US and Native American Relations By Robert Hamilton Fall 1999

U.S. and Indian Relations  What were the significant treaties, policies, and events that defined US Government and Native American Relations?  How did the Native American respond to these treaties, polices, and events historically?  How did these treaties, policies, and events affect the subsistence, religion, political, and social structures of the Native American people and the United States?

Six Periods Formative Period Removal, Real Estate and Reservation Period Assimilation and Allotment Period Reorganization Period Termination Period Self-Determination Period 1961 – Current

Formative period  Article 1 section 8 (Commerce Clause)  Article 1 section 10 (powers denied states)  Red Brother to Red Children  Marshall Trilogy  Johnson v McIntosh 1823  Cherokee v Georgia 1831  Worcester v Georgia 1832  The Government Trading Act  The Civilization Fund Act

Formative Period 1789 –1825 effects  Indian had equal status with states and nations  Many Indians assimilated into White culture willingly  Trade Houses provided goods to assist assimilation  Christianity was encouraged and promoted.

Removal, Real Estate, and Reservations period  Government Trading Houses Abolished  Removal Act of 1830  Andrew Jackson ignores the Supreme Court Decision  Trail of Tears 1838  Oregon Trail May 1832  “Manifest Destiny” 1845  California Gold Rush 1849  Transcontinental Railway May 1869

Removal, Real Estate, and Reservations period 1825 – 1870 effects  Indians lost their autonomy  Indians lost their land  Indians lost their way of life (subsistence)  Indian culture and tradition in jeopardy  Indians became more dependent on the U.S. Government

Assimilation and Allotment period  Last of The Indian Wars in the West  Treaties stopped 1871  Indian agencies run by religious societies 1872  Dawes Act 1877  The Indian Citizenship Act 1924

Assimilation and Allotment period 1871 – 1928 effects  Decrease in Western Indian populations  Indians experienced more loss of their autonomy.  Indian Reservation system weakened  Indian tribal organization weakened  Indian lost more of their land  Indians lost their religious freedoms

Reorganization period  Meriam Report of 1928  Great Depression  The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934  World War II

Reorganization period 1928 – 1945 effects  Meriam Report supported reform measures  The Great Depression affected Indian and non- Indian alike (Subsistence)  The Indian reorganization Act restored  Autonomy  World War II provided opportunities for Indians to leave the reservation for work.

Termination period 1945 – 1961  World War II  House Concurrent Resolution 108  Public law 280

Termination period 1945 – 1961 effects  Indians lost their subsistence by the U.S. Government  More than 50 tribes lost their tribal status.  Indian’s self determination was affected by Public Law 280

Self-Determination period Current  President Lyndon Johnson’s congressional message March 1968  Indian Civil rights Act 1968  Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975  Indian Child Welfare Act 1978  Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978

Self-Determination period Current effects  Self Determination re-established  Tribal organization  Local tribal adjudication  Education  Health  Autonomy and Nation status  Kinship and Clanship re-enforced  Religious Freedom established

After thoughts  The United States was developing and defining its meaning of Democracy  The relationship with the Indians was (is?) an oscillating one (Indian Givers)  The relationship with Indians is a reliable gauge of the state of American Democracy.