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

1492 Arrival of Columbus1607 Jamestown was founded 1620 Pilgrims landed at Plymouth1622 First major Indian retaliation1744 Treaty of Lancaster – Indian loss of

land1778 First treaty between US and

Indians

1803 US Louisiana Purchase 1824 BIA established; placed in the

Department of War 1830 Indian Removal Act – eastern tribes moved

west 1854 Indian Appropriation Act 1862 Railroad Act 1868 Fort Laramie Peace Conference 1887 General Allotment Act (Dawes) –

Subdivided land

Summary of Contact and Policies

1924 Indian Citizenship Act1944 National Congress of American

Indians1947 Indian Claims Commission Act1948 Indians allowed to vote in Arizona1953 Termination Act – closes reservations

and federal funding1962 Indians allowed to vote in New

Mexico1968 Indian Civil Rights Act

Summary of Contact and Policies

1972 Indian Education Act1975 Indian Self-Determination Act1978 American Indian Religious

Freedom Act1978 Indian Child Welfare Act1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act1990 Indian 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 claimsCommission was extended until 1978 - now

cases are heard by U.S. Court of ClaimsAmount of awards and setoffs increasedThe 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 rightsCasino 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 1976 - 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 continueBalance between environmental and economic

needs, just as it is in larger societySpiritual 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