History of the Association
The Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) is an 86-year-old organization with offices in Maryland and South Dakota. AAIA has a long history of successful national advocacy and grass roots initiatives. Our current programs fall into four categories: cultural preservation, youth/education, health and federal acknowledgment. Below is a timeline of some of the Association’s more significant achievements.
Association Time Line
- 1922 AAIA is formed
- 1922 AAIA helps Pueblos protect land and water rights
- 1945 AAIA helps to establish National Congress of American Indians
- 1948 First college scholarship awarded
- 1956 AAIA establishes Field Health Nursing program
- 1968 AAIA begins effort to prevent Otitis Media on Indian reservations
- 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act enacted
- 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act signed into law
- 1982 AAIA President Ortiz honored by MacArthur Foundation
- 1984 Tribal Tax Status Act becomes law
- 1986 Landmark Washington Indian Child Welfare tribal-state agreement signed
- 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act enacted
- 1991 The Medicine Wheel Coalition for the Protection of Sacred Sites established
- 1994 Amendments to American Indian Religious Freedom Act approved
- 1994 Reaffirmation of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians by the federal government
- 1996 Bighorn Medicine Wheel Historic Preservation plan adopted
- 1998 First AAIA-sponsored diabetes conference takes place
- 2000 AAIA expands grants to summer camps
- 2006 AAIA creates Dakotah-language Scrabble game and hosts first tournament
- 2006 Amendments to Promoting Safe and Stable Families approved increasing allocation for tribal child welfare programs by $40 million over 5 years.
- 2007 Use of treated sewage for snowmaking at San Francisco Peaks found to violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.