Martin Luther King Jr.

===Activism and involvement with Native Americans===
King was an avid supporter of Native American rights and Native Americans were active supporters of King's [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Ross | first=Gyasi | title=Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Black People and Indigenous People: How We Cash This Damn Check | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-black-people-and-indigenous_b_5a57c671e4b03a1e6098bc6d | work=[[HuffPost]] | date=January 11, 2018 | access-date=April 26, 2020 | archive-date=July 11, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711002150/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-black-people-and-indigenous_b_5a57c671e4b03a1e6098bc6d | url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Native American Rights Fund]] (NARF) was patterned after the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund.<ref name="kingcreek">{{cite web |last1=Bender |first1=Albert |title=Dr. King spoke out against the genocide of Native Americans |url=http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |website=People's World |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=February 13, 2014 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625114956/https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) was especially supportive in King's campaigns especially the [[Poor People's Campaign]] in 1968.<ref name="scielo.org.za">{{cite journal |last1=Garcia |first1=Kevin |title=The American Indian Civil Rights Movement: A case study in Civil Society Protest |journal=Yesterday and Today |date=December 1, 2014 |volume=12 |pages=60–74 |url=http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862014000200004 |access-date=November 25, 2018 |issn=2309-9003 |archive-date=April 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411091513/http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2223-03862014000200004 |url-status=live }}</ref> In King's book ''[[Why We Can't Wait]]'' he writes:

<blockquote>Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy. We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode. Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it.<ref name="kingnatspeech">{{cite web |last1=Rickert |first1=Levi |title=Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Our Nation was Born in Genocide |url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |website=Native News Online |access-date=November 25, 2018 |date=January 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126092832/https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |url-status=dead }}</ref></blockquote>

In the late 1950, the remaining [[Creek tribe|Creek]] in Alabama were trying to completely desegregate schools. Light-complexioned Native children were allowed to ride buses to previously all-white schools, while dark-skinned Native children from the same band were barred from the same buses.<ref name="kingcreek"/> Tribal leaders, hearing of King's desegregation campaign in Birmingham, contacted him for assistance. Through his intervention the problem was quickly resolved.<ref name="kingcreek"/>

In September 1959, after giving a speech at the [[University of Arizona]] on the ideals of using nonviolent methods in creating social change, King stated his belief that one must not use force in this struggle "but match the violence of his opponents with his suffering."<ref name="kingindrez">{{cite web |last1=Leighton |first1=David |title=Street Smarts: MLK Jr. visited 'Papago' reservation near Tucson, was fascinated |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/street-smarts-mlk-jr-visited-papago-reservation-near-tucson-was/article_cbc4d8f3-6d53-54f3-a783-359646fe2c82.html |website=The Arizona Daily Star |access-date=November 26, 2018 |date=April 2, 2017 |archive-date=July 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220704085258/https://tucson.com/news/local/street-smarts-mlk-jr-visited-papago-reservation-near-tucson-was/article_cbc4d8f3-6d53-54f3-a783-359646fe2c82.html |url-status=live }}</ref> King then went to Southside Presbyterian, a predominantly Native American church, and was fascinated by their photos; he wanted to go to an Indian Reservation to meet the people so Casper Glenn took King to the Papago Indian Reservation.<ref name="kingindrez"/> He met with all the tribal leaders, visited another Presbyterian church near the reservation, and preached there, attracting a Native American crowd.<ref name="kingindrez"/> He later returned to Old Pueblo in March 1962 where he preached again to a Native American congregation.<ref name="kingindrez"/> King would continue to attract the attention of Native Americans throughout the civil rights movement. During the [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom|1963 March on Washington]] there was a sizable Native American contingent, including many from South Dakota and from the [[Navajo nation]].<ref name="kingcreek"/><ref name="navtimes">{{cite web |last1=Pineo |first1=Christopher |title=Navajos and locals in Gallup celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day |url=https://www.navajotimes.com/reznews/navajos-and-locals-in-gallup-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ |website=Navajo Times |access-date=November 26, 2018 |date=January 21, 2016 |archive-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918181926/https://navajotimes.com/reznews/navajos-and-locals-in-gallup-celebrate-martin-luther-king-jr-day/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

King was a major inspiration, along with the [[civil rights movement]], of the [[Native American rights movement]] of the 1960s and many of its leaders.<ref name="kingcreek"/> John Echohawk, a member of the [[Pawnee people|Pawnee tribe]] who was the executive director and a founder of the Native American Rights Fund, stated:

<blockquote>Inspired by Dr. King, who was advancing the civil rights agenda of equality under the laws of this country, we thought that we could also use the laws to advance our Indianship, to live as tribes in our territories governed by our own laws under the principles of tribal sovereignty that had been with us ever since 1831. We believed that we could fight for a policy of self-determination that was consistent with U.S. law and that we could govern our own affairs, define our own ways and continue to survive in this society.<ref name="amiss">{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Roy |title='I have a dream for all God's children,' Martin Luther King Jr. Day |url=http://americanindiansource.com/mlkechohawk.html |website=American Indian Source |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref></blockquote>