Native American Turning Points

Political:

• NA denied any political/legal rights / Human, Civil Rights derived 
• Laws of the USA were imposed on tribes and tribal laws replaced
• NA were classified as 'wards of the state' as they were neither citizens or taxpayers

Economic:

• Reservations set up without consultation - provided land for NAs to occupy
• Life was gloomy and compact; with more than 130k NA's living at once.
• Although, Navajo benefited from reservations - quickly adapted to farming and by 1900 more than 22,000 lived on from 8,000 in 1868

Social:

• NA culture serverly affected but was not eradicated - still together as a community 
• Forbidding polygamy ; forbidding herbal remedies ; abolishing tribal laws ; ending communual living ; ending powers of the tribal chief ; sending children to off - reservation boarding schools

Political:

• Land owning NA paid taxes and gained full rights of citizenship after 25 years 

Economic:

• Divided reservations into allotments - undermined belief that land was communal 
• By 1900, only 78 m of the 150m acres of reservation land remained - land given was diffucult to cultivate, NA's didn't know how to farm - sold land to white people for money 
• Turning them into farmers -> relying on different kind of food, rather than bull 

Socio-cultural:

• Forced a patriarchal society rather than traditional matriarchal -> impacted rights of NA women
• Became surrouned by white society  
• Land often got into the hands of white settlers when NA's got unsuccessful and got into debt

• Overall, this period showed the remarkable decline of the autonomy and freedoms of the NA people that they enjoyed way before white emigrants arrived on their homeland.
• Not only were they forced off their land and were handicapped in terms of expressing their beliefs and customs, they were now subject to assimilation with these intruders.
• They were subjugated and a lack of unity meant that the government continued its oppressive policies.  

-        Approximately 10,000 NA men fought in WWI

-        They were in integrated units

-        Recognised for their bravery

-        Families were sponsored to move from reservations to the cities to aid war industries – this aided assimilation for some – ASSIMILATION BECOMING MORE EMBEDDED

• This was not a reward for their role in the war
• This was not as a result of NAs campaigns – don’t want to be treated the same
• Citizenship was conferred on NAs whether they wanted it or not
• Not to empower but to assimilate - citizenship did not restore their sovereignty. Attacks on their culture, such as the Dance Order which banned some of their traditional dances, further weakened their position

By 1924, 2/3 NA's had citizenship 

The extension of the right to those living on reservations was not intended to increase their political involvement but rather to increase the speed of their assimilation. 

Pressure for assimilation came from states in the west, where reservations were located.

 Many states in the west resisted the extension of the franchise to NAs – 20 years later they had Harrison vs. Laveen 1948

• In 1923, the American Indian Defence Association (AIDA) was set up – blocked the Bursum and Leavitt Bills (Pueblos – Dance orders and about land)
• 1928: Brookings Institute for Government Research,
  •  It condemned the allotment policy
  • It concluded the Dawes Act, deprived NAs of land and left them economically insecure
  •    It criticised the conditions on reservations
  •  ‘the most impoverished people in the US’

-        Present Hoover appointed Charles Rhoads as Indian Claims Commissioner  1929 to pursue reforms

Political/ Legal:

• NAs increasingly involved in the BIA
• Extended political rights to NA women
• Allotment policy was ended

Economic/ Land:

•  Curtailed the sale of lands to individual buyers
• Unallotted land lost between 1900-30 was restored
• NA were encouraged to aspire for higher education e.g. Gladys Ten
• Hospitals, schools, and irrigation systems built on reservations

Socio-Cultural

• Overturned the 1883 ban on ceremonial dances
• Collier’s work stimulated an interest in Indian Arts + Crafts
•  Protected the right for NAs to practice their own religion (Peyote – a hallucinatory drug)
• Children could attend local schools /  Tribal councils returned

The poverty of Native Americans was so great that the measures did little to relieve their situation

75 out of 245 tribes rejected the measures to be organised into self-governing bodies

A secret ballot was used to see if the act would be accepted. This seemed like democracy and tribes saw it as suspicious

The ideal of a separate federal court for NA affairs was abandoned

No former reservation lands were brought back – insufficient federal funds were made available

The improvement was not long lasting. After WWII, termination was introduced.  (looked to end reservations and end tribes)

The dramatic loss of land was curtailed/stopped

Federal funds did support the economic development of Native American communities

Education and health provision improved significantly

By 1938, the NA population was increasing faster than any other group

Tribes were led by tribal councils again

The input of NAs in the BIA gave them some input on Indian policy

• Overall: Despite the policy of assimilation continuing throughout the period, there were examples of change from the degradation of culture and land seen at the beginning.
• The extension of the franchise in 1924 could be seen as a positive remark but many were refused such right.
• The horrific treatment of NA’s was now acknowledged on a federal level and by individuals like Collier who sought to replenish lost culture and ideals.
• Presidents like Hoover and Roosevelt were also sympathetic, most importantly with the WHA in 1934.
• The 2^nd World War did much to prevent ‘de facto’ reforms but out came the beginnings of a unified protest with the NCAI.
• However, many assimilated and were urbanised, the issue of civil rights was more complicated than before.

• Indians were no longer considered ‘wards’ of the nation.
• Native American tribes were lo longer to be recognised as self-supporting citizens.
• Proposals were put forward to end the reservation systems
• The voluntary relocation programme attempted to lure them away from reservations by advertising the benefits of urban living.
• Indian vocational training Act gave work related training to help NAs settle into city life.
• Towards the end of termination NAs seen as the ‘forgotten Americans’ – they had the highest rates of poverty and illiteracy. 

Arguably, the shift to termination and urbanisation was in some ways disastrous to assimilation. While many were assimilated in the process, others returned back to reservations and if they stayed, retained their culture and way of life. Coinciding with poverty, illiteracy and discrimination, many took up a more militant approach in an attempt to reclaim what rightfully belonged to NA’s coming especially from the youth. By 1968, it was evident that a united front would ensure that the struggle for justice, freedom and independence would be fruitful.

• Overall: Arguably, the shift to termination and urbanisation was in some ways disastrous to assimilation.
• While many were assimilated in the process, others returned back to reservations and if they stayed, retained their culture and way of life.
• Coinciding with poverty, illiteracy and discrimination, many took up a more militant approach in an attempt to reclaim what rightfully belonged to NA’s coming especially from the youth.
• By 1968, it was evident that a united front would ensure that the struggle for justice, freedom and independence would be fruitful.

 The emergence of Red Power from the late 60s via novels and songs, i.e. Bury my Heart at the Wounded Knee by Dee Brown raised awareness for the plight of NA’s, coinciding with the black protest movement.

In 1968, a fish-in was staged in Washington State after the SC failed to uphold hunting rights.

A manifestation of Red Power can be seen by the creation of the American Indian Movement 1968 which took up the cause of promoting improvements to NA’s and eliminating discrimination by actively patrolling streets.

Native Americans were now finally successful in preserving what they had left of their traditional way of life. 

Some tribes regained land, while others rejected financial compensation and continued to demand the return of their land. 

Native American groups such as AIM and Red Power fought hard in this era 

They were given protection of burial groups and remains and the US government accepted the Native American right to live according to their tribal culture. 

The Native American population doubled during this period, though they still had the lowest education and highest unemployment of any group in the USA.