God Is Red: A Native View of Religion

Throughout God is Red, Deloria references the Trail of Broken Treaties. In the fall of 1972, caravans of Indigenous organizers and supporters converged on Washington, D.C., in a cross-country protest designed to put treaty rights and sovereignty back at the center of federal policy.

Led largely by the American Indian Movement (AIM) and allied groups, the caravan carried a “Twenty Points” platform—drafted primarily by Hank Adams—calling for the restoration of treaty-making authority, the review of past treaty violations, protection of religious freedom and cultural integrity, and either sweeping reform of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or its abolition. When promised meetings fell through and housing arrangements collapsed, protesters occupied the BIA headquarters just before the 1972 election. The week-long standoff ended with negotiated safe passage and a commitment to consider their demands, even as officials and the press focused on alleged damage to the building rather than the larger issues at stake. The Trail marked a pivot from 1960s occupations (like Alcatraz, 1969-71) toward a sustained, pan-Indigenous rights agenda grounded in treaties and self-determination.

Activism in the mid-1970s continued to unfold on multiple fronts.