Native Americans Flashcards
Who were the Native Americans?
Native American tribes named Indians by Christopher Columbus in 1492 inhabited the North American continent for thousands of years before the White European settlers arrived.
At the beginning of the 19th century 86 independent tribes many large enough to be considered ‘Nations’ existed.
What was impact of military expansion on the Native Americans?
Increasingly Native Americans were forced to change
What was the impact of white settlement from 1850 onwards on Native Americans?
1850s onward - took their lands and displaced them
What was the impact of the Treaty system ending in 1871 on Native Americans?
Stopped recognition of independent tribes
What was the impact of the Dawes Act in 1887?
Recognises Native Americans as families and not tribes
What was the impact of the Indian Affairs Policy on Native Americans?
Designed to ‘civilise’ Native Americans through boarding schools, to destroy their culture
What was Westwards Expansion?
White settlers pushed Westwards beyond the natural frontier of the Appalachian Mountains, the Indians were gradually removed from their traditional lands - this was a result of the Gold Rush in 1840
Displaces Native Americans to worse land, away from their ancestral land
What was the impact of Westwards Expansion on Native Americans?
The Westwards expansion of the US frontier from the early decades of the nineteenth century onwards was a significant factor in radically changing the way of life of the Indians
Displaced Native Americans to worse land, away from there ancestral land
What was the American Civil War?
Outbreak of the civil war in 1861 affected the tribal life of the Plains Indians by 1865
War increased federal territories
Homestead Act, 1862, - 160 acres owned by white Americans
What was the impact of the American Civil War on Native Americans?
Native Americans lacked protection and were restricted due to the war
What was the Union Pacific Railway?
By 1865, the construction of the Union Pacific Railway was underway
This was a result of the federal governments determination to develop and expand their existing railway network in the East so that it stretched from coast to coast
What was the impact of the Union Pacific Railway on Native Americans?
Effected he Native Americans as it cut through their ancestral land
Disrupted the buffalo herds - 300 million to around 300. This meant that many Native Americans were now without a food source and would die, fundamentally changing the way NA lived
What is ‘Manifest Destiny’?
The 19th century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable
Conflicted with the view of Native Americans creating tension between conflicting races and cultures
What was Westwards Expansion?
White settlers pushed Westwards beyond the natural frontier of the Appalachian Mountains, the Indians were gradually removed from their traditional lands - this was a result of the Gold Rush in 1840
Displaces Native Americans to worse land, away from their ancestral land
What was the impact of Westwards Expansion on Native Americans?
The Westwards expansion of the US frontier from the early decades of the nineteenth century onwards was a significant factor in radically changing the way of life of the Indians
Displaced Native Americans to worse land, away from there ancestral land
What was the American Civil War?
Outbreak of the civil war in 1861 affected the tribal life of the Plains Indians by 1865
War increased federal territories
Homestead Act, 1862, - 160 acres owned by white Americans
What was the impact of the American Civil War on Native Americans?
Native Americans lacked protection and were restricted due to the war
What was the Union Pacific Railway?
By 1865, the construction of the Union Pacific Railway was underway
This was a result of the federal governments determination to develop and expand their existing railway network in the Easy so that it stretched from coast to coast
What was the impact of the Union Pacific Railway on Native Americans?
Effected he Native Americans as it cut through their ancestral land
Disrupted the buffalo herds - 300 million to around 300. This meant that many Native Americans were now without a food source and would die, fundamentally changing the way NA lived
What is ‘Manifest Destiny’?
The 19th century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable
Conflicted with the view of Native Americans creating tension between conflicting races and cultures
Arguments Native Americans did benefit from the Gilded Age:
Education provided gave some NAs the opportunity to find better jobs with some working for the Indian Agency and others as interpreters or scouts in the army.
Some NAs used reservations to set up farming communities
Dawes Act turned some NAs into landowners giving them full rights as US citizens
Arguments that Native Americans didn’t benefit from the Gilded Age:
By 1885 the extinction of the buffalo and the seizure of most NA land had destroyed the NAs traditional lifestyle and confined them to reservations
Reservation life was a failure
Government subsidies were insufficient and were often cut when there were national priorities
Atrocities were committed like the massacres at Wounded Knee in 1890
Education on the reservations was often poor quality
Most NAs were unable to adapt to the allotment policy - women in tribes lost status after the allotment policy as land was given to men of the family
Arguments the New Deal did improve the position of Native Americans:
Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934 gave NAs greater role in the administration of reservations - act was turning point as first attempt by whites to protect NAs right to practice their own religion and assert their cultural identity
Children were allowed to attend local schools and learn about NA culture
Act ended the allotment policy
Federal government funding was provided to improve training in agricultural skills and better medical facilities
Reforms helped to create a greater respect for Native American culture and there were economic benefits too
When was the Indian Reorganisation Act?
1934 - also known as Wheeler-Howard Act
Argument the New Deal didn’t improve the position of Native Americans:
Poverty of NAs was so great that these measures did little to relive their situation
Only 39% of NAs voted for the IRA
Improvements were not maintained after WW2 so they were only short term
IRA was heavily diluted by Congress
Insufficient federal funds to buy back former reservations lands and seizures of land valuable to whites continued despite the IRA
When did the policy of termination begin?
1953
What did the policy of termination mean?
Returned Native American reservation land to local governments
When was the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) founded?
1960
When was the National Advisory Council on Indian Education founded?
1965
What was the National Advisory Council on Indian Education?
Aimed to increase literacy tests and any measures designed to prevent black people from voting
When did the policy of termination end?
1966
When was the Indian Resources Development Act?
1967
What was the Indian Resources Development Act?
Allowed Native American tribes to sell and mortgage their land
Arguments that the actions of Native Americans themselves contributed nothing to the advancement of their civil rights:
NAs were essentially at the mercy of whites’ policy towards them: westward expansion 1851-90 destroyed their traditional lifestyle by wiping out the buffalo and seizing most of their land.
NAs were divided about what “civil rights” actually meant
First attempt to set up an Indian Civil Rights Group, the Society of American Indians, failed in 1911 b/c of tribal divisions and those for and against assimilation
Whites ignored NAs views
Any rights they gained were the result of federal legislation or by favourable Supreme Court decisions
Red Power was arguably a less popular and less effective form of Black Power
Arguments that the actions of Native Americans themselves did contribute to the advancement of their civil rights:
NAs were attempting organised political resistance from an early stage like the Muskogee Convention
Federal government policy was often a reaction to Native Americans attitudes
Contribution of NAs in both World Wars is widely recognised
NCAI and NARF used legal action to promote NA civil rights
Red Power and the occupation movement of the 1970s proved AIM to be a strong force, gained international media attention and inspired many more NAs to fight for land rights
Arguments the policies of the federal government failed to support the civil rights of Native Americans:
Fed gov policy 1851-90 during the Indian Wars was to subject them militarily to white control and seize their land; this + the slaughter of the buffalo by 1885 destroyed NAs’ traditional lifestyle
Dawes Act 1887 - tried to break up their tribal structure by dividing up their land into individual or family allotments
Supreme Court decided in the Lone Wolf v Hitchcock case 1903 that whites could take NA land without consulting them
Indian Boarding schools like the one at Carlisle aimed to destroy NA culture by separating children from their families and forcing them to change their religion, language, clothes and lifestyle
Indian Citizenship Act 1924 was part of the assimilation policy and in any case the federal government made no effort that NAs’ right to vote was actually enforced in the states
Despite IRA land seizures continued
Government support for NAs declined when the USA entered WW2 in 1941, marking the effective end of the IRA
Termination policy of the 1950s marked a return to forcible assimilation after the more sympathetic IRA
Fed gov sympathy and support for NAs declined in the 1980s and NAs were hit by increased unemployment and poverty
Arguments the policies of the Federal Government did support the civil rights of Native Americans:
Indian Citizenship Act could be seen as a genuine effort by the fed gov to give NAs civil rights which were thwarted by states using poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise them
Collier’s IRA ended the allotment policy, banned the further sale of NA land and said any unallotted land not yet sold should be retuned
From the end of Termination in 1968 fed gov policy became much more sympathetic, finally abandoning forcible assimilation
Supreme Court made a series of judgements in favour of NAs
How did the Federal Government force assimilation?
Reservation Policy - attempt to assimilate through education and other policies, controlled by fed gov as an Indian Agent was appointed to each reservation
When was the Dawes Act?
1887
What was the aim of the Dawes Act?
Tried to break up their tribal structure by dividing up their land into individual or family allotments
When was Lone Wolf v Hitchcock?
1903
What was Lone Wolf v Hitchcock?
Supreme Court decided in the Lone Wolf v Hitchcock case 1903 that whites could take NA land without consulting them
What was the purpose of Indian Boarding Schools?
Indian Boarding schools like the one at Carlisle aimed to destroy NA culture by separating children from their families and forcing them to change their religion, language, clothes and lifestyle
When was the Indian Citizenship Act?
1924
What was the Indian Citizenship Act?
Indian Citizenship Act 1924 was part of the assimilation policy and in any case the federal government made no effort that NAs’ right to vote was actually enforced in the states
What were the Plains Wars?
The Plains War was ultimately a series of clashes the main of which were Little Crow’s war (Sioux 1862), Cheyenne uprising of 1863, Red Clouds War 1867 (Sioux) and the Winter Campaign of 1868 against the Cheyenne
When were the Plains Wars?
1862-1868
What was the Reservation Policy?
Reaction to the Plains War + their belief in manifest destiny the government policy was adopted to ‘Americanise’ the Indians, who were considered savages
In order to achieve this tribal bonds + the traditional communal lifestyle had to be destroyed
Impact of the Reservation Policy:
Many of the tribes were now forced to relocate onto small portions of their former homelands
Late 19th century Indian Policy was based on the assumption that the NAs would become farmers, Christians + citizens
In 1870, Supreme Court ruled that congress had power to supersede or even annul the treaties within the Indian tribes
1885, Congress passed the Indian Appropriation Act taking away the right of tribal governments to operate under their own traditional + customary laws and extended federal law to the reservations under the Major Crimes Act of the same year
Aims of the Reservation Policy:
Goal was to make white men of them, to weaken + destroy their tribal relations and individualise them by giving them a separate home, break up the community system
Education Policy towards NAs:
Education for NA children was not seen as a right but as a part of the process of Americanisation and the destruction of tribal culture
Clear intention was to purge young people of their tribal lifestyle
What was education like in reservations?
Education in the reservation schools was usually poor quality + money was sometimes taken by the Indian agents
Curriculum was limited + included English, reading, writing and basic arithmetic
Types of schools:
In addition to the government there was also private charitable organisations which became involved like the Indian Rights Association
They were often critical of the government organisations like the Board of Indian Commissioners
What was the Dawes Act?
Decision was taken by Congress to divide up the reservation lands into Homesteads and allocate these to NA families in the hope this would break up the tribal culture
What was the Ghost Dance?
Considered a religion - would bring back the Buffalo, get rid of white men + bring back dead souls
Desperate attempt to try + halt progression
What was the Massacre of Wounded Knee?
150 women + children died
Lost control of their troops as they opened fire at women + children whilst they tried to take cover
When was the Massacre of Wounded Knee?
1890
When was the Society of American Indians founded?
1911
What was the Society of American Indians?
in 1911, a group of fifty educated American Indian men + women joined together to form the SAI
SAI was the first attempt at establishing an inter-tribal pressure group with the purpose of campaigning for improvement in education + better health care
Impact of the Society of American Indians?
Impact was limited partly by a shortage of funds to challenge discrimination in the courts but largely because of the lack of mass support from NAs themselves
SIA members themselves were not united in their vision for the future of the NA people - majority believed that assimilation was the only route to real improvement
When was the Curtis Act?
1898
What was the Curtis Act?
An amendment to the Dawes Act - obviously entitled the Act for Protection of the People of Indian Territory
Key feature of the act was that it authorised the application of the allotment system to the five ‘civilised’ tribes of Oklahoma, basically ending the independence of those tribes by removing their right to be subject to their own lands + government
Curtis Act proposed the termination of the right of these tribes to be self-governing by 1906
Tribes responded with the Muskogee Convention in 1905 where they proposed a separate state called Sequoyah which would cover their lands - Congress rejected the proposal
Impact of the Curtis Act?
Between 1898 + 1907 100,000 NAs from Oklahoma were assigned land under the allotment policy + a further 2 million acres of former NA land were opened up for white settlements
Impact of WW1 on NAs:
Approximately 10,000 NA men fought in the war + gained recognition by the government for their bravery
They were not segregated in separate units and so had the opportunity to integrate with white Americans
Impact of the Indian Citizenship Act (1924):
In some senses the act did empower the NAs as citizenship technically gave rights nevertheless it could be argued the act made little difference
By 1924, number of NAs who had the right to vote had increased to almost 2/3 of the NA population - partly due to inter-marriage but largely as a result of the allotment system under the Dawes Act of 1887
Extension of the vote to Indians on the reservations in 1924 was therefore more about assimilation than empowerment
When was the Meriam Report?
1928
What was the Meriam Report?
Report was the result of 2 years research by a group of social scientists under Lewis Meriam
Report condemned the allotment policy of the Dawes Act for depriving the American Indians of the land and failing to provide support
Recommended that the government should prioritise the economic + social advancement of the Indians so they could be absorbed into the prevailing society with at least a minimum standard of health + decency
Impact of the Meriam Report?
President Hoover supported the findings and appointed a new Indian Commissioner, Charles Rhoads to put together a reform package - this included the closure of off reservation schools + the improvement of schools on the reservation + improved medical funding
Nothing was done to address the issue of allotted land
Cultural Impact of the Wheeler Howard Act on NAs:
Reforms helped to create greater respect for the NA culture
Indian Reorganisation Act gave NAs the right to practice their own religion + assert their cultural identity
Economic Impact of the Wheeler Howard Act on NAs:
Poverty was so great, the measure, did little to relieve it
Act stopped the sale of NA lands
Insufficient funds
Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934 gave NAs a greater role in the administrations of their reservations
When was the Indian Reorganisation Act?
1934
Social Impact of the Wheeler Howard Act on NAs:
Training in farming was provided + better medical services were enforced
Their children were allowed to attend schools + learn about NA culture - off reservation was banned
Political Impact of the Wheeler Howard Act on NAs:
NAs saw the policy of democracy as alien + part of the ‘white man’s culture’
Greater involvement in the Indian Bureau
Tribes that still lived on the reservations were once again led by the tribal councils + helped encourage tribal loyalties
NAs didn’t have independent courts
Who became commissioner for Indian Affairs in 1933:
John Collier
Aims of John Collier:
Wanted NA reservations to be permanent, sovereign homelands
Centrepiece of his new policy = 1934 IRA which ended policy of allotment, banned further sale of Indian land and decreed that any un-allotted land not yet sold should be retuned to tribal control
Collier by directing New Deal funds towards the regeneration of Indian Reservations, successfully encouraged a renewed respect for NA culture + traditions
Impact of WW2:
WW2 further damaged the Indian New Deal - BIA office moved from Washington to Chicago in 1942 + budget was cut as federal resources were devoted to more urgent war-related activities
Experience of war transformed lives + attitudes of NAs - 350,000 NAs in Us in 1941, 25,000 served in armed forces, higher proportion than any other ethnic minority
40,000 NA’s worked in war-related industries. For many, this involved a permanent relocation to the cities + a willingness to assimilate into mainstream white culture
Collier himself recognised that the fed gov would need to change its NA policy fundamentally as result of war
War accelerated the migration of NAs into towns + cities
Arguments WW2 was a turning point for NAs:
100,000 NAs left the reservations
25,000 NAs served in armed forces
75,000 moved to urban areas to work
Integrated more in the cities than had done on reservations
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) formed in 1944 - united NA in protest
Over next 10 years the NCAI copied the actions of the NAACP + worked through the courts to challenge discrimination in employment + education
WW2 began process of urbanisation
Arguments WW2 was not a turning point for NAs:
For those who remained on the reservations it was a time of great hardship as resources were poured into the war
Many returning NA soldiers were effectively forced back onto the reservations at the end of the war
Many munitions workers were also driven back to the reservations by prejudice + discrimination
When was the Indian Claims Commission?
1946
What was the Indian Claims Commission?
First step towards terminating reservations came in 1946 when Congress, in part to reward NAs for contribution to the war, set up Indian Claims Commission
ICC set up to hear Indian claims for any lands stolen from them since creation of USA in 1776
Commission was initially supported by the NCAI because they welcomed a federal initiative to deal with long standing grievances.
Clear Commission would provide only financial compensation + not return any lands
When was the start of the Policy of Termination?
1953
What was the Policy of Termination?
August 1953, Congress endorsed House Concurrent Resolution 108 which is widely regarded as the principle statement of the termination policy
Many NAs were alarmed about Termination but termination proved hard to resist
Termination would open up yet more valuable NA land + resources to white purchases - coincidently at a time when there was increasing interest shown by timber + mining companies in NA lands
When did Termination end?
1968
What was the End of Termination?
Pace of termination slowed in the mid 1950s as it became clear that many NAs had not been properly consulted and few fully understood its implications
In the 1960s, policy was abandoned - NAs now had highest rates of illiteracy, disease + unemployment in US
Impact of Urbanisation of NAs:
Impact of termination was small - affected just over 13,000 out of a total NA population of 400,000, only about 3% of reservation land was lost
Caused huge anxiety amongst NAs
Had the ironic result of stimulating the formation of ‘Red Power’ protest movement of the 1960s
By 1960, around 60,000 NAs had left the reservations + gravitated mainly to the cities nearest their reservations - Chicago, San Fran, Oakland + Oklahoma
Impact of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s on the NCAI:
During 1960s, the National Congress of American Indians had some civil rights success in the courts + obtained a pledge from Kennedy to develop the human and natural resources of the reservations
NCAI’s legal approach suggested working within the US system + went against many in the movement who still wanted to resist assimilation
Impact of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s on the NIYC:
National Indian Youth Council (NICY) was set up in 1961
NICY took a more active role in protest + in 1964 hundreds of NAs gathered in Washington for recognition in LBJ’s war on poverty
NICY brought court cases with some success
When was the NICY set up:
1961
When was AIM set up:
1968
Impact of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s on AIM:
Inspired by the Black Power movement the American Indian Movement (AIM) was established in 1968 beginning the more radical emergence of the Red Power movement
Red Power:
In response to the emerging black power movement red power began to be used
Engaged in a number of high profile activities to gain media attention + also benefitted from the momentum of other protest movements
Methods of Red Power:
Engaged in a number of high profile activities to gain media attention + also benefitted from the momentum of other protest movements
By 1968, protest was growing strongly particularly among younger NAs
In 1968, NAs in Washington state asserted their old treaty rights to fish in the Columbia river - a ‘fish in’ was staged after the state supreme court failed to uphold these rights
Same year the AIM movement began their own version of the ‘patrol the pigs’ campaign wearing red berets + jackets and monitoring police activity - as a result there was a decline in arrests of young NA offenders
Combined with a more vigorous pursuit of the return of Native sovereignty in the courts and campaigned for the return of tribal lands
When was the Siege of Alcatraz?
1969
What was the aims of the Siege of Alcatraz?
In 1969, the quest for sovereignty reached now + defiant heights when fourteen Indian men + women from all tribes, occupied the deserted prison on Alcatraz island in San Francisco Bay
Led by the young + charismatic Richard Oakes with negotiations carried out by Adam Fortunate Eagle
Island had belonged to the Ohlone Indians before being made a prison in the 18th Century - now deserted the NAs campaigned for its return pointing out the government had brought Manhatten Island from the NAs for $24 in beads + cloth. This was therefore the same amount they offered for the island. When this was refused 80 NAs occupied Alcatraz.
Significance of the Siege of Alcatraz:
Siege failed to regain Sovereignty of the Island but it received huge media attention
Lasted until June 1971 making it a very long running news issue
Reminiscent of the cinematic struggles of the westerns only now with American Indians as heroes
Spread beyond American to the international news raising awareness of NA land issues + poverty
Stirred up young NAs and led to more land claims under the leadership of AIM
During the occupation around 10,000 NAs visited the Island
Could be seen as an influential factor in the reappraisal of government policy in the 1970s
Inspired a wave of other occupations across the nation
When was the Occupation of Mount Rushmore?
1971
When did AIM take over the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington DC?
1972
When was the Occupation of Wounded Knee?
1973
What was the Occupation of Mount Rushmore?
Attempt to reassert the disputed ownership of the sacred burial grounds on the Lakota Sioux Indians
Protesters were eventually evicted, yet NAs subsequently laid claim to the Black Hills by setting up camps there
Ownership of the territory is still disputed
Brought issue of NA land to the forefront of the governments minds
Attracted media attention
What was the significance of the AIM takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington DC?
With a presidential election imminent, its purpose was to raise awareness of the plight of NAs as a result of their unjust treatment since the middle of the 19th century
Violence was used
Although it was intended as a peaceful protest the marches found themselves without accommodation in the city + so occupied the offices of the BIA
What was the significance of the Occupation of Wounded Knee?
It was the sight of the 1890 massacre of the Sioux + was therefore a highly evocative place for all the Indians
Violent occupation of the Hamlet of the Wounded Knee lasted for 71 days + involved resistance to federal marshals, FBI agents + military personnel
Use violent + radical tactics
Acted out with full media coverage from across the USA and the World
Ended with a negotiated settlement
Nixon’s view on NAs:
8th July, Nixon delivered his presidential message to congress in which he criticised the treatment of NAs since the mid-19th Century
Nixon particularly condemned the termination policy + called on Congress to recognise the poverty + stress caused on NAs - as a result termination was ended in 1969
Nixon’s positive attitudes for NAs:
Termination was ended in 1969
In 1969, Nixon appointed Louis R Bruce Jnr as Commission for Indian Affairs
In 1970, the pledge to return Indian lands began with a number of laws authorising the return of tribal lands to the Makah and the Taos Pueblo Indians
Some Indian Nations which had lost official status as a result of termination regained this giving them access to the federal courts - cultural identity regained
In 1972, NAs were given preferential employment rights in the Bureau of Indian Affairs to ensure greater Indian leadership of funding
Nixon put greater emphasis on the improvement of education and the 1972 Indian Education Act involved a substantial increase in federal funding for NA schools
NAs attitude to Nixon:
Nixon was very popular with NAs however his impeachment in 1974 came before any real progress had been made in the big claims between the tribes + the federal government
What was NARF?
Native American Rights Fund founded in 1970 to defend the rights of Native Americans and to preserve tribal culture + a way of life
In early cases they were concerned with hunting + fishing cases however this soon expanded to land claims
Fought for voting rights + the freedom of worship + burial rights to preserve traditional culture
What was the 1974 Oneida vs Oneida and Madison Countries New York?
Case brought before the SC to establish the right of the Oneida tribe to sue for the return of their lands through the SC
What was won at the 1974 Oneida vs Oneida and Madison Countries New York?
Court decided in their favour, opening the flood gate for land claims from other tribes, especially in the East
When was the Oneida vs Oneida and Madison Countries New York?
1974
When was Fisher vs Montana?
1976
What was one at Fisher vs Montana?
Secured the right of tribal courts to decide on all cases relating to the adoption of Indian Children
Beginning of a number of actions to secure the stability of Indian families + giving them the right to decide on all matters relating to adoption + foster care
When was United States vs the Sioux Nation?
1980
What was won at the United States vs the Sioux Nations?
SC ruled that the Sioux Indians were entitled to compensation totalling $17.5 million and an additional 5% interest per year since 1877 for loss of black hills
Sioux refused to accept money preferring instead the return of their land
When was Seminole Tribe vs Butterworth?
1982
What was won at Seminole Tribe vs Butterworth?
SC ruled that the tribe had the right to establish gambling enterprises on their reservation lands even if gambling enterprises were banned by state laws
When was Charrier vs Bell?
1986
What was Charrier vs Bell?
NARF lawyers secured the agreement of the court that remains dug from the ground in Louisiana belonged to the NA community
Over 30 states passed laws protecting Indian burial grounds + remains requiring them to be treated with respect
