P
held the previous spring and hosted by a non-Indian
sociologist at Ohio State University. Among the par-
ticipants were Dakota Sioux physician and writer
Charles A. Eastman (see entry for 1902), Yavapai
journalist Carlos Montezuma (see entry for APRIL
1916), and Oneida activist Laura Cornelius Kellogg.
These luminaries, like the majority of the SAI
membership, are alumni of Indian and non-Indian
schools and colleges. Not surprisingly, one of the
major focuses of the new organization is Indian edu-
cation. The members also hope to teach non-Indians
to respect Native Americans and their ways. Although
many SAI members are models of Assimilation, some
in the organization outspokenly question the gov-
ernment’s Assimilation policies, especially those that
most directly threaten Indian values and culture.
“To survive at all [the Indian]
must become as other men,
a contributing, self-sustaining
member of society. This does
not mean, necessarily, the loss
of individuality, but the asserting
of it. The true aim of educa-
tional effort should not be to
make the Indian a white man,
but simply a man normal to his
environment. Every Indian who
has succeeded is such a person.
Hundreds of Indians have at-
tained honorable positions and
are... in reality are the only In-
dians who can appreciate the
true dignity and value of their
race, and they alone are able to
speak for it.”
—Society of the American Indian
member Arthur C. Parker at the
association’s first conference1912The Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) is
founded.
The most influential intertribal organization in
Alaska before statehood, the Alaska Native Broth-
erhood is established to improve tribes’ social
conditions and increase their political power. Al-
though the group presents itself as representing all
Alaskan natives, the majority of members are from
the Tlingit and Haida tribes. Initially, the Alaska
Native Brotherhood (ANB) is most concerned with
obtaining citizenship for Alaska Natives, but it will
increasingly focus its attention on protecting fish-
ing rights and promoting land claims.SummerJim Thorpe wins two Olympic gold medals.
At the Fifth Olympiad in Stockholm, Sweden, 24-
year-old Sac and Fox Indian Jim Thorpe thrills the
audience by his amazing performance in two of the
most grueling Olympic events—the decathlon and
the pentathlon. Already a national sports star for his
achievements on the football team of the Carlisle In-
dian school (see entry for AUTUMN 1879), Thorpe
becomes world famous by winning the gold medal
in both events. The Olympic crowd cheers wildly
as Thorpe is given his awards by Swedish monarch
Gustav V, who says to him, “Sir, you are the great-
est athlete in the world.” With a characteristic lack
of pretension, Thorpe replies, “Thanks, King.” (See
also entry for JANUARY 1913.)SummerLouis Tawanima is awarded an Olympic
silver medal.
Louis Tawanima, a Hopi Indian from the village
of Shungopovi, comes in second in the Stockholm
Olympics’ 10,000-meter run. Four years earlier,
Tawanima had competed in the Olympic Games in
London, where he finished ninth in the marathon.
In 1957 he will become the first athlete voted into
the Arizona Hall of Fame.