A New Day : Education to Repatriation (Part 1)

Episode 6 of our series explores some of the major changes that came about starting in the 1970s - most of them policy changes - that were signs of brighter days ahead. While we heard many times that these new policies would take quite awhile to have an actual impact, they still represent something to celebrate, as all progress should be celebrated.

The first section of Part 1 looks at changes within the field of education following the 1972 Indian Education Act and 1975's Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

The second section covers the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act that overturned the 1883 Code and Court of Indian Offenses which banned indigenous spirituality under risk of severe punishment and even death.

The third section turns to the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act which was a response to strong evidence that indigenous children were being removed disproportionately from their families and placed in non-indigenous homes even when "fit and willing relatives were available."