Chronology of American Indian History

increased Indian fishing will drive off sports fish-
ermen and other tourists, on whose business many
whites rely for their livelihoods.

April 3

The Supreme Court strengthens the role of
tribes in Indian adoptions.
In 1985 two children were born to unmarried
Mississippi Choctaw parents outside of the band’s
reservation. The couple decided to give the children
up for adoption through the social service division
of Mississippi state and signed an agreement allow-
ing them to be placed with non-Indian parents.
The Mississippi Choctaw objected to the couple’s
decision and took them to court to ensure that the
children were adopted by Indians.
The case, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
v. Holyfield et al., reaches the Supreme Court four
years later. The Mississippi Choctaw maintain that
the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (see
entry for NOVEMBER 8, 1978) gives them the right
to be involved in the adoption procedure. This law
was enacted to give tribes more control over Indian
adoptions and to hamper social service organiza-
tions that believe Indian adoptees are best placed by
non-Indian adults. Ruling in favor of the Choctaw,
the Supreme Court echoes the sentiment of the act,
which maintained that Indian children could suffer
substantial psychological damage if separated from
their cultural roots.

May 10

The Cree file suit to stop the Great Whale
Project.
As the second phase of the James Bay Hydroelectric
Project (see entry for APRIL 30, 1971), the province
of Quebec plans to build the Great Whale Project.
The reservoirs created by the first phase contain
mercury levels nine times higher than that judged
safe for humans. To prevent further destruction of
their homeland, the Cree of northern Quebec take
the province to court to try to halt the new con-
struction. (See also entry for 1994.)

Summer

Northwest Coast Indians stage the “Paddle

to Seattle.”

Representatives from 17 Indian groups in the Pa-

cific Northwest travel in dugout canoes from their

communities to Seattle, Washington, during the

“Paddle to Seattle.” Part of Washington State’s cen-

tennial celebration, the event is intended to help

revive canoe building among tribes who tradition-

ally relied on these boats as their primary mode of

transportation.

Summer

A lawsuit against author Peter Mattiessen

is dismissed.

A federal court of appeals dismisses a lawsuit against

Peter Mattiessen, author of In the Spirit of Crazy

Horse (1983), a scathing indictment of the FBI’s

dealings with the American Indian Movement

“Those guilty of the crimes

perpetrated against the Indians

of Pine Ridge have gone unpun-

ished. But that’s not the moral

of the story. The point to re-

member is, if the FBI lied about

what it was doing then, at the

height of its supposed self-ref-

ormation, it could certainly be

doing the same thing now.

The victory over censor-

ship in the Crazy Horse case is

real enough. But it’s no time for

complacency.”

—Cherokee scholar Ward

Churchill on the suppression of

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse

P