Week 3:Native American Policy

History 121

Indian Intercourse Act, 1790Negotiations with tribes through Federal

GovernmentIndian Affairs under Department of War,

1824Changes to Department of Interior, 1849

Indian Removal Act, 1830Removal of Indians to Indian Territory

(Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma)Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

Negates treaties with Indians removed to territory

Indian Policy before 1877

Corruption of Indian Officials

“Ventilated” blankets, spoiled food

Territorial Treaties & ReservationsUS government hurt Indians by:

imposing treaties (loss of land) by forcerefusing to protect Indian land/rights in treaties from

whitesFort Laramie Treaty, 1868

Creates Great Sioux Reserve in SD“insure civilization for the Indians and peace and

safety for the whites.”Reservation policy:

confine Indians to least desirable landspromise aidIndians less independent economicallyReservations weaken Indians politically

Supreme Court define Native Americans as non-citizen wards

US ends treaty making in 1871

Map 17-2, p. 510

The Oglala Sioux spiritual leader, Chief Red Cloud in an 1868 photograph. Here he is seen with (l. to r.) Red Dog, Little Wound, interpreter John Bridgeman (standing), (Red Cloud), American Horse, and Red Shirt. He ventured to Washington with this delegation to discuss with President Ulysses S. Grant the various provisions of the peace treaty, just signed, to end the violent conflict over the Bozeman Trail.

6© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.

Board of Indian Commissioners, 1871Church denominations could appoint

Indian agentsClean up corrupt reservation managementReformers try to “civilize” Indians:

goal = assimilationBoarding schools (Carlisle in PA) teach children

white cultureIndian Rights Association assume Indian

ways inferiorMost members white women

First est. 1879Forced assimilationIndian children taken from families

Lost Traditional LanguageReligionCulture

Indian Boarding Schools

Carlisle Indian Industrial School Students, 1900

p. 439

p. 439

Dawes Severalty Act, 1887“General Allotment Act”

Reversed reservation policyDivided reservation lands

160-320 acres to each family headPrivatize communal landsIndians with private property become

citizensWhites buy unallocated landAssimilationDestroys tribal organizationLoss of land

Post-AllotmentUS government still used force:

massacre Lakotas (Wounded Knee, SD--1890)

crush Ghost Dance (revival of traditions)Indian landholding declines

whites cheat Indians into selling landSchools demoralize children

not accepted by either Indians or whitesCurtis Act, 1898

Abolished Indian Territory in OklahomaOpens up to settlers/Land rush

© 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. 14

The celebrated artist Frederic Remington (1861–1909) produced this sketch of Oglala Sioux at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. SOURCE: Oglala Sioux performing the Ghost Dance at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota. Illustration by Frederic Remington, 1890. The Granger Collection.

p. 513

p. 514

Society of American Indians (SAI)Indians debate different tactics to address prejudice Middle-class Indians form SAI

(1911)Help fellow Indians and challenge

stereotypesCollapses (1920s) because of insufficient funds, white prejudice, & weak Indian unityTribal fragmentation divides

Indians

20th Century PoliciesIndian Citizenship Act, 1924

Confers American citizenship on IndiansIndian Reorganization Act, 1934

AKA “Indian New Deal”FDR & Collier reverse Indian policy

Restore Indian lands to tribal ownershipGrant tribes some political autonomy

Termination Policy, 1954-1964Terminates tribal status of 109 tribes (13,263

Indians lose tribal affiliationLose access to health care, education, etc

As the commissioner of Indian affairs, John Collier right reversed long-standing U.S. policy, insisting that “the cultural history of Indians is in all respects to be considered equal to that of any non-Indian group.”

Wide World Photos, Inc.

John Collier, with Hopi Leaders Loma Haftowa and Chaf Towa

Red PowerPan-Indian activist movementAmerican Indian Movement (AIM)

Reject assimilationOccupation of Alcatraz Island, 1969-

1971American Indian Movement (1973)

seize hostages at Wounded Knee, SDIndian Self-Determination and

Education Assistance Act, 1975Gave federally recognized tribes control

over how money spentNative American Languages Act,

1990

AIM

Ralph Crane, Life magazine © Time, Inc.

"Red Power" Movement on Alcatraz, 1969

Calling their movement “Red Power,” these American Indian activists dance in 1969 while “reclaiming” Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Arguing that an 1868 Sioux treaty entitled them to possession of unused federal lands, the group occupied the island until mid-1971.

Poverty: poorest ethnic group in US, highest unemployment rate; malnutrition

Health: high rates of alcoholism (4x), tuberculosis(3x), diabetes(2x), suicide(3x) compared to rest of nation

Education: 50% high school drop-out rate on average

GamingBingo on reservations since 1970s; casinos since

1980Semi-sovereign status means must enter into

agreements with statesHas helped raise standard of living for some tribes;

caused additional problems for others

Native American Issues Today