3: Native Americans

where are the great plains?

between appalacians and rockys, where most NAs lived

elements of NA culture

- sacred lands

- nomadic

- tribal laws

- own language, culture etc

- relied on bison for clothing, food, weapons

Manifest Destiny

1800s view that America was required by God to expand west

Assimilation

destroy NA culture and americanise

Removal Act

1830 - moved all the eastern tribes to the plains

why did many whites go west

gold, buffalo and railroads

when and why did the Plains wars happen

1862-68, volunteers replaced knowledgeable soldiers in indian territories after start of civil war in 1861. volunteers sold their food and took land etc. tribes rose up

Homestead act and how many did it send to the plains?

1862, 20,000 in plains by 1865

battle of little bighorn

1876, NAs won

2 treaties that saw NAs loose land

Medicine Lodge Treaty 1867

Fort Laramie Treaty 1868

which act encouraged settlers to go west

1862 Homestead Act

How many went W after homestead act?

20,000 on plains

what did the Homestead act promise

160 acre plot of land if you cultivate it for 5 years

policy of Fed Gov 1865-1914

assimilation through reservations, education, christianity and Dawes Act

indian land after dawes act and years

138mn acres to 47mn - 1887-1934

Assimilation policy

began in 1850s, forbode polygamy, herbal remedies, tribal structure, communal living, no tribal chief, sent children to boarding schools

Dawes Severalty Act

1887, divided reservations into allotments as it was clear reservations werent working. NAs given land and became citizens, forced them into individual farming. Land often couldnt be farmed so land was sold to whites and NA land shrunk.

Curtis Act

1898, stopped exemption of 5 civ tribes, sec of interior with full control of natural resources

when were the land given to NAs in the treaties taken away?

1914

2 SC cases that weakened NAs and took land

1902 Cherokee Nation vs Hitchcock

1903 Lone Wolf vs Hitchcock

what did these cases call NAs?

'ignorant race' 'wards of the state'

Indian Citizenship Act

1924 - gave NAs right to vote and citizenship

how many NAs could already vote before ICA?

2/3

how many NAs fought in ww1 and 2

12,000 and 20,000

example of NAs in WW1

Choctaw Code Talkers

how many NAs left home for war work in ww2

100,000

education after ww2

white soldiers given free edu, not NAs

muskogee convention

1905 - firt instance of NA unity

Meriam report

1928 - NA schools poor, condemmed allotment policy and said NAs were most impovrished people in US. Didnt condemn assimilation

outcomes of Meriam report

Hoover appoints Charles Rhodes to develop new reform package, close off reservation boarding schools, fed funding

Main act of indian new deal

Wheeler-Howard act/IRA 1934

who headed the Bureau of Indian Affairs under FDR

John Collier

what happened under IRA

• Ended allotment (Dawes Act)

• Returned some land to tribes

• Allowed tribal self-government (tribal councils/constitutions)

• Supported Native culture and traditions

• Provided federal funding for land, education, and development

what law was repealed under IRA

1883 dance act,

between 1900-1930 how much indian land was lost

1/2

what did 1938 census show

NA pop increasing faster than gen pop

Termination policy

from 1953, speed up assimilation, tried to move people to cities, stopped all special consideration

how many of those who went to cities returned to reservations?

50%

how much did NA urban pop increase from 1930-60

4x

unemployment in 50s

18%

life expectancy of NAs in 50s

44 - 20 yrs below nat avg

How was land returned to NAs

Indian Claims Commission - from 1946

NA pop from 1970-90

800,000 - 1.7mn

who kicked off NA progress?

Lyndon B. Johnson’s "Special Message to the Congress on the Problems of the American Indian" (March 1968)

when was LBJ's forgotten american speech?

1968

3 stats for NAs in 1968

unemployment -40%

50,000 in squalor

50% schoolkids drop out (double nat avg)

life expectancy 1968 vs avg

44 vs 65

Nixon's Indian education act

1972

Other actions of Nixon

tribes regained status, lost lands returned

important Act passed by Ford

Indian Self Determination and education act 1975

Carter legislation

Native American Religious freedom act 1975, Indian Child Welfare Act 1978

What did sc uphold in 1913 and what did it lead to?

1903 Lone Wolf Hitchcock, led to Pueblo's loosing land in 21

Oneida v. Oneida and Madison County

1974 Oneida Indian Nation sued for the return of lands in New York State that had been unlawfully taken from them in the 18th and 19th centuries without federal approval.

fisher v montana

1976 tribal courts to decide on adoption, NOT state courts

Sioux vs US

A major Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the U.S. government had illegally taken the Black Hills from the Sioux Nation in violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. awarding them $106 million in compensation (the 1877 land value plus interest). However, the Sioux Nation refused the money, insisting on the return of their sacred land, not financial compensation.

Seminole Tribe v Butterworth 1981

• Issue: The Seminole Tribe operated high-stakes bingo games on their reservation. The state of Florida, represented by Sheriff Butterworth, argued this violated state gambling laws.

• Ruling: The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Seminole Tribe, stating that:

  • The tribe had the right to operate gambling on their land, even if it violated state law.

  • Tribal sovereignty protected such economic activities unless explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Charrier v Bell

1986 remains from burial grounds to be returned

NA division

tribes divided in early times, tribes fought eachother as well as US

SAI

society of american indians, founded in 1911 for greater trial unity

when was National Congress of American Indians NCAI est.

1944

what did NCAI (National Congress of American Indians) lobby for ?

Indian claims commission

when did the ICC run?

1946-78

what was the formation of NIYC – National Indian Youth Council a response to and when was it formed?

termination, 1961

AIM

American Indian Movement, 1968

Native American Rights Fund - NARF

founded 1970 won many court cases

Black power inspiration

Black Power inspired Native Americans to fight for self-determination, embrace cultural pride, and adopt militant tactics like police surveillance and direct action, as seen in the AIM protests and Wounded Knee (1973) standoff. It also encouraged pan-Indian solidarity for stronger political unity.

book pro-NA 1970

“Bury my heart at wounded knee.”

history of Native American resistance and the brutal expansion of the United States into Native territories.

Washington state fish-in

1964

actions of pressure groups in 70s

• AIM’s Wounded Knee Standoff (1973): Activists occupied Wounded Knee to protest U.S. government mistreatment and demand treaty enforcement.

• Alcatraz Occupation (1969-71): Native activists occupied Alcatraz Island to demand land return, drawing national attention to Native rights.

• Trail of Broken Treaties (1972): Native leaders presented demands to the U.S. government and occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs, advocating for treaty rights and better living conditions.

• Legal Action: Groups like the NCAI and NIYC lobbied for legislation, resulting in laws like the Indian Self-Determination Act (1975) and Indian Child Welfare Act (1978).

• Focus on Land & Economic Rights: Native groups fought for control over lands, resources, and economic empowerment

Siege of Alcatraz

1969-1971, Richard Oakes

how many visited alcatraz

10,000

occupation of mount rushmore

1971

native capitalism

Regan, stop giving money, eased up restrictions, gambling

occupation of wounded knee

1973

pros of guilded age

- some succeeded through Dawes Act

- reservations gave some hosptatls and schools etc

- tribal customs could survive in reservatiosn

- off reservation boarding schools were good

- Vicotry over Custer in 1876

Cons of Guilded age

- lost indepednece

- reservation policy reduced land

- life on reservations hard

- land given to men

- depednent on Govt

- poor edu

- wounded knee massacre

pros in New deal

- WH Act

- allowed cultural costoms

- stopped NA land sale

- NAs went to local schls and learned about NA history / culture

- reintroduced tribal councils

- end of allotment

cons of new deal

- continued assimilation

- forced secret ballot for WH Act

- 75/245 rejected act

- sep fed court abandoned

- insufficient funds to buy back lands

Pros of blsck power movement

- AIM emerged

- encouraged NA unity

- abandoned previosuly unsuccesful by the book methods

cons of BP movement

- NAs already growing united after Ww2

- pressure groups already suceeding e.g. ICC