Native America Calling: Through the Decades

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Wednesday, July 6, 2022

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Through the Decades: The 1960s

The 1960s were the genesis of Native American activism.

Urban Native communities, formed by the American Indian Urban Relocation program of the 1950s, were tough and deplorable places to live. The American Indian Movement formed as a result and by 1968, the Indian Civil Rights Act was passed.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland at Alcatraz Island in California. Occupied by Indian activists from 1969 through 1971, the site is now part of the National Park Service. Photo: U.S. Department of the Interior

This decade is also marked by the arrival of the color television, an explosion of (rock) music, and a new style of Native art.

The first episode in Native America Calling’s new series “Through the Decades” remembers the politics, significant events, and pop culture that helped shape Native America.