Native Americans

The resulting increase in contact with the world outside of the reservation system brought profound changes to Native American culture. "The war," said the U.S. Indian Commissioner in 1945, "caused the greatest disruption of Native life since the beginning of the reservation era", affecting the habits, views, and economic well-being of tribal members. The most significant of these changes was the opportunity—as a result of wartime labor shortages—to find well-paying work in cities, and many people relocated to urban areas, particularly on the West Coast with the buildup of the defense industry.
There were also losses as a result of the war. For instance, a total of 1,200 Pueblo men served in World War II; only about half came home alive. In addition many more Navajo served as code talkers for the military in the Pacific. The code they made, although cryptologically very simple, was never cracked by the Japanese.
• Self-determination
Conflicts between the federal government and Native Americans occasionally erupted into violence. Perhaps the more notable late 20th century event was the Wounded Knee incident in small town South Dakota. Upset with tribal government and the failures of the federal government to enforce their treaty rights, about 300 Oglala Lakota and American Indian Movement (AIM) activists took control of Wounded Knee on February 27, 1973. Federal law enforcement officials and the national guard cordoned off the town, and the two sides essentially had a standoff for 71 days. During much gunfire, one United States Marshal was wounded and paralyzed. In late April a Cherokee and local Lakota man were killed by gunfire, causing the elders to bring an end to the occupation. In June 1975, two FBI agents seeking to effect an armed robbery arrest at Pine Ridge Reservation were wounded in a firefight, then killed by shots fired at point-blank range. AIM activist Leonard Peltier was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison in the FBI deaths. Nixon's statement against termination