The American Indian Movement (AIM) formally began in 1968 with urban Native women in Minneapolis, Minnesota wanting to put a stop to police brutality. The movement quickly grew nationally, and starting in 1969 members occupied Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco, California area for 19 months.

AIM members briefly occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1970. In 1972 the movement organized a march on D.C. called the Trail of Broken Treaties. This march ended in another six-day occupation of the BIA offices. As part of this protest, AIM members presented a 20-point list of demands to the U.S. President, largely focused on treaties and restoration of land, civil, and economic rights of tribal nations.

In the leadup to the United States' Bicentennial, AIM members began a car caravan in the state of Washington with Yakima Nation members. Calling this the Trail of Self Determination, the caravan picked up protesters from other tribal nations throughout the Northwest and Great Plains states. The caravan arrived in D.C. in early July 1976 and demonstrated in front of the U.S. Capitol and White House. Fifty-four protesters were arrested after seeking a tour of the BIA building on Constitution Avenue, including 16 men, 16 women, and 22 youths. The charges were dropped, and the protesters continued making daily demonstrations in front of the White House until the end of July, when they broke up camp and went home.

AIM continues to advocate for Native American rights.

[Information retrieved from American Indian Movement, "A Brief History," http://www.aimovement.org/ggc/history.html; Walters, Karina, "History Through a Native Lens," Native Americans in Philanthropy and Candid, https://nativephilanthropy.candid.org/timeline/era/indian-self-determination-and-self-governance-era/; Brodt, Jessica, "Native American Delegations, Diplomacy, and Protests at the White House," White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/native-american-protests; and Washington Area Spark, "Trail of Self Determination," https://www.flickr.com/photos/washington_area_spark/sets/72157706360448201/.]