National Indian Youth Council

The 1960s were a time not just of activism but of youth activism. Generational splits became apparent across American culture. This was part of the story of the National Indian Youth Council, which split away from an older generation of Indigenous leaders to take on new tactics in the fight for Indigenous issues. What methods did the National Indian Youth Council use to blaze their path?

Fig. 1 National Indian Youth Council Activists.

National Indian Youth Council History

Since the 1950s, Indigenous college students began to organize themselves into local youth councils. They debated Indigenous issues, educated themselves, and attended workshops. The most crucial of these workshops was the Workshop on American Indian Affairs, which occurred every Summer. These organizations created essential training and links between the activists who would go on to form the National Indian Youth Council.

National Indian Youth Council 1961

In 1961, young Indigenous college students and graduates, at odds with tribal leadership, organized themselves together as the Nation Indian Youth Council. Their differences had become apparent as Indigenous leaders gathered for the American Indian Chicago Conference that June at the University of Chicago. The group first split off as the Chicago Conference Youth Council before renaming itself the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) at a meeting in Gallup, New Mexico. Hundreds of members would join the organization, although a smaller number, around ten, directed most of the activities.

Fig. 2 American Indian Chicago Conference.

Nation Indian Youth Council Founders

National Indian Youth Council Founding Statement

According to the current president Cecelia Belone, the NIYC's Founding Statement in 1961 was as follows:

National Indian Youth Council Achievements

Through activism and education, the NIYC successfully worked towards the goals of the Indigenous community. Their achievements included their interests like publishing and fish-ins, but also supporting broader coalitions during events like the Poor People's Campaign and the Trail of Broken Treaties.

Publishing

NIYC's most significant influence on Indigenous politics was its publishing operation. They began in 1962 with their newsletter, Aborigine, which reached 180 tribal councils. They continued in 1963 by establishing a journal of radical Indigenous thought called ABC: Americans before Columbus. Publishing continued with annual reports and pamphlets on Indigenous issues.

Fig. 3 Activist Arrested During Fish-In.

Fish-Ins

Regarding direct actions taken by the NIYC, fish-ins were their most unique and well-known tactic. Indigenous American lands were taken away in agreements with the US federal government. However, indigenous tribes were often at least granted the right to continue their traditional hunting and fishing. Environmental regulations after WWII began to limit fishing, resulting in conflicts between the rights of tribes to continue their traditional practices and environmental regulations.

After an indigenous man, Robert Satiacum, was arrested for fishing without a license in 1954, protests called fish-ins began in 1964. Tensions had been building for a decade over whether the state of Washington had the authority to regulate fishing by indigenous populations. In 1974, the US Supreme Court decided that the indigenous people had a right to 50% of the fish eligible for harvest, in what became known as the Boldt Decision.

Olympia, Washington Protest 1964

On March 3, 1964, the most significant action yet organized by the NIYC occurred in Olympia, Washington. Between 1,500 and 5,000 people arrived for protests, mainly at the State Capitol. Traditional tribal dances were performed, and leaders gave speeches. However, the critical element was the drawing together of many different tribes in a unified movement. The protest is considered one of the foundational events that would lead to later cooperation, such as in the American Indian Movement (AIM).

Trail of Broken Treaties

The Trail of Broken Treaties was one of the most dramatic events in the history of indigenous American activism, and the NIYC was involved. Indigenous people from all over the country gathered in Washington, DC, in the Fall of 1972, culminating in occupying the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices. Once the federal government finally agreed to name an indigenous person to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the protests ended. Although AIM was the primary event organizer, NIYC was also active.

Environmental Work

Although the NIYC had fought environmental regulations regarding fishing in the 1960s, by the 1970s, the group was focused heavily on protecting the ecological integrity of tribal lands. The group fought against mining for coal and uranium, which would have had a negative environmental impact. Their most significant success was halting a $6 billion coal mining plant in Navajo Territory.

National Indian Youth Council Civil Rights

The connections between the NIYC and Civil Rights are nuanced. Although the National Indian Youth Council may have been founded during the Civil Rights era, its leaders wanted to draw a clear line between the racial issues of the Civil Rights movement and the legal matters of honoring treaties between the United States federal government and Indigenous tribes. The NIYC feared that their cases would be decided along political lines as racial or ideological instead of on their legal basis.

Still, NIYC did draw some connections, such as using the term "fish-ins", to be reminiscent of the "sit-ins" by Black Americans at segregated lunch counters. This came from the studying of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. by NIYC leader Clyde Warrior. Although the NIYC wanted Indigenous issues to be viewed on their own terms, they were participants in the 1968 Poor People's Campaign, initially organized by Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., and worked alongside the NAACP on some issues.

National Indian Youth Council Albuquerque

The National Indian Youth still exists today, now headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, about 140 miles from where it was founded in Gallup, New Mexico. The group provides various outreach services to indigenous communities, like voter registration and job skill training. NIYC still maintains an active political presence fighting for indigenous issues.