In 1971, at the ALA's Annual Conference in Dallas, Texas, Lotsee Patterson, Charles Townley, and Virginia Mathews formed a Task Force on American Indians within the Social Responsibilities Round Table and held an initial meeting.

Membership includes a subscription to the American Indian Libraries Semi-Annual Newsletter and AILA-L, a discussion group for all AILA members.

According to Loriene Roy's "Retaining Cultural Identity in a Transformed Future: the American Indian Library Association Response to ALA Goal 2000," as excerpted onto the AILA's official website:[11] The AILA participates in a multitude of programs, awards, outreach services, conferences, and publications.

On February 1, 2019, the AILA released a statement showing support for 2019 ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits conference goers who experienced racism and discrimination.

The AILA further mentioned continuing to work alongside the American Library Association (ALA) to battle discrimination, racism, and bias.