Upon completion of this lesson you should be able to:

• Identify periods of history and the related Federal Government policy toward Indian tribes.
• Describe the importance of sovereign nation status and the current government-to-government relationships.

There have been radical shifts in policy toward Indian nations that negatively impacted the cultures, identities, and ancestral lands of these great nations.

The historical timeline for these major changes falls within seven periods:

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

This lesson is designed to help you learn about what occurred in each of these periods and its effect on Native Americans.

Audio Transcript

What was it like in the America that greeted the first Europeans? You may be surprised to learn it was far from a wilderness with uncivilized inhabitants.

Come with me as we travel back to that period and see what it was really like.

The population was in the millions and may have matched the population numbers for Western Europe. These numbers would be reduced drastically as a result of war and the diseases introduced by the new settlers: diseases like smallpox, typhus, and influenza.

The native's diet was varied and plentiful. Most tribes combined aspects of hunting, gathering, and the cultivation of maize and other food supplies. Every tomato in Italy, every potato in Ireland, and every hot pepper in Thailand came from this hemisphere. Corn, or maize as it is known, spread throughout the earth as the Indians cultivated many varieties for different growing conditions. The use of Indian crops throughout the world dramatically reduced hunger and led to a population boom in the Old World. Indians produced bumper crops of elk, deer, and bison by cultivating the environment.

They used fire for two reasons: to keep down underbrush and create open, grassy spaces required for the game to populate. The first white settlers in Ohio found forests as open as English parks in which they could drive carriages through the woods. The use of fire shaped the plains that created the environment for vast buffalo farms.

Indian life was essentially clan-orientated and communal, with children allowed more freedom and tolerance than European children. While some clans were nomadic, many others lived in settlements. For example, in what is now the southwest United States, the Anasazi, ancestors of the modern Hopi Indians, built stone and adobe pueblos. These unique and apartment-like structures were often built along cliff faces. The most famous, the "cliff palace" of Mesa Verde, Colorado, had over 200 rooms.

Indian society was closely tied to the land and the rhythms and spirit of nature. Indians believe that if you take care of Mother Nature she will take care of you. This was in direct conflict with the Europeans, who considered land and nature a commodity to be owned and used for their individual purposes. This difference would later be the source of much of the conflict that occurred between the native and European cultures.

As a way of preserving their culture some North American tribes developed a type of hieroglyphics, but mostly they depended on oral communications. Even today, history and values are handed down from generation to generation through the recounting of tales and dreams.

Tribes routinely interacted with one another through trade and extensive formal relations, quite an accomplishment considering there were hundreds of different languages spoken.

The ideals of democracy and equality are ideals that were part of the Indian way of life. Both men and women had a say in the tribe's decisions. The colonists had no experience with democracy as they had lived under the rule of monarchies and generally referred to the native village leaders as kings.

Rather than a backward nation of indigent people, the Europeans found themselves in a populous new world more sophisticated than what they had left behind.

You have just completed the Pre-European Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

The movement to North America grew from a trickle of a few hundred European colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers. Why did they leave Europe in mass? For most people, it was to:

• Escape political oppression of the ruling parties.
• Find freedom to practice their religion.
• Avoid economic difficulties sweeping England.

The settlers acquired Indian lands through the doctrine of discovery (simply locating land and laying claim to it), transfer from the English crown, and treaties with the Indians.

Treaties are documents between two independent sovereignties to negotiate borders, provide access to resources, and settle land and military disputes.

The colonists settled mostly on the east coast because the English government had forbidden encroachment of the colonists west of the Appalachians. This policy was intended to maintain peace with the Indian tribes and discourage any alliance between them and France.

Following the Revolutionary War, the United States continued the treatymaking with the tribes started by the Spanish and British. These treaties or agreements, negotiated on a government-to-government pattern, sought to establish peace and territorial boundaries and to regulate trade and extradition of criminals.

In the early years of the United States, Indian affairs were governed by the Continental Congress, which in 1775 created a Committee on Indian Affairs headed by Benjamin Franklin. Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution describes Congress's powers over Indian affairs: "To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes."

The 1778 Treaty With the Delaware Indians was the first between the United States and an Indian tribe. Take a look at the first part of this treaty and see if you can answer the question that follows concerning its purpose.

Sept. 17 1778, 7 Stat., 13. [3]

Articles of agreement and confederation, made and entered into by Andrew and Thomas Lewis, Esquires, Commissioners for, and in Behalf of the United States of North-America of the one Part, and Capt. White Eyes, Capt. John Kill Buck, Junior, and Capt. Pipe, Deputies and Chief Men of the Delaware Nation of the other Part.

ARTICLE I. That all offences or acts of hostilities by one, or either of the contracting parties against the other, be mutually forgiven, and buried in the depth of oblivion, never more to be had in remembrance.

ARTICLE II. That a perpetual peace and friendship shall from henceforth take place, and subsist between the contracting parties aforesaid, through all succeeding generations: and if either of the parties are engaged in a just and necessary war with any other nation or nations, that then each shall assist the other in due proportion to their abilities, till their enemies are brought to reasonable terms of accommodation: and that if either of them shall discover any hostile designs forming against the other, they shall give the earliest notice thereof, that timeous measures may be taken to prevent their ill effect.

ARTICLE III. And whereas the United States are engaged in a just and necessary war, in defence and support of life, liberty and independence, against the King of England and his adherents, and as said King is yet possessed of several posts and forts on the lakes and other places, the reduction of which is of great importance to the peace and security of the contracting parties, and as the most practicable way for the troops of the United States to some of the posts and forts is by passing through the country of the Delaware nation, the aforesaid deputies, on behalf of themselves and their nation, do hereby stipulate and agree to give a free passage through their country to the troops aforesaid, and the same to conduct by the nearest and best ways to the posts, forts or towns of the enemies of the United States, affording to said troops such supplies of corn, meat, horses, or whatever may be in their power for the accommodation of such troops, on the commanding officer's, &c. paying, or engageing to pay, the full value of whatever they can supply them with. And the said deputies, on the behalf of their nation, engage to join the troops of the United States aforesaid, with such a number of their best and most expert warriors as they can spare, consistent with their own safety, and act in concert with them; and for the better security of the old men, women and children of the aforesaid nation, whilst their warriors are engaged against the common enemy, it is agreed on the part of the United States, that a fort of sufficient strength and capacity be built at the expense of the said States, with such assistance as it may be in the power of the said Delaware Nation to give, in the most convenient place, and advantageous situation, as shall be agreed on by the commanding officer of the troops aforesaid, with the advice and concurrence of the deputies of the aforesaid Delaware Nation, which fort shall be garrisoned by such a number of the troops of the United States, as the commanding officer can spare for the present, and hereafter by such numbers, as the wise men of the United States in council, shall think most conducive to the common good.

In 1823, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote the first of three cases of key Federal Indian law that affirmed tribal sovereignty and established doctrine of Federal trust responsibility. These laws are known as the Marshall Trilogy and are the foundation for current judicial decisions involving the powers of tribes. Summaries of these cases follow.

Johnson v. M'Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat) 543 (1823)
This case involved competing claims to the same lands acquired from the same Indian tribe by different means. The court ruled that Indian nations could only convey ownership to the United States and not individuals. This approach restrained encroachment not authorized by the United States into Indian territories and confirmed Federal control of Indian affairs.

Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. (5 Pet.) 1 (1831)
The Cherokee Nation challenged the legality of the State of Georgia to oust the Cherokee Nation from its lands in spite of its treaty with the United States. Judge Marshall ruled that the Cherokee Tribe is a "domestic dependent nation" with the relation of the tribe to the Federal Government like that of "ward to guardian." Therefore, the State could not interfere with the Cherokee Nation.  (The State of Georgia did not follow the ruling and continued to interfere in the rights of the Cherokee Nation).

Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832)
Missionaries to the Cherokee Nation appealed their conviction in Georgian courts for not having received a license from the Governor of Georgia to enter Cherokee country. Judge Marshall ruled the conviction by the State was void because the tribe was a distinct community over which the laws of the State have no force.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), one of the oldest bureaus in the Federal government, was administratively established by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun on March 11, 1824, as an agency within the War Department to oversee and carry out the Federal government's trade and treaty relations with the tribes. Congress gave the BIA statutory authority by the act of July 9, 1832 (4 Stat. 564, chap. 174).

The BIA was originally created to manage the affairs of the tribes in fulfillment of the Federal Government's self-determined role as having power over Indian affairs. The BIA mission has changed dramatically over time from the direct provider of services to that of technical specialist working with tribal managers in protecting and managing trust resources.

You have just completed the Colonial Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

As the U.S. population continued to grow and the demand for land on the east coast increased, the U.S. Government forced eastern tribes to move west.

The Indian Removal Act was signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830 to initiate the removal of tribes in the southeastern states.  In 1835, nearly all of the Cherokee Nation - some 17,000 people - were forced to leave their ancestral lands, homes, and possessions at gunpoint and forced to march from northern Georgia to present-day Oklahoma. The Trail of Tears, as it is known, killed over 4,000 Cherokee.  The Muscogee Creek, Choctaw and Chickasaw and many other tribes were also moved west without consent. 

Nearly all the eastern tribes were moved from fertile soil to the semiarid center of the country-known at the time as the Great American Desert. Consequently, today there are only a few tribes located on the east coast.

The removal policy gave way in the 1850s to an official policy of confining Indians to reservations rather than relocating them beyond the rapidly expanding frontier.

Throughout this period, hundreds of treaties were made. Many of them were made with tribes in the Northern Plains for their lands, thus restricting reservation boundaries even further.

Some of these treaties contained provisions for the tribes to retain hunting, fishing, and gathering rights on the ceded lands. These treaty rights are still valid and must be considered when carrying out the provisions of programs.

Unfortunately, some of the treaties were never ratified, and some were put in place through bribery or by only a small part of the signatory tribes. Additionally, the Federal Government failed to fulfill the terms of many treaties, and was sometimes unable or unwilling to prevent States, or white people, from violating treaty rights of Indians.

By 1871, treatymaking came to an end. The treaties were replaced with agreements that the Executive Branch negotiated and the Congress enacted into law. The move was mostly symbolic and ushered in the beginning of the next era.

You have just completed the Removal and Relocation Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

During this period:

• More Indian lands were taken for settlement by the United States.
• Federal law expanded into internal tribal affairs.
• Widespread use of boarding schools for Indian children developed.
• Reserved tribal lands were allotted to individual Indian ownership.

The General Allotment Act (Dawes Act) sought to assimilate tribes by breaking up the ownership of the land and integrating tribal people into the Nation, with, or without consent. Specifically, the act:

• Enabled the President to allot small parcels of tribal lands to individual Indians.
• Authorized the Federal Government to hold land in trust for 25 years or more to prevent transfer of the land.
• Authorized the United States to sell lands left after allotment.
• Subjected allottees to State civil and criminal jurisdiction.
• Extended U.S. citizenship to allottees.

Under the original act, heads of household and minors received 160 and 40 acres respectively, with the intent of making Indians into farmers in the white man's image. This was soon changed to reduce the amount of acreage.

Under the Dawes Act, Indian life deteriorated in a manner not anticipated by its sponsors:

• The social structure of the tribe was weakened
• Many nomadic Indians were unable to adjust to an agricultural existence
• Others were swindled out of their property
• Life on the reservation came to be characterized by disease, filth, poverty, and despondency

Of the 138 million acres of Indian or tribal lands in 1887, only 48 million acres remained by 1934.

Most of the loss resulted from what was called surplus land-i.e., whatever land remained after allotments were made to Indian households, Some of the surplus lands were sold and payments made to the tribes while others were simply opened for homesteading.

Though the Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, granted all U.S. citizens the right to vote regardless of race, it wasn't until Congress passed the Snyder Act of 1924 that Native Americans could enjoy the rights granted by this 1870 Amendment.

The Snyder Act granted Indigenous Americans born in the U.S. full U.S. citizenship. This was due in large part because of the services Indian soldiers performed during World War I and significant lobbying efforts on behalf of Indians.

The Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period came to a close as a result of a Government-requested study (the Merriam Report) that deemed the policies of this period a failure.  

You have just completed the Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

This short but progressive period ended allotments and began restoring Indian lands. The Federal Government created programs and projects for health facilities, irrigation works, roads, homes, and schools to help restore Indian economic and cultural life.

The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), sometimes called the "Indian New Deal," was the centerpiece of this era.

The IRA - also known as the Wheeler-Howard Act - was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 18, 1934. The IRA attempted to improve the political, economic, and social conditions of American Indians in a number of ways:

• Privatization was terminated
• Some of the land taken was returned and new land could be purchased with federal funds
• A policy of tribal self-government was implemented
• Tribes were allowed to incorporate businesses and credit established to further such business
• Education & employment opportunities were greatly enhanced

While there were some problems with the law (particularly in its implementation), it showed some significant successes.

Instead of forcing Indian people to forsake their traditions for new lives on farms or in cities, the IRA recognized their right to exist as a separate culture.

The act included the establishment of chartered tribal governments with constitutions and bylaws based on a template of the Federal Government which was fashioned after the Iroquois Confederacy.

This period was the first time in American Indian history that tribal councils were formally recognized as having nation to nation status with the Federal Government.

You have just completed the Reorganization Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

Termination ended what the Government previously endorsed:

• Trust relationships between Federal and tribal governments.
• Self-government of the tribes.

The Government would essentially violate all previous treaties in the interest of seizing land and resources in the interest of the country, as a whole.

More than 100 tribes were terminated during this period. The Federal Government no longer recognized them as Indian nations and ended Federal supervision and control over Indians as well as any assistance.

During this period, tribes lost their governmental authority.  With the passage of Public Law 280 in 1953, State criminal and civil laws were imposed on many tribes in California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin. These policies ended in economic disaster and resulted in the loss of millions of acres of valuable land and natural resource through tax forfeiture sales.

Federal policy during this period emphasized the physical relocation of Indians from reservations to urban areas. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs started a relocation program that granted money to Indians to move to selected cities to find work.  This was another attempt to absorb Indians into mainstream society, thereby eliminating distinct cultures and disconnecting Native people from their heritage.  

Recall that with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, the Indigenous People of America were finally recognized as being “American.” In spite of that formal recognition, Native Americans were still prevented from participating in elections because the U.S. Constitution left it up to the states to decide who has the right to vote.  After the passage of the 1924 Citizenship Bill, it still took over forty years for all fifty states to allow Native Americans to vote.

In 1948, the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a provision of its state constitution that kept Indians from voting. Other states eventually followed suit, concluding with New Mexico in 1962, the last state to enfranchise Native Americans.

Even with the lawful right to vote in every state, Native Americans suffered from the same mechanisms and strategies, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, fraud and intimidation that kept African Americans from exercising that right.

The effects of the Termination and Relocation Period can still be seen.  Today, an estimated 78% of Native Americans live off-reservation, and while statistical analysis of exact figures can be debated, a very large portion of Native people live in urban or suburban environments.

You have just completed the Termination and Relocation Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

The abuses of the Termination and Relocation Period led to reforms. The Federal Government expanded the powers of tribal self-government and restored the recognition of tribes.

In a special message to Congress, President Lyndon B. Johnson stated his principles for tribal relations, which those who have followed him continue to support:

"The greatest hope for Indian progress lies in the emergence of Indian leadership and initiative in solving Indian problems. And we must assure the Indian people that it is our desire and intention that the special relationship between the Indian and his government grow and flourish. For the first among us must not be the last."

The Self-Determination Period saw many important legislative changes to improve the lives of Indigenous Peoples.

In 1965, with passage of the Voting Rights Act and subsequent legislation in 1970, 1975, and 1982, many other voting protections for Native Americans were reaffirmed and strengthened.

Other important legislation during this period includes the following:

• Indian Civil Rights Act - 1968: Establishes civil rights for all people under tribal government jurisdiction and authorizes the Federal Government to enforce these rights.
• Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act - 1975: Recognizes the Federal trust responsibility and directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Services to contract with the tribes for programs that these agencies administer such as education, health, and human services.
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act - 1978: Preserves the rights of American Indians to practice traditional religious beliefs.
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act - 1990: Requires notification and return of human remains and cultural items to Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations. Also regulates the excavation of federal and tribal land where remains or items may be discovered.

On November 6, 2000, President William J. Clinton signed Executive Order (EO) 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments. The intent of this Executive Order is:

• To establish regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in the development of Federal policies that have tribal implications
• To strengthen the United States government-to-government relationships with Indian tribes
• To reduce the imposition of unfunded mandates upon Indian tribes

Under E.O. 13175, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, any federal agency proposing rules, policy or guidance that have impacts on federally recognized tribal governments may not promulgate those rules, policy or guidance unless the agency meets certain conditions and engages in consultation with tribal governments before they become effective.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements for implementing EO13175 required all Federal agencies to appoint an agency consultation official responsible for ensuring that program personnel adhere to the intent of the Order in policymaking and facilitate meaningful consultation with tribal governments concerning the development, administration and enforcement of policy, guidance or regulation that has impacts on tribal governments.

Click on Executive Order 13175 for more information. 

To further strengthen the Government-to-Government relationships with tribes, President Barack Obama signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 16, 2009, directing all cabinet agencies to submit a plan within 90 days to show how they will implement the original EO13175 in order to establish regular and meaningful tribal consultation and collaboration.

DHS issued its first EO13175 implementation Plan in February of 2010 and as a component agency of DHS, FEMA provides regular reporting on it activities to support implementation of EO13175.

To further support EO13175, FEMA adopted its first Tribal Consultation Policy in 2014 that established a process to guide FEMA officials on how to engage Indian tribes and Tribal officials in regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration on actions that have tribal implications.

Both the FEMA Tribal Policy and Tribal Consultation Policy are updated every four years.

Click on FEMA's Tribal Policies for more information.

Federal agencies have acknowledged their support for the independence and government-to-government relationships with the tribes through policy statements and removal of barriers to participation in national programs.

FEMA's first tribal policy became effective in 1998 and established how FEMA operates with regard to tribal governments and outlines a framework for nation-to-nation relations with tribal governments that recognizes tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and FEMA’s trust responsibility that is consistent with applicable authorities.

Click on this link to review a key excerpt of the policy. 

The most recent legislation with significant impact for FEMA and its work with tribal governments is the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act (SRIA).

Signed by President Barack Obama on January 29, 2013, SRIA amended the Stafford Act with a stated goal of improving the efficiency and quality of disaster assistance provided by FEMA.

Among the provisions of SRIA, Section 1110 authorizes the chief executive of a Federally Recognized Tribal Government to directly request emergency or major disaster declarations from the President, much as a governor can for a state.

In many ways, the passage of SRIA represents the most significant legislative change to FEMA’s substantive authorities since the enactment of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in 1988 which of course gave FEMA the responsibility for coordinating government-wide disaster relief efforts.

This change appropriately acknowledges and operationalizes the Government-to-Government relationship that FEMA has with Federally Recognized Tribes and provides tribal governments the option to be a sub-recipient of disaster assistance under a state-requested disaster or emergency declaration, or to be a direct recipient of assistance. This also presents FEMA with new opportunities to further engage and build partnerships with tribal governments to build emergency management capacity and capabilities.

You have just completed the Self-Determination Period.

• Pre-European Period (Prior to 1492)
• Colonial Period (1492-1828)
• Removal and Relocation Period (1828-1871)
• Allotment and Attempted Assimilation Period (1871-1928)
• Reorganization Period (1928-1945)
• Termination and Relocation Period (1945-1965)
• Self-Determination Period (1965-Present)

Before proceeding to the next lesson, you may want to review the following resources:

• American Indian and Alaska Native Data and Links
• Bureau of Indian Affairs Frequently Asked Questions
• Indian Law: An Overview
• Working Effectively with Federally-Recognized Indian Tribes. Environmental Protection Agency. Call for a copy: (202) 260-2516.
• From the National Congress of American Indians, see Tribal Nations and the United States: An Introduction. 

Now that you've completed this lesson, you should be able to:

• Identify periods of history and the related Federal Government policy toward Indian tribes.
• Describe the importance of sovereign nation status and the current government-to-government relationships.

In the next lesson, you will learn basic facts about tribal cultures, and positive ways to communicate with tribal people.