Land and Self-DeterminationPublished on Lessons of Our Land (http://www.lessonsofourland.org)

Grades: 9th - 12th Grade Lesson: 3Unit: 3: Contemporary American Indian land issuesSubject: English Language ArtsAdditional Subject(s): History/Social Studies; ScienceAchievement Goal: Understand some of the ways in which American Indian people are makinginformed choices concerning their land assets and supporting their self-determination.Time: Two class periods

Lesson Description:In this lesson, students will be introduced to the ways in which Indian people are making informedchoices concerning their land assets, which supports their self-determination. Students will also learnabout the importance of studying Indian land tenure. Students will read and discuss a news article aboutthe land tenure “revolution” in Indian Country and will research a particular strategy that many Indianlandowners are using to reclaim their land.

Teacher Background:

"The Indian Service is compelled to be a real-estate agent in behalf of the living allottees; and inbehalf of the more numerous heirs of deceased allottees. As such real estate agent, selling andrenting the hundreds of thousands of parcels of land and fragmented equities of parcels, anddisbursing the rentals (sometimes to more than a hundred heirs of one parcel, and again to anindividual heir with an equity in a hundred parcels), the Indian Service is forced to expendmillions of dollars a year. The expenditure does not and cannot save the land, or conserve thecapital accruing from the land sales or from rentals...For the Indians the situation is necessarilyone of frustration, of impotent discontent. They are forced into the status of a landlord class, yetit is impossible for them to control their own estates; and the estates are insufficient to yield adecent living, and the yield diminishes year by year and finally stops altogether...The IndianBureau’s costs must rise, as the allotted lands pass to the heirship class. The multiplication ofindividual paternalistic actions by the Indian Service must grow. Such has been the record, andsuch it will be unless the government, in impatience or despair, shall summarily retreat from ahopeless situation, abandoning the victims of its allotmentsystem. The alternative will be to apply a constructive remedy as proposed by the present Bill."—John Collier, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, February 19, 1934 (Quoted from the Tribal CourtClearinghouse, a project of the Tribal Law and Policy Institute.)

Although the above statement was given over 70 years ago, its description of the effects of allotmentstill resonates today in Indian Country. However, while the BIA still serves as a sometimesinefficient “real estate agent” of allotment land, Indian people are becoming more assertive of theirrights and are reclaiming their land. They are stepping away from being members of a frustrated“landlord class” and becoming individuals or members of groups determined to use their land in a waythat helps them, their family and their tribe.

Standards:This lesson aligns with Common Core standards RH2, RH4, RH7, RH9.

9-10th Grade

RH2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accuratesummary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

RH4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabularydescribing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.Copyright © Indian Land Tenure Foundation, 2014

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RH7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis inprint or digital text.

RH9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

11-12th Grade

RH2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accuratesummary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

RH4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabularydescribing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

RH7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media(e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

RH9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherentunderstanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

Associated California State Academic Content StandardsFor general guidelines for aligning discussions and student writing with English-Language ArtsStandards, see Using Lessons of Our California Land to Help Students Meet California State ContentStandards. (See Lesson Resources section.)

History-Social Science: Standard 11.10.6 calls for students to discuss the the agendas, strategies,and effectiveness of the quests of American Indians for civil rights and equal opportunities, andStandard 11.11 calls for an analysis of the major social problems and domestic policy issues incontemporary American society.

Principles of American Democracy Standard 12.5 calls for students to analyze landmark U.S. SupremeCourt interpretations of the Constitution and its amendments. To meet Standard 12.10, studentsformulate questions about and defend their analyses of tensions within our constitutional democracyand the importance of maintaining a balance between the following concepts: majority rule andindividual rights; liberty and equality; state and national authority in a federal system; civil disobedienceand the rule of law; freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial; the relationship of religion andgovernment.

Teacher Preparation Resources:

Download or make available the High Country News article, “Tribes Reclaim Stolen Lands” listedin the Lesson Resources section.As additional reading about improving government accountability to Native people, you canaccess the article “A banker battles to hold the government accountable” also listed in LessonResources.

Student Activity:

1. Begin the lesson by asking the students if they can define land tenure and explain theimportance of studying land tenure in Indian Country. After this discussion, or if students arehaving difficulty defining land tenure, quote the following definition given by one scholar:“Land tenure refers to the nature of land holding whether tribal, communal, fee simple or privateownership” (Imre Sutton, American Indian Territoriality).

2. To flesh this out, consider projecting the rest of the definition for students to see:“[Land Tenure] also embraces arrangements for utilization of the land such as agreements

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Land and Self-DeterminationPublished on Lessons of Our Land (http://www.lessonsofourland.org)

where all members of a group may use a commons or that land may be used by informationagreement or lease, or that land may be sold or alienated. Indian land tenure is complex andinvolves more than just tribal and individual ownership, for it does embrace the issue oftrusteeship and heirship. It also includes the leasing of trust land and the sale of such land tonon-Indians, who tend either to operate the land and/or also live on former trust lands within theborders of a reservation. On non-allotted reservations, individual Indians and families mayoccupy areas by long-term consent and by what is called tenancy-in-common or by tribalassignment.”

3. In order words, Indian land tenure is not only about who owns land, but the social relationshipsbetween people who use, own, and occupy that land. These relationships can be eitherinequitable or fair, or promote self-determination and empowerment or not.

4. Apply this conception of land tenure to the effects of the Dawes Act. Have the students read theHigh Country News article “Tribes reclaim stolen lands.” After the reading, the students shouldwrite down brief answers to the following questions: Why does the author call the activitiesdescribed in this article a “revolution”? Do you agree? What specific problems mentioned in thearticle are a result of the Dawes Act? Refer students, also, to North Fork Mono Tribal ChairmanRon Goode’s Chronology of Land Tenure listed in the Lesson Resources section. As a final writingactivity, have the students identify and describe the ways in which tribes are reclaiming theirlands. They should write down as many of activities as possible.

5. Create a list of the activities on the board in class. The list should include: the creation oflandowner associations, renegotiating leases, assuming tasks and responsibilities formerlycarried out by the BIA, litigation, business start-ups, building land record systems, creating GISsystems, creating tribal land acquisition programs, land interest consolidation, legislativeactivities and lobbying.

6. From this list, ask the students to select one activity that most interests them. Ask them toresearch an example of this activity in Indian Country. Their priority should be on the work oftheir own tribe if such an activity is taking place on or near their reservation or community.However, this shouldn’t be a strict requirement. The students should be able to report back onwho is carrying out this activity, where, and how. They should demonstrate how it changesIndian land tenure in favor of tribal self-determination and the empowerment of individualIndians. To research this activity, encourage students to contact the organization or group theyare studying for an interview. The students should submit their findings either in an oralpresentation or short written report.

7. One thing that all of these projects should have in common is that they were started by Indianpeople who identified a problem in their community and thought strategically and innovativelyabout how to solve that problem. As a supplementary activity, consider having your studentsthink about a need they see in their community and write up a brief plan on how they would goabout solving that problem, using the activities described in the news article as models.

Evaluation:Lesson Resources:

The Tribal Court Clearing House, Tribal Law and Policy InstituteHigh Country News

Tribes reclaim stolen landsA banker battles to hold the government accountable

Indian Land Tenure Foundation: Allotment InformationImre Sutton, American Indian Territoriality: An Online Research GuideRon Goode’s Chronology of Land Tenure

Source URL: http://www.lessonsofourland.org/lessons/land-and-self-determination

Links:[1] http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/fractionated_ownership.htm[2] http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/tlpi.htmCopyright © Indian Land Tenure Foundation, 2014

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Land and Self-DeterminationPublished on Lessons of Our Land (http://www.lessonsofourland.org)

[3] http://www.hcn.org/issues/135/4328[4] http://www.hcn.org/issues/135/4329[5] https://www.iltf.org/resources/land-tenure-history/allotment[6] http://thorpe.ou.edu/treatises/AITchptr%20pdfs/[7] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/sites/default/files/GoodeLandTenureHistory_1.pdf[8] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/grade-level/9th-12th-grade[9] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/flag/unflag/recently_viewed/414?destination=printpdf/414&token=Ini_qSvZMmMldZjY4qvDKifJyBd7JS2ueN_HApI-_Es[10] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/flag/flag/lessons/414?destination=printpdf/414&token=Ini_qSvZMmMldZjY4qvDKifJyBd7JS2ueN_HApI-_Es[11] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/subjects/english-language-arts[12] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/subjects/historysocial-studies[13] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/subjects/science[14] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/states/california[15] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/states/north-fork-mono[16] http://www.lessonsofourland.org/units/3-contemporary-american-indian-land-issues

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