Pages 228-246
American Indians: From Conquest to Tribal Survival in a Postindustrial Society
• Introduction discusses meaning of names to a person and what the names represent
(Christian names, Indian name, and “my crime’s being an Indian, what’s yours?”)—
Leonard Peltier from Prison Writings (been in federal prison since 1977 for murdering
two federal agents during a shootout on Sioux reservation)
• American Indians were less affected by forces of social and political evolution but rather
government maintenance (more ignored in headlines, except for mascots for sports
teams)
• Last decade has improved since they gained more autonomy, addressed problems in
education, joblessness, health, etc.
• Size of the Group
o This is subject to the consensus (people used to be able to only identify with one
race)—5 million people who claimed to be in part but only half of them claimed
onlyAmerican Indian ancestry (1% of total population of US)
o Lost 75% or more of population during contact period, recent population increase
has perhaps restored this loss by now
o More recent growth is result of changing definitions of race in larger society and
greater willingness of people to claim Indian ancestry (underscores how socially-
determined race really is)
• American Indian Cultures
o Differences in American Indians and WASP culture has hindered communication
o Most NativeAmerican tribes relied on hunting and gathering, which is important
because [Lenski says] societies are profoundly shaped by their subsistence
technology
o Live on thin edge of hunger and stress sharing and cooperation/cohesion and
solidarity
o Ideas about relationship between human beings and natural world is what sets
them apart from Western Culture: live in harmony with natural world (not
“improve it”) and not value humans more important than any other form of life of
Earth itself—act as if the Earth is their mother (would not destroy it)
o Concept of private property/ownership was not prominent inAmerican Indians
like it was WASP (i.e. land ownership)—did not think of land as something to
trade/buy/sell/etc.
o American Indian culture was more group-oriented rather than individual-oriented
“Students go hungry rather than ask their parents for lunch money, for in
asking they would be putting their needs in front of the group’s needs”
o American Indian tribes organized around egalitarian values that stressed dignity
and worth of every man, woman, and child (women controlled land).
o Differences in values betweenA.I and WASP culture, compounded by power
differentials that emerged, placedA.I. at disadvantage.A.I. lack of experience
with dealing with contracts made it difficult for them to defend resources
Relations with the Federal Government after the 1890s • American Indians had very few resources left by this time, lived in western two-thirds,
split apart by cultural and linguistic differences, and could not participate politically as
most were not US citizens
• Economically,A.I. among most impoverished groups in US (resources had been
destroyed)—dependent on federal gov’t for food, shelter, clothing, etc.
• Reservations were in remote areas, far from industrialization/modernization—alsoA.I.
had few of these skills to work there (like knowledge of English, familiarity with Western
culture)
• Prejudice and intolerance, abided by policies designed to maintain powerlessness and
poverty or forcing them toAmericanize
• Reservation Life
o Paternalism and the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Reservations run by agency of federal gov’t (U.S. Bureau of IndianAffairs
(BIA)—controlled all aspect of day life, like budget, justice system, and
schools, BIAeven determined tribal membership
Traditional leadership/political institutions-no regard for input from
members of reservation; even controlled communication to world outside
reservation
o CoerciveAcculturation: The DawesAct and Boarding Schools
ForcedAmericanization: languages and religions were forbidden,
institutions circumvented and undermined
Centerpiece of US Indian policy was Dawes AllotmentAct of 1887, a
deeply flawed attempt to impose white definitions of land ownership and
to transformAmerican Indians into independent farmers by dividing their
land among the families of each tribe. Intention of the act was to give each
family the means to survive like their white neighbors
• Flawed by gross lack of understanding of their culture and needs;
direct attack on those cultures—legislation sought to destroy
broader kinship, clan and tribal social structures and replace with
Western systems
140 million acres were allocated to tribes in 1887 and 90 million were lost
by 1930s
The Dawes AllotmentAct was a disaster and decreased their resources
even more and forced acculturation
• SentAmerican Indian children to boarding schools (required to
speak English)
• Consistent with Blauner hypothesis, they could not mention native
culture
A.I. virtually powerless to change reservation system or avoid
acculturation—they resented and resisted
• The Indian Reorganization Act
o Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Collier (man he appointed to run BIA) were
sympathetic to A.I. poor reservation conditions—they secured passage of the
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in 1934 o Rescinded the Dawes Act of 1887 and policy of individualizing tribal lands;
mechanisms of school system were dismantled and financial aid was made
available; also proposed increase inA.I. self-governance and a reduction in
paternalistic role of BIA
o IRAhad its limits and governing still had white political forms to it (popular vote
instead of choosing leader by counsel of elders)—illustrates the basically
assimilationist intent of the IRA
o AffectedA.I. women—in tribes male-dominated, IRAgave women new rights to
participate in elections, run for office, etc.
o IRAof 1934 was significant improvement but was more sympathetic in intent
than execution
o Some tribes were victimized (Hopi tribe, generated wealth for white firms and
allies, not for the tribe itself); other tribes prospered such as Cherokee group that
developed debt-free farming community
o Many tribes remained suspicious of IRAand by 1948 fewer than 100 tribes had
voted to accept its provisions
• The Termination Policy
o IRA’s stress on legitimacy of tribal identity seemed “un-American” to many;
constant pressure of federal gov’t to return to individualistic policy encouraging
Americanization
o Some elements of dominant society still wanted ownership of the remaining
Indian lands
o *1953—assimilationist forces won victory when Congress passed resolution
calling for end to reservation system called termination, intended to get the
federal gov’t “out of the Indian business”—rejected IRAand proposed a return to
the system of private land ownership imposed on tribes by Dawes act
o Tribes opposed policy strongly; tribes would no longer exist as legally recognized
entities and resourced would be placed in private hands
o ~100 tribes were terminated (hastily); forced to sell land and suffer economic
losses; turned to welfare—even requested restoration of their reservation status
(Menominee and Klamath reservation)
• Relocation and Urbanization
o Various programs (around termination time) encouragedA.I. to move to urban
areas (already begun in 1940’s; spurred by availability of factory jobs during
WW2)
o Centers forAmerican Indians were established in many cities, and various
services were offered to assist in adjustment to urban life
o Rapid increase in movement to city began in 1950—urbanized faster than general
population, yet A.I. are still the least urbanized minority group (A.A. are the most)
—both encountered high rates of unemployment
o A.I. women migrated to city in large numbers—men could not be breadwinners
More
Less
