Native Americans - in-depth studies

Question 1

What benefits did the Gilded age (1870-1900) bring to Native Americans?

not really

Answer 1

Navajo accessed 10.5 Million acre increase in land from the Gov

• The Dawes act (1887) made some into landowners (160 acres) which gave them full citizenship, but Indians didn’t want this.

Question 2

What were the negatives of the Gilded Age?

Answer 2

• The Wounded Knee massacre destroyed the Sioux (1890)
• education was poor, off-reservation boarding schools often found no employment opportunities - alienation

Question 3

why were reservations a failure

Answer 3

• Natives lost their freedom and had no civil rights.
• Life on reservations was harsh and the land was often difficult to farm.
• Reservation size was significantly reduced.

Question 4

What were the benefits of the New Deal on Native Americans?

Answer 4

• The Indian Reorganisation Act 1934 meant Native Americans had a greater role in reservation administration.
• Corporations were established to ensure resources were better managed.
• Training in farming and better medical services was established.
• Tribes on reservations were led by tribal councils, which helped encourage tribal loyalties, which the government had previously tried to break up.

Question 5

What were the benefits of the New Deal on Native Americans - culture?

Answer 5

There was better respect for Native American culture.

• Indian arts and craft act (1935)
• protected their right to practise religion and assert their cultural identity - including using peyote, a hallucinatory substance for religious visions.
• Their children could attend local schools and learn their culture.

Question 6

What were the benefits of the New Deal on Native Americans - land?

Answer 6

The Allotment policy was abandoned (after the meriam report) and further land loss prevented.

Question 7

What were the limitations of the New Deal on Native Americans?

Answer 7

Native poverty was so great that the measures had little impact.

• Assimilation continued, and termination was introduced after WW2.

Question 8

How did Black Power have a significant influence on Native Americans?

Answer 8

‘Red Power’ was taken directly from Black Power and Malcolm X.

Question 9

How was Black Power not that influential on Native Americans - militancy?

Answer 9

Militancy was already a feature in some groups - National Indian Youth Council.
The militancy was a direct response to the ghettoisation they lived within

Question 10

example of new deal legislation

Answer 10

The Indian Reorganisation Act (1934)
- Native Americans had a greater role in reservation administration + MINERAL RIGHTS

Question 11

significance of the Indian arts and craft act

Answer 11

(1935) - preserve indian culture

Question 12

Meriam report

Answer 12

(1928)

showed how the Dawes act (1887) had failed to transform Indians into family farmers, while depriving Native Americans of land and natural resources.