Birthday of John Vigil Chiquiti

John Chiquiti was a Tesuque Pueblo activist and Juris Doctorate holder who dedicated his life to the Native rights struggle. In the 1970's he moved to Suquamish and was involved in many of the important Red Power movement events of the 1970's including the occupation of Fort Lawton which led to the successful establishment of Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. He was also present and arrested at the Sept 9, 1970 Puyallup fish camp police raid in which 55 adults and 5 children were arrested, with all charges dropped after it was proven in court they were on Puyallup land (p 127 Bennett). On January 28, 1973 after harrassment while fishing in which the state department stole his nets, Sid Mills called for a rally at the Washington State Fish and Game headquarters in Olympia. Chiquiti was also present at this rally in which a 6 hour occupation of the headquarters occurred and important files were confiscated from the state proving they had been illegally spying on Native fishers and their families. No arrests occurred, and most gear was never returned to Native fisheres. Chiquiti was also arrested at the occupation of the site of the former Saint George Indian School on thanksgiving 1974 which also led to the return of 17 acres of land in 1980 to the Puyallup Tribe (p 190-3 Bennett). Today we remember John Chiquiti and everyone else who contributed to the fight for Native rights and the building of the Red Power movement.