NA 1) The Progress and Development of Native American Rights

Question 1

At the start of the 19th Century, how many independent tribes were there?

Answer 1

86

Question 2

List three characteristics about the Plains’ Indians way of life:

Answer 2

Nomadic
Worshipped nature
Had their own culture, ceremonies, languages, laws, governments

Question 3

How many settlers were there on the Plains by 1865?

Answer 3

20,000

Question 4

What impact did the railways have on NAs?

Answer 4

Crossed Indian lines
Disrupted buffalo herds + brought whites to hunt them
Companies encouraged settlers

Question 5

Briefly outline the position of NAs before WW1.

Answer 5

Gov. aim = assimilate Indians through education, conversion to Christianity, turn them into farmers
Forced to send children to school and renounce tribal beliefs
Lost the right to determine what happened to their land in 1871; Congress was given power to decide on setting up reservations, relocating tribes, redrawing boundaries

Question 6

What was life like on reservations?

Answer 6

Dependent on food from gov. (often never came); humiliating
1880s = drought
Measles + other diseases
Alcohol addiction due to the availability of whiskey
Denied civil rights; treated as ‘wards of the state’
Exceptions, e.g, Nevajo tribe (adapted to farming; increased their land from 4-10.5 million acres and their sheep/goats from 15,000-1.7 million)

Question 7

By 1900, how many of the original 240,000 Indians remained on the Plains?

Answer 7

100,000

Question 8

Briefly explain the outcome of the 1887 Dawes Act.

Answer 8

As reservations had unintendedly allowed the NAs to retain their culture and customs, the Act turned them into landowners, who could receive full rights of citizenship after 25 years.
NAs now paid tax, which ignored their belief that land belonged to all creatures and could not be owned.
NA land declined as they were unable to farm it and it was bought by settlers; NAs were unable to manage the money and slipped further into poverty.

Question 9

Why did the Dawes Act worsen the position of women in matriarchal tribes?

Answer 9

In these tribes, the property belonged to women; the Act gave the land to the male head of the family.

Question 10

Who was initially exempt from the Dawes Act and when did this change?

Answer 10

The Five Civilised Tribes.
The 1898 Curtis Act ended this exemption; they unsuccessfully attempted to prevent this and lost a further 2 million acres as a result.

Question 11

What was significant about 1903 Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock?

Answer 11

Gave the gov. the right to revoke all treaties; stated that NAs were ‘an ignorant and dependent race’; stated that they were not citizens; took away their rights.

Question 12

By 1914, how had the position of NAs changed for the worse?

Answer 12

Lost treaty lands
Lost right to negotiate
Received unwanted civil rights by Dawes Act + were discriminated against regardless
Allotment Policy made them lose their identity (which had been preserved in reservations)

Question 13

What was the gov.’s aim for the 1924 Snyder Act?

Answer 13

Right to vote (full U.S. citizenship) = not intended to increase political involvement; intended to increase speed of assimilation.

Question 14

What did the 1921/3 Leavitt Bill (‘Dance Order’) do?

Answer 14

Banned practising of some traditional dances.

Question 15

What were the gains as a result of the New Deal?

Answer 15

1934 Indian Reorganisation Act
Improved reservation conditions; agencies of New Deal built schools & hospitals
Encouraged women to take on a greater economic role & take up higher education

Question 16

What was the 1934 Indian Reorganisation (Wheeler-Howard) Act?

Answer 16

The first move to preserve NA culture and involve them in administration of reservations. Right to:
Practise their religion
Undertake ceremonial dances & celebrations
Prevent sale of NA land to buyers
Extension of women’s political rights

Question 17

What were the limitations of the New Deal?

Answer 17

Brought an end to the allotment policy but did not end assimilation, which would be achieved through reforms (recognise the benefits of the American way of life).
Tribes were still not independent or self-sufficient
Lands that should have been returned were not
Funding for improving reservation conditions was transferred to the war effort
At best, limited improvement

Question 18

What did the Termination Policy do?

Answer 18

Ended recognition of NA tribes and treaty rights; treated as independent and self-supporting

Question 19

What was life like in the urban areas during the termination period?

Answer 19

Terrible accommodation
If lucky to find a job, poor pay (unemployment rate = up to 18%)
Low literacy rates
Even by 1960, 25% = poor
Over 50% returned to reservations, which had declined further; New Deal funding had ended; worse conditions than cities
Groups formed in cities (ghettos); unintentionally preserved culture as they made c.r groups to protect heritage
Overall decline in NA position but created conditions for growth

Question 20

What were the positive aspects of the period 1969-92?

Answer 20

Determination to preserve culture resulted in lands being returned
Some nations regained recognition and rights
Gained respect for religious traditions and right to worship freely
30 states passed laws to protect burial grounds and remains
Moved nearer to self-sufficiency; negotiated responsibility for health, education and other social services
Self-determination encouraged by recognition that NAs could live according to tribal culture; restored confidence

Question 21

What were the negative aspects of the period 1969-92?

Answer 21

Process of restoring lands = slow; compensation often given but it was often unwanted
Education & employment levels in 1992 = low; poorest element of nation

Question 22

How did the population of NAs grow from 1970-90?

Answer 22

800,000 - 1.7 million