1900 - 45 Into the melting pot

Question 1

What was the SAI?

Answer 1

• The Society of American Indians
• Formed in 1911, by 50 educated American Indian men and women
• This was the first attempt at establishing an inter tribal pressure group
• Campaigned for improvement in education and better health care
• They rejected the widespread idea that assimilation into white culture was the only path forward
• through speeches and public events they pushed back at the harmful stereotypes and promoted NA voices
• However their impact was limited partly because of a shortage of funds to challenge discrimination in the courts and partly because of the lack of mass support from the Indians themselves

Question 2

What was the Indian Citizenship act?

Answer 2

• In 1924, the Indian Citizenship act granted US citizenship to all NA born in the US
• Some argue that it was passed to honor NA who served in WWI
• Whilst others believe it was another strategy of the governments relentless drive for total assimilation and a way to pressure NA to abandon their tribal identities due to this some NA leaders opposed the act
• The act did not necessarily guarantee the right to vote, as many states resisted the extension of the franchise to NA

Question 3

What was Harrison v Laveen ?

Answer 3

• A landmark court case in Arizona that dealt with NA voting rights
• Frank Harrison and Harry Austin, two members of the Mohawk-Apache Indian tribe
• Both attempted to register to vote in Arizona but they were denied by Laveen, the county recorder who claimed that they were under federal guardianship as NA living in reservations, and thus were ineligible to vote under state law
• The supreme court however ruled in favor of Harrison and Austin and identified that NA were citizens under the 14th amendment and Indian Citizenship act
• And that living on reservations did not disqualify them from voting

Question 4

What was AIDA?

Answer 4

• The American Indian Defense Association was formed in 1923 by John Collier
• It was created to protect NA rights to their land, their beliefs and traditions

Question 5

What was the Meriam Report?

Answer 5

• Was published in 1928 and was a major turning point in US policy towards NA
• It was a federal study of the conditions that the NA were facing, especially under policies such as the Dawes act which reduced NA land that they owned
• Carried out by Lewis Meriam
• it described the dreadful conditions in the reservations that the NA were forced to live in, and explained how NA were deprived of their basic needs such as education and healthcare
• The report claimed that the Indians were the most impoverished people in the US
• Also found that the policy of forced assimilation had robbed NA of their self esteem and had destroyed families

Question 6

How did the Meriam report have a positive impact?

Answer 6

• ## As Hoover supported the recommendations of the Meriam Report, he appointed a new Indian commissioner , Charles Rhoads, to put together a reform package along the lines of the ones mentioned in the report such as improved reservation schools and improved medical facilities which was provided by Federal Funding

Question 7

How was Roosevelts New deal a turning point for Native Americans?

Answer 7

• The Indian Reorganisation Act ( Wheeler-Howard Act 1934) , this act intended to recognise and preserve the traditional culture of Indian tribes , and it also ended federal policies aimed at assimilation
• Their rights to practice their own religion and to assert their own cultural identity was also protected
• For example the act overthrew a law of 1883 that banned ceremonial dances and celebrations
• The act also stopped the allotment policy from the Dawes act which had broken up tribal lands and caused massive losses, and it provided funds for tribal economic development and helped some tribes recover the land that they had lost
• However Tribes could vote to reject the IRA and some did in fact do this because they feared the government and did not trust them

Question 8

How did Collier improve quality of life for NA ?

Answer 8

• He was able to return some of their lost rights of self determination
• Did this by
• Tapping into the resources available through other New deal agencies to build hospitals and schools
• NA women were encouraged to aspire to higher education. Gladys Tantaquidgeon, for example studied anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania

Question 9

What was the Indian New Deal?

Answer 9

• A series of reforms introduced during the New deal aimed at specifically improving the lives of NA
• Was aimed around the IRA

Question 10

How was WW2 a turning point for NA??

Answer 10

• During this period around 100,000 Indians left their reservations. 25,000 of these served with distinction in the armed forces, and 75,000 moved into urban areas to work in the defence industry
• For some NA it would be their first experience of living and working outside their NA world
• Many NA got their first industrial jobs during the war in cities and defense industries, and some tribes benefited economically from wartime projects such as roads and school sand hospitals built on reservations
• However after the war, returning NA soldiers were forced due to discrimination to return to their reservations and they were not allowed to take advantage of the educational opportunities offered to white American veterans

Question 11

What was the NCAI and what did it do for NA rights?

Answer 11

• The National Congress of American Indians was founded in 1944
• And was a outcome of WW2
• It was set up to end reservations and absorb NA into American society
• Helped to defend tribal sovereignty by fighting against termination and assimilation policies in Congress