An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States

oth deeply invested in Black civil rights activities, showed solidarity with
their Indigenous comrades. Gregory had already participated and was
arrested for participating in fish-ins with Native tribes in the northwest in
1966. 43 Both men participated in the signing of a petition seeking the
United Nations to condemn the US of genocide. 44 It is not surprising that
Black folks supported Indigenous peoples in their quest for international
recognition through the United Nations. Black Americans had appealed to
the United Nations in their fight for human rights during the postwar period,
though that was largely quelled by the Cold War, anti-communist sentiment,
Southern Democrats, and white liberals. 45 The gesture further demonstrates
the possibilities for Black and Indigenous solidarity in the groups’ struggle
against the US nation-state. 46
The aftermath of the Poor People’s Campaign showed how fleeting
Black and Indigenous solidarity could be. Native folks and those who
aligned with struggles like the Poor People’s Campaign wanted to challenge
the foundations of American capitalism. They also wanted the US nationstate
to respect tribal sovereignty. More established groups, like the
National Congress of American Indians, did not want to involve themselves
with “Black issues.” Native peoples’ radical vision of coalescing with other
groups—while demanding a “new America” and asserting tribal
sovereignty—was not the business-as-usual approach to things. The
important lesson we can take from their organizing efforts is that they tried,
and we must too.
DENNIS BANKS AND THE BLACK SCHOLAR
In 1976, Dennis Banks (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), a cofounder of the
American Indian Movement, was on the run. He was fighting his
extradition to South Dakota, where he was being called to stand trial on
trumped-up charges. In his fight for justice and freedom, he also sought
allies, and it’s not surprising that he connected with Black folks in solidarity
—and that Black radicals, especially the Black Panthers, showed up for
him.
In June 1976, for the Black Scholar’s special issue on “The Third
World,” Dennis Banks conducted an interview in which he gave an
overview of the history, goals, and philosophy of the American Indian