SOC 156 Spring 25 Midterm

The Constructionist Perspective on Race + Ethnicity

The view that race + ethnicity are created by people + treated as real + thus have real consequences

are human beings naturally divided into races?

no
Early European philosophers + ‘scientists’ pushed the view that different categories of humans + those categories correspond to abilities, worth, etc

No neat divisions clearly marking some set of people as totally different from another set of people without intermediate individuals 

Issues w/ DNA ‘ancestry’ tests

• Compares gene samples to different reference groups - your genes look like this group, 20% look like this group

• Reference categories are already influenced by our social construct of different races + ethnicities 

• Some research to suggest that genetic diversity between white people is greater than genetic difference between Black people + white people

  • Huge genetic diversity between people in Africa (continent w/ most genetic diversity)

• DNA testing companies don’t take this diversity into account 

  • Put all sub-Saharan Africans in same category even though can be very different from each other  

  • Could be relying on small sample 

• Similar w/ Native Americans

  • Distinguish between Irish + Italian

  • Doesn’t distinguish between Native Americans in Alaska and Native Americans from the Aztec Empire

How we know race categories are social constructs

• categories/categorization have changed over time

• categories
  /categorization vary between societies + geographic areas

• categories/categorization vary between individuals in same time + place

• Not no genetic components but not enough to assume all Asian-Americans are lactose intolerant and that’s a distinct race characteristic just because Asian-Americans can be more prone to lactose intolerance 

is ancestry itself purely objective?

no

• Humans all have common ancestry so people are not naturally divided into completely separate ancestry groups 

• Doesn’t reflect some fact of human biology

  • Early thinkers thought human beings evolved in different places

• Our very notions of race + ethnicity are bound up w/ the European project of conquering the world 

Race

A way of categorizing people based on the belief that humankind is divided into distinct types of people who differ in appearance + ancestry

Race categories

• Labels applied to sets of individuals who are socially categorized as being of the same ‘race’

• Labels are applied by individuals to themselves + others in ‘everyday life’

• Race categories can also be defined + applied by governments (but not always the case)

• Race categories (and categorization) by governments are influenced by everyday life but may differ

• Can be disconnect from legal categorization of a group + way they are treated in everyday life 

Official Race Categories of US Government

• Changed from ‘race’ to ‘race/ethnicity’ in 2024

  • Makes it very difficult for researchers to compare data from before 2024 to data after 2024

  • In recognitions of the fact that distinguishing race + ethnicity was hard for laypeople to determine 

what are the current official Race Categories of US Government

• White

• Black/African American

• American Indian/Alaska Native

• Asian

• Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

• Middle Eastern/North African (added in 2024)

• Hispanic/Latino (added in 2024)

  • Formerly treated as ethnicity + not race 

  • People were saying ‘other’ - bad for research

Ethnicity

• Term has different meanings in research on US than in research on different countries

• Ethnicity (US): a way of categorizing people based on beliefs about their ancestry + cultural heritage

  • Heritage can include language, customs, cuisines, collective experiences, etc

Ethnic categories

Labels applied to sets of individuals who are socially categorized as being of the same ‘ethnicity’

• nation/national categories - French, Chinese, Haitian

• Tribal indigenous identities

Pan-ethnic categories

• categories that include multiple ethnic categories

  • Hispanic - Mexican, Salvadorean, etc

  • Umbrella category under which have more specific categories

Ethnicity in the United States

• Often linked to the idea of nations + national origin (although ethnic groups are not necessarily identical to national-origin groups)

• Period of nationalism - different groups of people claiming to be a nation that deserves a place of its own/homeland 

• Ethnicity in the US is linked to the idea of nations + particular places that ethnic groups call their own

• Many (but not all) ethnic categories fit into broader racial categories 

  • Asian-American - Chinese-American, Japanese-American, etc

  • On the flip side, racial categories are pan-ethnic 

Race vs Ethnicity in the US - General Differences:

• Race

Categorization based on  physical features

Race vs Ethnicity in the US - General Differences:

• Ethnicity

Categorization based on cultural markers

Race vs Ethnicity in the US - General Differences:

• Both

• Socially constructed categories

• Categorization based on ancestry

Race vs Ethnicity in the US - General Differences:

• Complications

• Ethnic categories in US are sometimes associated w/ physical features

• A category can be defined as a ‘race’ at some times while an ‘ethnicity’ at other times

  • Mexican-Americans used to be classified as white - not treated as white by white Americans 

• A category may be understood as a ‘race’ by some people but as an ‘ethnicity’ by others

• Some people have a racial identity but not an ethnic identity, while others have both

The Hispanic/Latino Category

• Hispanic + Latino used interchangeably, even though technically have different meanings 

  • Hispanic refers to Spanish ancestry

  • Latino refers to Latin American ancestry

  • Latin America includes countries that weren’t colonized by Spain - not Hispanic 

    • Brazilian = Latino but not Hispanic - technically Portuguese

• Terms developed in different regions of the US - Hispanic East Coast, Latino West Coast 

• In everyday life, some people use these terms as a racial category while others do not

The Hispanic/Latino Category - Official use by US government

• Before 2024 Hispanic/Latino officially defined as a pan-ethnic category but not a race - self identified Hispanic people could identify as any race on the census

• Politics of counting - fear that by including Hispanic on race question would reduce amount of people identifying as Black or Native American

  • Representatives for Black/Native American people didn’t want this bc they didn’t want to diminish numbers 

  • Members of Hispanic community who didn’t want it to be treated as a race bc they want to be categorized as white

• Now Hispanic/Latino is listed as a ‘race/ethnicity’ category alongside white, Black, etc

  • Will probably lead to fewer Americans identifying as Black/Native American

The Hispanic/Latino Category - some other race self identification

• Not helpful for research

• Became very large category - not helpful

• Advocacy concerns - some other race ignored

The Hispanic/Latino Category - 2020 census data

• Reflection on how questions are being asked + how people think about their own identities

• Are we looking at peoples’ self identification or how they’re classified as other people?

How We Know Race + Ethnicity Are Social Constructs

• Absence of clear cut biological distinction between racial groups

• Categories/categorization have changed over time

• Categories/categorization vary between societies + geographic areas

• Categories/categorizations can vary between individuals in same time/place

How We Know Race + Ethnicity Are Social Constructs - Categories/categorization have changed over time

• If rooted in nature, would always be the same

• Can see changes in how people think about their identities + categorize others

How We Know Race + Ethnicity Are Social Constructs - Categories/categorization vary between societies + geographic areas

• South Africa had a middle category between Black + white - legally recognized as mixed race + had more rights than people defined as just Black 

• Someone identifying as white in Brazil could come to US + find they’re being treated as a POC

How We Know Race + Ethnicity Are Social Constructs - Categories/categorizations can vary between individuals in same time/place

• Self identification vs classification by others

• Thai person could come to US thinking of themselves as Thai, confused why people call them Asian - don’t feel Asian, feel Thai

• Racial categories can erase/ignore diversity/differences between people

• In group vs out group categorization 

  • Can be disjunctures between perceptions based on vantage point 

  • Classification by others important part of social phenomenon of race/ethnicity

Power

the ability of a person/group to achieve their will despite the resistance of others

• Social construction of race + ethnicity not something we’re all participating in equally 

• All have some influence over race + ethnicity but some have more influence than others

• The social construction of race + ethnicity has been shaped by power of groups of people 

Historical Origins of Race + Racism

Race + racism were developed by Europeans to justify conquest + slavery

• Way for Europeans to make sense of differences between them + other people

European Colonialism

• Colonization of the Americas 1492-1898

• Driven by internal conflicts between different European powers

  • Need resources from outside sources

  • Concentration of land ownership issue - lots of people had no land at all

  • Need laborers to do work for them to get said resources 

• First European colonies in Latin America

  • Only started to take over parts of what would be the US later

Indigenous peoples before contact w/ Europeans

• Super diverse - lots of tribes

  • Different languages, cultures, + histories

• Complex hierarchical societies

• No central empire

  • Large groups in Mississippi region 

• Columbus + successors not coming into empty wilderness but coming into a world that in some places was as densely populated as Europe itself

Indigenous peoples after contact w/ Europeans

• Massive population decline - 95% died

  • Diseases 

  • Violence by European conquerors + settlers

  • Rolling waves of genocide 

  • Pushed from lands + relocated to less desirable places 

    • Forced to march many miles w/out food/rest - lots died along the way

    • European settlers altered natural environment

Indigenous peoples after contact w/ Europeans - diseases

• Indigenous peoples didn’t live around domesticated animals - no immunity to animal transmitted diseases 

• Some cases of Europeans deliberately spreading diseases but not super common

• Some diseases went the other way - spread by indigenous peoples to Europeans but not as severe bc not lots of domesticated animals

Indigenous peoples after contact w/ Europeans - violence by European settlers

• Spanish enslaved masses of indigenous peoples + forced work in gold + silver mines + plantations 

  • Worked to death

• Some places no enslavement 

  • Easier to enslave people in areas like Aztec empire where idea of slavery already existed 

  • Other places no history + more sparsely populated - harder to control

• Rolling waves of genocide 

  • Spread over decades as Europeans gradually moved across the continent 

• Pushed from lands + relocated to less desirable places 

  • Forced to march many miles w/out food/rest - lots died along the way

• European settlers altered natural environment

Creation of the ‘Indian’ category

• Didn’t think of selves as being members of larger group they all belonged to - local tribal identities

• European conquerors lumped all together in single category

• Served as justification for European colonization

• Perceived as inferior to white ppl

  • Less civilized

Europeans’ racist view of ‘Indians’

• Thought of as savages

• Inferior bc don’t worship right god - heathens worshipping false gods + would go to hell

• Some believed needed to ‘save’ Indians

division amongst Euro thinkers about Native Americans

• Some looked at indigenous peoples as noble savages

  • Brave, proud, good values - just need to be taught about Christianity

• Others viewed indigenous peoples are brutal, impossible to be taught, dangerous, permanently inferior 

• Over time, view became more negative + view of Indians as permanently inferior solidified 

  • Indians’ rejection of missionaries fueled some of this 

• Shifts from being more about teaching to be civilized towards unchangeable features - transgenerational 

  • Powerful justification for taking even more land + resources

  • Clear instance of race thinking being used to justify colonization + violence 

Enslavement of Africans in Americas:

• Demand for forced laborers

• Expensive to bring laborers from Europe 

• Slavery generally accepted at the time - didn’t see any special need to justify slavery bc didn’t think it was that bad to begin with

• Can’t use Native Americans as slaves because of massive population decline bc of Europeans - need to outsource

  • Also incredibly difficult to press Native Americans into slavery - good knowledge of terrain, could escape + mobilize against white captors 

• Had Irish laborers but expensive + could escape 

  • Could then blend in w/ settler population - hard to find + reenslave

  • Again, not enough European slaves to meet demand

Atlantic Slave Trade 1502-1833

• European ships go to Africa, take people from Africa in chains, go to Americas + sell people to plantation/mine owners

• ⅓ enslaved Africans died during the crossing bc conditions so horrific

triangle trade

• 1 side = Europeans going to Africa to capture/purchase slaves 

  • Some cases of Europeans paying Africans to sell them other Africans 

    • Already slave trade in Africa 

• 2 side = crossing to America + sell to plantation owners 

• 3 side = enslaved people produce raw materials, European merchants take raw materials, bring back to Europe

Plantation System

• Plots of land owned mostly by Europeans 

• Not about producing agricultural goods for use in the Americas - wanted to send goods back to Europe 

• In Caribbean + Virginia Colony

why was it believed Africans were uniquely suited for manual/agricultural labor?

• Experience w/ tropical agriculture - could use their skills 

  • Europeans no experience 

• Made more vulnerable bc taken from home continent 

  • If escaped - nowhere to go

Creation of the ‘Black’ Category

• similar to Indian category bc created by Europeans + imposed upon people who didn’t already identify as members of the same group

  • Different tribes, locations, communities, languages, customs, etc

• Different because process of enslavement erases existing tribal + ethnic identities of Africans - much greater extent than Indians 

• Development of customs + practices amongst enslaved peoples

Slavery in the English colonies of North America

• More permanent than in other areas of the world

  • Status to which somebody was assigned + couldn’t escape (once a slave always a slave)

  • In other areas, process in which slave could become free

    • Buy freedom

    • Marry someone who isn’t slave

• Hereditary

  • Children of slaves are slaves even if one parent is free + other is enslaved

• Slave status became linked to race - only Black people could be permanently enslaved

  • Nowhere else is slavery status connected to race

Creation of the White Category

• Racial categories + identities developed in dialectical process

• As slavery becomes racialized, whiteness becomes associated w/ idea of freedom

  • Not there from the beginning 

why was the white category created?

• in opposition to other categories - I’m not Black, I’m not Native American, I’m white and therefore good  

• Way of lumping Europeans of different ethnic/regional identities into a single category

• Formation of white identity bound up w/ intents of slave owners to maintain control 

• Way to divide laboring classes - emphasize racial divide between white + Black people - poor white people won’t team up w/ Black people 

• Reduces potential of uprisings within laboring classes

what did white people use to categorize selves before race?

• thought of selves as being Christians, not white (similar thing though)

• Called selves ‘free men’

• Only in late 1600s do settlers in New World use white to describe selves

Blood quantum

the fraction of blood (ancestry) that makes a person a member of a particular race

Civil War 1861-1865

• Initial impetus not to free slaves - starts bc Confederate states start trying to break away

  • Bc of issue of slavery - whether or not it should be allowed to spread to new US territories

• Gradually moves in direction of supporting freeing slaves

13th Amendment

Abolishes slavery except as a means of punishment

14th Amendment

• Granted citizenship to Black Americans 

• Anybody born in the US is a citizen of the US

15th Amendment

• Prohibits denying right to vote based on race (women still not allowed)

  • Telling states they can’t deny right to vote based on race bc states decide 

• No right to vote explicitly enshrined in the constitution

Reconstruction Period (1865-1877)

• Rising numbers of Black education

• Rising numbers of Black people elected to office 

• Strong counter tendencies in South + nation as a whole

Reconstruction Period (1865-1877)

US govt trying to transform southern society by

• Supervising process of voting to make sure Black ppl can’t be excluded

• Providing economic assistance to newly freed Black people

• Making sure Black people have access to education

what happened in 1877 that ended the Reconstruction period?

• contested election

• results disputed

• two parties strike a deal: Republican party gets presidency but must withdraw federal troops + intervention from Southern states (no more efforts to reduce racial inequality)

Restoration of Racial Oppression

• Violent effort to wipe out any progress 

• Emergence of KKK

• Violence against Black elected officials + political leaders 

  • Legal authorities do nothing or actively complicit in violence

Jim Crow System (1877-1965)

• Set of racist laws in Southern states

  • Comprehensive segregation of Black + white in all domains of life

    • Cemeteries, schools, bathrooms, buses, literally everything

• Backed up/enforced by racist social customs + violence 

  • Term comes from minstrel shows 

  • Bans on interracial marriage

Jim Crow System (1877-1965) + Supreme Court

• Homer Plussy (sp?) convicted of riding in whites only train section 

• Took case to Supreme Court on basis of 14th (double check) Amendment 

• Supreme Court said segregation was upheld as long as segregated spaces were equal - Separate But Equal

  • Weren’t actually equal, stuff for Black people was always worse

Sharecropping

Arrangement in which a landowner allows laborers to use their land + tools in exchange for giving landowners a portion (most) of the crop 

• Replaces racial slavery

• ‘Second slavery’

• Puts Black people in subordinate position where white landowners benefit from + profit off of their labor 

• Late 19th early 20th century in rural South - most Black people sharecroppers + tenants 

  • 85% of Black farmers in Mississippi didn’t own the land they farmed

  • 36% white farmers in Mississippi didn’t own the land they farmed

• Seems to offer Black people a way to make their own living + support their family

• Only stopped bc mid 20th century increasingly possible to replace human laborers w/ machines - landowners required fewer human beings to do labor

sharecropping + debt

• Sharecroppers only making money at end of harvest season

• In order to survive while planting/growing/farming whatever, had to borrow $$ from landowners 

• Led to indebtedness - many Black people falling victim to recurring debt could never escape 

sharecropping + laws

• Kept Black people in position of relative powerlessness

• Prevented Black families from moving away from countryside to cities - must stay in rural South where only economic opportunities were sharecropping

• Preventing sharecroppers from selling crop to anyone except landowners 

  • Could set very low prices bc no competition

• Couldn’t stop being sharecroppers + couldn’t move elsewhere

• w/out formally reinstituting slavery made it so Black families chained perpetually to white landowners

Racial Oppression Outside of the South in Early 20th Century

• Political exclusion geographically varied

  • Deep South - no voting for Black people

  • Other places Black people could vote 

• Faced exclusion + discrimination in other areas outside of voting

• Discrimination relied less on laws 

  • Some examples of openly discriminatory laws but mostly not passed

• Unofficial efforts by white people to prevent Black people from doing anything 

• Before 1900 most Black people in US living in South (90%)

Great Migration 1916-1970

• the movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North, Midwest, and West

• Declining need/demand for Black laborers in rural South

• Being Black in the South sucked so wanted to leave

housing segregation + De jure segregation

segregation by law

• Cases of cities passing laws mandating housing segregation in certain areas

• Efforts stalled early on

  • 1917 Supreme Court rules violation of 14th amendment

housing segregation + De facto segregation

• White owners + landlords developed different ways of housing segregation w/out formal laws

  • Real estate agents not giving Black people homes in certain areas

  • Use of violence - burning down homes of Black people, kill them

• Racially segregated neighborhoods = racially segregated schools + racially segregated jobs

• Not just Black people segregated - affected the most but areas where Mexicans, Native Americans, Jews etc segregated by housing

Racial covenants

legally binding agreements between white property owners restricting their ability to rent/sell to nonwhite people 

• Promoted by real estate industry + federal govt

  • Govt enters into housing market + requires people to sign racial covenants to qualify for govt backed loans - Great Depression people need mortgages

Ghettos

Areas of cities in which a racial/ethnic group concentrated due to exclusion from other areas

• Mostly used to describe areas in US cities where Black people segregated

Discrimination in the Labor Market

• Jim Crow South laws saying workplaces need to be segregated

• Outside of JCS no actual laws saying jobs need to be segregated

• Black people coming out of JCS + going to other parts of country for better economic opportunities  

  • Still not good opportunities 

  • Employers discriminated who they hired - no laws prohibiting this 

  • Even fed govt excluded Black people from highest paying jobs + tried to relegate to lower paying jobs

was it just employers discriminating against Black ppl in the labor market?

• no

• White workers didn’t want to work w/ Black workers

• Many unions excluded Black workers

  • Some had rules saying Black people couldn’t join

  • Others didn’t have rules but were super hostile to Black workers trying to join

  • This exclusion meant some Black workers formed their own Black unions 

  • Other cases Black workers were pitted against white workers

    • White workers would go on strike, bring in Black workers to work instead

Categorization of People With Both White + Black Ancestry in Early US History

• No single standard used across entire country for determining who counts as white + who counts as Black

• White people in some places used in-between mixed race categories like ‘mulatto’

• Sometimes put into third category but sometimes able to gain legal recognition + rights associated w/ whiteness 

  • Having any Black ancestry didn’t automatically disqualify from being treated as white 

  • Court could say ¼ Black ancestry - deemed white 

• Denied existence of any in-between category

• Stricter definition of who is white

• Proven through looking through ancestry records - sometimes basis of appearance

mulatto

• Not white or Black, but mulatto

• Idea emerged in lower South

• White people often made distinctions in how they viewed mixed race people vs Black people

• Mulatto treated superior to Black people 

one drop rule

one drop of Black blood makes someone fully Black 

• Initially linked to maintenance of slavery

  • Colonial period already extensive intermixing between white indentured servants + Black slaves = Already mixed race people

• General understanding that in cases of doubt, one-drop rule used

• By 1920 in-between categories eliminated from census

  • Most people categorized as Black had mixed ancestry - knew this + wanted to count them as Black 

• Example of how social construction of race changes over time

why was the existence of growing mixed race population viewed as a threat?

• Would become a bridge connecting poorer white + Black slaves together - might ally against plantation class

• Sought to separate the two + create system ensuring offspring of white + Black people would be categorized as Black 

• Issue bc white landowners frequently raping enslaved women who would have their children - wanted to make system that if born into slavery you are Black 

  • Connecting slavery w/ being Black

what was the main cause for the one drop rule?

Jim Crow system

• One-drop rule occurs after JC laws mandating segregation

• JCS rests on strict separation between Black + white people 

• Concerns over racial passing 

• By late 19th century some people look white but have Black ancestry

  • Seen as a threat to JCS - people w/ Black ancestry can cross color boundaries bc look white 

Plessy v Ferguson 1896 Supreme Court case

• SC says segregation is fine, separate but equal is fine 

  • Plessy arguing he entitled to sit in whites only section of train bc ⅛ Black ancestry 

    • Not arguing no segregation, arguing he was excluded from that bc looks white

• SC says common knowledge anyone w/ Black ancestry is Black

• What makes someone white/Black isn’t appearance but ancestry  

what was a side effect of the one drop rule in Black communities?

• shift towards inclusive notion of Black identity w/in Black communities 

  • Pre-existing division between Black people not claiming any white ancestry vs those in mixed race categories

  • One drop rule negates this division

  • United around common identity + oppression experienced as Black people 

  • More recent times, one drop rule challenged by notion of mixed race identity - can be both

Categorization of American Indians in Early US History (1776-1940)

• American Indian not a category tribes across North America identified with + not self descriptor used until 20th century

• Out group categorization as “Indians” (Cornell + Hartmann 1998)

Tribes + Tribal Identity

• Centered around the tribe 

• Sometimes even more specific - people of tribe living in particular settlement 

• Indigenous peoples retained distinct tribal identities during this period

• Contrasts way racial identity of Black people solidified in 19th century

• Native Americans not subject to mass enslavement + lived alongside people w/ distinct cultures from other groups

Oppression of American Indians in Early US History (1776-1940) - land theft

White people in North America primarily interested in getting land Native Americans lived on

• Gained this land by killing/expelling Native Americans

  • Trail of Tears - Andrew Jackson

• US army deployed against Native American groups to forcibly push them out of controlling certain territories 

  • Especially after Civil War, US shifts to very brutal treatment of Native Americans

  • Would sometimes destroy entire villages killing everyone 

how does the oppression of Native Americans contrast with the oppression of Black people?

White ppl not interested in exploiting Native Americans - just wanted their land

• lowk tried exploiting them + found it very hard

The Treaty Period (1778-1871

• US govt signed treaties w/ particular tribes (over 50 different tribes)

  • Ends in 1871 when Congress decides it’s over 

• Not all tribes signed treaties + even to this day groups of Native Americans lacking recognition of their existence 

  • Indigenous peoples of LA: Tongva 

    • LA doesn’t recognize they even exist

what did Native American treaties do?

formally recognized existence of (some) tribes 

• Putting Native Americans under race umbrella but still recognizing existence of (some) tribes

• Treated tribes as equivalent of foreign nations 

• Provided legal basis for claims of tribal identity later on 

  • Helped institutionalize + maintain existence of specific tribal identities 

  • No erasure of preexisting tribal identities (at least not nearly to the extent of enslaved people from Africa)

• provided legal means of expelling tribes from land 

• Sometimes granted citizenship to tribes/specific members of tribes 

  • Bribe to sign treaties - get citizenship + land rights if they sign away the rights of all other tribe members

  • Exception rather than rule - pretty rare

did Native American tribes want to sign treaties?

no, forced on tribes w/ threat of violence 

Birthright citizenship during the Treaty period

you are a citizen by virtue of being born w/in America

• Doesn’t apply for Native Americans

• Could only become citizens through treaty process or a new law being passed

• Native Americans didn’t have much desire to become citizens

  • Becoming a US citizens associated w/ cultural assimilation

• Most Native Americans not given citizenship/even eligible to claim citizenship

• Citizenship granted to only a small number of Native Americans

The Reservation System

• Native Americans forced to live on reservations - sometimes not allowed to leave at all 

• US govt established certain areas of land as reservations for Native Americans specifically to live 

  • Some cases small portion of land tribes had historically lived on/what was promised to them via treaties 

  • Other cases tribes forced to move far away from where previously lived

• Notion of expelling Native Americans to reservations proposed as humane alternative to genocide 

• Form of racial segregation 

  • Not same as housing segregation or JCS but still racial segregation

Changes to Legal Status of American Indians + Tribes

Occurred gradually + unevenly 

• Certain tribes were incorporated as citizens decades earlier than other tribes

The Allotment Period (1887-1934)

• Congress moves away from treaty system 

• Divided up reservations in family plots

  • Specific families would own specific plots of land 

• Notion that Native Americans should be forcibly assimilated into white American society

what were the two goals of the Allotment Period (1887-1934)

• Break up + weaken tribes

• Transfer even more land to white owners

  • Doesn’t belong to tribe anymore - belongs to individuals - opens up possibility individuals will sell land to white ppl

1934 Indian Reorganization Act

Shift away from Allotment Policy + back to policies that are more favorable to maintaining existing tribes 

why did the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act empower tribal governments?

• Whole process where tribal governments could become incorporated

• Constitutions 

• Legal recognition from federal government as having authority

Gradual Extension of Citizenship to All American Indians 1887-1940

• 1924 Congress passes law granting citizenship to all Native Americans

• Even then, disputes about citizenship status for Native Americans born after 1924

• 1940 Congress passes Nationality Act - all Native Americans citizens no matter what

  • Birthright citizenship fully in effect

Official Categorization of People with American Indian Ancestry

Early US history: No distinct definition of who counts as Native American under the law

• No standard applied across the country

• Courts often used notion of blood quantum or tribes determining own membership

• Varied from court case to court case + treaty to treaty

blood quantum

• Congress began using blood quantum to determine who gets Allotment + who was eligible to sell the land 

  • have to have certain amount in order to qualify as Native American

  • Congress wants to ensure only ‘true’ Native Americans get Allotments

• Policy: if a person has ¾ Native American ancestry or more - can’t sell their land 

why were blood quantums bad?

• Tribal identity not defined in terms of descent/ancestry

  • adopted members of tribes  

  • Congress doesn’t like this - barred those deemed white w/out any Native American ancestry from getting Allotments

• Many people w/ both Black + Native American ancestry simply categorized as Black - lost any claim to land rights 

• Believed Native Americans not civilized/competent enough to freely agree to sell land to white landowners 

  • ‘Pure’ blooded Native Americans especially 

  • Policy: if a person has ¾ Native American ancestry or more - can’t sell their land 

1918 Congress says educational funds set aside for Native American youth can only be used for those w/ ¼+ Native American ancestry

blood quantum minimums in tribes

• Most tribes also set blood quantum minimums

  • Influenced by US govt

  • US govt pushed tribes to define membership in terms of biological ancestry + to define ancestry

  • Must have certain amount of Native American ancestry to be considered a member of the tribe

  • Most tribes today still use blood quantum 

    • Varies widely how much ancestry you need - can be 1/32 or full ancestry depending on tribe

what were the 3 criteria Native Americans needed to meet at least one of to count as Native American according to the Indian Reorganization Act (1934)?

• Member of recognized tribe - if tribe says member

• Descendant of tribal member + lived on reservation in 1934

• Anybody ½+ Native American blood counts as Native American - regardless if tribe member or not

Indian Reorganization Act (1934)

• Congress creates blood quantum rule to define who counted as Native American

• Denys Native American status/legal recognition to some people who could claim ancestry + self identified as Native American

how does the Indian Reorganization Act contrast w/ one drop rule?

• Super different 

• If any little bit of Black ancestry = Black - but must have ½ Native American ancestry to be Native American

why does the Indian Reorganization Act contrast w/ one drop rule?

• Different racial classification rules/regimes reflect interests of white people 

• Imposing their ideas of race onto other racial/ethnic groups 

• White Americans never dependent on labor of Native Americans 

  • Not as many Native Americans

  • Very difficult to enslave

• wanted to make it harder to be classified as Native American because less Native Americans = less people w/ claims to land rights/resources

what was white peoples’ material interest in exploiting Black people?

• Economy in early US incredibly dependent on Black labor 

• When one group is materially benefiting from labor of other group, exploiters have interest in maintaining large supply of laborers that can be exploited

  • One drop rule creates more slaves 

  • Ensures offspring of slave owners will be considered Black + enslaved

• one drop rule prevents anyone w/ any African ancestry from moving out of exploited category

Mestizo

•  racial identity in Mexico + other parts of Latin America colonized by Spain

  • Spanish attempted to implement a caste system

  • Different names for different combinations of peoples’ ancestry w/ legal rights attached to those different categories

  • Mestizo: People w/ both Spanish + Native American (Mexican) ancestry

  • Caste system eventually falls apart

do people still identify as mestizo?

yes but not widely used

• Reflects the fact that Mexicans have mixed ancestry