Native land claims to the Mackenzie Valley,
where the Canadian government intends to build
a pipeline (see entry for 1974.). After three years
of interviewing Natives of the region, the Berger
inquiry issues the results of its study as Northern
Frontier, Northern Homeland. Informally known as
the Berger Report, the published document receives
a great deal of media attention and becomes a Ca-
nadian best-seller. It recommends that the pipeline’s
construction be put on hold for 10 years in order to
explore Native objections more fully. (See also entry
for JANUARY 25, 2006.)April 18Leonard Peltier is found guilty of murdering
two FBI agents.
Extradited from Canada, Leonard Peltier, an
American Indian Movement activist, is put on trial
for the murder of two FBI agents on Pine Ridge
Reservation (see entry for JUNE 26, 1975). Unlike
Bob Robideau and Darrelle “Dino” Butler, who
were tried and acquitted of the same crime (see
entry for JULY 16, 1976), Peltier is not permitted
by the court to argue that he acted in self-defense.
The jury finds Peltier guilty of both murders, and
he is sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
The verdict will be called into question as
charges of misconduct are launched against the
prosecution. In the years to come, the Peltier case
will become an international cause célèbre, with
his many supporters worldwide claiming that he
is being held as a political prisoner by the U.S.