“The Vanishing American” Historical Context
Historical Context, The Progressive Era Background of the American Indian Wars 1840s through 1880s End of Treaty-making 1871 symbolized power of US Confinement on reservations Small percentage of aboriginal land base Assimilation and “Americanization” Dawes Allotment Act of 1887 Strip Indians of land, culture, language, identity Boarding Schools
Early Reservation Era: “Assimilate, Uplift, and Civilize” I). Boarding Schools A). Language, Identity, Tribalism II). Land A). Allotment, farming, tribalism III). Religion IV). Individualize (De-tribalize)
Reservation Life, 1900s -“New Homelands“ -Governments in transition: bands, clans, Councils -Generational differences -Rations -Wage labor & hybrid economies -Boarding schools & language
San Felipe, NM 1920s
Hopi Woman, 1900
Boarding Schools, Assimilation -“Education” -Vocational labor -Language, dress, hair -Multi-tribal -Military/discipline -De-tribalize Genoa School Nebraska (1910)
Allotment of Land, Dawes Allotment Act -Tribal rolls (blood quantum) -Individual plots, Farming -Competition -Detribalize -Surplus land sold off -In-trust for 25 yrs -Fee simple -Resources -Citizenship & taxes
National Organizations & Issues -The Society of American Indians (1911) -Education -Self-determination -Citizenship -Racial uplift -World War One -Bureau of Indian Aff.
Society for American Indians -Robert Yellowtail -Dr. Carlos Montezuma -Zitkala Sa -Arthur C. Parker -Henry Roe Cloud -Pressure congress, write letters, organize communities, demand rights & treaties
Carlos Montezuma -b.1860s -Yavapai -Kidnapped, sold -Univ. Chicago -Physician -Activist -Abolish the BIA -Society for Am. Indians
Zitkala Sa (Gertrude Bonin) -b Yankton Sioux -Whites’ Manual Inst. -Boston Conservatory (violin) -American Indian Stories -Playwright, teacher -Anti-Christian -Society for Amer. Indians -Died, 1938
Reform and Reorganization I). Citizenship and WWI II). “Failure” of Indian Policies III). Great Depression IV). Indian New Deal & Indian Reorganization Act V). The Second World War
World War One -Service in WWI -Assimilation -“Natural scouts” -Integrated units -25% registered -16,500 served -Iroquois sovereignty -1% Navajos; 50% OKLA
Indian Status Citizenship, 1924 Voting limited Tribal governments Weak, mixtures Discrimination Border towns Education Health care
Economics and Poverty Unemployment Mixed economies Wage Labor Legacy of land and allotment Leasing system Checkerboard Trading Posts
New Mexico 1920s Sec. Interior Albert B. Fall, NM lawyer & Senator Tried alloting Mescalero to gain water for his lands Fraud & Pueblo Lands
Regional Responses Mission Indian Federation, 1919 Regional pan-Indian political organization Labor, voting rights Indian rights and land claims, treaties
Colonialism in Indian America, 1920s BIA and Lease payments “Indian Ring” Discrimination off reservations Inadequate land base Health care: TB, Trachoma, etc Malnourishment Religious Oppression Allotment and checkerboard
The Navajo
Navajo Context Bosque Redondo and the Long Walk Treaty of 1868 Return to Four Sacred Mountains Expansion and increase in reservation size Largest group in US Clans and matrilineal descent
1874 Peace Delegation
Expanding the Reservation
Women & sheep
Neo-colonial Tribal Government Decentralized government, no single authority. Headmen and consensus, diverse views and reactions 1923 imposition of the Tribal Council to facilitate oil and gas leases, timber, water resources. Colonial “puppet government.” Chee Dodge (Chairman) and Jacob Morgan as transitional figures from 19th century into the 20th century Violated 1868 Treaty (3/4 clause) Creation of “chapters” as units of voting and representation 90 today)
The Merriam Report, Brookings Institute -Lewis Merriam -Survey of reservations and conditions -Indian policy “failed” to assimilate/uplift -Corruption in BIA -Land allotment disastrous and immoral -OK, Pueblos, Dakotas, CA -Reform needed
Conclusions Native People did not disappear Adapted, resisted, persisted Kept many traditions and created new traditions Legacy of land loss, relocations, and dispossession BIA and American colonialism Assaults on language, culture, religion Boarding schools WWI Citizenship and status Struggling for rights and independence