Native American Civil Rights Flashcards
(27 cards)
What was the position of Native Americans by 1860?
Native Americans had inhabited America for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans. At the start of the nineteenth century, some 86 independent tribes had been identified across the USA. There were periods when tribes cooperated with the American government, while others maintained a consistent hostility. Some fought against the government and each other with some tribes aiding the government against other tribes. A large majority of Native Americans wanted to continue to live according to their tribal customs and laws, with the right of self-determination or independence, whereas the US government wanted to assimilate the Native Americans into American society which was opposed by the Natives. The US government did not understand the strength of the spiritual and cultural legacy of the Native Americans. The largest concentration of Native Americans was in the Great Plains and they were nomadic tribes who followed the buffalo herds on which they depended for everything. Native Americans worshipped nature, were nomadic, had their own tribal laws and governments, had their own languages and their own culture and ceremonies, yet by 1865 this was under threat.
What was the Westward expansion?
This threatened Native Americans as the American governments encouraged settlers to move west to open up the rest of the continent for the growing population and due to the belief in Manifest Destiny. As a result, Native Americans were gradually driven out of their traditional lands. The 1830 Removal Act had seen tribes moved from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia onto the Great Plains in Oklahoma, which was designated as Indian territory. Routes provided to the West encouraged settlers to move to fertile lands on Oregon and California. The discovery of gold further encouraged the westward movement. Thew new settlers displaced tribes already in those areas and Native American’s were deprived of their fishing rights if they stayed, yet if they moved inland to the Plains, there traditional practices would die out. The Westward expansion took settlers beyond the Appalachian mountains and the whites prevented the Native American way of life through the killing of the buffalo. Unable to resist advances, many tribes handed over land to the US government which affected their ability to follow the buffalo herds. The government did not keep their promises to feed Native Americans which increased with Civil War pressures. Native Americans, driven by hunger, rose up against the government which resulted in the 1862 to 1868 Plains Wars. The American Civil War meant the government withdrew troops that had been stationed on the Plains and replaced them with volunteers who had little interest in Native Americans. This resulted in violence, the most serious being the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre and 1880 massacre of Wounded Knee which killed over 100 Native American men, women and children. The government was determined to control the land in the West and created federal territories , governed by officials. The government wanted to populate the region with small-scale farmers and this led to the 1862 Homestead Act which encouraged movement to the West. By 1865, there were roughly 20,000 people settled on the Plains.
What was the impact of the railways?
Final impact of westward expansion and threat to Native Americans. Some of the lines crossed by the Plains and the rail companies encouraged settlers to come and live on the land they had been given by the government. The rail lines disrupted the buffalo herds and brought numerous white people to hunt them.
What was the position of Native Americans before WW1?
The federal government wanted to assimilate Native Americans which meant to destroy tribal lifestyle and bonds of the Native people, involving education, conversion to Christianity, turning Native Americans into farmers and the establishment of government reservations. The reservation policy prevents the Native Americans from moving freely and pursuing what was left of the buffalo herds. It allowed the government to destroy their way of life as polygamy had to be abandoned, braves could no longer demonstrate their skills, herbal remedies were forbidden, tribal laws abolished, communal living ended alongside the power of the tribal chief. Native Americans were therefore forced to become farmers who inhabited a specified area of land and parents were forced to send their children to school where they were forbidden from speaking their own language and made to completely renounce traditional tribal beliefs. Two off-reservation boarding schools were set up because of the poor quality education on reservations in Virginia and Pennsylvania which provided boys vocational training and girls domestic skills. Thus opportunities increased for better jobs, with some working in the Indian agency offices and as interpreters. At first the rights of Native Americans to determine what happened to their land was agreed. but after 1871, they lost this right and Congress was given the power to decide on setting up reservations, relocating tribes and redrawing any reservation boundaries. This approach continued and the size of reservations was further reduced after the defeat of General Custer at the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn.
What was the 1887 Dawes Act?
By placing the Native Americans on reservations, the government had inadvertently ensured that tribal life would continue and it allowed them to retain some of their culture and customs. As this was not the intended outcome, the government introduced the 1887 Dawes Act which turned Native Americans into landowners and gave them full rights of citizenship, further undermining their position as it ignored their belief that land could not be owned by individuals. It also led to a decline in land held by Native Americans as much of it was brought by white Americans when Natives were unable to farm it. Although they received money from the sale, they were unable to manage sums and slipped into poverty and debt. The Act worsened the position of Native American women as land was given to men. In 1898 the Curtis Act ended the exemption of the Five Civilised Tribes who had been initially exempt. They attempted to prevent this by proposing that their lands became the state of Sequoya but as a result of their failure, the Native Americans lost a further 2 million acres of land. In the 1902 Cherokee Nation v Hitchcock case, they challenged Congress’ rights to deny them their rights to live according to their laws. In the 1903, Lone Wolf vs Hitchcock case, the government was given the right to revoke all treaties made with Native Americans.
What was life like from WW1 to the end of WW2?
By the outbreak of war in 1914 the position of the Native Americans had changed for the worse. Land had been taken from them and they were denied the right to negotiate. Despite civil rights being given to them in the Dawes Act, they were discriminated against regardless. The Allotment policy meant they lost their identity and they lost their pride through being dependent on the government for food. During Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s, Native Americans were granted citizenship, yet they were not interested in gaining citizenship. They already had it through the Dawes Act and the extension of the right to those living on reservations was not intended to increase the speed of their assimilation. Their lands were further reduced and no sovereignty or nationhood was gained, reinforcing the assimilation policy. The Dance Order attacked their culture and banned them from practising some of the traditional dances. The continuation of the allotment policy reduced the amount of land available to Native Americans. The gains made through the New Deal were short term after WW2. The 1934 Indian Reorganisation Act preserved Native American culture and gave them the right to practice religion, undertake ceremonial dances, prevent sale of Native American lands and extend political rights to women. The Act improved conditions on the reservations as agencies of the New Deal built schools and hospitals. The Act ended the allotment policy however it did not end the assimilation policy so tribes were still not independent or self-sufficient. Lands were not often returned and funding was transferred to the war effort once the USA was involved in WW2 in 1941. This period up to 1945 had limited involvement in Native Americans condition.
What was the post WW2 period?
Divided into 1954-69 when government policy of termination begun in 1953 which worsened conditions for Native Americans or 1969-92 when the Native Americans regained many of their rights.
What was the period from 1945-69 like?
The position of Native Americans deteriorated in this period. The policy of termination ended the recognition of Native American tribes and treaty rights, treating them as independent and self-supporting and the movement of many Native Americans to urban areas. This was traumatic as they were forced to leave the reservations and relocate, they were housed in the worst accommodations with often no job opportunities or poorly paid jobs. Literacy rates were low and disease high. In 1960, some 25% were poor. Some elderly were forced to return to former reservations whereby the conditions had declined further. The unemployment rate was up to 18% and life expectancy was 44 years old. Loss of land continued. Over 50% returned to reservations after moving to urban areas as the lifestyle was alien to their culture. The funding however had ended and so conditions worsened. In cities, they were grouped together in ghettos which meant their culture was not preserved as it led to fighting to preserve heritage. This is because they developed their own groups to advance their cause after witnessing the impact of the civil rights movement. The period witnessed a decline in the position of native Americans but it did create conditions which they were able to move forward and bring an end to assimilation.
What was the period from 1969-92 like?
The determination to preserve culture finally triumphed and their lands were returned, some nations regained recognition and rights and education opportunities improved. The regaining of land was slow and in some cases compensation was awarded rather than the return of land which was not desired. They were able to gain respect for their religious traditions and right to worship freely and some 30 states passed laws protecting burial grounds and remains. Native Americans moved nearer to self-sufficiency as tribes were able to negotiate responsibility for health, education and other social services. The process of self-determination was further encouraged by the recognition that Native Americans could live according to their tribal culture which restored the self-confidence of many Native Americans. In 1970, it was 800,000 to 1.7 million in 1990. The process of regaining land still continues, education and employment is low and below the national average in 1992. Cuts in funding and economic decline impacted their position such as healthcare, yet the last part of this period ended the assimilation policy and moved towards Native Americans achieving self-determination.
What were the attitudes of Presidents and Congress?
For most of the period and certainly until the 1930s and Roosevelt’s New Deal, the federal government did not support the rights of the Native Americans. Some would suggest it was not until 1969 and Nixon’s presidency that the US government supported the desire of Native Americans for self-determination. Instead, the federal government maintained the policy of assimilation through policies such as reservations, allotments and termination.
What was the belief of Manifest Destiny?
Presidents and Congress believed in this concept which was the land in the West seen as representing America’s freedom. The government, through its legislation (Homestead Act), encouraged its settlement and therefore brought the white settlers into contact and conflict with Native Americans. it was also the government’s belief in Manifest Destiny that encouraged it to make grants of land across the Great Plains, where the majority of Native Americans lived, to rail companies. In 1862, the government passed the Pacific Railway Act which allowed the companies to take sufficient materials for building the line from the land alongside the tracks. As a result, the government granted some 155 million acres between 1850 and 1871, thus depriving the Native Americans of large tracts of land and the government made Native Americans simply accept and adapt.
What was the reservation policy?
1871-1887, the government believed that putting the Native Americans on reservations would end their nomadic life and separate them from the buffalo. It would allow the government to control them and prevent them leaving the reservations. The government could educate them and remove all tribal customs. They would not allow Native Americans civil rights. At first, the government had established the reservations as part of the treaties with the Native Americans, but after 1871, the Native Americans lost that right as the government pursued a more aggressive policy of assimilation, encouraged by Manifest Destiny. This meant if the government required the land they were unwilling to negotiate with Native American chiefs in order to obtain it. Some Native Americans resisted this policy, as was the case with the Sioux after the Battle of little Bighorn. The government reduced the size of the reservations without regard for earlier treaties. The battle led to the introduction of the allotment policy.
What was the allotment policy?
1887-1934, the defeat of Custer made some American politicians realise that the unrest was the result of the reservation policy. There was a growing recognition that the reservation policy failed to bring about assimilation and although Custer’s defeat did not end the assimilation policy, it led the government to change how it was brought about. Through the 1887 Dawes Act, the government introduced the allotment policy by which reservation lands were divided into homesteads or allotments. It did nothing to help civil rights, continuing to ignore tribal nature and continued attempting to destroy it. However as Native Americans were given land to own and could have full citizenship, it can be considered an improvement in Native American rights. However, this is not what Native Americans wanted and it meant little in practice despite this due to discrimination. It continued the assimilation policy and was a clear indication the US government did not understand the demands or wishes of the Native Americans.
What was the termination policy?
1953-69 termination was introduced as the government realised the policy of assimilation had failed. The lands on which many of the Native Americans lived were wanted by mining and forestry companies, thus in order to end the reservation system, the government gave Native Americans the same rights as other American citizens. The policy ended the recognition of Native American tribes and out-for an end to the reservation system. They were encouraged to relocate by offering them accommodation and help in finding work . The policy meant the loss of lands and further disintegration of what remained of tribal life.
How did the economy impact government’s support of Native Americans?
The government’s lack of support for Native Americans can also be seen at times of economic decline and when the government faced competing claims for revenue. This is when the native Americans suffered further decline in their position. Even before 1865, when the government had established reservations, it failed to provide aid to the Native Americans. The civil war meant funding was stretched and the problem was made worse as many of the officials responsible for ensuring the aid reached the reservations were corrupt. In the late 1880s, meat subsidies to the Sioux were stopped due to other financial demands of the government during a time of economic decline. During WW2, the gains made during the New Deal were reversed. The Native Americans found that financial resources were instead allocated to the war effort. This was made worse at the end of the war when Japanese Americans were forcibly moved to live on the reservation lands alongside Native Americans. The lack of available funds and attitude of Reagan in the 1980s limited gains made during Nixon and Ford presidencies. Programmes they introduced depended on federal funding but economic decline meant this was reduced. This was only reinforced due to Reagan’s attitude as he believed in native capitalism.
What was the impact of Roosevelt and the New Deal?
The Depression of the 1930s was the worst time for the US economy with record numbers unemployed. However it was the first time the civil rights of Native Americans were advanced. This was due to John Collier and Roosevelt who appointed Collier as Commissioner for Indian Affairs. The 1934 Indian Reorganisation Act preserved Native American culture and gave them the right to manage their land and secure an economic basis for reservations. However assimilation was still pursued. The Act did bring an end to the allotment policy, even if tribes were not allowed to become independent.
What was the impact of the presidencies of Nixon, Ford and Carter?
The realisation that the conditions of Native Americans were the worst of any group in the USA led to a change in attitude, including the 1928 Meriam Report which concluded that Native American schools were underfunded and understaffed. Johnson, in March 1968 had spoken to Congress about Native Americans as ‘The Forgotten Americans’ and set out a reform programme. In July 1970, Nixon criticised the treatment of Native Americans in his message to Congress, attacking the federal programmes designed to help that which were dominated by white officials. He attacked the policy of termination. Nixon introduced educational provision for Native Americans under thee 1972 Indian Education Act, increasing the amount of money available for schools. Some Native American nations regained recognition and rights, the pledge to restore lost lands put into practice with return of lands to the Makah, Tas Pueblos and Yakama Indians. A Native American was appointed Commissioner for Indian Affairs and a policy of affirmative action was pursued in appointments in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The process of regaining tribal lands was slow. Ford introduced the 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act, giving Native Americans responsibility for their own education, health and social service provision and the 1975 Indian Education Assistance Act. Carter introduced the 1978 Native American Religious Freedom Act and Indian Child Welfare Act. By 1992, assimilation had been replaced with self-determination, supported by funding from the federal government.
What was the role of the Supreme and State Supreme Courts?
At the end of the nineteenth century, the Supreme Court gave some support to the rights of Native Americans but this changed in the early twentieth century. For example, the 1903 Lone Wolf vs Hitchcock case. Towards the end of the period, the Supreme Court was more active in upholding the policies of the federal government which supported the Native Americans and played a crucial role in the return of many of their former lands.
What was the court action during westward expansion?
As settlers moved west, the federal government made numerous treaties with the Native Americans by which they had given up some of their land and this was often given in return for other land which was usually much smaller in size and less suited to their way of life. In the nineteenth century on many occasions, the federal government broke the treaties to satisfy the desires of settlers and needs of railway companies. The Native Americans were determined to not be assimilated and this led to violence. In 1902, the Cherokees challenged Congress’s right to deny them their rights to live according to their own laws. In 1903, Lone Wolf challenged the government’s right to ignore the treaty and hand over mullions of acres of land. The court upheld Congress’s right to revoke all treaties and therefore the government took away even more land from the Native Americans. The court held that tribal consent to alter the treaties would hurt the Native Americans and they should assume that congress would act to preserve their needs. 90% of land allocated to them was lost at this time and Native Americans could appeal only to Congress over land disputes. This continued with a 1913 Supreme Court decision that in 1921 the Pueblo Indians lost much of their land as they were seen as incapable of managing it. The State Supreme Court also held back Native American rights, when Native Americans challenged the states in the West who refused to extend the franchise to them that had been guaranteed by the 1924 Act. The states were able to secure the upholding of their decisions in the State Supreme Courts and imposed a range of voting qualifications to exclude them.
What victories were there in court?
The later part of the period did see a change in attitude of both federal and State Supreme Courts. Despite victories, progress was still slow. The first major victory was at state level, when in 1948, two Native Americans brought a case concerning voting rights before the Arizona Supreme Court. The county recorder refused to allow them to register to vote and this decision was successfully challenged as a result of the National Congress of American Indians and the American Civil Liberties Union. Despite the victory, other states in the West still restricted the voting rights of Native Americans. The court was faced with more and more challenges during the 1960s onwards as a result of the ‘Red Power’ movement, usually involving claims to restore land or fishing rights. Nixon’s presidency reforms were upheld in 1974 by the Supreme Court and NARF pressured the Supreme Court to protect the Native Americans way of life. A number of issues were raised, including, reinstating tribes, restoring tribal sovereignty, lost tribal lands, hunting and fishing rights, the right to vote, right to worship freely and perform a proper burial for ancestral remains.
1974 Oneida vs Oneida and Madison Counties, New York= Oneida tribe brought a case to the Supreme Court to sue for the return of their lands and the Court decided in favour of the tribe, leading to an increase in the number of actions taken by tribes to regain lands.
1976 Fisher vs Montana= In the past, Native American children had been forcibly removed from their families. This decision of the Supreme Court meant that in the future courts would decide on adoption which led to recognition of tribal courts.
1980 US vs Sioux Nation= One of the major tribes was entitled to significant compensation for the loss of their lands encouraged others to pursue compensation for the lost land in the Black Hills of Dakota. The Sioux were awared $17.5 million compensation and a 5% interest a year since 1877. They rejected the compensation and preferred the return of their land.
1982 Seminole Tribe vs Butterworth= Seminole the right to establish gambling enterprises on tribal land which went against state law but ruled that Native Americans had their own rights on their own lands.
1986 Charrier vs Bell= Supreme Court ruled that remains dug from burial grounds in Louisiana belonged to the Native Americans and as a result, states passed laws which protected Native American burial grounds.
How far were the Native Americans themselves responsible for the improvements in their rights?
For most of the period, Native Americans did little to directly help the advancement of their civil rights. Divisions between the different tribes made it easier for the state and federal government to pursue their own policies. It was only after WW2 that there was an increasing sense of unity between the different tribes and Native American organisations were founded. Progress was most notable in the last decades of the period inspired by the civil rights movement, they took up their own cause through the ‘Red Power’ movement.
What was the impact of the lack of unity in Native Americans?
Rivalries between the tribes meant that the Native Americans were unable to present a united front against the government. The tribes fought against each other and were willing to provide US forces with guides who knew the land and aided the government in their pursuit of other tribes. Rivalry continued on reservations. Many tribal leaders made treaties with the US government. Resistance from the Five Civilised Tribes to the Dawes Act ended in failure but was the first major attempt to resist assimilation. Concerted action was rare but seen in the Lone Wolf vs Hitchcock 1903 case. The society of American Indians, founded in 1911, established the first Native American pressure group, but a lack of funds and mass support limited its impact partly due to the fact that Native Americans were spread out across the whole country and they had no agreed aim for the future. In the 1920s and 1930s there were some gains but this was accredited to a change in attitudes among American people rather than Native American actions. The 1928 Meriam Report condemned the allotment policy and outlined the terrible conditions in which Native Americans lived. It concluded that the government should focus on social and economic advancement of the Indians so they could receive at least a minimum standard in health and decency. The report encouraged change, leading to the 1929 Rhoads reforms and the reforms during the New Deal.
What was involved in the move towards unity for Native Americans?
The reforms of the New Deal period were the result of pressure from Americans, such as John Collier. It was not until WW2 and the establishment of the National Congress of American Indians that tribes joined together to improve their position and rights, the developments of such organisations may have been encouraged by the events of WW2. A significant number of Native Americans fought in the war and experienced discrimination which encouraged them to join campaigns and pressure groups to end this treatment. The NCAI was able to exert pressure on the government which responded by establishing the Indian Claims Commission. This initially appeared to be the means by which native lands would be returned but in practice it was a disappointment as compensation rather than land was usually the outcome. The policy of termination and the growing civil rights movement encouraged the growth of further Native American pressure groups, such as the National Indian Youth Council in 1961. This was a clear indication of change in Native American attitudes and of a willingness to unite in protest, as seen most clearly in 1964 when hundreds of Native Americans assembled in Washington for recognition as part of Johnson’s ‘War on Poverty’. There were many Native Americans among the young who believed that progress in obtaining rights was too slow. Inspired by movements such as Black Power, they adopted a more militant approach which culminated in the establishment of the American Indian Movement in 1968 and the emergence of ‘Red Power’. this term was taken from ‘Black Power’ and the tactics and desire to create a mass movement with pride in their race and culture was derived from Malcolm X and Black Power. It was from 1968- mid 1970s that witnessed the most concerted action by Native Americans to improve their rights. Nixon and Ford alongside Red Power led to the greatest period of improvement in the position of Native Americans.
