Pan-Indianism is a philosophical and political approach promoting unity and, to some extent, cultural homogenization among different Indigenous groups in the Americas regardless of tribal distinctions and cultural differences.
This approach to political organizing is primarily associated with Native Americans organizing for social justice and cultural revitalization in the Continental United States but has spread to some other Indigenous communities as well, especially in Canada. Inuit and Métis people may consider themselves part of the broader pan-Aboriginal community or some variation thereof. Some academics have also used the term pan-Amerindianism to distinguish from other peoples known as "Indians." Some pan-Indian organizations seek to pool the resources of Native groups to protect the interests of indigenous peoples across the world.Waldman, Carl (2009). "Atlas of The North American Indian" (Third ed.), pp 262, 264, 241. Checkmark Books., New York
Early history Tecumseh's Confederacy is considered to be an early example of Pan-Indianism. As a confederation founded on the premise of indigenous unity against American expansionism, it united many of the tribes of the Great Lakes region. At the meeting between Tecumseh and then governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison at Vincennes, Tecumseh called for collective ownership of land, arguing that the land belonged to everyone.
In 1912, members of the Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes, united by their opposition to Allotment, formed the Four Mothers Society for collective political action. Also, in 1912, the Alaskan Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood came together, centering on their shared interest in protecting Native resources. In 1934, Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act, which reversed assimilation and allotment policies. This act granted "legal sanction to tribal landholdings; returned unsold allotted lands to tribes; made provisions for the purchase of new lands; encouraged tribal constitutions, systems of justice, and business corporations; expanded educational opportunities through new facilities and loans ...; advocated the hiring of Indians by the Office of Indian Affairs ...; extended the Indian Trust Status; and granted Indians Religious Freedom."
Key events Before there were successful national and continental organizations, there were several regional bodies that united multiple nations (tribes or bands) within the context of post-settlement politics. The Grand General Indian Council of Ontario was organized with missionary assistance in the 1870s and persisted until 1938. Likewise, the Allied Tribes of British Columbia were created in 1916.
In 1911, the first national Indian political organization in the US was created, the Society of American Indians. This organization pursued such things as better Indian educational programs and improved living conditions. This was paralleled by the establishment of the League of Indians of Canada in 1919, Canada's first Aboriginal organization that was national in scope.
The Society of American Indians was the most influential of the early pan-Indian organizations. It played a critical role in advocating Indian citizenship, which was finally granted by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.
Before World War II and throughout the 1940s and '50s, Native activism was less developed and for the most part non-violent. Many leaders made a genuine effort to work with the American government. In 1923, as a symbolic gesture, Deskaheh, a Cayuga chief, traveled to the League of Nations in Geneva in hopes of obtaining recognition of his tribe's sovereignty, but his request was denied. In 1939, the Tonawanda Band of the Seneca tribe issued a "Declaration of Independence" to the state of New York. It was ignored, and natives who broke state law were arrested. In other cases, American Indian tribes struggled to maintain their sovereignty over tribal land that had been granted to them by treaties with the federal government. Unrelated Native American groups, and Americans in general, began to notice and sympathize with their aims.
For one week in June 1961, 420 American Indians from 67 tribes convened for the American Indian Chicago Conference held at the University of Chicago. After exchanging opinions that covered many aspects of Indian affairs, the Declaration of Indian Purpose was drafted.
In 1989, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, also known as the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Convention No. 169, occurred. To date, this has been the only formally binding international convention that specifically applies to indigenous peoples. The conference recognized the goal of native groups to maintain their position as entities independent of national governments."C169 Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989" International Labour Organization, 2006. Retrieved on 2009-10-03.
Organizations Alaska Native Brotherhood/Sisterhood
The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood was founded in 1912 with a goal of protecting Native resources.
All Indian Pueblo Council The All Indian Pueblo Council, founded in 1922, successfully opposed the proposed Bursum Bill, which legislated rights for squatters on Native grounds along the Rio Grande. The All Indian Pueblo Council declared that Pueblo Indians had lived in a "civilized condition" long before European Americans came over to America. They appealed to public morality by claiming to have pride in their past. The All Pueblo Council needed public support to help preserve lands, customs, and traditions and to turn their interest to the Pueblo tribes so they could gain assistance in court.Hoxie, Frederick E (2001). "Talking Back to Civilization", p.24. Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, MA.
American Indian Movement
The American Indian Movement was created in 1968 in Minneapolis by Dennis Banks, George Mitchell, and Clyde Bellecourt (all Ojibwe), and Russell Means (Lakota). AIM became well known for its involvement in the Wounded Knee incident in 1973 and the seizure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1972. Inspired by groups like The Black Panthers, AIM took a new, more radical approach than had previous Native groups, using direct action at protests and arguing for liberation instead of assimilation. They advocated for the abolition of the Office of Indian Affairs (which was promoting assimilation). They mobilized many people to become activists and quickly became the most visible of the pan-Indian organizations of the era.
Assembly of First Nations
Founded in 1967, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), formerly known as the National Indian Brotherhood, is a representative body of First Nations leaders in Canada. The aims of the organization are to protect the rights, treaty obligations, ceremonies, and claims of citizens of the First Nations in Canada. It represents the majority of all First Nations governments or "band councils" in Canada and has a leader known as the National Chief.
Association on American Indian Affairs
The Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) aims to improve Native American health, education, and economic and community development while maintaining tradition, culture, and language. Protecting Native American sovereignty, natural resources, and constitutional, legal, and human rights is also included in their mission.Trope, Jack F and Lisa Wyzlic. "AAIA: About Us" , 1999–2009. Retrieved on 11 October 2009.
Black Hills Treaty Council The Black Hills Treaty Council was established in South Dakota in 1911 on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation to prepare a suit in the U.S. Court of Claims.
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) was created in 1977 by four tribes—the Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warm Springs, and Yakama—to "renew their authority in fisheries management.""CRITFC" , 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2009. Their mission also includes protecting treaty rights for fishing guaranteed by treaties with the federal government "through the exercise of the inherent sovereign powers of the tribes.".
"For generations, traditional fishing authorities governed tribal communities on the Columbia River. One such authority was the old Celilo Fish Committee. The authority exercised by the Celilo Fish Committee was derived from the sovereign powers of the people living and fishing in nearby tribal territories. The committee ordained fishing practices that were disciplined and designed to serve a high purpose: to ensure that the salmon resource was served first—even worshipped—so that it would flourish and always exist."
Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples] (CAP) founded in 1971 as the Native Council of Canada, is a Canadian aboriginal organization, that represents Aboriginal Peoples (First Nations and Métis) who live off Indian reserves, either in urban and rural areas across Canada.
Each CAP affiliate has its own constitution and is separately funded under the federal Aboriginal Representative Organization Program (AROP). CAP's bylaws require affiliation to be limited to one organization per province or territory. In effect, these affiliates are the corporate members of CAP, which does not, itself, have individual memberships.
Indian Defense League of America The Indian Defense League of America was founded in 1926 by Chief Clinton Rickard of the Tuscarora "to promote unrestricted travel across the international border between the United States and Canada." Indigenous people consider unrestricted travel across the continental United States and across the border between the United States and Canada an inherent right given by the Jay Treaty of 1794 and reconfirmed by the Treaty of Ghent of 1814.Hill, Beverly. "Indian Defense League of America". Retrieved on 29 September 2009. The Annual Border Crossing sponsored by the League begins at Niagara Falls.Hoxie, Frederick E. (1996). "Encyclopedia of North American Indians", p. 220. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York
International Indian Treaty Council
The International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) has an objective to seek, promote, and build participation of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies, as well as other international forums.
To seek international recognition for Treaties and Agreements between Indigenous Peoples and Nation-States. To support the human rights, self-determination and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples; to oppose colonialism in all its forms and its effects upon Indigenous Peoples. To build solidarity and relationships of mutual support among Indigenous Peoples of the world. To disseminate information about Indigenous Peoples' human rights issues, struggles, concerns and perspectives. To establish and maintain one or more organizational offices to carry out IITC's information dissemination, networking and human rights programs."International Indian Treaty Council", 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2009. Inter-Tribal Environmental Council
The Inter-Tribal Environmental Council (ITEC) was set up in 1992 to protect the health of Native Americans, their natural resources and their environment. To accomplish this, ITEC provides technical support, training, and environmental services in a variety of disciplines. Currently, there are over forty ITEC member tribes in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.
The ITEC office has a full-time staff of twenty-two who organize and provide services to the individual ITEC member tribes. In addition, they assist individual tribes with other environmentally related issues and concerns as they arise.
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee