WW2 + involvement

NA affected by WW2

• around 100,000 left reservations or homesteads

• 25,000 served in the armed forces

• 75,000 moved to cities to work in the defence industry

• Reduced funding for reservations as resources were redirected to the war effort

• discrimination after the war

• forced return to reservations

• Japanese Americans relocated onto reservation land)

Japanese-Americans on reservation lands

FDR’s plan

• ordered their removal and internment, and after the war they were allocated land, much of which was Indian reservation land

NA result from WW2

• most NAs were driven back to reservations by discrimination

• denied education opportunities

• faced job competition

• suffered prejudice

• lasting gain → creation of the NCAI in 1944

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) formed in

1944

significance of NCAI

• represented the realisation that Native Americans had to unite in protest

• aimed to challenge discrimination, treaty breaking, and inequality

• marked the beginning of the Indian protest movement

• the first time tribes were joined together to pursue justice

NCAI linked to

John Collier - had worked for him in the Bureau of Indian Affairs

NCAI’s similarities to NAACP

• They worked through the courts

• They challenged discrimination, inequality, and injustice

• Used legal action as a strategy for reform

dominated federal policy 1900-1945

assimilation

why getting franchise in 1924 didn’t impact NA much

• Many were not allowed to register, especially in state elections

• The Native American voting population was very small, so politicians ignored it

NA New Deal ineffective

• Government still pursued assimilation

• Funding was diverted after WWII

• Reforms relied too heavily on John Collier

• Financial limits and vested interests restricted land return

• Policies were later undermined by termination

John Collier’s work led to

Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975)

some NA not opposed to assimilation

• Some had made a success of their allotments

• They did not want to return land

• They were driven by self-interest

urbanisation

• Movement of Native Americans into cities

• It became the most powerful force accelerating assimilation

• It was a turning point after WW2

NA discrimination and racism effect

• The rise of Native American pressure groups

• Growth of organised protest movements

• Determination to fight for rights and justice