Native Americans Flashcards
(38 cards)
1830 Removal Act
tribes moved from the East Coast (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia) onto the Great Plains, designated Indian territory
Plains Wars
1862-1868 series of wars on and off between various NA tribes and the US government. Some tribes helped the government fight against other tribes
Sand Creek Massacre
1864, attack by US cavalry on an undefended Cheyenne camp. Deaths of many elderly, women, and children
Wounded Knee
1890- US cavalry killed over 100 NA men, women, and children
Homestead Act
1862, gave farmers 160 acres of land free on the condition they farmed it for 5 years. Encouraged some 20,000 to move west
assimilation policies
education
conversion to Christianity
turning the NA into farmers
establishment of Government reserves
polygamy abandoned, braves couldn’t display skills, herbal remedies forbidden, tribal law abolished, communal living ended, power of the chief ended
Dawes Severalty Act
1887
-turned NAs into citizens and landowners who paid tax
-ignored their beliefs that land couldn’t be owned
-white settlers bought land off them when they struggled to farm it
-worsened the position of NA women
Five civilised tribes
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole
allotment process
reservation lands divided into homesteads/allotted
Dance Order
1883
banned NAs from practicing their traditional dances
Indian Reorganisation/Wheeler Howard Act
1934
-first move to protect NA culture
-allowed them to practice their religion, to perform ceremonial dances, prevented sale of NA land to white buyers, extended political rights to women
-improved conditions on reservations, building schools/hospitals, encouraging women to go into education
-ended the allotment policy
-lands that were supposed to be returned under the act were not given back
-attempts to improve life on reservations fell through when war broke out
Termination
intended to speed up process of assimilation by removing protections for NAs and encouraging them to move to cities
-typically ended up in poor accommodation, literacy rates were low, disease was high
-over 50% returned but found life on reservations much worse
Indian Education Act
1972
-increased money avaliable for NA schools, even those on reservations. Continued by future presidents
Bureau of Indian Affairs
renamed office of Indian Affairs after 1947, controlled money for development of NA
Indian Self Determination Act
1975
-tribes could take responsibility for their own education, health and social service provision. federal funding was provided but there was a move toward self-sufficiency
Indian Education Assistance Act
1975
-NAs had greater involvement in their children’s educational provision
Native American Religious Freedom Act
1978
-gave NAs the right to follow traditional religion and use sacred objects in rituals
-the act was not backed by the supreme court
Indian Child Welfare Act
1978
-attempted to regulate forceful removal of NA children from their families
-social workers viewed NA practices as neglect and continued to take children
National Congress of American indians
est 1944
pressure group that played an important role in extending NA rights
Native American Rights Fund
est 1970
trained legal specials with an interest in NA rights and was responsible for most of the cases brought before the SC
Oneida v. Oneida and Madison Counties, NY
Oneida tribe sued for return of their lands
Court ruled in favour of the tribe
Fisher v. Montana
SC decided tribal courts would decide on adoption of NA children
United States v. Sioux Nation
SC ruled the tribe was entitled for compensation for loss of their lands, offering over 100mil$. Sioux rejected and wanted return of their lands
Seminole Tribe v. Butterworth
SC gave Seminole the right to establish gambling enterprises on tribal land, which went against state law and recognised NA rights over their own land
