American Indian Movement

The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American civil rights organization founded by activists in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1968. It originally sought to improve the poor living and working conditions of Native Americans who had relocated to cities as a result of government policy and to bring awareness to police brutality against people of First Nations. The movement eventually grew to cover broader issues concerning all Native American tribal nations. These include their sovereignty and right to self-determination and the restoration of their traditional homelands.

Encouraged by the federal government, European settlers partook in the westward expansion of the U.S. territories in the 1800s and forcibly removed or displaced many Native American peoples from their ancestral lands. Additionally, people...