3. Native American Civil Rights and the Dawes Act (1887)
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 06-06-17 09:51
View mindmap
- Native American Civil Rights and the Dawes Act (1887)
- Response of government to fact reservations had allowed NAs to retain some culture and customs
- 1887
- Dawes Severalty Act
- Act turned NAs into landowners and gave them full citizenship because they now paid taxes.
- Further undermined position as it ignored NA's belief that land belonged to all creatures and could not be owned by individuals
- Resulted in decline in land held by NAs as much of it was bought by white settlers when NAs were unable to farm it.
- Although received money from sale, often unable to manage such sums and therefore slopped further into poverty and debt
- Act also worsened position of many NA women
- Particularly true of matriarchal tribes (e.g. Iroquois and Cherokee)
- Property belonged to women
- Under Dawes Act, land was given to men
- Five Civilised Tribes
- Initially exempt from Dawes Act
- 1898, Curtis Act ended exemption
- Tribes attempted unsuccessfully to prevent this:
- Proposed lands became state of Sequoyah
- Because of failure, NAs lost further 2 million acres of land
- Tribes attempted unsuccessfully to prevent this:
- Cherokee Nation v. Hitchcock case of 1902
- Cherokees challenged Congress's right to deny them them rights to live according to their laws
- Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock case
- Gave gov right to revoke all treaties with NAs
- Stated Mas were 'an ignorant and dependent race' who were not citizens of USA and therefore had no rights
- By outbreak of war in 1914 - position of NAs
- Changed from their perspective to the worse
- Lands given to them by treaty in 1860s had often been taken away
- Now denied right to negotiate over land
- Although given rights through Dawes Act, meant little in practice as often discriminated against regardless
- Development of allotment process meant lost identity which at least had been preserved to some extent albeit unintentionally through reservation system
- Also lost pride and self-respect as often dependent on gov for food
- Therefore, by 1914, many NAs had seen their already miserable lives deteriorate even further
- Dawes Severalty Act
- Divided reservations up into plots or allotments which were given to NAs
- As result they now owned land
- Allotment Process
- Reservation lands divided into homesteads or allotted
- Hence term by Dawes Act
- Process attempted to turn NAs into landholders, further destroying their tribal culture
Comments
No comments have yet been made