Reservation Reforms: The Indian

New Deal, 1928-1941

The Native American experience in
the 20th century
Think of this period history as one of peaks and valleys

 Allotment & Boarding Schools (1890-1920s)-

-a Major valley
 New Deal and Reorganization (Late 1920s-1950)
-a Slight peak
 Termination and Relocation (1950-60s)- Valley
 Red Power (1960s-late 1970s)- A Peak
 “Pendulum” of Indian policy
• Cycles of binary thinking

• Policy swings between Autonomy and

Assimilation

• Policies intended to assimilate often

backfired

• Even in periods of autonomy, US has

underlying goals of assimilation and gaining
access to Indian resources
 Published in 1928 and
The Meriam Report officially titled The Problem
of Indian Administration

• Based on a 2 year
investigation of conditions
on reservations

• Outlined the devastating

conditions on
reservations-poverty & ill
health plaguing Indian
Country

• Boarding schools
characterized by dietary
deficiencies,
overcrowding, student
The Reform Efforts of John Collier
• Born in Atlanta, Georgia
in 1884
– His early career was as
a Social Worker in New
York and California
• A visit to Taos Pueblo in
1920 changed his life
• John Collier became the
Commissioner of Indian
Affairs from 1933-1945
(during the presidency of
FDR)
 John Collier’s Stance of Federal Indian Policy

• He viewed assimilationist policy as wrong and must

be replaced
• He appreciated the resilience of Indigenous peoples
and cultures
– And he believed they needed to retain language,
culture, values, and beliefs.
• He respected Indians, but he also imposed his ideas
in much same manner as the previous generations
of policy makers who supported assimilation
 John Collier’s “Indian New Deal”

Collier’s Aims:
a) End allotment and consolidate tribal lands
b) Support Indian Cultures
c) End government suppression of Native rituals
d) Allow children to attend day schools on their home
reservations instead of being forced to off-reservation
boarding schools
e) Allow Natives to play a more active role in self-
governance, including a more active role in organizing
tribal governments
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), 1934

Original Draft of the Bill stated: (in Calloway pp. 440)

1. Indians living on reservations would be allowed to

establish local self-government and tribal
corporations to develop reservation resources. The
secretary of the interior would issue a charter of
home rule to each Indian community, granting it
greater responsibility over its own affairs, and the
Indians would vote to accept the charter in tribal
elections.
 Indian Reorganization Act, 1934
2. The federal gov would train Indians in such issues
as land management, public health, and law
enforcement and prepare them for employment in
the BIA, as well as provide scholarship money for
Indian students.
3. Dawes Act would be terminated. Further
allotment of Indian lands would be prohibited. The
bill provided for consolidation of allotted lands
into units for community use and provided 2
million each year to purchase lands for tribes. Any
“surplus” land remaining from allotment would
be restored to reservations.
4. A special Court of Indian Affairs would be
established.
The Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
(what actually made it into law)
1. The Allotment (Dawes Act) process ends.
2. Tribal Consent
– the act would not apply to a tribe without its approval

3. Tribal governments
– Reservation communities were granted the right to organize
governments that could manage local affairs.
4. Increased Appropriations
– $10 million revolving loan fund for tribal enterprises
– $250,000 for educational programs

5. Indians become more active in the BIA

How did Natives respond to the Indian New Deal?

In 1934 and
1935, Native
American tribes
voted on whether
or not to accept
the Act

-174 agreed to
accept.

-78 tribes
rejected it.
Problems with the
Indian
Reorganization Act
1. Congress never fully
allocated funds promised

2. Indians believe that this is

just another attempt by
non-Indians to do what
they regarded as the right
thing for Indians.
3. Additionally, Collier
underestimated the
diversity of tribal life, and
expected all tribes to
function in a unified
manner
3.The Seneca, for example, vigorously
opposed it because they believed it
impinged on their sovereignty

-They believed that the act would allow for the

government to have more bureaucratic
control over their lives

4. Exacerbated tribal factionalism on

reservations
—majority rule went against traditional
practices in those societies that reached
decisions by consensus
 Legacy of the Indian Reorganization Act

The IRA had a mixed legacy.

1) Several million acres of land was returned to Native people

2) There was, for the first time, a conscientious effort by the US

government to understand and encourage Native American cultural
preservation

3) However, the IRA perpetuated indirect colonial control over Native

American people, which undermined their sovereignty