Chronology of American Indian History

voters. The proposition prohibits public school

teachers from using any language other than Eng-

lish. Arizona tribes tried to defeat Proposition 203,

fearing it would jeopardize programs dedicated to

preserving tribal languages.

February 21

The first Grammy is awarded in the Best

Native American Music Album category.

At the 2001 Grammy Awards, record producers

Tom Bee and Douglas Spotted Eagle win Grammys

in the new Best Native American Music Album cat-

egory. The owner of S.O.A.R, a leading American

Indian music record label, Bee had been lobbying

for the award category since 1990 (see entry for

MAY 2000). Bee and Spotted Eagle win for produc-

ing Gathering of Nations Pow Wow 1999. The CD

features 19 songs by 16 drum groups that were re-

corded live at the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1999.

March

U.S. Census Bureau announces 26 percent

increase in America’s Native population.

According to statistics released from the 2000 cen-

sus, approximately 2.5 million Americans identify

themselves as American Indians or Alaska Natives.

Another 1.6 million claim to be part Indian. The

numbers mark an increase of 26 percent over those

from 1990. The sharp rise is in part due to efforts

by the U.S. Census Bureau to work with tribal gov-

ernments—a reaction to criticism that the 1990

census severely undercounted Native peoples. Also

adding to the increase is the new mixed-race cat-

egory in the census, since many Americans claim

partial Indian ancestry despite a lack of evidence or

documentation.

Friends of Wissatinnewag save a historic

Indian village.

A nonprofit group called Friends of Wissatinnewag

collect enough funds to buy a 61-acre site along the

Connecticut River in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

The site is believed to have been inhabited for some

10,000 years. In the 17th-century, the Indian village

of Wissatinnewag was located there. The village was

largely abandoned after three hundred inhabitants

were murdered by colonial militia in 1676. Seeking

to save the site from damage caused by sand and

gravel mining, the Friends of Wissatinnewag plan

to clean up the area and reestablish it as a ceremo-

nial ground.

April

Experts meet to discuss chemical

contamination of American Indian artifacts.

At the National Conservation Training Center in

West Virginia, conservators, public health officials,

and Indian leaders attend a conference on the con-

tamination of Indian artifacts by museums. Many

artifacts, including objects of religious impor-

tance, were preserved by museums with chemicals,

leaving behind traces of such deadly substances

as arsenic and mercury. Since the passage of the

Producers Tom Bee (right) and Douglas Spotted Eagle
accept a Grammy Award for Gathering of Nations
Pow Wow 1999, the first recipient in the Best Native
American Music Album category. (AP/Wide World
Photos)