May 13
Native Americans celebrate Indian
Day.
The Society of American Indians, the leading Indian
civil rights group in the United States (see entry for
OCTOBER 12, 1911), declares May 13 to be “Indian
Day.” In addition to celebrating the achievements
of Native Americans, the holiday is meant to bring
awareness of the poverty and social problems plagu-
ing Indian groups.
June
The Allied Tribes of British Columbia is
formed.
At a conference in Vancouver organized by Squa-
mish Andrew Paull and Haida Peter Kelly, the
Allied Tribes of British Columbia is founded by
representatives from Indian groups across the
province. One of Canada’s first multitribal Indian
activist groups, the Allied Tribes dedicates itself to
pursuing Indian land claims in British Columbia.
When in 1927 a parliamentary committee denies
the Indians’ claims, the organization will fall into
disarray.
1917Indians serve in the military during
World War I.
Although about half of male Indians are non-citizens
and therefore not subject to the draft, approxi-
mately 16,000 Indians answer the call to join the
military as the United States enters World War I.
Their participation is at a rate nearly double that of
the general population. Several Indian soldiers—in-
cluding Sergeant Alfred Bailey, Corporal Nicholas
E. Brown, and Private Joseph Oklahombi—will be
hailed as war heroes. All Indians will later be made
U.S. citizens in part as a reward for the Indian
troops’ distinguished service (see entries for NO-
VEMBER 16, 1919, and 1924).
Oklahoma Indians protest World War I in
the Green Corn Rebellion.
Creek Indians and members of several other tribes
in eastern Oklahoma join with impoverished
whites and blacks in protesting the U.S. entrance
into World War I, in a movement known as the
Green Corn Rebellion. In addition to expressing
their anger at their historical treatment by the
U.S. government, the Indians involved oppose
poor Americans’ being called to fight a war that
they believed would primarily benefit the rich.
During a rally attended by 200 Creek, protest
leader Ellen Perryman declares, “The Indians are
not going to the slaughter fields of France.” For
telling Indians not to register for the draft, she will
later be charged with violating the Espionage Act
of 1917.AprilThe Bureau of Indian Affairs removes
restrictions on Indian land sales.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs Cato Sells an-
nounces a new policy of issuing patents-in-fee to
any Indian landowner who is less than one-half In-
dian ancestry or judged competent to manage his
or her own affairs. Once issued, the patents remove
all restrictions that prohibit Indians from selling
or leasing their lands. Sells’s measure is inspired
by a wartime shortage of farmland and the accom-
panying rise in agricultural prices. As predicted,
large amounts of privately owned Indian land pass
into the hands of whites soon after the policy is
implemented.1918The Martinezes develop a black-on-black
pottery style.
Maria and Julian Martinez, a couple from San
Ildefonso Pueblo, create an innovative new style of
pottery decoration. After Maria molds a pot, Julian
paints designs, using slip—a mixture of white clay
and water. They find that if while firing the clay