The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee

In the mid-20th century, thousands of Indigenous people who served in the Second World War and the Korean War used the GI Bill to become upwardly mobile. Also, the postwar period marked an era in which different tribes forged connections and wider social networks. This helped them return to the reservation without feeling isolated on it.

After the period of allotment, many Whites suddenly had Indigenous neighbors. They went to the same schools and worked at the same offices. This commingling changed both Indigenous people and Whites. It also marked the beginning of Red Power, an Indigenous rights movement.

In 1944, delegates from 50 tribes gathered in Denver and formed the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). Their goal was “to stop the federal policy of termination” and “to strengthen ties between tribal governments” (289). The gathering was led mostly by men who had worked in the Office of Indian Affairs. A year later, many of the delegates were women. People who worked for the federal government were deemed ineligible for positions of leadership due to “possible conflicts of interest” (289). The NCAI worked to end federal job discrimination against Indigenous peoples, limited state jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases involving tribal members, and addressed issues in health care, education, and employment.