American Indians are one of the minority groups in America. Yet their home territory has the largest population in the world. America was inclined to their point of view before the first settler. Many Indians arrived in America as early as the turn of the century, where they were deprived of residency until an act of Congress was passed in 1946 (Lee 106). Most Indians have provided abundant support for the culture and impeccableness of the United States; most of these donations concern the scientific field. Indians immigrated 1830-1890. At that time India was in wonderful condition. However, the British took control of India, emptied the country of all its riches and forced the Indians to flee. America at that time was a strong attraction for immigrants, with job offers and religious freedom (Takaki 42). As a result, America was referred to by many countries as the "Land of Opportunity."(43)Many Indians faced poverty upon their arrival. In modern existence, they have been among the victims of prejudice-fueled aggression (42). The Indians first emerged towards the end of the last ice age, they were the first "Americans". (Noble, 1998) When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492 and saw the people of this land for the first time, he thought he had landed in India, thus giving them the name "Indians". (Noble, 1998) However, it was nowhere near India, or that region of the world. The ancient Indians were itinerant people (people who wandered lands without a permanent home) over the years they urbanized, separated and relocated their clans, becoming what we know today as the American Indians. One group or tribe are the Hopi Indians. Although the Hopi are still a tribe today, m......middle of paper......kept order with the help of his private army, the henchmen. Those who opposed him saw their homes razed or were beaten, sometimes shot and killed. In conclusion, the use of protests and militancy was a necessary tool to gain recognition of American Indian sovereignty. The Trail of Broken Tears and the Siege of Wounded Knee showed the rest of the nation that AIM and other Native Americans were willing to take drastic measures to end their oppression. They wanted what was rightfully theirs and were tired of living the way they were forced to live on the reservations. While there is still a long way to go today, leaders like Leonard Crow Dog helped unite Native Americans into a single movement that led the United States to recognize their desire for sovereignty..