September 19
The Canadian Supreme Court grants
hunting rights to the Métis.
The highest court in Canada finds that the Métis
(descendants of Natives and French settlers) have
the same hunting rights as federally recognized, or
“status,” Indians. The rights granted apply only to
the Sault Ste. Marie community in Ontario. (The
case involved Steve Powley, a Sault Ste. Marie
Métis, who challenged a charge of hunting without
a license.) Nevertheless, the ruling is a substantial
victory for all the Métis since it represents the first
time the court has recognized that such rights are
protected under the Constitution.
October
Fires destroy Indian lands in California.
A series of wildfires sweep through Southern Cali-
fornia, burning more than 30,000 acres of land on
Indian reservations. On the Capitan Grande Reser-
vation alone, about 15,000 acres are scorched. Also
hard hit is the San Pasqual Reservation, all of which
was set ablaze, including about 67 homes. In total,
at least four Indians are killed by the wildfires, while
another 1,700 are displaced.
November
New York school district raises the Iroquois
flag.
To promote racial harmony, Mark Mondanaro,
superintendent of the LaFayette Central School
District near Syracuse, New York, agrees to fly the
purple and white flag of the Iroquois Confederacy
outside the district’s junior and senior high school.
About one-quarter of the school’s students are Indi-
ans from the nearby Onondaga reservation. Long
complaining of discrimination, Indian students at
LaFayette have lobbied for 10 years to persuade the
district to fly the flag as a symbolic show of support.
Some non-Indian students and parents object to
the flying of the Iroquois flag. A few even threaten
to tear it down.
December 10The Quapaw file suit over Tar Creek
clean-up.
In federal district court, the Quapaw Nation of
Oklahoma files a suit against several mining com-
panies. The Quapaw claim their mining of lead and
zinc led to the destruction of the area now known
as the Tar Creek Superfund site, most of which is
located on Quapaw lands. The tribe alleges the
mining produced millions of tons of toxic waste.
In the suit, the Quapaw are seeking funds for full
restoration of the site, which could cost billions of
dollars. Quapaw chairman John Berrey explains “In
the long run this should set a precedent and help
other tribes with this kind of problem.”2004February 4Federal court allows scientists to study
Kennewick Man.
Ending a long dispute (see entry for SEPTEMBER
25, 2000), a federal appeals court upholds an earlier
finding that denies Northwest Indian groups the
right to bury the ancient skeleton known as Ken-
newick Man. The tribes contend that the skeleton’s
350 bones are the remains of an ancestor. But follow-
ing a brief examination of the skeleton, government
scientists hold that Kennewick Man is most likely
Asian in origin. Following the appeals court ruling,
scientists prepare for an in-depth study of the skel-
eton, which will begin in July 2005.February 6American Indian Movement (AIM) member
is found guilty of Anna Mae Aquash’s
murder.
In Rapid City, South Dakota, a jury finds Arlo
Looking Cloud guilty of the 1975 murder of ac-
tivist Anna Mae Aquash (see entry for FEBRUARY
24, 1976). Both Looking Cloud and Aquash were