INDIAN TERMINATION
Indian termination policy of the United States (mid-1940s to the mid-1960s) intended to assimilate American Indians (herein referred to as "Indians" for historical context) into mainstream American society. Assimilation was not new. The belief that indigenous people should abandon their traditional lives and become "civilized" had been the basis of policy for centuries. But what was new was the sense of urgency, that with or without consent, tribes must be terminated and begin to live "as Americans." To that end, Congress proposed dissolution of the special relationship between tribes and the federal government—granting Indians all the rights and privileges of citizenship, and reducing their dependence on a mismanaged bureaucracy. In essence, the policy terminated the government's recognition of tribal sovereignty, trusteeship of Indian reservations, and exclusion of Indians from state laws. Indians were then subject to state and federal taxes, and laws from which they were previously exempt. Termination of a tribe meant the immediate withdrawal of all federal aid, services, and protection, as well as the end of reservations.
Termination, although accompanied with pressure and coercion, was considered “voluntary” and required tribal consent. Some tribes may have had a formal termination agreement approved, but they were successful at warding off termination until repudiation, or terms of their agreement were unmet. Other tribes were approved for termination, but were successful in testifying before Congress that they should not be terminated.
PROCESS
Termination began with a series of laws directed at dismantling tribal sovereignty and introduced in the 1940s. The House concurrent resolution 108 of 1953 announced the federal policy of termination and called for the immediate ending of the Federal relationship with a selected group of tribes. 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. From 1953 to 1964, the government terminated recognition of more than 100 tribes and bands as sovereign dependent nations. These actions affected more than 12,000 American Indians or 3% of the total American Indian population. Approximately 2,500,000 acres (10,000 km2) of trust land was removed from protected status during these years. Much was sold by individuals to non-Indians.
The termination of these tribes ended federal government guardianship of and recognition of those tribal governments and US jurisdiction of tribal lands. In addition to ending the tribal rights as sovereign nations, the policy terminated federal support of most of the health care and education programs, utility services, and police and fire departments available to Indians on reservations. Given the considerable geographic isolation of many reservations and inherent economic problems, not many tribes had the funds to continue such services after termination was implemented.
A few tribes mounted legal challenges to maintain tribal government and the trust relationship with the federal government. Through the Indian Claims Commission, tribes had the ability to file claims against the government for breaches of treaty or grievances. The five year deadline for making a claim, August 1951, caused many tribes to file in the months preceding the end of the registration period. In some instances, pending claims cases with complex legal issues aided the tribes in preventing termination, while in others, tribes were taken advantage of by government agents and their associates.
EFFECTS
During 1953–1964, over 100 tribes were terminated, approximately 1,365,801 acres (5,527 km2) of trust land was removed from protected status, and 13,263 Indians lost tribal affiliation. Many scholars believe that the termination policy had devastating effects on tribal autonomy, culture and economic welfare. The lands belonging to American Indians, rich in resources, were taken over by the federal government. The termination policy had disastrous effects on the Menominee tribe (located in Wisconsin) and the Klamath tribes (located in Oregon), forcing many members of the tribes onto the public assistance roll. Termination had a devastating effect on the health care and education, as well as the economic stability of tribes.
EDUCATION
By 1972, the impact of termination on education of the tribes was evident. Terminated tribal children struggled to stay in school, and limited funding meant less resources for those who did remain. There was a 75% dropout rate for the Menominee Tribe, resulting in a generation of Menominee children with only a ninth grade education. With the loss of federal support for schools, states were expected to assume the role of educating the Indian children. All terminated tribes faced new education policies, which offered tribal children lesser opportunities than those available to white students.
Terminated tribal children struggled to stay in school, and those who did were excluded from programs that paid for higher Indian education. In 1970, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) began making yearly scholarship grants for tribal children to attend college. This helped non-terminated tribes, but terminated tribal children were not allowed to apply for these funds. Children who did manage to graduate high school successfully had trouble attending college due to the lack of funding options.
HEALTH CARE
The Indian Health Service provided health care for many Indian tribes, but once a tribe was terminated all tribe members lost their eligibility. For many this meant losing access to hospitals and health care. The Menominee tribe is one poignant example. The tribal hospital at Keshena was forced to close when it fell below state operating standards. Lack of available funding prevented the county from making improvements. Their tribal clinic was also forced to close. During a subsequent tuberculosis epidemic that affected one-fourth of the Menominee population, the lack of a hospital or clinic had disastrous ramifications for the tribe.
Many Indians also lost health care during termination after relocating off the reservations. Although, they were given private health care for six months, the only available care after that was if they happened to live near an Indian health care facility. Ultimately, the BIA could not provide necessary healthcare to many of the terminated tribes. Congress was pushed to reform health care policy as it related to Indians.
ECONOMY
Termination, although not the only cause of Indian poverty, had a significant effect on it. As termination continued, the unemployment rates continued to increase. The Menominee tribe had 800 individuals within the tribe and 220 individuals who were unemployed in June 1968. By June 1973, right before the termination policy ended, the tribe had almost a 40 percent unemployment rate, with only 660 individuals in the tribe and 260 individuals who were unemployed.
The Menominee Indians experienced high poverty rates from the very beginning of termination, unlike the Klamath Tribe which was able to escape poverty for a brief period. The Klamath tribe had for years been living off timber and revenue from leasing tribal lands. When termination occurred, tribal land was sold and most of the Klamath tribe was considered above the poverty line, because each tribal member gained $40,000 from the sale. While they had escaped poverty briefly, their economy still suffered from termination. Most families quickly spent the money earned from the initial land sale and were forced to sell more land in order to obtain food for the family. After just a few years, the Klamath tribe was in the same situation as many other tribes that were terminated.
REGAINING FEDERAL RECOGNITION
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson proposed ending termination, building partnerships between tribal governments and the United States, and fostering tribal self-determination and self-development, though the proposal never passed. Subsequent presidents followed this informal approach until 1988, when House Concurrent Resolution 108 was formally abandoned.
Over one hundred tribes were terminated during the termination policy era. Some were able to regain federal recognition, and this was often achieved after long court battles that ensued as long as decades, exhausting large amounts of money in the process. Tribal leaders like Ada Deer and James White of the Menominee played key roles in bringing their cases to Congress—both through political process, and via the Supreme Court in suits and appeals. Tribes garnered publicity by creating resistance groups that publicly protested the termination policy. They also fought political and legal battles in Washington, D.C. for the restoration of tribal sovereignty. Some tribes still attempt to gain federal recognition.
Flag of the American Indian Movement.
The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an American Indian advocacy group founded in July 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AIM was initially formed to address American Indian sovereignty, treaty issues, spirituality, and leadership, while simultaneously addressing incidents of police harassment and racism against Native Americans forced to move away from reservations and tribal culture by the 1950s-era enforcement of the U.S. federal government-enforced Indian termination policies.
REPUDIATION
By the early 1960s, some federal leaders began opposing the implementation of further termination measures, although President John F. Kennedy's administration did oversee some of the last terminations. The final termination (the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska) began legally in 1962—after Kennedy signed the order (at the bequest of Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall)—and culminated in 1966. Subsequently, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon encouraged Indian self-determination instead of termination.
Several crucial organizations were formed to help protect the rights of the Indians and their land (e.g., American Indian Movement, or AIM). In 1975, Congress had implicitly rejected the termination policy by passing the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, increasing tribal control over reservations and assisting with funding to building schools closer to the reservations. On January 24, 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued an American Indian policy statement supporting explicit repudiation of the termination policy.
New Mexico Reservation
Indian houses and farms on the Laguna Indian reservation, Laguna, New Mexico (March 1943).