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Summary Notes on US Civil Rights - Native Americans
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Extensive notes on Native Americans as part of the OCR History Course on Civil Rights in the USA.
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“They made us promises” 1865-1900:Hypothesis: Meaning of fight for CR for Native Americans was the recovery of the land that was
rightfully theirs and recognition of their right to self-determination – to be governed by their own
tribal councils and to live according to their own laws, religious beliefs and customs. For closing
decades of 20th C, NAs were deprived of their rights and freedom.
Factors which had changes NA life before 1865: Westwards expansion meant that NAs were
gradually removed from their traditional lands – e.g. approx. 70,000 NAs forcibly relocated to the
Plains to create space for white Americans. Expansion increased with the discovery of gold in
California in 1849 and completion of Union Pacific Railway in 1869. Many of those displaced
perished because they were cut-off from their natural means of subsistence e.g. fishing in California.
From 1851 with the Fort Laramie Treaty, NAs had begun to hand over vast areas of their land via
treaties with the government as they saw that they were powerless. This restricted their freedom
to follow the buffalo herd, thus potentially cutting off their sole food supply – thus the treaties
promised government aid to ensure NAs were fed. Often this didn’t materialise during the Civil War
when funding was stretched and government-appointed Indian Agents were often corrupt and sold
food for their own profit – the tribes starved. Regular soldiers were withdrawn from the Plains to
fight in the war, and replaced with ill-disciplined volunteers, many of whom despised NAs = Sand
Creek Massacre 1864 and Plains Wars 1862-67. Federal government was determined to secure
control of western lands and thus passed Homesteads Act of 1862 and by 1865, 20,000
homesteaders had settled on Plains – this was to the detriment of NAs e.g. 1864 Navajo and
Apache tribes moved on to reservations.
Reservation policy: NAs degree of self-determination was unacceptable to the US government.
Also, significant numbers of the NAs were belligerent and hostile. Thus government policy was to
‘Americanise’ NAs and destroy tribal bonds and culture through education, Christianity and training
them as farmers on government controlled reservations which would not allow them to roam freely
and where tribal beliefs, customs and skills would be eradicated e.g. no more hunting, polygamy,
tribal laws. Tribal chief was replaced with Indian Agent appointed by the Indian Bureau – the
federal government branch which dealt with all things NA. Government broke many of the promises
e.g. 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty established ‘Great Sioux Reserve’ but in 1871 Congress gained power
to change reservation boundaries without consultation – army was used to enforce. White
Americans defended such policy with ideas of “Manifest Destiny” – it was their God-given right to
take ownership of western land. Further erosion of NA lands came with the Custer’s defeat at Battle
of the Little Bighorn 1876 – Great Sioux Reservation reduced to 6 small areas, and the Lakota Sioux
who had fought Custer were reduced to starvation. Implemented without regard for the majority
clause of the Fort Laramie Treaty
Life on the reservations: NAs lost their freedom and ‘Americanisation’ did not bring the suggested
improvements. Reservation Indians were classed as dependent ‘wards of the state’ and thus were
denied civil rights. Tribal life was sustained on the reservations as they were essentially segregated
from the rest of US society. But whilst this can be seen as a positive for NAs, they also retained their
tribal rivalries which prevented them from being a united force against the injustices. The effort to
transform them into farmers was not realised – the land they were given was often simply
impossible to cultivate. Humiliated by being totally dependent on government hand-outs, and
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