Native Americans Thematic

Question 1

Why was assimilation negative politically for Native Americans?

Answer 1

It went against their concept of self-determination.

Question 2

What did the Curtis Act do (1898)?

Answer 2

It ended the exemption of the Five Civilised Tribes from the Dawes Act.

Question 3

What was the ‘Lone Wolf vs Hitchcock’ ruling? (1903)

Answer 3

The Supreme Court stated that Native Americans were an ignorant and dependent race. It gave the government the right to revoke all treaties with Native Americans.

Question 4

When were political rights given to Native American women?

Answer 4

The Indian Reorganisation Act 1934.

Question 5

What were two Native Americans able to achieve in Arizona in 1948?

Answer 5

In 1948, two Native Americans in Arizona were able to successfully challenge restrictions on their voting rights. Achieved with the support of the NCAI. Other states still able to restrict voting right however.

Question 6

Who was appointed Commissioner for Indian Affairs in 1969?

Answer 6

Robert Louis Bruce Jr. A policy of affirmative action was also pursued in the Bureau for Indian Affairs.

Question 7

What did the Indian Self Determination Act do? (1975)

Answer 7

It set out the process by which Native American tribes could take responsibility for their own education, health, and service provision.

Question 8

What did the Indian Education Assistance Act do? (1975)

Answer 8

The Indian Education Assistance Act (1975) allowed Native Americans to have a much greater involvement in their child’s education process.

Question 9

What was the ruling and significance of Fisher vs Montana? (1976)

Answer 9

Fisher vs Montana (1976) put an end to Native American children being forcibly removed from their families. The Supreme Court ruled that in the future tribal courts would rule on adoption. This was a significant recognition of tribal courts.

Question 10

What was the political significance of ‘Seminole Tribe vs Butterworth’ (1982)?

Answer 10

Seminole Tribe vs Butterworth (1982) gave the Seminole the right to established gambling enterprises on their land, which went against state laws. In doing so, this ruled that Native Americans had their own rights on their own land.

Question 11

How did the government aim to destroy Native American culture on the reservations?

Answer 11

i) Teaching Christianity on reservations
ii) Parents were forced to send their children to off-reservation boarding schools where they had to renounce their tribal beliefs and speak a different language
iii) An 1883 Dance Order banned traditional Native American dances and celebrations

Question 12

What were the cultural benefits of the Indian Reorganisation Act? (1934)

Answer 12

It gave Native Americans the right to practice their religion and practice traditional dances.

Question 13

How did Native Americans help to preserve their culture in termination?

Answer 13

They grouped together in ghettos which helped to preserve their culture, laying the ground for celebration.

Question 14

What was the Native American Religious Freedom Act (1978)?

Answer 14

It gave Native Americans the right to practice their traditional religions and use sacred objects and rituals.

Question 15

What was the outcome of ‘Charrier vs Bell’? (1986)

Answer 15

The Supreme Court established that remains dug from the ground in Louisiana belonged to Native Americans. As a result, states passed laws which protected Native American burial grounds.

Question 16

How did AIM try to preserve Native American culture?

Answer 16

In 1972, AIM established survival schools to teach and preserve Native American culture.

Question 17

How did the Federal Government erode Native American lands in the early part of the period?

Answer 17

i) The belief in Manifest Destiny
ii) The Homestead Act (1862) gave farmers a 160-acre plot free on the condition that they farmed it for 5 years.
iii) Establishment of the railways encouraged further settlement on the Great Plains

Question 18

Numerically, how damaging was the Dawes Act for Native American land?

Answer 18

1887: 138 million acres
1934: 48 million acres

Question 19

What did the Indian Reorganisation Act do?

Answer 19

It prevented the further sale of Native American lands to individual buyers. It improved conditions on the reservations as New Deal agencies-built schools and hospitals.

Question 20

What was a short term impact of the establishment of the National Congress of American Indians (1944)?

Answer 20

The government responded by establishing the Indian Claims Commission. A limitation of the ICC is that it tended to offer compensation rather than returning land.

Question 21

Who did Nixon return land to?

Answer 21

The Makah, Taos Pueblo and Yakama Indians.

Question 22

What was the significance of the ‘Oneida vs Oneida’ ruling? (1974)

Answer 22

The Supreme Court decided to rule in favour of land being returned to the Oneida tribe, this set a precedent for other tribes to begin to claim land to be returned to them.

Question 23

What was the outcome of ‘Sioux Nation vs USA’? (1980)

Answer 23

The Lakota were awarded $123.5 million for the Black Hills of Dakota. This inspired other tribes to pursue compensation for lost land.

Question 24

What did the Native American Rights Fund do?

Answer 24

NARF trained legal specialists and were responsible for most cases which went before the Supreme Court.

Question 25

What was the impact of the Siege of Alcatraz?

Answer 25

It led to worldwide media coverage which highlighted the plight of Native Americans. It helped to unify Native American, approximately 10,000 visited the island during the siege, there was an increased awareness of the need for Native American solidarity. It also encouraged further militant action.

Question 26

Where was a notable fish-in from the NIYC?

Answer 26

Washington state, where the Supreme Court had failed to uphold the treaty rights that stated Native Americans could fish in the Columbia River.

Question 27

Name three notable Native American protests in the 1970s.

Answer 27

i) Occupation of Black Hills of Dakota by the Lakota (1971)
ii) AIM took over the Bureau of Indian Affairs (1972)
iii) Occupation of Wounded Knee (1973)

Question 28

What are the most significant factors politically, culturally, and with relation to land?

Answer 28

Federal government for all three (though NA and Supreme Court did play a substantial role)

Question 29

What are the most significant turning points, politically, culturally and with relation to land?

Answer 29

Politically: 1970s
Culturally: 1970s
Land: Dawes Act

Question 30

What was the Indian Child Welfare Act? (1978)

Answer 30

It attempted to regulate the forced removal of Native American children from their families.