Native Americans Flashcards
What does BERTWHIP stand for in terms of the organisation of Native American culture?
Buffalo Exposure Roles Tipis Warfare Horses Indian medicine/religion Polygamy
What was the impact of the Civil War on NAs?
- Uneasy relationship with army
- Treaties led to loss of land
- Loss of food supply (buffalo)
- Treatise between the Indians and the army
- Govt treaties promised aid but it was not forthcoming
- Corrupt Indian agents sold food destined for Indians = starvation
What were the attempts used to assimilate NAs prior to 1900?
- Reservation Policy
- Education
- Dawes Act
What did the reservation policy do? How effective was it?
- Housed Indians on small areas of enclosed land
- Aimed to prevent conflict, teach Indians the American way of life and make Indians dependent on US govt.
- It removed the nomadic lifestyle
- Quite a lot of compliance but lead to reluctance to following American lifestyle
- NAs didn’t know how to farm
- More hostility between fed govt and NAs
What did the education policies prior to 1900 do? How effective were they?
- Took away NA identity
- Focus on children- they are the future
- Children given ‘white name’ and ‘white man’s clothing’ with hair cuts
- Stripped of culture
- Young people wouldn’t have inherited old traditions - they’d eventually die out
- Children wouldn’t have fought back
- Forcibly made to fit in with white culture
What did The Dawes Severalty Act do? How effective was it?
- Parcel up reservations
- Gave groups/families allotted land
- Forced Indians to own land and become homesteaders
- Broke up tribal structure
- NAs didn’t want to be split up
- No longer dependent on US govt.
- Lost some of the best land - given to whites
What are the conclusions that can be made by 1900?
- Removal of self determination
- Reservations were miserable, deprived and ridden with disease
- By 1900 - 140,000 of the NAs who had lived on the Plains in 1865 had left
- No identity
- Land taken
- Widespread prejudice
When/What was the Indian Appropriation Act?
1871
- Determined how NA tribes were organised on the reservations
- Made them wards of the state
- Treaties removed - stops ownership of land
When/What was the Dawes Act?
1887
- The allotment policy
- Now homesteaders
How were NA’s used in WW1?
- Fought in the army
- Integrated with whites
- First stage of urbanisation of NA
When/What was the Leavitt Bill?
1926
- Dance Order
- NAs were banned from traditional rituals/dances
- Act was prevented buy American Indian Defense Association
When/What was the Indian Reorganisation Act?
1934
- Known as Wheeler-Howard Act
- ‘Indian New Deal’
- Allowed NA more control over the administration of reservations
- Rights to practise own religion, assert cultural heritage and overturned ban on ceremonial dances
- Curtailed sale of unallocated Indian land
How were NAs used in WW2?
- Used as messengers due to native language
- 75,000 moved to urban areas and 25,000 served in army
- NA war veterans weren’t granted the same privileges as white soldiers and were forced back to reservations
When/What was the Indian Claims Commission?
1946-78
- Recognised the achievements of the NA war veterans
- Opportunity to claim land that had been lost by treaties in the 19th century
- Most recieved financial compensation rather than land
When/What was the Policy of Termination?
1953
- Attempt to fast track assimilation
- Forced citizenship onto NAs
- Govt. no longer responsible for NAs so funding could go elsewhere
When/What was the End of Termination?
1968
- Negative affects of policy clear
- NAs had highest illiteracy, disease and unemployment
- LBJ proposed National Council on Indian Opportunity to promote education opportunities
When/What was the Siege of Alcatraz?
1969
- Red Power movement led 14 men and women to seize control of island prison
- The NA took control of Alcatraz which has once belonged to the Ohlone Indians
- Symbolic of the life of imprisonment of NAs in poverty on reservations
- Ended in 1971
When/What was the Occupation of Mt Rushmore?
1971
- Sacred Black Hills of Dakota
- Attempt to assert the disputed ownership of the sacred burial grounds
- Protesters were eventually evicted but subsequently camps have been set up to lay claim to the area
When/What was the Occupation of Wounded Knee?
1973
- Site of 1890 massacre chosen as pace of protest following the suspected financial dealings of the president of the Reservation and the maltreatment of Indian inhabitants
- Violent occupation lasted 71 days
- Covered extensively by media and ended with negotiated settlement
When/What was the Indian Self Determination Act?
1975
- Tribes could negotiate contracts with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take responsibility for social aspects (health/education etc)
- Authorised allocation of fed. funding for social programmes
- Increased self governance
When/What was the American Indian Policy Review Commission?
1975
- Reviewed historical and legal relationship between fed govt. and Indiands
- Examined injustices
- Future govt. policy set
What other acts were passed in the 70s of some significance?
- Education Assistance Act 1975
- Native American Religious Freedoms Act 1978
- Native American Graves Protection Act 1990
Which presidents supported the rights of NAs- how?
- FDR: Wheeler Howard Act
- Truman: Indian Claims Commission
- Eisenhower: Indian Vocational Training
- JFK
- LBJ: Affirmative Action - economic opportunities, End of Termination
- Nixon: End of Termination cont. , Education Act
- Ford: Self Determination, Policy Review Commission
- Carter: Religious Freedoms Act
- Bush: Graves protection
Which presidents didn’t support the right of NAs - how?
- Lincoln: Homestead Act (Manifest Destiny - movement west)
- Grant: Indian Appropriation Act, reservation
- Truman: Policy of Termination
- Cleveland: Dawes Act
- Coolidge: Leavitt Bill
- Teddy Roosevelt
- Reagan: Vietnam
What was the Cherokee Nation vs Hitchcock SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Cherokee tribe challenged Congress for the denial of their rights to live according to their own laws and traditions
- 1902
- Failed
What was the Lone Wolf vs Hitchcock SC ruling? Date? Success?
- SC supported the power of the US govt to revoke all treaties with NAs which led to further takeover of land
- Left NAs at mercy of govt. with no one to fight on their behalf
- Lost 90% of NA land
- 1903
- SC success acting against NA Civil rights
What was the SC ruling in 1913?
- Ruled the Pueblo Indians as incapable of managing land
- Led to formation of American Indian Defense Association (AIDA)
What was the Harrison vs Laveen SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Two NAs in Arizona challenged the refusal to register to vote
- 1948
- Unsuccessful
What was the Oneida vs Oneida and Madison Counties SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Oneida tribe sued for the return of their lands
- Court decided in their favour - increase in other tribes seeking to regain land
- 1974
- Success
What was the Fisher vs Montana SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Sought t overturn ruling that forcibly removed NA children as part of Americanisation
- Tribal courts now decided on adoption
- 1976
- Success- steps towards self determination with recognising importance of tribal courts
What was the United States vs Sioux Nation SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Sioux tribe were entitled to compensation for their loss of land
- 1980
- Success in awarding $17.5 million but this was refused
- Encouraged other tribes to seek compensation
What was the Seminole Tribe vs Butterworth SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Seminole granted the right to establish gambling businesses on their land - against state law
- 1982
- Success - NAs had their own rights on their own land - overruled state law
What was the Charrier vs Bell SC ruling? Date? Success?
- Ruled that burial grounds in Louisiana belonged to NAs
- 1986
- Success - NA burial grounds protected under law
What did the Society of American Indians do? Date? Achievements?
- 1911
- Volunteer group - deliver voice of NA public opinion
- Hub for political advocacy, lobbying congress and office of Indian Affairs
- Unrealistic expectations and lack of NA support
- Dissolved by 1923
- Biggest achievement was Indian Citizenship Act
What did the American Indian Defense Association do? Date? Achievements?
- 1923
- Set up by a group of writers/anthropologists
- Campaigned for laws protecting NA rights of land, belief, culture, traditions, arts and crafts
- Blocked Leavitt Bill
- No NAs involved and lacked mass NA support
What did the National Congress of American Indians d? Date? Achievements?
- 1944
- Established in response to termination and assimilation
- First NA protest movement
- Involved ordinary NAs in the struggle to stop reservations and integrate NAs into society
- Fought legal battles over discrimination
- Pressured fed govt. for Indian Claims Commission
- Mass support from NAs and legal methods to seek rights but didn’t satisfy everyone
- Had pledge from JFK to develop humans and natural resources of reservations- not kept due to his assimilation schemes
What did the National Indian Youth Council do? Date? Achievements?
- 1961
- NAs in college or just graduated
- Protect fishing rights in the north west
- Took on lawsuits to protect treaty rights, voting rights and religious freedom
- Fishing rights were successful but slow
- Helped galvanise movement with focus on fishing
- Gained publicity
What did the American Indian Movement do? Date? Achievements?
- 1968
- Established due to slow progress of other organisations
- Militant (some say was counter productive) - took up issues of racial discrimination against NA youths
- NAs patrolled streets wearing red berets and jackets monitoring police activities
- Decline in arrest/imprisonment of young offenders
- National attention and publicity
- Youth coming together
What did the Native Americans Rights Fund do? Date? Achievements?
- 1970
- Defended rights of NAs to preserve culture
- Wanted to recover lost tribal lands, hunting/fishing and water rights
- Fought for right to vote in states where registration was restricted
- Trained NAs as attorneys - specialising in NA legal issues
- Main organisation pressing SC cases on behalf of tribes
- Reasserted rights under long forgotten treaties - some regained land
What caused the Occupation of Mt Rushmore and what happened?
- In 1876 the US govt. took the Black Hills of South Dakota from the Lakota tribe
- Occupation happened in 1871 led by AIM
- An attempt to assert rights over sacred burial grounds
What were the methods of the Occupation of Mt Rushmore?
- Members of AIM camped on the mountain for more than a week
- Insisted govt. return all the stolen land
- Prayer staff planted on the mountain to claim it
What were the outcomes of the Occupation of Mt Rushmore?
- Protesters eventually evicted
- SC rules that the Black Hills were illegally seized by the fed govt.
- NAs offered financial compensation - refused
- Crazy Horse Memorial built
- 1st instances of organised NA resistance
What happened in the Seize of Alcatraz?
- Sioux Tribe members landed in Alcatraz 1964
- Tried to seize it under 1868 treaty that allowed Indians to surplus fed land
What were the methods in the Seize of Alcatraz?
- Force of 89 men, women and children
- Indians landed and claimed island for all tribes of North America
- Addressed manifesto to ‘The Great White Father and All His People’
- Intention to turn Alcatraz into an Indian school, cultural centre and museum
What were the outcomes of the Seize of Alcatraz?
- Govt. sent into negotiate but unsuccessful - Nixon was happy if they remained people
- Occupation was good for most of late 1969
- College students returned to school in 1970
- People left when armed fed marshals descended on the island
- 9 month occupation opened the way for more protests and occupations
What caused the occupation at Wounded Knee and what happened?
- Feb-May 1973
- Involved AIM and 200 of Lakota Tribe
- Protest started in Feb 1973
- Protesters occupied town of Wounded Knee after failed attempt to impeach tribal president Richard Wilson
- Took control for 71 days
- Ray Robinson (key rights activist) went missing and was only confirmed dead in 2014
What were the methods used at the occupation of Wounded Knee?
- Lakota Tribe and supporters occupied town for 71 days
- Used airlifts for food and essentials
- Used violence - engaged in cross fire with fed troops - some protesters were killed/injured
- Site of 1890 massacre highlighting maltreatment of NAs
What were the outcomes of Wounded Knee occupation?
- Events inspired NAs
- Many traveled to protest
- There was a widespread public sympathy for the goals of the occupation
- Pine Ridge Indian Reservation had higher rate of internal violence
- AIM leaders had charges dismissed
What happened at the Pine Ridge Shootout?
- June 1975
- Armed confrontation between AIM activists and FBI
What were the outcomes of the Pine Ridge Shootout?
- Arrests
- 2 FBI agents killed and one activist killed
- Leonard Peltier sentenced life in prison for murder of FBI agents
- Tension and distrust of fed govt. developed
What happened at the Indian Occupation of the BIA and what caused it?
- Outrage and sorrow over the death of Richard Oakes in September 1972
- Representatives of several Native American groups gathered in Denver to make plans for a caravan (movement of people) intended to bring a focus on Native American concerns to the Nixon Administration
- ‘Trail of Broken Treaties’
What were the methods used at the Indian Occupation of the BIA?
- 500 American Indians and AIM protested
- Took over Bureau of Indian Affairs building
- Guards misunderstood that BIA had given the Indians permission to stay past closing
- Indians converged in the Interior building for a week
- AIM presented 20 points to Nixon- demands
What were the outcomes of the Occupation of the BIA?
- New organization established: National Tribal Chairman’s Association
- NTCA given offices within National Council on Indian Opportunity
- White House Agreed to discuss points
- Nixon signed Menominee Restoration Act that recognised the tribal status of the Menominee Indians
- Other terminated tribes regained their federally recognised status
