American Democracy and the Promise of Justice

Content Objective

Shift in Indian Policies

Federal Indian Policies has seen many significant changes since the United States became a nation.  Some of the changes in policy to deal with the “Indian Problem” had three underlying assumptions: 1. Indians would assimilate, 2. Indians would eventually disappear, die out due to relocation, loss of traditional subsistence and economic practices, and 3. Indians would be exterminated: as a result, the Federal Indian Policies were marked by short term solutions.⁴

American Indian History is divided into several sections; the Treaty Making Era, Removal Era, Reservation Era, Allotment & Assimilation Era, Indian Reorganization Act Era, Termination & Relocation Policy Era, and finally, the American Indian Self-Determination Policy Era. The Treaty Making Era began before the United States became a nation.  Native Americans had treaties with European powers, and that practice continues through 1871, overlapping with other eras.⁵  The practice of making treaties is an agreement between nations, in this case, the agreement between United States and tribal nations.  The Constitution along with Treaties were determined as the “Supreme Law of the Land,” and that is still the case today.  Many treaties were attempted between the Navajos and various governments to prevent raiding.  However, the treaties were unsuccessful because the governments involved did not understand the Navajos governed themselves through “Natural Community” system.  Basically, the Navajo family units lived in bands of family units with their own headman.  A headmen was only responsible and governed his own band.  So when a headman signed on behalf of his family unit, it did not include all other bands of Navajos.

Under President Andrew Jackson, Federal Indian Policies changed quickly. The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress to remove Native Americans from the east coast, the southeast, and Northeast United States to west of the Mississippi in order to obtain more land for the expanding American colonies, and the discovery of gold in Georgia. As the non-Indian population continued to grow, more and more people started moving west seeking to make their fortune in ranching, farming, industry, and mining, especially after the discovery of gold in California.  However, miners and settlers targeted California Indians for extinction, especially during the California Gold Rush.⁶  In wake of expansion of the United Stated to the west in the late 1840’s, the reservation concepts were created to relocate more Native Americans, as opposed to killing Indians.  Most Indians relinquished their land in exchange for a guarantee for tribal sovereignty. Many congressional laws were passed to gain federal control over Indians.  When Indian Military diminished, the government relinquished their promise for Indian sovereignty. By 1871, Congress prohibited further treaties.  Fortunately, the Navajos were able to negotiate the Treaty of 1868 before it went away.  The Treaty allowed the Navajo people to go “home.”⁷

After the Civil War, Native Americans again found themselves in the way of “progress.” This marked the beginning of the Allotment and Assimilation Era.  From 1887 through 1933.  By this time, the population of America reached from coast to coast, but Native Americans are still visible.  Senator Dawes and congress passed the Dawes Act along with other legislation to break up tribal land holdings as a means to assimilated the “civilize” the Indians into the dominate culture and society.  In other words, the agenda was to actively and aggressively end tribal sovereignty.⁸  The General Allotment Act allowed the President of the United States to divide the reservation into 160 acres allotments to each family and placed in 25 year trust.  The leftover reservation lands were opened up to white settlers.  The goals was to encourage the Indians to become farmers, and acquire the habit of thrift, industry and individualism needed for assimilation into white culture.⁹  In addition, Following the Dawes Act, other policies allowed Indians to lease or sell allotment with permission from Indian Affairs, before the 25 years were up in response to pressure from white settlers.  In the end, The Dawes Act was considered a failure, and played a huge role in opening vast amounts of Indian Lands to white settlers. 

The 1928 published Meriam Report findings included extreme poverty, and extremely poor health conditions of American Indians in 20 states.  Again, the Navajo Reservation was excluded from the allotment provision.  The reservation actually increased in size.  First of all, the Navajos had honest agents on their side who advocated on behalf of the Navajos because the reservation was not suitable for farming.  Secondly, the Navajos had a strong delegation who made numerous trips to lobby to extend their reservation.¹⁰

By an Act of Congress in 1934, The Indian Reorganization Act also known as Wheeler-Howard Bill was passed to mark return to American Indian self-governance.  The goal of the Wheeler-Howard Bill was to restore management of affairs to tribes, prevent further depletion of material resources, and build up economically sound basis for livelihood.  John Collier was appointed as commissioner for Indian Affairs by President Roosevelt in 1934.  His first order of business was to end allotment policy, and reconsolidated the land into reservations, and reinstate or reorganized tribal governments.¹¹ Tribes were also encouraged to create their own constitution and by-laws.  Unfortunately, the constitutions were standardized and largely based on the American constitution. Within the two year provision, 181 tribes adopted the act.  The Navajos and 77 other tribes rejected the act.¹²

Termination and Relocation: Indian Policy (1945 – 1961) under President Eisenhower was designed to force Indians into white civilization as a way to include Native Americans into the New Deal.¹³ The federal government wanted to relieve itself of the burden of providing for Indians after World War II.  The objective was to severe land ties, and rescue Indians from poverty on reservations, but ultimately, they wanted to terminate ties between the federal government and tribal government, and tried to make the Indians disappear.  The plan was to relocate Indians from rural communities to urban cities to eliminate government dependency and assimilate them through total immersion, unconcerned with Native American cultures.  Many relocated Indians suffered through victimization, and unemployment, while the reservations suffered from decreased funding.  Despite the devastation, the government was unprepared for increase in Indian resistance, and cultural resiliency.  The Termination and Relocation policy created a lasting distrust between federal government and Native American tribes.¹⁴ The Navajos were fortunate enough to escape the termination policy and Public Law 280 because the government did not feel like the Navajos were ready to be emancipated.¹⁵ Public Law 280 allowed certain states civil and criminal jurisdiction over Indian Reservations.

Response toward Native American Indians began to change around the 1960s especially after coalitions and factions like the American Indian Movements and other groups were established.  The resistance drew attention to the plight of Native Americans as a result of federal policies.  Both President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Richard Nixon supported the policy of self-determination for American Indian People.  President Nixon was able to reinstate the status of some tribal nations that were terminated in the previous era.  Two critical pieces of legislation passed in congress: The Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975) and the Indian Child Welfare Act (1978).¹⁶ American Indian Self-Determination Policy ended termination and relocation policies, and emphasized the status of tribal nations as sovereign nations, domestic dependent nations with a status higher than states, re-affirmed treaties, in conjunction with the Constitution, as the supreme law of the land.  It also authorized the Bureau of Indian Affairs to contract directly with tribal nations to run their own programs and services. 

Indian Self Determination Policy allowed for maximum Indian Participation in federal services to Indian communities that was more responsive to the needs and desires of the local communities.  The policy allowed for transition of services of programs to be planned, conducted, and administered by tribal governments.  However, the tribal organizations had to contract with Health and Human Services, and Secretary of Interior to operate federal programs.¹⁷

In addition, tribes began developing departments, and running their programs in education, forestry, economic development, environmental management, health and safety.  One aspect was that the tribes were able to employ their own qualified tribal members to run the programs and administration.  Additional legislative policies were added by Congress that supported the Self-Determination status of American Indian Nations as governments.  Some examples include but not limited to; Tribal Forest Protection Act (2002), the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988), and the Tribal Law and Order Act (2010).  Furthermore, numerous Executive Orders of the President reinforces Self-Determination of Native tribes including EO13007 (1994) Protection of Indian Sacred Sites, and EO13175 (2000) Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes, and many more.¹⁸