September 23
Lawsuit forces a newspaper to apologize
for publishing photographs of a Pueblo
dance.
Ignoring the Pueblo’s ban on photographing their
religious observances, a Santa Fe newspaper, the
New Mexican, prints two photographs taken from
a low-flying plane of a ceremonial dance per-
formed at Santa Domingo Pueblo. The editors of
the New Mexican apologize to the Santa Domingo
community only after its leaders threaten to file a
$3.5 million lawsuit against the newspaper.
November
Navajo (Dineh) weavers form the Ramah
Navajo Weavers Association.
Founded by 17 women on the Ramah Navajo Res-
ervation, the Ramah Navajo Weavers Association
is a cooperative dedicated to combining modern
business practices with the 19th-century craft of
Navajo (Dineh) textile-making. Through the as-
sociation, the women intend to market their rugs
and other textiles to customers directly, thus cut-
ting out the non-Indian dealers and traders who
previously have reaped the largest portion of the
profits from sales of their works.
1985Northwest Indians agree to the Pacific
Salmon Treaty.
The governments of the United States, Canada,
and several Northwest Indian groups negotiate the
Pacific Salmon Treaty. The agreement is a response
to the dwindling numbers of salmon in the waters
of the Pacific Northwest. The salmon popula-
tion is threatened by increasing commercial and
recreational fishing in the area. All parties in the
treaty agree to create a commission to oversee ef-
forts to conserve and manage their shared salmon
resources.
Junípero Serra is declared venerable over
Indian objections.
The Catholic Church venerates Junipero Serra,
the Franciscan priest who pioneered the mis-
sion system in California (see entry for 1769).
The veneration was opposed by many California
Indians and such groups as the Tekakwitha Con-
ference (see entry for 1939) and the American
Indian Historical Society (see entry for 1964).
They charge that Serra advocated seizing Indian
land, placing Indians in virtual slavery, suppress-
ing their traditional religions, and converting
them to Catholicism by force. Ignoring these
continuing objections, the church in 1988 will
declare Serra beatified, the second of the three
steps toward canonization.The Canadian Native Arts Foundation
is founded.
Mohawk John Kim Bell, the first Indian to
become a professional symphony conductor, es-
tablishes the Canadian Native Arts Foundation
when, following an appearance in a 1983 televi-
sion documentary, he is inundated with requests
from Indian parents asking how their children can
obtain training in the arts. The foundation, which
grants college scholarships to Indian students, is
financed through fund-raising performances of
Native talent.The Indigenous Women’s Network (IWN)
is formed.
Organized by Oneida Ingrid Washinawakatak, a
coalition of American Indian women comes to-
gether to create the Indigenous Women’s Network
(IWN). The nonprofit organization’s goals are the
revitalization of Indian languages, the protection
of religious and cultural practices, environmental
conservation, and the return of Indian land to
Indian control. The IWN takes the stance that
problems facing contemporary indigenous women
around the world are best solved by reviving and
applying traditional values and practices.