““Pendulum” of Indian policyPendulum” of Indian policy

• Cycles of binary thinking Cycles of binary thinking

(“good” or “bad” Indian)(“good” or “bad” Indian)

• Policy swings betweenPolicy swings between

Autonomy and AssimilationAutonomy and Assimilation

• Policies intended to assimilate Policies intended to assimilate

often backfired on gov’toften backfired on gov’t

Early Indian Policies Early Indian Policies • Treaties, 1770s-1871

– Took land but

recognized nationhood

• Removal, 1820s-50s– Moved tribes but

sparked resistance

• Reservations, 1830s-80s– Isolated tribes but

retained land base/self-rule

Recent Indian Policies Recent Indian Policies • Allotment / boarding schools, 1880s-1920s

• Indian New Deal / Reorganization, 1930s-40s

• Termination/ Urban Relocation, 1950s-60s

• Political Self-Determination, 1970s-80s

• Economic/Cultural Self-Determination 1990s?

ALLOTMENT ERA, 1880s-1920s ALLOTMENT ERA, 1880s-1920s

• General Allotment

Act, 1887 (Dawes Act)

• Privatized Indian lands

to create farmers

• Non-Indians

“checkerboarded”

most reservations

Allotment, 1887-1934 Allotment, 1887-1934 Each tribal member

received allotment

(in trust 25 years)

Surplus land sold to

white settlers

Many allotted lands

taken through fraud(via language, kids, etc.)

Gov’ts foreclosed lands

for unpaid taxes

160

80

40

020406080

100120140160

Head ofhousehold

Singleadults

Kids

Alloted acreage

Effects of Allotment Effects of Allotment Half of reservation lands lostHalf of reservation lands lost

Notion of individual

private property

(“break up tribal mass”)

Farming failed in

some regions.

BIA undermined

tribal governments

Split tribal membership

156

78

020

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1881 1900

Millions of acres

18 million acres allotted;

49 million acres surplus

VulnerableVulnerablelands lands

Rich farmland

Forests (timber)

Lakefront

Minerals/oil

Tribal18%

Alloted82%

OneidaOneida (1838) (1838)

2,581 acres2,581 acres

(1978 figures)

Tribal13%

Alloted87%

Lac CourteLac CourteOreillesOreilles (1854) (1854)

30,529 acres30,529 acres

Tribal20%

Alloted80%

Bad River (1854)Bad River (1854)41,802 acres41,802 acres

Tribal62%

Alloted38%

Lac du Flambeau Lac du Flambeau (1854)(1854)

40,479 acres40,479 acres

Tribal70%

Alloted30%

Red Cliff (1854)Red Cliff (1854)7,267 acres7,267 acres

Tribal70%

Alloted30%

St. Croix (1934)St. Croix (1934)1,715 acres1,715 acres

Federal attacks on sovereigntyFederal attacks on sovereignty

1885: Major Crimes Act creates federal jurisdiction over 7 crimes between Indians on Indian land:

(Murder, Manslaughter, Rape, Assault w/ intent to kill, Arson, Burglary, Larceny)

1886: Kagama decision extends federal “plenary power” over Indians to an “incontrovertible right.”

Congress passes ~ 5,000 laws regulating Indians--most without their consent or input.

Boarding SchoolsBoarding Schools

• Removal of kids from family, landRemoval of kids from family, land

• Cultural assimilation/ChristianizingCultural assimilation/Christianizing

• Economic trainingEconomic training

BIA and Mission School policiesBIA and Mission School policies

• Forced attendance

• Native name replaced

• Languages forbidden

• Hair, clothing changed

• Practicing traditions taboo

St. Joseph’sSt. Joseph’sCatholic School,Catholic School,Menominee Res.Menominee Res.

• Students learned toStudents learned to work the white systemwork the white system

• Students met other Students met other tribal memberstribal members

• Turned negative into Turned negative into “ “pan-Indian” (supratribal) pan-Indian” (supratribal) national movementnational movement

Unintended effectsUnintended effects

Tribal backlashTribal backlashto allotmentto allotment

• 1894 Hopi petition

• Allotment ended in Southwest, 1911

• Merriam Report blamed allotment for poverty, 1928

xxxxxxxxxx Early ProtestsEarly Protests

• Opposed allotment

• Christian churches against poverty • Lone Wolf decision kept Indians as

federal “wards”, 1903

• Nice decision: wards even if citizens,

1916

Society of American IndiansSociety of American Indians

Favored“progressive”(assimilation)solutions Not “traditional”(tribal) solutions

But raisedpublic awareness

Some veterans, allottees already citizens

Rest of Indians became dual citizens of U.S. & own nation

Kept “right of any Indian to tribal or other property”

Some traditionalists opposed U.S. citizenship

Indian Citizenship Act, 1924Indian Citizenship Act, 1924

INDIAN NEW DEAL ERAINDIAN NEW DEAL ERA1930s-1940s1930s-1940s

• Indian Reorganization

Act (IRA), 1934

(Wheeler-Howard Act)

• Identified with FDR

& BIA’s John Collier

• Intended to end

allotment, start

autonomy

Autonomy Effects of IRAAutonomy Effects of IRA

• (Altered) self-rule restored on some rezes

• Resisted by some tribes - Hopi, Pueblos

• Tensions between

traditional Chiefs &

IRA “tribal councils”

on some reservations

- Lakota, Iroquois

ak

Assimilationist Effects of IRAAssimilationist Effects of IRA• Replaced traditional governance with U.S. model like corporate boards

• Companies had picked Tribal Council to sign mineral leases (Standard Oil on Navajo)

• Tribes to develop constitutions, hold elections, use foreign parliamentary procedures

• Interior/BIA controlled funds, could veto tribal decisions

Settled (extinguished) tribal land claims until 1978

Tribe paid estmated “price per acre” of the land at time it was illegally taken ($1200 each to Potawatomi)

ICC did not return land; some tribes turned down $$

Indian Claims Commission, 1946Indian Claims Commission, 1946

Cultural Survival through “Dark Ages”Cultural Survival through “Dark Ages”

Termination Resolution (1953) to “free” successful tribes fromfederal gov’t, communal lands

Ended 109 tribes, subjected to state/local control

Federal services lost; privatelands lost via tax foreclosure

Major cause stimulating Indian rights movement;13 tribes restored

TERMINATIONTERMINATIONERA, 1950s-60s ERA, 1950s-60s

Menominee terminated, 1961-73

NW Shoshone decision, 1942

(treaty rights only for “temporary occupancy”)

Public Law 280, 1953

(state law enforcement on rezes in 5 states, include. WI)

Tee-Hit-Ton decision, 1955

(Alaskan tribe has no pre-Conquest “aboriginal rights”)

Federal moves Federal moves vsvs. sovereignty . sovereignty

Returning WWII, Korean war veterans fight for rights

National Congress of American Indians, 1944

American Indian Chicago Conference, 1961; NIYC 1963

Activism in 1950s-early 1960s Activism in 1950s-early 1960s

Iroquois protest at U.S.-Canada border for Jay Treaty

Force Indians off reservation

by offering job training

opportunities in urban areas.

Individuals made to sign

agreements that they would

not return to their reservations.

Urban populations grew in LA,

NY, Chicago, Mpls, Denver,

Albuquerque, OKC, etc.

Relocation Act, 1956 Relocation Act, 1956

Loss of Native culture &

languages, yet kept touch

with rural reservation

Increased contact among

different tribes; growth of

pan-Indian identity

Common experience of

urban poverty & struggle

Exposure to civil rights

activism, successes

Effects of Urban Effects of Urban Relocation, 1960s Relocation, 1960s

Chicago American

Indian Center

powwow

POLITICAL SELF-DETERMINATION POLITICAL SELF-DETERMINATION ERA, 1970s-1980s ERA, 1970s-1980s

American Indian Movement, 1968American Indian Movement, 1968

Founded at Stillwater Prison;

inspired by Black Panthers

Urban Indians monitored

Minneapolis police brutality

on Franklin Avenue

Made contact with traditional

chiefs on reservations; fused

urban and rural activism

Alcatraz 1969Alcatraz 1969

Indians of All Tribes

occupies abandoned

San Francisco Bay prison

Cites law that unused

federal property

reverts to tribes

First major national

pan-Indian action

Trail of Broken Treaties 1972Trail of Broken Treaties 1972

Caravan to Washington,

DC for self-determination

Unplanned occupation of

BIA headquarters before

1972 election

Nixon White House

embarrassed by clashes

AIM 1972-73AIM 1972-73 AIM protests beating

death of Lakota elder

in Gordon, Nebraska

Police attack on

courthouse protesters in

leads to Custer, SD riot

AIM backs Lakota traditionalists

vs. corrupt Pine Ridge Chairman

Dick Wilson, and his Guardians

Of the Oglala Nation (GOON)

AIM 1972-73AIM 1972-73 AIM protests beating

death of Lakota elder

in Gordon, Nebraska

Police attack on

courthouse protesters in

leads to Custer, SD riot

AIM backs Lakota traditionalists

vs. corrupt Pine Ridge Chairman

Dick Wilson, and his Guardians

Of the Oglala Nation (GOON)

Wounded Knee 1973Wounded Knee 1973Taking a stand at the site of 1890 massacre on Pine

Ridge

Wilson’s tribal governmentbacked by BIA, FBI,

U.S. Marshalls, military

AIM and Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization in W.K.

TraditionalLakota Chiefsredeclared anIndependent

Oglala Nation

Drew Indians from around

North America

Example oftraditionalself-rule?

2 AIM killed; many injured; surrendered after 71 days

AIM leaders tried, but few convicted ( FBI misconduct &COINTELPRO files)

After W.K.: 3 years of violence on Pine Ridge; up to 80 Lakota died

Oglala, June 26, 1975: 2 FBI , 1 AIM die; Day after land transfer.Peltier later convicted.

Aftermath of Aftermath of Wounded Knee SiegeWounded Knee Siege

1960s-1970s romanticism1960s-1970s romanticism• Support for Native environmentalism

• Rebirth of “Noble Savage” images

• Chief Seattle speech rewritten to

emphasize ecological themes

Iron EyesCody ad

vs. pollution

Pendulum swings to autonomyPendulum swings to autonomy

1975: Indian Self-determination and Educational Assistance Act lets tribes manage own housing, law-enforcement, health, social service, development.

1978: Indian Child Welfare Act gives tribes authority over most Indian adoption and child custody

Menominee still poor after 1973restoration; needed hospital

Menominee Warrior Societyoccupies Alexian Novitiatenear Gresham

Battles with white vigilantes;National Guard separates sides

Milwaukee Coast Guard Stationoccupied, 1971 (used as school)

Wisconsin occupations, 1970sWisconsin occupations, 1970s

GreshamGresham

MilwaukeeMilwaukee

International IndianTreaty Council, 1974;hemispheric networks

United Nations Indigenous PeoplesConference,Geneva, 1977

Longest Walk (SF to DC) opposeslegislation, 1978

1970s Activism1970s Activism

Treaty rights backlash, 1980sTreaty rights backlash, 1980s

• Began in Northwest fishing conflicts, 1960s

• Sportsmen & reservation whites oppose tribal land use

• “Wise Use” resource & corporate interests

• WI, MN groups part of national movement

Self-Determination Self-Determination extends to economy extends to economy

& culture,early 1990s& culture,early 1990s

• Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 1988

• Tribes allowed same level of games as their states

• Casinos give tribes new jobs, influence

• Public awareness of Columbus, mascots, sacred sites, etc.

Columbus Day Reburial ceremony

Seminole casino

Big Foot Memorial RideBig Foot Memorial Ride

Commemorating

journey leading up to

1890 Wounded Knee

massacre

Oka 1990Oka 1990Armed standoff betweenMohawk Warrior Society &Canadian Army over burialsite threatened by golf course

Early 1990s romanticismEarly 1990s romanticism

• “Noble savages” in Dances with Wolves

• New Age groups exploit spirituality

• But growing support for Native environmental movement

2000s backlash? 2000s backlash?

• Gaming revenue conflicts– “Rich Indians” message

(like Termination, anti-Semitism?)

• Reservation jurisdiction

conflicts– More conservative judges

• Tribes now have means

to fight back in this cycle? Schwarzenegger ads against tribal campaign donations :

The New “Terminator”?

WI Republican video oftribes “scalping” taxpayer

Era Policy trend Global trend

1880s-1920s: Assimilation Imperialism/racism

1930s-1940s: Autonomy Economic reform

1950s-early 60s: Assimilation Cold War/individualism

1970s-early 90s: Autonomy Civil rights/liberation

Late 1990s-2000s: Assimilation? Anti-multiculturalism

Pendulum of Federal Indian PolicyPendulum of Federal Indian Policy