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Worcester v. Georgia
In the case of Worcester v. Georgia, the understanding of soverignty of the American Indian tribes were made. These tribes were viewed as soverign nations that excluded the states from regulating or taxing American Indian nations. Article 1 gave Congress the right to regulate commerce with American Indian tribes. This same regulation process is done with other foreign nations as well. At this time, states had no authority over the tribes. -
Boarding Schools
In this year, the Carlisle Indian Industrial school opened. This began the time of thousands of American Indian children forced to begin their eductation in boarding schools. At this time, children were also removed from their families. These children were raised in institutions with limited knowledge about what it means to be a family member, community member and grew up unknown on how to raise their children traditionally. This event continued until the mid 1960s. -
Indian Religious Crimes Code
The passage of the Indian Religious Crimes Code banned American Indian spiritual practices. One such spiritual practice that was banned was the Sun Dance. This dance is used as a prayer for life, world renewal, and thansgiving. The reason for this ban was to assimilate the American Indians into the mainstream culture. This ban continued until the 1930s. -
Dawes Act
This policy was enforced to divide reservation land and allocate the land into individual plots. Once this division was made, the remaining land was open for sale to outsiders. This policy shrank American Indian land from 134 million acres to 48 million acres half a century later. Division of land was a primary use of assimilation policies. -
John Collier
In the 1930s, there was a dramatic shift in policy towards the American Indians. John Collier was primarily responsible for this policy shift when he became Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1933. He believed in preserving American Indian ways of life and respect for the environment as a counteraction to American materialism. -
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Termination policy
From the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s, the termination policy was enforced to end the existence of reservations. This policy forcecd American Indians to legally, socially, and economically integrate into mainstream America. Termination ended American Indian hunting and fishing rights, removed their tax-exempt status, ended federal assistance, and disbanded federally recognized tribes. -
Relocation
Relocation was a federally designed program to move American Indian people from reservations to cities. This was promoting assimilation and removing the American Indian people from reservation poverty and isolation. The support of this program was minimal, leaving many American Indians in low-wage, insecure jobs. Many American Indians faced racism and cultural disolocation. -
Indian Health Services
In this year, the Indian Health Services was created to hold the responsibility of American Indian's health. The IHS serves 1.5 million American Indian people in 35 states. The mission of this service is to provide services to improve the health of the American Indian people. -
Self Determination Policies
During the 1970s, Richard Nixon promoted self-determination policies. These policies were enforced as active effort to address past wrongdoings and wrongful policies. International discourse has emphasized self-determination for the American Indians. This includes ideas of cultural survival, non-discrimination, economic development, political freedom, and other basic human rights. -
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was passed to resolve land claims and clarify the right to land and natural resources within Alaska. Native Alaskans received ownership of 45.5 million acres and received payments totalling $962.5 million dollars. At this time, for-profit organizations with Native Alaskans as stockholders were developed. This was made to manage the money and the land. -
Indian Child Welfare Act
The Indian Child Welfare Act was created in revision of the high amount of American Indian children placed in non-Native adoptive homes, foster care, and educational institutions. The purpose of this act is to promote stability and security of Native family life. This allows tribal communities to regulate their own child welfare issues. This act also deals with American Indian children facing removal from their homes. -
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
This act was passed in regards to the past federal government violation of religious freedom to American Indians. This act gave freedom of religion back to the American Indian people. It also layed out for repatriation of human remains and sacred objects that are located in federal museums. An amendment to this act occurred in 1993 allowing ceremonial use of peyote.
