American Indian Movement (AIM)
Native American social justice organization
"Indians are people not mascots."
My peace hero is the American Indian Movement, known as AIM. Founded in 1968, AIM started by focusing on poverty, discrimination, and police brutality against Native Americans and later focused on treaty rights, education, preservation of Indigenous cultures, among other issues.
They have led protests addressing these issues, monitored police activities, and coordinated employment programs. In 1972, AIM developed a position paper known as Twenty Points, which included treaty responsibilities that they believed that the federal government had to fulfill (http://www.aimovement.org/archives/).
AIM has created a number of organizations with different focuses, but all work towards respect and equality towards Native Americans.
I chose AIM for its legacy of exposing and working against injustice.
Web links
Wikipedia overview of American Indian Movement:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Movement
Minnesota Historical Society Library libguide to American Indian Movement:
https://libguides.mnhs.org/aim
American Indian Movement website:
https://www.aimovement.org/
Video
Clyde Bellecourt, founder, speaks about how AIM began (2:40)
https://www.mnopedia.org/group/american-indian-movement-aim
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