Framing Red Power: The American Indian Movement, the Trail of Broken Treaties, and the Politics of Media

Authors

Jason A. Heppler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

First Advisor

John R. Wunder

Date of this Version

7-2009

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the facuity the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Major: History

Under the supervision of Professor John R. Wunder

Lincoln, Nebraska, July 2009

Comments

Copyright 2009, Jason A. Heppler. Used by permission

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between the American Indian Movement (AIM), national newspaper and television media, and the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan in November 1972 and the way media framed, or interpreted, AIM's motivations and objectives. The intellectual and political currents present in the 1960s, including the ideas of Vine Deloria, Jr., and the successes of the Civil Rights Movement, influenced the development of AIM's ideas about militant tactics and the role media played in social movements. AIM entered the national stage with the occupation of the Bureau oflndian Affairs in late 1972 and used television broadcasts and print media to disseminate their ideas for federal policy reform. Media often missed the purpose of the Trail of Broken Treaties instead focusing their narrative around a different set of political issues. Early reports of the Trail of Broken Treaties were sparse until the occupation led to a substantial increase in coverage, though what was considered "newsworthy" by the media differed from the issues activists hoped to raise. Final reports focused on the cost of the occupation, legal proceedings in the aftermath of the occupation, and high-level changes in the hierarchy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Interior.