Marty Firerider stops as he talks about the 19th century massacres of American Indians, choking with emotion. He quietly apologizes and takes a second to regroup.

The Oceanside resident is a member of American Indian Movement, a nationwide group that offers legal and advocacy services to tribes across the country, as well as cultural education and college scholarships. The group also works to erase stereotypes of American Indians through writings, public talks and demonstrations.

Firerider, who is CEO of the San Diego chapter, has recently become chairman of the Riverside County board of AIM, which opened earlier this month.

AIM, which has at least nine chapters nationwide and is headquartered in Minneapolis, was created 37 years ago. But leaders of the group say the movement began five centuries before, when Europeans arrived in the Western Hemisphere.

"We were all born into the movement," said Vernon Bellecourt, the American Indian leader who was one of AIM's first members.

AIM Riverside opened its doors Dec. 3 with a meeting featuring presentations by various American Indian leaders, including Bellecourt, who is known worldwide for his work in connecting struggles of American Indian people with that of Palestinians, the Irish and all indigenous peoples.

"We see the philosophy of the movement works in many different ways," Bellecourt said in an interview at the Ramona tribal office in Anza. "We are confident that we are going to see some real changes here," he said, adding that "getting back to traditional ways is the only way to save indigenous peoples."

Firerider and activist Joseph Red Bear reactivated a dormant San Diego chapter of AIM in July 2004, when they filed for nonprofit status.

The San Diego chapter's meetings draw as many as 70 people, and the chapter has about 300 supporters in the area.

"San Diego is unique; you have about 45,000 urban Indians in San Diego proper, and you got 17 reservations —— more (reservations) than any other county in America," said Firerider, an Ojibwe tribe member and former Marine who served in Vietnam.

Southwest Riverside County is home to the Pechanga reservation, which owns a large casino in the Temecula area.

Firerider also worked as a lobbyist for veterans issues in Washington, D.C, and also hosts a talk radio show about Indian affairs.

Seeking unity

Firerider said changing the lives of American Indians —— and changing the attitudes of the country toward tribe members —— depends on one word: unity.

"We want to speak as one voice," he said.

That goal prompted Firerider and his group to expand their reach in Southern California and launch the new chapter in Riverside County.

Tom Freeman, who is the Riverside County sheriff's liaison to Riverside tribes, said he had heard AIM was coming into Riverside, and is "committed to working with tribal leaders and individuals to improve the safety on tribal lands."

AIM has not always been so welcomed. Its leaders have been shot at, jailed and have been at the epicenter of discussions on American Indian militancy, government cover-ups and scandal.

During the group's infancy in 1975, AIM was at the center of a shooting that rocked the American Indian Movement and created a firestorm of controversy. On South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation, a shootout occurred killing two FBI agents and one Pine Ridge resident.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said its agents entered the reservation to investigate a theft, and returned fire at residents who were shooting at them. The residents and some AIM members who were at the scene maintain that the plainclothes agents never identified themselves as federal officials and opened fire on unarmed residents. They have said AIM shot back in self-defense.

AIM also played a role in the 1969 Alcatraz takeover, which lasted 19 months and challenged a law promising American Indians first claims on abandoned federal land.

"It was necessary during that time period," said Manuel Hamilton, of what he called "confrontational" politics used to raise awareness of native issues. "We are in a different time now, we have to have different methods."

Hamilton is the chairman of the Ramona Band of Cahuilla, and said he joined with AIM Riverside to help realign his tribe with traditional culture to fight against the social illnesses afflicting his people.

Trying to shed labels

Since the '60 and '70s, AIM has been trying to shed its "militant" label, and replace it with a true understanding of the organization and American Indian tradition.

"Militant is a label the government gives you so they can treat you a certain way. And we are not; we are warriors. We are going to stand up and fight for our people," Firerider said.

Firerider said he thinks the FBI might be monitoring his group.

The FBI would not comment directly on AIM's current status with the agency.

"As any other organization has the right to its own views or political beliefs, the FBI would only have an interest in a group that advocates violence or crosses the line into criminal activity," Los Angeles FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

Eimiller did not say whether the FBI considers AIM to be currently advocating violence or engaging in criminal activity.

Past, present and future

The movement's leaders said they believe progress cannot be made unless the government officially recognizes what it has done to native people in this country. They point to an 1851 order from then-Gov. John McDougal, who ordered the extermination of Indian races. They also point to a time when children were enslaved or forced into Christian boarding schools where their languages and customs were forbidden.

But their focus also seems to be on the present —— and the future —— of tribal members in the region. Reservation conditions, for example, need to be addressed, Firerider said.

"If you want to see third-world conditions, believe me, you go to some of the reservations, you'll see conditions that you find only in other parts of the world," he said.

But he is hopeful for the new generation, says Firerider, who is 55.

"With my father's generation, they were beaten down. They were ashamed about being Indian. They were discriminated against and couldn't get jobs. (This generation) wants to know their culture. They want to get involved," he said.

For more information about AIM, visit aimriverside.org or aimsandiego.org.

Contact staff writer Nadia Maiwandi at nmaiwandi@nctimes.com.