Costuming of AIM protests

AIM (American Indian Movement) has been around since the 1968 when it was first founded and so it has gone through a wide variety of styles of protests and costuming.

1968 American Indian Movement 
Courtesy of Modern American History

Courtesy of Famous Flags

In the photo of the 1968 American Indian Movement protest there are several people wearing outfits with traditional tasseling or beading as though to visually point out that the traditional culture is still very alive. In this photo you see that it does seem a peaceful march and one can even see that there are young children marching with the adults. The large sign being held up could have been the predecessor to their symbol today(the black, yellow, white and red flag)

Armed AIM Roadblock courtesy of Soldiers For The Cause

1992 Anti-Columbus Day Protest

That being AIM has also had violent direct actions for example armed roadblocks as well. In this photo we can clearly see that these individuals associate themselves with AIM and have even spay painted it on the side of the vehicle. In this case though, there are no children, only men and guns.


This is a protest against Columbus Day because some people feel that it is improper to have a holiday in the name of a settler and feel that it does a diservice to their ancestors who died in conflicts against the settlers. I would like to point out that the foremost banner is from AIM however to the far left there is a darker banner that appears to have writing that appears to be of asian origin on it. This is one thing I noticed about AIM; they often have other groups protesting with them or they protest with other groups.

"American Indian movement activist Glenn Morris
 is arrested during protests to halt the annual
 Columbus Day Parade in 2007 in Denver." 
Courtesy of The Buffalo Post

This is Glenn Morris one of the leaders of AIM being arrested during the annual repeat of the march seen above. I would like to point out the use of AIM's colours on his clothing in a fashion that is similar to clothing that you might see in an aboriginal history museum. I would point out what red may represent but I mentioned it in my last post. However, I did want to add that in the archaeological record, many native cultures used red ochre in their burials and sacred places so the colour red has had a strong meaning and value in the native cultures for many years.

In many Native protests there is someone dressed in traditional style clothing or clothing that follows some part of the traditional clothing style. I believe that this is meant to be a visual representation of the enduring power of native cultures. It tells the viewers of the protest that the traditional culture is still alive today and that there are people who are proud to be Native, Indian, Cree, Blackfoot, James Bay Cree, status or not, however they chose to identify themselves. It sends the same message as the image said in my first post: We Shall Remain.

Another use of a tradition in protest is the use of drumming which is often accompanied by singing and dancing. The amount of noise that just ten drummers can make would be enough for protesters to draw attention to their cause but imagine over a hundred dancer, singers, and drummers.

"Glenn Morris, a leader of the American Indian Movement
 of Colorado (AIM) addressing Occupy Denver October 22"2011.
 Courtesy of Carol Berry

This is another photo of Glenn Morris speaking to the Occupy Movement in Denver. In the foreground right we see a young woman and in this case, all of the individuals are wearing modern style casual clothes.

This is a protest that took place in Toronto. 
Courtesy of wearechangetoronto.org

In comparison with the last photo, this photo seems to have a very different feel to it. In the foreground we see the AIM flag but instead of the casually-clad people in the last photo the flag is hoisted by people wearing almost militant gear. This row looks more like a row of flag bearers preparing for a battle than the young children we saw in the first image. I would also like to point out that the third flag down the row is the Red Power United flag whom I talked about in my last post as being a more violent direst action group.

Overall, I would saw that AIM does not have as standard a costume as some other groups may nor do they have a standard style but their adaptability may be what has made their group so popular.

Costuming of Red Power United

What do the people wear and why? When you are out protesting you know people will be looking at you. In fact, you hope they will because you are there to draw attention to something you see as important. So then the costumes that people wear while protesting often carries as much of a message as the slogans they stand by. So let us take a look at the variety of costuming seen in Native Self-government Groups Protests.

Red Power United
Red Power United define their actions as direct action and even offer non-violent direct action training. While they are not solely focused on Native Self-government rights they do highly support it.

Courtesy of Toronto City Life

This is a small group of Red Power United protesters. Interestingly enough, the writer of the blog of Toronto City Life actually described them as a militant group.

First thing to notice, the colour red as a theme which is not too surprising as their groups name is RED Power United however it does have other connotations. 

The colour red could also be in reference to the old derogatory term for native people: redskins. If this is the case, this group would be taking what was meant to be slang and hurtful towards their people and utilizing it to define themselves, to punctuate their solidarity. 

As any elementary student is taught, red can also be a representation of blood. As many Native protest groups do focus on the pains of their ancestors, I do not believe that I would be out of placing in saying that the red shirts could symbolize the pain, hardships, and death of their ancestors and culture.

In terms of logistics, having a colour that protesters in your group often wear is useful because it can show your strength in numbers and allow protesters and bystanders to easily those fighting under your cause.  Red; in particular, is a good colour for protesters to wear because it is eye-catching. 

Courtesy of Red Power United

The fist that many of the members have raised is a motif also seen on some of their symbols and posters.

This fist could represent the willingness to fight for their cause and I can imagine that a sea of people all thrusting their fists in the air would be a very persuading event to see. It could also represent solidarity.






In my next blog I will be looking at the costuming of AIM(American Indian Movement) protests.
If you know of any particular protest or group that you would like me to look at the costuming of, please send me a link to a page about the group or protest.