The American Indian Chicago Conference (AICC) was an influential, week-long conclave of 460 American Indians from 90 tribes from June 13 to June 20, 1961. One convener of the event,

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

anthropologist

Sol Tax Sol Tax (30 October 1907 – 4 January 1995) was an American anthropologist. He is best known for creating action anthropology and his studies of the Meskwaki, or Fox Indians, for "action-anthropological" research titled the Fox Project, and for fo ...

, the founder of "action anthropology," described the purpose of the event as helping "all Indians of the whole nation to express their own views" and to create if possible a shared declaration. Among the key organizers were Lacy W. Maynor (

Lumbee The Lumbee, also known as People of the Dark Water, are a mixed-race community primarily located in Robeson County, North Carolina, which claims to be descended from myriad Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands who once inhabited th ...

) and William C. Rickard (

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **'' Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

), the son of

Clinton Rickard Clinton Rickard (1882–1971) was a Tuscarora (tribe), Tuscarora chief known for founding the Indian Defense League, and for promoting Native American sovereignty. He worked for free passage of Native Americans across the US–Canada border, and t ...

, founder of the

Indian Defense League Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

. The Emil Schwarzhaupt Foundation, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the

provided some financial support for the meeting. After exchanging opinions that ranged over many aspects of Indian affairs, the conference created
''Declaration of Indian Purpose''
the first major, collective statement on tribal self-determination. Representatives from the conference formally presented the declaration to President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

in a ceremony at the White House on August 5, 1962. The spirit of self-determination expressed in the document was a cornerstone of Native activism in the years that followed, including the

Red Power movement The Red Power movement was a social movement which was led by Native American youth who demanded self-determination for Native Americans in the United States. Organizations that were part of the Red Power Movement include the American Indian ...

and the expansion of

Native American gaming Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, slots halls and other gambling operations on Indian reservations or other tribal lands in the United States. Because these areas have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to fo ...

. After the White House gathering, the Indians met with Vice President

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

, Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr., and Congressman

Ben Reifel Benjamin Reifel ( ; September 19, 1906 – January 2, 1990), also known as Lone Feather (Lakota: ''Wíyaka Waŋžíla''), was a Sicangu Lakota public administrator and politician. He had a career with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retiring as are ...

, himself of Lakota Indian ancestry and a founder of NCAI, in order to discuss a legislative program suggested by the Declaration of Indian Purpose.Hauptman 1988, p. 329.

References

See also