P
resources, it may dictate how they are used by Indi-
ans and non-Indians alike.
July 15
The Supreme Court allows Indian water
rights disputes to be heard in state courts.
In Arizona et al. v. San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Su-
preme Court backs away from the stance on Indian
water rights it set in Winters v. United States (see
entry for 1908). Its decision in the Winters case
stated that Indians had a right to their reservations’
water sources. In Arizona, however, the Court finds
that tribes can be forced to settle disputes with non-
Indians over water rights in state courts rather than
in federal courts. The ruling threatens Indian water
rights because state courts are far less sympathetic to
the position of tribes.
September
The Alaska Native Review Commission
is formed.
To investigate the impact of the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (see entry for DECEMBER 18,
1971), Inuit activists establish the Alaska Native
Review Commission. The commission begins hold-
ing hearings at 62 villages throughout Alaska. The
transcribed testimony of nearly 15,000 Natives will
eventually be collected into 98 volumes (see entry
for SEPTEMBER 1985).
October 1
The American Indian Registry for the
Performing Arts is founded.
In Los Angeles, the American Indian Registry for
the Performing Arts is established to help Indians
find work as actors, directors, producers, and tech-
nical staff in film and television productions. The
organization also works to promote the casting of
Indians as Indian characters and to improve the ac-
curacy of representations of Native Americans in
movies and television.
1984Ponca Indian David Pensoneau becomes the
Oklahoma Chess Champion.
At 25, David Pensoneau, a member of the Ponca tribe,
wins the Oklahoma Chess Championship Tourna-
ment. Pensoneau started entering tournaments when
he was 14, with an eye toward becoming a U.S. Chess
Federation National Master, a goal he will reach later
in the year. As a master, Pensoneau will become a de-
voted chess teacher to young Indians.The Native American Journalists Association
(NAJA) is founded.
Indian journalists working in print, radio, and tele-
vision establish the Native American Journalists
Association (NAJA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The association seeks to promote the exchange of
ideas among Indian journalists and strengthen re-
lations between the Indian press and non-Indian
public. NAJA also encourages young Indians to
pursue careers in journalism by offering financial
assistance for college and information about jobs
and internships, in its newsletter Medium Rare.Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine is published.
Chippewa fiction writer and poet Louise Erdrich
publishes her first novel, Love Medicine, to great“People in [American Indian]
families make everything into a
story.... People just sit and the
stories start coming, one after
another. I suppose that when
you grow up constantly hearing
the stories rise, break, and fall,
it gets into you somehow.”
—novelist and poet
Louise Erdrich, on the inspiration
for her work