Very condensed revision notes on Native Americans as part of the OCR History Course on Civil Rights in the USA.
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Political:
Reservation and ‘Americanisation’: BUT: the NAs degree of self-determination was unacceptable to
US government. Sought to control them, take their lands, break promises and relocate to
reservations. Congress broke 1868 Fort Laramie in 1871.
Dawes Severalty Act 1887: allotted reservation lands into homesteads = quasi-feudalism to proto-
capitalism. As landowners and tax payers, gave them full rights of citizenships. BUT: complete
misunderstanding of what the majority of NAs wanted - didn’t really care for right to vote in US
elections and faced discrimination if they tried to anyway. Assimilation failed.
Curtis Act 1898 & Muskogee Convention 1905: BUT: CA passed and proposed termination of right
of the 5 civilised tribes to self-governing by 1906. Passed despite majority NA vote at Muskogee -
shameful act of political underrepresentation
NA resistance in SC: NA tribes, although lacking solidarity, challenged govt policy BUT: Lone Wolf v
Hitchcock 1903 supported US govt right to revoke treaties as NAs “ignorant and dependent” race
Indian Citizenship Act 1924: citizenship conferred on all NAs BUT: did not follow a NA campaign -
clearly not the desirable goal for anti-assimilation. Limited impact - by 1924, 2/3rds could already
vote due to DSA and marriage. Even if wanted to vote, many states used qualification restrictions to
prevent (although somewhat reversed by Harrison v Laveen 1948). Such small % of population =
little interest to politicians
Meriam Report 1928: marked change in fed govt policy away from allotment BUT: Report didn’t
condemn assimilation per se, but just allotment as a means of achieving it. See ec/soc issues as well.
Indian New Deal 1933-45: FDR showed himself willing to re-assess fed govt policy (unlike Hoover) =
John Collier appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs and urging of action on Wheeler-Howard Act
(IRA 1934) - radical reversal of fed response e.g. attempt to reverse allotment. Collier increasingly
included NAs in work of Bureau of Indian Affairs and many went on to form NCAI in 1941. BUT: IRA
1934 was a compromise, significantly adjusted from Collier’s original bill, especially regarding self-
government - allotment brought to an end, but assimilation remained. Collier incorrectly assumed all
NAs wanted self-determination - allotment had been going for 40 years, many had adapted. Of the
tribes that voted on the self-government provisions, 174 said yes and 78 rejected (30%). TP-wise, cut
short by WW2 and termination - BUT: set framework for 1970s legislation.
Termination 1953: BUT: coincided with mining interests in Indian land - plans to end fed control of
BIA and end recognition of NA tribes and treaty rights = aggressive total assimilation measure.
Demise of termination - 1960s: Lyndon Johnson “The Forgotton Americans” speech to Congress
March 1968 - proposed NCIO to administer federal-funded education and housing programme. NCAI
obtained pledge from Kennedy to increase federal spending BUT: not materialised by Kennedy’s
assassination. NCAI’s progress seen as slow and out of touch (membership full of assimilated
Indians) = Red Power
Nixon 8 July 1970: condemned policy of termination and degree of continuity from Johnson’s
speech = termination ended. Louis R Bruce Jnr appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1969,
many Indian nations regained rights and status (thus allowing them to seek redress for betrayal of
treaties), increased NA employment opportunities in the BIA from 1972. After Nixon, Congress
passed Indian Self-Determination Act 1975 = tribes could negotiate control of education/healthcare
provision and authorised federal funding. BUT: still reliant on extent of federal funding e.g. slow at
first, and cut by Reagan during economic downturn.
Vote: BUT: wasn’t much use - only comprised 1% of population. Thus had to resort to protest
methods (AIM - 1968) and the SC (NARF - 1970)
NARF 1970: oversaw that terminated tribes were successfully reinstated and recognised, and
ensured vote.
Social:
Westwards expansion: BUT: pre-1865: 70k relocated - gold in California in 1849 and Union Pacific
Railway 1969 acted as catalyst.
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