Indian Civil Rights Act

Examples of Indian Civil Rights Act in the following topics:

• Civil Rights of Native Americans

  • Relocating Indian populations to reservations during a period of American expansion is an example of what would today be considered a civil rights violation.
  • Partly because of the reservation system, civil rights protections have often involved complex legal issues.
  • Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act, which gave tribal members protections from both the U.S.
  • Government and from rights infringements by tribal leaders.
  • Identify the modern civil rights issues that pertain to Native Americans in the United States

• American Indian Rights

  • The movement for American Indian rights in the 1960s centered around the tension between rights granted via tribal sovereignty and rights that individual American Indians retain as U.S. citizens.
  • In 1965, the Voting Rights Act put an end to individual states claims on whether or not American Indians were allowed to vote through a federal law.
  • Before the Voting Rights Act, many states had found ways to prevent American Indians from voting, such as residency or literacy requirements.
  • With the passage of the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) in 1968, also called the Indian Bill of Rights, American Indians were guaranteed - at least on paper - many civil rights.
  • At a time when peaceful sit-ins were a common protest tactic of the African American civil rights movement, the AIM takeovers in their early days were noticeably violent.

• The Dawes Act and Indian Land Allotment

  • The Dawes Act authorized the President to survey Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians.
  • The Dawes Act, also called General Allotment Act, or Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians.
  • The Dawes Commission, set up under an Indian Office appropriation bill in 1893, was created, not to administer the Dawes Act, but to attempt to get the Five Civilized Tribes, which were excluded under the Dawes Act, to agree to an allotment plan.
  • This commission registered the members of the Five Civilized Tribes.
  • It ended allotment and created a "New Deal" for Indians, including renewing their rights to reorganize and form their own governments.

• American Indians and the New Nation

  • During its early days, the United States implemented a series of treaties and policies with the purpose of acquiring land from and "civilizing" the American Indians.
  • I do by these presents require, all officers of the United States, as well civil as military, and all other citizens and inhabitants thereof, to govern themselves according to the treaties and act aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril.
  • The cultural assimilation of American Indians was an assimilation effort by the United States to transform American Indian culture to European-American culture between the years of 1790 and 1920.
  • Stemming from this belief Washington advocated for so-called advancement of American Indian society and formulated a policy to encourage a "civilizing" process.
  • The Civilization Fund Act of 1819 promoted this policy by providing funding to societies (mostly religious) who worked on American Indian "improvement."

• American Indian Policy

  • The Bureau of Indian Affairs was used during this time to keep a commanding hold of all aspects of native life, thus upholding the goal of "civilizing" natives.
  • The Dawes Act, also called General Allotment Act, or Dawes Severalty Act of 1887, adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians.
  • The Dawes Commission, set up under an Indian Office appropriation bill in 1893, was created, not to administer the Dawes Act, but to attempt to get the Five Civilized Tribes, which were excluded under the Dawes Act, to agree to an allotment plan.
  • Roosevelt administration supported passage in 1934 of the Indian Reorganization Act.
  • It ended allotment and created a "New Deal" for Indians, including renewing their rights to reorganize and form their own governments.

• American Indian Relocation

  • The belief that indigenous people should abandon their traditional lives and become "civilized" had been the basis of policy for centuries.
  • The resolution established that Congress would pass termination acts on a tribe by tribe basis.
  • Most such acts included the cessation of federal recognition and all the federal aid that came along with that designation.
  • Several crucial organizations were formed to help protect the rights of the Indians and their land (e.g., American Indian Movement, or AIM).
  • Assess how the Indian termination policy of the 1950s and 60s effected the education, health care, land rights, and economic stability of American Indian tribes

• American Indian Policy and the Trail of Tears

  • The Indian Removal Act of 1830 set the stage for the forced relocation of American Indians from the east to the west.
  • The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Jackson in 1830, and it had a profound and devastating impact on the lives of Americans.
  • For American Indians, the Removal Act brought death and destruction.
  • Since the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, The U.S. policy had been to allow American Indians to remain east of the Mississippi while simultaneously forcing them to assimilate and become "civilized."
  • Jackson abandoned the policy of Jefferson and other predecessors and instead aggressively pursued plans to remove all American Indian tribes living in the southeastern states, regardless of whether they had assimilated to white culture or become "civilized."

• Conclusion: Change in the 1960s

  • The African American civil rights movement made significant progress in the 1960s.
  • While Congress played a role by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the actions of civil rights groups were instrumental in forging new paths, pioneering new techniques and strategies, and achieving breakthrough successes.
  • Civil rights activists engaged in sit-ins, freedom rides, and protest marches, and registered African American voters.
  • The Mexican American civil rights movement, led largely by Cesar Chavez, also made significant progress at this time.
  • His social programs, investments in education, support for the arts, and commitment to civil rights changed the lives of countless people and transformed society in many ways.

• The Civil Rights Acts

  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed forms of discrimination against women and minorities.
  • In a civil rights speech on June 11, 1963, President John F.
  • The Civil Rights Act was followed by the Voting Rights Act, signed into law by President Johnson in 1965.
  • Johnson, who had earlier signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
  • Compare and contrast the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act

• Changes in American Indian Life

  • The European colonists in North America often rationalized their expansion of their empire with the assumption that they were saving–as they perceived–a barbaric, pagan world by spreading Christian civilization.
  • Smallpox proved particularly fatal to American Indian populations.
  • By 1832, the federal government established a smallpox vaccination program for American Indians, known as the Indian Vaccination Act.
  • The Indian Wars of the early 18th century, combined with the increasing importation of African slaves, effectively ended the American Indian slave trade by 1750.
  • In the 1790s, Benjamin Hawkins was assigned as the U.S. agent to the southeastern tribes that became known as the Five Civilized Tribes, for their adoption of numerous Anglo-European practices.