Native Americans

• 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
In 1975 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act was passed, marking the culmination of 15 years of policy changes. It was the result of American Indian activism, particularly of the previous decade, the Civil Rights Movement, and community development aspects of President Lyndon Johnson's social programs of the 1960s. The Act recognized the right and need of Native Americans for self-determination. It marked the U.S. government's turn away from the policy of termination of the special relationship between tribes and the government. The U.S. government encouraged Native Americans' efforts at self government and determining their futures.
In 2004, Senator Sam Brownback (Republican of Kansas) introduced a joint resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 37) to “offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States” for past “ill-conceived policies” by the United States Government regarding Indian Tribes. As section Section 8113 of the 2010 defense appropriations bill, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law in 2009.