Chapter 6: The Native Americans

Diversity “Indian Culture” – glosses over diversity  Language – 1500 AD, 700 distinct languages  Kinship system  Political - economic In 1500 Native American population stood at 10,000,000 and by 1900 declined to less than 250,000

Summary of Contact and Policies 1492Arrival of Columbus 1607Jamestown was founded 1620Pilgrims landed at Plymouth 1622First major Indian retaliation 1744Treaty of Lancaster – Indian loss of land 1778First treaty between US and Indians

1803US Louisiana Purchase 1824BIA established; placed in the Department of War 1830Indian Removal Act – eastern tribes moved west 1854Indian Appropriation Act 1862Railroad Act 1868Fort Laramie Peace Conference 1887General Allotment Act (Dawes) – Subdivided land Summary of Contact and Policies

1924Indian Citizenship Act 1944National Congress of American Indians 1947Indian Claims Commission Act 1948Indians allowed to vote in Arizona 1953Termination Act – closes reservations and federal funding 1962Indians allowed to vote in New Mexico 1968Indian Civil Rights Act Summary of Contact and Policies

1972Indian Education Act 1975Indian Self-Determination Act 1978American Indian Religious Freedom Act 1978Indian Child Welfare Act 1988Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 1990Indian Art & Craft Act Summary of Contact and Policies

Reservation Life and Federal Policies Approximately 25% of the Native American population live on reservations with approximately 75% living in Urban areas There are slightly over 557 recognized reservations in the United States

Native American Legal Claims From 1836 to 1946 Native Americans could not bring a claim against the government without an Act of Congress  Only 142 claims were heard during this period In 1946 Congress established the Indian Claims Commission to hear claims against the government

Led to an increase in claims Commission was extended until now cases are heard by U.S. Court of Claims Amount of awards and setoffs increased The case of the Black Hills  Indian chose to recover land rather than seek a financial settlement Native American Legal Claims

The Termination Act of 1953 The most controversial governmental policy toward reservation life  It reduced costs and ignored individual needs  Federal services were stopped immediately  The effect of the governmental order was disastrous  In 1975, the government resumed the services

Employment Assistance Program Program led to the relocation from reservations to urban areas off the reservations  Government provided educational and business assistance…  …but the impact was disastrous on the economic development of the reservation and led to brain drain By 1965, about 1/3 returned to the reservation

Collective Action Pan-Indianism  Intertribal movement toward solidarity and common identity  Emerged out of the effects of “internal colonialism” –the treatment of subordinate peoples as colonial subjects by those in power National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), founded in Denver 1948  Political role of NCAI was to lobby Washington for an Indian voice

Urban problems and AIM- founded by Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis Banks in 1968 at Minneapolis, MN: police brutality to alcohol rehabilitation Conflict over fishing rights in the Northwest led to “fish-ins”: civil disobedience acts Takeover of Alcatraz in 1969: Indians claimed the “excess land”; left a year later, but this led to…  Red Power: BIA sympathizers labeled “apples” AIM led a 70 day occupation of Wounded Knee, S.D. to oust the leader of the Ogallala Sioux tribe Collective Action

Sovereignty While collaborative action gathering cannot be minimized, there continues to be a strong effort to maintain tribal sovereignty or tribal self-rule

Native Americans Today Poor economic development – continued high rate of unemployment and poverty Tourism is a double edged sword  It is a source of income but also a source of degradation  Cottage industries - craftwork Some income from mineral rights Casino gambling – significant income, but all of the negatives that associate gambling

Government employment – major source of employment  BIA subculture  BIA educated workforce Federal control of Native American education  BIA schools Some tribes formed their own education systems…with mixed results Educational Attainment - drop out or pushout rate is 50% higher than for Blacks or Hispanics Testing, schooling,  and the “crossover effect” – IQ tests taken in English instead of native language yields lower scores Native Americans Today

Education There is under-enrollment at all levels, from the primary grades through college There is a need to adjust to a school with values sometimes dramatically different from those of the home There is a need to make the curriculum more relevant Tribal community colleges are under-financed Reservation-born Native Americans encounter hardships when students later live in and attend schools in large cities The language barrier faced by the many children who have little or no knowledge of English is problematic

Healthcare Native Americans suffer high rates of: 1. Alcoholism and mortality 2. Under-nutrition 3. Tuberculosis leading to death 4. High rate of teenage suicide Lack of access to health care resources – poverty is a major contributor

Religious Expression American Indian Religious Freedom Act passed by Congress in 1978  Act contains no penalties and enforcement provisions – “the law with no teeth” Native American Church - ritualistic use of peyote and marijuana In 1994, Congress amended the Indian Religious Freedom Act to allow Native Americans the right to use, transport, and possess peyote for religious purposes

Environment CERT was formed in Council of Energy Resource Tribes  Consisted of twenty-five of the West’s largest tribes  Other tribes were added later Purpose is to protect and develop tribal natural resources such as natural gas Struggle for “environmental justice”

Environment Land disputes continue Balance between environmental and economic needs, just as it is in larger society Spiritual needs are at times associated with environmental issues, such as the inability to restrict access to sacred sites that exist in very public places

Figure 6-4 Intergroup Relations Continuum